How to Catch a Cat Read Online Free Page A

nylon carriage. While not visible from the video feed, Oscar knew that inside the carriage’s mesh-covered passenger compartment, a plump orange and white cat had curled himself up into a tight ball. Rupert had likely snoozed through the performance of the daredevil pilot, the thirty-piece military band that played before the Baron’s speech, and the rest of the prerace ceremony.
    Oscar smiled. Rupert was a champion sleeper.
    The wind whipped the woman’s long brown hair as she watched the proceedings on stage. In her arms, she held Rupert’s sister, a sleeker, more slender Siamese mix. Isabella trained her focus on the crowd. Her ice blue eyes scanned the assembled spectators.
    The niece winced as Isabella extended her claws.
    Oscar sucked in his breath, startled by the expression on the cat’s face. The feline had detected an ominous presence.
    His hunch had been right.
    The Ninja was lurking somewhere in the audience.
    —
    GRIPPING HIS CANE, Oscar leaned toward the Jumbotron. He stared intensely at the screen as the camera panned the crowd.
    A number of colorful characters had gathered near the pavilion stage. There were racing fans from New Zealand, easily identified by their painted faces, fuzzy stovepipe hats, and the emblems of their country’s flag. Still new to the sport, the American counterparts were somewhat more muted in dress, but just as vocal in shouting for their team.
    Beyond the partisan supporters, the crowd also included the regular handful of bizarrely dressed individuals that one frequently saw on the streets of San Francisco, including a woman dressed up in a Marilyn Monroe costume.
    The Jumbotron feed flashed briefly back to the stage. Mayor Carmichael had apparently forgotten to mention a critical point in his remarks, and he was attempting to return to the podium’s microphone. The camera caught a glimpse of the Baron and his security team tackling the mayor, before swinging once more to the crowd.
    Oscar groaned at Monty’s antics, but he kept his eyes focused on the video screen.
    He recognized more faces in the audience.
    Reporter Hoxton Finn scribbled on the pocket-sized notepad that he carried everywhere he went. As the commotion at the podium continued, Hox glanced up from his notes and scowled at the spectacle of the mayor being dragged from the front of the stage.
    The camera slid a few feet over, capturing an image of Humphrey, the news station’s stylist and the reporter’s ever-present sidekick. Humphrey appeared more concerned with Hox’s hair, which had been ruffled by the wind blowing across the pier, than the scuffle involving the mayor.
    Keep moving
, Oscar urged the cameraman.
    He stared intensely at the television screen, seeking confirmation of the warning he’d read in Isabella’s expression.
    The video passed over the contingent from City Hall, capturing the president of the board of supervisors, who looked bemused at the mayor’s antics, and several members of his administrative staff . . .
    And there, in a passing frame, Oscar spotted her. It was just a fleeting glimpse, but he knew her in an instant.
    It was the woman he’d been tracking for the last six months.
    In that brief moment, he saw through the disguise that had hidden her identity.
    Mabel.
    Aka, the Knitting Needle Ninja.

Chapter 5
    HIKE AND SEEK
     
    THE CANE’S RUBBER tip squeaked against the concrete as Oscar pivoted toward the pavilion’s main stage. He pulled down the brim of his cap, shielding his eyes so that he could squint into the sunlight.
    The stage was at least a hundred feet away from the wide screen that had been set up for the overflow audience. The crowd stood with their backs turned to him, but after several minutes’ scrutiny, Oscar identified Hoxton Finn’s ruffled head and, beside him, the shorter noggin of the news station’s stylist.
    Mabel was nowhere to be found.
    The camera had captured the Ninja somewhere in the reporter’s vicinity, but the woman had been on the