Джанет Кантрелл - Fat Cat At Large

Mike grimaced.

“Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry. Did I burn you?” She jumped up and waved her hands, uselessly.

“It’s not hot enough to do that. I’m all wet, is all.” He gave her a cute grin. “No harm done. It’ll wash out. Do you want to tell me what’s going on with you and the guy in the Porsche?”

“Nothing’s going on. I told you, he just moved here. I knew him in Chicago.” She turned and paced the length of the small balcony.

“If nothing is going on, why is he spying on you?”

She might as well tell him. She kept pacing while she talked. “He’s the reason I left Chicago.” She told Mike about how Shaun accused her of pilfering money from his uncle, then got her blacklisted so she couldn’t get a job anywhere in the city.

“Sounds like a jerk. Why did he trail you here?”

“He wants something that I have.” She stopped and faced Mike. “It’s something incriminating. I wonder if it’s time to take it to the police. I just want him to stop talking to people I know and spreading lies about me. The same lies he spread in Chicago.”

“I would think so. Is this something that would get him into legal trouble?”

“Criminal trouble. But then I’d have to get involved and testify and face him in court. There’s something else I did, too.”

Mike frowned. “What else did you do to him?”

She hadn’t told anyone this, not even Anna or Julie. “I took out a restraining order against him. When he found out, he got so angry, it scared me. That’s when I finally gave up and left.”

“He’s in violation, isn’t he? He shouldn’t be around you if it’s still in effect.”

“I don’t think it is. It was a temporary restraining order, and it was only good for a week. I was supposed to go to court and get an injunction.”

“But you didn’t?” His tone told her he thought she was an idiot. Maybe she was.

“I never wanted to face him again. I decided to leave instead.”

Mike shook his head. “Maybe that was a bad decision.”

Chase nodded in agreement. “I can’t change it now. But I do think I’ll spend the night at Anna’s. I’d better call to make sure she’s there.”

“Did you notice the other person in the car?” Mike said.

Chase stopped mid-dial. “Other person? No. Could you see who it was?”

“Just a silhouette.”

“Male or female?”

“I couldn’t tell. Shortish hair. Either a guy who needs a haircut or a gal who gets hers cut short.”

Who would Shaun be associating with? He had so recently gotten here. He had seemed to know Torvald, though. And he knew Vi. Chase continued punching in Anna’s number. Her call was answered right away.

“Charity! Julie has told me all about your ordeal. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there to rescue you.”

“Julie did a fine job of that, Anna,” Chase said, laughing. “She was my knight in shining armor.”

“I was with Bill. His son came into town. Their meeting upset Bill so, that I went over there.”

Chase wondered if she’d been there all night, and all day. “Where are you now?”

“I’m at home, of course. You just called my landline.”

That made her feel a little stupid. Yes, she had dialed Anna’s home phone. She heard talking in the background. Probably Anna’s television.

“Do you need something, dear?” Anna asked.

“I’m having a little problem. I wonder if I could stay with you tonight.”

“Just a moment.” Anna muffled the phone and spoke with someone. Was Bill there? “How soon do you want to come?”

“How soon can he leave?”

“What? How soon can who leave?” Anna was put out. Chase shouldn’t have been such a smart aleck.

“Just kidding. It sounds like someone is there. How about a half an hour?” She raised her eyebrows at Mike. He nodded.

“I’ll be here. Are you in some sort of trouble again?”

“No, not with the police. I’ll tell you everything when I get there.”

They sat on the balcony another twenty minutes, mostly in easy silence, watching the street below, then Mike drove her to Nokomis Avenue.

Chase talked to Anna for over an hour before they bedded down. Over brandy nightcaps, Chase told her all about her date, then gave her the gruesome details about the horrible questioning when she thought she was going to be thrown into the clink. The more she shared her woe, the less of an edge it had.

Anna had read in the newspaper that Torvald’s funeral would be the next day. She said she wasn’t going to attend, but Chase thought she, herself, ought to do something. She wasn’t about to zip over to the visitation that night, as she’d done for Gabe Naughtly, so she decided she’d have to drag herself to the service on Tuesday.

When Chase woke up in the morning, she’d slept so soundly she couldn’t figure out where she was for half a minute. Then the powder-blue wallpaper, faintly striped, and the gauzy lace curtains on the guest room windows told her she was at Anna’s. They split a banana and each had a bit of yogurt before they left. It felt like old times.

• • •

After Anna droppedher off Tuesday morning, Chase was acutely aware that this was her second day off. It had been a few weeks since she had had two days off in a row and she was at loose ends, not knowing what to do with the hours that stretched ahead. The funeral service was at two, so there was a lot of time to kill meanwhile.

Maybe she’d work on a new recipe for some treats for Quincy. Maybe not, since he liked the ones she had already concocted. Maybe she would go for a bike ride. The cold front that had arrived the day before was still hunkering over the city, giving the chilly air a blustery feel, with its wind gusts. Maybe she wouldn’t do that either. Maybe she’d just sit around and read a book. That was a good idea. She had finished the Bookmobile Cat book, but had the new Lydia Krause mystery from Marilyn Levinson. The last one had been such a fascinating read, she’d gotten this one last time she’d been to the bookstore.

A light drizzle started in the afternoon, which reinforced Chase’s decision to stay indoors as long as she could. She fixed hot chocolate for herself and fresh Kitty Patties for Quincy. Sitting close to the glass doors to her balcony, watching soft rain fall, and hearing light drumming on her roof, she read and drowsed until it was time to get ready for the funeral.

Chase dragged herself to her bedroom to put on something suitable for mourning a man—another man—whose death wasn’t something she was sorry about. It was still dripping outside. She put on dark brown slacks and a white blouse. Should she wear dressy shoes? Because of the continuing rain, she had decided to drive, even though it wasn’t far to walk. But she knew the parking lot at the funeral home—the same one where Gabe had been—had enough dips and waves in the pavement that the dry spots would resemble an archipelago. She’d have to hop from island to island if she wore shoes she didn’t want to get wet. So she slipped into a pair of sturdy brown oxfords. They had weathered many a puddle with no ill effects. No one would look at her feet anyway.

The parlor was nearly full, but Chase found a seat in the next to last row, on the aisle. She’d completely forgotten how early one must get to a funeral to get a “good” seat. The creamy ivory walls and the heavy silk curtains in the front and along the side wall gave her a peaceful feeling. That was probably the purpose of all the décor, from the plush beige carpeting to the softly glowing brass chandeliers depending from the rather low ceiling.

An elderly woman noodled on a small electronic organ at the front of the room for ten minutes after Chase arrived, playing sad, slow songs, then launched into a piece even more dirgelike.