The Whole Cat and Caboodle: Second Chance Cat Mystery (9 page)

At lunchtime I cleaned out the truck and went to pick up the new-to-me SUV. Just as I returned the woman came back for the old postmaster’s desk and Mac and I—with some help from Avery—padded and wrapped it and helped load it into the back of the pickup the woman was driving.

“Nice work,” I said to Mac as we passed the formerly olive green table on our way back into the shop.

He brushed off his hands and smiled. “Thanks. Do you think we can find some chairs to put with the table? I think it would sell better.”

“Do you want six of the same?” I asked, as we walked into the storage area. “There are those two with the back spindles—they haven’t been finished yet—and there are four more out back with just a plain back panel. What were you thinking of for a finish?”

“What do you think about a black semigloss?” he said, swiping a hand over his neck.

We walked into the shop, talking about the merits of black paint versus a dark stain. Charlotte was standing by the cash desk with Rose. I knew at once from their body language that something was wrong.

“Sarah,” she said when she caught sight of me.

“Excuse me a second,” I said quietly to Mac.

He nodded and I left him and walked over to Charlotte and Rose.

“Is everything all right?” I asked.

Charlotte shook her head and I could see the concern in the tight lines around her mouth. “No, everything most decidedly is not all right,” she said sharply, and I realized it wasn’t concern I saw on her face, it was anger. “The police have arrested Maddie. They say she killed Arthur Fenety.”

I heard the words but for a moment they were only words, and then the meaning sank in. Arthur Fenety had been murdered, just as I’d suspected.

“I thought Arthur had a heart attack,” Rose said. “I can’t believe someone killed him. Could it be a mistake?”

I shook my head. I knew Nick wouldn’t make that kind of a mistake.

“Maddie didn’t kill Arthur, Sarah,” Charlotte said. “How could they arrest her? It’s ridiculous.”

I put a hand on her arm. “What happened, exactly?”

She was twisting her watch around and around her left wrist. “The bell rang. When I went to the door it was Michelle Andrews and another police officer. They asked to speak to Maddie. I took them into the living room. Michelle asked Maddie some questions and then she arrested her. They put handcuffs on her!” Anger flashed in her eyes. “She’s seventy-three years old. They didn’t need to do that.”

“Maddie will be fine,” Rose said. “She’s strong.” She flashed a look at Avery, who had been leaning on the counter, listening to everything, and the teen headed for the stairs.

“Does she have a lawyer?” Mac asked.

Charlotte shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“She needs a lawyer, Sarah,” Mac said quietly.

“The Evans boy,” Rose said at once.

“Josh Evans?” I said. I held my hand out at my waist, palm down. “Little Josh is a lawyer?”

“He’s not little anymore, dear,” Rose said.

Mac had already moved behind the counter and pulled out the phone book. Avery was coming down the stairs, carrying a china cup and saucer.

“Charlotte, did you call Nick?” I asked, raking one hand back through my hair.

She nodded, one hand still twisting her watch. “All I got was his voice mail. Not that he can do anything, anyway. I just wanted to know what on earth was going on and why he hadn’t called me.”

It struck me that while we were standing there talking, Maddie was at the police station, probably without a lawyer. I felt certain she was hiding something, but I just couldn’t believe she had killed Arthur Fenety. Not deliberately.

“Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll see what I can do,” I said.

Charlotte opened her mouth to say something else, but Rose didn’t give her a chance. “Let Sarah see what she can do to help,” she said, steering Charlotte in the direction of the tub chair.

Avery handed Charlotte the cup of tea she’d brought downstairs, and then she leaned against the bottom stair post.

Mac gestured at her. “Avery, go get a cup of tea for Rose, too, please.” She nodded and ran up the steps again.

I rubbed the space between my eyebrows with the heel of one hand. Then I checked the number Mac had looked up and reached for the phone, crossing my fingers—literally—that little Josh Evans would remember me.

He did. I explained about Maddie being arrested and filled in what few details I knew.

“I’ll go,” he said. “Give me a number and I’ll call you when I know what’s going on. It’ll probably be a while, though.”

“I understand,” I said, feeling some of the tension seep out of my body. I gave him my cell number. “Thank you,” I added.

“I’m happy to help,” he said. “You can buy me dinner when this gets straightened out, and catch me up on your life.”

“Absolutely,” I said.

I thanked him again. He repeated his promise to call me when he had news, and I hung up.

“Maddie has a lawyer,” I announced.

Rose smiled at Charlotte and gave her arm a squeeze. “See?” she said. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

Charlotte got to her feet, still holding her cup of tea. “Thank you, Sarah. I don’t understand what the police are thinking. And Nicolas.” She shook her head. “He’s known Maddie since he was a little boy.” She smoothed the sleeve of her jacket. “I should go down to the police station.”

Rose leaned just a little to the left, caught my eye and shook her head almost imperceptibly.

I walked over to Charlotte and put my arm around her shoulders, leaning my head against her. “I care about Maddie, too,” I said. “I’ve known her since I was a little girl. But right now we need to let Josh handle things.”

She looked at me, lips pressed together. “Maddie didn’t kill Arthur Fenety,” she said. I could see the fear etched into the tight lines on her face but there was no trace of it in her voice.

“I know that,” I said. I glanced at my watch. Everyone was looking at me. I wished Gram wasn’t on her honeymoon. She’d handle this a whole lot better than I could. I took a deep breath and pasted on a positive face, even though I didn’t exactly feel it.

“It’s time to close up,” I said, grateful there hadn’t been any customers in the past fifteen minutes or so. “It’ll be a while before I hear from Josh. There isn’t anything that we can do right now that will help Maddie.” I gave Charlotte’s shoulders another squeeze. “I’m going to Sam’s for supper. Who wants to come with me?”

“Meow,” Elvis said. He was sitting on the stairs about halfway down. His enthusiastic response broke the tension.

“Elvis is in,” I said, looking around. “Anyone else?”

“I’ll come,” Mac said.

I shot him a look of gratitude.

“Me too,” Avery chimed in.

Rose got to her feet. “What a good idea,” she said, tugging the bottom of her apron to straighten it out. “Everything will look better once we’ve had something to eat.”

“You always say that,” Charlotte said, and I thought I saw a tiny hint of a smile.

Rose shrugged. “I’m old. I repeat myself sometimes.”

Charlotte shook her head and this time I did see a smile.

“Since you’re here you could help me refold the quilts,” Rose said.

“The front window needs a little rearranging, too,” Charlotte said.

Rose turned, hands on her hips, to consider the wide, high window behind her.

Mac caught my eye. “I have some things to put away.” He pointed toward the back.

I nodded. “I’ll get the deposit ready.” Avery was already pulling out the vacuum without even being asked.

“Thank you,” Charlotte said softly to me.

I smiled. “Anytime,” I said. “Once when we were kids, Josh got five of us free chocolate-dip cones at Hawthorne’s because he argued that their sign was deceptive. It read
F
REE
K
IDS’
C
ONE WITH
A
DULT
P
URCHASE.
They forgot to put the apostrophe before the s in
kid’s
.”

I couldn’t help smiling at the memory of a ten-year-old Josh, with his spiky haircut, standing his ground with an annoyed Nathan Hawthorne. “Josh was smarter than most adults when he was ten,” I said. “Maddie will be okay.” I headed over to the cash register.

Avery was plugging in the vacuum cleaner. “Nonna’s going to pick me up,” she said, shaking her hair back off her face. “Is it okay if she comes, too?”

“Of course,” I said. I knew Liz would help lighten the mood.

I had the deposit ready when Mac came back in. “Shed’s locked,” he said. “And I can drop off the deposit on the way to Sam’s.”

“Thanks,” I said, leaning against the counter, “and thanks for coming with us for supper. I know you probably have better things to do.” When Mac wasn’t working he was generally crewing for someone or hanging around the boatyard, learning everything he could about wooden boats so he could eventually build his own. He was a very private person. I’d never been to his apartment in the four months we’d worked together, and if he was seeing anyone, I had no idea who it was.

“I like Charlotte,” he said, looking over to where she and Rose were rearranging several stone flower urns in the window to the left of the door. “There isn’t anywhere else I want to be.” He smiled at me. “And Sam makes a great cheeseburger.”

“Oh yeah, he does,” I agreed, thinking about Sam’s cheeseburger with two kinds of cheese, onions, mushrooms and a spicy tomato sauce that could spoil you forever for generic ketchup.

“So, you and this lawyer, Josh Evans, knew each other when you were kids?” Mac asked, pulling a hand over his neck.

“Yeah.” I traced the curved edge of the counter with one finger. “He was a summer kid like I was at first, and then his parents moved here full-time. Josh was a pretty persuasive little guy.” I sighed and pushed myself upright. “I hope he can convince the police that Maddie didn’t do this.”

Mac looked down at the floor for a moment and I heard him exhale softly.

“What is it?” I asked.

His dark eyes met mine. “Sarah, please don’t take this the wrong way, but are you one hundred percent positive she didn’t?”

Liz arrived to pick up Avery and agreed to join us all at Sam’s. I pulled her aside for a moment. “You suspected, didn’t you?” I said.

“Suspected what?’ she asked.

“That Arthur Fenety wasn’t what he seemed.”

She brushed lint off the front of her sweater. “I thought maybe he was married,” she said. “If I’d had any idea of the truth . . .” She shrugged. “I wouldn’t have killed him but he would have been singing soprano.”

I slipped away to my office and called to give Sam a heads-up that we were coming and why. I hesitated and then I punched in Nick’s number, hoping I wasn’t interfering in something that I should be keeping my nose out of. I got his voice mail.

“Hi, Nick,” I said. “It’s Sarah. Call me, please.” I hesitated. “Or just call your mom.” I recited my cell number in case he hadn’t kept it.

I looked at Elvis, who was sitting on the edge of my desk. “I suppose you really do want to come with us,” I said.

He murped his acknowledgment.

“You have to go in my gym bag.”

He blinked at me, jumped down from the desk and walked over to the nylon bag sitting on the floor of the tiny closet tucked under the eaves.

“You’ll have to stay in the truck—I mean the SUV,” I warned. He really seemed to think about it, wrinkling up his face and scrunching his whiskers.

“Meow,” he said finally. He put a paw on the top of the bag and scratched at the fabric.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I muttered as I unzipped the top of the black gym bag and pulled out my running gear. I’d been planning to run after work today.
Tomorrow,
I promised myself. Elvis stuck his head through the opening and sniffed, whiskers twitching. Then he looked up at me.

“All those things were clean,” I said. “It smells fine.” He put a paw inside and gave me his best pathetic cat look, head tipped to one side so it was impossible to miss the scar on his nose.

I leaned down so my face was just inches away from his furry one. “Do I need to remind you that the only way you’re going to get to come with us is in this bag?”

He blinked, climbed into the bag and sat down, looking expectantly up at me. Some days I had the feeling the cat understood every single word I said to him. Other days I figured that while he pretty much got what I was saying, he just wasn’t listening.

When I got back downstairs Rose and Charlotte were at the cash counter with Avery. The fertility statue was unwrapped, sitting on the blue towel. Charlotte was saying something and Avery was listening intently.

Liz had been standing by the window but she walked over when I came down the stairs. “I hear you got Maddie a lawyer,” she said. “Thank you.”

“Calling Josh was Rose’s idea,” I said, watching her turn over the carved stone figure to show Avery something on the back of the statue.

“And you’re the one who made the call,” Liz said. She gave me a long, appraising look. “If Maddie needs bail you tell Josh to call me.”

“Oh, Liz,” I said, and then I had to stop because all of a sudden there was a lump in my throat.

“Don’t ‘Oh, Liz’ me,” she said, making a sweeping gesture in the air with one hand. “We take care of each other and we stick together.”

I put my arms around her and gave her a hug, resting my head on her shoulder.

She shook a finger at me. “And it goes without saying, my dear, that it stays between the two of us.”

I nodded. I had no idea exactly how much money Liz actually had. I was pretty sure it was more than her friends realized. Liz had come to the rescue with her checkbook before, without most people knowing, and I felt certain there were probably times I wasn’t aware of.

“You’re taking the cat?” Liz asked, pointing at my gym bag.

Elvis narrowed his green eyes at her as though he was offended by her question.

I opened my mouth to explain that if I tried to leave him behind the cat wasn’t above retaliating, when she raised a hand and waved my explanation away.

“No, never mind,” she said. “Taking that cat along isn’t any odder than Avery lugging that little naked statue or Rose carrying tea bags everywhere she goes.”

Everyone had to check out the new SUV before we could head over to The Black Bear. But anything that could distract Charlotte was fine with me. I set Elvis on the front seat. He immediately stuck his head out of the top of the bag and looked around, sniffing the air.

“Stay in the bag,” I reminded him.

Mac, Rose and Charlotte ended up riding with me. Liz and Avery said they’d meet us at Sam’s.

“Nonna, could I drive?” I heard Avery ask as they started for the car. “I think I know a faster way.”

When we got there, Sam had a table saved for us. “Have you heard anything yet?” he asked.

I shook my head. “It’s going to be a while.”

He gave me a reassuring smile. “It’ll be all right. I asked around. Josh Evans knows his stuff.”

“Good,” I said, shrugging off my jacket and hanging it over the back of my chair. “Could you do me a favor?” I held out my keys. “Elvis is in the SUV—I got it today, by the way. I’m parked about three spots down on this side of the street. Could you take something out to Elvis?”

“Your cat’s in your new SUV?” he said, tipping his head to one side and narrowing his gaze at me.

I crossed my arms over my chest and nodded. “Yes, I brought my cat. People drive around all the time with dogs. Why does everyone think it’s weird if someone drives around with their cat?”

Okay, so I sounded more than a little defensive.

Sam looked like he was having a hard time not laughing. “I didn’t mean I thought it was strange that you drive all over town with your cat. I’m just wondering if you’re sure he’s actually
in
the SUV.”

I stared at him, a sinking feeling in my stomach. “That’s where I left him. Why are you asking?” I’d definitely locked the doors and I was holding the keys, so there was no way Avery could have “rescued” Elvis. There was no way she could have coached him to unlock the door. Was there?

Sam opened his mouth and closed it again, swallowing a laugh—with difficulty—before he spoke. “Sarah, why does Rose have your gym bag? And why is it . . . moving?”

Rose and Avery were on the other side of the round table, probably still talking about the little fertility statue. My black gym bag was on the floor next to Rose’s chair and Sam was right: the bag was, well, squirming.

I held up a finger to Sam. “Don’t move,” I said.

I walked around the table. “I know what you two are up to,” I said, glaring at Rose and Avery. Avery looked guilty. Rose, on the other hand, was the picture of innocence.

“We’re just trying to decide whether or not to split a fish platter,” she said.

“I’m talking about that.” I pointed at the nylon bag on the floor. Elvis had stopped moving, probably the moment he’d heard my voice.

Rose glanced down and then her eyes met mine again. “Oh, I guess I brought your bag in,” she said. “No harm. I’ll just keep it here with me.”

“I know that Elvis is in that bag,” I hissed.

Avery looked very uncomfortable. Her eyes kept sliding away from my face and she shifted restlessly from one foot to the other. She was an awful liar, which in a teenager was a good thing.

Rose leaned toward the bag, squinted, and then put a hand to her mouth. “Oh, my goodness, you’re right. He is.”

“This is a restaurant,” I said sternly. “If the health inspector came in and found Elvis here they’d shut Sam down. Do you two want that to happen?” I felt a twinge of guilt about lecturing them, seeing as how Elvis and I had had breakfast in the back booth just a few hours earlier. I reminded myself that the pub had been closed then, not more than three-quarters full of people, all eating.

Rose gave me a sweet smile. “Sarah, dear, that’s not going to happen. Elvis will sit right here next to me. It’s not like he’s going to get up and dance on the table.”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Avery smirk at the idea. She had the good sense to hide it when I looked at her again.

“Elvis is not going to dance on the table or anywhere else because he’s going to be in Sam’s office,” I said.

Avery groaned. “That’s not fair. Elvis isn’t hurting anything. And . . . and it’s like you’re putting him in jail.”

I pressed my lips together, closed my eyes for a moment and mentally counted to five before I opened them again. “Sam’s office is not jail,” I said. “Elvis can have some supper and stretch out on the futon until we’re ready to leave.” I knew Sam had an old fourteen-inch TV in his office. Elvis could probably watch
Jeopardy!
if he wanted to, but I didn’t say that.

I bent down and picked up the bag before Rose and Avery got any more ideas. I looked from one to the other. They were both trying to look innocent, but Rose was doing a much better job of it. I frowned at her although we both knew I wasn’t really mad.

“You’re old enough to know better,” I said, sternly, raising my eyebrows at her to make my point. “And you,” I said, pointing at Avery, “are clearly the more mature person, so I’m counting on you to act like it.”

I walked back around the table to Sam. Mac and Charlotte had their heads together over a menu.

There was a mischievous gleam in Sam’s eyes. “Could I check your cat for you?” he asked.

“Very funny,” I said. “Could Elvis stay in your office?”

He laughed. “Sure.”

I handed him the bag.

“I have some pretty decent halibut tonight,” he said. “Okay if I give him a little?”

A meow came from the bag. Luckily it was noisy enough in the pub that no one else heard it.

I leaned sideways. “He’s not talking to you,” I said quietly in the general direction of the bag. “Yes, he can have a bit of fish,” I said to Sam.

“I’ll send a waitress over,” he said, and headed in the direction of his office with Elvis.

Josh didn’t call for almost another hour. Everyone’s head came up when my phone rang. It was noisy in the bar. “Hang on a second,” I said to Josh. “I’m just going to move somewhere where I can hear you better.” I pushed my chair back from the table. “I can’t hear very well,” I said. I pointed. “I’m just going over by the washrooms.”

I walked to the back before anyone had a chance to get up and follow me, and stepped into the small hallway to the men’s and women’s bathrooms. It was a lot quieter there, but I’d also wanted to be away from the table to hear what Josh had to say without so many sets of eyes watching my face.

“Okay, go ahead,” I said, turning my back on the restaurant.

Josh was officially Maddie’s lawyer. He’d advised her not to say anything and she’d followed that advice.

“She’s going to have to spend the night in jail, Sarah,” he said.

I sighed. “I kind of expected that.”

“It’s not a night in a five-star hotel, but it’s not a hole in the ground, either. She’ll be all right and she’ll be arraigned first thing in the morning.”

I repeated Liz’s offer of bail.

“That’s good. I don’t think the judge will set bail too high, given her age and the circumstances.” I could hear him shuffling papers.

“Can we be there in court?” I asked, wrapping my free arm around my midsection.

“Yes, you can,” he said. “In fact, it would be good for the judge to see that Maddie has a support system.”

We made arrangements to meet at the courthouse in the morning. I thanked Josh again and we said good night.

I thought about Mac’s question to me earlier. Was I certain Maddie hadn’t had anything to do with Arthur Fenety’s death?

I remembered the night of my fifteenth birthday. We’d had a party in Gram’s backyard and we were making s’mores in the outdoor brick fireplace when Maddie arrived. She’d hugged me and handed me a beautiful bouquet of flowers from her garden. “I have something else for you out in my car,” she’d said. We’d walked out to the street and she’d taken a guitar case from the backseat. I’d looked at her, wide-eyed. “I can’t,” I’d started to say, knowing my parents would never let me keep a guitar. It was way too expensive a gift.

Maddie had shaken her head. “Yes, you can. Just open it. Please.”

I’d carefully unsnapped the latches and lifted the lid of the black, hard-shell case. My breath stuck in my chest and my field of vision got dark from the outside in until the only thing I could see was the guitar lying in the case. It was my father’s guitar. I hadn’t seen it in ten years.

I looked at Maddie. “How? What . . . how?”

She cleared her throat before she answered, and even then I had to turn my head to hear what she said.

“It was thrown from the car the night . . . the night of the accident. Some, uh, someone found it a week later in the . . . in the trees.” She took a breath and then swallowed. “The man who found it, he should have taken it to the state troopers, but . . . he didn’t. He took it home and it just ended up stuck in the back of a closet.”

I laid a hand on the smooth amber wood. I couldn’t keep my eyes on Maddie’s face. It was impossible to keep them away from the guitar. My father’s guitar. The words kept running over and over in my head.

“A couple of months ago I went to an estate sale over in Belfast,” Maddie continued. “The moment I saw that guitar—don’t ask me how—I knew it was your father’s guitar. You used to sit on his lap and he’d show you chords. You probably don’t remember.”

I did remember. I couldn’t say that, though, because I knew if I said a word I’d start to cry. I blinked a couple of times and swallowed hard.

“I hope this is okay,” Maddie said.

I got to my feet and flung my arms around her. “It’s the best present ever,” I’d said.

It still was.

I swallowed and blinked a couple of times. Whatever secrets Maddie was keeping, I was absolutely positive that she hadn’t killed Arthur Fenety. She didn’t have it in her.

I put my phone away and went back to the table to share what Josh had told me.

“She’s going to spend the night in jail?” Charlotte said, twisting her napkin in her hands.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “Maddie will be arraigned first thing in the morning and Josh doesn’t think there will be a problem with bail. We can all be there.”

Liz was sitting to my right. “Maddie will be okay,” she said. “She’ll be in a cell by herself, unless there’s some kind of a crime wave tonight. The cells are small, but they’re clean.”