The Cat, the Wife and the Weapon

Nine

After a fitful night’s sleep, the sound of my cell phone woke me at seven a.m. It was Candace. Before I could say more than hello, she told me she was on the way to my house and disconnected. She sounded abrupt, to say the least. My guess was, she was tired, too.

Since Mercy is small enough that the longest drive is about five minutes from one place to the next, she’d be here soon. I got up, splashed water on my face and changed into jeans and a rose-colored henley T-shirt.

The cats had already left my room. Dawn and dusk are the busy times for felines. I wondered if they’d been sticking their paws under the guest room door to bother Yoshi. More likely, however, they were sitting by various windows, checking out birds and squirrels and anything else on the move outdoors. That’s how they usually began their day, and nothing was as important as routine in their animal world.

As I walked down the hall I heard Yoshi whining and guessed he needed to go outside. I cracked the door and he squeezed out into the hall and took off. I checked on Finn and he was still sleeping. I shut the door and hurried after the dog before he and the cats got into a fracas.

But Yoshi made a beeline for the back door and was doing his jack-in-the-box thing as when I’d first seen him on the side of the road. Merlot and Syrah sat outside the utility room door observing his actions with interest. Though cats can jump up to seven times their height with ease, they don’t bother unless their life is in danger or they’re playing with feathery objects. A cat’s philosophy is this: Why expend energy if not absolutely necessary?

I attached Yoshi’s leash, disabled the security alarm and the dog nearly dragged me down the porch steps and out to the backyard. The temperature was maybe in the high forties and I shivered while Yoshi lifted his leg on the first white oak he came to. After his urgent need was satisfied, he stood like a statue, his stubby tail wiggling, his nose busy sniffing the air.

The lake was still, the rising sun spreading shimmering autumn hues across the glassy surface. I started walking him down my sloping back lawn toward the lake, but about halfway to the shore, Yoshi stopped and started to bark repeatedly. At first, I thought he’d seen something I hadn’t. Then I realized his frenzy seemed to be directed at the water. Maybe he’d never seen a lake before.

“Not sure about big water, huh?” I said.

He answered by barking again. Since sound carried well to the nearby houses, I decided to take Yoshi inside before he woke the neighbors.

I’d just reached the back steps when Candace arrived. She wore her uniform and her ash-blond hair was pulled back and twisted into a bun at the nape of her neck. Then, rounding the house, I saw a tired-looking Tom as well as Liam Brennan, the assistant county DA. I smiled, glad to see all my friends, even if they looked worse for wear than I felt. “Hey there,” I said. Yoshi started barking at the new arrivals.

Candace turned to Tom. “This is the dog, huh? Very cute, but I’ve had some bad experiences with dogs. They don’t always like cops. Does he bite?”

Tom said, “I haven’t had a chance to find out. I’ve been visiting with you since around dusk yesterday.” He looked at me, and though he was tired the last time I saw him, now his whole body seemed weighed down by fatigue.

Yoshi barked again, probably not wanting to be ignored.

“You sure he’s okay with a uniform around?” Candace said to me.

“He’s been fine so far, and despite the uniform, you don’t give off a menacing vibe,” I said. “I wouldn’t worry.”

Liam said, “Since we’ve determined this fierce beast is probably no threat, can we go inside?”

“Most certainly. Chilly morning,” I said.

They followed Yoshi and me into my kitchen.

Syrah swiped at Yoshi’s muzzle as we passed the cats, but the dog didn’t seem bothered. In fact, his little tail wagged. As soon as Chablis saw Yoshi, she took off so fast tufts of her champagne-colored fur fluttered in her wake. Yoshi strained against the leash, wanting to give chase. The other two cats didn’t budge, staring at the dog with inscrutable faces.

I offered the leash to Candace. “Make friends by hanging on to this guy while I make coffee, okay?”

Candace took the leash with some hesitation. “You’re sure he won’t bite?”

“He’s not the aggressive type—unless you were to mess with a kid he loves dearly. And Finn’s asleep.” I glanced at Tom. “Candace knows about the dog, so I’m assuming she knows about Finn.”

Tom nodded solemnly. “She knows.”

“She finally knows,” Liam said. “Been a long night, Jillian. Sorry to start your day so early—but we need to talk to Finn.” Liam Brennan’s eyes seemed weary, too. He and Kara were dating, so he’d spent quite a bit of time in my house over the previous months. I’d come to like him. He was as passionate about the law as Candace was about evidence.

Candace said, “Liam wants to be here when I speak with Finn. Not the assistant DA’s usual duty, but we’re kinda short on the force with all the budget cuts.”

“Where’s Morris?” I asked, unsure her partner’s absence was the entire reason Liam was here. Substituting a lawyer for a police officer didn’t make sense to me.

“He had to take the day off or be paid overtime.” Candace rolled her eyes. “Wouldn’t want the city council to hear about us wasting resources. Can you get Finn to come out here, Jillian?”

“Could we let him sleep a little longer?” I looked at Tom, who had knelt and was scratching Yoshi behind the ears. “See, he suffered a concussion. He could use the rest.”

“You got him to a doctor, then?” he said. “Will he be okay? Is there anything else we should do for him?”

As I poured ground beans into a filter and made the coffee, I explained to the three of them about the doctor’s diagnosis and Finn’s memory loss.

“Tom said Finn didn’t seem like himself—that is, after I got him talking. If I learned anything last night, it’s that Tom is protective of those he loves,” Candace said.

“Hey,” Tom said. “You kept me hanging around while you booked evidence and went over witness statements. Can you blame me for not being all that cooperative right away?”

Candace led the dog around the counter and took a seat at the breakfast bar. “Let’s say it was a long night for all of us.”

Tom smiled at her. “I did grab a nap while I waited on you, and I know you didn’t have the luxury of even a few minutes’ rest.” He opened the fridge. “I am starving. Got any eggs?”

“I have bread, yogurt, peanut butter and some bananas I put in the freezer before I left town,” I said, while Liam and I pulled mugs from the cupboard. “I haven’t had time to visit the Piggly Wiggly since I came home.”

“I haven’t eaten, either,” Liam said, meeting Tom at the pantry.

Soon they were making breakfast for all of us with what few items I had to offer. While they were doing this, I joined Candace as the coffee brewed.

She said, “You managed to locate Tom after we talked at Belle’s and yet I never heard from you. Were you too busy helping the kid to call?”

“Once I knew Finn would be okay, I had to get him settled in here. Then I tried to reach you,” I said. “When I couldn’t get you on your cell, I talked to B.J. at the station and left a message for you to call me. When you didn’t phone, I figured you were busy.”

“B.J. never told me,” she said. “We kept him late answering calls and he got pretty frazzled—had an early class this morning and was afraid I’d keep him all night. He practically ran out the door when I finally realized he needed to go home. My bad.”

“I did call the station late, though. There’s a reason, too,” I said. “See, I had a little visit from Lydia last night. Of course, you understand it wasn’t exactly a friendly visit. She tried to pressure me into telling her things she seemed to think I knew.”

Candace closed her eyes. “That woman. What is wrong with her? Doesn’t she know she’s a coroner and not a cop?”

“Good question, one I’m not sure will ever be answered,” I said. “She told me about the murder, about Tom having to hang around the police station. She made it sound like you were about to arrest him for murder.”

“Typical Lydia drama,” she said. “Still, a man is dead—brutally murdered. He was found in Tom’s car and Tom didn’t like the guy one bit. I was concerned where the evidence would lead me, as you can surely understand. I get it that Nolan Roth wasn’t exactly an upstanding citizen, but he deserves the same justice everyone else is entitled to. I’m counting on you, on Tom, on Liam and even on this kid to help us get this thing solved. That is if Finn is who Tom thinks he is—the greatest young man who’s ever walked the earth. Are you with me? Will you help me get the truth?”

I reached out and rested my hand on her forearm. “I am totally on board. Until Lydia came here, I had no idea Nolan Roth had been murdered. I was on a mission to help Finn. He is a good kid, Candace. Sometimes you just know when someone’s good and decent. I’m with Tom. Finn deserves all the help we can offer.”

I felt her arm muscles relax beneath my touch. “You understand I have to make my own decision about the kid’s character, right? Because both Tom and Finn were more than a little unhappy with a man who ended up murdered and I can’t ignore that. You get where I’m coming from?”

“Of course,” I said. “But I know you, Candace. You’ll see what we have already seen when it comes to Finn. I’m sure of it.”

“You know what? You are the best thing that ever happened to this town,” she said. “You can put things in perspective in an instant.” She snapped her fingers for emphasis.

Hearing the sound, Yoshi sat at attention. Wonder what he thought was about to happen?

“Coffee’s ready,” Liam said.

“Toast coming up,” Tom said. “You have the following gourmet choices: peanut butter on toast, peanut butter and frozen bananas on toast or your always delicious dry toast.” He pulled four slices from my toaster and hastily dropped them on to a plate.

I helped Liam pour us all coffee. Soon we were sitting at the small table in the nook, munching our food and gulping coffee like it was water from an oasis.

Yoshi sat at Candace’s feet. She’d dropped the leash and put her foot on it to make sure he stayed close. I didn’t have to tell her the cats and the dog hadn’t quite managed to come to an understanding yet. Yoshi almost had this worried look—ears down, blinking a lot. Poor guy. He seemed to understand he was in the middle of a big mess.

At some point, Syrah had taken a spot on the window seat in the living room. This offered him a good vantage point to observe the dog while still keeping an eye on whatever bug was moving outside. Merlot, however, surprised me by plopping down about two feet away from Yoshi. He started what I called his “inquiring” chatter—something Maine coons are known for. Poor dog just kept cocking his head from side to side as they stared at each other.

While Tom started another batch of toast, Liam refilled our coffee mugs.

“I could get used to good-looking men waiting on me,” I said.

Liam sat down and said, “I have three sisters. Comes natural to take care of the ladies. Back to business, however. Since Finn isn’t with us yet and you spent more time than anyone with him yesterday, did he say anything about the gun?”

I said, “Finn says he never put any gun in his backpack.”

Candace looked at me as if I wasn’t ready to graduate from kindergarten. “Sure. So someone else just put it in there when he wasn’t looking. I hate when that happens.”

“You’re going to give him the benefit of the doubt, remember?” I said. “In my opinion, he’s being as honest as he can. And I’m not saying the gun isn’t his. I’m saying he doesn’t remember ever seeing it. You had a concussion last summer. Remember how you felt afterward?”

She briefly closed her eyes, as if recalling the blow to the head that put her in the hospital. “I do. I understand he might not remember. But how far back does his amnesia go?”

Tom hovered near the toaster, but I could tell he was listening to every word.

Candace went on, saying, “The kid was walking around with a loaded gun and a head injury. I have to completely understand what brought Finn here and how the gun ended up in his possession—hear the explanation from Finn himself.”

“So Tom told you about the gun right away?” I said.

Tom said, “I didn’t. My brother decided he wanted to help out. He told her when he called his new best friend Candace at the police station looking for me.”

“Ah,” I said. “Bob. How nice of him.”

“Time to interview Finn,” Candace said. “Unlike you and Tom, I don’t have the luxury of trusting Finn’s character and I can’t make decisions about guilt or innocence until I’ve gathered and evaluated all the evidence. Does that make sense?”

I nodded. “I know. But let Tom and me help you with him. He sure trusts Tom and I think he’s starting to trust me.”

“We do need your help,” Liam said. “But if the outcome isn’t what you want, if he did harm Roth, you should be prepared.”

Tom set more toast on the table. The smell of it, combined with the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee, would have been comforting on any other day, but Liam’s words made my stomach tighten. I could hear a hint of desperation in my voice when I said, “You’re the one who should be prepared—prepared with an open mind, Liam. He could never kill anyone.”

Just then, Merlot crept closer to us, his eyes on the dog, but I was sure he’d heard the worry in my voice. My cats were so protective, and I relaxed a tad just thinking about them.

“Please wake the kid up, would you?” Candace said.

Tom said, “Can we let him sleep a little longer? He’s injured and—”

“I need to interview him before his mother arrives. We, of course, called her and expect her in town this morning. Even though the kid’s eighteen, has a North Carolina driver’s license and I don’t need her to be present, she might insist. I sure as heck don’t want to argue with a brand-new widow. Is he in the guest room?” Candace stood, probably ready to wake Finn up. Too bad she forgot she was supposed to be keeping Yoshi on his leash.

He had his chance and took it.

When he ran, it wasn’t toward the back door or down the hall to the guest room. No. He started racing around my living room, Merlot right behind him. I was about to intervene, but then realized those two were actually playing a game. Yoshi had the advantage. The little dog could turn on a dime. Finally he stopped dead, whirled and faced Merlot. He lowered onto his front legs, his butt in the air. From growing up with my grandparents’ various dogs, I knew this was a “play position” and smiled.

Syrah, meanwhile, was staring with complete disdain as this commotion unfolded. He wasn’t about to make nice with a dog. Merlot must have caught a look from his feline friend because he turned and walked away from Yoshi. But there had been no hissing or swiping, just some much-needed fun.

“What’s going on?” a sleepy-eyed Finn said from the foyer.

Yoshi took off and leaped into Finn’s arms.

Candace said, “I take it you’re Finn. I’m Deputy Candace Carson of the Mercy Police.”

He looked at me. “You called the cops on me?”