Клэр Донелли - Catch As Cat Can

Is he waiting for Sunny? Shadow wondered as he scrambled to keep up with the longer legs. Finally he had to retreat to the kitchen to make sure he didn’t get stepped on.

The problem was, the Old One had managed to transfer his anxiety to Shadow. Safely on top of the refrigerator, far away from voices and feet, the cat should have been able to compose himself for another nap, even if he didn’t have a blanket-cave anymore. Instead, his tail beat an uneasy time as he watched the shadow of the roving human shift around the hall.

Annoyance made him want to leap down, charge down the hall, and pounce on it, even though he knew shadows couldn’t be hurt or even caught. And he certainly knew better than to try and pounce on the Old One when the human was so unsettled.

So Shadow pushed sleep away, keeping anxious watch, hoping it was just some crazy two-legs thing that a cat didn’t have to care about—but afraid that it wasn’t.

If you kept me up for nothing, you’ll pay, he silently promised the Old One. Sooner or later, you’ll have to go to sleep. And then, when you least expect it, I’ll jump on y ou.

*

Sunny stopped offto do a little shopping before she headed home. She got a package of wide noodles and a fresh bottle of horseradish. They had a container of stew stored in the freezer, and that reheated with the noodles would make a warm and filling meal for a frosty day.

She parked the Wrangler in the driveway and started for the door with her bags when she spotted Mike looking out the living room window at her. His expression warned Sunny that he’d heard about her latest adventure.

No sooner did she get the door open than a furry gray rocket came careening down the hallway toward her from the kitchen. Shadow got underfoot, determinedly sniffing at her as Sunny tried to make her way to the living room. “Hey, Dad.”

Mike appeared in the arched entrance way, looking much as he had after getting reports of some high school misdemeanor. A bit older and whiter, to tell the truth, and more worried than angry. “Saw your office on the noon news,” he said, “not to mention the outside of the fish shop.”

“I suppose I was gone by then.” Sunny took off her coat. “They took me up to Levett to make a statement.” She paused for a second. “Did they come up with an identity for the guy we found in the freezer?”

Mike shook his head. “I was wondering if you could tell me.”

“Nobody from around here, as far as I could make out.” She figured that was the main thing on Mike’s mind. “He was wearing a raincoat in this weather.”

From the look on Mike’s face, she might just as easily have reported that the dead man was a nudist.

“Maybe he was a New Yorker.” Mike looked relieved enough to try a weak joke. “Even a Bostonian would have better sense.”

“Well, I didn’t recognize him.” Hefting her shopping bags, she headed for the kitchen with her cat and her father trailing behind. Shadow made a detour over to his bowl while Sunny restocked the refrigerator. She glanced over at Mike who stood in the kitchen doorway.

“You were worried about me, and I didn’t call.” She shook her head. “You know, I thought I handled the situation well, but it looks as though my brain was only firing on two cylinders. I’m sorry, Dad.”

“Well, you’re here now. And I got a little more exercise than my usual three miles, pacing around the living room.”

They talked about nothing in particular as Sunny brought the water for the noodles to a boil and defrosted the stew in the microwave. Together, they set the table. Then Sunny freshened up Shadow’s bowls.

Soon dinner was ready and Sunny portioned out two plates. Mike put a healthy dollop of horseradish on the side, and so did Sunny. After a few mouthfuls, Mike sat back in his chair. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“There’s not much to say. I heard Neil pulling up the gate to his store, went over there, and realized something was wrong. We found the back door open and a dead man in the freezer. After that, everything was in the hands of the police—and that included me. Captain Ingersoll had one of the deputies take me up to Levett, Lenore Nesbit asked some questions, and I signed a statement.”

“You didn’t talk to Will?”

“Not until after I’d given the statement. He drove me back to the MAX office. Did I mention there’s a federal marshal in town? She was in the office with Ollie.”

Mike laughed. “His past misdeeds finally catching up with him?”

“Actually, I think she was there to flirt.”

“With Ollie? That’s the problem with the federal government—misplaced priorities.” Mike paused for a second. “So what did Will say about the case?”

“Not much,” Sunny admitted. “And maybe that’s the way it ought to be.”

“But he’s your partner. You worked on cases together.”

“We worked on cases together mainly because his bosses didn’t want to investigate them. You remember how Frank Nesbit was about the crime statistics. He didn’t want to admit any serious crime happened in Elmet County.” Sunny took a breath. “But now Will is Lenore Nesbit’s chief investigator. He’s official now.”

Mike nodded. “And this is his first big case. How do you think he’s doing?”

“It’s not easy,” Sunny said. “They don’t even know who the dead guy is. Will said he had no wallet and no identification on him.”

“Could he have been homeless?” Mike suggested. “That might explain the wrong clothes for the weather, and even why he broke in.”

“It might explain something else.” Sunny took a sip of seltzer. “Zach Judson described the guy who attacked Shadow as wearing a raincoat.”

“So—maybe a nut, homeless and looking to get out of the weather.” Mike looked worried. Kittery Harbor was a blue-collar town, where a lot of people were only a paycheck away from homelessness.

“But if he wanted to get out of the cold, why go in the freezer?’ Sunny asked. “And most importantly, who shot him?”

Mike chewed on a piece of meat for a moment, then said, “Neil Garret?”

“There was frozen blood around the dead guy.” Sunny shuddered a little at the memory. “So he had to have been there for a while. When I came into the store, Neil looked shaken—but not ‘I shot somebody’ shaken.” She shook her head. “I have a hard time picturing Neil as the shooter. And why would he open the freezer and show me the dead body?”

“Maybe he wanted it found at that time,” Mike suggested. “Or maybe he wanted a witness to see when he supposedly found the body.”

Sunny nodded slowly. “Sheriff Nesbit was pretty interested in making sure when Neil arrived at the store.”

“You mentioned that she questioned you,” Mike said. “How is Lenore handling all of this?”

Sunny poked at her stew. “She said she’s skipping anything with tomato sauce for the time being, but she asked some good questions.” She frowned. “I suppose they have to concentrate on Neil. He’s the obvious suspect. It’s his store, and the body is in the freezer he specially ordered.”

“You say this guy broke in,” Mike said. “Wouldn’t Neil have been justified in shooting him? Self-defense or something?”

Sunny shook her head. “Not the way this guy was killed. He was shot from the back. And it’s not as though Neil just walked into the store and found an intruder. The blood had frozen.”

Her frown grew deeper. So, you’ve got a dead body in your freezer. It’s not impossible to get rid of. Lock up the shop, wait until things get good and quiet, and bring your car round the back where the deliveries get made. Open the back door, bundle the embarrassing body out, and drive away. You’ve got almost 3,500 miles of coastline to dump it, she thought, remembering a factoid she’d used in some of her promotional copy.