Much Ado About Felines (Whales and Tails Mystery Book 4) (8 page)

I woke to sunshine the following morning. I wanted to get to the community center early to set up for the class, so Tara had decided to just meet me there. I hoped she’d come. I knew that if it weren’t for the fact that I picked her up every Tuesday and Thursday morning, she most likely would have stopped coming to class months ago. Tara isn’t a fan of sweat and sore muscles, so more often than not she tends to remain exercise adverse, while I love to dive right into the thick of things.

I plugged my iPod into the docking station and adjusted the volume on the sound system. Luckily, Tara realized I was most likely going to need my own music, so she’d helped me put together a playlist we knew the ladies who frequented the class would enjoy. I wanted to add my own twist to the class, so I’d added a few new songs as well.

“Bitzy not here?” a woman I always thought of as Pink Headband asked.

“No. She’s taking some time off, so I’m subbing for the time being.”

“Guess I’m not surprised she decided to lay low for a while,” the woman responded. “I heard her soon-to-be ex is already engaged to his new girlfriend. You’d think the guy would wait until the divorce was final to put a ring on the lady’s finger.”

“I heard the girlfriend is pregnant,” another woman in the group, who I identify as Stuck in the Eighties Leg Warmers, commented. “In fact, I’m pretty sure she was already prego before Bitzy even knew her lowlife husband was cheating on her.”

“Poor Bitzy. I hadn’t heard all of that.” I began handing out mats for the floor exercises.

“If you ask me, this whole island seems to be suffering from an outbreak of premature-death-due-to-cheating fever,” Pink Headband replied. “First Keith and now Roxi. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if Bitzy’s cheating husband is the next corpse to show up in some random location.”

I looked more closely at Pink Headband. The way she’d made the statement sounded almost like a threat. While I knew she had been taking classes with Bitzy for a number of years, her comment seemed to contain more venom than a mere acquaintance would make.

“Are you and Bitzy close?” I asked.

The woman shrugged. “Not really. I just know what it’s like to have a man you thought you trusted cheat on you.”

“I guess that would be difficult.” I waved to Tara who, thankfully, had just walked in and was setting up in the back. “But I doubt he’ll end up a victim. I heard Bitzy’s husband left the area with the new girlfriend.”

“He’s back,” Stuck in the Eighties informed me.

That was news to me. No wonder Bitzy was lying low.

“I guess you all heard Brianna Sommers tried to kill her cheater of a husband,” Pink Headband announced.

“I don’t think she intentionally tried to kill him,” I countered. “I think she just got angry and threw something at him. Unfortunately, the something she threw was heavy and it hit him in just the right spot to cause a pretty serious injury.”

Cody had called later last night to say that both Tony and Brianna ended up being hospitalized. His head wound was pretty serious and she had to be sedated in order to calm her down. Given her advanced state of pregnancy, the doctor wanted to keep her in the hospital to monitor the situation.

“I wouldn’t blame Brianna if she
had
intentionally tried to kill the jerk,” Stuck in the Eighties insisted. “Doris Rutherford told me that not only did Tony give Roxi the five grand that he and Brianna had been saving to take a trip to visit her parents after the baby was born but he’d given her the ten grand Brianna’s grandmother left her.”

“Are we going to start soon?” Yellow Sweatpants asked. “I have an appointment right after class.”

I looked at the clock. We should have started five minutes ago. “I’m ready now. Let’s start with some stretching.” I clicked on the music and began my routine.

When I pulled up in front of Coffee Cat Books after leaving the community center I noticed Destiny sitting in the passenger waiting area for the ferry. There was a backpack on the ground next to her and her face bore such a look of hopelessness that I decided to go over to talk to her before heading into the store. She’d most likely tell me to get lost, but I felt I had to try.

“It’s a beautiful day,” I said as I looked up toward the bright sun that was framed with a crystal-clear sky.

Destiny didn’t respond, continuing to stare blankly into the distance.

“Are you going somewhere?” I asked.

“I’m waitin’ for the ferry, ain’t I?”

“Yes, I suppose you are. It’s a nice day to be on the water. If I didn’t have to work I might take a ride over to one of the other islands as well. Best keep an eye on the time, though. They cut the last ferry for the winter, so if you miss the five o’clock you’re going to be stuck wherever it is you’re going until tomorrow.”

Destiny shrugged. “Ain’t coming back.”

“You’re staying over?”

“I’m headin’ out for good.”

I frowned. “I see. Does your mom know about this?”

“I left a note.” Destiny folded her hands in her lap and stared down at the wooden decking on the wharf.

“I’m sure she’ll want to have a chance to speak to you before you go. Maybe you should wait to leave until you can tell her good-bye in person. I’m sure she’s going to miss you very much.”

“She’ll be glad I’m gone.”

“Oh, I doubt that. You’re her daughter and she loves you.”

Destiny looked up and stared me straight in the eye. I could see she firmly believed what she was about to share. “She thinks I’m a problem. She’s worried I’m a bad influence on Serenity and Trinity. When she gets my note she’ll be glad I’m out of her hair.”

A sixteen-year-old girl out in the world on her own was never a good thing. A pregnant sixteen-year-old was something I couldn’t allow to happen. I knew I had to stop her; I just needed to figure out how to do it. Sure, I could physically restrain her and call her mother to come get her, but she’d just run away again. I needed a better solution and I needed it fast.

“As long as you’re heading out anyway, maybe you can do me a favor.”

Destiny looked at me suspiciously. “What kind of favor?”

“I was going to have to go to the mainland on Saturday to deliver a kitten that’s been adopted by a family in Seattle, but I’m really too busy. If you’re going to the mainland anyway, perhaps you can wait until Saturday and take the kitten with you. I’ll pay you,” I added when I could see she was about to turn me down.

“How much?” Destiny asked.

“Two hundred dollars.”

Destiny’s eyes grew wide. I could tell she was considering it. “Two fifty and I take the kitten today.”

“Three hundred and you wait until Saturday.”

Destiny dropped her eyes. “Then I have to say no. I ain’t going home. Not even for a few days.”

“How about if I let you stay with me until Saturday?” I tried.

Destiny frowned. “This ain’t no trick, is it? You aren’t just goin’ to make me miss the last ferry out for the day and then send me home?”

“It’s not a trick, but I will need to call your mom to tell her you’re going to be staying with me. I wouldn’t want her to worry.”

Destiny bit her lip. “I don’t know. What if she tries to stop me from leavin’?”

“I thought you said she’d be glad you were going,” I reminded her.

“Yeah.” The girl who suddenly looked a lot younger than sixteen twisted a lock of her long hair around her finger. “She will be.” She looked me directly in the eye for the first time. “Five hundred dollars.”

The girl knew how to play hardball.

“Five hundred dollars, but you help Tara and me in the store until you leave.”

“Deal.”

Now all I had to do was tell Tara I’d found us some part-time help we probably didn’t need in the juvenile delinquent department.

“Look who’s coming from the ferry,” Tara commented after I’d filled her in and we’d set Destiny to restocking the supplies in the coffee bar.

I looked toward the ferry to see our dark stranger departing. “But it’s not Saturday. He always comes on Saturday.”

Tara shrugged. “I guess he had business on the island today.”

As he did every time the man arrived on the island, the black and white cat who seemed to be in some way attached to him appeared.

“I’m going to follow him,” I informed Tara. “From a distance of course, so as to be inconspicuous. It’s not that busy today, so you should be fine without me for a few minutes.”

Tara didn’t look thrilled with my desertion, but she didn’t argue. I casually stepped out of the bookstore once the man and the cat had passed and followed them from a safe distance. The man never turned around, but I sensed the cat knew I was there.

The man turned the corner where the wharf met Main Street and walked briskly down the sidewalk. I followed him past Herbalities, Ship Wreck, Off the Hook, the Bait and Stitch, and For the Halibut. I closed the distance between us when he turned the corner onto Harbor Boulevard and disappeared. I mean, he literally disappeared. He hadn’t been that far ahead of me, so there was no way he could have made it to the next intersection before I turned onto Harbor, so the only explanation was that he had slipped into one of the retail establishments on that first block.

On the corner of Harbor and Main was the Driftwood Café, a popular place with the lunch crowd. Although it was just after eleven, it was crowded with weekday diners. It wasn’t all that large, however, so a quick look inside confirmed what I suspected: neither man nor cat was in sight.

“Did you see a tall elderly man with pale skin wearing a black suit and hat come in here in the past minute?” I asked Molly Quinby, the cashier and hostess. Molly had lived on the island her entire life, as I had lived here for mine, so the two of us were well acquainted.

“No. I haven’t seen anyone like that come in today or any other day, although I’ve seen a man fitting that description walk by in the past. Usually on Saturdays.”

“Was he with anyone on any of those occasions?” I asked.

“Not a soul. Although there did appear to be a cat following him. Do you need a table?”

“No, not today.” I thanked her for the information and headed back out onto the sidewalk.

Next to the Driftwood was a building that had been subdivided into four smaller spaces, including the
Madrona Island News
office, the sheriff’s office, the post office, and the Madrona Island library. The post office was closed, as it was every day between eleven and twelve thirty, while the postmaster went home for lunch. The sheriff’s office was likewise dark. There was a sign in the window of the newspaper, announcing that Cody was delivering papers and would be back soon.

I slipped into the library, which was open, and made my way to the front desk.

“Did you see a tall elderly man with pale skin dressed in a black suit and hat who might have been followed by a cat come through here?” I asked the volunteer who was working the counter.

“I haven’t seen anyone fitting that description and we don’t allow animals, so I would have noticed the cat.”

“Do you ever volunteer on Saturdays?” I asked.

“Usually. Why?”

“Have you ever seen a man who looks like that in here on a Saturday?”

She shook her head. “No, and I’m sure I would remember him. Who wears a suit on Madrona Island?”

The volunteer had a point. Madrona Island was known for its casual approach to both life and attire. Other than weddings or funerals, you rarely saw a man dressed in a suit.

“Although,” the woman added, “I do remember seeing a man in a dark suit two or three weeks ago. I was on my way back to the island from the mainland, where I’d been visiting a friend, and we came over on the same ferry.”

“Was it the eleven o’clock Saturday ferry?” I wondered.

“Actually, it was. I arranged to start my shift at noon that day. The only reason I remember seeing the guy is because he was acting sort of odd.”

I leaned my elbows on the counter and leaned forward. I lowered my voice so as not to be overheard. “Odd how?” I asked.

She narrowed her brow as she seemed to consider my question. “For one thing, he not only never spoke to anyone but he almost didn’t seem aware of anyone. He just sat there staring into space. It was a beautiful day and almost everyone was either out on the deck or sitting near the windows, enjoying the view, but he just looked straight ahead. It’s not like I spent the whole trip looking at the guy, but when I did look in his direction, he not only never made eye contact with anyone he never changed his facial expression. It was like he was made of wax.”

“Did you notice him doing anything at all?”

The woman screwed up her face as she formed an answer. “No, I don’t think so. The guy had on these really dark glasses, and as far as I can remember, he never removed them the entire time he was on the ferry. I remember wondering if he was asleep behind those glasses.”

“I guess he could have been.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess, although he was sitting pretty rigidly and he didn’t look very comfortable.”