Лори Касс - Borrowed Crime

Eddie shifted, lost a little of his balance, and dug his claws into my thighs. Ow. “She told me all she wanted was a letter to the editor correcting the mistake.”

“It would have ruined me! They would have said I was a liar, a cheat! Every time anyone Googled me, it would come up, again and again. I’d never be able to escape it. All because of one stupid speech.”

“And you have plans,” I said. “For the future.”

“Exactly.” Allison sounded satisfied. Why, I couldn’t imagine, but the tone was unmistakable. “A term on the city council, a couple of terms as a county commissioner, and eight years from now I’ll run for the state legislature. One term there and I’ll be forty-nine, the perfect age for me to run for a national office.”

Assuming she won all those elections, of course, but I decided not to mention that small detail. “That’s quite a plan.”

“Yes,” she said. “Don’t you think it’s time for a female president?”

I blinked in the dark. “Of the country?”

“Why not go straight for the presidency from a state seat? Why taint yourself with the inner machinations of Washington? Why not go straight to the top? Take you. Why don’t you angle to get Stephen’s job? Or work at the State Library? Even better, the Library of Congress? Think of the things you could do. Why are you limiting yourself?”

I could think of a lot of reasons, but the primary ones were that I liked my current job, that I loved where I lived, and that Eddie wouldn’t like living in a city. He was a small-town cat, just like I was a small-town girl. Why would I want to fit myself into a square hole when I was a round peg?

“Ah,” Allison said, even though I hadn’t said a word, “you’re just like everyone else in this town. Stuck in a rut. Happy with the status quo. Living with blinders on.” She made a rude noise. “Not me. I’m going places. I’m not going to let someone like Denise ruin my life. I’ll get out of this—just wait and see.”

Though a good defense attorney could do wonders, I wasn’t sure how being on trial for murder, even if she was found innocent, could help her political career. Then again, who knew? It was a weird, weird world and stranger things had—

A swooshing noise startled me and I felt instant intense pain. I fell back, rolled to the ground, and curled into a fetal position, cradling my forehead. Allison had jumped to her feet and whacked me in the head with her own noggin.

“Mrr!”

“Get out of my way, you . . . you cat! Get away from me!”

More swooshing noises. Allison was trying to kick Eddie, and here I was, lying like a lump. I tried to scramble to my feet, but dizziness sent me back to the ground. Eddie was hissing and growling and yowling.

“Leave him alone!” I got to my hands and knees and crawled to the nearest tree. “Don’t you dare hurt my cat!” I grabbed the rifle I’d propped up and stood. Swaying, I staggered forward toward the scuffling and swung the rifle around by its barrel. “Leave him alone!”

The heavy stock of the gun thumped against something softish. Allison yelled, and I whacked again. She fell to the ground and stayed there.

In the distance I heard slamming doors, male shouts, and Denise’s voice directing them up the hill. Never had I been so happy to hear that penetrating sound.

Feet thudded in our direction. The glare of bright flashlights skittered over the trees and reached our group of two humans and one feline. “Got them!” someone called.

Allison tried to get up again, but I flipped the rifle around and pointed the business end at her. “You killed Roger,” I said. “You tried to kill Denise, and just now did your best to kill my cat.” Which was boiling my blood something fierce.

“What if I did?” she spat. “Shooting Roger was a mistake, but they’ll understand. I have answers. I have ideas, excellent ideas. I have plans!”

The feet and the lights reached us.

Willingly, I surrendered the gun, and as soon as I detached Eddie from Allison’s leg, I let them lead me away.

* * *

Denise was already gone by the time I reached the road, taken away in one of the three patrol cars that had arrived one after the other.

As I watched, Allison was brought down, her hands in front of her, wrists together. She didn’t look at me as a deputy put her into the back of the second patrol car and didn’t speak until the deputy started to close the door.

“I’ll get out of this,” she said to the air over my head. “Just you wait and see.”

The deputy shut the door, went around to the driver’s side, and started the engine. He made a three-point turn and accelerated, the car’s taillights winking out of view as it went around the curve.

“Minnie, are you okay?”

I turned. Ash Wolverson, a flashlight in hand, stood nearby.

“Fine,” I told him. “Really. The rain stopped a few minutes ago.”

“The rain did, yes. But precipitation didn’t. You’re covered in snow,” he said. “Let’s get in my car.”

“Eddie, too?” My cat, who had had enough of my cuddling, was slinking around my legs, pausing every so often to whack my shin with the top of his head.

“From what I hear, he’s the hero of the hour.” Ash scooped Eddie up into his arms and scratched him behind the ears, just the way he liked it. “He can walk all over the dash if he wants.”

So the three of us climbed inside into the warmth, but I still shivered.

“You’ve got to be wet, through,” Ash said. “I should get you home.”

I shook my head. “My phone’s in the bookmobile. Can you call the garage? I need to get a tow truck out here.”

Ash nodded and started pushing buttons on his radio.

Which was good, because there was no way I was leaving the bookmobile until it was safe and sound. Or at least on solid ground. The knowledge that it might have suffered serious damage was depressing. If the bookmobile was out of commission for an extended period of time, it would take more than Eddie’s purrs to make me feel better.

“Mrr,” he said from the dashboard.

Well, maybe they’d make me feel a little better.

“You’re all right,” I told my furry friend, “for an Eddie.”

“He’s a pretty cool cat.” Ash gave him a long pet. “His fur is silky. Not like any cat I’ve ever had.”

Wonderful . Eddie already thought he was one of a kind. Now he had the stamp of approval from the sheriff’s department. Outstanding. I half smiled. What we really needed was an Eddie stamp of approval. A sketch of his face with a paw print for a signature. We could stamp his food dish. And the back of the couch. And the rocking—

“You’ll need to make a statement,” Ash said.

Reluctantly, I steered my thoughts back to the unfortunate and unhappy present.

“She admitted to killing Roger,” I said. “Right before you got there. She said it was a mistake.” I swallowed, hating that Roger had died. And now Denise would learn with certainty that it was her threats that had unhinged Allison to the point of murder, that Allison had indeed killed Roger, thinking he was Denise.

I sighed, wondering how long it would take Denise to learn to live with that knowledge, with that guilt, and I hoped she’d be okay. Poor Roger had been in the wrong place, just like that book on the bookmobile.

“Mrr.” Eddie jumped onto my lap and flopped down. His thick purrs started to fill my empty spaces, and I leaned down to kiss the top of his head. He really was a pretty good cat. Even without the qualifier of being an Eddie.

“You’re shivering,” Ash said.

“I’ll be okay,” I said through chattering teeth.

He gave me a long look and smiled. “Yeah. I bet you will be.” And then he reached forward and turned up the heat.