Klepto Cat Mystery - Sleight Of Paw Part 20

"A broken eggsh.e.l.l."

"Eggsh.e.l.l?" Brianna repeated looking confused. "Why would someone store an eggsh.e.l.l in the wall?" She walked over and peered into the small box. Margaret stood back, staring apprehensively toward the others.

"Do you know what this means, Auntie?" Savannah asked.

"Well, only partially. Remember, I told you there was something in the house. I didn't know exactly what it was-didn't expect it to be a broken egg. But the rumor pa.s.sed down through the generations says it's a gypsy curse."

Savannah and Michael caught each other's eyes.

"What?" Brianna said. "You've got to be kidding."

"The story is that when old Jed Forster's dad was building this house, a band of gypsies came through. I guess the old man didn't quite cotton to them-thought they stole a hog from him or something. Anyway, he got angry with them and the gypsies, before they left the area, claimed to have cursed the house. This was around 1900."

"Wow! That's quite a story, Auntie. Something out of the books I used to read as a kid," Savannah said. She looked over at the box. "Never thought I'd be living one of those stories, though," she said almost inaudibly. She then looked up at her aunt and her sister. "What do you think it means?"

"Well, I read those stories, too, Vannie," Brianna said. "And I even met a gal in college who was into some of this voodoo stuff. I think an egg has to do with fertility. This egg, however, is broken, so this would mean lack of fertility-infertile-unfertile."

Michael and Savannah looked at each other. Tears filled Savannah's eyes.

When Brianna saw how her words had affected her sister, she said, "But I could be way out in left field. Let's find a German somewhere and have them read the note. Okay, Sis? Let's do that before jumping to any conclusions." She thought for a minute and then said, "Heck, the egg may have been whole and it broke with all of Michael's hammering or there was an earthquake or something."

"Yes, good idea," Margaret said. "Let's don't get upset until we know what it means. Come on now, how about dinner at our place tonight? Max is cooking," she added, in an enticing, sing song manner.

"Oh, that's right, he used to be a chef," Brianna said. She looked over at Michael and Savannah. "Sounds great. Okay with you two?"

They nodded.

Savannah tucked the note in her pocket and took a deep breath in an attempt to shake off the sense of doom that had washed over her. "What time?" she asked.

"Come over any time. If you show up before dark, we can show Bri around the place."

Still feeling a bit off kilter, Savannah hesitated and then, determined to collect herself, she said, "How about if we freshen up and we'll come over around four thirty. Okay with everyone?"

"Yes." Margaret nodded. "What time is it now?"

"Just about two thirty," Savannah responded. "That will give us time to find a German."

"Bud," Michael said.

"What about Bud?" Savannah wanted to know.

"He took German in college."

"You're kidding. I had no idea," Savannah said. She then added, "Hey, isn't his name Bogart? That's German, isn't it?"

"I think it is," Brianna agreed.

Michael walked out to the porch where Savannah, Briana, Lexie, and Rags were gathered. "Bud said he'll meet us at the clinic at four and see if he can read the curse thing."

"Don't call it that until we know that's what it is, Michael," Savannah scolded.

"You're really taking this seriously, aren't you?" he asked.

"No. I just don't want to jinx anything."

"Jinx a curse?" Brianna laughed. "Now that's rich."

"It may just be a joke that one of the construction workers played while they were building the house," Savannah reasoned.

"They didn't have construction workers in those days," Michael explained. "They had neighbors come in and do a barn-raising thing."

"Well, neighbors play jokes, too," Savannah reminded him.

"Nice place," Brianna said as they pulled up in back of the clinic.

"Yes, it is a great place. Michael planned it out well. Oh there's Bud just driving in."

"Hey Bud," Michael said as he stepped out of Brianna's Lexus.

"Hi, Dr. Mike, Savannah. Nice wheels," he said. Suddenly, Bud's eyes focused on something past the couple. Savannah turned to see her sister sliding out of the driver's seat and said, "Oh Bud, this is my sister Brianna. Come here Brianna; I want you to meet our right hand here at the clinic."

"Hi. I remember you from the wedding," Bud said.

"Oh yes. I think we danced, didn't we?"

"You must have made quite an impression on her, Bud, if she doesn't remember whether you danced with her or not," Michael teased.

Both Brianna and Bud blushed.

"Well, Bud, I told Savannah that you can speak some German. We have a challenge for you." He held up the yellowed piece of paper and asked, "Can you read this for us?"

Bud took the letter in his hands. He studied it for a few moments and then his demeanor turned somber. He looked up at Michael and then over at Savannah. "Where did you get this?"

"Oddly," Michael said, "we found it in the wall of our house, along with a broken eggsh.e.l.l."

Bud seemed stunned for a moment. He swallowed hard and said, "It's a curse, guys...if you believe in such things. A gypsy curse." He watched their reaction and took an extra look over at Brianna. "You know, there were bands of gypsies living in this area around the turn of the century-the 1900s."

"That's about the time the Forster house was being built," Michael said.

"What kind of curse is it?" Savannah asked hesitantly.

"Fertility. It says here that nothing on this property will be fertile, the land or the animals or-" He looked over at Savannah and added, "the humans."

Michael could see that Savannah was upset. He put his arm around her and squeezed her to him. "That's only if you're into witchcraft and stuff, right?"

"Not really," Brianna said with wide eyes. "According to my witch friend, curses are real and can do damage." She then asked Michael, "Can you grow things on your land? When's the last time you had a good crop?"

"Savannah laughed nervously. "Well, we've never planted a crop."

"Oh."

"But there are ways to break curses. Didn't your witch friend tell you that?" Bud asked.

"Yeah, but who wants to drink eyeball stew and eat gremlin guts?" Brianna laughed.

"You guys are freaking Savannah out, now," Michael warned. "Honey, they're just making fun of the note."

Savannah turned to face Bud and Brianna. "Well, thank you for the bad news," she said flatly. Do either of you witch hunters know where we can go to find out how to reverse the curse?"

"I'll do some checking," Bud said.

Brianna glanced over at Bud. "So will I."

Bud looked in Brianna's direction for a moment and then said, "A...how about...I mean...maybe we could check together. I have a good source right here in town."

She looked him in the eyes and then glanced quickly up and down his body before saying, "Well, I suppose we could." She shrugged. "Yeah, why not?"

"What are you doing tonight?" he asked.

"Gosh, Bud, you're eager. She just got here," Michael said.

Bud looked down at his boots. "Oh sorry. Just seemed like there was an urgency with this situation, that's all."

Michael thought for a few moments and then said, "Bud, why don't you join us for dinner at Max and Maggie's this evening after you do rounds. Then, if you want to go out together, you can go after dinner. Savannah and I have had a busy week and wouldn't mind going to bed early. All right with you, Brianna?"

"Sure," she said, shrugging her shoulders again.

An hour later, Brianna and Bud returned to the Sheridans' kitchen with Max after having toured the cattery. "So, how do you like our place?" Margaret asked.

"It's great!" Bud said. "I had no idea you had such a cool facility here-especially that tunnel where the cats can go outside and be safe in wire pens. Max, you're a genius."

"Incredible," Brianna added.

"Well, thank you." Max bowed in their direction, a big smile on his face. "We do enjoy the work."

"Well, most of it," Margaret agreed. "It is heartening to see a cat transformed from a street urchin with no place to go and no one to love him into a lap cat in a safe home."

"Ah yes," Max agreed. "That's what it's all about for us."

Margaret addressed the couple with a new subject. "What would you two like to drink? We have red and white wine, herbal sun tea, beer..." she suggested.

Brianna looked around at what the others were drinking. "No wine for you tonight, Vannie?" she asked.

"No," she responded. "The sun tea is really refreshing."

"I'll have a beer," Bud said.

Brianna pointed to a bottle of chardonnay sitting on the counter. "White wine for me."

After everyone was served, Savannah looked over at Margaret. "Auntie, I want to know more about the curse and the gypsies. Bud tells us the letter talks about a curse to render everything and everyone on the old Forster property infertile."

"What? I didn't know Bud could read German."

"Yeah, two years in college. My ancestry is German, so I wanted the experience," he explained, sneaking a quick glance in Brianna's direction.

"Hmmm," Margaret said as if genuinely impressed. She then addressed Savannah. "Infertility, huh? Let me think about it. As I recall, when Jed's mother and father built the place, Jed was five and his older brother, Clem, was seven. As the story goes, Jed's mother Abigail yearned for a girl. But despite their plans, including building that home for a large family, she didn't get pregnant again. I never thought about it being for any other reason than..." she hesitated "...they just never had another child."

Michael noticed Savannah's mood shift. She was obviously troubled by this information. But just as obvious was the fact that she wasn't going to let it go. "Who else lived in the house?" she asked.

Margaret thought for a moment and then continued, "Well, after their parents pa.s.sed, Clem lived in the house because Jed travelled with his job. Jed met his wife in Colorado and they had Tom's dad, Tom senior, and James. When Clem's wife died, he didn't want to live there anymore." She looked down at her gla.s.s of wine, took a sip and then said, "Come to think of it, Clem and his wife never had any children. Jed and Ella May moved in with their two boys."

"So did they have any more children?" Savannah asked, her voice shaking a little.

"What?" Margaret said, while reaching out to pet a cat that had strolled up to her.

"Did they have any more children?" Savannah insisted.

"Actually, no." She lifted Layla onto her lap and began smoothing the fur around her pretty Persian face. She looked up at Savannah, a serious look on her face, and said, "You know, there has never been a child born to anyone living in that house."

Savannah's eyes welled up. Michael looked over in time to see her face contort into a mask of terror just before she burst into tears and rushed out of the room. Michael followed her, reaching her just as she stepped out onto the deck outside the back door. He held her for what seemed like hours, and she sobbed into his chest.

"I'm sorry about my blubbering last night, Michael," Savannah said as she walked with him out to his truck the next morning.

"No need to apologize, honey. I know how much it means to you to have our baby. That crazy witchcraft thing was a kick in the stomach for me, too. But I don't think it's real, do you? How could it be? It's just a bunch of hocus-pocus that someone made up over a hundred years ago, for heaven sakes. It has nothing to do with us."

"I suppose so. That's what I want to believe. I guess I've just been under a lot of stress and I've been so disappointed month after month."

Michael took Savannah's chin and raised her face so he could look into her eyes. He spoke softly. "We will have a baby. You can count on it. It's just that the right one hasn't chosen us, yet."

She smiled at the thought.

"Now you go have a great time playing with your sister and forget all about that old curse. Will you?"

She nodded.

"Okay, now," he said, kissing the end of her nose, "go have fun."

Savannah waved goodbye to Michael, Lexie at her side. Once in the living room, Savannah noticed that Brianna was walking slowly down the stairs. She watched her younger sister stretch and yawn. Lexie spotted their guest, too. She ran over to Brianna and danced around her legs as she continued her descent.

"Do you guys get up this early every morning?" she asked, rubbing her fingers deeply into her eye sockets and then blinking at her sister. She bent down and greeted the dog. "Hi Lexie. Nice to see you, too. You are such a pretty girl." She looked up briefly at her sister. "You know, Lexie makes me want a dog. They're so full of unconditional love. Not like a cat." She looked over and saw Rags, who was sitting in the middle of the coffee table. "Not like cats..." she said in a rather accusatory manner. "They're too aloof for me. I want a constant show of affection."