THE CASE OF 

THE MISSING CAT 

Mrs. Jenson was crying when she opened the front door of her modest little home. Chad and Nicole had never seen Lana Jenson cry. Her friendly smile, along with hot chocolate and cookies, brought them to visit their former Sunday School teacher every Saturday morning. "Mrs. Jenson, what's the matter?" Chad asked.

Mrs. Jenson sobbed, "Chubby's lost. It's all my fault. Last night I let him outside for a minute, as I do every night, but then I went to sleep watching tv in my easy chair. When I did awaken, I called and called, but he didn't come. The poor thing ... outside all night in the snow."

Mrs. Jenson loved Chubby. She had been so lonely when Petey left. Petey was the parakeet that used to perch on her glasses or sit on top of her head. He flew away one day when she went outside to her mailbox. She had forgotten that Petey was sitting on her head as she stepped out the door. Petey's departure left a daily solitude that had remained until Chubby came. She had told Chad and Nicole that God always supplies our needs and that he had sent Chubby to her.

Chad and Nicole helped her tame Chubby. He was born in a field behind Mrs. Jenson's house, part of a litter of wild kittens. Chubby's curiosity led him to Mrs. Jenson's yard, but it took weeks of coaxing before anyone could touch him. Chad, Nicole, and Mrs. Jenson would sit on the porch swing and speak softly to Chubby. He would jump up on the railing and listen. Mrs. Jenson said, "Don't reach for him. Let him come to us when he's ready." Finally, one day he took food from her hand. Purring, he rubbed back and forth against her leg, but he still would dash away if anyone reached for him.

Gradually, he became braver, jumping up on the swing with Mrs. Jenson. Eventually, he crawled into her lap. No one else could get anywhere near him, except Chad and Nicole. If anyone else came he disappeared completely.

Chubby fell in love with Mrs. Jenson, just like all of the children she had taught during forty years of being a Sunday School teacher. Before long he was house trained and living with Mrs. Jenson. He was hers and she was his. They belonged to each other. But now, on this cold winter morning, he was gone, and Mrs. Jenson was crying.

Chad and Nicole loved to solve mysteries, but this "Case of the Missing Cat" made them feel sad. Chad patted Mrs. Jenson's shoulder and said, "Don't cry. We'll find Chubby for you. Remember that you taught us to pray if we needed wisdom. Why don't we pray?"

Nicole nodded in agreement. Lana Jenson wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at the children. "Remember that I taught you that God would give you wisdom to solve the problem or grace to endure it. I taught you that Christ is our wisdom and strength."

"You taught us good," Chad said with enthusiasm and then bowed his head and began to pray. "Lord, help us find this cat. Amen."

Nicole looked at Chad with the look that only a sister can give. "Why didn't you warn us you were going to start praying. He does that at home when it's time to eat."

Chad grinned, "Never mind about that. Let's talk about how to find Chubby." They agreed that Chubby would not have run away from Mrs. Jenson's house and that no one could have gotten close enough to him to have stolen him. Still, someone must have taken him, but who? How? Why?

Nicole said, "Maybe we could track him in the fresh snow."

"Good idea," Chad replied. When they went outside, they saw their own tracks and the postman's. Then they found Chubby's tracks behind the shrubs. Chad announced, "It's Chubby alright. See how his belly drug along in the snow." Chubby's short legs weren't long enough to keep his stomach from touching the snow.

The tracks led down the sidewalk and out into the street, then they suddenly disappeared where some large tire tracks began.

Chad pointed, "Look! Footprints lead back and forth over to Mr. Keaton's house. Someone walked with a cane. See where it punched holes in the snow. Mr. Keaton can tell us who came to his house, but how did someone using a cane ever catch Chubby?"

Chad and Nicole explained everything to Mr. Keaton and asked him who had made the tracks. "That was my cousin, Charlie Keaton. He spent the night with me and parked his motor home out front, but he wouldn't have taken Mrs. Jenson's cat. You can call him on the phone. I'll give you the number. He only lives about 50 miles from here, and he should be home by now. He was on his way back home from a trip and just stopped by to see me and then decided to spent the night before going in this morning."

Mrs. Jenson said it was alright to use her phone to call long distance. "No," Charlie said on the phone, "I didn't take any cat. But, when I stopped for gasoline at Fred's Friendly Gas a cat nearly gave me a heart attack when I raised my hood. He was sitting under the hood, on top of the fender. He shot past me like his tail was on fire. Fred said that sometimes on a cold night a cat would crawl up under a hood close to a warm engine and lay down and go to sleep. I guess that's what happened. WhenI started my motor he was probably afraid to move and just hung on for dear life. It's a good thing I only drove across town before stopping. Fred may know where the cat is now. Why don't you give him a call?"

Chad called Fred at the service station, but he said he only saw the cat for a second as it ran down the street. He suggested calling the animal pound since he had seen the animal control truck patrol through the area the same day that he saw the cat. The friendly voice on the other end of the line at the animal pound said, "Well, you may be in luck. I think I have your cat. We've had a stray cat problem in the area around Fred's station, and I've been setting out traps to catch them. I've got one in a cage right now that seems to fit the description. I'm headed out on patrol. I'll bring the cat by and let you take a look." Chad excitedly gave him Mrs. Jenson's address over the phone.

As soon as he lifted the cage from the back of his pickup, the man from animal control knew that Chubby was home. He could tell by the reaction of the cat to the surroundings. Opening the door of the cage, he allowed Chubby to run to Mrs. Jenson. She was crying again, this time tears of joy. The man from the pound said to Chad, "Put an identification collar on him so we'll know who to call if we ever pick him up again."

Mrs. Jenson's smile was worth more than the $10.00 reward that she insisted on giving to Chad and Nicole. The Case of the Missing Cat was closed! Chubby was home to stay. He had learned his lesson. He would never again crawl up under a motor vehicle and Mrs. Jenson would never again doze off until after Chubby was safely back inside the house.

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