Page 120 of Fish in a Barrel

Because right now, there was a wealth of worry in Jackson’s voice that made Ellery deeply uneasy. He stood, throwing on a short robe because he was wearing briefs and nothing else, and followed the ambient light from the stove into the open-floor front room/kitchen/dining room.

Jackson was at the far end, by the back door, talking to the top of the curtains.

“Oh, Baby Satan,” he crooned. “Little Beelzebub… whatcha doin’ up there?”

“Mew! Mew! Mew!”

“Yeah, I know you’re stuck. I can see that. Wanna help me get you down?”

“Mew! Mew! Mew!”

“Mrowl!”

“You stop it,” Jackson admonished, looking down at Billy Bob. “You say you’re not responsible for this mess, but I for one am not buying it.”

“Mew! Mew! Mew!”

“Aw, Baby Satan, he didn’t mean it. You just need to stop pouncing on his tail, that’s all. It’s the only part he’s got that’s still intact.”

“Mrowl!”

“Don’t tell him that,” Jackson hissed. “He doesn’t need to know about that part. It’s next week, and we want him to stay!”

“Mrowl!”

“We do too, you big baby. Think about it. Me and Ellery are gone all day, and you’re here all by yourself. If you can’t treat this little guy right, we’re gonna have to give him to Jade.”

Ellery wondered if it was his imagination, or if the next, “Mrowl!” hadn’t gained some extra force and volume.

“Yeah, that’s right. Jade. And you know what? I bet this guy is so sweet to that big woof dog of hers and Mike’s that he doesn’t even miss you.”

“Mrrrooooooowwwwwllll!!!!”

Yeah, that definitely pissed the big Siamese mix off.

“Uh-huh! So you be nice to Baby Satan here and Albert stays your buddy forever, and you’ll be the only cat he’ll ever love.”

“Mew! Mew! Mew!”

Jackson turned his attention back to the curtains that were stretched across the back door. Deep in the shadow of the corner of the room, Ellery could see a tiny fuzz of darkness, legs spread, just out of Jackson’s reach.

“I didn’t forget about you!” Jackson chided. “I’m just giving big no-thumbs-having-motherfucker a talking-to. I know you didn’t get into this sitch by yourself.”

“Mew! Mew! Mew!”

Ellery watched appreciatively as Jackson stood on his tiptoes and stretched his arms over his head while he fiddled with his fingers. “Ah-ah-ah… there we go.”

He relaxed his calves and stood flat-footed, clutching the kitten to his chest. The next sound that came was loud enough to fill up the room.

“Yeah, I know. You think I’m special. But I’m going to hand you to Ellery and spend some time with No-thumbs over there so he stops being a big jealous turd. Do you mind?”

“Purrrrrrrrrrr….”

“You knew I was there?” Ellery murmured, walking forward to take the kitten from him.

“You were making weird sounds,” Jackson said frankly. “It was like you were humming. Anyway, take him to the bedroom, and I’ll give Billy Bob some kitty treats—”

“Do we evenhavekitty treats?” Ellery asked, not sure those were on the grocery list.