Софи Райан - The Whole Cat Аnd Caboodle

“He took my offer,” I said. It seemed to me he smiled before licking his lips. I leaned over and gave the top of his head a little scratch. “Oh, c’mon, you know you’re not really going to eat anything you find out there,” I said.

He stared unblinkingly at me. I stared back at him, and I have no idea how long that would have gone on, except all of a sudden his whiskers twitched. His furry black head swiveled toward the door and he lifted his chin and sniffed the air.

“I don’t smell anything,” I said.

His green eyes focused on me for a moment. He gave me a look that could best be described as dismissive and then he jumped down and went over to the door. When I didn’t immediately jump up he looked back at me and meowed loudly.

“I’m coming,” I said. I got up, squeezed around the desk and opened the door for him. He went about half a dozen steps into the hallway; then he stopped and looked back at me.

“Give me a second,” I said, pulling my keys out of my pocket. “I need to lock the door.”

He sat down and began thumping his tail against the floor, not unlike someone impatiently drumming his fingers.

“That’s not making me move any faster, you know,” I said.

The tail thumping stopped. It occurred to me that not only was I turning into one of those people who talked to their animals, but now I was also expecting an answer.

Elvis led the way downstairs. Liz was standing just inside the front door. A brown paper shopping bag was at the floor by her feet. Mr. Peterson was on her other side.

“Good morning,” I said to Liz. I leaned sideways to smile at Mr. P. “Hello, Mr. Peterson.”

He smiled back at me. “Hello, Sarah,” he said. “I like your store. It’s a trip down memory lane for me.”

“Thank you,” I said.

I was shooting what is he doing here looks at Liz, who was studiously avoiding meeting my eye.

Mr. P. was carrying a small black nylon briefcase, but Elvis’s attention was completely focused on Liz’s shopping bag. He sniffed at it and then pawed at the brown paper.

“Don’t do that,” I ordered, bending down to pick him up.

“He probably smells lunch,” Liz said, finally meeting my gaze. “I brought Chinese chicken salad for everyone from McNamara’s.”

Elvis twisted in my arms and the look he gave me was totally triumphant.

“That was very . . . thoughtful of you,” I said. Now I knew something was up. I knew a bribe when it was sitting on the floor of my store in a paper shopping bag.

I was about to grab Liz by the arm, pull her away from Mr. P. and ask her what the heck was going on, when Rose came from the storage room. She caught sight of us and a smile stretched across her face. She hurried across the floor, stopping for a moment to speak to a man and woman who were looking at a large rectangular mirror that was hanging on the wall near the cash register.

“Alfred, thank you for coming,” she said, taking Mr. P.’s free hand in both of hers.

“I’m happy to help in any way I can, Rose,” he said, smiling back at her.

She let go of his hand and turned to Liz. “You brought lunch,” she said. “Thank you.”

Liz handed her the shopping bag and Rose peeked inside. “I thought you were going to cook,” she said, looking up at her friend.

“I said I’d bring lunch,” Liz said. “I didn’t say anything about cooking,”

Rose gave me a quick smile and turned back to Liz. “I’m going to give Sarah cooking lessons when all this upset with Maddie is over.”

“Won’t that be fun?” Liz said dryly.

“You can come if you need to brush up on your skills.”

“As long as I can call for takeout I’m fine.”

I could see where this was going. Time to change the subject. “So, what’s happening?” I said to Rose.

She shot Mr. P. another quick smile and then focused on me. “Alfred is going to help us figure out who really killed Arthur Fenety. He’s a computer genius.”

I looked at Mr. P.

“I don’t know if I’d say genius ,” he said, ducking his head modestly.

“You didn’t say genius . I did,” Rose said. “And you are.” She took Mr. P.’s arm with her free hand. “The office is all set up. Come take a look and see if there’s anything else you need.”

“I’m sure everything’s fine,” he said. He couldn’t stop looking at Rose, and there was something about the expression on his face that made me think of a love-struck sixteen-year-old boy. It occurred to me that he would have happily followed her off the edge of a cliff.

Mr. P. had a thing for Rose. Oh, great.

I turned to look at Liz, raising my eyebrows.

Liz held up her hands. “Don’t look at me,” she said. “All I did was pick up lunch—and Alfred.”

I leaned over, put my arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. “I will get you for this,” I whispered. Then I headed for the cash register, where a customer was waiting.

Mac came in a few minutes later. “Table’s all sanded,” he said. “Do you want to see what I’m thinking about for stain?”

I nodded. “I do. Let me get Charlotte and I’ll come out and take a look.”

“Okay,” Mac said.

I headed for the storeroom door. “By the way, Liz brought lunch,” I said.

“That’s not all she brought, I see.” He tipped his head in the direction of the sunporch. “That’s Mr. Peterson, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Interesting.”

I shook a finger at him. “Oh no. We are not using that word in here for the rest of the day. It’s already gotten me in enough trouble.”

He laughed and made a shooing motion with one hand. “Go find Charlotte.”

Charlotte and Rose were with Mr. P. in their new “office.” Liz was unpacking lunch, dividing the food between two metal TV trays. Someone had brought in a black wicker chair and Elvis was perched on it, watching Liz’s every move. “Charlotte, could you keep an eye on the cash for a few minutes?” I asked. “I just need to look at some stain samples with Mac. You can take your lunch right after that.”

“Of course,” she said. She looked at Rose. “I’ll be right back.”

I linked my arm through Charlotte’s as we walked back to the front of the building. “Mr. P. likes Rose,” I said.

She smiled. “You noticed.”

“It’s kind of hard not to. He’s like a love-struck teenager.”

“Alfred is a nice man,” Charlotte said, glancing back over her shoulder. “That whole incident over at Legacy Place aside. He’s very popular with the ladies.”

I leaned my head against her. “You know that if he hurts Rose in any way I’ll have to have a serious talk with him.”

“I know,” she said. She reached over and laid a hand against my cheek. “And speaking of talks, thank you for whatever you said to Nicolas.”

“I didn’t have to say much,” I said. “Nick loves you.”

“I know.” She shook her head. “He also thinks I’m a hundred and two and should be home, in a rocking chair, with a shawl around my shoulders.”

I laughed. “C’mon, Charlotte. He’s not that bad.”

She smiled. “All right. He’s not. But he doesn’t understand why we need to help Maddie. I’m glad you do. I’m glad you’re on our side.”

As far back as I could remember, Charlotte and Rose and Liz had been in my life. They were a cross between Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother and Mother Teresa. I’d never for a moment doubted how much they loved me.

I laid my head on her shoulder for a moment. “I’m always, always on your side,” I said.

Mac took me out to the workshop to show me his choices for the table stain. “That one,” I said immediately, pointing to the darkest of the four choices.