“How long does the judging normally take?” I said.
“When it’s just the local show, it’s usually no more than a half-hour, but because they’re judging the nationals too, I suspect it’ll be much longer. An hour and a half at least, I’d guess.”
“Auntie Jill! Auntie Jill!” Lizzie came running up to me; she looked close to tears.
“What’s wrong?”
“I forgot to put this on Winky.” She had a red collar in her hand. “I bought it especially for him.”
“Oh, well. Never mind.”
“But this is a lucky collar. He won’t win without it.”
“I suppose I could nip back and—”
“They won’t let you in,” Elsie said. “Not until the judging has finished.”
“Maybe they haven’t started yet.” I took the collar from Lizzie. “I’ll go and see. Is it okay for Lizzie to stay here with you?”
“Of course.”
I rushed back to Hall ‘A’ where I was confronted by Mr Jobsworth.
“I just need to put this collar on.”
“I don’t think it’ll fit you.” He chuckled at his own joke.
“Very funny. If I could just go back inside for a couple of minutes?”
“Sorry. No can do.”
“Has the judging actually started?”
“Not yet, but any minute now.”
“Well then. I’ll be in and out in no time.”
“Sorry. No entry until the judging has finished.”
I was never going to talk my way past him, so I found a quiet spot, and made myself invisible. Then, as I slipped unseen by Mr Jobsworth, I accidentally kicked him on the shins.
Whoops.
Once out of sight of the entrance, I reversed the ‘invisible’ spell. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Winky. He’d no doubt be livid because we’d left him alone in ‘prison’.
Boy, was I wrong.
“Winky? What’s going on?”
“Hey guys, this is my two-legged.” He stopped playing cards just long enough to introduce me to his fellow gamblers, but none of them seemed very interested in me.
“How did you all get out of your cages?”
“Those things?” He scoffed. “A two-week old kitten could get out of those.”
“What about the judges? If they see you—”
“Chillax. Benny’s keeping a lookout for them. What are you doing in here, anyway?”
“Lizzie wanted you to wear this lucky collar.”
“Nice colour.” He slipped it on. “You’d better make yourself scarce. We don’t want the judges to think you’re trying to bribe them.”
“Okay. Good luck.”
“I won’t need it, but thanks.”
I spotted a door through to Hall ‘B’, where the cats in the national competition were waiting to be judged, and I decided to take a quick look. The cats in there were much too busy preening and posing to start a card game.
I’d thought I was alone in the hall when I heard someone sneeze. And then sneeze again. Two men, wearing white coats, were standing close to the door at the opposite side of the hall.
“Stop sneezing!” the taller of the two said.
“I can’t help it. I told you I was allergic to them.”
Crouching below the cages, I made my way over to where the two men were standing. That’s when I spotted the word printed on the back of their coats: Jugde.
Jugde? Seriously? If they couldn’t even spell the word, how could they be qualified to judge anything?
“That’s it! Over there!” The shorter man pointed.
“Right. The other man picked up one of the cages. “Let’s go.”
And with that, they disappeared out of the door.
I made myself invisible again, so I could get past Mr Jobsworth—giving him a kick on his other shin, on my way past.
“Did you do it, Auntie Jill?” Lizzie said.
“Yes. Winky looks really good in his new collar.”
Five minutes later, an announcement came over the loudspeakers:
“Ladies and gentlemen, we apologise for the delay, but I’m sorry to report that Mr Sigmon has been stolen. If anyone sees him, please report it to one of the officials immediately.”
“Who’s Mr Sigmon?” I said to Elsie.
“He’s the number one Persian in the country. He was the clear favourite to win today.”
“Why would anyone want to steal him?”
“He’s worth a small fortune.”
“What’s happening, Auntie Jill?” Lizzie said. “When will we know if Winky has won?”
“It won’t be long. Elsie, I’m sorry to ask, but could you watch Lizzie again?”
“Of course.”
‘Jugde’? Those men were no more judges than I was, and I was pretty sure I knew what they’d been up to. I cast the ‘listen’ spell and waited. Sure enough, there was one sneeze followed by another. And then another.
I followed the sound to the indoor car park where I saw the men climb into an unmarked white Transit van.
I rushed over and pulled open the door. “I’ll take those.” I snatched the keys out of the ignition.
“What do you think you’re doing?” the driver yelled.
“The next time you try something like this, I suggest you invest in a good dictionary.”
“What are you talking about? Give me back those keys.”
“I don’t think so.” I cast the ‘tie up’ spell, to bind them both hand and foot, then went in search of one of the security guards.
Back in the main hall, I re-joined Elsie and the girls just in time to hear the announcement:
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to report that Mr Sigmon has been found safe and well. The judging will now proceed as planned. Another announcement will be made when the judges have finished, and you can return to the hall.”
***
Late afternoon, when we arrived back at Kathy’s, she and Peter were looking slightly less zombie-like.
“Winky won!” Lizzie screamed.
“That’s fantastic, Pumpkin, but do you think you could speak a little quieter. Mummy has a headache.”
“Look, Mummy!” Lizzie held up the certificate and rosette. “Can I put them on my bedroom wall?”
“Of course you can. Daddy will help you, won’t you, Daddy?”
“Now?” Peter was obviously still feeling very fragile.
“Yes, please, Daddy.” Lizzie grabbed his hand.
“Okay, then. Come on.”
“I’m sorry about today, sis,” Kathy said when we were alone.
“It’s okay. It turned out to be more fun than I expected.”
“I can’t believe that ugly cat of yours won.”
“Apparently, they judge the moggies mainly on character. The head judge said Winky had more personality than any cat she’d ever encountered. He got a certificate and rosette too.”
“Are you going to stay for a drink?”
“No, thanks. I’d better get back to see how Jack of the walking dead is doing.”
Chapter 14
Early on Monday morning, I had a phone call from Blaze who called to thank me for the tip-off. He confirmed that they’d closed down the human blood sales in Mushroom. Plus, as a result of information given up by the barman, who was trying to save his own skin, Blaze thought they were now much closer to finding the ‘Mr Big’ who was behind the blood distribution network.
“We must never get divorced,” Jack said, over breakfast.
“We aren’t even married yet.”
“I know, but when we are, we must never get divorced. After yesterday’s hangover, I can’t go through another stag night.”
“Don’t expect any sympathy from me. You should take a leaf out of my book: Moderation in all things.”
“Like blueberry muffins?”
“That’s different.”
“And custard creams?”
“I seem to recall we were discussing your hangover.”
“I can’t believe that one-eyed cat of yours won the show.”
“That’s what Kathy said.”
“He didn’t speak to the judges, did he?”
“Of course he didn’t. I’m the only one who can hear him talk.”
“It must be great being able to talk to animals. I’ve often wondered what they’re thinking. Does Winky have many profound thoughts to share with you?”
“Not exactly. Most of the time, all he wants to talk about is salmon and his girlfriends.”
“Plural?”
“Oh, yes. There’s Judy, Daisy and—err—what’s the other one? Oh, yes, Trixie.”
“Wow! Who would have thought it? Just think, this time next week, we’ll be husband and wife. You’ll be Mrs Maxwell.”