Fat Cat At Large (A Fat Cat Mystery) (9 page)

The cat rested in one of his favorite spots, his owner’s lap. The computer desk did make it a little cramped, but it would do until she came to and realized she hadn’t fed him yet. The sudden ringing of the bell was too much, though. He jumped down and began ignoring everything in favor of cleaning his whiskers.

C
hase could tell, from Quincy’s swishing tail and his swiveled ears, that the doorbell on the back door startled him as much as it did her. It was an odd time of night for someone to be coming by from the parking lot.

When Chase opened the door, a frigid gust blasted her in the face. Julie burst in, slapping her arms with ungloved hands.

“A front came through,” Julie said. “I didn’t dress for this today.”

“You look like you’re dressed up for something,” said Chase, slamming and locking the door against the wind. “Come into the office. It’s toasty warm there. Or do you want a hot drink?”

“I’m still dressed for court. Do you have some of that orange spice herb tea?”

“You’d better come upstairs for that. I’m tired of doing these numbers anyway.”

Quincy followed them up the stairs to Chase’s apartment.

“I have so much to tell you.” Julie tossed her light jacket onto the back of Chase’s leather couch and rubbed her hands together.

“Me, too,” said Chase. “But you go first.” Chase scooped food into Quincy’s bowl. He gave her a sniff of disdain and stalked away.

Julie gave Chase a second look. “Are you in pain?”

“A little. It comes and goes. So, your case.”

“We went to court today. In fact, we’ve all been celebrating for the last couple of hours.”

“Hence, the odor of gin.”

“Just a couple of G and Ts. Or three. I took a cab here.”

“I would have picked you up. Why didn’t you call?”

“I’ve been trying to for ages.”

“Oh.” Chase remembered she’d turned her ringer off in the hospital. After she set her kettle on the burner, she turned her sound back on. “I’ll tell you about this. But go ahead. What’s your case?”

“You know who Bill Shandy is?”

Chase shook her head, rummaging in her pantry for the tea that Julie liked.

“You know. Bill. The guy with the pet store.” Quincy jumped into Julie’s lap.

“Oh,
that
Bill. The one Anna took the rats to.”

“Bill and Grandma knew each other in high school, and I think they were quite the item back then. But they married other people. Bill’s wife died about a year ago. I know that the stepchildren wanted half of Bill’s money at that time. They weren’t entitled to it, but he did give them some.”

“Some of this is beginning to sound familiar. I remember Anna talking about him. Didn’t the dead wife have some children before she married him?”

“Yah, she had two children by her first husband, a marriage that only lasted three years.”

“How old are the children?” The kettle whistled and Chase poured the water over the tea.

“One is forty-eight, the other fifty.”

“And you know this, how?”

“It’s our case. The oldest of Bill’s stepchildren, Marvin, has been in and out of politics most of his life. After his mother’s death, her son Marvin founded a charity organization called PCP, Pennies Can Provide.”

“An unfortunate acronym. It’s gotten a lot of press, though.”

“The whole thing is unfortunate. The group collected donations to buy books to give to hospitalized children. Only problem, no children ever got any books after the first month.”

“How did he think he could get away with that?” Chase handed Julie a steaming mug, redolent of citrus and cloves.

Julie cupped her hands around its warmth and sipped. “Marvin’s been skating on the edge for years. He was elected to the school board in Minnetonka, but they booted him because they suspected he was stealing money. They could never prove it, so no action was taken.”

“So I guess the legal people have been watching him.”

“Bill Shandy is just about continuously arguing with that stepson about money. It’s enough to give a person an ulcer.” Quincy butted his head against Julie’s wrist. She avoided spilling the tea, so he tried it again. “Bill feels he has to save something for his own son.”

“You know Bill well?”

“Grandma’s been dating him. She’s pretty smitten. And she’s awfully upset about this whole thing, since Bill is taking it so hard. She says he feels responsible for what Marvin does. After all, he did raise the guy for most of his life.”

Chase was surprised Anna had been able to keep this from her. Why hadn’t she told Chase she was dating Bill? “Is that what’s been bothering her?” It bothered Chase that Anna hadn’t said a word to her about this.

Julie nodded and gulped down the tea, now cool enough to drink. “It’s been bothering me, too, I have to tell you! I didn’t know they were dating when I was assigned to this case, otherwise I wouldn’t have worked on it. Grandma’s keeping it quiet, though, and this is a big chance for me. This is going to be in the headlines tomorrow. Well, probably on the TV tonight. It’s already all over the Internet. Then it’ll be worse than ever for Bill.”

“Is that all?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, is that all that’s bothering Anna? We’re having money problems in the shop. Has she said anything about that?”

“A little, but I’m not clear on the details.” Julie glanced at her wristwatch. “I’d better get going. Back in court tomorrow.” She rose and grabbed her jacket. “I don’t think she’s said anything about the shop being in trouble financially.”

“Can I drive you home?”

“We’ve both had long days. I’ll take another cab. No problem.”

After Julie left, Chase reflected on the fact that she hadn’t exactly answered the question about Anna and money problems. But maybe, just maybe, the embezzler Anna had mentioned was Marvin Shandy, and not Chase Oliver.

She returned downstairs to finish up and shut down the computer. As the screen closed, she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“Now what?” she muttered to no one, or perhaps to Quincy. He ignored her and began licking a paw to swipe his ears. “I’m sure Ted didn’t have a chance to filch any money from the cash drawer. It’s not him. But there sure is money missing. Nearly a hundred and fifty this time.”

The clock on the desk read 10:30. On a normal night, Anna would still be awake. Chase picked up her cell phone and called.

“Anna? We’re short again.”

When she gave Anna the figure, there was silence for a half a minute.

“I think I should tell you,” Anna said, “what I overheard from Vi a few days ago. You were in the office and Vi was on her phone.”

Chase wondered if this was the conversation she, herself, had eavesdropped on through the office door.

“I couldn’t hear everything she said, but my hearing is sharper than she must think it is.”

It didn’t do to underestimate Anna, Chase knew.

“It was something about missing money—I heard those two words—so I tuned in. She referred to something that she knew about, but couldn’t prove. And it had to do with you.”

Chase remembered very well what she’d heard.

“I’m talking about the money. It’s not there. No, I don’t have it, Felix.”

“No, I can’t. She’s the owner. . . . Okay, co-owner. Same thing. I need to talk to you.”

“Yes, I know it happened, but I can’t prove it.”

Vi had referred to the co-owner, not necessarily to Chase.

“Charity, I’ve gone back and forth on this, then back and forth again. I almost got myself believing Vi thought you had taken the money.”

Even though Chase had overheard the same conversation, she hadn’t jumped to the conclusion that Anna was a thief. Or had she? Just for a moment?

“I’ve been thinking all along,” Chase said, “that it was Ted.”

“Some of it might have been. This is a lot more tonight than has been missing before. It may have been taken by someone else.”

Chase reached down to rub Quincy’s head, consolation for dumping him onto the floor. Her back spasmed and she must have let out a whimper.

“Charity, are you in pain?”

“I pulled my back the other day. I’ll be all right. When I went to the hospital, I left Vi alone in the shop. I wonder if someone took it while she wasn’t noticing. There were only three older women there and I turned the open-close sign over before I left.”

“I suppose she could have let someone else in,” Anna said. “Or Vi could have taken the money.”

“I doubt that. She drives an awfully nice car and her clothes look expensive, too. That girl has money. I was supposed to talk to her about whatever was bothering her and I never did. I don’t think I’ll be able to tomorrow, but Thursday or Friday, I’ll be sure and do that. And I’ll ask who, exactly, was in the shop tonight after I left.”

“That’s about all we can do for now,” Anna agreed. “But this can’t go on. Our profit margin isn’t large enough.”

“I know.”

Quincy narrowed his amber eyes in agreement.

•   •   •

Tuesday didn’t start
out well. At opening time, Vi hadn’t made an appearance yet. Chase called her, but got no answer. She left a message, then texted that she was needed ASAP.

Immediately after Chase flipped over the sign and unlocked the front door, a half-dozen people rushed in. The students started class that day, but the local residents must have pent up their desire for dessert bars, and they now flocked in.

Chase was stuck behind the counter, ringing up an endless stream of sales. She noticed people on the floor who could probably have used some help, but there was no one to give it. Anna was baking two more batches of bars they were running low on, an essential function today. They didn’t want to run out while all these excellent customers were willing to buy.

The Bar None’s reputation must have shot through the ceiling this year. This was supposed to be a slow day, but the customers didn’t stop.

A few people walked out without purchases. If Vi were here, she could have sold them, Chase thought.

Finally, an hour and a half after opening time, Vi came through the double doors from the kitchen.

“I’m here,” she announced with a wide smile, looking her usual impeccable self.

Chase glared and motioned her toward a trio of boys inspecting boxes from one of the tables. The display would need redoing after they finished manhandling everything.

Vi waltzed up to the guys and wowed them. She deftly straightened up the display while talking, listening, and handing them the varieties she selected for them. They came to the register grinning.

A sharp pain stabbed Chase behind her right ear. It was a wonder she hadn’t had a headache every day for the last week and a half. She rubbed her head, willing the ache to go away. At least it made her forget about her throbbing back for the moment.

There was no time for anyone to take lunch. Well after when lunchtime should have been, Anna came to the front, finished with all the baking for supplying the shelves that day. The three women worked well together during the afternoon, creating a nicely choreographed ballet of salesmanship, helpfulness, and actual selling, graced with smiles and small talk, just enough to make each customer feel special, not enough to hold up the works.

A glance at the clock over the front door told Chase there was an hour left. They would close at the regular time of 6:00 today. During a slight lull, with the store only one-third full, Anna stepped over to the pink shelves and rearranged boxes to disguise the empty spaces created by the flurry of success. She turned and shot Chase a smile of triumph. Today would be a good day when they counted up tonight. Maybe it would make up for the missing cash.

Chase had worked the till all day. There hadn’t been a chance to switch jobs. Vi approached the counter.

“Want me to take over back there for a while?” She gave Chase a huge smile, even bigger than usual.

Chase opened her mouth to accept the offer, then thought better of it. Vi was so good on the floor, she wanted her to keep working there. “No, that’s okay. I’ll finish up here. We just have an hour left. You’re doing great. We’ll have a glass of wine in the kitchen when we’re done.”