Hiss And Tell

16

Shadow crouched in the underbrush, feeling his disappointment turn to anger. For a moment, he’d let his hopes rise again. Maybe this time, Sunny was going home with her He.

But then the noise had started, not from Sunny and the male, but from those white go-fast things, and that Fat One hollering. Shadow crept closer to catch a whiff of the shouting two-legs. No trace of Smells Good. That was a relief. If Sunny had gotten involved with a human like that, there was no hope of staying with her.

Sunny got out of the black go-fast thing, and her He drove off. The Fat One got into his vehicle and zoomed away, too.

Only Sunny was left, standing by herself. She looked very lonely there in the darkness. For a second, Shadow wanted to go charging toward her, pounce on her foot, make her laugh, and just be with her. But Sunny had ignored him when he needed a two-legged friend, when the others were chasing him. And then she and her He had tried to grab him themselves.

Right now, Shadow wasn’t certain he could trust Sunny. What if he came to her and she grabbed him? Or worse, pushed him away? No, his heart would surely break.

So he stayed at the side of the road, just watching her.

Finally she started walking back to that place where she was staying. Silently, Shadow followed. He couldn’t trust her . . . but he couldn’t leave her, either.

*

Sunny lay in bed, eyes open, for a long time, going over the facts she’d gotten from her interrupted conversation with Will and his subsequent phone call. Given the outlines of the career Will had sketched out, there was certainly the possibility that Lee Trehearne had something worth blackmailing in his past. And who better to put the squeeze on during a big event than the head of security?

Taking it a step further, why couldn’t Trehearne be the Taxman? Sure, he was way out on the fringes of society, working for the Senator. But if he’d used information he discovered from the Kingsburys as a start, and then expanded his operation . . . That might even explain the Taxman’s business model, using former victims to lure new ones into his web.

On the other hand, Trehearne hadn’t looked much like a criminal mastermind while in bumbling pursuit of Shadow. Although Shadow had a way of driving even the most competent people to a hair’s breadth of screaming craziness.

Including myself, Sunny had to admit ruefully. But blackmail victim or perpetrator, Trehearne had the physical ability to do unpleasant stuff like strangling girls and slashing sheriffs. He also had the knowledge of Neal’s Neck, where the surveillance cameras were and how to avoid them, probably even what junk was stored where.

You can make a case against him, Sunny had to admit. But you can make a case against most of the guys stuck behind the security perimeter here. That doesn’t narrow things down. What I need is provable evidence.

Unfortunately, that, like sleep, seemed in short supply.

*

The morning was well advanced by the time Sunny pulled herself out of bed, feeling droopy. She’d lain awake way too long but had finally dropped off sometime in the wee hours. She found herself at the late sitting for breakfast, joining Beau Bellingham and Tommy and Yardley Neal at the table. It wasn’t a comfortable meal. Everybody seemed a little stir-crazy.

“If I have to sit around that pool again today, somebody’s going to get drowned.” Tommy snarled as he stabbed his knife into a jar of preserves. A little belatedly, he realized how his words might sound and sent a suspicious glance over at Sunny.

“To tell the truth, I’m feeling the same way myself,” she admitted. “Maybe I’ll talk to Priscilla and Carson about arranging some kind of outing. There are lots of non-touristy things we could do.”

“If we don’t mind being followed by a bunch of paparazzi.” But she’d started Tommy thinking and his sour mood lightened a bit. “Maybe we could talk Cale into taking us out again on the Merlin,” he said. “I wouldn’t even mind hoisting all the sails as long as it got us out of here for a while.”

With this plan in mind, they set off for the swimming pool, where they found Carson and Peter involved in a card game.

“I’m afraid Priscilla’s not here,” Carson said as he tossed his cards down. “She and Caleb left early this morning on some foundation business. She’ll be back for lunch—or rather, hors d’oeuvres, since we’ll be tasting some sample wedding cakes. “

“Probably too late for us to get out on the water.” Tommy explained his idea, scowling. “Unless,” he suggested, “I could take the wheel.”

“You really want to take Uncle Cale’s pride and joy off on a little unauthorized sail?” Carson asked skeptically. “He’d never forgive you.”

“All right, all right, you’ve got a point.” Tommy flopped down onto a beach chair.

Sunny noticed that Beau hadn’t paid any attention to the conversation. He’d just arranged himself on a lounge chair with a baseball cap shading his eyes, and in moments, his chest was rising and falling in easy sleep.

I wish I could do that, Sunny thought jealously.

“Feel free to join our card game,” Peter invited the others.

“I only play for money, Van Twissel,” Tommy replied. “And that’s something that neither you nor Carson has got.” He rose from his seat, shrugged off the loud Hawaiian shirt he’d been using as a cover-up, and jumped into the pool with a lot more violence than necessary, showering Sunny with spray.

“Tommy!” Yardley called after him in a scolding voice.

“Don’t worry about it,” Sunny told her. “It’ll get even wetter when I jump in later.” She undid the towel from around her waist and ran it over her hair, leaving it around her shoulders. “Would you mind another poor person at the table?” she asked.

They spent the morning playing all the most ridiculous versions of poker they knew, wild cards, baseball, even something Carson called “Indian poker,” where players had to hold their cards up on their foreheads, seeing what kinds of hands other players had, but not their own.

Between crazy games and crazy bets, Sunny had won a lot of imaginary money by the time Deborah Kingsbury appeared at the gate. “The Senator thought it might be nice to have everyone present for the cake tasting.” Lem’s wife didn’t have to add that whatever the Senator thought to be appropriate had the force of an order.

*

This is a stupid place, Shadow thought as he crept along the wall of the house. He was in a bad mood; things had not gone right since last night. Sunny had walked back to that place where she was staying, and Shadow hadn’t been able to sneak in after her. So he’d left her and gone back to his sleeping spot next to the planter. But when the sun came up, loud people with even louder machines had come to do things, and Shadow had run for his life.

After that rude awakening, he’d quickly become aware of an unpleasantly empty feeling in his middle. He’d tried another backyard visit to the place where the nice two-legged woman had fed him the other day. But he was out of luck. No kind human, just that stupid white cat being all unfriendly and brave behind the safety of the glass.

He’d tried foraging around, but all he encountered were the scents of large, dangerous animals apparently already hunting in the area. Not just biscuit eaters, but the nasty-black-masked critters.

Feeling a little desperate, Shadow went toward the big water, hoping to find something on the beach. But there, large white birds kept swooping down at him, screeching.

So, still hungry, he’d headed back through backyards toward the place where Sunny was. There was a wall barring the way, higher than he could jump, but Shadow had already found a spot along the base where some of the soil had washed away and a determined cat could squeeze in.

Maybe it’s better that I was empty before I tried that, he thought as he barely managed to squirm through.

He quickly darted to the side of a house and made his way through flowers and plants until he faced a large open area. Keeping a wary eye out for the aggressive two-legs in black, he made his way from bushes to flowers to trees, doing his best to keep out of sight. They might not be able to catch him, but he’d hate to have a meal interrupted because those ones happened to come along.

As he came to the place with the splashing water, Shadow heard human voices. He used his best stalking moves to slink up, peering suspiciously around the metal post that held a gate. Another disappointment—all he saw were a pair of male two-legs bent over a table. Nothing to eat, and the friendly female who’d fed him wasn’t there. He wandered on still in search of a meal.

At last he came to a big, big house. Shadow moved even more cautiously. This was where the Clumsy One had tried to grab him. It might not be a good idea to meet that one again. He had been angry, very angry, when Shadow got away.

Using every bit of cover he found, Shadow made his way around the house, following his nose. The breeze was coming toward him, and it held a touch of that slightly rancid tang that came from food the two-legs had thrown away. Well, sometimes a cat could happily fill his belly from what the two-legs didn’t want.

The scent grew stronger as he advanced, until at last he found the source—another disappointment. Shadow could clearly smell the old food, but there were only traces left on the stony ground beneath his feet. He couldn’t eat traces, and the food itself was sealed away in heavy metal containers that were too hard to break into and too heavy to knock over.

It was enough to bring a faint mew of frustration out of him.

Then he heard voices again, and scrunched down to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. But the voices didn’t come his way, so he went to investigate.

That turned out to be an excellent idea, because as he drew closer to the voices, he also smelled food. Good food. Shadow poked his head around something that couldn’t make up its mind whether to be a window or a door and found a room the two-legs used for messing around with food, making it hot or mixing it up together. Sunny and the Old One often worked in a room like this. It was also where they fed him.

But this room was much, much bigger, and there were several people in there, clattering pans and talking. It reminded him of places he’d sometimes seen in his travels, somewhere a cat might find a meal. Sometimes a cat might even try to make friends and get a really good meal. He’d learned, though, not to go inside. That would only mean trouble, loud voices, and someone in white chasing him away.

So he’d held back, watching the busy humans, until finally they started coming outside carrying very large plates. This seemed odd. Were they going outside to eat? Sometimes Sunny and the Old One did that, but they usually brought food to the thing that made smoke. And he didn’t smell smoke now.

Shadow waited for a chance to follow one of the two-legs and came to a table. A long white thing came over the sides and down to the ground, and Shadow quickly hid under that. But he peeked out from under it, watching many feet come and go. Then they stopped, and he decided to take a risk and come out from hiding. Shadow craned his neck and stretched as high as he could, unable to see the top of the table but taking in the smells that wafted down.

He could distinguish several kinds of food that he knew—and many more he didn’t. It was enough to make a cat’s mouth water. Shadow gathered himself for a jump to the top of the table. But then voices came from the other side, and he darted to the cover of the white stuff again, crossing under the table and peering out from under the far side.

Feet again! This was getting monotonous, not to mention annoying. His stomach growled from the good smells. Shadow poked his head out to see what the two-legs were up to.

He caught a wave of made smells and saw humans in bright colors talking loudly. They were clinking glasses and eating little things. . . .

That’s what must be on top of the table! He slunk out, but no one noticed him. He tried to sit and watch, to wait for his chance. He waited for a long time. Seconds, at least.

The smell of food was making his head swim. He couldn’t help himself—he had to have some!

Crouching low, Shadow sprang up and scrambled to the top of the table. Yes, there were the big plates, covered with all kinds of little foods. Ignoring everything else, he followed his nose, greedily trying everything he came across. Some of it tasted odd, some of it he spit out. But lots of it tasted good . . . very good.

*

Sunny looked in her closet, trying to mix and match an outfit into existence for a so-called casual lunch. Deborah had mentioned that the meal would be outdoors, so Sunny figured a top and slacks should be appropriate.

The problem is, I’ve worn most everything I’ve brought. Remembering all the bags the de Kruks had unloaded didn’t exactly cheer Sunny’s mood. She finally chose a pair of khakis and the blouse she’d worn under her cinnamon suit.

When she got downstairs, Sunny found Tommy and Yardley Neal dressed as if for an afternoon at the country club. Yardley wore a white linen suit, while Tommy wore a raw silk jacket over a polo shirt and dark gray slacks.

I guess this is how it feels to be the poor relation, Sunny thought gloomily. Of course, she comforted herself, when we get to the big house, we’ll probably find the present Mrs. de Kruk wearing a diamond tiara, and Emperor Augustus in a golden crown. She really wished Cillie Kingsbury were there to lighten the mood, but she wasn’t around, apparently having gone straight to the big house.

When they met up with the rest of the guys, Carson had on a light blue linen-weave jacket over a white collarless shirt, Peter wore the jacket from his blue suit over a green T-shirt, and Beau had recycled his oatmeal-colored jacket over a tan Henley shirt. At least half of us look like fashion casualties, Sunny’s alter ego commented snidely.

Perhaps because it was a command performance, the Senator—or more likely his wife Julia—had tried for a more festive atmosphere. The younger group arrived at the terrace to find the Kingsburys and de Kruks with wine- glasses in their hands, nibbling on hors d’oeuvres.

Fiona Ormond stepped onto the terrace like a general commanding her troops. Indeed, she had a single file of people carrying covered trays behind her. “Ladies and gentlemen, our cake candidates!” she announced.

The folks with the trays marched to the serving table, placed their burdens down, and removed the covers.

The cakes came in a wide range of varieties, some in small round tiers, others square. The frostings ranged from fondant to butter cream to cream cheese and even cannoli filling, decorated with spun-sugar blossoms or cunningly created leaves or petals, climbing vines, and in one case, what looked like a bunch of grapes dangling down the side. They weren’t all white, either. Some bore designs in contrasting colors. One had stripes, which made the tiers look like stacked hatboxes to Sunny’s eyes. Then there was one in delicate lavender with purple polka-dots. And one bakery had apparently decided to go completely nontraditional, with a chocolate ganache cake.

The cake servers themselves were an equally unusual assortment, from the thin guy in chef’s whites (including a toque with a poofy top) to the the curvy girl in a shirt emblazoned with the legend, “LA PATISSERIE DE MAINE.”

Sunny blinked when she realized who was wearing the sweatshirt—Robin Lory. Ben Semple’s girlfriend was staring around so avidly that she almost missed the table when she put her tray down. She looked very disappointed when Fiona shepherded her and the others back to the kitchen.

La Patisserie’s entry was more on the traditional side, a stepped set of round tiers ringed with pink frosting flowers, whimsically surmounted by a miniature bride and groom. They’ve got serious competition, Sunny thought. But at least Robin had her moment as a waitress to the rich and famous.

Apparently, Beau had a similar notion. “I’ll be the bartender,” he volunteered, heading for a sideboard with bottles of wine and aperitifs. Most of the crowd gravitated after him to get their glasses filled or freshened.

I suppose I might as well play waitress, Sunny thought. She headed for another table which held platters of various finger foods.

But as she edged around the crowd and got a full view of the table, she froze.

Standing on one of the platters was an all-too-familiar figure, happily scarfing down all the snacks.

Shadow!

Holding her breath, Sunny advanced on the table. That crazy cat isn’t even looking up from the stuff he’s gobbling, she thought with a stab of annoyance. He had people chasing him all over the place. Doesn’t he know how dangerous this is? Then she thought, He must really be hungry, usually he doesn’t like to fool around with people food.

Sunny was right beside him now. She gave out a low “Pssst!” to get Shadow’s attention.

He looked up from licking something off a cracker, saw Sunny, and his ears went back. They stood for a moment, and then Sunny heard a commotion breaking out behind her.

Sounds as though Old Augustus has noticed Shadow again, she thought.

“It’s back!” she heard the big man’s voice quavering. “Get rid of it!”

As if on cue, Lee Trehearne came hustling out onto the terrace. His eyes took on a maniacal gleam when he spotted Shadow. But the cat saw him, too, launching into a leap for the table with the wedding cake samples. He skidded a little, upsetting La Patisserie’s entry. The tiers collapsed, sending the bride and groom under Shadow’s paws.

The security chief was beyond noticing or caring what else was on the table. After playing Elmer Fudd to Shadow’s Bugs Bunny, he saw a chance to recover his self-respect—not to mention to catch that rascally cat.

Trehearne went into a dive, squishing more cakes under his bulk as he went for the cat. Still distracted by Sunny, Shadow clearly hadn’t expected such an extreme assault until it was too late and Trehearne actually had his hands on him. Trehearne reared back, lifting Shadow like some sort of victory trophy. He had traces of at least six cakes smeared down the front of his Windbreaker, but he didn’t care. His face was a mask of lunatic glee.

“Gotcha, ya little—” The security man tightened his grip on the cat’s midsection.

Not the best move, Sunny thought as she came around the table to try and take Shadow. Obviously, he hasn’t eaten in a while. All that strange, rich food on an empty stomach. And now you put the squeeze on him . . .

She was too late. Shadow made a husky, rasping sound, and then all the food he’d been gorging on came back up. The stream caught Trehearne right in the face and dribbled down, half-digested and undigested, to join the mess he was already wearing. Fiona Ormond screamed, whether from repugnance or because of the destruction of her carefully presented tasting, Sunny couldn’t tell. Other guests gasped and turned away from the spectacle.

Trehearne himself made a loud, involuntary sound of disgust, and his hold on the cat slackened.

That was all Shadow needed. In an instant, he’d twisted loose, dropped to the table, and streaked away again, leaving Trehearne pop-eyed, his face red and distorted, disgusted . . . and disgusting.

*

Shadow ran full out, even though his ribs hurt and his throat felt raw. But the part that hurt the most was his feelings. How could Sunny do that to him? How? How? The thought pounded in his head in time to the pounding of his heart. She caught my eye and kept me staring until the Clumsy One could sneak up and grab me. What a nasty trick!

He didn’t even want to think what was wrong with him to let a noisy two-legs stalk him successfully. But he decided to blame that on Sunny, too.

This was bad, bad, bad.

Shadow finally took cover in some bushes and lay low to get his breath back. He put down his head and hissed. To let some stranger come up and grab me—to help them. . . . He rested his chin on his paws, trying to call up his anger again. But it was gone. His chest felt empty.

So did his stomach. All that nice food, gone. Although it was almost worth being sick to see the look on that big, red, mean face.

That’s another thing Sunny owes me, Shadow thought. She made me lose a meal.