Felines and Footprints

by Jinty James

  “Did you tell the police that?” Zoe asked, a hint of mischief in her eyes.

  “Of course, we did, girl!” Virginia scowled at her. “You would expect the police to believe me, a pillar of the community, who’s lived in this town for many years, but no. They have to take the word of some “expert” before they’ll believe me.” She narrowed her eyes at Lauren. “I hope your young man knows what he’s doing.”

  “My young man?”

  “It was as plain as the nose on my face yesterday that there’s something going on with you two. I hope it’s all above board.”

  Lauren was aware her mouth parted but no sound came out. Her cheeks flamed.

  “Now, Virginia,” Doris said. “I’m sure that—”

  “Everything is definitely above board.” Zoe planted her hands on her hips. “In fact—”

  “In fact, we need to get back to the counter,” Lauren urged her.

  “Not before I ask some questions.” Zoe narrowed her eyes. “Did either of you go outside during scrapbooking?”

  “I did,” Doris admitted. “I needed to get some air for a minute. I was feeling a little hot.”

  “In January?” Virginia sounded disbelieving.

  “I did tell you at the time,” Doris said mildly.

  “When was that?” Zoe zeroed in on her. “Before or after Janice arrived? Didn’t you say she joined you after school finished?”

  “That’s right,” Doris replied. “And it was after Janice arrived.”

  “Did you see Gavin’s car?”

  “No,” Doris replied.

  “What is this, a cross-examination?” Virginia glared at them.

  “Yes,” Zoe admitted.

  For once, Lauren was not going to urge Zoe to be cautious with her “grilling”.

  “What about you, Virginia?” Zoe switched her attention to the slightly older lady. “Did you go outside?”

  “I will not deign to answer that. You are not the police.”

  “No, but Mitch is,” Lauren spoke. “Maybe he’s already asked you these questions.”

  “Yes, he has,” Doris stated. “After you two left the hall yesterday.”

  “If you don’t mind, we would like to enjoy our order in peace.” Virginia glared at them glacially.

  Lauren nodded, and headed back to the counter, making sure Zoe was beside her.

  “I bet Virginia did it,” Zoe muttered when they reached the espresso machine. “She is so rude!”

  “That doesn’t make her a killer.”

  “No, but who else could have run over Gavin?”

  “Can she drive?” Lauren asked. “Didn’t they say the police impounded Doris’s car?”

  “Good point.” Zoe tapped her cheek. “But that doesn’t mean Virginia can’t drive. I drive your car all the time!”

  “I’d noticed.” There was a hint of a smile in Lauren’s voice.

  More customers trickled in, until Lauren was too busy to think about Doris and Virginia being possible suspects.

  Zoe grabbed her lunch break first, promising to return quickly. True to her word, she waved a skein of brightly colored red and purple yarn in the air when she came back.

  “Look!” Her eyes sparkled as she showed Lauren and Annie her purchase.

  “Those are your colors,” Lauren agreed.

  “I can’t believe they’re in the same ball of yarn. The clerk at the handmade shop said it’s self-striping.” She thrust the fiber at Lauren. “Can’t wait for you to knit me a scarf.” She grinned.

  “As soon as Mrs. Snuggle goes home,” Lauren promised. “Although it might take me a while.”

  “I know.” Zoe touched her arm. “No worries. I can always wear it next winter.” She giggled. “Let me know if you need more yarn.”

  “I will.” Lauren eyed the fat skein, hoping there would be enough in it. She didn’t like joining two pieces of wool together.

  Lauren and Annie headed to the cottage for a quick lunch. She stowed the yarn safely in her closet, then spooned out chicken in gravy for her fur baby.

  “How are you, Mrs. Snuggle?” She tiptoed into the living room.

  “Meow.” Mrs. Snuggle sighed gustily, her expression dejected. But Lauren noticed she’d eaten her breakfast.

  “How about some lunch?” She picked up the empty food bowl. “Father Mike is coming home tomorrow. You’ll see him as soon as he gets here from the airport.”

  Mrs. Snuggle’s expression lightened a fraction. Lauren told herself the Persian understood.

  By the time Lauren entered the kitchen, Annie had finished her lunch.

  “Brrt?” She looked inquiringly at Lauren.

  “Which can of food do you think Mrs. Snuggle would like now?” She indicated the four left on the table.

  “Brrp.” This one. Annie jumped onto the chair and tapped a tuna can with her paw.

  “Okay.” Lauren opened it and spooned some into the bowl. If Mrs. Snuggle enjoyed it, maybe she should buy some for Annie.

  Mrs. Snuggle gave a grunt when Lauren put her food down on the floor, her gaze never leaving the TV screen. Another fairytale movie.

  “Would you like Annie to stay with you this afternoon?”

  Another grunt.

  “Maybe Annie should ask you herself.” She didn’t know whether that grunt meant yes or no.

  Lauren ate the panini she’d brought with her, while Annie trotted to the living room. When she’d finished, the feline had joined her at the kitchen table.

  “Well?” She smiled at her. “What are you doing this afternoon?”

  “Brrt!” Café!

  “Let’s go.” They trooped through the private hallway. The crowd had thinned out and Zoe seemed to be coping well on her own.

  Annie said hello to a few regulars, then curled up in her basket.

  About an hour later, Mitch entered.

  “Hi.” He strode to the counter.

  “Brrt!” Annie trotted to greet him.

  “Hi, Annie.” He smiled down at her.

  “Brrt!” Hi, Mitch.

  “Have you got a minute?” He looked at Lauren.

  “Of course.” She glanced at her cousin.

  “Go.” Zoe shooed the three of them away, her eyes sparkling. “As long as you update me later.”

  Lauren nodded, following Annie to a four-seater at the rear, aware of Mitch right behind her.

  “What is it?” she asked when they sat down, Annie on the chair next to Lauren’s. “Have you had lunch?”

  “Yes, a sandwich at my desk, so I could see you on my break.” His lips tilted up in a smile. “We still don’t know who ran over Gavin. Obviously not you or Zoe,” he assured her.

  “Brrt.” Good.

  “Virginia said Doris’s and Janice’s cars were impounded.”

  “Briefly. But we can’t find any damage. It was just a precaution because it was pretty obvious at the scene that Gavin’s car was used to kill him.”

  Lauren shuddered. “But why?”

  “That’s what I’m working on. I’ve even confirmed that Father Mike is still in Miami.”

  Lauren’s eyes widened.

  “You didn’t think he had something to do with this?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “But I had to rule him out. Going to the church conference in another state would be the perfect alibi, even though I didn’t consider him a suspect. I called him last night, remembering you mentioned the hotel he was staying at. The desk clerk paged him and I spoke to him on the hotel landline. He was definitely still in Miami.”

  “Did you tell him what happened?”

  “After I confirmed his presence at the hotel. He’s worried about getting back tomorrow. There’s talk of a pilot strike.”

  “Oh, no.”

  “He said he’s praying there’ll be a quick resolution that will satisfy everyone, and will let you know as soon as he knows anything. He was going to call you today about it, but I told him I’d inform you.”

  “Thanks.” Lauren smiled at him. T
hen a thought struck her, and her smile faded. “I’ve already told Mrs. Snuggle that he’s coming back tomorrow. What is she going to do if he’s stuck in Florida? She’ll think I lied to her!”

  “Brrt,” Annie agreed sadly.

  “Can you tell her I didn’t deliberately lie?” She turned to Annie.

  “Brrt.” I’ll try.

  “Thank you.” She gently stroked the silver-gray tabby’s soft fur.

  “Maybe Mrs. Snuggle will cheer up when we’re all over at the cottage tomorrow,” Mitch suggested.

  “Maybe,” Lauren echoed, not feeling hopeful. She gathered her thoughts after a second. “Do Doris, Virginia, and Janice have alibis for yesterday?”

  “Virginia is something.” Mitch shook his head. “She said she didn’t leave the hall during scrapbooking. Doris said she went outside briefly and didn’t see anything.”

  “That’s what she told us this morning.”

  “And Janice said she didn’t leave the hall.”

  “Janice arrived later, didn’t she?” Lauren asked.

  “Yes, she joined her grandmother and great-aunt when school finished for the day.”

  “Virginia said Gavin might stop by the scrapbooking group. But what about the way his finger pointed to the church hall?” Lauren shuddered at the sudden image in her mind. “Do you think that means something?”

  “It could be a coincidence,” Mitch told her. “A bodily reaction after he was struck by the car. Sorry,” he added when she flinched.

  “He is the priest from Zeke’s Ridge, isn’t he?” She remembered the way Mrs. Snuggle had attacked Gavin’s ankles.

  “Yes, I had to notify the parish office last night.” Mitch’s expression grew somber. “Someone from there formally identified him this morning.”

  “Virginia’s verification wasn’t enough?” Lauren frowned.

  “I wanted to make sure we weren’t dealing with an impersonator. Anyone could appear at the parsonage and say they were there on Father Mike’s behalf. You hadn’t met Gavin before this week, had you?”

  “No.” Lauren shook her head.

  They chatted for a few minutes about cat sitting tomorrow, Annie’s expression brightening at the news that Mitch and Chris would be spending the afternoon and evening at the cottage.

  Mitch’s phone sounded. More forensic results had come in. He said goodbye to both of them, and strode out of the café.

  “Well?” Zoe zipped over to them.

  Lauren and Annie gave her an update.

  “Huh. What if Gavin really was an imposter? I wonder if that’s why Mrs. Snuggle attacked him?”

  CHAPTER 8

  That afternoon, Janice entered the café.

  “Hi.” Lauren smiled at her from behind the counter.

  “Where’s your cat?” Janice looked disappointed when she couldn’t spot Annie. She stood at the Please Wait to be Seated sign.

  “She’s gone home to keep Mrs. Snuggle company,” Zoe told her.

  “Oh. My grandmother and Aunt Virginia aren’t here, are they?” She scanned the room.

  “They were in here this morning,” Lauren told her.

  “Just before lunch.”

  Janice nodded. “They said they were going to come in today – Grandma can’t stop talking about your cupcakes – but they didn’t say exactly when they’d be here.”

  “Can we get you anything?” Zoe waved her hand over the glass case containing the last of the cupcakes and pastries.

  “I’ll have a lemon meringue, please. And a latte.”

  “Coming right up,” Zoe promised.

  Janice came over to the counter. Lauren began steaming the milk.

  “Sit anywhere you like,” Lauren said encouragingly. It wasn’t very busy at the moment.

  “So you live with your grandmother and great-aunt?” Zoe probed, using tongs to plate the cupcake.

  “That’s right. My parents died in a car crash when I was young. Grandma brought me up.”

  “Not your Aunt Virginia as well?” Lauren couldn’t help being curious.

  “No.” She laughed. “Grandma and I lived together in Oregon.

  “So why are you living with your Aunt Virginia now?” Zoe pressed.

  “Zoe!” Lauren whispered.

  “A run of bad luck.” Janice shrugged. “Great-Aunt Virginia was good enough to take us in. I help out as much as I can with the cooking and housework.”

  “It must help to get off work early,” Zoe observed.

  “Yeah.” Janice sighed. “But there is a lot of paperwork to complete at times.”

  “I hear you.” Lauren thought of the bookkeeping she disliked doing.

  “Choose a table and we’ll bring this over to you,” Zoe suggested, although it sounded more like an order to Lauren.

  Janice picked a two-seater in the middle of the room. None of the tables near it were occupied.

  Lauren carried the latte over and set it down, while Zoe placed the gooey treat on the table.

  “Thanks.” Janice dug her fork into the swirly meringue topping.

  “Come on.” Lauren nudged Zoe. She didn’t want Janice to think they were hovering over her.

  “Let us know if you need anything else,” Zoe called out.

  Janice smiled and nodded.

  “I wanted to grill her.” Zoe pouted a little when they returned to the counter. “But suddenly I couldn’t think of anything.”

  “I’m sure you will.”

  “Yeah.” Zoe brightened. “I’ll ask her something when she pays.”

  “Okay.”

  When Janice approached the cash register, Zoe zoomed to assist.

  “Wasn’t that terrible about Gavin yesterday?” she began, taking Janice’s money.

  Lauren peered over her shoulder. Not a twenty, thank goodness. She’d been on the lookout for that denomination since her own experience with the phony money, and she’d carefully checked each one she’d been given by customers.

  “Yes.” Janice shuddered. “I can’t believe it happened right outside the hall – when we were inside!”

  “You didn’t hear anything?” Zoe probed.

  “No.” Janice shook her head. “But it might have happened when Grandma and Aunt Virginia were arguing about the right color of cardstock to use.”

  “You can argue about that?” Zoe raised her eyebrows.

  “You can in my house.” Janice rolled her eyes. “Or Aunt Virginia’s house, I should say.”

  “It’s a shame there aren’t more members in the group,” Lauren commented.

  “I know. But ...” Janice hesitated, “...not many people are willing to put up with Aunt Virginia bossing them around. There was one lady who smoked and was constantly going outside for a cigarette. Aunt Virginia didn’t like that, and told her so. She never came again.”

  Zoe tsked. “Just as well you don’t smoke – you don’t, do you? I tried it once and it gave me a sore throat.”

  “Yeah, the same thing happened to me,” Janice agreed. “No, I don’t. Aunt Virginia wouldn’t allow it, anyway.” She stuffed two dollars into the tip jar.

  “I’ll definitely come again – it was nice sitting on my own and having some time to myself.”

  Lauren understood perfectly. She enjoyed quiet time during her quick lunch breaks when it was just her and Annie in the cottage kitchen.

  They waved goodbye to her.

  “Craft club tonight,” Zoe announced. “I can’t wait to ask Mrs. Finch about Doris and Virginia.”

  “I wonder if she knows them?” Their friend had lived in Gold Leaf Valley for many years and was familiar with a surprising number of people.

  “If she doesn’t, she probably knows someone who does!”

  CHAPTER 9

  When they closed that afternoon, Annie strolled around the room, checking everything was present and correct. Zoe stacked chairs on the tables, so the floor would be clear when she vacuumed.

  “Brrt!” Annie dived under a small table and batted at something shiny.<
br />
  “What is it?” Lauren turned off the espresso machine and hurried over to her.

  “Has Annie found something?” Zoe placed the last chair on top of the table with a clatter, and joined them.

  “Brrt!” Annie pushed the silver rectangle towards them, wriggling out from under the table.

  Lauren picked it up gingerly, wondering if she should have worn gloves.

  “It looks like a cigarette case.” Zoe peered over her shoulder. “Open it.”

  Lauren hesitated.

  “I’m sure it’s a cigarette case. Mrs. Snuggle was watching an old movie the other day. When I passed through the living room, I stopped to check on her, and on the screen there was a couple getting cigarettes out of something just like this.” She nodded to the silver case. “And then the man lit the cigarette for the woman. It was romantic.”

  “If you smoked.”

  “Yeah,” Zoe conceded. She plucked the item out of Lauren’s hand. “I’ll open it.”

  She did so, showing Lauren a few cigarettes in there.

  “See? Nothing to worry about. Someone must have dropped it.”

  “I wonder who?” Lauren glanced at Annie. “Do you know?”

  “Brrt,” Annie replied thoughtfully.

  “I’ll put it in the drawer behind the counter.”

  “Maybe we should call it Annie’s Lost and Found drawer.” Zoe giggled.

  “Brrt!”

  THAT EVENING, THE THREE of them arrived at Mrs. Finch’s sweet Victorian house. It was dark at seven-thirty, and although the streets were relatively safe, Lauren thought it best to drive there.

  “Brr!” Zoe shivered theatrically when she stepped out of the car. “I’m glad I’m wearing my jacket.”

  “So am I.” The weather was colder than usual.

  “Brrt!”

  Lauren smiled at her fur baby. A quarter moon shone high in the sky. She wondered if Annie felt the chill at all, with her long coat.

  “Hello, dears.” Mrs. Finch greeted them at the front door. The porch light twinkled down on them. “Come in.” She ushered them through the lilac hallway and into the fawn and beige living room. It was much warmer inside than out.

  “Did you hear about Gavin?” Zoe sank down onto the sofa.

  “No.” Mrs. Finch looked puzzled. “I stayed home today, because I was looking forward to seeing the three of you tonight.”