“My mom is thinking of buying one of those stinks cats,” Bess fibbed.
Mrs. Layton raised one eyebrow. “You mean the sphynx?”
“That’s right.” Bess nodded.
The blue door opened suddenly, making Nancy and her friends jump. Mr. Layton walked through, holding two small, fuzzy kittens in his arms. They were gray and white—nothing like Creampuff and Cocoa.
Mr. Layton stopped and stared suspiciously at Nancy and her friends. “What are you three doing here, may I ask?” he said.
“Michael, they claim they’re interested in a sphynx,” Mrs. Layton said.
“Well, I don’t do business with children. Go along, now. Good-bye!” Mr. Layton said with a wave of his hand. The kittens in his arms began meowing. Their meows sounded like the ones Nancy had heard through the blue door.
Bess marched up to Mr. Layton and put her hands on her hips. “Did you steal Creampuff and Cocoa?” she blurted out.
“Bess!” Nancy cried out.
“Creampuff and who?” Mr. Layton said, looking puzzled. “What on Earth are you talking about?”
“The two kittens at Furball Farm,” Nancy explained quickly. “The ragdolls.”
“Ah, yes, them.” Mr. Layton nodded. “Shame she wouldn’t sell them to me. I offered her a lot of money. I was going to sell them to my friend Roger Doolittle for an excellent profit. He loves ragdoll cats, and those two specimens at Furball Farm seemed quite fine.” Then he paused. “Did you say ‘steal’? Why, are they missing?”
“Do you know where they are?” Nancy asked him.
Mr. Layton frowned. “Of course not. Why would I? I haven’t seen—what did you call them, Coconut and Puffball?—since the open house yesterday”
“Cocoa and Creampuff.” Bess corrected him.
“Yes, whatever. Anyway, I haven’t seen them since yesterday. End of story. Now, if you children will be going along, I have important business to take care of.”
Mr. Layton pointed to the door.
• • •
“Do you think Mr. Layton was telling the truth?” Bess asked Nancy as Hannah drove down Rockwell Street. Bess was sitting between Nancy and George in the backseat.
“He sounded like he was, but I’m not one hundred percent sure,” Nancy replied.
“The Lay tons are kind of nasty,” George remarked.
“Yeah. But that doesn’t mean they’re thieves,” Nancy pointed out.
“True,” George said.
Bess sat up suddenly. “Turboslayer and Titan,” she burst out.
Nancy and George turned to her. “Huh?” they said.
“That boy, Richie Feathers,” Bess reminded her friends. “Remember? He really wanted to adopt Creampuff and Cocoa. He even had new names picked out for them. Turboslayer and Titan. What if he stole the kitties?”
Nancy thought for a moment. “But he said his mom was allergic to cats,” she said.
“Maybe he decided to take them anyway,” Bess said. “You know, before Mr. Layton or anyone else had a chance to.”
Nancy nodded. “That’s true. Why don’t we go talk to him, then?”
“Agreed,” George said.
Nancy asked Hannah to drop her, Bess, and George off at Richie Feathers’s house. They promised to walk home afterward.
“Good luck!” Hannah said when she reached the Feathers’s house. The girls thanked her and got out of the car. Hannah waved and drove off.
Nancy and her friends walked up to the front door. Nancy rang the doorbell.
After a moment, a pretty blond woman answered the door. “Hi, there,” she said. “What can I do for—excuse me—ahchoo!” She turned her head and sneezed violently.
“Are you okay?” Nancy asked her.
The woman nodded. Then she sneezed again.
“We’re looking for Richie,” Bess piped up.
“That would be my son. He’s—” Mrs. Feathers hesitated, then sneezed again. She reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a crumpled-up tissue. “I am so sorry,” she apologized. “I think it’s my cat allergies.”
Nancy frowned. She’d had the impression that the Feathers family didn’t have any cats.
“How many cats do you have?” Nancy asked Mrs. Feathers curiously.
Mrs. Feathers smiled and shook her head. “We don’t have any. That’s the funny thing. There must be cat fur blowing over from Terry Smith’s house next door. She has a lot of cats over there.” She laughed, then sneezed again.
Nancy and her friends exchanged a glance.
Maybe it was cat fur blowing over from Terry’s, Nancy thought.
Or maybe Richie had sneaked a couple of cats into his house without his mother’s knowledge. A couple of cats named Creampuff and Cocoa!
6
A Third Suspect?
At that moment Richie came trotting down the stairs. “Hi, Mom. Can I watch Destroyers of Doom now? Oh, hey,” he said, suddenly noticing Nancy and her friends.
Mrs. Feathers sneezed again. “Yes. But first, these girls are here to see you. Girls, come on in.”
Nancy and her friends stomped the snow off their boots and went inside. “We met you yesterday at Terry Smith’s,” Nancy reminded Richie with a smile.
“Right. Natalie, Georgia, and Beth, right?” Richie said.
“Nancy, George, and Bess,” George corrected him.
Richie blushed. “Sorry. Hey, you want to watch Destroyers of Doom with me? It’s on in two minutes. It’s the episode when Turboslayer and Titan defend Jupiter City against the evil mind-controlled lizard clones.”
“No, thanks,” Nancy said. “Actually that’s what we’re here to talk to you about. Turboslayer and Titan.”
“The kitties Turboslayer and Titan. Also known as Creampuff and Cocoa,” Bess added.
“The ones at Terry Smith’s,” George said.
Richie got a panicked expression on his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said through clenched teeth.
He’s hiding something, Nancy thought.
The cell phone in Mrs. Feathers’s pocket began ringing. “Excuse me,” she said. “I need to get that.”
She disappeared down the hall. George turned to Richie. “You are the thief, then,” she said triumphantly. “You stole Creampuff and Cocoa!”
“You snuck them into your house as secret pets,” Bess accused him. “Where are you hiding them? In your room? In the basement?”
Richie looked totally confused. “Secret pets? What are you talking about? You think I stole those kittens? I wouldn’t do that.”
“Then why did you get so upset when I brought them up?” Nancy asked him.
Richie glanced down the hall. “Good. She can’t hear us. You almost blew my secret!” he said in a loud whisper.
“What secret?” Bess asked him.
Richie glanced down the hall again. “I have a super-secret plan to adopt some cats,” he explained with a grin.
“What super-secret plan?” George demanded.
“I was doing some research online. And I found out about a breed of totally hairless cats,” Richie replied.
“Oh, yeah. The stinks,” Bess said, nodding.
Richie frowned. “The sphynx. They’re called the sphynx. Anyway, I’m going to do some more research on them. Then I’m going to try to convince Mom and Dad to let me adopt a couple of them. They can’t say no, right? If the cats are hairless, Mom can’t be allergic to them, right?”
Nancy was silent as she considered this. Richie’s story seemed like it could be true.
But there was one missing piece. “Why is your mom sneezing so much, then?” she asked Richie.
“I’ve been going over to Terry’s a lot this week to play with her cats. My clothes get really covered with cat fur. I guess that’s been making Mom kind of sneeze a lot.” Richie blushed. “I guess I’d better start doing my own laundry.”
Then he frowned. “Did you say Turboslayer and Titan are missing? I hope you find them soon.”
“So do we,” Nancy said.
• • •
“Pass the popcorn!”
“Pass the apple cider!”
“Pass the chocolate-chip cookies!”
Nancy, Bess, and George were sitting cross-legged on Nancy’s bed. They were all dressed in warm, fuzzy pajamas.
They were having a sleepover at Nancy’s house. Hannah had prepared lots of goodies for them to snack on. The girls passed the plates and trays around, munching happily.
Nancy’s dog Chip was sleeping on the floor. Her tail thumped energetically against the carpet. She must be dreaming about chasing cats, Nancy thought, grinning.
“Let’s go over our suspects so far,” George suggested.
“Michael Layton and Richie Feathers,” Bess said. She took a handful of popcorn and popped it into her mouth.
“And they both say they’re innocent,” Nancy said thoughtfully.
Nancy reached over to her desk and pulled a blue notebook out of the top drawer. Her father had given her the notebook to keep track of her mysteries.
She opened it to a blank page. Picking up a pen, she wrote:
THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING KITTENS
Missing: Creampuff and Cocoa
Suspect #1: Michael Layton. He offered to buy the kittens from Terry Smith for a lot of money, but she said no.
Suspect #2: Richie Feathers. He really wanted to adopt the kittens, even though his mom said no.
Clues: The two red collars that belonged to the kittens, with silver bells on them. A page torn out of a magazine with words on it.
Nancy stared and stared at what she had just written. Sometimes, just seeing the facts of a case on paper gave her fresh new ideas.
“The red collars,” Nancy said suddenly. “Why did the thief take them off the kitties?”
“Because he didn’t like the color red?” Bess joked.
“Because the bells made noise,” George said, jumping to her feet. “The thief wanted to sneak the kittens out of the barn without anyone hearing them.”
Nancy held her pen up in the air. “Exactly!”
“So we’re talking about a pretty smart thief,” George mused.
Nancy nodded. “I think we should pay another visit to Furball Farm tomorrow. Maybe we can find more clues that will help us find our smart thief.”
• • •
The next morning was cloudy and gray. It looked like it might start snowing at any minute.
Nancy, Bess, and George trekked through Terry Smith’s backyard. Terry was in the house, busily feeding General Dave and the other house cats. She told Nancy and her friends to go back to the barn, and she would meet them there in a few minutes.
Bess stared out at the snowy woods behind the barn. “Poor Creampuff and Cocoa. What if they’re out there somewhere, shivering in the cold?”
“I don’t think they’re out there. I think they’re inside in some cozy place—with our cat thief,” Nancy replied.
They got to the barn. Nancy opened the door. Lots of cats and kittens began meowing.
But above the din of the kitties, Nancy heard someone talking. The person sounded angry.
“You can’t tell anyone where those two kittens came from!” the person cried out.
7
Caught in the Act
Nancy stopped and put her finger to her lips. “Shhh,” she whispered to Bess and George.
Nancy closed the barn door behind her quietly. She glanced around—and saw Ella in the corner. Terry’s assistant had a cell phone pressed to her ear.
Nancy’s thoughts were racing. You can’t tell anyone where those two kittens came from, Ella had said to the person on the other end of the phone. Was Ella talking about Creampuff and Cocoa? Was she the thief?
Nancy looked around for a place to hide so she could keep tabs on Ella’s phone call.
But it was too late. Ella turned around just then and spotted the three girls.
“I’ve gotta go,” she said hastily. She snapped her cell phone shut. “Hey!” she called out to the girls, smiling nervously. “What’s up?”
Bess marched up to Ella. “We heard you talking about Creampuff and Cocoa,” she said. “’Fess up! Where are you hiding them?”
Ella’s eyes widened. “Creampuff and Cocoa? I wasn’t talking about Creampuff and Cocoa.”
Nancy frowned. “But you were talking about two kittens from Furball Farm. Who else could it be?”
Ella giggled. “I, um, I was talking about these other kittens. See, um, I helped my friend Alice adopt two kittens from Furball Farm. But it turns out Alice’s mom, um, doesn’t like Terry for some weird reason. They used to, um, play tennis together or something. Maybe they had some sort of really bad fight about tennis—was the ball in, was the ball out, that sort of thing. I have no idea. I don’t really like tennis. I like racquetball way better. Anyway, I was just telling Alice that she shouldn’t tell her mom that these kittens came from Terry. Otherwise, her mom might send them back or something . . . .”
Ella was talking very fast. Nancy was having a hard time keeping up with what she was saying.
Ella’s cell phone began to ring. She got a panicky expression on her face.
“Excuse me,” Ella said. She clicked open the phone. “Hello?” she said. “Oh, hey, Mom! No, I’m at Furball Farm right now. What do you mean, I’m late? I thought that—”
Nancy motioned George and Bess closer. “Do you think Ella’s telling the truth?” she whispered to her friends.
Bess shook her head. “She’s acting super guilty.”
“Like she’s hiding something,” George added.
Nancy nodded. “I agree. But why would she steal the kittens? If she knew someone who wanted to adopt them, she could have just asked Terry.”
“True,” Bess said.
Nancy grabbed Bess’s and George’s arms. “Come on. We need to talk to Terry. Right away.”
• • •
“No, I didn’t adopt out a pair of kittens recently,” Terry told Nancy and her friends.
Terry was in her kitchen, loading up the dishwasher with cat food dishes. Nancy, Bess, and George had found her there and repeated Ella’s story to her.
“And I don’t play tennis,” Terry went on. “And I don’t know any friend of Ella’s named Alice whose mother doesn’t like me. Ella’s story doesn’t make any sense at all!”
Nancy pondered this for a moment. “Can you think of any reason why Ella would steal Creampuff and Cocoa?” she asked Terry.
Terry shook her head. “None at all. If she had wanted to adopt them, or if she knew of someone who wanted to adopt them, she would have just asked me. She wouldn’t have taken them, like some sort of common thief! She’s a good, responsible girl.”
“Maybe we should talk to Ella again,” George suggested to Nancy.
Nancy nodded. “That’s a good idea. Ella might not be the thief. But she’s sure hiding something.”
Just then, Nancy saw Ella out the kitchen window. Ella was crossing the backyard and heading toward the street. She was walking very fast, almost running.
“There she goes!” Nancy said, pointing.
“Let’s follow her,” Bess said. “Maybe she’ll lead us to the kittens.”
“Definitely,” Nancy agreed.
“I have to stay here and give Noodle and Fred their medication,” Terry said. “Please call me as soon as you know anything!”
“We will,” George promised.
The girls went out the front door, making sure that Ella wouldn’t see them. Ella was walking down the street in the direction of downtown River Heights.
Nancy, George, and Bess followed her at a safe distance. Every once in a while they ducked behind a tree or a parked car so Ella wouldn’t spot them. Ella was wearing a bright pink parka, which made her very easy to see against the snowy white landscape.
The girls followed Ella for five minutes, then ten. She turned the corner onto Wesley Street and went into a tall brick building at 198 Wesley S
treet. The sign on the building said WESLEY NURSING HOME.
“A nursing home?” George said, surprised. “What’s she doing at a nursing home?”
“Let’s find out,” Nancy said. She ran toward the front door, with George and Bess at her heels.
They entered a small lobby, painted in cheerful yellow and orange tones. A receptionist sat behind a desk. Her face was half-hidden behind a tall vase of red tulips. “Can I help you?” she called out to the girls.
“We’re looking for a girl who just came in here. She was wearing a bright pink parka,” Nancy said breathlessly.
“Oh, yes, Ella Gurney,” the receptionist said. “She’s here to visit her great-aunt Rosalie.”
“She is?” Bess said.
The receptionist nodded. “Ella went that way. You can catch her if you hurry.” She pointed down the hall.
Nancy thanked the woman and hurried down the hall. The hall was empty, however. Nancy didn’t see any sign of Ella.
Just then, she heard a familiar-sounding voice. “Here, kitties!” the voice rang out.
Nancy followed the sound. It was coming from Room 122. The door was open.
Nancy peeked into the room. The only person in the room was Ella. She was crouched down under the bed.
“Here, kitties!” Ella repeated. “Here, Creampuff and Cocoa!”
Nancy stepped into the room. “Ella Gurney, you’re the cat thief!” she cried out.
8
The Kittens Are Found
Ella scrambled to her feet, bumping her head on the bed. “Ow!” she exclaimed. She rubbed her head. “What are you doing here?” she asked the girls, looking panicked.
“You’re the cat thief we’ve been looking for,” Nancy repeated angrily. “Where are they? Where are you hiding Creampuff and Cocoa?”
Ella’s mouth dropped open. “I—I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she sputtered.
“We heard you calling for them,” Bess said, putting her hands on her hips. “Come on. Hand them over!”
Ella fell silent. Then she lowered her head. “Oh, all right,” she said finally. “I’m your cat thief. But I’m not, really! I didn’t steal the kittens. Not exactly, anyway. I just kind of, um, borrowed them.”