Клэр Донелли - Catch As Cat Can

“So what do you make out of what he’s saying?” she finally asked.

“He sounds good,” Will replied. “But then, he made a lot of money scamming people on the stock market.”

“So, has he got some sort of alibi that required the body to be found at nine thirty-seven in the morning in the presence of a witness? If we’re thinking he killed this Treibholz guy, why did he drag me into it?”

“The medical examiner has had a lot of fun trying to determine a time of death. Apparently the body hadn’t frozen through, so we have a rough window between twelve and fourteen hours before you found the body.”

“Sometime after the store closed and well before morning,” Sunny said. “So was Neil Garret out of town, or surrounded by witnesses at the time in question?”

Will laughed, with precious little humor. “That’s the thing. He hasn’t got an alibi at all. Not even a favorite TV show he was watching. If we believe him, he was in his lovely rental home out in Sturgeon Springs, reading a book.”

Sunny sat back in her chair. “A literate criminal. That’s something we don’t see every day. But it kind of clashes with his alibi. That sounds like something he came up with between the fish market and the interrogation room in Levett. You’d expect better workmanship, considering this is a guy who swindles people.”

“So far he’s stuck with it, and we haven’t been able to challenge his story. You know the area. It’s pretty countrified, the houses are spread out, nobody really notices anything.”

“He had to know that he couldn’t just talk his way out of having a body turn up in his freezer.” Sunny squinted her eyes, as if that would help her focus on her memories of Thursday morning. Neil trying to tell her the store wasn’t open yet. The chill in the air. Finding the door open. Did he look surprised or scared? What was his expression when he checked the cash register? When he opened the freezer door? It hadn’t seemed rehearsed, and Neil hadn’t been checking her reactions. Unless . . .

“What if he had an accomplice, someone he expected to clean up the crime scene, and they didn’t—or couldn’t do it?” Sunny bit her lip as the idea came out of her mouth. Who would be the most likely accomplice, someone who knew all about Neil Garret’s former life? Someone who had just turned up from California?

Abby Martinson.

Sunny shook her head. “No, that’s a ridiculous idea. What was I thinking?”

It doesn’t make sense, she realized with a feeling of relief. Abby as an accomplice would only work if nobody knew of her connection with Nicky Suits. So why would she blab that to Sunny? But that question still paled beside the biggie. Why would Neil Garret reveal Treibholz’s dead body? And of all the people he could have had in front of that door when he threw it open, why choose Sunny?

“So Neil is the obvious choice, but you’re not sure he’s the right one,” she said slowly.

“Maybe someone here knew about Garret’s California connection and didn’t want it coming out. A business associate, or competitor.” Will leaned across the desk with their half-eaten sandwiches. “It strikes me that your father has a lot of friends in the local fishing community. Now that you know what’s going on, maybe you could work some of those contacts.”

“I should still be furious with you,” Sunny told him.

“I’ll say I’m sorry, if that helps,” Will said. “The sheriff really wanted to keep this under wraps. When Lenore revealed the truth about Garret, she said that Frank hadn’t even told her.”

“So now that I know, the old team is back together again?” Sunny gave him a rueful grin.

And that snarky voice in the back of her head chimed in, Just when you thought you were out . . . they pull you back in.

8

The rattle ofthe key in the lock quickly brought Shadow to the door. He did his usual circuit around Sunny’s ankles, checking for odd smells and marking her with his personal scent. She reached down and gave him a quick pat on the head, then walked into the living room, calling to the Old One. But he wasn’t in.

Often when Sunny was alone with Shadow, she’d get down on the floor and play with him. He rolled on his back, hoping that would happen now. Instead, Sunny went to a chair and flopped down with a sigh.

Shadow immediately got to his feet. Was Sunny sad? He’d caught some traces of Sunny’s He when he checked her ankles, so Sunny must have seen him today. Shadow knew that when male and female humans got together, sometimes they were very happy—and sometimes not.

He scaled the chair, not going for Sunny’s lap but instead climbing up onto the arm, stretching so that he could press his forehead to hers and let her know that he thought she was special, even if that stupid He didn’t.

But as he brought his face close to hers, he caught a scent that made his nose twist and his eyes blink. Shadow drew back in disgust. This was another of those crazy two-leggity things he’d never understand. With all the foods humans enjoyed, why would Sunny eat something that smelled like that?

Sometimes, in his wandering days, hunger forced Shadow to eat food that was old or tasted odd. Even so, he wouldn’t put something that smelled so bad into his mouth. Shouldn’t Sunny know enough not to do that?

Annoyed, he jumped back to the floor, stalking away with his tail lashing the air. She always yells at me when something I eat comes back up, he thought. I’m going to stay away from her. She’s a lot bigger than I am, and I don’t want to be around if she gets sick. That will be a real mes s.

He headed for the room of food and a quick bite from his bowl. The box that kept things cold loomed over him. That would be a good place to go, somewhere that would let him look down on everything.

It’s even taller than Sunny, he thought. So if that bad-smelling food comes back up, I’ll be well out of reach. Safe.

*

Mike came intothe living room, rubbing his hands together after being outside in the cold. “I’m surprised to see you sitting,” he told Sunny. “Usually when you’re here alone, you’re romping around on the floor with the furball.”

She smiled. “Yeah, well, he went to do that Vulcan mind-meld thing he likes to do, bopping his forehead against mine. It’s called bunting. But I’m afraid the ghost of the garlic bread I had for lunch put him off. What’s the matter?” she asked as an inquisitive gray-furred face poked around the entrance to the room. “Are you a vampire?”

“Well, he’s got the fangs for the job,” Mike said as Shadow yawned, revealing an impressive set of chompers.

Sunny glanced at the wall clock and got up. “Guess it’s time to start supper—which I’ll do after I brush away the offensive garlic breath.” She headed upstairs, brushed, and then went to the kitchen. Dinner was simple—and bland. Boiled potatoes, frozen veggies, and baked pork chops. She put a pot on to boil, preheated the oven, and got out the jar of unsweetened applesauce. Spooning out a few ounces into a bowl, she sprinkled some powdered ginger on top and set to mixing. That should give it a little taste without setting off Shadow’s finicky nose.

He sat by his bowls, watching Sunny but still not coming close.

Arranging the chops in a pan, she topped them with the spiced applesauce and put them in the oven, setting the timer. Then came the potatoes. After a half hour, she checked the meat and stepped into the living room, where Mike was watching the news. “About five minutes,” she reported. She went back in to microwave the vegetables.

Mike came into the kitchen and helped set the table. Sunny stepped over to the pot and stuck a knife in one of the potatoes, testing for doneness. “Should be ready any time now.”