Софи Келли - Hooked On A Feline

He shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maybe a week.”

Actually it took fewer than three days to get some answers. On Friday, after some investigation by the police and more tests by the medical examiner, the cause of Leitha Finnamore Anderson’s death was changed from accident to homicide.

chapter 11

I was sitting at the kitchen table with Owen on my lap, eating a toasted bagel topped with tomato slices when Marcus called with the news. “You were right,” I said.

“It might have been better if I’d been wrong.” I heard the squeak of his desk chair. “Now I have two murder cases and no idea if they’re connected or not.”

“You’ll figure it out,” I said. Owen bobbed his head seemingly in agreement. “Owen and I have faith in you.”

He laughed. “Well, then, how can I go wrong?”

Midmorning I got a call from Mike Bishop’s office. It was the office manager, Caroline. I’d been expecting to hear from her ever since I’d talked to Maggie.

“Hi, Kathleen,” she said. “I see from our records that you were coming back for a recheck on the tooth where we did the root canal. I don’t mean to push you but I was wondering what you want to do.”

“I don’t really know,” I said, dropping onto the footstool. “What are my options?”

“Well, there are several endodontists in Minneapolis. We could forward your records to one of them and I’m sure they would check the tooth for you. Is it giving you any trouble?”

Owen came down the stairs and over to me, looking quizzically at the phone.

“It’s not. I don’t have any pain at all now.”

“Then you’d probably be okay not having it checked. It was just something Dr. B. liked to do.”

“He was very conscientious,” I said.

“Yes, he was.” Caroline cleared her throat. “So I could just send your records over to your regular dentist. I can tell you that we know of an endodontist who is planning on setting up a practice here in Mayville Heights, probably this winter. If you did have any problems down the road and you didn’t want to drive to Minneapolis, that would be an option.”

Owen jumped onto my lap and pushed his face close to the receiver. I shifted him sideways and he gave me a sour look.

“I’m not sure what to do,” I said. “That tooth gave me so much trouble before the root canal—”

“You’re afraid something’s going to go wrong again.”

“Yes,” I said. “I know how silly that sounds.”

“It’s not silly at all,” Caroline said. “I have a suggestion. Why don’t you stop by the office sometime? Lorraine is here. You could ask her any questions you have. That might help you make up your mind.” Lorraine was one of the dental assistants in the practice. She was kind and very reassuring.

“I could stop in on my way to the library just before lunch.”

“We’ll see you then,” she said.

Owen looked from the phone to me as I hung up.

“I’m going to stop at Mike’s office,” I said. “Teeth stuff.”

He made a face. Owen hated having his teeth cleaned.

“Maybe I’ll learn something useful.”

The cat gave a noncommittal murp and followed me out to the kitchen.

“What do you think?” I asked. “Is Marcus right? Is there some kind of connection between Mike’s and Leitha’s deaths or is it just one weird coincidence?”

He seemed to think about my words for a minute; then he blinked his golden eyes at me. Okay, so he wasn’t sure, either.

I poured a cup of coffee, and when I turned around again, Owen was sitting on my chair, eyeing the laptop that was on the table. Roma had sent the photos from the concert and I wanted to take a look at them. Apparently, Owen did as well.

I set my coffee on the table, well away from the computer, scooped up the cat and sat down. He looked over my shoulder at the toaster and then looked at me.

“We don’t need toast and peanut butter,” I said.

The photos were terrific. There were two of Marcus and me from the side. We were holding hands while I leaned against his arm. There were three of Roma and me singing along with the band, arms across each other’s shoulders. In one of the shots Eddie had taken of Mary and Marcus dancing, he’d caught her in midtwirl.

“I think that’s my favorite,” I said, pointing at the screen.

Owen’s response was to put a paw on the keyboard and suddenly we were looking at an image of Maggie. “Merow!” he said. It was clear which photo was his favorite.

Roma had included several shots of the band. I smiled as I scrolled through the pictures and felt my throat tighten over an image of Mike and Harry grinning at each other as they played.

It wasn’t fair. Mike had been one of the good guys. When I got to the library, he should be there flirting with the ladies in the Seniors’ Book Club and laughing about some family scandal he’d uncovered with Abigail.

“We have to find the person who did this,” I said to Owen.

He nuzzled my chin. He was in.

I decided I’d eat once I got to the library, so I packed my lunch and drove down to Mike Bishop’s office. Caroline was at the reception desk.

“Hi, Kathleen,” she said. “I’ll let Lorraine know you’re here.”

I took a seat in the waiting room. Lorraine appeared a couple of minutes later. She smiled when she caught sight of me. She was short and curvy and seemed to smile all the time. She had gorgeous red curls that she generally wore in a high ponytail. Before today I didn’t think I’d ever seen her in the office with her hair down.

“How are you?” I asked.

Her mouth twisted to one side. “Still a bit in shock like everyone else.” She looked around. “It seems so quiet in here. I’m still having trouble with the idea that the concert was the last time I’m ever going to see Mike.”

She swallowed and I reached over and put a hand on her arm for a moment.

“The concert was incredible,” I said.

Lorraine’s smile returned. “It’s funny. That Thursday Mike was just about bouncing all around the office and I chalked it up to him being a bit wired about Johnny Rock performing again. I had no idea we were going to see the band. I can’t believe he managed to keep it all secret, because trust me, he was lousy at keeping secrets.”

“But we really should have guessed,” Caroline said.

Lorraine and I both turned to look at her.

“What makes you say that?” I asked.

Caroline gestured at the computer. “Mike was insistent that he had to leave on time on both Wednesday and Thursday. I had to schedule anything that had the possibility of running late for earlier in the day. More than once he missed lunch to get caught up. I can’t believe that it never entered my mind that the band was getting back together.”

Lorraine went over my options again and I decided to have my records sent to my regular dentist for now. “I don’t think you’re going to have any problems with that tooth,” she said, “but if you do, any of the endodontists in Minneapolis are good.”

I thanked her for her help and headed for the library. Mary was at the circulation desk. I hadn’t seen her in a couple of days.

“You’re early,” she said.

I held up the cooler bag. “I had a stop to make, so I thought I’d have lunch here. Maybe out in the gazebo.” I pulled out my phone and brought up the photos of her and Marcus. “Eddie took these,” I said. “Roma is going to send you copies.”

“I look pretty good,” Mary said. “And that guy of yours is a real hottie.”

I felt my cheeks getting red. “I’m just going to pretend you didn’t say that,” I said.

Mary laughed; then her expression became serious. “I heard the news about Leitha Anderson’s death. And I’ve already talked to Marcus.”