Клэр Донелли - Catch As Cat Can

“No, but he had a house full of the things,” Will said. “Cheap revolvers, more high-end deals, long guns too. Some hunting rifles with big magazines, shotguns, a regular arsenal.”

“And now he ends up shot.” Mike shook his head. “I don’t know what I can tell you.”

“But it’s out of character for Charlie Vane.” Will jumped in.

“That’s not the Charlie I knew,” Mike said.

“Maybe it’s a case of dead men tell no tales,” Sunny suggested.

Will gave her a skeptical look. “Back to the pirates again, huh? But who made the man dead? Not so long ago, you were suggesting that Vane hired someone to kill Neil Garret, but they got Phil Treibholz instead.” He thought for a moment. “Of course if Garret knew about that, he could have returned the favor.”

“Wait a minute,” Sunny said as something struck her. “Neil lives up in Sturgeon Springs. And you said the road out there was blocked by a fallen tree.”

Will nodded. “So if he was in town killing Charlie Vane, he’d be trapped there, or crawling along an alternate route home.” He turned to Mike. “Could I borrow your phone for a moment?”

On getting the okay, Will quickly dialed. “I need a check on a Neil Garret in Sturgeon Springs—you have the address on file. Is the south road still blocked? Yeah. So you’ll have to send a car from Elmet.”

He hung up and smiled. “So, if he’s not home, we’ll have him.”

“Excellent police work,” Sunny told him, “but that’s not what I was thinking. We’ve got two dead bodies: a crooked California private eye, and a fisherman who’s willing to do anything to keep his business going. What if they found out or knew something that had to be kept secret?”

Will glanced at Mike then turned to Sunny, his expression reminding her that they had secrets of their own. “My money is still on Garret.”

“But there could be someone else,” she argued. “Someone with a motive we don’t even know about.”

“We’ve got a perfectly good suspect as it is.” Will must have heard the tone of complaint in his voice, because he started over again. “Why do we need a hypothetical killer when we have one already? What could this unknown motive be?”

“Blackmail,” Sunny suggested. “The fewer people who know a secret, the more lucrative it could be.”

She decided not to push it, because the scenarios spinning around in her mind weren’t things she could talk about in front of Mike—or even discuss with Will, until she had something more solid than a theory.

Or maybe the motive was protecting Neil Garret, she thought. I already wondered about Val Overton. But what about Abby Martinson? She says that she and Helena had an early night. Abby could have gone out to deal with Charlie Vane and been back before all traffic was restricted. Sunny turned away, frowning. Maybe this whole trip back to Kittery Harbor is because of Neil. Oh, Abby put on a pretty good act after seeing him in the window. But she’s supposed to be an actress.

She sighed. This was something she’d never have considered in the simpler if somewhat lonelier days when she first came back to her old hometown, before murders and killers seemed to swirl around the streets like bad weather. I’ll start suspecting Dad next, she scolded herself. Or Shadow.

Maybe Shadow heard her thinking his name, because he appeared from under the coffee table, his paw hooking around in an attempt to snag one of the lanterns.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Sunny swooped in to rescue the lantern and turn it off. “No need to waste the batteries.”

Mike nodded, getting the other lantern. Will dropped to one knee, holding out his hand in a “stop” gesture. “Hey, little guy, maybe you don’t want—”

He stopped in surprise as Shadow suddenly reared back and raised a paw to land in Will’s palm, like a cat version of a high-five.

Will stared at Sunny. “Did you teach him that?”

“Oh, yeah,” she replied. “I train cats to do tricks in my copious spare time. Like Shadow would cooperate with something like that.”

They all laughed at that thought. Then Will said, “Look, I’m still on the clock. I have to get back up to Levett.”

“Be careful on the roads,” Mike said.

“Definitely,” Will replied. “I’ve seen enough bad examples in the last day. Anyway, I’m glad you got your power back.”

Will and Sunny walked to the kitchen door and shared a quick good-bye kiss. “Still can’t get over that cat,” Will said. Then the storm door closed behind him and he headed down the driveway.

Sunny became aware of a furry presence down around her ankles and bent to pick up Shadow. His warmth was welcome after the blast of cold air she’d just gotten.

“I see you didn’t show up until the door was closed and winter was safely kept outside,” she told the cat.

Shadow just shifted in her arms and purred, looking out into the night.

*

Perched in Sunny’sarms, Shadow let his eyes follow Sunny’s He as he went to his go-fast thing. It had been so long since he’d played the paw game, he’d almost forgotten it. One of the two-legs he’d lived with used to play it, patiently kneeling with his big paw out until Shadow raised his paw to tap it. Then Shadow got a treat.

Which reminds me . . .

Shadow twisted to look up at Sunny, who still stood peering after the go-fast thing’s lights disappearing down the road.

I guess Sunny doesn’t know about the treat part of the game, he thought. I’ll have to teach her about that.

He really couldn’t complain, though. It had been a good day, and they’d had a lot of fun together. His jaw suddenly opened in a big yawn. He’d spent a lot more time awake than usual today, even with his dark-time nap.

Shadow settled back into Sunny’s embrace. I hope they decide to go to bed soon, he thought, remembering how they’d snuggled together under the covers. That would be a good thing.

*

Sunny opened hereyes to predawn grayness. She leaned over to check the clock radio and relaxed when the display showed she still had half an hour before her official wake-up time. Then she reached over to get her cell phone and double-check the time.

She stretched and sat up in bed. Maybe it would be just as well to get up now. If the roads had been cleared, she’d have a jump on the day. If not, she could always head back for a little more sleep.

Stepping out into the hallway, Sunny saw Shadow appear at the top of the stairs. The cat came forward to wind his way around her legs before preceding her down the steps.

The kitchen was empty, and Sunny switched on the lights to banish the gloom. Looks as though I even beat Dad down, she thought, heading for the coffeemaker. Once that was charged up and ready to go, she turned on the radio. The weather and traffic report promised no more ice from the skies and a steadily improving travel situation.

Sunny shrugged. Looks like no hookey today. She busied herself refilling Shadow’s bowls and getting a pot of water for oatmeal set up on the stove as Mike padded in, drawn by the scent of brewing coffee.

“I figure this means the winter wonderland out there has been cleaned up enough for you to get in to work.” He squinted up at the wall clock. “Guess it wouldn’t hurt to start a little earlier.”

“They’ve cleared the major roads, and it’s possible to get around if you’re careful—or so the guy on the radio says.” She sighed. “I do need to get some stuff done at the office, so I’m heading in. I don’t know what’s going on up in outlet-land—”