The Catnapping Mystery Read online

  Molly laughed. “Once I waited and waited for my luggage to come off the airplane,” she said. “And do you know what? I had never put it on the airplane. I forgot it at home.”

  “Don’t worry,” Michael said. “She’ll get her luggage. Now I have to find you something exciting to do.”

  He turned and took three folders from the rack.

  “You could take a helicopter ride over the city. Or, you could take a horse and buggy ride. And of course, the Kurt Daub Museum is near the hotel. There are lots of great things to see and do there.”

  Mr. and Mrs. Jansen looked at the folders. Cam, Eric, and Aunt Molly watched what was happening at the bellhop’s desk.

  There was a telephone on the desk. Whenever it rang, the bell captain picked it up. He listened and then told one of the bellhops where to go to help someone in the hotel. Bellhops who were done carrying luggage came back to the desk and waited for something else to do.

  Cam, Eric, and Aunt Molly saw Esther Wright shake her head each time another bellhop came to the desk. None of them was the one who had taken her things.

  “Let’s go to the museum,” Mr. Jansen said. “I’m sure we’ll have fun there. And maybe we’ll learn something.”

  Ring! Ring!

  The telephone on the bell captain’s desk rang. The bell captain picked it up. He spoke into it. He listened and then gave the telephone to Mrs. Wright.

  She listened. Then she dropped the telephone and cried out loud, “My baby! My Little Tiger! My Little Tiger!”

  Chapter Five

  Cam ran to her. “What happened? What happened to your cat?” Cam asked.

  Greg and the bell captain leaned forward to listen. Eric, Mr. and Mrs. Jansen, and Aunt Molly had followed Cam. They were listening, too.

  “That was the bellhop on the telephone,” Esther Wright said. She wiped a tear from her eye and sobbed. “No. It was the thief.”

  “Don’t say that,” the bell captain told Mrs. Wright. “The people who work for me are not thieves.”

  “He said he has my luggage. He went through it. He said my clothing is old. The jewelry is fake.”

  Esther Wright wiped away another tear. Then she went on. “And he said, ‘And then there’s the cat. The only person I could sell this stuff to is you. So go to your room and wait there. Wait there alone. I’ll call and tell you what to do.”’

  “Oh, my,” Aunt Molly said. “This is terrible.”

  “You must call the police,” Mr. Jansen said. “This is a kidnapping.” He thought for a moment and then said, “No. It’s a catnapping.”

  Greg took the telephone and called the police.

  Mrs. Jansen brought a chair. Esther Wright sat and rested her head in her hands.

  “The thief must be a bellhop from another shift,” the bell captain said. He looked through his desk. “I have a picture here of most of them, from a party we had.”

  “A picture!” Cam said. “Of course! I have lots of pictures.”

  Cam closed her eyes and said, “Click.”

  “What should I do?” Esther Wright asked.

  Greg gave her the telephone. “It’s the police sergeant,” Greg said. “He wants to speak with you.”

  The bell captain gave Esther Wright a photograph and said, “Look at this. See if you can find the thief.”

  “This is too much for me,” Mrs. Wright said. “I can’t do everything.”

  Mrs. Jansen took the telephone. She spoke to the police sergeant. Esther Wright looked at the photograph.

  Cam opened her eyes. She looked at Greg and the bell captain. Then she closed her eyes again and said, “Click.”

  Esther Wright gave the photograph back to the bell captain and said, “None of these is the thief.”

  Mrs. Jansen hung up the telephone. “Two police officers will be here soon,” she told Esther Wright. “They’ll wait with you for the next call from the thief.”

  Esther Wright rested her head in her hands again and said, “My poor Little Tiger.”

  Someone pulled two large suitcases on wheels to the desk. He told Greg his room number. Greg put the bags on a cart and pushed it toward the elevator.

  A few people had gathered in the center of the lobby. The woman in the long black dress was still playing the piano. People were singing.

  Two tall police officers came through the front door. One was a woman with short black hair. The other was a man with a droopy mustache. They walked over to the bell captain’s desk.

  “I’m Officer Johnson and this is my partner, Officer Goldberg,” the woman said. “Now whose luggage was stolen?”

  Esther Wright looked up and said, “Mine. And my pet cat, Little Tiger, too!”

  Cam opened her eyes.

  “Don’t worry,” Officer Johnson said. “We’ll catch the thief.”

  “And we’ll save your cat,” the other officer said.

  “And I can help,” Cam told them. “I can help.”

  Chapter Six

  “Let’s go,” Officer Johnson said. “We’ll wait in your room for the thief to call.”

  Esther Wright told the officers, “But he said I should wait there alone.”

  “When he calls,” Officer Goldberg said, “we’ll be very quiet. He won’t even know we’re there.”

  The two police officers and Esther Wright went toward the elevator. Cam followed them.

  “I can help,” Cam said again when they reached the elevators.

  Officer Johnson pressed the elevator button and the door opened. She, Officer Goldberg, and Esther Wright got into the elevator. Then Officer Johnson turned and told Cam, “We’re busy now.”

  Cam stepped into the elevator just as its door was closing.

  Esther Wright pressed the button for the sixth floor.

  “I told you we’re busy now,” Officer Johnson said sharply to Cam. “As soon as we get to the sixth floor, you’ll have to go right down again.”

  “But I can help!” Cam said again.

  Cam closed her eyes and said, “Click.”

  Then she asked Esther Wright, “Was the bellhop who took your luggage about as tall as Officer Goldberg?”

  Esther Wright looked at Officer Goldberg.

  “Yes,” Esther Wright told Cam.

  “Did he have long brown hair? Were there three gold earrings in his left ear?” Cam asked.

  “Yes,” Esther Wright said again.

  “How do you know so much about the thief?” Officer Johnson asked.

  The door of the elevator opened.

  “Come with us,” Officer Johnson told Cam.

  They all followed Mrs. Wright to room 613. She took out her key and opened the door. Esther Wright and the two police officers sat on the bed, right by the telephone.

  “Well,” Officer Johnson asked Cam. “How do you know so much about the thief?”

  “When we were coming here,” Cam explained, “my mom saw a bellhop. He was putting luggage in a green van. That’s how we knew we were near the Royal Hotel. But he was not one of the hotel’s bellhops. We should have known that as soon as we came in here. I should have known then that something strange was going on.”

  “Why?” Officer Goldberg asked.

  Cam said, “Because his jacket and little cap were blue. The bellhops and the doorman here all wear red uniforms. Even the front canopy is red.”

  “That’s right,” Esther Wright said. “Everything here is red. The bellhop who took my things was wearing a blue uniform.”

  Knock! Knock!

  Someone was at the door. Officer Johnson opened it.

  Mr. and Mrs. Jansen, Aunt Molly, and Eric came into the room “There you are,” Mrs. Jansen said when she saw Cam. “You must not run off like that.”

  Ring! Ring!

  The telephone was ringing. Esther Wright reached for it.

  Officer Johnson held up her hand. “Quiet, please,” she said. “This might be the thief.”

  Ring! Ring!

  Esther Wright picked up the telephone and sa
id, “Hello.”

  Chapter Seven

  Esther Wright listened. Then she said, “Yes, I understand. I’ll do whatever you tell me to do. I just want my Little Tiger back.”

  She hung up the telephone.

  “Well, what did he say?” Officer Johnson asked.

  “He wants five thousand dollars wrapped in an old newspaper. In exactly two hours, I have to leave it behind the third column to the right of the front entrance to the Kurt Daub Museum. Once he gets the money, he’ll call here and tell me where to find Little Tiger and my things.”

  “Why don’t you try to trace his next call?” Mrs. Jansen asked.

  “No,” Officer Goldberg told her. “He doesn’t stay on the telephone long enough for that.”

  Esther Wright looked at her watch as she got up from the bed. “I’ll pay the money.

  That’s what I’ll do. I’ll pay the money and get Little Tiger back.”

  “Maybe I can help you find the thief,” Cam told Officer Johnson. “I saw him and his van.”

  Esther Wright was at the door. “I have to hurry. I have just two hours to deliver the money,” she said as she left the room.

  Eric told the police officers, “Cam has solved lots of mysteries and caught lots of thieves.”

  “Well,” Officer Johnson asked Cam, “how can you help us find the thief?”

  Cam closed her eyes and said, “Click!”

  “What’s she doing?” Officer Goldberg asked.

  “That helps her remember,” Mrs. Jansen whispered.

  “The thief loaded the luggage into a green van,” Cam said. “There was a lot of mud on the van.”

  “Did you see the license plate?” Officer Johnson asked.

  “No,” Cam answered. “But I did see something else. Our car has only two decals on the front windshield. But I saw three on the van.”

  “One is the registration sticker,” Officer Goldberg said. “One is the inspection sticker. Now, tell us about the third one.”

  “It was round and near the top of the window. Across it were three curved stripes, blue, red, and green, like a rainbow,” Cam said with her eyes still closed. “And there was the outline of a leaf and a number.”

  “That’s from the garage at the Oak Tree Apartments,” Officer Johnson said. “Maybe the thief lives there. I know Beth, the garage woman. If we find the van, she’ll tell us who owns it.”

  Officer Goldberg said, “Let’s go. We have to hurry.”

  The two police officers left the room. Cam, Eric, Mr. Jansen, Mrs. Jansen, and Aunt Molly followed them. They all got into the elevator.

  “Where are all of you going?” Officer Johnson asked.

  “You need me,” Cam said, “to show you the van.”

  “And we’re her parents,” Mr. and Mrs. Jansen said together.

  “And I’m her Aunt Molly. I work for an airline.”

  Eric looked up at Officer Johnson and smiled. “And I’m only ten years old,” he said. “I can’t be left here alone.”

  The elevator door opened.

  “We need the click girl,” Officer Johnson said. “Whoever else fits in the back seat of our car is welcome to come.”

  “Let’s go,” Officer Goldberg said. “We have to hurry.”

  Chapter Eight

  The lobby was still crowded. The woman in the long black dress was playing a popular song on the red piano. Lots of people were singing.

  The police officers, Cam, and the others rushed past the red piano. The woman stopped playing as they went past.

  “Hey,” the bell captain called as they passed his desk. “Did you catch the thief?”

  “We will,” Officer Johnson said.

  The police car was parked just outside the hotel entrance. Officer Johnson got in the driver’s seat. Officer Goldberg got in the passenger side of the front seat. Then he opened the back door for the others.

  Mrs. Jansen got in first. Then Cam got in and sat on her mother’s lap. Aunt Molly went in next, followed by Mr. Jansen. Eric looked in at the crowded back seat.

  “We’re in a hurry,” Officer Goldberg said.

  Aunt Molly said, “Get in, Sheldon. There’s plenty of room.”

  “His name is Eric Shelton,” Mr. Jansen said as Eric squeezed in and sat on his lap.

  Officer Goldberg turned on the siren and Officer Johnson drove off.

  Rrrr! Rrrr!

  Each time the car hit a bump, Cam’s and Eric’s heads hit the roof of the car.

  Rrrr! Rrrr!

  “This is so exciting,” Molly said.

  They went through a red light and sped quickly around a corner.

  “Turn off the siren,” Officer Johnson said. “We don’t want the thief to know we’re coming.”

  Officer Goldberg shut the siren off just as Officer Johnson turned the car onto a driveway. She drove the car into a garage beneath a large apartment building.

  A woman wearing jeans and a sweatshirt came out of the garage office. She walked over to the car.

  “Hi, Beth,” Officer Johnson said to her. “We’re looking for a green van.”

  “There’s one right here,” Beth said, and pointed. “And there are two others.”

  Cam and the others got out of the police car. Cam looked at the green van. She closed her eyes and said, “Click.” Then she opened her eyes and looked at the van again.

  “This is not the one,” she said. “The one near the hotel had mud on it and a large dent in the back.”

  “I’ll show you the others,” Beth said.

  She led everyone through the garage to another green van. This one was parked next to a large cement pole.

  Cam looked at the van. She closed her eyes and said, “Click.” Then she opened her eyes and said, “This is it.”

  The two police officers turned to Beth.

  “It belongs to the man in apartment 7E,” she told them.

  “Thanks,” Officer Goldberg said, as he and Officer Johnson walked to the elevator in the corner of the garage.

  Cam and the others followed them.

  “Where are all of you going?” Officer Johnson asked when the elevator door opened.

  “You’ll need me to identify the thief,” Cam said as she stepped into the elevator.

  “And we’re her parents,” Mr. and Mrs. Jansen said together.

  “Not this again!” Officer Johnson said. “Just get in.” Then she pushed the button for the seventh floor.

  The elevator went up. Then it stopped and the door opened. Everyone got off.

  “Stay here,” Officer Goldberg said.

  The two officers went to apartment 7E. They knocked on the door and waited. They knocked again, and Officer Johnson said, “Police,” very loudly.

  The door opened.

  “What is it?” the person who opened the door asked. He didn’t step outside the apartment, so Cam couldn’t see if he was the thief.

  “We’re investigating a robbery,” Officer Johnson said.

  The man said, “I didn’t rob anyone.”

  “Do you mind if a girl comes here and takes a look at you?” Officer Goldberg asked.

  The man said, “I didn’t rob any girl.”

  Officer Goldberg signaled for Cam to come over.

  Cam took one look at the man and said, “Yes. That’s him.”

  Chapter Nine

  “Hey,” the man said. “I didn’t rob her!”

  Meow!

  A gold and black striped cat ran out. Cam reached for it, and it ran into her hands.

  “Is this your cat?” Officer Johnson asked the man.

  “Yes,” he answered. “I’m allowed to have a cat, aren’t I?”

  Cam looked at the tag around the cat’s neck. “What’s the cat’s name?” Cam asked.

  The man thought for a moment and then answered, “It doesn’t have a name. I just say, ‘Here Kitty,’ and it comes to me.”

  “The cat’s name is Little Tiger,” Cam said. She showed the tag to Officer Goldberg.

  The
man scratched his head and said, “Yes, that’s right. I say ‘Here, Kitty. Here, Little Tiger,’ and it comes.”

  “Stop playing games,” Officer Johnson said. “We know you stole the cat and luggage from a woman named Esther Wright. I can see the suitcases from here. They’re next to your television set.”

  “So they’re not my things,” the man said. “But that woman gave them to me. Is that a crime?”

  “You took her things and you held them for ransom,” Officer Goldberg said. “That is a crime. ”

  “You’re under arrest,” Officer Johnson told the man. She took out a printed card and read it to him.

  “You have the right to remain silent,” she began.

  When she was done, Officer Goldberg told the man, “Come with us.”

  The officers watched from the door as he went to get a jacket. On his way out, he picked up two large suitcases.

  “Here,” he said, and gave the suitcases to the officers. “Give her back her stuff. And give her back her cat. It scratched my chair and made a mess.”

  The police officers each took a suitcase. In the elevator, Officer Goldberg thanked Cam and the others for their help. Then he said, “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to find your own way back to the hotel. We’re taking this man to the police station.”

  “What about Little Tiger?” Cam asked.

  Officer Goldberg said, “Bring her back to Esther Wright. And tell her to come to the police station to pick up her luggage. She has to fill out some forms.”

  The elevator door opened. The officers led the man to their car. Then they drove off.

  Meow.

  “Nice cat,” Cam said, and patted Little Tiger.

  Cam, her parents, Eric, and Aunt Molly went to the small garage office. Mrs. Jansen asked Beth if she could use the telephone.

  “Sure,” Beth said.

  Mrs. Jansen took out a card with the Royal Hotel telephone number. Then she dialed.

  “Mrs. Wright is in room 613,” Cam told her mother. “And can I talk?”