The Telltale Turtle (The Pet Psychic Mysteries) by Jim Lavene;Joyce Lavene Page B

open the cage, but without a light, it was impossible. Her hands were bruised and cut from trying to force the lightweight metal mesh open. "We have to get him inside. He's trapped in this cage."
    Leaving the broomstick where she dropped it, she picked the cage up in both arms. Baylor made no response to her calls. Terrified that he was dead, she rushed back into the clinic, ignoring Charlie as he followed her and closed the front door behind them.
    In the overhead fluorescent lights, Mary Catherine could see Baylor in the cage. She couldn't tell if he was unconscious or dead. She fought with the cage again, trying to force the door open. It was wired shut.
    "Let me in there!" Charlie brandished a pair of pliers that came out of his Swiss Army knife. "You're never going to get it open with your hands."
    "Hurry!" she urged. "I think he may be dead. Why would anyone want to kill my cat?"
     
    Charlie cut the wire that kept the cage door from opening and pulled the cat's inert body out of the cage. "He's still warm. I think his heart's beating."
    Mary Catherine gathered Baylor in her arms and rocked him like a baby, her tears falling on him. "I think you're right. I think he's alive. I don't understand how this happened."
    Charlie picked up a small colored dart from the cage floor. "I think someone tranquilized him. This looks like one of those darts zookeepers use."
    She looked at the projectile. "Someone shot that into Baylor? They wanted to trap him out there?"
    Charlie's brown eyes narrowed as he watched her. "Maybe they were trying to trap someone else."
    "What are you talking about?"
    "What's a surefire way to lure you outside?"
    "Why would anyone want to lure me outside?"
    He shrugged. "I don't know."
    She stroked Baylor's fur and considered the possibilities. "The only person out there besides me was you. Is that why you came? To trap Baylor and lure me outside?"
    "Yeah. Sure." He laughed. "Good police work, Mary Catherine, but no deal. I probably didn't get here until after this happened. And I don't have any reason to lure you anywhere."
    "I think you should go now."
    "Be reasonable. The real catnapper might still be out there."
    She took out her cell phone. "Go now or I'll call the police."
    "All right. I'm going. Call me if you need me."
    She took a deep breath as he walked out the door.
     
    "But I didn't trap your cat," he said before he closed the door. "Think about that."
    She slammed the door hard in his face and locked the dead bolt. She didn't know what had possessed him to trap Baylor, if that was what happened. It didn't make any sense, but sometimes you couldn't see the whole picture right away. Maybe there was something more going on that hadn't shown itself yet.
    Baylor's rough tongue licked her hand as she stroked him, and he reminded her that no one should trust humans.
    Happy he seemed to be recovering, she still questioned him ruthlessly. He had no idea what happened to him or who was responsible. He followed the sounds they'd heard until something sharp hit him in the side. He'd tried to warn her, then blacked out.
    Bruno was barking loud enough at this point to rattle the bricks in the building. Fred the toucan was yelling dire warnings and Waldo the goat was worried about what he was going to eat.
    Mary Catherine took Baylor back to see the St. Bernard, to let him know everything was fine. Bruno was unimpressed with her safeguards and offered to patrol the building for her. She declined his offer of help, but promised she'd call him if she needed him.
    She and Baylor went upstairs, where the cat continued to recover with a bowl of food in front of him while he flexed his claws on the red velvet furniture.
    Mary Catherine tried not to think bad things about people, but Charlie was proving to be a mistake. She'd taken him into her confidence and he'd betrayed Colin and possibly tried to betray her. He'd never told her the name of her relative whom he said he was working for that first day when he'd