Софи Келли - Hooked On A Feline

“Thank you,” I said. “I didn’t think about taking pictures and now I wish I had.”

“You’re welcome. Eddie loves any chance to use that fancy camera. Ruby has been giving him some tips.”

Ruby Blackthorne, a very talented artist and photographer, was a member of the local artists’ co-op.

“I need to go speak to Rebecca,” Roma said. “Eddie got a beautiful shot of her and Everett dancing.”

As though saying her name had suddenly conjured her out of thin air, Ruby appeared in the doorway. She crossed the room and joined us.

“I have something to show you,” she said, a huge smile lighting up her face.

“Is it the new calendar?” I asked.

Ruby had taken some photos of Owen and Hercules, and that had morphed into a very successful promotional calendar for the town. So successful that now there was a second one, once again featuring the boys at various locations around town.

Ruby nodded and held out the large envelope she was holding. “Take a look.”

The calendar’s cover photo was Owen and Hercules on the deck of a sailboat. I remembered that shoot. Owen had shown no trepidation about getting on the boat but Hercules had been very reluctant. Given his intense dislike of wet feet, that hadn’t surprised me. Ruby had shamelessly bribed him with a dish of chopped roast beef.

Maggie and I flipped through the calendar pages. “Oh, I like this one!” I exclaimed about the photo that had been taken of the boys in the same spot we were standing. Owen was on his back legs with his front paws on the window ledge. Hercules was sitting on the ledge, one paw in the air almost as though he was working on his tai chi form.

“Look, Owen’s doing Cloud Hands,” Maggie teased. “He’s good, too.” Cloud Hands was one of the 108 movements of the form that still gave me grief.

I stuck my tongue out at her and she laughed. Then she bent her head over the calendar again.

“I like the lighting in this one,” she said to Ruby. “You’ve done an incredible job.”

I nodded my agreement. “I didn’t think it was possible, but this one is even better than the first calendar.”

Ruby’s cheeks flushed at the compliments. “You can keep that one and take it home for Owen and Hercules to see.”

“Thank you,” I said, slipping the calendar back inside the envelope.

“I’m going to get a cup of tea,” Ruby said. “I’m glad you like the calendar.”

Maggie took another sip of her own tea while stretching one arm over her head. “How was your day?” she asked. Maggie was the kind of person who was genuinely interested when she asked a question like that.

“Johnny Rock came in to make a donation in Mike’s memory to our computer fund,” I said. “It put us over the top.”

“I think that’s a great memorial for Mike.”

“It is. There are a lot of people who depend on us for Internet access and just for the chance to even use a computer. I’m happy that now we have the money to replace all the old ones.”

“But you wish it wasn’t because Mike’s dead.” She switched arms, stretching her left one now.

“Exactly,” I said. “He called the old ones boat anchors, which isn’t far from the truth.”

“So he’d be happy you’re getting new ones.”

I rubbed the back of my neck with one hand. “I think so, yes.”

“So you should be happy, too.”

“What would I do without you?” I said.

“You’d never master Cloud Hands, you and Marcus would not be a couple and you’d let your cat pick out your clothes all the time,” she teased.

I wrapped her in a hug. “Then lucky for me that I came to Mayville Heights.”

“Lucky for me, too,” Maggie said.

It was almost time to begin. Maggie and I walked over to the tea table.

“Has anyone from Mike Bishop’s office called you?” she asked.

I frowned at her. “No. Why would they be calling?”

Maggie ran a hand over her blond curls. “Well, I heard from them because I had an appointment coming up and Caroline wanted to let me know what my options are.”

Caroline was Mike Bishop’s office manager. She was someone I should talk to, I realized.

“They’re going to call every patient at some point to see what people want to do with their records.” She set her cup on the table. “Has Marcus has come up with anything yet?”

I sighed softly. “No.”

“Have you?”

There wasn’t any point in denying that I was asking questions about Mike’s death. I shook my head. “No.”

“You’ll figure it out,” Maggie said, giving my arm a squeeze as she moved to the center of the room. She clapped her hands and called, “Circle, everyone.”

I darted out to put the calendar in my bag. Then I moved into my usual spot next to Roma and it struck me that I didn’t know if Maggie had been referring to both Marcus and me when she’d said, “You’ll figure it out,” or if she’d just meant me.

When we finished the form at the end of the class, I was surprised to see Marcus waiting by the door. He walked over to me. “Can I lure you out for frozen yogurt at Tubby’s?” he asked. “Or do you need to get home?”

I smiled. “I can always find time for Tubby’s,” I said.

“Good,” he said. He turned to Maggie. “Brady showed me your design ideas for the T-shirts for the girls’ hockey team. I don’t know how we’re going to pick just one.”

“It was fun working on them,” Maggie said. “And it wasn’t just me. Kathleen and Owen both offered their input.”

Marcus smiled. “I’ll make sure both of them are rewarded.”

I changed my shoes and we headed down the stairs.

“Where did you park?” Marcus asked as we stepped outside. “I didn’t see the truck anywhere.”

“I walked,” I said. “It was such a nice evening and I spent a lot of time sitting today. I wanted to stretch my legs.”

His SUV was parked just ahead. “That works out perfectly. We can drive over to Tubby’s for yogurt and find a place to enjoy it along the Riverwalk. I’ll take you home after that.”

I recognized his matter-of-fact tone. He was in detective mode.

We got to the car, and before I got inside, I stopped, resting one hand on the roof. “Marcus, I’m always happy to see you and I’m always up for frozen yogurt, but I know you’re here for more than that. So please tell me what’s up.”

He looked at the keys in his hand for a moment; then he looked over the roof of the car at me. “I need you to tell me all about Leitha Anderson’s visit to the library on the day she died.”

My heart began to thump in my ears. “Did you actually find a connection between her death and Mike’s?”

He thought for a moment. “Can we just get in, please?” he said.

We both climbed into the SUV and I turned to face him before I even fastened my seat belt. “What’s going on?” I said. “Is Leitha’s accident connected to Mike’s death?”

He stuck the key in the ignition without saying anything, then looked at me. “At this point I can’t be sure, but I have reason to believe Leitha Anderson’s death wasn’t so accidental after all.”

chapter 9

I stared at him, wondering if I’d heard him right. “I don’t understand,” I said. “Leitha had a heart attack. Her car went off the road. Everyone agreed it was an accident.”

Marcus did his hand-hair thing. He looked tired. There was dark stubble on his face and lines pulled at his mouth. “I know, but I couldn’t let go of the idea that something was off about her death, so I went back through the file on the accident and I noticed that Leitha had been involved in a study on heart disease and longevity.”

I nodded. “I know. Mike told me that Leitha was the only person in two generations of their family to live into her nineties.”