Kitty crept to the corner of the building and found a metal staircase.“We can use this fire escape to get down.” She tiptoed down the steps, and the cats followed her.
The robber dog was hurrying down the street, the statue still clamped in his jaws. He stopped beside a shop, pushed the door open, and went inside.
Kitty followed him. She stared up at the store sign, which was lit by a streetlamp.“The Happy Paws Pet Shop,” she read aloud. “Do you think he lives here?”
THE HAPPY PAWS PET SHOP
Pumpkin’s eyes were wide. “Maybe he’s stealing for his owner.”
“Very odd!” said Figaro. “I haven’t heard much about this pet shop. I think it only opened a few months ago.”
Cleo sighed. Her gray fur was tinged with orange in the glow of the streetlight.“I should have done a better job. I wasn’t watching the museum carefully enough. I have to fix this!”
“Youwere doing a good job,” Kitty told her. “Let’s check the windows and find the best way to get inside.”
“Great idea! If we can take the thief by surprise—” Cleo fell silent as the door opened again.
The robber dog darted outside, his eyes wide and glazed. He scampered down the street and vanished into the dark.
“He doesn’t have the statue anymore,” said Kitty. “He must have left it inside!””
“There’s a way in over there.” Figaro pointed to an open window.
“You and Pumpkin should stand guard, ready to warn us if the thief returns,” said Cleo. “He may be a dangerous kind of dog.”
“Very well!” Figaro nodded. “Be careful, won’t you?”
“Don’t worry—we will!” Kitty scaled the side of the shop and peered through the window.
It was dark inside, and there was a great deal of shuffling and squeaking as the animals moved about inside their cages. Kitty slipped through the window. Then she climbed onto a cupboard and dropped soundlessly to the floor, helping Cleo down after her.
Moonlight reflected off the gray tiled floor. The shop was filled with dozens of cages—tall bird pens, guinea pig and rabbit hutches, and tortoise cages. Toward the back, shelves of pet food and bedding were hidden in darkness.
“Where do you think he left the treasure?” whispered Kitty.
Cleo sniffed the air.“It’s difficult to follow his scent. There are too many different animal smells in here.”
“Then we’ll just have to search.” Kitty looked around for possible hiding places. She pointed to the shop counter. “I’ll look over here.” But as she turned, she got the strange feeling that someone was watching her.
Kitty saw a pair of dazzling golden eyes studying her from behind the pet food shelves. Kitty’s night vision grew sharper, and she knew at once that they were cat’s eyes. Jewels winked on the cat’s collar.
Kitty caught her breath. Who was this new cat and what did it know about the snatching of the Golden Tiger?
Chapter
5
The cat with the golden eyes stared back at Kitty. Then it vanished, without a word, through a doorway into a back room.
“Did you see that?” whispered Kitty. “We should ask that cat what it knows about the statue.” She turned to Cleo, but the gray cat was gone.
Kitty hesitated. Had Cleo been scared away by the other cat? Or did she have a plan?
A light came on in the back room. Kitty hurried along the rows of cages. She passed hutches full of sleeping bunnies, and wide-awake hamsters running in their wheels. Two parrots with beautiful green and red feathers were perched in a tall cage with their heads under their wings.
Kitty stopped in the office doorway. Piles of shiny objects covered the desk, the chair, and the filing cabinets inside. Every corner of the room was filled with glittering treasures—silver plates, strings of pearls, and jewels in every color of the rainbow.
Kitty gaped. All these treasures must be stolen! Was the robber dog really doing all this?
“Purr-fect greetings!” trilled a high voice.
Kitty jumped. The cat with the golden eyes lay on a pile of shiny coins. She had orange fur, and the name PRECIOUS was spelled out on her collar in diamonds. Her pointed ears pricked up as Kitty approached. There was an odd look in her eyes, as if she was trying to puzzle Kitty out.
“My name is Kitty!” said Kitty. “I’m looking for a tiger statue. The springer spaniel who stole it came through your door just a few minutes ago.”
The cat’s tail flicked to and fro. “My name is Precious. You must be the girl with superpowers who I’ve heard so much about. I bet your talents are very useful indeed!”
Kitty frowned. There was something strange about this cat.“I try to use my powers to help others. That’s why I’m looking for the Golden Tiger statue. It was taken from the museum tonight, and it’s very special! Did you see the robber dog that came in here?”
Precious began grooming herself.“No, I didn’t see a thing.”
“But he came right inside!” Kitty watched Precious lick her paws and clean behind her ears. Suddenly she had a thought. What if the dog wasn’t in charge of the robbery at all? Precious seemed like a sly sort of cat. She was definitely the type to organize a secret mission to steal the museum’s treasure.
Kitty gave Precious a stern look.“I think you know a lot more about the statue than you’ve said. Tell me where it is!”
Precious laughed.“Why should I? The Golden Tiger is mine now. It makes an excellent addition to my collection. Ido like shiny things!” She stretched out on top of the gold coins and gave an exaggerated yawn.
“But everyone’s coming to see the new exhibit tomorrow!” said Kitty. “They’ll be so disappointed not to see the Golden Tiger—it’s a very important statue.” She stopped herself from telling Precious that the statue could grant wishes. A cat like Precious might wish for something veryselfish—something that hurt others!
“They’ll just have to be happy with the other things in the museum,” snapped Precious. “Humans are such whiny creatures! All I’ve taken is onetiny statue. Can’t they manage without it?”
Kitty glared at the cat. There was no point trying to reason with her! Kitty edged forward, looking for the statue behind the pile of coins.
“Oh, don’t bother trying to find it.” Precious waved her paw airily at a metal box on the wall. “I locked it away in the safe. I shall take it out later and admire the diamonds before I take a nap.”
Kitty sprang over to the safe. It was shut tight, and it had a lock. Precious laughed again. Kitty swung around, asking,“Why does that dog steal things for you, anyway? Don’t you both know it’s wrong?”
“He does anything I say.” Precious beamed. “Everyone does, once they look into my eyes … including you!” She met Kitty’s gaze. Kitty felt the cat’s golden eyes drawing her in like a magnet. Precious spoke in a growly tone. “Listen very carefully! You will forget that you ever met me. You will not remember this pet shop. You will leave now and never come here again.”
Kitty’s head swam. For a moment she could hardly remember why she was there. Then she thought about how much she wanted to help Cleo, and her eyes focused again. “You may have hypnotized the springer spaniel, but I don’t think it works on me! Maybe it’s because of my superpowers.”
“Huh!” Precious flounced down from the coin pile and turned her back on Kitty, settling herself on a velvet blanket.
Kitty thought quickly. It was obvious that Precious was much more dangerous than she’d first thought. If no one stopped the golden-eyed cat, she could make the dog steal more and more treasure. She might even hypnotize other animals and force them to join in.
An idea popped into Kitty’s head. Maybe there was a way to use the stories about the statue! Perhaps she could scare Precious into giving back the treasure.
“There’s something you don’t know about the Golden Tiger,” she began. “Many say that the statue has a terrible curse.”