Софи Райан - The Fast Аnd Тhe Furriest

A flush of color warmed Mr. P.’s cheeks. “Elizabeth, I am embarrassed to say, very little, but I will rectify that right after we eat.”

Rose beamed at him. Liz reached for her tea, catching my eye with a self-satisfied smile. Charlotte leaned over to ask Mac something.

Both Napoléon and Frederick the Great are credited with saying an army marches on its stomach. I was pretty sure the Angels detected on theirs.

It turned out to be a busy afternoon. Because it was wet, people were happy to be inside browsing around shops like Second Chance. It was still raining when Elvis and I headed home. Since it was cool enough to have the oven on I was going to try to put together a chicken and rice dish Rose had taught me to make a couple of weekends ago. Every time I made something I was amazed that it was even close to edible. Not to mention that no fire extinguishers had been used.

The cheesy chicken and rice was delicious and I ate a huge bowl, sharing a bit of chicken with Elvis. Then he watched Jeopardy! while I ran the dishwasher and cleaned up the kitchen. We had a date with must-see TV—the summer finale of Restless Days .

• • •

I used the remote to turn off the TV and slumped against the back of the sofa. Elvis and I had just spent the last five minutes literally on the edge of our seats. I looked at the cat, sprawled now beside me. “Well, I didn’t see that coming, did you?”

“Merow,” he said. It seemed that Elvis had been blindsided by the two-hour, cliff-hanger summer finale just as much as I had. He had seemed to enjoy watching the dramatic nighttime sudser for the last couple of months, settling himself beside me on the sofa whenever he heard the theme music for the show. It wasn’t that surprising, considering he was a faithful viewer of Jeopardy! every weeknight, missing an episode only for special circumstances like dinner with Rose and Mr. P. at Rose’s apartment.

All at once Elvis sat up, craning his head to look at the front door. I’d given up trying to figure out how he knew when someone was going to knock at the door. Maybe it was the fact that cats have hearing vastly superior to ours. Or maybe he had X-ray vision or cat ESP. He just seemed to know. Of course being a cat, he let me in on it only when it suited him.

I got to my feet just as we heard a knock. “It’s probably Rose,” I said. “She had some kind of meeting about the library book sale. Maybe she’s bringing us the leftover cookies.”

But it wasn’t Rose. It was Michelle. She was dressed in flip-flops, cropped jeans and a green and gold T-shirt with an open Windbreaker, which told me she’d come from home and not from work.

“Hi,” I said.

“Is this a bad time?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No. C’mon in.”

She glanced over her shoulder and then stepped inside. “I’m sorry to show up like this so late,” she said. “I saw your light and just took a chance you’d be by yourself.” Her expression was serious, her green eyes troubled.

I took her jacket and we both sat down on the sofa. Elvis jumped up between us. “Something’s going on,” I said. “What is it?”

“I’ve been taken off Mac’s case.”

I took a moment before I said anything. Just that morning she’d told me not to worry about Nick seeing Mac with Erin Fellowes and now she wasn’t involved in the case herself. “Do you know why?”

She gave me a grim smile. “Because I’m too close to it—too close to all of you.”

I sighed. “I can see that. I don’t like it but I can’t argue with the reasoning.”

“That’s not all,” she said. She hesitated for a moment. “Tomorrow they’re going to charge Mac with Erin Fellowes’s murder.”

“How . . . how can they do that?” I stammered. “They don’t have any real evidence.”

Elvis put his front paws on Michelle’s leg and she began to absently stroke his fur. “We have a witness who saw Mac and Erin together right before she was killed. Remember?”

“That wasn’t Mac,” I said, biting off the words. I almost added, Even you’re not sure of that , but caught myself.

“It’s not just that,” she said.

“It’s Leila.”

She nodded. “The police in Boston may have decided that what happened to her was an accident but that doesn’t mean it’s been settled in everyone’s mind. There’s been some . . . pressure.”

I felt a sour taste in the back of my throat. The pressure had to be coming from Mac’s in-laws. They had money and influence and they’d put up roadblocks to keep him away from their daughter. It made sense that they would use any connections they had to try to have Mac arrested.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” Michelle continued. “Do you know Cal Barnes?”

I got a mental picture of the burly police officer: stocky and solid, built like the hockey goalie he’d been since high school. I nodded.

“He’s taking over the case. Cal’s a straight arrow and he’s fair and he’s honest. He won’t stop looking for more evidence.”

I’d twisted the drawstring of my cutoff sweatpants so tightly around my finger the tip had turned a deep purple-red color. “Mac didn’t do this,” I said. “I swear to you he didn’t.”

“I believe you,” she said. “The ADA owes me a favor so she agreed to let Mac surrender himself at the station tomorrow morning. He’ll be arraigned right after lunch. They’re going to want bail. I’m assuming Liz will take care of that.”

I nodded. Liz had taken care of bail when Maddie Hamilton had been wrongly accused of murder. I didn’t have to ask to know she’d do the same thing for Mac.

“Mac shouldn’t be held for more than a few hours. He won’t have to spend the night in jail or anything like that. I know it sounds intimidating but it’ll be all right. I promise.” She tried to smile but didn’t quite get there.

“Thank you,” I said. The words didn’t seem anywhere near enough.

Michelle picked up Elvis and set him on the sofa. Then she stood up. “I have to go,” she said. “For obvious reasons I won’t be there tomorrow, but I promise Cal won’t be the only one still looking for evidence.”

I’d gotten to my feet as well and now I hugged her, hard. “I mean it,” I said, my voice almost overcome with emotion. “Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

She pulled back and looked at me. “We’re friends,” she said. “Remember?”

I felt the prickle of tears and had to swallow hard before I could speak. “Yeah, I remember,” I said.

My cell phone was on the counter. It rang then. I glanced over my shoulder.

“That’s probably Josh,” Michelle said. “Go ahead and get it. I’ll talk to you soon.” She actually managed a small smile. “Go. It’ll work out all right.”

She headed for the door and I turned to pick up my phone.

• • •

Michelle was right. Everything went just the way she’d told me it would. Mac—with Josh—turned himself in at the police station first thing in the morning. He was scheduled to go before a judge right after lunch.

I’d shown up at his door with Elvis and a couple breakfast sandwiches at seven a.m. Looking past him I saw two mugs on the table. “You expecting someone?” I asked.

“Just you,” he said with a hint of a smile. “And Josh in a little while. I already made the coffee.”

We settled at the table with our coffee and breakfast. Elvis jumped up onto the wide windowsill and looked down to the parking lot.

Mac seemed so calm, so accepting of what was about to happen. It seemed to me that I was angrier than he was and I said as much.

“I expected this to happen,” he said. “I’m the most likely suspect in Erin’s murder. Hell, I’m probably the only suspect.” He played with his mug. “Erin was Leila’s best friend. That was where her loyalty lay. I never held that against her. I never would have hurt her.”