Meow Mayhem

by Lickel, Lisa;

  “What do you think he meant?” Hanley asked, all oily, soothing concern, faking sympathy for the poor, insane woman.

  “Why, about the fire, of course. What else could he have meant?” By now, I doubted what I had seen and heard. There had been smoke. “Of course he meant that,” I repeated. “And Tut was there, too. Isis…Isis recognized him. Didn’t she?” I felt my brows knit as I thought back. I had not gotten a good look at the man I thought was Ronald. And Isis wanted down, but she did not go to Tut. She moved away from the alley.

  Hanley broke the silence. “Did the man say he was Ronnie? And you’re sure it was him, not Toad?”

  I was not sure. I closed my eyes briefly, confused.

  Marion touched my hand. “We’ll figure it out, honey,” she whispered.

  “But the police. Ripple,” I protested, my voice faint.

  “We’ll call them when we’re ready,” Stewart said.

  Just to placate me, I was sure. Or was I?

  “Under the old city ordinances,” Stewart continued, “Margaret Bader-Conklin was deputized at some point as assistant mayor, so she’s first in line over the president of city council, Rupert Murphy. That’s the way Apple Grove was organized and right now, that’s what NAM has to honor. No one can change that.”

  “But that’s arcane, absurd,” I protested, my voice milder than my thoughts. “Who controls the money?”

  “By the time Rupert’s protest is filed and dealt with, this will all be over,” Hanley said. “The National Association of Mayors can’t possibly help now. We’ll file notices with the grantors and get everything straightened out.” He was obviously more concerned about the money than who sat in the mayor’s office. “Yolanda, what can you tell us?”

  “I brought the letter I received shortly before they smoked the Gazette office.”

  I felt as useful as a walleyed pike on a Saturday in Wisconsin and stood, intending to slip out. No one took notice of me as they all leaned over the table. I could see part of the paper Yolanda set out. Glittering, multicolor letters stuck onto a piece of lined notebook paper spelled the first part of my current mantra: “Don’t believe every...”

  I’d had enough and quietly opened the door and closed it behind me.

  ~*~

  The new big bank building, which nearly rivaled the stately city hall in size, anchored the other side of downtown from the newspaper office. I suppose technically State’s wasn’t really in the “downtown” section of Apple Grove since it was separated by a cul de sac and a huge cement coulee meant to keep the Founders River from flooding the city, but I doubt anyone cared. I walked toward the older, smaller clusters of brick buildings, turned at Tiny’s corner and headed for the river. I mostly wanted a quiet place to think. No one had stopped me from leaving the meeting. I didn’t tell Adam about the second chocolate drop or how Isis and Memnet decided to be friends. Maybe I’d dreamed all that, too.

  I thrust my hands deep in my pockets and bent my face to the ground. My sneakers hit damp grass before I realized I had arrived at the edge of the streambed. Miscellaneous scraps, old grass clippings, broken glass and general debris lined the bank, about six feet away from where the actual water dribbled along. I toed that line, lost in thought and time, remembering when Donald had invited Adam to Apple Grove and told him about a building Adam would like for the next franchise of his bookstore. I closed my eyes and smelled the coffee we each held in heavy take-out cups. Columbian dark roast.

  “So, I have the perfect place in mind for your newest branch, Adam.” Donald had bubbled enthusiasm as we stood outside an exhibition room at the last CAT convention last spring. We’d already gotten my little house ready for me to move into and I loved it. I was curious about where Donald planned to move Adam.

  “It used to be an antique shop, next to the barber. It’s the perfect location, right in the middle of downtown. The building is a bit rundown, but we’ll take care of that. The last owner, a woman named Renata, moved out a couple of years ago. Her daughter had to put her at Trail’s End. That’s the fancy retirement home nearest to Apple Grove. Roberta’s her daughter’s name. She has the flower shop on the other side of downtown.” Donald barely took a breath. He was in high form, performing a sales pitch for his beloved community. I sipped from my cup, loving that he showed so much enthusiasm for Apple Grove.

  I had walked past the place Donald referred to a number of times before I moved to Apple Grove. A torn shade hung lopsided in the front window, which was cracked. And the dirty shelves lining the inside of the store were visible if people stopped and pressed their noses against the glass.

  “Sure, Donald,” I’d added my two cents. “No one really wants that old eyesore of a building…” Oops. “I mean, Renata’s perfectly-located storefront, to remain empty. Makes downtown look less than prosperous.”

  Adam had shared his grin between me and Donald. He calmly drank from his paper coffee cup before replying. “Well, this smells like a set-up to me, but I’ll swing by and check it out. Apartment upstairs, hmm? At least it has indoor plumbing.” He winked at Donald over the cup’s rim. “You did mean the toilet inside the building, didn’t you?”

  And we’d all laughed. I had felt such joy at the time, such release from my old life of being chained to a man who took me for granted, and from an apartment with escalating rent in a neighborhood that had gone stale.

  A gust of wind drew me back to the present. I kicked at the remnants of a smashed and dirty paper coffee cup that had washed up along the bank of the river.

  I had made friends in Apple Grove. The neighbors were nice and cared about each other, sending casseroles to folks under the weather and issuing friendly hellos from the sidewalk. People at church enthusiastically welcomed me, especially after they found out I had been willing to teach Sunday School. I wanted to be part of Donald’s cure, not add to the disease of discouragement. And Adam was nothing like Stanley.

  I walked along the bank of the Founders River, kicking aside some of the bigger piles of debris. Searching for treasure, I guess. Looking for answers. Both Donald and Adam let me down—big time. Donald by getting himself killed and Adam by his current lack of support, which I did not even pretend to understand. And then there was my so-called friend, Marion. I could not decide whose side she was on, if she even knew. Was there something wrong with me? Was I bound to make bad choices, trust the wrong people all of my life? Could I be content, single?

  Self-pity burned in my eyes. I stopped walking and hunched my shoulders, staring downriver toward the bridge. Why had I come down here at all? Had I thought I would see Tut along the river bank, as Jenny had? Wiping my eyes across my sleeve, I faced the opposite direction. Adam was heading for me. Resolutely, I turned away from him to face the water.

  He did not say anything at all for the first couple of minutes. I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of speaking first. Finally, he bent to pick up a smooth piece of cloudy green glass. “Wonder how long this has been here?” he said. He let the bit fall then gripped my shoulders. “Ivy—”

  “Were you in on this little charade from the beginning?” I asked, addressing the middle button of his shirt. “Because you sure have played your part well. All this time, you’ve been hiding him, haven’t you? Where is he?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  I shot my glare upward, past his chin to his eyes. “Stop it! Last night you told me not to believe what I saw. Right before Ronny talked to me in the alley.”

  “That wasn’t what I meant. Are you sure about what you saw?”

  “Of course I’m sure.” Wasn’t I? “Donald’s cousin…the guy from the newspaper articles. And Donald’s cat, Tut. Aren’t you hiding them out in your store? In your basement?”

  “What? No! Ivy, what in the world gave you that idea?” His grip changed to a little shake of my shoulders. “All I meant was, well…” He let go and snorted a mixture of frustration and dismay. “I’m sorry. I want to find Tut just as much as you do.” H
e put his fists on his hips and watched my face while he spoke. “Ivy, Hanley and Stewart offered to buy out the remaining contract and take back the store. I’m considering letting them.”

  “You haven’t even had the grand opening. How can you just—”

  “Not ‘just’! Ivy, this whole thing hasn’t worked out the way I planned.” He made a rueful grimace and took a deep breath when he saw what must have been shock on my face. “Except for you, of course.”

  “Of course,” I mimicked. I began to walk away.

  “Ivy!” He came trotting after me, rounding to stand in front of me. “I’ve had enough trauma in my life. More than enough. Is it too much to ask for a normal, quiet, collected and calm, happy little life? With someone I love?”

  Love? Love? A person who loves someone else doesn’t run out on her. “I prayed for you. Last night. I felt as though I needed to be with you when you were at the fire. I rushed to be with you in case you were hurt….” My eyes went to his throat, hidden under his usual turtleneck. “Or burned.”

  His face paled. I whispered, “I haven’t prayed like that since Donald…since Donald and I prayed about his plan. Adam…I like living here. Apple Grove is nice. I’m starting to fit in. I think, all this stuff that’s going on is just…an aberration. After it’s over…I don’t know. I want to settle down, too. Here. I don’t want to go backward.”

  I watched while he struggled to get words out. He swallowed several times. “If Margaret gets her way, this will not remain a nice little village. Donald wanted better for Apple Grove. If he’s not here to make sure there’s proper sustainable growth, Margaret will ruin it with a big, smelly factory and all kinds of people who come and go, who don’t care about things as we do. You know that’s what will happen.”

  Whatever I expected from Adam was not that speech. I sidestepped around him and continued to walk. “I thought you were going to confess to helping Ronald Grimm hide out in the tunnels, using the entry in your basement. Keep him away from Margaret. Once Hanley found out what Margaret was up to, that is. Using him as a substitute for Donald, at least until she got the money. That’s why Hanley, Donald’s best man, has been so keen on setting you up in that store to begin with, wasn’t it?”

  Adam didn’t answer.

  I turned around, letting the wind whip my hair across my face. “Well?” I demanded.

  He stood, staring at me.

  “It’s so obvious!” I yelled in anger, frustrated more by the fact that I wasn’t making any sense at all. It was a long shot, accusing Margaret of trying to pass off her husband’s cousin as the mayor. But I couldn’t stop now. “How could anybody not see?”

  Adam shook his head and stared out over the eroded, gravel stream bed. “I can’t believe you think that I would be involved in something like that.”

  I could barely hear him.

  “I didn’t even know there were tunnels before Lucy told us. And who would believe a substitute mayor?”

  I took a few paces in his direction. “I’m sorry. I’m confused…and upset. But don’t you agree? That has to be where they’re hiding. Jenny saw Tut down here. I saw them both last night. Ronny Grimm’s here, Adam. He’s got to be.”

  “But why would he be hiding out? If you really believe that, I’ll help you look. Sometime. Right now, we’re not safe in Apple Grove.” He came closer to me. “Come on, let’s just leave. We don’t really belong here. We can go anywhere we want.”

  “He’s got to be hiding from Margaret, don’t you see? If they committed arson, it isn’t a far stretch to murder.”

  Adam shook his head.

  “I don’t want to go anywhere else right now,” I said. “But if you need to run, you need to run. I’m staying, at least until I know what happened to Donald. And Tut.” I walked until I left him behind.

  Now who’s running? I sped up. I needed the comfort of my own house and Memnet.

  Both cats padded in to greet me when I arrived home. I was immediately suspicious. “What have you two been up to while I was away?” I did a brief search but found nothing out of place. Hmm. “Well, I’m hungry. How about you? Want some lunch?”

  Isis was the first to reply, followed by Mem’s chuckling agreement.

  I set out some of Mem’s soft, smelly tuna treats, which Isis decided she liked, too. I poured out fresh water then watched while both cats drank out of a single dish. I could like this. Two cats weren’t more trouble than one.

  A clunking sound came from my front stoop, a signal I recognized as a mail drop. I opened the door a few inches to reach out to pick up the circulars and notes from the box attached to my house.

  Janie, the neighborhood mail carrier stood on the sidewalk, sorting a few envelopes before walking to the next house.

  I stepped out to greet her, but nearly tripped over a familiar-looking gold package. “Hi, Janie.” I stooped to pick up the box.

  “You must have a secret admirer,” the chubby woman responded, echoing Adam’s comment from last night.

  “This didn’t come with the mail?”

  “Nope. Nearly tripped over it myself.”

  “Oh. Did you hear the news?”

  “About Margaret? Sure! From everyone who’s been home today.”

  “You think things will change much?”

  “Nah, nothing much happens in Apple Grove,” she said. “See ya tomorrow, Ivy.”

  I wish Adam had heard that. I closed the door on Janie’s cheerful comment. One thing I knew, no way was I turning this chocolate over to the police. This was mine.

  19

  The aroma of seared sirloin burger I cooked for my solitary dinner that evening drifted on the air, aided by my swirling spatula. The doorbell rang. “Who could that be?” I asked Memnet. Together we answered the summons. I would have been disappointed had my visitor been anyone but Adam.

  “You really prayed?” He asked as soon as I opened the door.

  I nodded. “On my knees and everything. Right there.” I waved the greasy spatula toward the front window.

  “Can we talk?”

  I took a deep breath and couldn’t refuse his sweet plea. Besides, I still had his cat. “Sure. C’mon in.”

  “I hope Isis is behaving herself,” he said, closing the door behind us. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your dinner.”

  “I’ll make more, if you’d like to stay.”

  He flashed a grin. “If I say yes now, does that mean you’ll feed me no matter what happens?”

  I laughed. “Got me there. Maybe I’ll wait before I ask again. Have a seat. I’ll get us some coffee.”

  Isis trotted up to him from the hall, where I’d left her lazing on my bed. He bent to pick her up.

  I walked slowly over to the stove to check the food.

  He went into the living room and stood in the spot I had occupied last night, on my knees, praying for his safety.

  I turned down the heat and covered the burgers before going after him with the promised coffee.

  He turned and moved close to me. Too close. He smelled so good, the pine-scented soap I associated with him just noticeable underneath the clean hints of outside.

  “Oh!” I said. He had me addled. “Yes. I wanted to tell you…I forgot to say earlier, that is, that it seems Isis and Memnet have become friends.”

  Memnet crawled out from behind the sofa and gingerly approached, as if he was a nervous teenager meeting his girlfriend’s father for the first time.

  Isis jumped gracefully to the floor.

  We watched while our pets touched noses.

  “Ivy. I don’t know where Ronald is. If I did, I would say so.”

  I buried my face in my hands. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe what comes out of my mouth sometimes. That was unforgivable. And I believe you. I’m not even certain just who I saw.” I moved my hands and studied him. “I haven’t even asked you about your place. Can anything be saved?”

  His hands wound in my hair, stroking the back of my head much like he did with Isis as he ur
ged me close. “The worst damage was upstairs. The equipment and store inventory are smoke-damaged and have to be replaced. My apartment will have to be rebuilt.”

  “I’m so sorry. That’s terrible. You lost all your personal stuff?”

  “Odds and ends. I kept my place in Chicago. I’ve lived there all my life.”

  I nodded, numb with suspicion and sorrow. “Right. This was just a temporary gig for you.”

  “You have to understand my other businesses are still in the city. I couldn’t just jump blindly and give up everything.”

  As I had. “I do understand. And I’m sorry. I accused you of some pretty terrible things. You don’t owe me anything, but I owe you an apology.”

  “Ivy, look at me.”

  I raised my head slowly, reluctant and shy to see his face.

  “I believe you,” Adam said. “Don’t you think Donald would have trusted us if he was worried about something? He thought we’d make a good couple, and I don’t want to prove him wrong. Let’s just let things play out for now without jumping to conclusions.” He stroked the hair of my temple behind my ear. I watched his lips form the words.

  “What did you mean last night, when you said, ‘don’t believe everything I see?’”

  He watched my lips, as if he could see the words as I spoke them, before answering. “Just that you might wonder what Hanley and Stewart and I would do about the store.”

  “Oh.” I focused on his mouth moving closer. “Um, so that’s when they said they would buy you out?”

  Adam’s momentum halted. He raised his eyes to mine. “Yes.” But it was a question.

  I leaned back. “You asked me what I thought of Apple Grove once. I had a hard time answering then. But now I have to tell you that, despite the weird things that are happening right now, I’m serious when I say I like living here. I have my own house for the first time in my life. The neighbors are nice. I know the mail lady, Janie, by name. Marion and I are going to play on the women’s volleyball team at the Rec Center after Christmas. I’m helping at the newspaper office. I like church. Pastor and Mrs. Gaines are nice people. They’ve invited me to Bible study, and I would like us to go. Together.”