Uncovering Secrets: The Third Novel in the Rosemont Series by Barbara Hinske Page A

said as he rushed down the stairs to the laundry room.
    Namor,
however, was not quite ready to leave Rosemont. He shot out of the laundry room
as soon as David opened the door and tore through the kitchen heading for the
stairs. John got a hand on him as he rounded the turn at the second-floor
landing, but Namor wriggled free and made a beeline for Maggie’s room, with Eve
in hot pursuit. Maggie snagged Eve’s collar and managed to drag her out of the
bedroom and close the door.
    She
turned to John and David who were now standing in the hallway outside of her
room. “That sure happened fast,” she exclaimed.
    “Sorry,
Ms. Martin. I didn’t expect him to be that fast.”
    “At
least we know where he is. Let me put Eve outside before you go in there,” she
said, gesturing to her room.
    “I’ll
get the carrier and some cat treats, in case he’s hidden himself away
somewhere,” John said.
    Namor,
as feared, was nowhere to be found. The three of them looked high and low, in
every nook and cranny, with no sign of the kitten.
    “He
couldn’t vanish into thin air,” Maggie sighed in exasperation.
    “Let’s
get a flashlight,” John said.
    David
wrapped his arms around himself and shifted from foot to foot. “You don’t think
he went up the chimney, do you?”
    “No,”
John turned to the boy. “He’s here, and we’re going to find him. Cats have an
uncanny aptitude for hide-and-seek. Don’t worry—he’s not lost. In fact,
I’ll bet he’s enjoying himself immensely right now.”
    David
straightened and nodded.
    Maggie
retrieved the flashlight from the drawer in her nightstand and handed it to
John. “I’ll go downstairs and get two more.”
    Twenty
minutes later, Maggie was on her hands and knees, shining the light under her
bed for the third time when she noticed a slight bulge in the fabric lining the
bottom of her box spring. “John,” she called. “Can you come and look at this?”
And as she said it, the bulge changed shape.
    “Yep,”
she said, rocking back on her heels. “That silly cat has gotten himself into the
box spring!”
    John
laughed as he took the flashlight and trained it under the bed. “You’re right.
There he is.”
    David
let out a low whistle. “Here,” he said. “Let me see if he’ll come out to me.”
He lay on his back and reached a long arm under the bed until he touched the
lump. “It’s him all right. C’mon, Namor,” he coaxed. “Get out of there.”
    “Is
he moving?” John asked.
    “He’s
trying to. I think he’s caught on something.”
    “We’ll
have to take the bed apart,” Maggie said, dismantling the mound of decorative
pillows.
    David
and John slid the mattress to the floor. Namor began caterwauling as they
shifted the box spring off the bed frame.
    “At
least we know his lungs are good,” John observed.
    Namor
began thrashing, his sharp claws tearing the batting that sealed the underside
of the box spring.
    “Let’s
cut him out before he does any more damage to himself or my bed,” Maggie said,
inserting a pair of scissors near the spot where Namor flailed and swiftly cut
the fabric.
    Namor
shot out of the opening and David tackled him as he attempted to streak past.
    “You
rascal,” David said, holding him tight. He placed Namor into the cat carrier
and closed it securely. “Sorry about that, Ms. Martin.”
    “You’ve
got a cat with quite a personality,” John observed, and they all nodded in
agreement.
    ***
    The bell jingled as Maggie walked through the door of
Celebrations shortly before closing time. Judy Young was at a table near the
back, mediating a dispute over wedding invitations between a bride-to-be and
her mother. She smiled at Maggie over her half-moon glasses.
    “I
think you’ve narrowed it down to these two?” she asked, gathering up two
samples. “Why don’t I let you take them home tonight to think about it? Can you
have them back to me by noon on Monday? Good. Then it’s settled.” She rose and
the two women