The Celebrity Cat Caper Read online

  “No, you’re the ridiculous one,” Natalie countered. “I don’t think you even like that cat!”

  “You’re the one who wants to get rid of him!” Olivia shrieked.

  Matt rolled his eyes. “You are both acting like children. You should play rock, paper, scissors for the trophy. Winner gets it. Best out of three?” He made his hand like scissors.

  “Now look who’s being ridiculous!” his sister shouted.

  Benny leaned in. “I like rock, paper, scissors,” he told Matt. “If they don’t want to play with you, I will.”

  Matt grinned. “I’m glad to have you along, Benny. You make everything more fun.”

  “You know what would be really fun?” Benny asked. “Taking the limousine through the drive-through window of the ice-cream shop so we could get cones! I bet Walter would love ice cream.”

  Jessie started to protest. It was late and they needed to talk to Robbie alone and solve the jewelry mystery. Maybe they’d get lucky and find out he was WalterTruthTeller too.

  “I don’t think—” she began.

  Natalie interrupted. “I believe ice cream is a wonderful idea,” she said, then asked Geoffrey to make the stop. “I bet that Walter loves ice cream.” She put her hand on Walter’s head. He was sitting between Olivia and the window.

  “Sugar is not good for cats,” Olivia countered.

  “Watch likes ice cream,” Benny said, petting Watch’s belly. “It’s delicious for everyone.”

  Olivia sighed. “Fine. Just a small cone for Walter.” Reaching into her bag, Olivia took out a tissue and sneezed. As she put the tissue back, a small bag of cat treats fell to the floor.

  Jessie snatched up the bag to keep Watch and Walter from snagging the treats first. A few fell out and Jessie picked them up one by one. Her fingers smelled like bacon.

  Olivia gave her a clean tissue to wipe them off.

  “Thanks,” Olivia told Jessie. “I keep the treats for Walter just in case he ever runs off. He will do anything for one of these snacks.” She patted the bag.

  “I’ll do anything for snacks too,” Benny said. “I think Walter and I are very much alike!”

  Everyone chuckled and the rest of the car ride was filled with ice-cream cones and friendly conversation. Robbie was talking with Olivia about a book they’d both read. No one was fighting.

  “Let’s stop off at the mansion,” Jessie told her siblings. “I have to tell you something.” Once she told the others what she suspected about Robbie, maybe they could confront him tonight. Then the case would be closed—or one of the cases at least.

  Benny sighed. “My tummy’s full and I’m tired.” He took off his tie and put it in his coat pocket.

  “It’s just one more stop,” Jessie said.

  “Why are we here again?” Henry asked, as they stood in front of the guesthouse where Robbie lived. Robbie had gone inside.

  “Robbie’s the thief,” Jessie said. “I’m sure of it. He needs money. He didn’t get anything in the will, so it makes sense he’s stealing. He went on a trip for a few days right after the jewels were taken…”

  “Maybe to sell them?” Henry said.

  “There was a chain in the grass in his yard that matched the description of the ruby chain,” Violet said. But she didn’t sound convinced.

  “And he is the one who taught Walter to fetch!” Jessie insisted. “I think Walter is fetching the jewels and bringing them to Robbie.”

  “But…how?” Henry asked, squinting his eyes. “I mean he would have to train Walter to steal each piece. He would have to sneak into the house and put something stinky on the necklaces, then take it back to the guesthouse and let Walter smell them, then put the jewels back, and then send Walter to get them.”

  “Right!” Jessie said.

  “But why wouldn’t Robbie just take the jewelry?” Violet asked.

  “Yeah!” Benny added, “It’s a lot more trouble to take the jewelry and then put it back!”

  “Maybe…maybe he didn’t want to leave fingerprints,” Jessie said. But she knew her idea about Robbie using Walter to steal jewels just didn’t make sense. “I guess you’re right. But…what about the silver chain? That’s the only detail that doesn’t have an explanation.”

  “Oh!” Violet said. “He said his easel was broken and was missing one of those little chains that hold up the side. I think the chain that Pepper found was for the easel, not a necklace.”

  “I suppose you’re right about that too.” Jessie admitted. “So it looks like Robbie can’t be the thief.” She sighed. “I thought we had it all figured out, but it looks like we are back to the beginning!”

  Henry counted the remaining suspects. “Natalie, Matt, Olivia, and Geoffrey—who is taking the jewels?”

  Violet scratched her chin. “I think we should look at the mystery a different way. All this time we’ve been searching for the jewel thief. Let’s look for WalterTruthTeller instead.” She nodded her head slowly. “If we figure out who is trying to prove Walter is a fake and why, I bet we will solve this entire mystery!”

  CHAPTER 9

  WalterTruthTeller

  Saturday morning was Watch’s last lesson with Robbie.

  “We are all out of allowance,” Benny said, sitting on the fence so he could see Watch jump through hoops. “I’m sad.” He glumly began to unwrap a cheese stick that he had brought as snack.

  “I’ll take over the training,” Jessie said. “I’ve been watching some dog training videos on the Internet and think I can get Watch to do some amazing things.”

  “Can we record him doing them?” Benny asked. “We could start our own video channel—Watch could be famous like Walter!”

  Henry laughed. “It’s a lot of work to have a famous dog…who will run the fan club?”

  “Me!” Violet said. “I’ll design the T-shirts and we could have posters.”

  “Maybe Grandfather could buy a limo to drive us around?” Benny suggested. “That would be amazing!” He waved around the piece of cheese he was holding.

  Henry laughed even harder. “I’m sure he’ll want to do that. We’ll get him a hat like Geoffrey’s.”

  “Since it’s our last lesson day here at the mansion,” Violet said, “we need to find out who WalterTruthTeller is.”

  “I’ve been thinking,” Jessie said. “What makes us all so sure that WalterTruthTeller is here at the Beresford house? We keep going back to the same suspects, but maybe it’s just some mean person with a laptop wanting to cause trouble. The Internet is full of those.”

  “The fan club pictures were ruined,” Benny said. “Someone in the house had to have done that.”

  “And the video at the awards ceremony was filmed here,” Violet added. “I didn’t see anyone else around. But all the cousins and Geoffrey were at the house when it was made.”

  “So it must be one of them,” Jessie agreed. “What do we do next?”

  “Oof!” Suddenly Benny fell off the fence into Robbie’s yard. He giggled as Walter snatched the cheese out of his hand and ran away. “Sneaky cat!” he shouted. “Come back with my snack!” He dusted off his jeans as the cat disappeared around the back of the house.

  “That cat!” He looked at Jessie. “Maybe he is taking the jewels! He sure is clever.”

  “But who is he giving them to?” Henry let out a frustrated sigh.

  Just then they heard someone shouting from the house.

  “It’s gone!” Geoffrey yelled. “All gone! Help!”

  The Aldens looked at one another.

  “What’s gone?” Violet asked. “The jewelry?”

  “All of it?” Benny wondered. He could still see Walter across the lawn.

  Jessie turned to Robbie, who was just finishing up the lesson with Watch. “We should go see what that’s about. Can you keep Watch a little longer? I mean, just as a favor?”

  Robbie paused for a moment. “You can’t pay me extra, can you?”

  Henry and Jessie shook their heads no.

&
nbsp; Suddenly Robbie smiled. “That’s all right. I heard you all talking outside my window last night. I’m glad I’m not a suspect anymore.” He pointed at the house. “Go and find WalterTruthTeller before he—or she—ruins my reputation!”

  Geoffrey was waiting for the Aldens just outside the house.

  “What’s going on?” Henry asked.

  “Is there more missing jewelry?” Jessie added.

  “Yes, and there’s more,” Geoffrey said. “Here, I’ll show you.” He led them to a side door on the house, covered by vines. There was a keypad next to the door. Geoffrey entered a code and the door swung open. He flicked on the lights to reveal a small basement office.

  “What’s this?” Violet asked.

  “It was my secret,” Geoffrey replied. “Until now.”

  The children stood at the doorway and peered inside. In the small room was a powerful computer, boxes of papers, and a printing press for T-shirts.

  “Do you understand now?” Geoffrey asked.

  “I think so,” Henry said. “You’re president of the Cog Fan Club, aren’t you?”

  Benny could see the T-shirt press was used to make shirts like the one he owned. He also noticed purple ink fingerprints on the side of one of the boxes, which he was sure held the stamped photos of Walter.

  “I never told Mrs. Beresford what I was doing,” Geoffrey explained. “This room, and everything in it, was my secret. She was so proud of Walter and I wanted to do something nice for them.”

  “I love my magazine and T-shirt,” Benny said. “Thank you for being president!”

  “I gave all the money the club earned to the shelter, just like Mrs. Beresford would have wanted,” he said. “She was such a lovely woman—I just don’t understand why anyone would want to ruin Walter’s reputation online.”

  Jessie felt a chill. “Did WalterTruthTeller strike again?”

  “What did he say now?” Henry asked.

  “It’s worse than that.” Geoffrey sat down at his computer and logged in. “Everything is gone. Mrs. Beresford’s videos, the fan club website, everything! It’s like Walter no longer exists online.” He looked frantically at the screen, clicking the mouse and shaking his head. “I knew something bad was going to happen! I told you my bones never lie!”

  “Someone must have hacked your system,” Jessie said.

  “Do Matt or Natalie know computers well enough to do this?” Henry asked. “It would take an expert to get it done.”

  “Whoever broke in and deleted everything left a note.” Geoffrey clicked to the Cog Fan Club website. In place of the usual links to videos and merchandise was a banner that read:

  Good-bye

  —WalterTruthTeller

  “Your videos are not the only thing now missing,” Jessie said. “We better hurry to the house, because…I have a feeling that Olivia is now missing too!”

  CHAPTER 10

  Forgiveness

  Jessie was right—Olivia was gone!

  Her room in the mansion was empty, with all her clothes and things cleared out.

  Henry emptied the contents of her wastebasket onto the floor. “Cat treats,” he said, setting the plastic treat bag on the desk.

  “She must have used them to get Walter to steal the jewelry,” Violet said.

  “Look at this!” Jessie said. She held up the Funniest Cat trophy. “Olivia left it lying on its side in the closet. Natalie was right all along. Olivia never liked Walter.”

  “It’s worse than that,” Henry said, holding out an empty medicine bottle. “She was allergic to cats.”

  “That explains the sneezing,” Jessie said. “She wasn’t actually getting a cold. The truth was that she couldn’t find her medication so she started sneezing around Walter.”

  “Do you remember when Olivia told Natalie that she had ‘talents’? She said it during a fight, but I didn’t think anything of it then.” Jessie pulled out her notebook. “I didn’t even write that down, but maybe she meant she had computer hacking talents.”

  “Why would Olivia do this?” Geoffrey asked. “I just don’t understand. She had a great life here. Watching Walter isn’t so hard and the benefits are wonderful.”

  “We had a list of reasons we thought you might be WalterTruthTeller,” Jessie admitted, turning to that page in her notebook. “I think these motivations all apply to Olivia.” She read from the list: ‘Get Walter off the Internet and let the fame fade away so no one notices when he is put into a shelter, then sell the jewels.’” She looked up. “And you did say you wanted to go buy an island.”

  “I don’t really want an island,” Geoffrey said sadly. “I didn’t mean it. I was just annoyed by the cousins. You know, I love this house and that cat.”

  “We know that now,” Jessie told him.

  “I’m glad you aren’t the thief,” Benny told Geoffrey. “Or WalterTruthTeller.”

  “Me too,” Geoffrey said. He then added, “But Olivia didn’t wait until Walter’s fame faded away. If Walter wasn’t famous anymore, she might have been able to take the jewels and sneak off like a cat in the night.”

  “I think she got impatient,” Jessie said. “No one believed Walter’s tricks were fake—especially not after Robbie’s training show at the awards ceremony.” She picked up the trophy and said, “Olivia just decided to hack the system, remove all traces of Walter, and run away.”

  “I knew something was up. My bones started rattling the instant I saw WalterTruthTeller appear in the comments for the fan club,” Geoffrey said. “Then you came along…” he glanced from Henry and Benny to the girls. “I was so glad that you were here to help.” He sighed. “And now we know the real truth behind everything!”

  “What do we do now?” Benny asked the others. “Olivia ran away!”

  “We call the police,” Henry said. “We tell them what we know and we let them find her.”

  At home later that afternoon Henry hung up the phone and turned to his siblings.

  “That was Geoffrey and Robbie,” he said. “Geoffrey said the police arrested Olivia at the airport. She had a bag full of jewels—it turned out she’d been taking them for years, using Walter.”

  “So I was sort of right about Walter being trained to steal the jewels,” Jessie said. “Only I was wrong about Robbie doing the training.”

  Henry nodded. “Robbie hadn’t really been the one to teach Walter to fetch. Olivia had taught him that trick herself and perfected it. Robbie said he’d always wondered why Walter was so good at fetching. It’s because Walter already knew how.”

  Jessie leaned back in her chair at her boxcar desk. It was Sunday. The door to the boxcar opened with a bang and Benny climbed inside, popcorn bowl in hand. Watch was behind him, snatching up the stray kernels that dropped.

  “Is there a new cog video?” Benny asked, setting down the bowl and tugging over a beanbag chair. He set it up in the perfect spot to see the computer screen.

  “Yes,” Jessie said. “But shouldn’t we wait for the others?”

  The door opened again, and in came Violet and Henry, along with Natalie and Matt.

  “We heard that Sundays are special around here,” Natalie said. She set down a chocolate cake with a photo of Walter etched into the frosting.

  “Cake!” Benny cheered. “It’s Cog Cake! That should be extra delicious!”

  “I have the plates!” Matt said.

  Geoffrey came in carrying Walter. “And I have the cat!”

  Benny jumped off his beanbag, spilling popcorn. “It’s a party!” he cheered.

  Everyone laughed.

  “Geoffrey will be keeping Walter and living in Mrs. Beresford’s house from now on,” Natalie told everyone.

  “I thought you wanted to get rid of Walter,” Jessie said. “We heard you say it.”

  “I did,” Natalie admitted. “Matt and I had these big business plans to start a children’s theater company in the house and we were worried that kids who have cat allergies might not be able to come.”

&nbs
p; “I was going to manage the company from Robbie’s guesthouse,” Matt said. “But now, Robbie is staying there for as long as he wants. His trip was to see an art dealer in New York that specializes in cat art. I’m betting that someday, he’s going to be very famous.”

  “Not as famous as Walter,” Benny said, picking up the cat and petting him.

  Walter barked like a dog. Watch barked too.

  “Robbie would have come tonight but he is working on a painting,” Matt said. He turned to Violet. “He says you should come over and paint with him. Pepper found the missing chain in the yard, so he finally fixed his easel.”

  “I’d love to!” Violet agreed enthusiastically.

  Jessie loaded the newest cat video. Now there were words below the title stating the video was taken by Robbie and posted by the Cog Fan Club. Jessie turned to Geoffrey and smiled.

  “I’ve been busy,” he said with a shrug. “I have a new job as videographer.” He smiled. “Plus, I’m the cat nanny!” He added with a wink, “Don’t ever call me a babysitter!”

  Jessie smiled warmly at Geoffrey, then turned to Matt and Natalie. “What happened with the theater you wanted to start?”

  “We met with Mrs. Hudson, the lawyer,” Matt said. “As long as we all agreed, she said we could make a few changes to the will that fit with Auntie’s wishes. So, we all decided to sell off Walter’s boat, some of the jewels, and a few other things—”

  “Not the limo!” Benny protested. “Please, say not the limo! I love riding in that car!”

  Natalie laughed. “We kept the limo because kids will love it at our school too.” She said, “The land behind the house is big enough that we are going to build a special school building, with apartments above it for me and Matt.”

  “Walter and Geoffrey get the main house,” Matt started, when Geoffrey chimed in.

  “It’s too big,” Geoffrey told them. “I am going to build a wall to make it two halves and the animal shelter is going to move in with me. Robbie, when he’s not creating great art, has been hired to train the strays—so when they are adopted, they can do tricks!”

  Henry flopped back into a beanbag chair. “It all worked out. The best for Walter and the best for everyone.”