A Case Of Cat And Mouse

chapter 10

After I finished work at the library I headed over to Maggie’s. Roma was joining us and we were going to look at photos from her and Eddie’s wedding. The ceremony had been held out at the house with just family and close friends. Maggie and I had been bridesmaids along with Roma’s Olivia and Eddie’s Sydney. They hadn’t had a formal photographer, but Ruby had brought her camera and taken lots and lots of shots.

“The girls are nagging me,” Roma had said on the phone. “They want me to make a wedding album. Ruby put all the photos on a flash drive and said I can use whatever I want. But I don’t have a clue how to get started.”

“We need Maggie for this,” I had immediately replied.

With her artist’s eye I knew Maggie would select the best of Ruby’s photographs, not that I thought there would be very many that weren’t great.

Ruby’s photos often looked like little works of art to me, probably because she was an artist. She had a knack for finding an unusual angle or a unique perspective. That’s why the calendar had been so successful. I was looking forward to seeing the pictures from the wedding. When I took photos I was happy if I managed not to chop anyone’s head off.

“We’re up here,” Maggie called when I knocked on her door. I headed up the stairs and found Roma on the sofa in the living room with her computer on her lap. Maggie was in the kitchen making tea.

“Do you want a cup?” she asked.

“I think I do,” I said over my shoulder as I hung up my jacket in her little coat closet. I looped the strap of my bag over the hanger. “I think I had too much coffee today. I realized tonight when I was helping someone with an Internet search that I was talking really fast.”

“I didn’t know that there was such a thing as too much coffee as far as you’re concerned,” Roma said as I dropped onto the sofa next to her.

I stuck my tongue out at her and she laughed.

“This is vanilla rooibos tea,” Maggie said, holding up the pot. “Naturally caffeine-free.”

“As your sometimes doctor, I approve,” Roma teased. Although she was a veterinarian, Roma had taken care of me more than once since she was also trained in first aid—for people.

I bumped her with my shoulder and leaned sideways to look at the computer. “Let me see the pictures,” I said.

“We have to wait for Maggie,” Roma stage-whispered, moving her laptop to the left, out of my range of view.

“It’s okay. I’m ready,” Maggie said as she came from the kitchen carrying a large tray with three cups of tea, milk and sugar and three plates with what looked to be slices of Swiss roll.

“Oh that looks good,” Roma said, setting the computer next to her on the sofa.

Maggie put the tray on the small coffee table. She had found the rickety piece at a flea market and bought it for five dollars. Marcus had glued and repaired all the joints and she and I had sanded and painted it black. I liked Maggie’s apartment. It was warm and welcoming just like her.

“Rebecca or Charles?” I asked, gesturing at the cake. I knew next week was Cake Week and I knew both of them liked to work ahead.

Maggie smiled and handed me a cup of tea. “Ray actually. It’s red velvet cake with cream cheese filling.” She held up a small jug I hadn’t noticed. “And raspberry coulis.”

“Thank you, Ray,” I said.

I took one corner of the couch, Roma took the other and Maggie curled up in the big chair. We had tea and cake and talked about our week, which meant Maggie and I mostly talked about what we’d eaten.

“Does the show need a veterinarian?” Roma asked. She was wearing her sleek dark hair in a slightly longer bob and it suited her.

Maggie laughed. “I went up to Barry’s Hat with a bunch of the crew. They had beer and wings. I’ve seen farm animals with better table manners.” She nodded slowly. “So possibly, yes.”

I ate the last bite of my cake. “I had no idea Ray could make something like this,” I said, pointing my fork in Maggie’s direction.

“If he’d made one of these Swiss rolls for the co-op board, everyone would have forgiven him pretty quickly,” Maggie said.

Roma licked raspberry coulis off the back of her fork. “Do you think he has a chance of winning?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said.

Maggie nodded in agreement.

I set my plate on the tray. “Ray is very steady. He doesn’t get rattled when things go wrong. Neither does Rebecca.”

“I could definitely see Rebecca coming in first,” Maggie said. She reached for her tea. “I know you’ve been working with Peggy. Is she ready for tomorrow?”

“I think so,” I said. “She has good chemistry with Richard from what I’ve seen, and all the bakers like her.”

“Everyone likes Peggy,” Roma said. Her head was bent over her plate as she tried to scrape the last of the cream cheese filling off.

Maggie grinned. “Roma, would you like another slice of cake?”

Roma looked up. “I shouldn’t.”

“I didn’t ask if you should have another piece. I asked if you wanted to have another piece.”

Roma nodded and held up one hand with her thumb and forefinger about half an inch apart. “Just a little bit, please.”

Maggie got to her feet and looked over at me. I shook my head. She took Roma’s plate and went into the kitchen. “Hey, Kath, do you know who Russell is seeing?” she asked as she sliced the cake.

“I don’t think he’s seeing anyone,” I said.

“Yeah, he is,” she said, “and I’m pretty sure it’s someone on the show.”

I looked up at her, frowning, as she came back with Roma’s cake. “What makes you say that?”

She sat down again, curling one leg underneath her. “You know how the bakers and the camerapeople were doing a walk-through yesterday?”

I nodded. Watching Roma eat her cake was making me rethink my decision not to have a second slice.

“Well, it seems Garry is interested in one of the camera guys.”

Roma held up a hand. “Wait a minute. Who’s Garry? I thought we were talking about Russell.”

“Garry is the illustrator Maggie is working with,” I said.

“Okay,” she said.

Maggie continued, “So Garry is interested in one of the camera guys, which meant he kept coming up with excuses for us to be out there, and every time we were on the set Russell was on set, too.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s involved with anyone. We’re all trying to help Peggy. In fact, Russell has a magic trick they’re going to do. They were probably just working on that.”

Maggie made a face. “No, I don’t think that’s it. Yesterday and Thursday he shaved twice, both days.”

Roma jabbed a finger in the air. “You’re right. This guy’s definitely interested in somebody. A man does not shave twice a day unless there’s someone he’s trying to impress.” She smiled. “Ask me how I know.”

Maggie stretched out a foot and gave Roma’s leg a playful nudge. “We all know you’re married to the perfect man,” she said with a teasing smile.

Roma’s cheeks turned pink. “Eddie is pretty terrific.”

I was still trying to wrap my head around the idea that Russell was involved with someone. I had just found out that Charles had slept with Kassie. Eugenie seemed to flirt with Harry Taylor every chance she got and now it seemed that Russell had his eye on someone from the production. TV people weren’t a lot different from theater people, it seemed.

I realized both Roma and Maggie were looking at me. “Sorry,” I said. “Did I miss something?”

They exchanged a look. “I just asked how your Mr. Perfect is,” Roma said.

I smiled. “He’s good. This case is keeping him busy.”

Roma’s expression turned thoughtful. “I saw Ruby getting coffee at Eric’s this morning. Do you think Elias Braeden could be guilty?”

I shook my head. “I want to say no. I know he has a reputation for being pretty hard-nosed when it comes to business, but that doesn’t mean he’s capable of killing someone.”

“Wasn’t he a suspect in the murder of Simon Janes’s father?” she asked.

“He was a person of interest, very briefly. That’s all.”

“It would break Ruby’s heart if he’s convicted.”

“That’s not going to happen,” I said.

Roma looked at me for a long moment without speaking. “Okay,” she said finally.

Maggie pointed at the computer. “Pictures,” she said.

Roma reached for the laptop again and I moved over to sit next to her. Maggie sat down on the other side where the computer had been.

“Both Olivia and Syd want a good photo of Eddie and me. Whatever that means,” Roma said. She made air quotes around the word “good.” “I’d like one of the four of us if Ruby took any, and one with Mom and Dad.” She looked at me, a smile pulling at her mouth. “Ruby said there are a couple of nice photos of you and Marcus that you’re welcome to have. You never know when you might want a nice picture of the two of you.”

“Say, for an announcement of some kind,” Maggie finished. She batted her eyes at me.

I moved my index finger back and forth between the two of them. “Don’t start!” I warned.

Maggie leaned her cheek against Roma’s and they both gave me their most innocent looks. “We’re not starting anything,” Roma said.

“Nothing at all,” Maggie added.

They had both conspired to get Marcus and I together and now they were being about as subtle as dumping a Gatorade cooler of water and ice over my head, trying to keep us together for life.

I gestured at the computer. “Let’s see some photos,” I said.

Roma clicked on the flash drive icon on the laptop screen. Of course the photo that appeared on the screen was one of Marcus and me. Roma struggled not to laugh. Maggie held out her hands. “Don’t look at us,” she said. “It’s just the universe trying to send you a message.”

I rolled my eyes at her. I had a feeling “the universe” had blond hair and green eyes.

It took more than an hour, but we managed to cull the photos down to a manageable number. “Thank you both,” Roma said, wrapping her arms around her knees. She’d set the laptop on Maggie’s coffee table. “I’ll get these printed on Monday. Both Olivia and Syd stressed that they want ‘real’ photos.”

We’d found two wonderful photos of Roma and Eddie with Sydney and Olivia. All four of them had looked so happy. I remembered the day and I knew they hadn’t just looked happy, they’d felt that way, too.

Roma and I hugged Maggie good-bye and neither of us argued when she gave us each a slice of the Swiss roll to take home. We went downstairs together. When we reached the sidewalk Roma stopped. “I need . . . I need your opinion on something,” she said.

Her expression was serious, her mouth pulled into two thin lines.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Friday night I was late leaving the clinic. I knew Eddie wouldn’t be home and I didn’t feel like cooking, so I drove over to Eric’s for some takeout. I was walking down the street from where I’d parked just beyond the café, and I heard raised voices. There were a couple of men standing by the bookstore. It looked to me like they were arguing but it didn’t seem like a big deal.” She sighed.

“Did you know them?”

Roma shook her head. “One of them had his back to me and the other I didn’t recognize, at least not at the time. I watched them out of the corner of my eye and it didn’t seem to be anything more than a disagreement. I figured there was a pretty good chance that Nic Sutton was working and I thought I would get him to just step out and make sure everything was okay.”

Nic Sutton was built like a hockey goalie, strong and solid. He tended to get people’s attention.

Roma twisted her wedding ring around her finger. “Just as I got to the door the man with his back to me shoved the other guy and stalked away.”

“Was the second man hurt?” I asked. I wasn’t sure where the story was going.

“No, he was fine. The problem is what the first man said before he pushed the other guy.”

I put a hand on her arm. “Roma, what did he say?”

“He said, ‘I’ll take care of it. Keep your mouth shut, Charles, or I will bury you so deep you’ll never come up for air.’ And I really didn’t think about the conversation again, but you and Maggie were talking about the contestants on the show and the more I think about it, the more I’m certain that the man whose face I could see was Charles Bacchus and the other man was Elias Braeden.”

I rubbed the back of my head with one hand. This didn’t look good for Charles or Elias.

“I should tell Marcus, shouldn’t I,” Roma said. She knew the answer so she didn’t frame the words as a question.

I nodded just the same. “People say stupid things when they’re arguing. It doesn’t mean the conversation had anything to do with Kassie Tremayne’s death. It’s more likely they were talking about something to do with the competition. I’ve seen things get pretty heated on the set but people cool off pretty quickly after they’ve vented a little.” I gave her a hug. “Yes, tell Marcus, but I don’t think what you heard is a big deal.”

She smiled. “Thank you. I’ll call him in the morning.” She reminded me that we were moving the cats from the old carriage house into their new home on Sunday, and I promised I would be there.

Roma got into her car and I got into the truck. I resisted the urge to pound the steering wheel with one hand. Both Charles and Elias had left a few things out when we’d talked. I needed to get those blanks filled in.

Rebecca had offered to check in on Owen and Hercules before she left to come down for filming so I wouldn’t have to go home after work, and Abigail had offered to close the library for me, so I made it over to the community center by five after one on Saturday. Basically it was my job just to be available in case Eugenie had any questions or drew a blank on something.

“If you don’t mind,” Eugenie had said when she had asked me to be there. “I think we’ll all be off our game a trifle.”

Since it was Peggy’s first episode I was filling the same role for her.

The crew was almost ready to start filming when I arrived. All the ovens had been tested and were working properly. I’d learned that they were checked before every show so there could be no complaints later that someone’s bake hadn’t turned out because of a wonky oven.

I had also been fascinated to find out that the show had a recipe researcher whose job was to make sure the Back to Basics segments of each show were something the bakers could complete in the allotted time.

Because of the change to the schedule we were also filming the episode out of order. Usually the show was shot in sequence: Favorites, where each baker showed off their personal recipes; Back to Basics, which tested how much they knew about baking and which was blind judged; and Outside the Box, which was each contestant’s chance to showcase their creativity. Today the Outside the Box segment was going to be filmed and tomorrow they’d go back and do the Favorites and the Back to Basics sections.

It was a long afternoon. Eugenie wanted another fact about sourdough starter to use when she talked to Ray. Russell wanted to know if the sourdough museum was a legit thing. (It is.) And every time Peggy came out she had a question. I could see she was nervous. She kept rubbing the side of her right thumb against her little finger.

“You’ve got this,” I said as we stood by the Riverwalk.

“I didn’t think I would be this nervous,” she said.

“Well, it doesn’t show. If you do get stuck, just turn to Richard and smile. He’s got your back.”

I had decided not to talk to Charles until everything was finished on Sunday. It didn’t seem fair to do anything that might throw him off. However, there was no reason not to talk to Elias.

Right after filming finished for the day I saw him standing with Richard and I made my way toward them. I got waylaid by Eugenie.

“I should have guessed you’d know about the museum,” she said, smiling at me.

“It’s nice to have a use for all the random facts that just seem to stick in my head.”

Eugenie held out a brown paper envelope. “Kathleen, I know you’re busy, but would you have time to go through this?”

“What is it?” I asked, taking the envelope from her. It felt about an inch thick, filled with papers I guessed, since it wasn’t very heavy.

“It’s the contents of Kassie’s show file. I flipped through it very quickly and it just seems to be notes and some things she printed out on Richard, on me and on some of the contestants. The police didn’t want it and one of the producers gave it to me thinking there might be something Peggy or someone else would find useful. I was going to toss the whole thing in the recycling bin but perhaps someone should go through the papers, just to be certain, before I do.”

Somehow the job of fact-checker/researcher had turned into me being a jack-of-all-trades. I didn’t really mind. Paperwork was easy to handle. Popcorn in the book drop? That was a real problem.

“I can do that,” I said. “I’ll pull out anything I think Peggy would find helpful and I’ll give you back the rest. You can recycle it or file it or let Russell make little paper animals with it.”

I’d discovered that along with magic tricks Russell also did origami. I had gone to get coffee during filming and when I came back there was a tiny origami mouse sitting on my notes.

“That’s a splendid idea,” Eugenie said, “especially that last part.”

“Is there anything else you need?” I asked.

She shook her head. “There isn’t.” She looked around. Richard’s conversation with Elias seemed to have ended. It looked as though he was headed back to the community center. “I need to catch Richard. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I took a couple of steps so I was directly in Elias’s path. “Do you have a minute?” I asked.

“I do, but not much more than that,” he said. “What is it?”

There wasn’t any point in beating around the bush. “You didn’t tell me that Charles was sleeping with Kassie.”

A tiny pulse flickered just below the corner of his right eye. It was the only indication he was surprised that I knew. “He told you.”

I nodded. “He did. He also said that you told him not to tell anyone, including the police.”

“I knew it made him look bad,” Elias said. “And I know Charles—he couldn’t have killed Kassie.”

I raised an eyebrow. “But he has killed someone else.”

“That was a long time ago and it was an accident.” He looked at his watch. “Is that it?”

“No,” I said. “This is where you tell me that you and Charles had an argument on the street outside Eric’s Place a couple of hours before I found Kassie’s body.”

He pressed his lips together for a moment. It was the only sign I could see of the annoyance I was guessing he was feeling. “Is there anything you don’t know about?” he asked.

I held up both hands. “I don’t know what the two of you were arguing about.”

Elias waved away my words. “It was nothing. Charles was having an attack of conscience. He thought he should tell people about his relationship—such as it was—with Kassie. I disagreed.”

“I told Ruby I would help you and you’re making it difficult when you keep secrets like this.” It was hard to keep the exasperation out of my voice.

“Oh, please, Kathleen. You don’t really believe Charles killed Kassie. It’s just unthinkable.”

“Why not?” I said. “After all, the police think you killed her.”

He looked at me for a long moment. “Touché,” he said softly.

“What did you mean when you told Charles you’d bury him so deep he wouldn’t be able to come up for air?”

Elias tugged on his cuff the way he had the last time we’d talked. Nervous habit, maybe?

“Not what you think,” he said. “I know Charles is trying to turn being on the show into bigger opportunities. Hell, he’s not the only one. All of the contestants have an agenda. What I meant was if he was foolhardy enough to make what should be kept private public, I would have no choice but to make sure not one single opportunity would come his way. Nothing more. Now are we done?”

“For now.”

“I’d like to say it’s been a pleasure, Kathleen,” he said.

“So would I,” I said with the slightest of smiles. I had caught his meaning and I was certain he’d caught mine.

I stuffed the envelope Eugenie had given me in my messenger bag. My feet hurt from being on them so long all day. All I wanted to do was climb into the bathtub with one of Maggie’s herbal soaks and stay there until I looked like a prune. I didn’t want to make supper. Marcus was out of town for the weekend at a coaching seminar in Minneapolis. He’d been helping with the high school girls’ hockey team and it was something he was good at—no surprise, because he was pretty athletic. I was happy the case hadn’t derailed his plans.

I unlocked the truck, dropped my bag on the seat and decided to head to Eric’s to get some supper to take home. I found a parking spot on the street just a couple of spaces down from the café, a sign, I decided, that the universe did not mean for me to cook tonight.

The restaurant was fairly quiet with about half the tables occupied, typical for a Saturday evening this time of year. I took a stool at the counter just as Nic Sutton was coming from the kitchen with a tray of food.

“Hey, Kathleen,” he said. “Give me two minutes and I’ll be right there.”

I nodded. “Take your time.”

Nic expertly delivered the orders, smiled and gave what from my vantage point looked like directions to the Stratton Theatre all quickly and efficiently. He scanned the room to make sure no one was trying to get his attention and then came back and slipped behind the counter.

“What can I get you?” he asked. “I’m assuming since you didn’t grab a table that you want takeout.” Nic was about medium height and stocky, with light brown skin and deep brown eyes. He had grown a goatee a few weeks ago and I thought the closely cropped facial hair suited him.

“I do,” I said. “How about a noodle bowl?”

“Good choice,” he said. “How about chicken and shrimp?”

There was a better than average chance that I would end up with a paw in my bowl if I said yes to the shrimp but I did it anyway. “Are there any cheese biscuits?” I asked.

Nic shook his head. “But we do have some fresh naan bread. It’s made with caramelized onions.” He raised his eyebrows in a question.

I smiled. “That sounds good, too.”

“I’ll go put your order in,” he said. He grabbed his tray and headed for the kitchen. When he came back he gave me an appraising look. “Leaded, unleaded or no coffee at all?”

“Better make it decaf,” I said. He poured me a cup in a take-out container and I gave myself a mental kick for leaving my new stainless-steel mug at home.

“Were they taping the Baking Showdown today?” Nic asked as he set the cup and a lid in front of me.

“I just came from there,” I said, reaching for the cream and sugar.

“Any hints on who’s in and who’s out?” he asked, a teasing smile lighting up his face. “I would not breathe a word to a soul. I swear. And on a totally unrelated subject we have chocolate cheesecake.”

I laughed. “Nice try but my lips are sealed.”

Nic made a face. “Overplayed my hand a little with the cheesecake, didn’t I?”

I nodded. “Little bit, maybe.”

“Can you at least tell me how Charles is doing?” he asked.

I took a sip of the coffee. It was hot and strong, just the way I liked it. “You know each other?”

“Kind of,” he said. “I was working last week when it seemed like pretty much everyone from the show showed up for dinner. We were swamped. Claire’s shift ended at six and she hadn’t been out of the door five minutes.”

“So Charles was here?”

Nic scanned the room again to see if anyone needed anything. “Good thing he was. Like I said, we were swamped. First thing I know, Charles is getting coffee for people. Next thing he’s helping me wait tables. I wouldn’t have gotten through the night without his help.”

“So you’re saying he waited tables here for two hours?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Eric wouldn’t let him pay for his own food. I never could have handled so many people all by myself.” He reached for the coffeepot. “I’ll just go top up some cups and your food should be ready.”

“That’s fine,” I said. I took another sip of my coffee. Charles had been here helping Nic with customers the night Kassie Tremayne was killed. There was no way he could have killed her, and I was happy about that because I did like the big baker. On the other hand, Charles had had an alibi all along. Why hadn’t he said so?