Free How To Tail a Cat by Rebecca M. Hale Page B

woman standing, hands on her hips, directly behind him.
    “Oh, there you are, Dr. Kline,” he replied with a sheepish grin. He shrugged apologetically. “I got a little lost.”
    Throwing her hands up, she sighed and pointed toward the glass-ceilinged tunnel. “It’s right this way.”
    She gave him a stern sideways glance.
    “This time, I’ll follow you .”
    • • •
    KEEPING A FIRM grip on his sleeve, Dr. Kline guided the Frog Whisperer, who was acting far more eccentric than usual, away from the basement-level view of the Swamp Exhibit. A few minutes later, she ushered him toward a prominently marked glass terrarium mounted into a wall next to a hands-on experimental station for young children.
    “Here we are,” she said with exhausted relief. “As you can see, the little guys just don’t look right . . .”
    Sam leaned in toward the glass, his green eyes squinting.
    “Do you have the keys?” he asked, holding out his hand. “To the rear of the tank,” he added in response to her questioning expression.
    She eyed the children congregated around the display. “Are you sure that’s necessary?”
    Sam straightened to his full commanding height. “Absolutely,” he pronounced, deepening his voice with as much authority as he could muster.
    “We’ll have to go in by the shark exhibit,” she said pensively, pulling out a large set of keys.
    Glancing back several times to check on Sam, Dr. Kline led the way down a short hallway to a black-painted wall. Triggering a penlight attached to the key chain, she waved the beam across the dark surface until she illuminated a small handle. A second later, she had unlocked a black door, beyond which lay a narrow opening that ran behind the rear of the exhibits.
    Motioning for Sam to follow, she proceeded into the walkway. A line of removable placards hung from the back side of each exhibit, identifying the species occupying the adjacent tanks. Halfway down the line, she inserted a second key into a slot in the wall and removed the rear paneling from the large glass terrarium.
    Dr. Kline stepped aside as Sam stared at a trio of tiny frogs sitting beneath the fronds of an artificial fern. He rubbed the red scruff on his chin, sucked in his breath, and then rotated his head toward her.
    “We’ll need a little privacy,” he said, knitting his brow. “Doctor-patient confidentiality. I’m sure you understand.”
    Her face flushed with confusion. “Well, ah . . . I don’t . . .”
    Somberly, Sam arched his red eyebrows.
    “Yes, of course,” she replied dubiously, tentatively stepping away from the terrarium. “I’ll be at the other end of the hall.”
    Sam waited until she had disappeared down the walkway before bending back into the exhibit.
    A group of children crowded past on the opposite side, their eyes widening at the sight of the man behind the glass. He gave them a short wave, and then motioned as if to encourage them to move along.
    “Do you ever get the sense you’re being watched?” he asked as the frogs waddled toward him.
    The nearest one blinked its eyes, conveying its agreement.
    Sam’s mouth flattened into an understanding grimace. Then he flipped through the key chain Dr. Kline had left hanging from the terrarium’s rear facing, found the set that would unlock the Academy’s main doors, and unhooked them.
    Sliding the pilfered keys into his vest pocket, he whispered conspiratorially into the tank.
    “You guys are doing a great job. Keep it up.”

Chapter 12
    MORE THAN CHICKEN
    IN THE APARTMENT above the Green Vase antiques shop, Isabella watched as her person’s face slowly disappeared behind the newspaper. She listened for the sharp snap of the woman’s hands tugging the sides of the printed sheet to smooth out the portion containing the main article, signaling that a lengthy reading spell was about to commence.
    The slender cat yawned, as if bored by the proceedings, but in actuality, she was performing a close