Hot Stuff

Chapter SEVEN

Cate absentmindedly swiped a spatula across the surface of the cake, spreading icing, automatically styling it into swirls. It was a spice cake with mocha icing. And this time the cake was scratch. It was midmorning, and Cate was working her way through her feelings for Kellen McBride. Did she like him? Yes. Did she trust him? Not entirely. Was he a hottie? For sure.

She hadn’t told Sharon and Julie about the break-in. And she hadn’t reported it to the police. Why? Because the more she thought about it, the more doubts she had that it actually took place. Okay, the door was unlocked. That could have been a lapse on her part. And the couch imprints didn’t match up, but she hadn’t vacuumed in days. Maybe the couch had been moved days ago, and she just hadn’t noticed. It wasn’t as if something had been stolen. It wasn’t as if the condo had been ransacked by gorillas. Truth was, if it hadn’t been for Kellen she wouldn’t have noticed anything amiss, other than the unlocked door.

“So what do you think?” she asked Beast. “Do you think someone broke in here?”

Beast wagged his tail and panted. Beast wanted cake.

“Here’s the thing,” Cate said to Beast. “I’ve always felt safe here. I know Marty has an out-of-the-ordinary job, but he’s really very stable. I can’t imagine him mixed up in something unsavory.” Cate scattered multicolored sprinkles on the top of the cake and added a yellow bow made from icing. “I just have this feeling there’s a simple explanation for the odd phone calls Marty was receiving and the sudden guard dog purchase.” Cate fondled the top of Beast’s head. “I have to admit I wasn’t overjoyed when you arrived, but I’m liking you a lot. You make the house feel homey. And you were a good boy today when we went for a walk. You only knocked down one old lady.”

The doorbell rang and Beast followed Cate out of the kitchen. Cate looked through the security peephole and grimaced. Kitty Bergman.

“Well?” Kitty said when Cate opened the door.

“Well what?”

“Have you heard from him?”

“Marty? No.”

“I see you still have the dog.”

Beast turned tail and ran into the bedroom.

“He’s shy,” Cate said. “He’s very sensitive.”

Kitty Bergman had wormed her way into the living room and was looking around.

“Marty isn’t here,” Cate said.

“Just making sure.” Kitty walked into the kitchen. “Who’s getting the cake?”

“My family.”

“Party tonight?”

“Dinner at my parents’ house.”

“Huh,” Bergman said. Like maybe she didn’t believe it. Or maybe it was barely of interest. Or maybe she had a lactose problem and phlegm in her throat.

Without invitation Bergman moved from the kitchen to Cate’s bedroom. She looked in the door and Beast yelped and rushed out, knocking Bergman on her ass, leaping over her prone body.

“What the heck was that?” Bergman shrieked.

“That was Beast. I think you startled him.”

Bergman was on hands and knees in her white Chanel suit and Manolo Blahnik slingbacks, scrambling to get to her feet. “That dog’s an animal. He’s a threat to decent people everywhere. You have some nerve harboring a dangerous animal like that.”

“He’s just a puppy,” Cate said.

“He’s a menace. Where is he now?”

“He’s in Marty’s bedroom.”

“Are you sure he’s not guarding Marty?”

“See for yourself,” Cate said.

Bergman narrowed her eyes and swished off to Marty’s room. She looked in and glared at Beast. Beast tried to fit under the bed, but he couldn’t get all the way under.

“Huh,” Bergman said, and she huffed off to the front door. “I’ll be back,” she told Cate. And she left.

“Lucky me,” Cate said.

Cate got a dog treat from the kitchen and used it to lure Beast out of Marty’s bedroom. She gave Beast the treat, sat him down in front of the television, and put cartoons on for him.

“Calm yourself,” Cate said to Beast. “When I’m done with the cake, we’ll go for a walk.”

Julie was hanging out her open window, yelling at Cate.

“Y’all come to my apartment if you’re done walkin’. I got a package for you.”

Cate followed Beast into the building and into the elevator. They got off at three and Beast trotted down the hall to Julie’s open door.

“Good thing I was in the lobby when the delivery lady came through,” Julie said. “On account of somebody needed to sign for this. It’s from Marty, and it’s from Puerto Rico! Can you imagine that? I bet it’s something exotic.”

“Marty is supposed to be in Aruba.”

“Looks like he’s movin’ around. Hurry and open it,” Julie said. “I’m dyin’ to know what’s in there. I never got a box from so far away as Puerto Rico. Once my Aunt Jane sent me chocolates from Los Angeles, but our cat Annie May was in heat and had a accident on the box, so we never did get to eat any of the chocolates.”

“I never open Marty’s boxes,” Cate said. “I just leave them in his bedroom for when he comes home.”

“Yes, but sugar, this box is addressed to you.”

Cate looked at the box. It was marked FRAGILE, and it was addressed to Cate Madigan. “Marty’s never sent me anything before,” Cate said. “This feels odd.”

“Jest have at it for heaven’s sake!”

Cate ripped at the tape, opened the box, and found a lot of Styrofoam peanuts, an envelope addressed to her, and a large object shrouded in bubble wrap.

“What’s the letter say?” Julie asked.

Cate read aloud. “This is for my baby Beast. It’s a very special, one-of-a-kind water bowl for a very special doggy. Give him hugs and smoochies from me and fresh water every day. Tell him Daddy will be home soon. Love, Marty.”

“Isn’t that dear?” Julie said. “Who would a thought Marty’d be such a animal lover?”

“Knock me over with a feather,” Cate said, tearing the bubble wrap, exposing a large, enameled sapphire blue dog bowl with “Beast” printed on it in bling lettering.

“It’s beautiful,” Julie said. And it’s gonna look wonderful in Marty’s kitchen. It’s the perfect color. It’s gonna match the little tiles in the floor. Isn’t it just like Marty to want to coordinate a dog bowl?”

“I can’t believe he’s in Puerto Rico.”

“It’s so excitin’,” Julie said.

Cate thought it was more disturbing than exciting. She wasn’t happy to have Marty flitting all over the globe while she entertained an angry Kitty Bergman.

“Thanks for signing for me,” Cate said. “I’m going to take it upstairs and wash it and fill it with water for Beast.”

Ten minutes later Cate set the dog bowl on the tile floor. “I have to admit it’s pretty,” she said to Beast. “It looks terrific in Marty’s kitchen.”

Beast slurped up half a bowl and padded off to take a snooze. Cate looked at the cake on the counter and sighed. Danny was having another baby. That made three kids for her brother Matt in Atlanta. Two for her brother Tom in New Jersey. And now three for Danny and Amy. Cate was the holdout.

“But I’m the youngest,” Cate said. “And I have goals and ambitions.” She rolled her eyes. She was talking to herself again. And she was avoiding the real issue. The real issue was the guy on the black horse. The hero guy. “Okay,” she said to herself. “I know I have unrealistic expectations. Even if the hero guy rode into my neighborhood, what are the chances he’d be interested in me? And even worse, what are the chances I’d be interested in him? For instance, suppose Kellen McBride is the hero guy? It’s a possibility, right? He’s sexy and handsome and he’s a great kisser. He seems smart. He was a cop, so he has to be sort of brave. And I’m even secretly kind of ga-ga goo-goo over him. He touches me and my stomach gets fluttery. So why am I dragging my feet?” Cate closed her eyes and thunked her forehead against the wall. Thunk, thunk, thunk. “Dumb, dumb, dumb,” she said. “No guts. I’m a big chicken when it comes to the hero guy.”

Cate was about to thunk her head some more when the phone rang.

“It’s me,” Sharon said. “I’m in front of 2B, and there’s someone moving around in there. If I put my ear to the door I can hear him.”

“How do you know it’s a him?”

“I’ve got a feeling. Julie is here with me, and we knew you wouldn’t want to miss seeing him come out.”

“He might not come out for hours.”

“Then I’ll knock on the door and tell him…”

“Tell him what?”

“I don’t know. I’ll think of something.”

“You have too much free time on your hands. Maybe you need a hobby like growing orchids or woodworking.”

“So sue me, I’m curious. Anyway, tell me you aren’t nosy about this guy. Tell me you don’t want to get a peek at him.”

“Maybe a peek. Do you really think he’s getting ready to leave?”

“Yes!”

“I’ll be right down.”

Sharon and Julie were sitting on the floor, backs to the wall adjacent to 2B when Cate stepped out of the elevator.

“I didn’t miss him, did I?” Cate asked.

“No. He’s still in there,” Sharon said. “Get over here against the wall, so he can’t see you through his peephole.”

“Maybe he’s a spook,” Julie said. “Like a wanderin’ soul. And that’s why we can’t see him when he leaves. He could just go under the door like a vapor. My cousin Charlene lived in a haunted house once. She said there was talkin’ and everythin’. And sometimes things would disappear. My mamma always said it was Charlene’s husband, Dale, who was takin’ stuff and sellin’ it so he could go to the dog races, but no one knew for sure.”

Sharon leaned forward. “Shhh! I think he’s at the door!”

In a fashion that would have made Lucy and Ethel proud, everyone scrambled to their feet and pressed themselves to the wall. The doorknob turned, and Cate held her breath.

“We’re watchin’ history take place,” Julie whispered.

The door opened and an overweight man in overalls stepped out and closed the door behind himself.

Sharon had her hand to her throat. “Excuse me, sir,” she said. “Are you the resident of 2B?”

The man looked at the unit he’d just left. “Me?” He adjusted his cap and shook his head. “No, I just fixed a plumbing problem. Had a bad float valve on a toilet.”

“Is the resident in there right now?”

“Nope. It’s a real nice apartment though. The guy’s got a wicked sound system. Real good music collection too.” He nodded and turned toward the elevator. “Have a good one.”

Sharon started to go after him, and Cate grabbed the back of her shirt. “Enough, stalker-girl,” Cate said.

“But I had just a couple more questions.”

“That’s a big fib. You wanted to put him in a dark room, blindfold him, and make him recite everything he remembered about being inside 2B.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Sharon said. “I would have beat it out of him if he hadn’t cooperated.”

“This has been disappointin’,” Julie said. “I expected to see some gangster or some reclusive individual. I’m goin’ back upstairs and hang out the window some more. Maybe I can see 2B coming into the building.”

“I don’t suppose you saw anyone strange come into the building last night?” Cate asked Julie.

“No. I was working the trolley last night. I don’t usually hang out the window after dark anyway. I saw a strange little man this morning though. He was standin’ on the sidewalk, lookin’ up at our building. He was a hairy little thing, and he had sideburns and a Kewpie doll curl in the middle of his forehead.”

“Did you talk to him?” Cate asked.

“I asked him if he was a Kewpie doll, and he said no. He said he was a Pugg. I don’t know what the devil he meant by that.”

“It’s his name,” Cate said. “He’s my mother’s friend.”

“He’s kind of cute,” Julie said. “Like a furry little forest animal. And he’s short. It’s been my experience that a short man with a little wee wee makes a real good lover. They gotta try harder than the big uns.”

“He’s sort of a nut,” Cate said.

“Speaking of nuts, I saw Kitty Bergman drag her gloom-and-doom cloud into the building this morning too,” Julie said. “She’s here a lot, and she just comes on in. She doesn’t have to intercom anyone to get past the buzzer door. How does that work?”

“She owns real estate here,” Sharon said. “Two rental units on the first floor and one on the second floor.”