Софи Келли - Hooked On A Feline

The chair was very comfortable. Maybe a couple of them would work in Marcus’s backyard. I made a mental note to ask Peggy about them. Boris came over, leaned against my leg and set his head in my lap.

Harrison frowned at the dog. “Just give him a push,” he said to me as he sat down in the other chair.

“He’s fine,” I said, reaching to scratch behind Boris’s left ear. “He can sit by me whenever he wants.” As if he’d understood my words, the dog turned to look at the old man as if to gloat.

“You’re spoiled,” he told the dog. Boris closed his eyes and gave a contented sigh.

“What’s been going on at the library?” Harrison asked.

He was going to wait until after we’d eaten to talk about Mike Bishop, I realized, assuming I was right about why I’d been invited for supper.

I told him about the Summer Reading Club, the plans for a Money Week in the fall and about the library participating in World Mental Health Day in October.

“Sounds like you’re keeping busy,” he said.

I grinned at him. “It keeps me out of trouble. Tell me more about Elizabeth. You said she’s coming next month?”

He nodded. “Before she goes back to college. It’s taken a while for her to find her niche, but she’s been making noise about medical school or biomedical engineering. I’m hoping one of those sticks. I have to say I’d love to have a doctor in the family.”

I could hear the pride in his voice. Elizabeth had been placed for adoption when she was born. Harrison and her biological mother had had a relationship when Harrison’s wife was in a nursing home, something he still carried some shame about. It had taken some time for the two of them to get to know each other, but he had answered every question she’d had without dodging the messy ones and that had gone a long way to helping them build a close relationship.

Harry came in from outside then.

“You did a wonderful job on this porch,” I said, gesturing with one hand.

“Thanks,” he said. He cleared his throat. “I saw you and Marcus at the service. I wanted to thank you both for coming. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to talk to you there.”

“I liked Mike,” I said. “I wish I’d had the time to get to know him better. He’d come in to work on the family tree, and first thing I knew, he’d be in one of the meeting rooms charming the seniors.”

Harry laughed. “That sounds like him.”

“What can I do to help?” I asked.

Before Harry could answer, his father spoke up. “You’re a guest and you don’t have to work for your supper.”

Harry smiled. “Thank you for the offer, Kathleen, but I have everything under control. We’ll eat in about five minutes.”

As usual, the food was delicious: barbecued steak, chopped salad and sourdough bread. I recognized the bread as Rebecca’s honey-sunny recipe. Harry confirmed that I was right.

“Peggy made it,” he said.

“I’ll remember to thank her next time I see her,” I said.

During supper we talked about Harry’s garden—his cucumbers were doing better than mine—and the fact that the prankster who had been leaving things in the library’s gazebo seemed to have given up.

“Whoever it is will be back. You just watch,” Harry said.

“Mary certainly agrees with you,” I said. “I’m hoping that finding the camera that you and Larry put up might have made whoever has been pulling these stunts realize this whole thing really isn’t funny.”

Harry just shrugged. “We’ll see.”

For dessert there was orange-banana frozen yogurt that the old man had made in his son’s ice cream maker.

“This is so good,” I exclaimed. I fought the urge to use my finger to get the last creamy bit out of my bowl. The yogurt was the perfect combination of citrus and sweet.

“I still have a few tricks left up my sleeve,” Harrison said with a mischievous grin.

Harry rolled his eyes. “And that’s what worries me.”

Harrison still had the grin. “You need to blow a little of the carbon out of your spark plugs, if you get my drift.” He had a naughty-boy gleam in his blue eyes and I thought once again what a charmer he must have been when he was a young man. He was certainly charming enough now.

“And on that note.” Harry got to his feet. He gathered our bowls. “I have a couple of things to do.”

“Thank you for supper,” I said.

He smiled. “You’re welcome here anytime. It’s the least I can do since you keep my father in muffins and reading material.”

Boris was sitting next to my chair. Harry patted his leg. “Let’s go,” he said to the dog.

“Leave him be,” Harrison said. “I’ll bring him over later.”

Harry gave his head a little shake. “All right,” he said. “Don’t feed him any of that frozen yogurt.” He headed into the house.

“Do you want to stay out here or move inside?” I asked Harrison.

“There’s a nice breeze coming in through those screens and no bugs,” he said. “Are you up for staying out here?”

“Absolutely,” I said.

We moved over into Peggy’s new chairs. I looked out over the back of Harry’s property. “This is a beautiful spot,” I said.

“That it is,” he agreed. He stroked his beard with his thumb and index finger.

I turned and looked at him, narrowing my eyes.

“I know that look,” he said. “You think I had an ulterior motive for inviting you out here.”

“Didn’t you?” I countered. “You want me to dig into Mike Bishop’s death.”

“I wouldn’t want to risk our friendship by asking you to do that and putting you in a bad spot with Detective Gordon.” He actually managed a little self-righteousness in his tone.

I got up and went over to hug him. “Because if I’m a true and loyal friend, I’ll do it without you asking me. Am I right?”

He laughed and I knew I was. The old man wasn’t just charming. He was crafty as well.

“Kathleen, what do you know about dowsing?” he asked.

I was surprised by the sudden change in the conversation. “Not a lot,” I said. “I know it’s been used to find groundwater among other things. The practice dates back centuries. Traditionally the dowser uses a forked branch from a tree or a bush—quite often willow or witch hazel—although some prefer using two metal rods. And dowsing is no more effective than just random chance.”

He nodded. “I know it shouldn’t work. I know there’s no science, but there are some things in life that science just can’t explain.”

I thought about Owen and Hercules and their skills.

“I’ve seen a dowser find water when no one else could. It’s like they have some kind of sixth sense or instinct that comes into play, and you have the same thing when it comes to getting to the truth. Just rely on your instincts and everything will be just fine.”

I stayed for another half an hour and we talked about the increase in tourists the town had seen this summer. Harrison told me more about the original Last Bash and how he hoped this revival wouldn’t be just a onetime thing.

I finally got to my feet. Boris was in between our chairs and I reached down to scratch his head.

“Stay where you are,” I said, leaning down to give Harrison a hug. “I should have a couple of books for you by the end of the week. I’ll call you and one of the boys can pick them up.”

“Thank you, my dear,” he said. “You always do the right thing by me.”

I knew he was referring to Mike’s death but I let the comment go.

I went out the porch door and walked around the side of the house. As I headed toward the truck, Harry came out of his house and started toward me. I wondered if he’d been watching for me.

“You’re heading out,” he said when we met by the back bumper of the truck.