Софи Райан - The Whole Cat Аnd Caboodle

“That was my choice, too,” he said.

We talked about paint colors for the table legs and then I headed back to the shop.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Mac called after me.

I lifted a hand in the air to show I’d heard him.

Liz was waiting for me by the door to the sunporch. She handed me two cardboard takeout containers.

“Thank you,” I said. “What do I owe you?”

“Nothing,” she said. She glanced over her shoulder. Mr. P. was showing Rose something on his computer screen.

Rose looked up from the computer then and beckoned to me. I handed the food containers back to Liz and walked over to her.

“Alfred needs the—” She looked at Mr. P.

“Password for the Wi-Fi,” he said.

“Are you going to be doing anything illegal?” I joked, smiling so he’d know I was kidding.

“Not that could be traced back here,” he said. His expression was completely serious and for a moment I wondered if he was, too.

I gestured at the keyboard. “May I?” I asked.

Mr. P. nodded and I leaned over and typed in the long combination of letters and symbols that made up the password. “There you go,” I said.

Rose smiled. “Thank you, Sarah.” She caught my hand and gave it a squeeze.

I retrieved lunch from Liz just as Mac came in the back door. “I’ll be out front if you need me,” I told her.

I sent Charlotte back to eat with the others. Mac pulled out the low stool we kept behind the counter and I sat in the tub chair.

“We should make another one of those,” Mac said, gesturing at my seat with his chopsticks. “How many times has someone wanted to buy that one?”

“At least half a dozen,” I said, taking the lid off my container of Chinese chicken salad. Second Chance wasn’t usually busy at lunchtime. Today wasn’t any different. Mac and I ate our lunch and talked about when we could pick up the furniture from Mabel Harrington’s house.

“It’s awfully quiet back there,” I said, as he collected our containers to be rinsed and recycled.

“Go see what they’re doing,” Mac said. “You know you want to.”

I stood up and stretched my arms up over my head. “I do,” I said. “I’m just kind of afraid of what I might find them doing. What if Mr. P. has hacked into the police-department computer?”

Mac smiled. “Then you’d better hope he’s as good as he says he is.”

“You’re not helpful,” I said over my shoulder as I headed for the back of the building.

I could hear him laughing behind me. “I wasn’t trying to be,” he said.

In the sunroom Mr. P. was still working on his laptop. I decided that if I didn’t look at what he was doing I had plausible deniability if I needed it. Liz, Charlotte and Rose were sitting by the windows, talking.

I stuck my head around the doorframe. “Hi. Do you need anything before I head up to my office?”

Rose looked up. “Sarah, do you still have Tuesday’s newspaper?” she asked.

“I think it’s in the recycling bin.”

“It’s all right,” Mr. P. piped up. “I already retrieved it from their Web site.”

Rose smiled and Mr. P. glowed. “I guess we don’t need anything, then,” she said. She looked at her watch. “Is there anything special you’d like me to do this afternoon?”

“Would you unpack the last of those quilts?” I asked. “They seem to be popular with the leaf peepers.”

“I will. Would you like me to put out more of the Depression-glass plates, as well?”

I nodded. “That’s a good idea.”

Avery blew in the back door then, her cranberry-hued hair windblown and her gray-and-black jacket hanging open. She stood in the doorway, held up a piece of paper and grinned from ear to ear. “I am a mathematical genius!” she proclaimed.

I leaned over to look at her math test—that was what she was holding up. Then I grinned back at her. “Avery! That’s a ninety-two. Wonderful!”

“Yes, it is,” she said, squaring her shoulders with pride. She held up her hand and I high-fived her.

Charlotte and Rose were both smiling. Rose clapped.

Liz got out of her seat and came over to Avery. “Good work,” she said. “I’m proud of you.”

“Really?” Avery asked.

“Really,” Liz said, wrapping her in a hug. She turned her head to look over her shoulder at Rose. “Rose, we’re going to need a cake.”

“Well, yes,” Rose said. She leaned forward in her chair and looked at Avery. “What kind of cake would you like?”

“Chocolate with that topping stuff that has brown sugar and coconut,” Avery said, as Liz let go of her and took the test from her hand.

“German chocolate,” Rose said.

Avery nodded enthusiastically. “That’s it.” Then, like a little kid, she added, “Please and thank you.” She noticed Alfred Peterson then. “Hey, Mr. P.,” she said.

He looked up from the keyboard. “Hello, Avery,” he said. “Good job on the math test.”

She grinned again. “Thanks. I bet you were good at math because you’re good with computers.”

How did she know that? I’d found out about his alleged computer skills only about an hour ago.

Mr. Peterson smoothed a veiny hand back over the top of his mostly smooth head. “I’m afraid not,” he said. “I was a bit of a bad boy in my high school days.”

Liz suddenly had a coughing fit. I thumped her on the back. “Avery, get your grandmother’s tea,” I said. “It’s dry in here.” I’d caught a glimpse of Liz’s face and I knew her sudden coughing spell had nothing to do with dry air and everything to do with Alfred Peterson’s declaration that he’d been a bad boy back in his high school days.

Liz took a sip of her probably cold tea and sat down again. I noticed she avoided looking me in the eye—just as well because I was a bit afraid that if she did I’d be the one having a sudden coughing jag.

“What are you all doing out here, anyway?” Avery asked.

“It’s our office,” Rose said.

“You mean for helping Mrs. H.”

Charlotte nodded. “Mr. Peterson is helping us.”

“Very cool, Mr. P.,” Avery said. She held up her hand and the old man high-fived her, which made me like him just a little bit more. “Hey, Nonna, you know what you are?” Avery asked.

“The world’s best grandmother?” Liz said.

Avery rolled her eyes. “You’re so funny,” she said. “You guys are Charlie’s Angels.” She looked at Charlotte. “You’re Lucy Liu. Nonna is Cameron Diaz and Rose is Drew Barrymore.”

Liz looked over at me. “Not a word, Sarah,” she warned, but her eyes were sparkling with amusement.

I mimicked zipping my mouth, locking it and putting the key in my shirt pocket.

“Does that mean I’m Bernie Mac?” Mr. P. asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Avery said, as though that was obvious.

“I’d like to be Farrah,” Liz said, patting her blond hair.

Avery shook her head. “Well, whoever that is, she’s not one of Charlie’s Angels, so you can’t.”

Charlotte smiled. “Farrah Fawcett was one of the original Charlie’s Angels,” she said. “On TV.”

“Are you serious?” Avery asked. She glanced over at me.

I nodded.

“I have to see that. Can we download it?” she said to Liz.

“When your homework is done,” Liz said, reaching for her tea and frowning at the empty cup.

“You should be Jaclyn Smith,” Rose said to Liz.

“Why?” Liz asked.

“She had the nicest clothes.”

“So that would make you Farrah.”

Rose nodded. “I know. I have the best hair so I should be Farrah.” She tossed her gray curls.

“Maybe I should be Farrah,” Charlotte said.

Rose and Liz both turned to look at her.

“You’re Kate Jackson,” Liz said.