Leann Sweeney - The Cat, the Lady and the Liar

“Who are you people?” Rebecca said.

“We live in Mercy. I volunteer at the animal sanctuary. Shawn Cuddahee—”

“I know the place. I only briefly met Shawn, but his wife, Allison, is so, so nice. I adopted my little dog Nick from them about four years ago. But I interrupted. Go on.”

“Shawn called and tried to speak with Miss Longworth several times last week. No one returned his call. He thought I might have better luck if I just went there,” I said.

Rebecca shook her head. “I don’t understand. Why would Mr. Cuddahee be calling Miss Longworth?”

“He found her cat,” I said. “But like I said, she never called Shawn back and I never got to talk to her. I’m hoping to find out why.”

“I heard she’s not returning anyone’s calls ever since they found out about the shoplifting. It’s a sad day when a strong woman like that loses her way.” Rebecca glanced at her mother, who was engrossed in her bird feeding.

Tom said, “We heard about the shoplifting. But earlier you seemed to indicate there’s more than that going on.”

“I’ll say. Everyone’s talking about it. Word is that Evie Preston—that’s Miss Longworth’s personal assistant—has made calls to big-time places like the Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins. Evie thinks she’s sick or something.”

If I still lived in Houston, I would have been amazed that one person would know so much about what was going on, but this town was even smaller than Mercy. Everyone knew everything about what went on—and that was why we’d come to the park in the first place.

I glanced at Rebecca’s mother and back to her. “Is Miss Longworth being treated by a doctor here for a possible . . . medical problem?”

“You mean Alzheimer’s?” Rebecca said softly.

I nodded.

“Not that I know of, but we don’t have many specialists. I have to take my mother to Charlotte to see a doctor there. I happen to have firsthand knowledge about Miss Longworth’s recent problems. I took Mama to pick up a prescription a couple months ago. Evie was there with Miss Ritaestelle. Miss Longworth looked blank-faced, like she was almost sleepwalking. At the counter, when Miss Longworth opened her bag to pay, Evie spotted a handful of small-change items—nail polish, nail clippers, stuff like that. She took them all out and put them on the counter so she could pay for them. When Evie looked back at me, she seemed so embarrassed.” Rebecca squeezed her mother close again. “Rumor is that not long after, Evie Preston told the police chief about that incident. See the chief and Miss Longworth are friends and Chief Shelton could help before things got out of hand. As many troubles as we’ve had, I never had that kind of problem.”

Gertrude looked bewildered again. “You’ve got a problem, little lady? I know where the police officers can be found. Parked in their car outside the kolache shop on Briar Street.”

I grinned. “Thanks for the tip, Mrs. Hill.” That might prove to be useful information if word got around that I was asking questions. We would definitely avoid Briar Street.

“Mrs. Hill, you say?” Gertrude said. “Is she related to that handsome young lawyer, Peter Hill?”

Rebecca took her mother’s elbow and said, “Time to move on, Mama. We have more birds to feed near our house.”

Gertrude slowly rose with Rebecca’s help, and as they passed by, I thanked Rebecca for her help.

“You take care,” Tom offered.

Before they left, Rebecca leaned down and whispered, “Peter is my brother.”

I managed to pat Rebecca’s arm reassuringly and say, “You are so brave,” before they slowly walked away.

“That police chief will hear about this conversation, you know,” Tom said. “She’ll make sure no one talks to you after this.”

“Why? I’m only trying to help a cat and a woman who seems to be in trouble.”

“I know,” Tom said gently, “but you said yourself there’s more to this. If Chief Shelton decides no one should talk to you, then I’m betting she’ll get her way.”

“I couldn’t fool around with Rebecca and Gertrude. I can’t help but wonder after meeting them if Kara will be so completely there for me one day. Make sure my cats are fed, their litter boxes are clean. And what about poor Ritaestelle? Does she have any family to—”

“What are you doing back in Woodcrest?” came a female voice I recognized. She was standing behind me.

I turned and looked up at Chief Nancy Shelton.

Tom rose and faced her. “I insisted she come back. Tom Stewart.” He held out his hand.

The woman, once again wearing that navy blue jacket and skirt with the shiny police badge on her lapel, regarded Tom’s hand as if it were a gerbil in a petting zoo. Would it be safe to touch?

But finally she shook his hand.

“You know your friend here”—the chief nodded at me—“well, she caused quite an upset at the Longworth house yesterday.”

I so wanted to say that the “upset” had begun long before I arrived, but instead I said, “I meant no harm.”

Nancy Shelton’s stern look disappeared. “I understand. I’m not an unreasonable woman, despite what you think. I’m simply very protective of my citizens. I’ve had a day to think about my behavior yesterday, and I talked more with Miss Preston about your visit. I overreacted. You’re concerned about Isis. Isn’t that right? Mr. Cuddahee apparently found her and sent you here?”

I slouched in relief. “Yes. I want to bring Miss Longworth’s cat back to her. She seems to need her friend more than ever right now,” I said.

Chief Shelton closed her eyes, hung her head briefly. “You may want to rethink that.”

“Why’s that?” Tom said.

“Because I hate to tell you this, but the family told me that Ritaestelle tossed that cat out the door last week. I’d say Isis is lucky to be alive.”

Chief Shelton’s words hung in the hot, sticky air. She was saying that Miss Longworth tossed her cat out the door like so much garbage. This was such unexpected information that I could hardly believe it. Neither Tom nor I spoke for several seconds.

Tom finally said, “You’re sure the cat didn’t sneak out? In others words, act . . . well, catlike?”

“That’s not what I understand.” The chief looked at me. “Is the cat okay?”

“Yes. She’s with me.” My voice sounded flat. I’d been so certain I would be returning Isis to her home. But now I wasn’t so sure.

The chief said, “Do you think you can keep Isis for a while? Or . . . perhaps I can find someone to take her.”

“It would be too stressful for her to end up at yet another place so soon,” I said. “I’m just getting to know her, and I don’t mind keeping her for a while.” If I could get a good night’s sleep, that is.

Shelton nodded. “All right. I’m not a cat person, so I trust your judgment. Where did you find her, by the way?”

“Shawn found her near the highway between here and Mercy,” I said absently. Would Isis calm down? Would my own cats completely freak out by having such a spoiled animal in the same house with them for longer than I’d thought?

“If I can offer a suggestion?” Shelton said.

“Sure,” Tom answered after a glance my way. He obviously could tell how stunned I was by this news. How dismayed.

“Please leave Ritaestelle alone for now. There have been problems. I won’t betray her confidence, but plans are in the works to help her.” Shelton looked at me. “When the family believes Ritaestelle is ready, they’ll tell her that Isis is safe. In fact, I’ll tell her myself. She and I go back a long way.”

Just as Ed and Rebecca had said. They went way, way back. “I have no intention of bothering Miss Longworth. I’ve been trying to do the right thing by both her and her cat,” I said.