The Cat, The Professor And The Poison

Eighteen

When we got to my house, Candace carried her laptop and case files to my office. Kara left her laptop on the kitchen table, opened the fridge and popped the top on her first Red Bull of the day. She’d also taken one of her sushi packages out and asked whether I wanted some. I declined and grabbed several cans of cat food and the bag of kibble from the pantry. Then I went downstairs thinking that the cats would probably enjoy sushi if there were any leftovers. Dame Wiggins was nursing her kittens. I swear those four were twice the size they’d been when they’d arrived three days ago, especially the orange and white one. Chablis, meanwhile, was giving Wiggins a thorough cleaning about the head and shoulders. She didn’t even stop to acknowledge my presence.

But when Syrah and Merlot came up behind me at the door, that got her attention. Chablis bounded across the room, swiped at Syrah and missed, but planted a paw squarely on poor Merlot’s nose. My boys retreated to the center of the game room. Syrah, who’d stood up to a threatening stranger only yesterday, was scared to death of Chablis. Go figure.

My bossy Himalayan went back to her task of making Dame Wiggins the prettiest mom in the cat neighborhood. Wiggins, who had to be the most mellow feline I’d ever known, closed her eyes as she was treated to this massage.

I cleaned the dishes in the utility sink near the washer and dryer, and soon Dame Wiggins had fresh food and water. I could tell by Syrah’s twitching nose that he would have liked a sample, but he didn’t get near that door again. I sat down next to mom, kittens and Chablis for some kitty love. Cats have a nerve connected to each hair and are calmed by petting, but I think I was more comforted than any of the felines. My stress-relieving escape was cut short when I heard Kara call my name.

I went upstairs and found Tom talking to Kara in the kitchen. He was leaning against the counter, and they both seemed relaxed, a scene so casual and friendly, I wanted to be part of it. Maybe the stress-relieving moments weren’t over after all.

Tom held up several computer printouts. “Hey. Got ideas on new phones from your wireless provider. Want to make a trip and get you fixed up?”

“I would love to. Let me check with Candace,” I said.

Kara said, “You think she needs to go along? Tom can protect you better than she can.”

“She just needs to know where I am,” I said. “It’s part of her job.”

“Good idea,” Tom said. “Go fill her in, wherever she’s hiding.”

I turned and went through the living room, thinking I’d comb my hair and put on some lipstick while I was at it. I sure hoped I didn’t smell like that police station.

Candace was busy typing away on her computer at my desk.

I said, “Tom’s here, and he’s offered to take me to buy a new phone. Then I expect he’ll come back here and set up the video so I’ll have my cat cam back.”

“Does that mean I have to stay here with you know who?” Candace said.

“I know you don’t exactly like her. She can be hard to like, but I’m trying my best, and I hope you will, too. But if you want to leave and help out Baca at the station, Kara’s got a gun and swears she can take care of herself.”

“The chief doesn’t need my help right now. Once he listened again to that nasty phone call-untraceable, as I predicted-Chief Baca said Morris was coming in to work no matter how sick he was. You’re stuck with me as your houseguest. Besides, I’d only be doing the same thing I’m doing now if I went to the station.”

“As long as you’re okay with this,” I said. “And I love having you as a houseguest. I’m just sorry you have to share a bed with me rather than have your own room. Be honest. Do I snore?”

“I couldn’t tell you. I was tired last night, asleep in an instant,” she said. “I’ll send the chief an e- mail that you’re heading out with Tom on an errand. A former cop can protect you just as good as I can.”

“I do need a phone. I swear no one knows I even have a landline. I sure never use it.”

“No problem; just make it quick. And pick me up a cheeseburger,” Candace said. “I’m craving red meat.” She tapped her temple. “Helps my brain.”

I laughed. “I understand. You need anything else?”

“Nope. The chief forwarded Rufus’s phone records. I need to figure out who he was talking to before he died. The chief’s waiting on the vendor records for What’s Bugging You. Maybe we’ll have evidence that the strychnine came from Rufus.”

“Sounds like you’ll be busy,” I said.

“Plenty busy. Need to write up the interviews, too. Interesting family, huh?”

“That’s for sure. I’d love to hear your take on them,” I said. “And Kara seems to have connected with Brandt. Promised to text him. She could help you.”

“I caught that connection. Maybe she can help,” she said begrudgingly. “Oh, by the way, I found out that besides the stolen kibble I told you about Saturday night, the town butcher reported a break-in last week. I have to give Gabe a call, see if he remembers anything else besides the stolen hindquarter.”

Gabe Newton ran a busy butcher shop and specialized in making smoked-deer sausage during hunting season, not to mention preparing deer for those who just liked to shoot the animals and eat them while skipping the messy stage in between.

“You’re thinking that the meat found in the professor’s kitchen was stolen from Gabe?” I asked.

“Seems possible. But we don’t have anything from the state crime lab yet on what kind of meat we found at the scene. When it’s raw, it all looks the same to me.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

I leaned against the doorframe. “So Professor VanKleet stole a cow, cat food and probably that meat? I wonder what else.”

“I thought maybe the strychnine,” she said. “I figured the professor could have stolen or bought that from Rufus, but if that were so, Rufus woulda come straight to Morris or me when he found out how the professor died. But he didn’t do that on Saturday… and Sunday, he’s dead.”

“Do you think someone purchased strychnine from Rufus and that’s why he freaked out when I brought it up?” And then I had an idea that made my heart speed up. “Rufus could have been the one who told Mr. Ski Mask that I was asking questions about poison.”

Candace leaned back in the chair. “Yup. I’ve been going down the same road. Rufus went straight to Mr. Ski Mask, probably the poison buyer, and next thing you know Rufus is dead and you’ve got an unwelcome visitor. Why kill Rufus, though? I don’t get that.”

“And why not kill me, too?” I asked. The thought made the hair on the back of my neck prickle. Had I been that close to ending up like the professor and Rufus? And how close was I now?

“Wait a minute,” Candace said. “What if Rufus didn’t know his sale would lead to a murder? After you told him about the professor’s death, he goes to this guy-pretty dumb move, I’m sorry to say-asks the wrong questions and gets himself murdered.”

“And Mr. Ski Mask didn’t kill me because I didn’t know who he was-only Rufus did. Why didn’t Rufus tell me-or tell you? He’d be alive today if-”

“Hold on. Don’t go blaming yourself. Rufus made a bad decision. If he kept records, we’ll find out who bought that poison,” Candace said.

“Maybe it was the person driving that white van.” I paused for a second. “But there’s something else. A missing piece. I don’t know exactly what that is, though.”

Buying the new phone turned out to be a confusing experience. I came away with one that looked like Kara’s-a “smart phone” is what Tom called it. Smarter than me, probably. But I trusted Tom when he told me I would get much better videos and be happy with his choice once he showed me how to use it. And I so looked forward to that part, sitting shoulder to shoulder with him.

Kara’s car wasn’t in the driveway when we got back. When I asked Candace whether she knew where Kara was, she said she remembered Kara popping her head in to say she was leaving.

Tom had followed me into the roomy study so he could program the new tech device and then I could receive my cat-cam videos.

“Where did she go?” I handed Candace the bag containing the burger she’d asked for and the side of fries I knew she wouldn’t refuse.

Candace stood and took the bag. “She didn’t say, even though I asked.”

“Maybe she’s meeting with Brandt, which doesn’t make me all that comfortable,” I said.

“She’s a big girl, Jillian,” Tom said.

“I know, I know,” I said.

“Jillian should worry. Kara’s a little overconfident, if you ask me,” Candace said.

Tom looked quizzically at Candace. “Why don’t you like her?” he said.

Candace’s face reddened. “I like her just fine. But she busts into town and shows up at the police station like she owns the place. That’s what I don’t like.”

“Sounds like you’ve got the confidence problem-in the opposite direction,” Tom said. “Come on, Candace. You know how good you are at what you do, right?”

“He’s right. You’re a great cop, Candace. The best Mercy’s got,” I said.

“That’s the absolute truth,” Tom said. “Don’t think Kara-or any reporter, for that matter-can investigate better than you can.”

“Okay,” Candace said with a small smile. “I surrender to the superior judgment of Jillian and Tom. But, please, Tom, promise me you won’t share any case information you hear with Kara.”

“You want me to recite the Boy Scout laws?” he said. “Trustworthy is one of them.” He looked at the ceiling and smiled. “But you know what? I can’t remember honesty being on that list.”

“Don’t be a smart aleck,” Candace said. “I’ll tell you both what I just found out, and it goes no further than this room for now. Right?”

Tom said, “Right.”

“You know I don’t tell secrets to anyone besides my cats,” I said.

Candace set down the bag of food, placed both hands on the desk and leaned toward us. “Guess who got arrested and then kicked out of college for chaining himself to a campus truck shouting that the ferrets in his father’s college lab should be set free?”

“Evan VanKleet,” I said.

Candace looked deflated. “How did you know?”

“I can’t see Brandt, the law student, partaking in civil disobedience before he’s had a chance to graduate.”

“Why are you so excited about learning this?” Tom said.

“That means he’s an activist-or maybe a wannabe activist. There were others involved in that little campus temper tantrum. And this was at the school where Evan’s father used to work. Maybe his activities took a different form when he found out that his father was researching pet food at the farm,” Candace said.

“You think Evan took those cats?” I said. “Or maybe even killed his own father?”

She said, “Maybe. It’s a jump in logic, I know, but-”

“You got that right,” Tom said.

She smirked at Tom. “Thanks for the encouragement. Anyway, it’s a place to start. By the time I finish, I’m gonna know what Evan eats for breakfast and when he goes to bed. The chief said he wasn’t cooperative and seemed to care less about his father. And he claims he was alone the night VanKleet died. No one in that family has an alibi.”

“One thing’s for sure. Evan didn’t come here, tie me up and scare my cats to death,” I said. “Not the right build; not the right eyes. And even though the bad guy was whispering, I’d still recognize his voice. Nope. Not Evan.”

“You told me activists usually don’t work alone, Jillian,” Candace said. “Evan could have had a partner. He never could have taken all the cats by himself.”

“Ah, the partner angle makes sense,” Tom said. “I worked on a case once where a group of young people decided to bomb a mosque right after 9/11. All bright, articulate kids. And after I’d interviewed each one, I was positive not one of them would have planned that bombing alone. I like to call it collective terrorism.” He’d moved behind my desk so he could use the computer.

Candace picked up her food and laptop and moved aside. “You need to work here. Will the Wi- Fi be down?”

“Yup. Give me twenty minutes,” Tom said. But when he turned on my computer’s monitor, his eyes widened. Then his jaw tightened. “This is him. This is that gutless asshole who-”

“I meant to shut that down. Sorry,” Candace said.

“Don’t be sorry,” he said. “I want to see this, want to study every move, every nuance. Because if I ever see this guy-”

“Can you call me when you’re done, then?” My mouth had gone dry. That attack was the last thing I wanted to see.

Tom looked at me, and whatever he saw on my face made him hurry around the desk. He wrapped me in his arms and kissed the top of my head. Then he said, “I’m sorry.”

“And I’m outta here,” Candace said with a smile. She carried her laptop out of the room, shutting the office door behind her.

Tom held me close for a few seconds, and then he took my face in his hands and kissed me tenderly.