Mittens Has Class (Sequel to The Collaring of Chloe)

Chapter 25: Sometimes Cats Howl

Mittens watched Holly's car pull up into the drive of Krystal's house, feeling almost numb. As soon as she was out of the vehicle, Holly came rushing over, pale and worried. "Any news?"

"Robin, Valli's sister, just sent us the last place her phone was before it got turned off." Mittens replied, looking down at her own phone, clutched in her paw. "It's not too far away from here, so the plan is to go there and see what we find. Krystal and Tiffany are inside getting directions off the internet and seeing if they can get any clues as to what might be at the location. When she first pulled it up, it didn't look like the address was for an actual house."

"How sure are we that this is Alvin and Clay?" Holly asked, wincing a little.

Mittens gave a shrug. "Aside from the underwear being stuffed in my exhaust pipe, there isn't anything else that says that they are involved. And, honestly, we don't really have absolute proof it was them that put them there or that they are actually her panties. Or even that Valli is actually in any danger." She blew out a long sigh, trying dredge up a little positivity. "It coulds all jus' be a co-inky-dink."

"I hope that's the case." Holly said supportively, but the look on her face suggested that she expected the bozos to be right at the center of it. "I mean, I guess she could just be out with her other friends and doing just some harmless mischief somewhere."

Mittens nodded and forced a big kitty smile on her face. "Coulds be."

Krystal and Tiffany came bustling out on to the porch to join them, clutching a sheet of paper that had some directions printed on it. Krystal looked relieved to see Holly had arrived. "I think we may have figured out what's at the address." She said, handing the instructions to Mittens. "There's a house there, but it's a ways back from the road, almost hidden by trees. We managed to spot the driveway in street-level mode and you can just make out the house it goes to."

"Whose car do we want to take?" Tiffany asked, looking over towards where their various rides were parked.

"We'll take mine." Holly said immediately. "Since I'm already parked behind everyone else. Mittens can be the navigator."

Krystal paused only long enough to lock her front door and they all jumped into Holly's car, Mittens in the front passenger seat. Turning around, Holly drove back down the gravel path that lead back to the road, Mittens indicating which way they should turn as they reached Krystal's mailbox. Once they were under way, Holly glanced over. "You have that pepper spray with you, right?"

Mittens nodded. "Extrey strength form-a-la."

"And I brought a tentacle to hit people with." Tiffany added, which made Mittens turn around to look back at her in confusion.

Krystal was blushing and wincing beside her. "It's...um...one of my toys. I have a few geeky ones, like...*ahem* dragon-dongs and alien-themed stuff. She was looking at...'Commander Wriggles' while I was pulling up the address on my computer."

"It's really floppy, but got a little weight to it." Tiffany said, seeming not to register the humor of the weapon, or that it had a name, as she produced an almost two-foot long wobbly red thing from her carryall. "I figure it will kinda hurt without actually doing any real damage." She looked towards Krystal with an innocent look. "Also, I kinda wanna borrow it later."

"Yeah, sure." Krystal said with an embarrassed chuckle. "Just...um...be sure to clean it first if you actually smack somebody with it."