“Go!” he said. “The reading of the will is about to begin. You must be there from the start.”
“But,” Violet said. “We aren’t related to Mrs. Beresford…”
“I know…” Geoffrey said with a curt nod. “But if not you…who will help that poor cat?” He got into the limousine and sped away.
“Things are getting stranger and stranger,” Henry said, watching the car disappear around the back of the house.
“Whoa.” Benny looked up at the huge mansion. He gasped when he tried to count the windows on the front of the house. There were a lot, maybe more than one hundred!
“Come on,” Henry said, and they rushed up the stone stairway to the enormous double doors. The doorway was surrounded by large statues of cats. And not just any cat—it was clear that Walter had been the model for each statue. Two stone-carved Walters sat regally to either side of the doors; above, another stone Walter lay on his back in roll-over motion. Each door had brass cat door knockers above brass cat doorknobs, which were carvings of Walter.
Violet was an artist herself. “I wonder if there are paintings too,” she said aloud. “I’m not really into sculpture, but I’d love to see oils or charcoals or even watercolors of Walter.”
“Maybe there are some inside?” Henry suggested.
The doors to the house were open slightly, so the children let themselves in.
There were more Walter statues scattered around the front foyer. But instead of stone, these were bronze and sat on marble podiums: Walter on his hind legs. Walter in a cat bed, napping. Walter on the prowl.
“What’s he doing in this one?” Jessie asked, leaning in toward the statue closest to her. It showed Walter carrying a piece of paper in his mouth, his legs crouched as if running.
“He’s chasing the mailman,” Benny said. “He’s a cog, remember?”
“Of course,” Jessie said, shaking her head and stepping back.
The sound of voices at the end of a long hallway drew their attention.
“Must be the reading of the will,” Jessie said, leading the way.
“This is awkward,” Violet said, trying to smooth her T-shirt. “We aren’t dressed very neatly and we didn’t even know Mrs. Beresford.”
“But Geoffrey said Walter needs us,” Benny reminded her.
“But we aren’t family,” she countered. As Violet tried to convince the others they should leave, Natalie Beresford came out of a side room with a man who looked about the same age she was. They were talking softly.
“If we knock out this wall, we will have plenty of room for the stage,” Natalie told the man.
“Things are about to change,” Matt said. “It’s time for that chauffeur to retire.”
Violet realized they meant Geoffrey.
“There will be no need to keep the cat nanny on staff another second either,” Natalie quickly added. “I’ve never liked that girl.”
“She’s our cousin,” Matt said with a laugh. “And not much younger than us!”
Natalie snorted. “That doesn’t mean I have to like her. When we own the house, Olivia will be the first to go.” Natalie turned and looked down the hallway. “These are the children I told you about,” Natalie said, raising her voice and pointing at Violet and the others. “They’ve come for Walter.”
“Fantastic!” he cheered. “I’m Matt Beresford, Natalie’s brother. We are thrilled to hear the cat will be taken care of.” He reached out and shook Henry’s hand. “With Walter safely away, Natalie and I will move our business here.” He pointed out a large window near where they stood. “There’s another house on the property. It’s been rented for years to an eccentric sculptor. Obviously, this is his work.” He waved his hand toward the bronze statues in the hall. “The man has a dog, but I plan to move in there once the will is settled. They’ll need to leave.”
“I’ll take the main house,” Natalie said. She winked at her brother and smiled. “It’s all arranged.”
Continuing their plans, they walked together toward a room nearby. The children hung back in the hall.
“They’re kind of mean,” Jessie whispered to Violet.
“They really want to get rid of Walter,” Violet whispered back.
Benny squished in between his sisters. He was feeling anxious. “Maybe we should find Walter,” he began, when an older woman came into the hallway. She wore a gray and brown plaid business suit. Her hair was swept into a gray colored bun at the nape of her neck—not one hair out of place.
“I am Mrs. Hudson, the lawyer,” she announced. “We must begin.” Natalie and Matt came back out into the hallway.
“We really shouldn’t be—” Violet began to protest, but Matt interrupted her, speaking up as if the children weren’t even there.
“Will this take long, Mrs. Hudson?” Matt said impatiently.
“Not at all,” Mrs. Hudson said. “I need only to inform you and Natalie that you will never move into this house. The house, everything in it, and all of Mrs. Beresford’s millions of dollars has been left…to her cat, Walter.”
CHAPTER 3
The Late Mrs. Beresford
“Everything?” Natalie replied. Her voice was low and very clearly angry. “Every penny?”
“All of it,” Mrs. Hudson said, flipping through the pages of the will to show Natalie and Matt their aunt’s signature. “That means every lightbulb and doorknob, plus all the money Mrs. Beresford made when she was selling real estate.”
As Mrs. Hudson explained, Mrs. Beresford had come to Greenfield as a young woman with no money. She started out as a gardener at the house, when it belonged to another family. She moved up from cook to maid and when the owners decided to retire to Florida, they left the house to her. That was fifty years ago. In the early days, Mrs. Beresford used the house as an office to sell real estate and built up a very busy business, investing wisely and earning millions of dollars before she died.
“How many millions are we talking?” A voice came from the back of the room.
Violet and Jessie quickly turned around. There was a young woman they hadn’t seen before. She was in her early twenties, blond, with her hair curled over her shoulders and was wearing casual jeans and a T-shirt. The Aldens wondered when she’d arrived. And they couldn’t help but notice the cat she was carrying.
“Look…there’s Walter!” Benny whispered loudly. Natalie turned to him with a fiery look in her eyes.
“Of course she’s carrying Walter,” Natalie hissed. “Olivia Robie is the babysitter.”
“I prefer to be called the cat nanny,” Olivia said, as she crossed the room toward them. “My work is more important than just babysitting. I take care of all of Walter’s needs.” She turned to Mrs. Hudson. “Now,” she asked, “exactly how many millions are we talking about?”
Olivia turned Walter in her arms so he was facing the children. She stroked his head and he purred like a normal cat, not an extraordinary video star.
“Fifty million,” the lawyer said.
Natalie gasped. Matt’s face turned red.
“Wow!” Benny whispered. “That’ll buy a lot of tuna!”
“And that amount doesn’t include the house, jewelry, cars, or Walter’s sailboat in Florida,” the lawyer added. “Those are worth many more millions.” She quickly added, “Of course, none of those things can be sold. They all belong to Walter and he must be allowed to vacation or go for a drive whenever he wants.”
Henry leaned over to Jessie. “Mrs. Hudson isn’t acting like this is strange at all, is she? I mean, leaving a fortune to a cat? And letting him decide when he wants to go out for a ride in the car?”
“It’s definitely odd,” Jessie agreed.
“Not to me. I am no ordinary lawyer,” Mrs. Hudson said, overhearing. “I specialize in pets.” She shot a stern look at Natalie and Matt. “Let me assure you, the will is solid. No court will counter it.” She grinned. “I’m the best lawyer in Greenfield. That’s why your aunt hired me.” She turned to the young woman
and added, “Olivia, you will remain on staff, well paid to care for Walter. And Geoffrey Bigg cannot be fired. Ever.”
“Wow!” Benny exclaimed.
“Mrs. Beresford loved Walter very much,” Mrs. Hudson said. “She wanted him to have the best.”
Natalie raised her hand to ask a question. “What happens when Walter dies?”
Benny reached out and squeezed Henry’s hand. “She’s not going to kill him, is she?” he whispered.
Mrs. Hudson heard Benny’s question and said, “In the event of Walter’s death, all the money will be given to the animal shelter where she first adopted her cat.” She turned the will’s pages to Natalie and Matt so they could see the signature.
“I see that Geoffrey Bigg is not at this meeting.” Mrs. Hudson turned to Matt. “I assume you told him he wasn’t needed, since you thought he would be fired this afternoon.”
He frowned. “I might have suggested he start packing.”
She nodded. “I must go find him then and tell him to unpack.” And with that Mrs. Hudson swept from the room.
Just a moment later Natalie turned on Olivia. “You’re behind this! I know you are!” She shouted. “You hate that cat!”
Olivia put a hand over Walter’s ears. “You’re scaring the kitty,” she said. “Stop yelling, cousin.”
“Don’t call me ‘cousin,’” Natalie screamed. “You’re related by marriage, not blood! I know you influenced the will. You came here without any money and now,” she pointed at Walter, “thanks to that cat, you live in a mansion and are being paid more money than you could dream of. All you have to do is babysit!”
“Cat nanny,” Olivia corrected. “I am much more than a babysitter! And in case you’ve forgotten, I went to college! I have talents that you only wish you had!” As her voice got louder and louder, Walter started squirming in her hands so she set him down. He took off down the hall. “Look what you’ve done!” Olivia raised her voice. “You scared him away.”
“I hope he ran away forever!” Matt broke in. “You don’t deserve that cat. I know what a liar and cheat you are!”
“I am not!” Olivia countered.
The fight got louder, with more shouting and a lot of name-calling. When Natalie threw a glass plate across the room, Benny covered his ears and shivered.
“I think we should go,” Henry told the others. “And fast!” He led them back into the hallway.
“Can we find Walter first?” Benny begged. “He really did seem scared by all the shouting. I was scared too!”
“Sure. We can check on Walter first,” Jessie said. “Plus I want to explore something that’s bothering me.” They all turned to face her. “Why did Geoffrey insist we go to the reading of the will? He knew we didn’t belong here, and yet he said that Walter needed our help.”
“He was really insistent. We should find out why,” Violet said.
“Walter went this way.” Benny led them down the main hallway and into a large patio room with huge glass windows that overlooked the grassy yard behind the house. At the back of the yard was the guesthouse. Jessie remembered hearing that the sculptor lived there.
As the children looked out, they saw a flash of gray fur near the fence around the guesthouse’s backyard. “There he is!” Benny said. He pointed out Walter, settling down on top of a fence rail.
“How’d he get out of the house?” Jessie asked, looking around. The doors were all closed.
“Cog door,” a man’s voice said from behind them. Geoffrey Bigg was standing in the room.
Benny looked down and found there was a small pet door at their feet. “Cog door,” he echoed Mr. Biggs. “That’s funny.”
“Mrs. Beresford had a wonderful sense of humor,” Geoffrey said. “We are going to miss her very much.” The moment of quiet in the patio room was suddenly filled with shouts from down the hallway. He sighed. “Some of us will miss her more than others,” he added.
“Why did you tell us Walter was in trouble?” Jessie asked.
“He is,” Geoffrey said. “Too many people are trying to find a way around the will. And they are all determined to get Mrs. Beresford’s money. Plus, have you heard about WalterTruthTeller?” The Aldens all nodded and Geoffrey shook his head. “Something is not right. I feel it in my bones.”
Henry wanted to ask him more about WalterTruthTeller, but just then there was another loud shout from the other room.
“We just want the house!” Matt shouted.
And Olivia replied, “You don’t need the house!”
“Easy for you to say,” Natalie shouted, her voice echoing. “You get to stay in the house, ride in a limo, and go on Walter’s boat any time you want—all thanks to that ridiculous cat!”
“You’re so dramatic!” Olivia countered. “This isn’t a play. It’s real life!”
Their voices faded as they went into a farther room.
Geoffrey shook his head. He muttered, “Someday I am going to retire and buy myself an island where none of these greedy Beresford cousins can find me!” He opened the back door to the yard and pointed out at Walter. “But until then, I’ll go back to my job and it’s time for you to go to work as well. I’ve heard from your grandfather that you help lots of people. Now you can help Walter.”
With that, he left the room. The children looked at one another.
“What should we do?” Violet asked.
“Well, we have a little more time before Grandfather picks us up,” Jessie said. “We might as well stick around.” She took out her notebook. “If there is any real chance that Walter is in danger, we better find out what’s going on.”
CHAPTER 4
Cog Training
The children went out to explore the backyard of the mansion.
“I think we could fit ten boxcars in this yard,” Benny said, looking at the green grassy area. He thought about it, then changed his mind, “Eleven.”
Henry laughed.
Walter was still sitting on the fence in front of the guesthouse as the children approached. He didn’t leap off or even move, and as the children got closer they could see that he was watching something in the side yard of the guesthouse.
“Look, there’s a dog here,” Jessie said.
In the yard of the guesthouse was an obstacle course for dogs, and a yellow and tan Labrador retriever was going through it while a young man called out commands.
The obstacle course began with a hoop for the dog to jump through. Then the dog zigzagged around cones and walked across a narrow log that lay across a kiddie pool filled with water. When the dog finished, the man gave him a treat and said, “Way to go, Pepper. Good boy.”
“Do you think Watch could do that?” Benny asked Jessie. Watch was really Jessie’s dog since she’d found him. She had a passion for animals and knew a lot about them.
“I’m not sure,” Jessie said. “But it would be fun to try!”
The man came over to the fence. “Hello,” he greeted the children. “Were you at the house for the reading of the will?”
“Sort of,” Henry answered truthfully. “We were dragged in without really understanding what was going on.”
“Interesting.” The man nodded. “I could hear the yelling from here. They always fight like cats and dogs when they are together. I take it Natalie and Matt didn’t get what they wanted?”
“No,” Jessie said. “Mrs. Beresford left everything to Walter.”
“That’s what I expected,” the man said with a smile, then paused for a moment. “I’m guessing they won’t let sleeping dogs lie.”
“What does that mean?” Benny asked.
Jessie answered, “That means they aren’t going to give up and let Walter have all the money.”
“Those two are up to something,” the man said. “They’ve been planning something for a long time, and they aren’t going to roll over and play dead.”
Maybe that’s what Mr. Bigg was warning us about, Jessie thought.
“Are you the artist who lives here??
?? Henry asked the man.
“Sculptor, painter, handyman, dog trainer…you name it, I’ll try it. I’m Robert Morales. Call me Robbie.” He tossed back his light brown hair.
“You have a lot of jobs around here,” Jessie remarked.
Robbie shrugged. “I always did what Mrs. B. asked. I never bite the hand that feeds me.” His green eyes sparkled. “Want to see something amazing?”
“Yes, please!” Violet said. “I really hope it’s more of your art. I like your sculptures.” Violet was most interested in Robbie’s artist jobs. “I draw and paint. Do you have any paintings of Walter?”
“Sure. I’ll show you another time,” he said, waving dismissively. “But honestly, I’m not all that good. And my easel is broken…it’s missing part of the chain that holds it up. So I haven’t painted in a while. I prefer sculpture.” He paused and frowned. “But no one ever bought my art except Mrs. B. Now that she’s gone, I don’t know what I’ll do…or where I’ll live.” Shaking off the problem, he called Pepper. “Come.” The dog sauntered over and sat at his feet. “You saw what Pepper did in the obstacle course, right?”
The children nodded.
“Now check this out.” Robbie called Walter using the same tone of voice he used for Pepper. “Come.” The cat jumped off the fence and also went to sit by Robbie’s feet. Robbie then pointed at the obstacle course. “Go,” he commanded.
Walter started in right away, doing the exact same route that Pepper had just finished. He went through the hoop, around the cones, and walked carefully across the log. When he was done, he came back to Robbie and lay down next to Pepper.
“I don’t even have to train that cat,” Robbie said. “He’s incredible. I show him something once, and he does it! That’s all it takes.” He smiled. “Walter can do anything. Absolutely anything!”