Tony's Arc

Chapter 6 of 9

Tony pushed the cottage door. It swung open with a creak. Inside, the rooms sat quiet and bare. Dust covered the table. The bed was made. No cup, no coat, no note. Tony walked from room to room, hunting for one clue. But the cottage held nothing that told him where his mother went next. He sat on the cold stone step and gripped his knees. He could walk a hundred wrong ways for days. Then a sound broke the quiet. A soft mew came from the flower box under the window. Tony leaned close. A small striped kitten crouched between the blooms. Its fur was muddy. A tag hung from its collar. Tony reached in slow and lifted it out. The kitten pressed against his chest and mewed again. "Where did you come from?" Tony asked. He turned the tag in the lamplight. Words were stamped on the metal. He read them twice. The tag named a pet shop, far from here. It was the store his mother must have visited to buy this kitten. Tony's heart jumped. His mother loved cats. She had always wanted one. If she bought a kitten, she went to that shop. And the shop would know when. Maybe someone there saw where she headed after. He held the kitten up and studied it. Its paws were still clean of pond mud on top. It had not been outside long. His mother must have passed through recently. The trail was not cold. It led back to a store with paw prints on the glass and pet murals on the wall. "You're my clue," Tony whispered. The kitten yawned. "And I think you need a home. So do I, until I find her." He carried the kitten to the truck. Bev's engine woke with a rumble. "Empty cottage?" Bev asked. "Empty," Tony said. "But look." He lifted the kitten to the window. "Its tag names a pet store. My mother bought it there. She was there days ago, not months. If we find the store, we find where she went." Bev's headlights flicked on. "A pet store," he said. "And a fact I didn't know. Cats can't taste sweet things. Their tongues skip sugar." Tony grinned. "That's true. And I've got more. A kitten has teeth like tiny needles." He climbed up and settled the kitten in his lap. It curled into a warm ring and slept. "Then let's roll," Bev said. "Point me to the store on that tag." Tony read the address aloud. Bev turned from the pond and rolled onto the dark road. The cottage shrank behind them. Tony had no clue when he stepped inside. Now he had one warm, sleeping clue and a place to take it. His mother had held this kitten. Soon he would stand where she stood.