Рита Браун - Cat On The Scent

“No time. God, I hate these kinds of things.” Like all police officers, Rick knew domestic violence to be the most irrational of situations. Armed robbery was easy compared to this.

After speeding down the old farm road toward the haybarn, Rick cut the motor at a curve out of sight from the barn door. Both cops got out, drew their guns, and slowly walked toward the old barn, which they could not yet see. Before they rounded the curve they heard a curse, two shots, and a scream. They ran but with practiced caution.

As the two officers approached the barn doors they saw Sir H. Vane-Tempest bent over Archie Ingram. Sarah was clinging to her husband.

“Freeze!” Rick commanded.

Vane-Tempest spun around, a .357 in his right hand.

“Drop your weapon,” Rick ordered, and Vane-Tempest threw the gun on the ground.

Rick kept his gun on the Englishman while Cynthia ran over to Archie. She pressed her index finger into his neck.

“Gone.”

“He tried to kill me after abducting my wife,” Vane-Tempest said calmly.

Sarah, sobbing, stood between her husband and her lover.

“Have you anything to say?” Cynthia stood up, facing Sarah.

“Sarah, you have the legal right to remain silent,” Vane-Tempest forcefully said. “This has been a dreadful situation. You take a deep breath. You're safe now.”

“Am I?” She put her face in her hands.

“Put your hands behind your back, sir.”

“Rick, I killed him in self-defense. You're making a mistake.”

“That may be true, but for right now, the handcuffs go on.” Rick snapped the steel bracelets on quickly.

“Don't handcuff him. He had no choice.” Sarah wiped her eyes. “Archie abducted me from our home after locking H. in my closet.”

“Why would he do that?” Rick put his gun in its holster.

“Because I was having an affair with him. He wanted us to ride off into the sunset together.” She didn't realize the irony of her words as the gorgeous sunset deepened.

“You knew about this?” Cynthia directed this to the handcuffed Sir H. Vane-Tempest.

“I did. Yes.”

“Oh, H., I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never thought he'd try to kill you.” She walked over to her husband and threw her arms around his neck.

“I'm an old man. You're a young and beautiful woman. Maybe one of the most beautiful women on the face of the earth,” he whispered.

Another squad car pulled up along with the Crozet Rescue Squad. Diana Robb had had a busy day.

Rick motioned to his officers to go slow, then he put his hand under Vane-Tempest's elbow. “Let's go down to HQ.”

“May I phone my lawyer?”

“When we get there.”

“Do I have to wear these?”

“Until we get to the station, you do. Come on, before the goddamned television crews get out here.” That made the old man pick up his feet.

Sarah slid into the backseat next to her husband. She never looked backward at Archie, sprawled on the ground, her snub-nosed .38 in his right hand.

57

Mim watched with her aunt as the last of the police cars drove out.

“Shall we go down there?” Mim asked.

“Not in the dark. Let's go in the morning.” Tally watched the flickering red-and-blue lights. “Mimsy, stay here tonight, please.”

“Of course.”

58

News of Archie's death spread like a prairie fire.

Susan Tucker burst through the kitchen door to tell Harry, who'd already heard it via telephone from Mrs. Hogendobber, who'd heard it from Mim, who'd heard it from Rick Shaw.

“I can't believe Archie would kidnap Sarah.” Harry lay at one end of the sofa while Susan stretched out on the other end. The cats joined them, stretched across the back. Tucker curled up on the wing chair nearby.

“Well, he did,” Susan matter-of-factly stated.

“Bull,” Pewter said.

“Sex does short-circuit people's brains,” Tucker agreed with Susan. “But why would Archie shoot Blair?”

“Her car was parked at Blair's when we found him,” Mrs. Murphy said.

“Well, why would she go to Blair's?” Pewter stretched her hind leg straight out for grooming.

“Pewter, do that later. I hate that licking sound when I'm having a conversation,” Harry ordered.

“Priss,” Pewter complained, but nonetheless tucked her hind leg under her.

“All the girls go to Blair's,” Tucker said.

“Archie was at Blair's, too. He didn't kidnap Sarah,” Murphy said.

“Blair must know that. When his mind is clear and he feels better.” Pewter tried to think who else might know.

“Archie was moving out,” Mrs. Murphy continued. “She went there for him. Archie didn't kidnap her.”

“He's not here to defend himself,” Tucker sagely noted.

Murphy lay down. “A wasted life, Archie's.”

“H. is out on bail.” Susan put her hands behind her head. “Big surprise.”

“Was Sarah harmed?”

“No. She says Archie kidnapped her. He wanted to live with her. He wanted her to run away. He didn't mean to harm her.”

“What do you think?” Harry asked.

“I don't know what to think. I'm glad it's over.”

“Is it? We still don't know who killed Tommy Van Allen.”

“Sarah confessed to Rick Shaw that Archie confessed to her that he killed Tommy over a drug deal gone sour.”

“I don't believe it,” Harry said.

“He did not,” Murphy protested.

“Hush. You've had enough to eat.”

“Sarah shot H. Vane. I don't know who killed Tommy Van Allen but she shot H.” Murphy stuck to her guns.

“She gets a notion . . .” Harry commented on Murphy's conversation.

“And they're usually on the money,” Tucker said.

“Thank you.” Murphy rested her head on her paws. “We'd better get over to Tally's place tomorrow. First light.”

“Why so early?” Pewter moaned.

“Before people start crawling over it. The ghouls will show up whether Tally wants them or not.”

“Weird. Humans fear death but they can't stay away from it,” Pewter remarked.

59

A line of gray illuminated the eastern horizon. Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tucker were already on the ridge above Rose Hill.

As they dropped down into the fertile plain the golden rim of the sun pushed over the horizon and shafts of gold, like spokes on a wheel, radiated into the lightened sky.

By the time they reached the barn and stone buildings they were surprised to find Big Mim and Tally already there.

A pool of blood, dark brown, stained the dirt road where Archie had fallen. Big Mim and Tally stood in silence in the circle of buildings. When Mim finally spoke, she said nothing of the evidence of murder. The women knew each other too well for Tally to be surprised.

“Why don't you let me restore these?”

“I've got no use for them,” Tally replied.

“You could rent them out. Make a little money. After all, you were going to rent one to Archie.” Mim smiled suddenly as Mrs. Murphy and Pewter came up to her. “Why, look who's here.” Tucker lingered at the blood until Murphy sharply reprimanded her.

“You characters certainly cover the miles.” Mim petted the cats' heads.

“I say let the whole damn place fall down.” Tally thumped the ground with her cane.

“That's foolish.”

“Who are you to tell me what's foolish? I knew you in diapers.”

“The day may come when you want to sell Rose Hill. You need to keep up the place. I can repair all this. I have a good crew.”

“I don't know.” She paused, looking skyward as the colors changed from gold to pink to red to gold again and the sun flooded the world with light. “Crazy.”