Donally, Claire - Cat Nap (A SUNNY & SHADOW MYSTERY)

“Damn!” Will burst out. “That was the whole reason I told her to wait outside. I didn’t want anyone to see me.”

“Looks as if that didn’t work out so well,” Sunny told him with a shrug.

“Ah, man!” He dropped in the chair by Sunny’s desk. “Trumbull woke me up at the crack of dawn with a bunch of questions about Jane. He said he was just contacting me informally, since he knew I used to be with the Portsmouth PD.”

Sunny frowned. “So why is that a problem for you?”

“It’s a kind of quiet blackmail.” Will grimaced. “The alternative is that he makes it official . . . and goes through Frank Nesbit.”

Frank Nesbit was the sheriff of Elmet County, and technically Will’s boss. But a bunch of Kittery Harbor community leaders had persuaded Will to take a job as a town constable. Will was the son of the previous sheriff, and a lot of people—including Sunny’s father—hoped that a Price would soon be sheriff again. The political overtones did not make for a smooth working relationship between Will and Frank.

“At the very least, that will put me on Nesbit’s radar,” Will said. “I won’t be able to do anything to help Jane. And I think she’s going to need some help. Whatever happened between them last night, Mark Trumbull isn’t as disinterested in her as she thinks.”

He sat for a moment, looking deflated—and embarrassed. “I know this is . . .”

“Awkward?” she suggested when he went silent.

Will leaned toward her across the desk. “But you’re the only one I can talk to who might understand.”

Sunny nodded. For just a little while, Frank Nesbit had thought she’d shot two guys. She wouldn’t wish a full-scale murder investigation on her worst enemy. And Jane wasn’t an enemy exactly. More like a rival.

“So what do you think I can do?” she asked.

“Talk to her,” Will urged. “Maybe she’ll listen to you.” He rose to his feet. “She sure isn’t listening to me.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Sunny promised, following him to the door. She put a hand on his arm. “But Jane’s a big girl. She’s going to do whatever she wants.”

“Oh, yeah.” Will went out. “I know.”

Sunny returned to her desk, frowning in thought. Jane had made it pretty clear that she didn’t take Trumbull all that seriously. How could Sunny even bring the matter up?

Well, it’s not going to be a chatty phone call, she decided. Picking up the desk phone, she punched in her home number. Mike answered, sounding a little fuzzy, as if she’d woken him from a nap.

“Could you call the animal hospital and make an appointment for Shadow? They have evening hours tonight. I’m afraid that will mean a quick supper, though. Soup and sandwiches sound okay?”

*

When she closedthe office for the day, Sunny stopped off at Judson’s Market, splurging on a half pound of fresh-cooked turkey breast, some of their homemade vinegar and oil coleslaw, and the frozen low-salt minestrone soup her dad liked.

She arrived home to a warm greeting from Shadow and a suspicious one from her father. He turned down the volume on the news as she came into the living room. “Okay, you have a seven o’clock appointment lined up,” he said. “You got off the phone pretty quickly, before I could wake up and ask any questions—what’s this appointment all about?”

Sighing, Sunny recounted her conversation with Will. “I need a reason to go and talk with Jane, and it can’t be something like, ‘Oh, I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d drop by.’” She shrugged. “Maybe it will still sound pretty lame—”

As if on cue, Shadow leaned down and licked his paw.

“But it’s the best I’ve got to work with.”

Sunny headed back to the kitchen, where she put the soup in the microwave to heat up and worked on making the turkey sandwiches. She toasted the bread, then arranged turkey slices and tomato on one side, the coleslaw on the other. A quick squeeze of honey mustard, and the sandwiches were ready.

Mike came in and got the soup bowls while Sunny brought the sandwiches to the table. She took a spoonful of soup. Well, it was obvious why her dad liked this stuff. Unlike canned soup, the vegetables were crisp, as if they were fresh—you could really taste them.

Mike took a sip from his glass of seltzer. “I talked with Helena about that girl in Portsmouth.”

“Oh, you mean Martin’s receptionist, Dawn Featherstone?” Sunny said. “So what did Mrs. Martinson say about her?”

“Well, she didn’t know anything right off the bat. But she took it on as a challenge.” His expression went a little sour. “Anything to get her mind off that damned dog. So she’s—what is it you reporters say? Working her sources?”

Sunny chuckled. “Sounds about right.”

“By the way, she liked Toby as a name for the pup,” Mike reported. He related some of Mrs. Martinson’s stories about new indiscretions by the puppy, so they had something to laugh about as they ate.

By the time they’d finished and washed the plates, it was time to head over to Jane’s.

“You gonna rub Shadow’s paw for him?” Mike asked, looking at the clock.

Sunny shook her head. “Don’t think I can fit it in without making us late.”

“Well, maybe if he has a little pain, that will justify your visit,” Mike suggested.

Sunny shot Shadow a guilty look as she got out the cat carrier. “You aren’t hurting, are you?” she asked. “I’ll take care of you as soon as we get home—promise.”

*

Shadow was alittle surprised when he saw Sunny getting out the box-to-ride-in. They were going out—in the dark and cold? But Sunny got the furry thing from his bed—not real fur, but it felt good and had lots of interesting smells. He rolled around in it, keeping warm as cold air came into the box Sunny carried. Then they were inside her car, driving along.

After a quick trip through cold air, they were inside again. Since he was inside the box, Shadow couldn’t see where they were going, but he recognized their destination, even in the dark. This was the place where Gentle Hands lived!

Shadow lay down peacefully while Sunny talked with another two-leg. They sat for a little while, with her looking through the barred front of the box, talking quietly to him.

Then they were on the move, going down a long hallway to the bright room where Gentle Hands took care of him. He wasn’t sure why they were here. They’d just visited, and his paw felt fine now. Were they going to play a trick on him and stick him with something? Sometimes Gentle Hands did that, but she always tried to make sure that the hurt was as little as possible.

It hadn’t been the same when the other one was here, the human male that Shadow always thought of as Hard Hands. He’d never seemed to mind hurting Shadow or any other animal that came here. Even when he seemed gentle, his hands were just too tight. Shadow always wished he could have bitten him. But Hard Hands always wore heavy gloves.

Sunny opened the door on the box, and Shadow came out onto the metal table. Gentle Hands immediately began to pet him, taking his paw in her fingers. But over his head, Sunny and the other human were talking. It wasn’t happy talk. What was making them so upset? He looked around, and suddenly his nostrils caught a whiff of Hard Hands.

Shadow took his paw back and prowled around on the table, looking around the room. Is Hard Hands back? A little snarl came from the back of his throat. I thought he had gone away!

7

“Wow, he doesn’tlook happy.” Sunny felt a stab of guilt as she watched Shadow pace around the perimeter of Jane Rigsdale’s examination table, his tail swishing in annoyance. Should she have been massaging more oil, or doing it more often?