The Trouble with Cupid

by Carolyn Haines

  “I think the cat is saying no,” Gabe said.

  “I don’t even know this cat,” Tatty said. “He was just here. But he does seem to know a lot. The cat seems to know that Brent warned me against calling the police when he called. Let’s find Sam and see if he knows anything.”

  “Who am I to argue with a black cat or an upset sister?” Gabe asked.

  “I don’t know what to do. Maybe we need the police.” Tatty brought her phone out of her pocket and the cat jumped and knocked it from her hand.

  “Definitely, the cat is saying no,” Gabe said. “So let’s find Sam.”

  * * *

  Gabe downplayed his worry as he drove Tatty to Sam Cooke’s house. As they crossed the Coosa River, he took a moment to slow and look at his companion. Aside from the fact she was a beautiful young woman, she was also strong and far better composed than most people would be. Fear for her sister was clear on her face, but she sat tall and asked good questions.

  He increased speed and almost swerved off the bridge when a black cat popped up in the rearview mirror. “Did you let the cat in the car?” he asked.

  Tatty collected the feline and put him in her lap. “I didn’t. I don’t know where he came from. Lana never said anything about getting a second cat, but he was in her house. Trinity likes him.”

  “Let’s hope he stays in the car. We don’t need a missing sister and a missing cat.” His attempts to lighten the situation were met with a tiny smile.

  “Thank you, Gabe. I’m sorry I got you mixed up in this, but I thank you. I don’t know anything about the Wetumpka area.”

  “The good news is that it isn’t a large area. If this guy has been lurking around, someone will have seen him and know how to find him. We’ll get Lana back, and then have this guy locked up somewhere so he can get some help.”

  He kept his comments positive, but he was debating whether he should call the police. He was friends with Aiden Waters, the former FBI agent and now chief deputy of the Wetumpka Sheriff’s Department, who had caught the Silk Stocking Killer. Aiden was a good man, and his expertise would come in handy. But Tatty had insisted they look for Lana on their own. She was afraid to violate the kidnapper’s instructions. And Gabe was afraid not to. Ultimately, Tatty was Lana’s sister, and he was merely a casual friend. For the moment, he’d follow Tatty’s lead and pray that by delaying, he wasn’t costing Lana her life.

  The minute he stopped in Sam’s driveway, he knew something was very wrong. The front door was wide open. Before he could get out of the car, the cat leaped past him and ran into the house, almost as if he knew what he was doing. Gabe shook that thought away and grabbed Tatty’s arm before she charged inside. “Stay here. Let me look first.”

  “What if—” Her voice broke and she turned away.

  He wrapped her in his arms and held her for a moment. She fit perfectly against him, but he had no time to spare for tender emotions. “Stay here. Please. I’ll be right back.”

  When he was certain she could stand, he let her go and ran into the house. He heard the cat yowling in the back rooms, and he followed the sound into a small den. Sam Cooke was unconscious on the floor, a small pool of blood beside him. Not far away was a football trophy with blood on the base. It didn’t take a detective to read the scene. Sam had been attacked.

  Gabe knelt beside him and found a pulse. He was alive. Gabe was prohibited from calling the police but not an ambulance. He dialed 911 and explained that he’d found his friend unconscious. He answered the dispatcher’s questions with a series of fabrications involving the notion that Sam had fallen and hit his head. The police would investigate, but not immediately, or so Gabe hoped.

  As Gabe talked, the black cat walked around the scene as if he were making notes. Gabe had always been a dog person, but something about the cat made him aware that this was not an ordinary cat. The cat looked up at him and then went to a recliner and began to reach under the chair with his paw.

  “Me-ow.” The cat demanded help.

  Gabe flattened himself on the floor and looked under the chair. The cell phone was easy to spot. He pulled it out and checked the settings. Sam had recorded something! But first he had to get Tatty out of the cold and inside. He hurried to find her leaning against his truck.

  “An ambulance is on the way. Sam is alive, but he’s knocked out.” He hesitated, but he had to tell her. “I found something.” He led her into the house and sat her down in the kitchen, pulling her coat more tightly around her. Her teeth were chattering and her skin tone slightly blue from cold.

  He’d been to Sam’s house enough to feel comfortable, and he put a kettle on and found not tea but a packet of hot chocolate. It would have to do. As he made the hot drink for Tatty, he talked to her. She’d been through a shock, and he wanted to make sure she was okay before he told her what he’d discovered.

  “It’s clear this Brent Harlow came here first and knocked Sam out. Then he took Lana. This guy thinks he loves your sister, and if Lana is smart and plays along, he won’t hurt her.” They couldn’t afford to act rashly. Not now.

  Tatty nodded. “She is smart. She’s really smart.”

  “Good.” He put the hot chocolate in front of her. “Sip that and warm up. I’m going to play back what he recorded on his phone.” He’d prefer to listen to it first, but he didn’t have that luxury. And possibly he didn’t have that right. Tatty deserved to know everything he knew.

  He sat down across from Tatty and pressed the play button on the phone’s voice mail.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Sam Cooke’s voice came through loud and clear. “I know who you are and how you tormented Lana. She told me all about you.”

  “Lana loves me, and she’s going to be with me forever. She’s mine.” The second male voice was edgy and volatile. “She’s mine, and you’re in the way.”

  “Just ask Lana. Let her make a choice,” Sam said, still reasonable. “Look, man, if I have this wrong and she wants to be with you, that’s all she has to say. I’ll back off.”

  “You’ll just let her walk away?” The man sounded incredulous.

  “I’d never force myself on Lana. I love her, but she has a right to choose her own destiny.”

  “Oh, you’re so noble and mature.” A sneer crept into the other man’s voice. “You’re trying to trick me.”

  “No tricks. Let’s go over to Lana’s and ask her. Let me get my keys.”

  “No! Don’t move. I have to think.”

  “Then let me call her to come over here.”

  “No! Put the phone down.”

  There was the sound of a struggle and the phone hit the floor.

  Gabe saw the way Tatty gripped the mug of cocoa and he felt an overwhelming desire to comfort her, which was nuts because he didn’t even know her. The small amount of time they’d shared had been in a traumatic situation, and she’d hardly spoken to him. Still, he couldn’t deny that she brought out his protective nature. He turned his attention back to the recorded conversation.

  “Look, man, we don’t have to fight over Lana.” Sam was talking again.

  “I’m going to take her some place you’ll never see her again. She’ll learn to love me the way I love her. You’re the problem. As long as you’re around, she’ll never fall for me.”

  “Just ask her what she wants. You can’t force her to love you.” Sam was calm, but fear had slipped into his voice. Gabe could only imagine that Brent Harlow had a gun or weapon and was brandishing it about.

  Brent’s recorded voice was angry. “If I have her alone, she’ll get to know who I really am. She’ll love me.”

  “Look, I don’t even know your name. Can you tell me that?”

  “Brent. It’s Brent Harlow. But you’re not so clever, you know. I’m not going to leave you here to tell the police about me.”

  “You’ve got it all wrong, Brent. If Lana wants to be with you, I’ll step back. Just let me call her. I have a landline in the study. Let’s go in there—”
>
  “You bastard! You’re not going anywhere. Lana is coming with me. I have a special place where we can be isolated, alone together.”

  “You think a woman like Lana is going to want to be kept in some cave. She’s not the kind to spend her life in the woods.”

  “I didn’t say it was in the woods. I know Lana doesn’t like the woods. I know what she likes.”

  “And what is that?”

  “She likes nice things, and I have a nice place just waiting for her. All I have to do is get rid of you.”

  Something solid thudded into flesh. Then silence.

  Gabe’s gaze locked onto Tatty’s. They understood each other. This was a huge clue, and it would be up to Tatty to figure most of it out. As if to confirm his deduction, the cat jumped on the table and patted the phone just as the wail of an ambulance cut through the night.

  “We should give this to Aiden Waters and the sheriff’s office.” Gabe tried one more time to bring in the law experts.

  “No, I can’t risk Lana. We have to do this ourselves.” Her voice trembled. “Will you help me?”

  He nodded. There was no way he could abandon her now.

  * * *

  Sam Cook has been loaded in the ambulance and taken to the hospital. He was still unconscious when he left and I suspect will be incommunicado for several hours. I think we’ve learned all we can from Sam’s brilliant recording. He left us the best clues a biped could leave.

  Thank goodness Tatty and Gabe aren’t going to call the police. Listening to that recording of Brent Harlow, I get a sense that he is on the edge. One little push, and he’s gone—and that could prove deadly for Lana. We have to save Tatty’s sister. Trinity is counting on me. Wouldn’t it be something if I found my own sweet little calico love in Wetumpka on the night that celebrates Cupid. Magic!

  But no time for romance now. Gabe and Tatty are heading for the car and I aim to be with them.

  This Brent Harlow has left us with a riddle of sorts. Where is some place isolated enough he could hold a woman—and not be seen or heard—and yet luxurious. Where might that be? Wetumpka has plenty of rural hideaways, but it doesn’t sound like he’s going for the cabin-in-the-wilderness scenario.

  I need to know more about Lana. I wish I could call Trinity and get her view on this. I hope Tatty and Gabe head back to Lana’s house. I need photo albums, a look at her lingerie, things that may direct me to find her. I suspect Brent Harlow has long been snooping into Lana’s private thoughts and places. Things like her email. If he hacked into it once, it’s very possible he’s done it again. We need clues as to where he’s taken her.

  Hurray, we are heading back to Lana’s. Tatty and Gabe are sharing great information. Things such as Lana has been talking about a much-needed vacation and hinting that Europe wasn’t her destination. She was talking about some place much closer where she could find everything she needed. Now that would be the place to look for her.

  Where were she and Sam going for their honeymoon? That’s the ticket! I’ll bet two-pence to a pound that this creeper knows that location and is using it for his nefarious purposes.

  We’re pulling up in front of Lana’s house, and Trinity is right there on the porch, waiting anxiously for us. I communicate what we’ve learned and follow Gabe and Tatty into the house. Trinity knows what I’m looking for, and she leads me to a cabinet beneath a bookshelf. Together we pry the door open and voila! Photo albums, maps, flyers from various vacation spots. This is Lana’s dream cabinet—the place where she’s stored ideas for future vacations and fun.

  Now to start a mini-avalanche! I know exactly how to get the humans to pay attention to me. I learned these tactics from my dad. Humans can’t stand it when I push things off the edge of a desk or counter or pull clutter from a cabinet. Sure enough! Here they come. Trinity is pushing one brochure toward them. If only they’ll look down and see what she’s trying to tell them. So often we attempt to engage humans in communications and they simply don’t see us. The species needs more evolutionary time, it seems. Humanoids are certainly slow to develop the extra-species communications that even dogs have developed.

  Tatty is picking up the brochure, which shows a castle. Seriously? A castle? Lana is a little too old for fairy tale fantasies. But let’s see where Tatty and Gabe take it. Trinity and I follow them to the kitchen where they’re going through some old photo albums. Gabe needs to know what Brent looks like—I agree. And so do I.

  Yep, Mr. Milquetoast on the outside and psychopath on the inside. So that’s Brent Harlow. Slender, straight dark hair, and unhappy. Yep.

  Now I see the brochure and it is a castle. One used as a wedding venue. So Brent isn’t going to the honeymoon site. He’s taken Lana to the place where she planned to marry Sam!

  I pat the brochure with a paw and Trinity joins in. At last Tatty is paying attention to us. At last! The light is dawning! I see it.

  * * *

  Tatty picked up the brochure of Wellington Castle and read through the material. The old castle, which had been built back in the early 1800s when Alabama was first entering statehood and was still at war with many Native Americans, had been an impregnable fortress. The lore and legends about the castle were a part of the regional history. For a time, the castle was abandoned and parts of it had fallen into ruins, but the great hall and courtyard had been renovated by a young couple and was used for beautiful weddings and photographs. It was the location where Lana and Sam had planned their ceremony.

  “Why are the cats showing you that?” Gabe asked.

  “I’m not certain.” Tatty glanced at Trouble and then Trinity. “But they’re doing their best to tell us something.”

  Tatty watched as Trouble ran out of the room and into the study where Lana’s computer had been set up. Trinity followed, and Tatty couldn’t stand the curiosity. She found the black cat tapping on the keyboard.

  “Gabe, you’re not going to believe this. Come look.”

  Gabe followed the line of cats and Tatty and stopped in the doorway. “You know, Aiden tried to tell me that the black cat that his girlfriend Tammy owns helped him solve the Silk Stocking Killer case. I didn’t believe him. But that cat…”

  “Tammy Lynn lives only a couple of blocks over,” Tatty said. “Lana shops at her bookstore and remarked about a special black cat. His name is Trouble.”

  “Me-ow!” Trouble turned his head and looked at her. “Me-ow!” He tapped the keyboard.

  “That cat is Trouble, and I think he wants us to open the email folder.” Gabe sounded hesitant.

  “This isn’t possible, but the cat knows something.” Tatty eased into the chair in front of the computer and clicked into the email program.

  Trouble put a paw on the screen at an email addressed to her that said “wedding venue.”

  “Lana emailed me the information on Wellington castle several weeks ago. If Brent was able to hack into her email, he would know all about this. That’s what Trouble is trying to tell us. Brent has been stalking her ever since she moved away from Nashville. He’s known every step she’s taken, every plan she’s made about her wedding.” Tatty felt a chill run through her as she spoke. The cat sensed her distress and slipped into her lap, purring and rubbing his head on her chin.

  “He’s comforting you,” Gabe said, reaching down to pet Trouble. “This may be where Brent took Lana.”

  “Let me do some research,” Tatty said. “I know Lana had gone up to Wellington Castle. It’s only about a half hour from here.” She clicked through emails as she worked. At last she let out an exclamation of success. “Here!” She opened an email with a number of attachments. “I didn’t pay a lot of attention at the time because it was last fall and the wedding was so far off. But here it is. On the property of Wellington Castle is a luxurious bridal suite that some couples choose to rent out. It’s secluded and private and comes fully stocked with wine, food, a whirlpool and any services you might want to order such as masseuse or private chef. There’s an actual moat a
round the facility.”

  “A moat?” Gabe sounded dubious.

  “That’s what it says.”

  “We should call the police,” Gabe said. He put a hand on Tatty’s shoulder. “I can get Aiden to help us. Without the sirens and so-forth. I’m serious.”

  “I’m too afraid. What if Brent has some way of knowing and kills Lana because I didn’t obey his instructions.”

  “What if she pisses him off and he kills her anyway?”

  It was a scenario Tatty didn’t want to think about. Lana was smart, but she was also strong and independent. She would hate that Brent was holding her against her will, especially if she knew Sam had been attacked. “Let’s go and check it out. If we discover Brent and Lana are on the property, we’ll call your friend.”

  * * *

  Gabe had memorized the layout of Wellington Castle from the brochure description, and he didn’t like the set up. The private bridal suite actually was surrounded by a moat, and it would be hard to get inside without the occupants aware of the breach. Especially if the place used digital security, which he was certain it did. But he had a plan, and it involved the sleek black cat who seemed too smart to be an ordinary feline.

  “Let’s go,” he said, grabbing his thick jacket and gloves. When he held the door open for Tatty and the cats, Tatty looked back at him.

  “We’re taking the cats?”

  “Both of them. We’ll need them.”

  “Gabe, are you sure?”

  He didn’t have a doubt. If they were going to get into the bridal suite undetected, the cats were vital to his plan. “Yes. I know what I’m doing.” That was only a bit of an overstatement, but Gabe wanted Tatty to view him as the hero, the person who saved her sister. As crazy as it sounded, Gabe was developing feelings for Tatty. It didn’t make sense that he was so invested in a stranger, but nothing about this evening made any sense.

  Thinking back to the things Lana and Sam had told him about Tatty, he remembered that, unlike her sister, Tatty loved hiking in the woods. She was a graphic designer who was also a skilled photographer. She’d planned to shoot her sister’s wedding. She played soccer in high school and sometimes volunteered to substitute coach some of the community leagues. She was a perfect complement to his interests. And she was smart and strong and willing to take a risk for those she loved.