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

She broke off when she realized Will was standing there, too. “Why—” Jane began.

“We were out catching a bite to eat,” Sunny said, “And we came right over when your call came through.”

“If I’d known that, I’d never have bothered you.” Jane took Sunny by the arm, lowering her voice. “I don’t know how we’ll do it with Will around, but I need you to talk some sense into Tobe. He wants to go to the police.”

“He’s here?” Sunny said.

Jane sighed and led her to the kitchen. Will trailed behind, looking a bit wary.

Tobe Phillips sat at the kitchen counter, holding a bag of frozen corn to his face. He took it away, wincing, and shifted to a new section. In the process, he revealed an ominous swelling below his left eye and a cut on his cheek. Jane quickly put down a tray with a pair of medical gloves, a tube of antiseptic ointment, and a small bandage. She moved the frost-covered bag away from Tobe’s face and examined his eye.

“What happened?” Will asked.

“Don’t tell him,” Jane begged.

“Of course I’m going to tell him,” Tobe replied. “I still have to report this to the police.”

“This is a police matter?” Will’s voice went flat.

“For the Portsmouth police,” Tobe explained. “A case of assault.”

Will glanced from Tobe to Jane, looking baffled. “You assaulted him, and now you’re trying to treat him?”

Is that even kosher for a vet to do? Sunny wondered as Jane whirled around, stung.

“You think I did this to him?” Her voice was way too loud. Jane took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, her voice was quiet and professional. “I’m just trying to make sure he’s all right.” She turned to look into Tobe’s eyes. “Okay. Your pupils are the same size. I don’t think we have to worry about a concussion. You didn’t vomit or lose any memory.”

“I might wish I could forget it,” Tobe said. “It was embarrassing. The guy didn’t even knock me out—he just landed me on my butt.”

“Who did it and where?” Will’s cop persona was definitely taking over.

“This big guy,” Tobe replied. “And it happened in Portsmouth. Jane called me, pretty concerned about the way the police were taking this case. I took her out to dinner, and we discussed things.”

From the look on Will’s face, all of a sudden his corned beef wasn’t agreeing with him.

“I was walking Jane back to her car,” Tobe continued, “when I noticed someone following us, a big guy. When I asked him what he was doing, he sort of blinked, like he wasn’t sure what to do. But he made up his mind damn quick. He punched me out and then walked away.”

“It was Olek,” Jane whispered to Sunny. “I guess Dani told him to keep an eye on me,”

Remembering how Olek had to call in when he found himself being followed, Sunny suspected the big guy was better at following orders than thinking on his feet. Confronted by Tobe and lacking instructions, Olek had done the best he could think of—knocking Tobe down and getting out of there. Simple but efficient in its way.

Unfortunately, Will had overheard. “Olek?” he repeated. “Dani? You mean Olek Linko and Danilo Shostak, the Ukrainian mobsters?”

“I, uh . . .” Jane wilted under Will’s interrogation. “I guess so.”

“How do you know them?” Will demanded.

“Who is this Olek character?” Tobe said at the same time.

As Jane stumbled through the story, Will pinned Sunny in place with a glare. “I see you left a few facts out when you told me about these guys.”

Tobe’s face was so pale, his incipient shiner stood out like a blotch on his face. “Ukrainian gangsters? Stolen money? And you didn’t even mention it?”

“It’s something we don’t want to bring attention to.” Sunny tried to explain why.

“I don’t know if I can just sweep this under the rug,” Tobe said. “I’m an officer of the court.”

“And I’m an officer of the law,” Will added savagely. “You realize that if Martin stole from them, these guys could have killed him? Look what this Olek guy did to Tobe with one shot.” He gave the lawyer a condescending smile. “I don’t suppose you’re used to that kind of rough-and-tumble.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Sunny warned Will. “He’d have planted you on the pavement, too. If you want to go up against Olek, I’d suggest hitting him with a truck first. But I don’t think they killed Martin.”

“Why?” Will ground the word out. “Because they told you nicely?”

“Because they’re still looking for the money,” Sunny answered.

Will scowled. “So they say.” He turned to Jane. “In the meantime, they’re trying to extort the same amount from you? Did it occur to you that they’re just trying to double their money? They’re gangsters, after all.”

“If you’d excuse my saying so, I think you’re wrong,” Tobe said slowly, putting the frozen bag back on his face. “From what you’ve told me of his history, this Danilo fellow seems to be allergic to trouble. But a murder connected to his operation would bring attention in spades. In my experience—and I have dealt with some organized crime types—if he was guilty, he’d have gotten out of town. If not, there has to be a reason for taking the risk—and that has to be the missing money.”

“Fine, fine,” Will almost snarled. “So the money is still in play. What are we going to do about these guys?”

Now it was Tobe’s turn to go poker-faced—not easy, with vegetables covering half of it. “I think I’m going to play the attorney-client privilege card.” He gave Will a hard look with his good eye. “As you said, these guys are gangsters. Can you guarantee Jane and Sunny’s safety if you go after them?”

Will stood for a moment with his mouth open, then closed it with a snap. “All right,” he said, obviously hating every word. “We’ll keep it quiet for now. I hope you’re right. Otherwise, I can lose my job.”

Hey, I could lose my life, Sunny almost said, but then thought better of it. But one look in Will’s eyes showed he was thinking the same thing.

“I’m sorry, Will,” Jane said. “We really didn’t know what to do.”

Will took a deep breath and then let it out forcibly through his nose. “You’d better get to work fixing Tobe’s face,” he advised. “I think you’re going to have a shiner, but let’s try to minimize the damage as much as possible.”

Jane carefully examined the cut, cleaning the broken skin. Then she covered it with a layer of ointment and topped it with a little bandage. “Try icing it as much as possible,” she advised, “just don’t rest anything cold on the eye itself. And if you feel sick or dizzy, go see a doctor. A people doctor,” she added with a strained smile.

“The other thing—you want to pick someplace where you fell, unless you want to say you walked into a door.” Will’s eyes were keen as he looked at Tobe. “Did anybody see this happen?”

Tobe shook his head. “It was a quiet street, and Jane bundled me into her car pretty quickly.”

“That’s good,” Will said. “Just decide on your story and stick to it. Now I have to get Sunny home. Then I’ll come back and drive you to Portsmouth.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Tobe said. “I can call a cab.”

“Sure you can,” Will told him, “if you want a witness and a record. Do you have a house or an apartment where people will see you?”

“Nope, I just closed on a house.” Tobe shifted the improvised ice pack again. “So that’s lucky.”

“Yeah.” Will looked from Sunny back to the front door. “We’d better get going.”

The air outside was getting cold again, but it was even frostier inside Will’s pickup. They drove in silence for a while, until Sunny finally cracked. “I didn’t want to tell you unless I had to,” she said. “I was trying to keep you from falling into this nonsense.”