Клэр Донелли - Catch As Cat Can

“I’m sure if there’s something like that going on, Abby will bring it up sooner rather than later.” Sunny arranged sugar, sweetener, and a small pitcher of milk on the tray and headed back to the living room. Mrs. M. followed with the cake, plates, and forks.

After passing the goodies around, Sunny took a seat while Helena sat beside Mike.

“This is nice,” he said, enjoying a forkful of coffee cake.

“Yes, you and Mom seem very comfortable together.” Sunny noticed the edge in Abby’s voice. “That strikes me as pretty incredible, considering the way your daughter and Constable Price seem to spend all their time chasing murderers.”

Will started to open his mouth but shut it when he caught the look Sunny sent his way.

This is not the time to tell her that he’s Chief Investigator Price now, Sunny thought.

“It seems as though my mother has gotten into a lot of things while I was away,” Abby went on. “Things she’d never do.”

“Like helping a lot of families here in town and all through the county?” Sunny spoke quickly. “Have you heard of the 99 Elmet Ladies? Helena was a founding member and runs their food pantry. If you think we’re getting her to do that—”

“Why did you change all the doorknobs in our house?” Abby interrupted. “Putting those handles all over the place.”

“That was quite a project,” Mike said, still not catching on that Abby wasn’t pleased with the change.

“I have to deal with a bit of arthritis in my hands.” Helena carefully flexed her fingers. “Turning those knobs was getting harder and harder.”

“Mom—” Abby burst out, then made a scrubbing gesture with her hand as if to remove the word from conversation. She started again at a lower volume. “You don’t have to kid me along about who the invalid is here. What worries me is that you’re setting up our house for him.” Abby glanced over at Sunny and Will. “And I guess you’ll be setting up housekeeping here when your father goes to live with my mom?”

Helena and Mike looked like a pair of teenagers caught making out on the couch. Mrs. M. sputtered for a moment. “Abigail Martinson,” she finally managed to say. “What are you suggesting?”

“Come on, Mom. When I get you on the phone, all you do is talk about Mr. Coolidge there.”

“Mike,” Sunny’s dad said in a faint voice.

“I mean, it’s obvious you have a relationship, and I’m glad for that—honestly.”

Mrs. M. stared, and so did Mike. “You are?”

“Well, sure. You ought to have someone in your life, and I have no problem with that. But . . .” Abby bit her lip, trying to find words. “When Dad got sick, you took care of him, and I know that was very tough on you.” She glanced at Mike. “Are you ready to do that again with Mr. Coolidge?”

Mike and Helena shared a look—and a different kind of shock. They’d been enjoying one another’s company, but that didn’t mean they’d immediately started on long-range life plans.

Sunny decided it was time for her to speak up. “You know, I’ve been taking care of my dad.”

“From before or after you lost your job in New York?” Abby smiled at the look on Sunny’s face. “It’s amazing, the resources a law firm offers if you want to check into people.”

“Wow, you’re a one-woman intervention.” Will shook his head in wonder. “Come here to save your mom from our clutches.”

“But I think you’ve been in California too long.” Sunny struggled to keep her voice level. “I lost my job because I came up here to help Dad out. But that’s what we do here. We look out for our own. I help my dad. Helena helps folks who can’t put food on the table. And if she needs a hand, I’m happy to offer one.”

Abby looked as if she’d been slapped. “Maybe I have spent too much time in Cali.” She looked down at her hands. “You see a lot of bad stuff there, greed, pretense, back-stabbing. But I worried about you, Mom.” She reached over to take Helena’s hand. “I wanted to see how you were doing.”

That was the moment Shadow chose to make his entrance. He veered a little to rub beside Sunny’s leg, but then he headed boldly to Abby, staring up at her.

She smiled and leaned forward. “Well, hello there, cutey. Who are you?”

*

Shadow hung back,watching as the two visitors arrived. One he recognized, the Old One’s She. The other was another two-leggity female, younger. Shadow wasn’t sure that was good. Some places he’d been, when there was an extra She, fights began. If Sunny’s He got too interested, that might happen here.

That wouldn’t be good.

As they sat down to eat, it seemed as though he was right to be worried. Shadow could feel the tension in the air, and it seemed to center around the strange new female. The Old One and his She seemed almost frightened, giving the newcomer hard looks. Shadow thought Sunny might fly from her chair, even though she didn’t have much in the way of teeth and claws.

He did, though. And if this strange She started making trouble, she’d have him to deal with.

Sunny spoke sharply, and Shadow got ready to jump into battle. But then the mood suddenly changed. The strange She spoke softly, taking the older female’s hand.

Maybe there won’t be a fight after all, Shadow thought, padding forward. He stopped to mark Sunny—and to remind her that he was on her side. Then he walked up to the stranger.

She showed teeth in that odd way humans had and bent forward, extending a hand. But she wasn’t grabby like some two-legs. She politely held it down so he could give it a sniff. Unlike the older female, who always stank of that big yellow dog who lived with her, this one didn’t smell of biscuit eater. He pushed his head against the younger one’s fingers, and she began petting and running her claws through his fur in a very well-practiced way.

Shadow glanced around. Everyone seemed to have calmed down. It’s a shame they don’t know how to groom one another instead of making noises, he thought, closing his eyes to better enjoy Good Petter’s ministrations.

*

The Martinsons leftsoon after Shadow appeared. Mike volunteered to walk Helena and Abby home, which suited Sunny just fine. As soon as they left, she turned to Will. “Don’t think I didn’t see you checking Abby out.”

“An investigator has to be alert for any possible evidence,” he said in his best Dudley Do-Right voice.

“Oh yeah? And what evidence did you get from her thighs?”

Will shrugged. “That she probably spends a lot of her free time in spinning classes.”

His response was sufficiently out of left field that Sunny laughed. “Well, don’t go letting that old crush mislead you.”

“Are you kidding?” Will said. “A cop falling for someone who works in a lawyer’s office? It’s unnatural. Plus, California hasn’t exactly given her a sunny disposition—or didn’t you notice?”

Sunny smiled. “I may have noticed a couple of clues along those lines.”

*

Sunny stifled ayawn as she pulled her Wrangler into a parking space near the MAX office. She hadn’t stayed up late last night after Mike came back home. Will had left, saying it was a school night, and Sunny had turned in well before the late news. She didn’t sleep well, though, and the morning alarm seemed to go off just as she was settling in for some decent rest.

She had to drag herself out of bed and through the morning routine. Throw in some overnight ice, a fender-bender that snarled up traffic, and she arrived late at the office.

Good thing Ollie didn’t pick today to drop in, she thought as she crossed the street. She wasn’t the only one who was getting in late. The gate was still down over the door to Kittery Harbor Fish. Digging out her key, Sunny went into the MAX office, glad to be out of the wind and freezing weather. A hot cup of coffee would go down pretty well right now, she thought as she started the machine.