Chapter 26

Meanwhile, earlier in the afternoon, shortly after Caitie had persuaded Susan to accept her as her slave and student, Sue had taken her aside and said, "Slave Caitlin, I have a job for you."

Dropping to her knees with her brilliant blue eyes bright the girl asked, "Mistress, how may I serve you?"

"You may gather up Ken Carlson and that utterly darling Kris Clifford. And rescue poor Sheila from the Sloan's apartment, too. The poor girl probably feels like she's in prison. Then take Prince, Princess, Duke and Duchess for a walk in the park." Knowing she was teasing the girl, Sue pretended not to notice the pleading in her eyes. But after an extended pause she said, "Oh, hell, I suppose you might as well ask Johnny Taylor to go along, too ... But I doubt if he'd care to..."

"Oh thank you, darling mistress!" Caitie exclaimed.

Jumping to her feet, she ran off to find Sheila, Johnny and the others. After changing into her own worn jeans, the group gathered up the tigers then went over the few blocks to the Taylor apartment where Johnny, Ken, and Kris all changed, too. As they walked along the street with the pair of tigers leading the way, it was a remarkable sight, even for New Yorkers who pride themselves on their blasé attitude. The little procession truly stopped traffic.

Prince and Princess paced along as befitted their station as guards to an angel. The two tigers studiously ignored the stares and gasps of utter amazement directed at them. Disgusted, Prince finally commented, "Darling, the way they stare you would think these yokels have never seen a tiger before."

"Honey, I'm sure they have never seen a tiger, let alone a pair, least of all a whole family, walking along the sidewalk." Then with a warm smile she asked, "But what do you think of our little urchins?" The two cubs, pacing a little behind and between their parents were looking up at the wall of tall buildings lining the street. It was something utterly beyond their experience.

"I think they're doing very nicely for such young people. I hope you noticed that, in spite of all of their sightseeing, they're maintaining their position exactly the way we've tried to teach them."

When the little group reached the corner of Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street facing Central Park, they found a young police officer who Caitie knew, Dan Murphy. When she stopped in front of the astonished officer, the tigers stopped, too, and instantly assumed their house cat pose with their tails wrapped neatly around their forepaws. Without a word being needed, the two cubs imitated their parents, taking their position beside their mother.

"Good afternoon, Officer Murphy," Caitie greeted him. "Here are some people I would like you to meet. First, this is my aunt from Ireland, Sheila Quinn."

When Murphy saw Sheila, his heart turned over. At six feet three, 215 pounds, Murphy, an Army veteran from the Military Police Corps, was a recent addition to the New York City Police Department. Like Sheila and Caitie, he had dark hair and brilliant blue eyes. Then drawing himself up to strict attention he gave her his very smartest salute and said, "Welcome to New York, Miss Quinn!" Then his heart fell as he added, "It is "miss" isn't it? Or is there a Mr. Quinn?"

"I'm certain there is a Mr. Quinn, Officer Murphy," Sheila replied with the lilt of Ireland in her voice, "but he's not related to me. As far as I know, my only living relative is Caitlin's mother, Kelly. But thank you, sir, for your warm welcome."

Then with a big grin she added, "Of course, it's really not hard for an Irish girl to feel at home here in New York!"

With a warm smile the officer said, "The name is Dan. Please? It's Daniel Patrick Murphy. As you can see there's a little bit of Ireland in my heritage, too."

"Please call me Sheila, Dan. I would like that very much.

So preoccupied with Sheila as he was, Murphy had forgotten the tigers completely. Then Caitie continued, introducing John Taylor, Kris Clifford, and Kenny Carlson. "Officer Murphy, I don't think you ever met my fiancé, John Taylor before. But maybe you know his parents, Jack and Andy Taylor?"

Murphy's eyes widened. Just that morning he had read in the department newspaper of a gift of $25 million to the Police Athletic League (PAL) from John F. Taylor, III, and Andrea Pierce Taylor. When he mentioned it, Johnny reddened but admitted that they were his parents.

Then, knowing he had served in the Army, Caitie asked, "Have you ever heard of Carlson's Rangers, Officer Murphy?" Indeed he had. His eyes widened again as he pointed to Jeff with a question obvious in his eyes. "Ken is Ken Carlson's eldest son. He's going to marry Kris Clifford. She's the daughter of Ali McGrath, who you might have seen sometime on the Late Show or something."