Софи Келли - A Tale Оf Two Kitties

“The world was better with my grandfather in it and it’s a little less with him gone,” she said.

Then she turned and looked at the polished urn. “Walt Whitman was one of Grandpa’s favorite poets.” She took a breath but she couldn’t hold the tears back any longer. They slid down her face but her voice was strong. “‘O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done; The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won.’” She blew a kiss to the urn and I felt a tear slip down my own face.

There was a reception in the big front room of the funeral home after the service. I carried a cup of coffee around but didn’t actually drink from it. There was no way I could swallow anything past the lump that seemed to be permanently stuck in my throat.

Harrison Taylor came up behind me. “That coffee has to be colder than a witch’s—”

I flashed a warning look at him.

“Kiss,” the old man finished, a devilish gleam in his eye. “No appetite?” he asked, tipping his head toward my cup.

I set it down on the table to my right. “Not really.”

“I’m the same way,” the old man said. “I get that this is part of how people grieve and, hell, I think it’s good for the family to hear stories and memories about their loved one, but I’ll be damned if I can understand how anyone can go from sitting in Daniel Gunnerson’s back room to stuffing their face with potato salad.” He patted my arm. “The boys would say I’m raving. How are you?”

I smiled at him. “I’m fine, Harrison. How are you?”

“I’m fine, girl,” he said. “Damned sorry to hear about Leo Janes.”

I nodded. “I only met the man once but I liked him.”

“He was that kind of person,” Harrison said. “And he’d be proud of that granddaughter of his today.”

“Mia’s mother died when she was a baby, didn’t she?” I asked. Neither Mia nor Simon ever spoke about Mia’s mom.

“In childbirth.”

I glanced over at Simon, talking to Brady Chapman. “I had no idea.”

The old man nodded. “She and Simon were just teenagers. There were some kind of complications with the delivery.” He leaned on his cane and looked across the room at Simon. “Her parents tried to take the baby. Simon dug his heels in. He wanted to raise her himself. Lord knows what Leo must have thought, and he’s the only one who ever did because he backed that boy one hundred percent. The whole thing ended up in court.” He gestured with one deeply veined hand. “You know the rest.”

“I had no idea,” I said.

“Most folks don’t.” He rubbed his chin with one hand. “That man of yours know who did this?”

“He’s working on it,” I said.

“No offense intended, but it probably wouldn’t hurt if he had some help.”

I stood on tiptoe, put one hand on the shoulder of his black suit and kissed his cheek. “You’re not subtle,” I said.

He gave a snort. “I’m too old to be subtle,” he said.

I looked at my watch. It was getting late and I needed to get to the library. I promised Harrison I would be out soon for supper and headed over to say good-bye to Mia.

“Call me or text me anytime,” I said. “I mean it.”

“I will,” she said. She hugged me tightly.

Simon put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m just going to walk Kathleen out. I’ll be right back,” he said.

“I’m okay,” Mia said. Simon caught Denise’s eye and she nodded. I knew she’d keep a close eye on Mia. Like me, she’d been doing that all morning.

I didn’t realize how warm it was inside the funeral home until we stepped outside.

“I didn’t know he knew so many people,” Simon said as we crossed the pavement toward my truck.

I thought he looked tired, the lines around his eyes pulling tighter than they had when we’d first arrived for the service.

“It’s not just your father all these people care about,” I said. “They care about you and Mia as well.”

We reached the truck and Simon pulled at his tie, loosening it a little. “My father loved this place,” he said. “After my mother died we moved to Green Bay and then Milwaukee. Dad went back to school and got his PhD in math. He taught for twenty years at Marquette University.” He swiped a hand over the top of his head. “He loved math the way some people love the New York Yankees or Star Wars movies.”

I smiled.

“And he loved to play blackjack and poker. Would you believe Dad was banned from a couple of casinos?” He kicked a rock, sending it skittering over the pavement.

I thought about the smiling man I’d met who doted on his granddaughter. It was hard to imagine Leo as a card shark. “What did he do?” I asked.

Simon gave me a wry smile. “Your guess is as good as mine. He always claimed he didn’t cheat. He said the odds were stacked overwhelmingly in favor of the house and he was just evening things up a little.”

“I wish I’d gotten to know him better,” I said.

“You would have liked him.”

I nodded. “I already did.”

“Thank you for everything you did for Mia today,” Simon said.

“She’s special,” I said, turning to look back at the funeral home for a moment.

“She’s not the only one.” He leaned over and his lips brushed my forehead, then he turned and headed back across the lot.

• • •

Abigail was working the front desk when I got to the library. “How was the funeral?” she said.

“Sad,” I said.

“And Mia?”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “She got up and spoke and she was so grown-up, but underneath all that she’s still a little girl who misses her grandfather.”

Later that afternoon I was pushing an empty book cart back to the front desk when Harry Junior came in. He lifted a hand and I joined him.

“I just took a look at the loading bay door and it definitely needs a new seal. That’s where the rain’s getting in.”

“That’s better than a whole new door,” I said. “How do we get a new seal?”

“That’s what I wanted to tell you,” he said. “Thorsten thinks there’s one at the town depot. I can go over and check if you want me to.” He pulled off his Twins cap and smoothed a hand over his mostly bald scalp. “Do you need me to write you up a requisition for Lita?”

“I will,” I said, “but I have enough in the repairs budget, so if they’ve got it, get it and go ahead and install it. There’s rain in the long range for the first of next week.”

“I’ll get right on it.”

“I talked to your father at the service. He’s looking hale and hearty.”

Harry smiled. “As much as I hate to admit it, this new romance of his seems to be agreeing with him.” He pointed a finger at me. “And if you tell him I said that, those blackberries you like so much from my backyard might mysteriously disappear.”

I held up both hands. “I didn’t hear anything.”

He smiled.

“It was good of you and Larry to come to the funeral as well,” I said.

He suddenly looked uncomfortable, shifting his weight from one side to the other. “Leo Janes and the old man were friends a long time ago. It was the right thing to do.” He shrugged. “I better get over and get that seal. I’ll let you know when the door’s fixed.”

I watched him go, and Harrison’s nudge that I should get involved in the investigation into Leo Janes’s death came into my mind. I flashed to Simon in the funeral home parking lot and to Harry Taylor just now. I had no idea who had killed Leo Janes, but I did know that at least two people were probably hiding things.

chapter 6