Софи Келли - A Case Of Cat And Mouse

I followed the two of them up the stairs, pushing through the doors to the second floor and walking down the hall toward Ray’s studio. His door was partway open.

I tapped on the door frame and Ray looked up from his easel. “Kathleen, to what do I owe the pleasure? Again.” His tone made it clear that me being there wasn’t something he was happy about.

I’d had the picture of Ray and Kassie in my messenger bag and I’d fished it out before Hercules and I had gotten out of the truck. Now I pulled it out of my pocket and smoothed out the wrinkles before holding it up. “This,” I said.

“You’re not still beating that dead horse, are you?”

I took several steps toward him. “How old do you think that photo of the two of you is, Ray? Sixteen years? Seventeen, maybe?”

“Yeah, probably,” he said. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Seventeen years ago you were taking a class from Tim Dougall.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. I’m not sure of the date.”

I smiled. “I am. I checked.”

He was good. He didn’t break my gaze. His face didn’t flush. “If you say so.”

I was still holding the picture. I turned it around so I could take another look. “Why did Kassie have this photo of the two of you?”

He shifted on his stool and looked at the drawing he was working on before he looked at me again. “I already told you I don’t know.”

“That’s a lie,” I said. “I think Kassie had that picture of the two of you because it was a way to remind you that you didn’t spend a summer studying with Tim Dougall. You got kicked out in the first week. Which means you’ve been lying on your CV.”

He swore and looked up at the ceiling for a moment as though he’d find answers up there. His eyes dropped to mine again. “You can’t just stay out of things, can you, Kathleen?”

I was surprised how angry I suddenly felt. “And you keep lying and cheating, looking for the easy way out. I don’t get it. You have talent. Genuine talent. Why do you have to keep lying about who you studied with and who liked your work? You’re better than that.”

Ray pulled a hand over the back of his neck. “You don’t have a clue what it’s like to do something creative. I’m not explaining myself to you.”

“You knew Kassie was going to be one of the judges, didn’t you?” I said. “It was one of the worst-kept secrets in town after the news got out that Elias was going to be filming the show here in Mayville Heights.”

He didn’t say anything but the way the muscles tightened in his jaw made me think I was onto something.

“You used that connection with her to get on the show, or at least up the odds in your favor.”

“You can’t prove any of that,” he said.

I folded the picture and stuck it back in my pocket. “Kassie saw your CV. It was probably in the information packet on the contestants that the producers put together. You spent that summer hanging out so she knew you’d been kicked out of Dougall’s class.”

“Yeah, fine, she knew.” He wouldn’t look me in the eye. “She was trying to get me to throw the competition for some reason. But I didn’t kill her.”

I folded my arms over my chest. “Why should I believe you?”

His mouth twisted and pulled to one side. “Because when Kassie was killed I was in bed with Caroline.”

chapter 16

Caroline?” I said. I had to have heard him wrong.

“Yes.” There was a smugness to Ray’s voice that I didn’t like. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Would you like me to call her?”

“Caroline’s married.”

He shrugged. “So? Maybe she got tired of being the perfect little earth mother.”

“She was at the library that night with Kate Westin,” I said. “I talked to them.”

He shrugged. “She walked over from my apartment. I don’t know where she connected with Kate. And before you ask, after Caroline left I was online playing World of Warcraft .”

I believed him. It was all too easy to check. I wondered if Marcus knew what Ray had been doing. And who he’d been doing it with.

Ray looked at his drawing again. “Any more questions?” he said.

I nodded. “Just one. Were you going to do it?”

“Do what?” he asked.

“Lose on purpose, the way Kassie wanted you to.”

He smiled. “That depends.”

“On?”

“On whether she made it worth my while.”

I had no more reasons to stay in the room with Ray so I turned around and left. I went out into the stairwell and sat on the top step. Ray truly was reprehensible. I had no problem letting Maggie and Ruby know what I’d learned. It was up to the co-op whether or not he stayed.

I was stunned that Ray had been with Caroline. And not just because she was married. She was warm and nurturing and kind, and in my experience Ray was none of those things.

So far it felt as though all I had learned amounted to nothing more than gossip. Charles had slept with Kassie. Ray had slept with Caroline, and Russell was still sleeping with Stacey. Not to mention that Kassie had tried to blackmail Charles and Ray and undermine Caroline, Stacey and Kate. And she’d threatened Eugenie. The only person she hadn’t gone after was Rebecca and that was because Kassie had put a large wager on her. The Baking Showdown had a lot more in common with The Wild and Wonderful than I ever would have expected.

I went to Ruby’s studio to collect Hercules. They were looking at something on Ruby’s laptop.

“Did you get what you needed from Ray?” she asked.

“I think so,” I said. “I need to talk to you about Ray. I don’t have time right now. It doesn’t have anything to do with Kassie’s death.”

Her eyes narrowed in curiosity but she didn’t ask any questions. “Text me when you have the time.”

I nodded. “I will.”

“Are you coming to class?”

I reached for Hercules. “I have to take this one home so I might be a bit late.”

Ruby waved at him. “Thanks for hanging with me,” she said.

“Mrrr,” he said in return. Ruby had very rapidly become one of the little tuxedo cat’s favorite people.

I drove home, let us into the kitchen and dumped my things on the table. Before I did anything else I got Hercules his two sardines. There was no sign of Owen anywhere.

I ran upstairs, changed and washed my face. Back in the kitchen again, I made a peanut butter and banana sandwich and filled my water bottle. I crouched down next to Hercules. He’d already made short work of one of the sardines. “I’m going to tai chi,” I said. “Stay out of trouble while I’m gone.” I gave him a scratch on the top of his head and he breathed sardine breath in my face.

“See you later, Owen,” I called. After a long pause I got an answering meow. From the sound he was somewhere upstairs. That probably wasn’t a good thing.

Maggie had just started the warm-up when I got to class. I changed my shoes and slipped into the circle next to Taylor King.

Maggie worked us hard and my T-shirt was damp with sweat by the time we finished the form at the end of class. I had forgotten my towel so I wiped my flushed face with the edge of my T-shirt. “Roma had to go to Minneapolis to give a second opinion on a surgery,” I said to Maggie. “That’s why she wasn’t here.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I guessed it was something like that.” She stretched one arm up over her head. “Is Hercules okay?”

I smiled. “He got a clean bill of health and celebrated with two sardines.”

Maggie smiled. “I think that’s how I celebrated the last time the dentist told me I had no cavities.” She held up one hand. “No wait. It wasn’t two sardines. It was two brownies.”