by Jinty James
“Somebody ran him over yesterday.”
“My goodness!” Shock flickered across her face. “Oh, the poor man.”
Lauren and Zoe told her what happened, Annie punctuating the conversation with an occasional brrt.
“Can we make you a latte, or some tea?” Lauren asked. Their friend looked a little pale.
“That would be lovely, thank you, dear.” Mrs. Finch settled back in her chair.
Annie kept her company, jumping up onto the arm of the chair, while Lauren and Zoe headed to the kitchen.
Mrs. Finch had a capsule machine that her son had given her. After making a small latte for all of them, they rejoined her in the living room.
“Do you know Doris and Virginia?” Zoe asked.
“Or Janice, Doris’s granddaughter?” Lauren added.
“I certainly know Virginia.” Mrs. Finch nodded. “She’s lived here for many years.”
“But you weren’t in her scrapbooking group, were you?” Zoe continued.
“No. I’m afraid Virginia likes getting her own way, and is very proper. At my age, I don’t feel the need to be bossed around. And I thought it would be too fiddly to do all that cutting out and pasting.”
“Who would boss you around?” Lauren asked in surprise.
“You’d be surprised.” Mrs. Finch picked up her cup with wobbly hands. “Just because I’m older doesn’t mean I don’t know my own mind. Sometimes it seems that Virginia thinks it’s her duty to tell everyone how to do things the correct way.”
“Isn’t that what Janice told us yesterday?” Zoe glanced at Lauren.
“Yes,” she agreed.
“Have you met Doris and Janice?” Zoe asked.
“At church a while ago,” Mrs. Finch replied. “They seem very nice. They moved here several years ago, from Oregon, I think.”
“Why are they living with Virginia?” Lauren pondered.
“I was told they’d had a run of bad luck,” Mrs. Finch said. “Although, I don’t know why they haven’t moved out of Virginia’s house by now.” She shrugged. “Maybe the arrangement suits all of them.”
“Doris and Virginia are sisters, aren’t they?” Zoe tapped her cheek.
“Yes, I believe so. I know Doris was married a long time ago, and her daughter was Janice’s mother. But to my knowledge Virginia never married.”
“I wonder why,” Zoe muttered.
The conversation turned to pleasanter topics, such as Lauren’s new knitting project – Zoe’s red and purple scarf.
“That does sound lovely,” Mrs. Finch enthused. “You must bring it to craft club when you start on it.”
“I will,” Lauren promised.
The evening drew to a close. Lauren and Zoe waved goodbye to their friend when they trooped down the garden path to the car, Annie saying goodbye with her own special, “Brrt.”
THE FOLLOWING DAY, Lauren and Zoe closed the café at lunchtime.
“Woo hoo!” Zoe stacked the last chair. “Now it’s the weekend.”
“Brrt!” Annie agreed, ambling around the room, as if checking for any more misplaced items. No one had claimed the silver cigarette case yet, but it had only been lost for one day at the most.
“When are the guys coming over?” Zoe asked.
“Sometime this afternoon.”
“We can ask Mitch for a counterfeit update.”
“True.”
“And find out if he knows who ran over Gavin. Surely he must have a lead by now?” Zoe commented.
“It’s been less than forty-eight hours,” Lauren protested.
“But isn’t the first two days crucial? Or is it twenty-four hours?” Zoe scrunched her brow.
“Do you mean with all the crime dramas you watch you don’t know the answer?” Lauren teased.
Zoe made a face.
They had lunch at the cottage. Mrs. Snuggle still reposed on the pink sofa. A show about gardening was just finishing.
“How about we turn the television off?” Lauren suggested. “Maybe Mrs. Snuggle would like some quiet time.”
She pressed the button on the remote. Mrs. Snuggle scowled.
“MEOW!”
“Oh, dear. What about some lunch, Mrs. Snuggle?” Zoe sounded fake cheery.
Mrs. Snuggle grumped a reply, closing her eyes as if they didn’t exist.
“Brrt?” Annie jumped onto the sofa next to the fluffy white cat. “Brrt?” She peered at Mrs. Snuggle.
“Meow,” she replied in a slightly softer tone. “Meow.”
“Brrp,” Annie returned.
“Father Mike should be arriving today to pick up Mrs. Snuggle,” Lauren murmured to Zoe. She’d told her yesterday about the possibility of a pilot’s strike, but they hadn’t heard anything more.
“I hope so,” Zoe whispered.
Lauren gave Mrs. Snuggle her lunch, while Annie ate hers in the kitchen.
“Let’s make a big fuss of her this afternoon,” Zoe suggested. She crawled on the floor and found some of Annie’s toys scattered in various places. “Look, Mrs. Snuggle!” She jingled one of the balls.
“Brrt!” Annie trotted over to Zoe.
“Whee!” Zoe rolled the ball toward the silver-gray tabby.
“Brrt!” Annie pounced on the ball, then carried it in her mouth to Mrs. Snuggle. She dropped it on the sofa in front of her.
“Meow?” Mrs. Snuggle looked at the ball.
“Brrp.” Annie pushed it a little, so it rolled next to her friend’s paw.
Mrs. Snuggle batted it the tiniest bit toward Annie.
Annie rolled it forward again.
“Oh, look,” Zoe’s voice was low. “They’re playing!”
“Let’s hope it continues.”
Annie hopped onto the sofa, batting the toy toward Mrs. Snuggle, who rolled it back to her.
There was a knock on the rear door.
“It must be the guys.” Zoe hurried to answer it.
“How’s it going?” Mitch strode into the living room.
Mrs. Snuggle ignored the newcomers, continuing to play with Annie.
“That’s good to see.” Chris smiled.
“Have you got an update on the case?” Zoe asked Mitch.
“Which one? Gavin or the counterfeit money?”
“Both.”
“He just got here,” Lauren protested.
“The department’s following a lead on the fake money. Detective Castern has been pulled off the motorhome case to handle the counterfeits, because I’m in charge of finding out who killed Gavin.”
“That’s great.” Lauren smiled at him.
“What’s happening with tracking down Gavin’s killer?” Zoe asked impatiently.
“I’m looking into his movements in the last couple of weeks to see if he got into an argument or a fight with anyone, and then I’ll dig deeper,” he told her. “But so far he seems squeaky clean.” He frowned. “Maybe too squeaky clean.”
“I think I know what you mean,” Lauren said slowly. When she’d met Gavin, she’d thought his sincerity a little over the top, but wondered if she’d imagined things. Perhaps she hadn’t.
“Mrs. Snuggle didn’t like him,” Zoe said. “She attacked his ankles when she went to the parsonage looking for Father Mike.”
At the sound of her name, the cat looked up, then dismissed the four humans as not important. She batted the ball back to Annie, still on the sofa with her.
“Why don’t we go into the kitchen,” Lauren suggested, “and let Annie and Mrs. Snuggle continue their game?” It was good to see their houseguest interacting with Annie.
“Sure.” Mitch smiled at her.
Lauren made lattes for all of them with her home espresso machine, a smaller version of the one in the café.
“I’m afraid we sold out of cupcakes today,” Lauren apologized.
“Ed doesn’t work Saturdays, so there weren’t any pastries,” Zoe mourned.
“Pizza tonight,” Chris said.
“Can’t wait!” Zoe brightened.
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“We thought we could pay Mrs. Snuggle plenty of attention until Father Mike picks her up today,” Lauren said, “but I don’t like to disturb her and Annie since they’re actually playing together.”
“I know.” Zoe nodded.
“Mitch and I are going to church tomorrow.” She turned to Zoe. “You’re coming too, aren’t you?”
“Yep. Chris?” Zoe glanced at him. “Want to come?”
“Sure.” He smiled at her. “I’ve got tomorrow off.”
“Awesome.” She beamed at him.
Lauren’s cell phone buzzed. She hurried into the living room to fetch it, Annie and Mrs. Snuggle still batting the ball between them. She sank into the kitchen chair as she answered it.
It was Father Mike, apologizing for the short notice, but the pilot’s strike had struck. He’d waited until now because there had been a slim possibility the matter was going to be resolved that afternoon, but all planes had been grounded in Florida.
“It’s okay,” she reassured him. “We’ll look after Mrs. Snuggle for as long as you need us to.”
“What?” Zoe looked like she wanted to snatch the phone from Lauren, but Lauren waved her off.
“Of course, I understand,” Lauren said to the priest on the other end of the phone. “Zoe and I can definitely do that. Yes, I’m sorry about Gavin, too.” And she was.
After she said goodbye, she ended the call.
“Father Mike’s stuck in Florida?” Zoe guessed.
“Yes.” Lauren gave them the details. “I promised him we would put a sign up on the church noticeboard tomorrow, explaining why there won’t be a service.”
“Does he have any idea of when he’ll be able to fly home?” Chris asked.
“He’s hoping Monday, but nothing’s definite at the moment.”
“He might end up having to rent a car and driving back,” Zoe said. “How long does it take from Miami to here?” she turned to Chris.
“Nearly two days,” Chris said.
“Wow!” Zoe’s mouth parted.
“How are we going to break the news to Mrs. Snuggle?” Lauren winced.
“You do it,” Zoe urged.
Lauren eyed her. “How about we both do it? We’re both looking after her.”
“Okay.” Zoe sighed. “But I don’t think she’s going to take it very well.”
She didn’t. Lauren and Zoe bent down on the carpet and told the Persian as gently as they could about the pilot strike. Mrs. Snuggle’s ears flickered, her tail lashed each side of the sofa, and she bellowed:
“MEOW!”
Her eyes narrowed to slits. She frowned ferociously.
“Oh, dear.” Lauren slowly backed away.
“Annie, can you explain it better than us?” Zoe asked hopefully.
“Brrt.” I’ll try.
Annie spoke to her guest in a series of brrts and brrps. After a long silence, Mrs. Snuggle let out a grudging meow. She turned around in a circle on the sofa, and buried her head in her thick, fluffy tail.
“Brrp.” Annie jumped off the sofa and bunted Lauren’s hand.
“Thank you.” Lauren stroked her, relishing the feel of Annie’s velvety soft fur against her fingertips.
“Brrt.” She wants to be alone.
Annie led the way into the kitchen, turning her head to check Lauren and Zoe followed.
They joined the guys at the pine table.
“How did it go?” Mitch asked.
“Not that great.” Lauren replied glumly. She informed them of Mrs. Snuggle’s reaction, Annie assisting in the explanation with some brrts and brrps.
“What are we going to do this afternoon if Mrs. Snuggle wants to be alone?” Mitch asked.
“I don’t want to leave her by herself in the house,” Lauren said.
“Yeah, she might need us more than ever, even if she’s not showing it,” Zoe added.
“Have you got some cards?” Chris asked. “We could play poker, or gin rummy, or—”
“Gin rummy!” Zoe cheered up. “I’m pretty good at that.”
“So am I,” Chris teased.
“I haven’t played for years,” Lauren said, “but Zoe’s right. She is good.” She turned to Mitch. “What about you?”
“You’ll have to wait and see,” he teased.
Lauren found two old decks of cards in the kitchen drawer, glad she didn’t have to tiptoe into the living room to find them and disturb Mrs. Snuggle.
Zoe dealt the hand, including Annie in the game.
Lauren helped her fur baby decide which cards to keep and which to discard. The mood in the kitchen lifted as they enjoyed the game, with Mitch being declared the winner, and Annie coming second.
They played a few more rounds, until everyone had won, including Annie.
Zoe stood up and stretched.
“I’ll check on Mrs. Snuggle.” She crept into the living room.
“How about ordering pizza?” Mitch glanced at the kitchen clock. “It’s six o’clock.”
“It is?” Lauren checked her watch, amazed at how the time had flown. She hoped Mrs. Snuggle was okay, and they hadn’t been too loud playing the card game.
“Mrs. Snuggle wants something to eat,” Zoe informed them when she returned. She grabbed a can and opened it.
“Annie, would you like your dinner now?” Lauren glanced at her, still sitting at the table.
“Brrt!” Yes!
Lauren spooned beef and liver into her bowl.
After the felines were fed, Mitch ordered from the local pizza shop. A Lauren special – Canadian bacon, mushroom, and sundried tomatoes – a Zoe special – pepperoni and mushroom – plus two sausage pizzas, which arrived quickly.
The guys demolished theirs, while Lauren and Zoe were a little slower, but afterward, there were only a couple of slices left.
“What’s for dessert?” Zoe’s eyes sparkled.
“Chocolate ice cream.” Lauren felt stuffed, so scooped some into three bowls, Mitch assisting her.
Mitch offered her a spoonful of his, which she accepted with a smile.
Annie sat at the table and stared longingly at everyone’s dessert, but Lauren knew chocolate was toxic for cats.
“Sorry, Annie.” She stroked her in apology.
“Brrp.” She snuggled next to Lauren.
“Maybe Mrs. Snuggle has forgiven us by now.” Zoe scraped the last of her ice-cream from her bowl.
“I hope so,” Lauren replied.
“Brrt!” Annie hopped off the chair and trotted into the living room. A few seconds later, she re-appeared in the kitchen doorway. “Brrp.”
“Does that mean Mrs. Snuggle will let us hang out in the living room?” Chris joked.
“Brrt.”
“I think that means yes.” Lauren smiled at her fur baby.
“Lauren and I will do the dishes.” Mitch spoke. “You two sit with Annie and Mrs. Snuggle.”
“Fine with me. Come on.” Zoe tugged Chris’s hand. Annie ambled behind them.
Once they were alone, Mitch turned to her.
“Since there’s no church service tomorrow, I was thinking we could have lunch at the winery again. Just the two of us.” His dark brown gaze was warm and inviting
“I’d love that,” Lauren replied.
“Either Annie or Zoe could stay with Mrs. Snuggle,” he continued. “Would they be okay with that?”
“I’m sure they would.”
He wrapped her in his arms, tilting his head down for a tender kiss, which she gladly gave. Lauren wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, until Zoe called from the living room.
“Lauren, Mrs. Snuggle wants to know if you’re going to watch with us!”
She stepped back reluctantly.
“I don’t think we should keep Mrs. Snuggle waiting.” Mitch chuckled.
“We haven’t done the dishes.” She looked guiltily at the plates stacked in the sink.
“We can do them later. Go and join the others. I’ll be there in a second. I just need to ma
ke a quick phone call.”
“Okay.” She entered the living room, wondering what the call was about. Maybe he had to check in on Gavin’s case, even though it was Saturday night.
She made a big fuss of Mrs. Snuggle, who now sat regally on the sofa, instead of curled up in a miserable ball.
“What are we watching?” She sank onto the old couch. Zoe and Chris sat near Mrs. Snuggle, leaving a good-sized gap between them and the cat.
“Brrt!” Annie jumped onto her lap.
“Mrs. Snuggle wants to watch this movie about the princess again,” Zoe said.
“Are you sure she wanted to, or you did?” Lauren teased.
Mrs. Snuggle favored her with a glacial glare.
“Oh. Sorry, Mrs. Snuggle.”
“Meow,” she muttered.
“It’s a good movie,” Zoe assured her.
Mitch joined them, sitting next to Lauren and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She nestled into him, Annie settled on her lap.
Zoe – or should that be Mrs. Snuggle? – was right. It was a good movie.
CHAPTER 10
The next morning, Lauren yawned when she woke. She checked her alarm clock – just after eight.
“Brrt?” Annie jumped on her stomach.
“Sorry I woke late. Are you hungry?”
“Brrt!” Yes!
The other side of the bed was empty. Mitch had regretfully declined her offer of staying over, saying there were a few things he needed to do in the morning before their lunch date at the vineyard.
Chris had left with him, intent on an early morning run. Zoe had dramatically shuddered at the news.
“Lauren, we need to put up a notice on the church door!” Zoe called out.
“Okay.” She pulled on her robe, then followed Annie into the kitchen, waving at her cousin on the way. After spooning chicken and gravy into Annie’s bowl, she joined Zoe in the living room. Zoe was already dressed in a lavender sweater and black slacks.
Mrs. Snuggle was watching TV – a show about ballet dancers.
“Mrs. Snuggle thinks the girl on the left is the best.” Zoe pointed to a slender girl around eighteen, wearing a pink tutu and matching toe-shoes.
Lauren tried to hide a smile at the pronouncement.
“Sorry I overslept. I’ll get dressed and we can go.”
