Ник Сайнт - Purrfect Murder

“Hey there, Detective Kingsley. The doctor is busy, but if you want you can go over to examination room number two, and he can squeeze you in.”

“Is Rohanna here?” asked Odelia, who had no time for this.

“Never saw her,” said Gran. “Not that I miss her. Who needs a singing cleaning lady that can’t clean? Or sing?” Turning to Chase, she plastered a smile on her wrinkled face. “Go on and strip down to your tighty whities. And if the doc can’t see you immediately I’m sure I can accommodate you.”

“In your dreams,” growled Chase, and waltzed out again.

“Was it something I said?” yelled Gran, leaning over the counter to stare at Chase’s retreating behind.

“Not now, Gran,” she called out, leaving the lady looking disappointed.

They both got back to the car, and Odelia saw that this time Chase was behind the wheel. When she glared at him, he said, “Hey, you got to drive the last time. Now it’s my turn. Besides, I don’t want anyone else to get killed.”

“I’ll have you know I’m a great driver,” she grumbled, getting into the passenger seat. She thought for a moment. Where would Rohanna take that laptop? She’d thought she’d hidden it in that cesspit, until a nosy writer had dug it out and uncovered a crime. Now she would have to put it where no one would ever look. And then suddenly she got it. “The graveyard,” she said.

He lifted an eyebrow. “The graveyard? Are you sure?”

“Trust me. Now just go!”

And go he did, at a surprising rate of speed. Following her instructions, it didn’t take him long to arrive at the small graveyard, and they both jumped out of the car, which Chase had parallel parked to perfection in front of the iron gates. The man had skills. If he didn’t make it as a detective in this town, he could always become a valet.

His strong arm held her back before she could rush into the graveyard.

“Let me go first,” he said, and took out his gun again.

She nodded her agreement. Never argue with a man with a gun.

“What are we looking for, exactly?” he asked.

“This is where Luke Coral was buried. I have a hunch it’s where Rohanna is going to bury that laptop.”

Chase gave her a curt nod of the head. “Stay behind me. This woman has killed once, she might do it again when cornered.”

“I doubt she has a gun, Detective.”

He gave her a grim look. “Better safe than sorry. You might be a pesky reporter and a cat lady, but that doesn’t mean I want to see you killed. And definitely not on my watch.”

“I think that’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“You’re welcome. Now let’s go!”

They moved stealthily through the wrought-iron gates and entered the graveyard, which consisted of gravestones dotting a smooth stretch of gently sloping lawn. Some of them were crooked and weathered with age, others looked newer. She hadn’t been here in a while, the last time when she’d accompanied her gran to put flowers on her granddad’s grave. When she heard plaintive mewls behind her, she saw that Max and Dooley had followed them into the graveyard. They didn’t look happy. This was not their favorite hangout, she suspected, and they’d rather be home right now. So would she.

Chase gave her a quick glance, and she gestured with her hand. She knew exactly where Rohanna’s boy was buried, as she’d attended his funeral. In fact most of Hampton Cove had. Luke had been a sweet kid and well-liked, and if not for those few bullies who’d made his life miserable, he might still be alive today. It was a tragedy, but that still didn’t give Rohanna the right to kill the man she held responsible. They approached the plot where Luke was buried, or Lucia, as he’d apparently been wanted to be known, and they had a clear view of his gravestone, but of Rohanna there was no trace.

“It’s right there,” she whispered, pointing at the grave.

She stared down at the stone, and then saw that the earth had been disturbed behind it, as if someone had been digging. She knelt down, and after a moment’s hesitation dug her hands in. Suddenly her fingers touched a solid object, and when she came away, she was holding the laptop.

She held it out to Chase, who grunted, “Good job.”

Wow. Another compliment? This was practically a love fest.

But then suddenly she saw Rohanna looming up behind the cop, a heavy rock in her hand. And as she held up the rock, heaving it over Chase’s head, she screamed, “Chase! Watch out!” But it was too late, and Rohanna would have knocked out Chase if not suddenly Max and Dooley had launched themselves at the woman, scratching her across the face and hands with mighty hissing sounds, their claws extended.

Rohanna yelled in pain and dropped the rock, reaching for her face.

Instantly, Chase whirled around, and easily worked his attacker to the ground, then slapped a pair of handcuffs on the woman.

“Thanks,” Odelia mouthed to Max and Dooley, who appeared extremely proud of themselves and their work in apprehending the Paulo Frey killer.

“How?” Rohanna asked when Chase hoisted her up. “How did you know it was me?”

Odelia held up the laptop. “Frey was the one who outed your boy, wasn’t he? He was the one who ran the Society of No.”

Rohanna nodded forlornly. “He was. He killed Luke. He might as well have handed him that rope and tied the noose around his neck. Him and that damn society.” She shook her head, tears now streaming down her face. “I had no idea Frey was behind it until I accidentally touched his laptop when I was cleaning his desk and the screensaver dissolved and revealed the website of the Society of No. I knew they were behind Luke’s outing.”

“How did you know he was running it?” asked Chase.

“Usually when I cleaned the cabin, Frey took a walk in the woods. So when I saw the website I couldn’t resist digging a little deeper. And that’s when I saw the messages he’d posted as TransKiller. He was the site’s moderator! He’d used the same alias to post those hateful messages on Luke’s school’s page, so I recognized it immediately. I got so angry when I realized he was the one who’d killed my boy! He was the one who’d caused all this.”

She hung her head, and Odelia said, “I’m so sorry, Rohanna. But why didn’t you simply talk to my uncle? He would have arrested Frey.”

“You know as well as I do that guys like Frey are never punished,” said Rohanna bitterly. “He’s one of the happy few that can get away with murder. He would have hired the best lawyers money could buy and would have gotten off scot-free.” She shook her head. “When he walked in, that smug smile on his face, I knew I was in the presence of pure evil. So when he took a seat at his desk, I grabbed the first thing I could find and hit him as hard as I could. For my boy. So Luke’s death wouldn’t go unpunished.”

Odelia stared at the woman, tears in her own eyes now. Two lives were destroyed, for Rohanna would probably go to jail for a long stretch. Unless a jury would consider these extenuating circumstances. She glanced down at the gravestone of the kind-hearted young boy who just wanted to live a happy life, if not for people like Paulo Frey, whose hate had destroyed him.

“You did it, Odelia,” said Max.

“Yeah, you did it,” Dooley chimed in.

“No, you did it,” she whispered, making sure that Chase didn’t overhear her. Even though the burly copper might be warming to her—and she to him, she had to admit—she didn’t want her secret to get out. Uncle Alec might understand, but she was pretty sure that Chase Kingsley never would.

“Good job, Miss Poole,” Chase grunted after he’d Mirandized Rohanna.

“Thanks,” she said simply. “You too, Detective Kingsley.”