67f695396320fe1a34a41489ddea0fac

‘We have to stop her, and this is the only way I can think of.’ I stood my ground.

‘Then you need to be doubly careful,’ Snowball said, sounding worried.

‘She’s definitely sneaky but hopefully by tomorrow her plan will be foiled.’ I tried to sound more confident than I felt as we did need to catch her in the act, and I would have Salmon with me. I just had to be brave. ‘And, in the meantime, we better scarper. We definitely don’t want her to find us here.’

Chapter Twenty-Five

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Salmon was surprisingly chipper about staking out the hall a second time, although this time we were going inside. George, however, wasn’t quite as happy. He was still very upset at not being invited. He had let the first one go because we were just hanging out outside, but now he seemed to think that he should be involved. I told him it might put him in danger. He didn’t accept that and said that, as his dad, I shouldn’t putmyself in danger either. I couldn’t argue, but I reiterated that I needed him here, because if Salmon and I got into trouble he would be able to raise the alarm if we weren’t back by morning. Still, he refused to be pacified, insisting that the plan would work much better if he was directly involved. I had to get quite firm with him, which I don’t like to do but, as he said, I was his father. He might be grown up, or think he was, but he still had to do what I told him. Especially as this was for his own good.

I was quivering with anticipation and cold as I met Salmon that night, and we got to the hall while people were still working. Polly and Franceska were spraying the trees on the stage with fake snow and it was beginning to look like a proper winter wonderland. Tomasz and some others were putting the finishing touches to the stable where baby Jesus would be born, and the star was now re-made and hanging up. An old armchair had been cleaned up, ready for the Santa scene, and someone was making a fake fireplace where stockings would be hung. It was all looking amazing.

‘We better hide,’ I said to Salmon. We didn’t want anyone finding us and making us go home.

‘Right, Pol, let’s go, we’ve got a dinner reservation,’ Matt said.

‘Just coming, love,’ Polly replied. The children and Pickles were spending the night at our house – another thing that had annoyed George. He felt as if he was getting left behind with Pickles, and that he was being treated as a baby. I hadn’t had time to argue though and I did think that with the house full it would be less likely that anyone noticed I wasn’t there for a bit. If everything went to plan, that was.

We could hear everyone leaving– saying goodbyes, footsteps heavy – from where we were hiding.

‘Can you hear that?’ Salmon said.

‘What?’

‘I just heard a lady saying “I’ll lock up, I just want to finish tidying up,” and I think it’s Barbara. Surely she wouldn’t be so obvious as to do anything when she was the last person in the hall?’

‘Yes, if she does anything then they’ll suspect her, surely,’ I said.

‘Maybe she has a plan. You might not be the only one with plans, you know,’ Salmon grinned.

‘I have a lot of plans,’ I admitted.

‘And I’m glad to be participating in one of your plans, I like working with you Alfie, and this is right up my street.’ We both raised our whiskers. It seemed we made a good team. We snuck towards the backstage to find somewhere to hide.

‘Look, here’s a good place.’ He pointed his paw towards one of the backdrops that was leaning against the wall at an angle, leaving just enough space for a couple of cats. We went to slide behind it, but I bumped into something. Something soft and a bit smaller than me.

‘George,’ I hissed. Salmon had managed to get close to me but there was not much room.

‘Oh hi, Dad. I couldn’t let you do this alone; I was worried,’ George gushed, looking guilty.

Something licked me.

‘Oh my God, Pickles, is that you?’

‘Woof.’

‘George, what on earth are you and Pickles doing here? Salmon, what are we going to do?’

‘I’m not sure.’ Salmon wasn’t sure about Pickles, which was understandable because he didn’t know him. It was dark, but we cats have very good eyesight in the dark, so we could see them both. Standing there, as if pilchards wouldn’t melt … ‘But, I don’t think it’s a good idea that they’re here,’ he added.

‘Dad, I decided to come here before they all left because I was worried about you and Salmon. And, well, Pickles followed me. It wasn’t my fault.’

‘How did he get out?’ I snapped. I was pretty annoyed. Salmon and I had it all figured out and now George – and, more to the point, Pickles – threatened to ruin everything.

‘The cat, or dog flap,’ George said, innocently.

‘But how did he get out of the garden?’ They always made sure our gates were closed since Pickles had a habit of following us, something which had led to all sorts of trouble in the past. Actually, now was a case in point.

‘Ah, a courier came earlier with a package and no one thought to check the back gate like they normally do,’ George admitted.