Much Ado About Felines (Whales and Tails Mystery Book 4) (6 page)

“Maybe you’ll get a break tomorrow,” I offered.

“Maybe. I do have some leads I can follow up on. Maybe one of them will lead to another, and so on and so forth.”

“I guess Beatrice hasn’t been much help,” I mused. “Which is odd, because the other cats Tansy sent to me started doing things right away. All Beatrice seems to do is eat and sleep.”

“Are you sure the cat that was last seen sleeping on the back of your sofa is the one Bella said Tansy was sending? I mean, you do run a cat sanctuary. Isn’t it possible someone just dropped her off on the night she showed up and the timing of her arrival caused you to believe she was Beatrice when actually she isn’t?”

“I guess that’s possible. But if it’s true, where’s Beatrice?”

“Did Bella give you any indication as to when you should expect her arrival?”

“Bella never really tells people anything. She just hints at stuff. But I don’t remember her saying much at all about the cat, except that Beatrice would be by to help.”

Max came running back to us with a huge stick in his mouth, which Rambler was trying his hardest to steal. I was happy to see Max having fun. The transition to my working every day had been hard on him.

“I’ve been a little worried about Max,” I began.

“What’s wrong with him?” Cody had a look of concern on his face.

“It’s just that I’ve had to leave him home alone so often now that the bookstore is open. He’s used to being with me most of the time. I was wondering if perhaps the newspaper could use a mascot?”

“You want me to bring Max to work with me?” Cody asked.

“It was a thought. He’s well trained and I’m sure he wouldn’t be a bother. I’d take him to the bookstore, but I can’t have him on the side where we sell food, and I’m afraid if I left him in the lounge he’d divert attention away from the cats we’re trying to find homes for. He really will just lie by your desk while you’re working, and if you need to go out he loves to ride in the car.”

Cody shrugged. “Yeah, okay. We can try it out. And on the days it doesn’t work for me to take him with me I’m sure Mr. Parsons would be happy to let him hang out at the house with him and Rambler.”

I stood on tiptoe, threw my arms around Cody’s neck, and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you so much. Max thanks you too.”

Cody smiled. “If I knew the secret to your sweet kisses was through Max, I would have offered to have him tag along with me a long time ago. What do I get if I take Beatrice as well?”

“Don’t push it.” I grinned.

Cody stopped walking. We stood side by side and looked out over the gently rolling waves. It was a beautiful night with a clear and starry sky. The air had chilled, but we were wearing heavy sweatshirts and there was no wind.

“I’m a little worried about Destiny,” I told Cody. I filled him in on my conversation with Tara.

Cody frowned. “I can see how the situation would be difficult. Destiny has never been easy to deal with, and now with all the pregnancy hormones thrown in . . .”

“I feel bad for everyone involved and really want to help, but I also don’t want to make it worse. I thought I might try talking to her. She needs a friend. We’ve known each other her whole life, and while I may not be that much older than she is, I think I’m enough older that she might view me as an adult who can help.”

“I think you should talk to her. Just be prepared if she comes at you with claws bared before you can get a word out.”

“I’ll wear long sleeves,” I promised.

I leaned my head on Cody’s shoulder as we continued to stroll. It really was the perfect autumn evening. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt quite so content.

“I really missed this when I was away,” Cody said.

“The ocean? You were in the Navy. Didn’t you see plenty of ocean?”

“I saw far too much ocean, but that isn’t what I meant. I missed having a home and feeling part of a community. I missed Sunday dinners at your mom’s and quiet walks on the beach at the end of the day.” Cody turned and looked at me. “And most of all I missed you.”

I smiled. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“So I was wondering if you were planning to attend the ball on Saturday.”

“I thought about it. Are you going?” Cody asked.

“I probably will. It is, after all, a fund-raiser for the island, and I know the committee is encouraging everyone to buy a ticket.”

“Do you think we should ride there together?”

“There’s really limited parking,” I said. “It might be a good idea to carpool.”

“Perhaps I can pick you up around seven?”

“Seven is good.” I smiled. “You’ll need a costume.”

“A mask isn’t enough?” Cody asked.

“Technically it is. A lot of men just wear their regular Sunday suits with a black mask. But there are those who dress a bit more elaborately. I think Aunt Maggie is going as Marie Antoinette.”

“Did you have something in mind?” Cody queried.

“Last year I wore a period costume.”

“Which period?”

I found myself blushing, although I had no idea why. “I went as Cleopatra.”

Cody raised his eyebrows. “Really? It sounds like a costume I’d like to see. Perhaps I should dress as Marc Antony?”

I shrugged. “If you’d like. Don’t forget the mask.”

I woke the following morning to the sound of rain hitting the roof above my head. I leaned up on one elbow and looked out the window toward the sea. All I could see was a thick bank of fog, which had apparently accompanied the rain.

“Guess we won’t get our run in this morning,” I said to Max, who looked up from his spot at the foot of my bed. He looked at the fog and lay back down. At least I supposed he looked at the fog. To be honest, I don’t really know what he was looking at.

“I know you’re bummed that we won’t be able to take a run, but at least I arranged for you to go sleuthing with Cody, so you won’t have to stay home all by yourself. That will be nice. Don’t you think?”

Max thumped his tail one time in a halfhearted show of appreciation.

Beatrice must have realized it was time to get up because she crawled out from under the covers and began doing the kitty yoga she had performed each morning since she’d been with me. Downward dog, into cat pose, and finally cobra.

I tossed back the covers and slid my legs over the side of the bed. I winced as my shoulder, stiff from sleeping on it, reminded me what a klutz I had been the previous day. I pulled a long sweatshirt over the boxer shorts and tank I wore to bed and slipped my feet into knee-high slippers. I made my way downstairs, opened the side door to let Max out, and then tossed a match on the fire. I turned on the coffeemaker and filled Beatrice’s food and water dishes.

By the time the coffee was made Max was back from his morning romp, so I dried him off with an old towel and then fed him as well. I grabbed the coffee I had poured into my Coffee Cat Books mug, then wandered over to the sofa, where I pulled one of Maggie’s quilts over my lap. I felt myself relax into the serenity of the morning as I watched the dancing of the flames in the fireplace.

I took a slow sip of my coffee as I listened to the sound of the rain compete with the crashing of the waves. Early morning, before the urgency of the day could invade, was usually my favorite time.

Beatrice finished her breakfast and then joined me on the sofa, curling up in my lap and beginning to purr.

“Are you settling in for a nap already?” I asked the furry feline. “We just got up.”

Beatrice closed her eyes and proceeded to ignore me.

“Is your name even Beatrice?” I asked.

I was pretty sure her purrs had turned to snores.

“I don’t mean to be pushy, but if Tansy sent you to help shouldn’t you be doing something?”

Max trotted into the room and lay down in front of the fire, watching me as I attempted to communicate with the lazy cat. I leaned over to look at her face. She was definitely sleeping. I looked at Max. “I don’t suppose you have any ideas?”

Max buried his face in his paws.

I took another sip of my coffee, then leaned my head back against the sofa. Between the steady drumming of the rain and the warmth from the fire, I found that, like Beatrice, I was fading away into the land of dreams. I’m not sure how long I slept, but I must have, because the next thing I knew a voice in the distance was pulling me away from a dream I didn’t particularly want to leave.

“Cait.”

I resisted the interruption as my dream lover’s arms pulled me into his embrace. Lips that I found unable to resist were inches from mine as someone outside my dream began to shake my shoulder.

“Cait. Wake up, honey.”

Cody’s image began to fade into the fog. I reached for him, but I could feel myself being pulled from my dream state. I wanted to yell at whoever was waking me up to go away, but I realized it was too late.

I felt something brush my cheek as the voice called to me again.

“Cait. It’s eight thirty. We’re both going to be late if you don’t wake up.”

“Cody?” I managed to open my eyes just a crack.

“I came for Max.”

“I was dreaming about you.” I tried to sit up straight.

“Dreaming about me?” Cody grinned.

“Not like that.” Suddenly, I was completely awake.

Cody handed me a tissue.

“I’m not crying.”

“You have a little drool.” He pointed to the corner of his mouth.

I groaned. This wasn’t how I wanted to start my day.

I set Beatrice to the side and sat up straight.

“You’re really adorable when you sleep, drool and all.”

“Bite me.”

“And cheerful in the mornings to boot.”

I glared at the man who looked too good to be real.

“I really do need to get going and I thought I overheard you promise Tara you would be in by nine. Not that you don’t look adorable, but you might want to catch a quick shower.”

I groaned as I ran my hand through the rat’s nest on top of my head.

“How did you get in here?” I asked as Cody turned to leave.

“The door was open. I knocked, but you didn’t answer, so I came in. Call me later. Maybe we can catch lunch.”

And with that the man of my dreams was gone.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” I apologized as I ran in through the front door of Coffee Cat Books at nine thirty.

“It’s okay,” Tara said. “With all the rain, we haven’t had a single customer. Do you need help with the cats?”

I looked out at the sheets of rain falling from the sky. “No, I’ve got it. I’m already wet. Grab the door so I can bring each crate directly inside. The cats weren’t happy with the rain when they were transferred into the car, and I don’t think they’re going to be any happier when I bring them inside.”

After I brought all four crates in I settled the slightly drenched felines into the cat lounge, where Tara had already built a roaring fire. It was warm and cozy and exactly the kind of place I would want to spend a rainy day, reading a good book, sipping a specially blended latte, and curling up with one of our cats.

“I wonder if we’ll get any foot traffic today.” The rain seemed to have increased in intensity since I’d been in town.

“The ferries are running. I checked. Whether anyone will bother to take a ferry over for a day of shopping and relaxation is doubtful. I thought we’d close early if things haven’t picked up by noon. We have enough chores to keep us occupied for a few hours.”

“Chores?” I asked.

“Dusting, sweeping, paying bills.”

“I’ll clean and you can pay the bills.” I poured myself a cup of coffee from the pot. Hopefully this one wouldn’t put me to sleep.

“We need to make a decision about whether to reorder inventory,” Tara commented as I wrapped my hands around the warm mug. “We have some money in savings, but we’re headed into winter and things will slow down and our mortgage payments and utilities will still need to be paid.”

“What do you think?” If I knew Tara—and I did—she’d already made up her mind about what to do and was only asking me so I would feel included.

“I think we should hold off on novelty items for sure,” she began. “As for the books, we’ll want to keep up with the delivery of new releases each month, but maybe we should order half as many.”

“We can always special order more if we run out.”

“We can. And we will. As far as the coffee bar goes, we’ll want to keep the basic supplies on hand, but we’ll need to be careful about not ordering too many specialty items. We can create a winter menu to adjust for the specialty drinks if we need to.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Tara set her laptop on one of the tables near the window. I watched as she studied the screen in front of her. I really was glad she was in charge of the paperwork. It’s not that I couldn’t have done it; it was more that I wouldn’t have wanted to.

Dusting is boring, but it’s also mindless work that allows you to think about other things while you’re preforming the task. Things like handsome images in a foggy sea. I didn’t remember a lot about the dream Cody woke me from, but I was pretty sure I was lost in a fog when strong arms—his strong arms—had reached out to guide me. I wasn’t sure what the dream meant—most likely nothing—but I couldn’t help but want to return to the sense of safety I’d felt in his embrace.

“What are you smiling about?” Tara asked.

“Smiling?”

“You’ve been standing there with a huge grin on your face for at least two minutes. What’s on your mind?”

“It’s ‘Too Good to Be Legal’ night on
Cooking With Cathy
tonight,” I improvised. “I was just imagining the yummy choices we’re going to have. Let’s not forget to stop by the market before we head out to the cabin.”

“I’ll print off a list of ingredients,” Tara offered as she headed toward the office.

I returned to my dusting. Somehow the brief conversation I’d had with Tara had suppressed the memory of the dream I’d been having before she interrupted. Oh, well; mooning over Cody West was going to lead to no good anyway.

I knelt down on the floor to work on the lowest shelf. Not that most people would notice a little dust all the way down there, but Tara was a stickler for cleanliness. Even when we were kids, her room had been spotless, while mine had been anything but.

I was leaning back to stretch out my lower back when I heard the bell over the door announce a customer. I stood up from behind the bookshelf and greeted our new arrival: Becky Wood.

“Morning, Becky. Heck of a day to be out shopping.”

“Trust me, the main thing on my mind at this moment is curling up in front of the fire with a good book and a cup of hot coffee. Unfortunately, I’m out of new reading material. I’m also out of coffee, so I figured I’d risk getting wet and come in for both.”

“I can make you a coffee while you browse. What’ll you have?”

“Just a black coffee is fine. I’m trying to lose a few pounds.”

Becky wasn’t fat, but if what I’d heard about her husband, Trace, having a wandering eye was true, I guess I couldn’t blame her for wanting to firm up a bit.

“I guess you heard about Roxi Pettigrew,” I fished. Trish had indicated that Trace was one of the men Roxi had been seen fooling around with.

Becky’s expression tightened. “I heard. Can’t say I’m overly upset about it.”

“You didn’t get along with Roxi?” I handed Becky her cup of coffee.

“We used to be friends until she started getting along with men who weren’t hers to get along with.”

“Yeah, I’d heard something like that. Guess I can see why there are those who are just as happy to see her dead.”

Becky paused and then sighed. “It’s not so much that I’m glad she’s dead. It’s just that I’m glad she isn’t here.”

I pretended to dust a shelf I’d already dusted so I could position myself near where she was browsing.

“Do you think Roxi’s tendency to flirt might have gotten her killed?”

I watched Becky’s face as she answered. “Maybe.” She shrugged. “I know I wanted to strangle her, and quite honestly, I might have done it if I hadn’t heard she was moving at the end of the month.”

“Moving?” I asked.

“Yeah. Trace told me she’d sold Jimmy’s boat and was leaving the island for good.”

“I hadn’t heard that,” I admitted.

“I don’t think she was telling folks yet. Trace told me that she didn’t want people talking about it until she was ready to quit her job at the diner. I suppose that makes sense. Things can get awkward once you give notice at your job. Especially after everything Ernie did for her.”

“I heard he gave her a month off with pay.”

“He did more than that. He gave her the month off and he also paid off some big debt Jimmy had when he died. Sounded like it was a boatload of money.”

“I hadn’t heard about a debt either. I guess you should be the amateur sleuth,” I buttered her up for the string of questions I suddenly had.

Becky smiled. “You think I could be a detective?”

“You seem to know more than most about what’s going on,” I continued. “I don’t suppose you know what sort of debt Jimmy left behind.”

“I’m pretty sure it had to do with a business deal of some sort he got pulled into.”

“Any idea who he was in debt to?” I asked.

“No. Trace didn’t say and I didn’t ask. I was more concerned with making sure Trace knew it could be bad for his health if he kept providing a shoulder for Roxi to cry on. I mean, I get that it’s a terrible thing to lose a husband and to be left with a whole pile of problems, but the girl had no right to turn to
my
husband in her time of need. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah, I get why you’d be upset.”

Becky pulled a book off the shelf, turned it over, and read the back cover. She frowned and then replaced it. “I’m looking for a really good mystery romance. Can you recommend anything?”

“We have a couple of really popular ones on the display table in the front.”

Becky walked away, effectively ending the conversation, but that was okay. She had given me a few things to follow up on. I remembered Cody had mentioned meeting for lunch, and I planned to suggest we go to the Driftwood, where we could talk to Ernie about the debt he’d paid off while we ate.