Black Cat and the Accidental Angel (Black Cat Mysteries Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

know you’re anxious. Let’s go.” He gave Chance’s head a pat. “Show me what you’ve learned, girl. This isn’t a game. It’s for real. Find the kitties and make Daddy proud.” Jack whistled to the dogs. “Search!”
    The dogs took off through the orchard below the levee road.
    For the next hour, Jack stumbled along behind, tripping over clumps of plowed dirt and weeds. If anyone could find those cats, Sam could. Sam kept up a steady pace, padding through the orchard. From time to time, two sets of paw prints were visible in the soft dirt. Jack grinned. He was on the right trail and from the paw prints, neither cat was limping. They were together and must be in relatively good condition.
    Jack trudged through the orchard, keeping the dogs in sight. Wouldn’t Amanda’s face light up when he brought Thumper home? He imagined the scene. ‘Here ya go, honey,’ he’d say. ‘Uncle Jack brought your kitties home.’ Jack smiled. Yes, he’d be Amanda’s hero, alright.
    He wiped his brow. How far did those darn cats go, anyway? He checked his watch. Brett must have left for town by now. They’d walked several miles already and still the dogs surged ahead.
    The sun grew warmer. He stopped and pulled a bottle of water from his backpack, drank and tramped on, following the wandering trail, now angling away from the levee road.
    Their trek ended at a newly-paved country road. Sam and Chance stopped, searched back and forth, sniffing and rummaging around the weeds beside the road. They’d lost the scent.
    “What’s the trouble, Sam?” Jack glanced up and down the narrow road. “They musta’ walked down the road, but which way?” Jack pulled Thumper’s blanket from his backpack and showed it to the dogs. “Here ya go. Get another good sniff. Find the kitties.”
    Sam whined and paced both sides of the road for several hundred feet, then came back to Jack and lay at his feet. He put his head on his paws.
    Chance stood nearby panting, her tail wagging. She lay down beside Sam.
    Jack’s heart took a tumble. Don’t neither one know which way they went . “I know how ya feel, Sam. I’m disappointed, too.” Failure hurts, even when you’re a dog.
    “Don’t worry, kids. It’s okay. I understand.” He stroked Sam’s head and then gave Chance a pat. “No one’s blaming ya. Let’s go back now. You’ve done enough.”
    Guess he wouldn’t be Amanda’s hero tonight after all. His heart felt like a lead anchor as they retraced their steps through the orchard. Brett had always come to his rescue. Oh, how he’d hoped to return the favor this time—to be the one to give back.
    Even the dogs sensed failure, with their tails drooping and heads down. They’d done their best. No dog could find a scent in all that new road oil. But, how was he going to tell Brett?
    The cats were still alive. The dogs had tracked them to the road. Hawks did ride the air currents in that area, hunting small rodents, rabbits, or perhaps a slightly overweight black and white cat and his companion. That was something to worry about.
    Fortunately, the cats weren’t hurt in the crash and wandered off somewhere to die. Sam would have found their bodies—or some sign of them. He’d trailed the cats a good two miles straight to the road. They were both in good shape to get this far.
    In a worst case scenario, maybe when they got to the road, they were hit by a car and scooped away by the animal control people. Sadly, Brett might never know exactly what happened to Thumper and his little friend.
    “No,” Jack shook his head. Thumper wasn’t dead. “I’d feel it if he was dead.” Thumper was one smart cat. Hadn’t he and his ancestors been part of the lodge for over twenty-five years? Thumper would have figured out which way to go on the road. He’d go north because home was north. And, there’d be a day when he’d see him again. Jack was sure of it.

    Brett glanced at his watch. It had been over an hour since Jack left with the