Halloween Moon

by Kathi Daley

  “Do you want a ride back to the peninsula?” He nodded toward the horse.

  Oh, I was tempted. “No. I think it might be less frightening for the kitten if I walk. But thank you for the offer.”

  He walked back toward his horse and mounted.

  “Have a nice day, and thanks again,” I said as he settled onto the saddle and wrapped the reins around his hand.

  “You too. It was nice talking to you. Good luck with the kitten.”

  With that, he rode off toward the estate. He was going to hit the fence in less than an eighth of a mile, so I fully expected him to turn around and ride back past me on his way back to wherever he’d come from, but he never did. I supposed that maybe he knew a way around the fence.

  By the time the kitten and I made it back to the cottage, he was fast asleep. I took him in and gave him a saucer of milk and a few flakes of tuna from a can, and then I called the local veterinarian to see if there was any way I could get an appointment that afternoon, which I realized was doubtful since it was Sunday. When I explained the situation and that I really had no idea what to even feed the little thing, I was told to bring the kitten in at three. That was perfect as it gave me time to shower and change, and maybe make a tuna sandwich of my own.

  A man named Dalton Bryson ran the Gooseberry Bay Veterinary Clinic. Ten years ago, Dalton purchased twenty acres of land, which housed a two-story home and run-down barn. He’d fixed up the barn and turned it into his clinic, which meant that theoretically, at least, he was on call twenty-four hours a day. The reality was that except in an emergency, he tried to keep regular hours.

  When I arrived at the barn, Doctor Bryson met me at the door and escorted me into a small exam room. “So who do we have here?” he asked.

  “I’m afraid the kitten doesn’t have a name. Like I said on the phone, I just found him a few hours ago.” I then went on to describe the discovery of the kitten as well as a brief accounting of his rescue.

  The doctor picked the kitten up and looked him in the eye. “I’d say he is five weeks old. Looks healthy, but I’m going to take some blood and have it tested. Did you bring a stool sample?”

  “No. I wasn’t aware I needed to. Like I said, we just found each other. I don’t even have a litter box, although he hasn’t indicated the need for one. Of course, he was living in the wild, so I doubt he’d know what to do with a litter box even if I had one.”

  “You mentioned on the phone that you’ve never had a kitten before.”

  “No. I’ve never had a cat. Just dogs.”

  “Do you plan to keep him?”

  “Only until I can find someone to adopt him. I’m really only in the area temporarily. Besides, I already have two large dogs in a tiny cottage. I guess my plan was to have him checked out and then maybe post a flier in the general store. He’s a cutie. I’m sure I can find him a good home.”

  “I’m sure you can,” the doctor agreed. “I’m going to send you home with some supplies. Food. Supplements. Directions for both. If you only plan to foster the kitten until you can find him a home, I can lend you a litter box and give you some litter. When you’re done with the box, you can drop it back by. That way, you won’t have to buy one for only a few days.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that.” I had to admit that Doctor Bryson was about the nicest veterinarian I’d ever encountered.

  “You said you found the kitten while running.”

  I nodded. “Yes. Up on Piney Point.”

  “The kitten is healthy, so I’m going to guess his mama was nearby. Probably with additional kittens.”

  “I looked around, but didn’t find either the mother or any other kittens.”

  “I’m sure they scampered away while you were trying to corral this little guy. It would be best for all of them if we could catch them. I have a map in the reception area. Do you think you could show me where you found this little guy?”

  “Sure. I can try.”

  I followed the man into the reception area and tried to pinpoint where I’d found the kitten, but it was hard to know the exact location without landmarks like the fence.

  “I’ll give the information to the local rescue,” the doctor assured me. “They can set up some traps. Hopefully, we can get the mama and babies inside before the temperature drops too much.”

  “If the people from the rescue want me to go along with them so I can show them exactly where I found the kitten, I’d be willing to do that.”

  The man smiled. “Excellent. I’ll give them your contact information.”

  Once I’d gathered the supplies the vet insisted I’d need, I headed back to the peninsula. Josie pulled into the dirt lot just as I was getting back to the cottage. I waved to her after slipping out of my vehicle with the kitten in my arms.

  “You have a kitten,” she gasped.

  “I found a kitten while I was running, but I don’t plan to keep him.”

  Her face fell. “Not keep him, but he’s adorable.”

  “I know, but I already have two huge dogs, and I’m only here temporarily.” I opened my hatch. “I did take him to the vet, and everything checks out, so he should be good to go. You don’t know of anyone who might want a kitten, do you?”

  She hesitated. “Can I hold him?”

  “Sure.” I passed him to her.

  “He sure is cute.” She snuggled him to her chest. “Is all that stuff for him?”

  “Believe it or not, it is. The litter box is on loan from the vet and will need to be returned, but the rest goes with the cat.”

  She rubbed the soft fur of the kitten over her cheek. “Jemma and I have been talking about a pet. We were thinking a dog, but this little guy is so cute. Can I take him and show him to her?”

  “Be my guest. I’m going to cart this stuff up to the cottage, but I’ll come by after. That will give the two of you time to talk. If you decide you want to adopt him, I can cart everything over to your place.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” Her grin widened. “Let’s go and meet Jemma, little guy.”

  I had to smile as Josie almost bounced away in her enthusiasm. If I had to guess, I’d say Little Orphan Kitten had found a new home.

  Chapter 11

  When I arrived at the cottage next door to check on the kitten, I found both Jemma and Josie on the floor, tossing a piece of rope around which the kitten would then attack. After watching them play for a few minutes, the only question left in my mind was whose bed he’d sleep on. Based on the look of delight on their faces, I was willing to bet a second kitten was in their future, so each friend would have one to snuggle up with. There might even be a brother or sister of the little black kitten needing a home. Shortly after I’d arrived at the cottage, I received a call from the woman who ran the rescue, asking me if I would be willing to go back to the location with a couple of their volunteers tomorrow. I had my appointment with Archie, which I didn’t yet have a time for, but I told them I’d be happy to accompany them as long as they were willing to work around that.

  “So, how was your weekend?” I asked Jemma and Josie.

  “Really fun,” Josie answered. “It was nice to get away and not think about anything other than having a good time.”

  “Not that we aren’t committed to figuring out what happened to Cammy,” Jemma jumped in.

  “Because we are,” Josie seconded.

  “I get it. It can be stressful to want to find answers that don’t seem to be readily available,” I said. “Did you ever hear back from Jackson about Brody’s boat?” I asked.

  “Actually, we did,” Jemma answered. “He said that the security guard noted that Brody’s boat was one of the boats not in its slip when he did his rounds around eleven. He wasn’t sure what time Brody returned, but the boat was there when the guard made his final sweep around four a.m.”

  “Okay, so if Cammy drowned and Brody’s boat was missing, then it’s possible he is the one responsible. Did either of you ever hear what Brody had offered to Deputy Todd as an alibi
for the evening?”

  “I don’t know,” Jemma said. “Parker was going to look into it, but I haven’t spoken to her in several days.”

  “I’ll call her and see if she wants to come over,” Josie offered. “It would be good to catch up.”

  “By the way, as long as you’re contacting people, I was wondering if you could check with Archie about tomorrow,” I said. “We never did settle on a time.”

  Josie grinned. “That’s right. Tomorrow is the big mystery reveal. I can’t wait to see what he knows. I’ll text him now. Maybe he can do it in the afternoon after I get off, so I can come along. Will the afternoon work for you?”

  “Any time will work for me. The only other thing I have going is that I’m heading back to where I found the black kitten to help the rescue look for the others, but they were flexible as to a time to get together.”

  “You think there might be others?” Jemma asked.

  I shrugged. “The kitten was nourished and healthy. It makes sense that his mom was in the area even though I couldn’t find her. If mom is around, she may have other babies. The rescue has experience making sure they track everyone down and get them all to safety before something happens to them.”

  Josie called Parker, who wanted to come by and said she’d be here in thirty minutes. She then called Archie and arranged for us to come by the following day at three. After all this time wondering about the woman in the photo, I couldn’t believe I actually might have my answers in less than twenty-four hours. On the one hand, I was excited about those answers, but on the other hand, I was terrified of what I’d find. The idea that my dad had lied to me about pretty much everything was a concept that was not sitting easy with me. I couldn’t think of a single reason for him to have lied, but the more I found out about the gaps in my past, the stronger my suspicion became that the past I was sure I knew and understood might not have been the past I’d lived at all.

  Ever the hostess, Josie had drinks and appetizers ready to serve by the time Parker showed up.

  “So, what do we know?” Jemma asked.

  Parker stretched her legs out in front of her on the lounger. “I’ve spent the past several days chasing down unfounded leads that really didn’t get me anywhere, but I did manage to find one piece of information that might turn out to be important.”

  “And what is that?” Jemma asked.

  “It took every ounce of persuasion I had at my disposal, but I finally got Deputy Todd to tell me what sort of alibi Brody offered as proof he didn’t kill Cammy. It seems that Brody and a woman named Sophia Barrera, the daughter of an employee of his parents, took his boat out on Halloween. They initially planned to attend a party near Port Orchard, but they decided they weren’t up for a crowd, so headed north to enjoy the full moon.”

  “That isn’t really an alibi when you take the fact that Cammy drowned into account,” I pointed out. “Did you speak to Sophia?”

  “I did,” Parker answered. “She appeared to be terrified during the interview, but she did say all the right things. She told me that her mother had worked for the Davenports for a long time, and in fact, had been working for them since she was a little girl. She said that she’d known Brody ever since they were kids, and while she was the daughter of an employee of his parents, they were also friends. She verified that he’d been invited to a party, but they’d both agreed they weren’t really in the mood for a crowd, so they’d simply taken a little cruise.”

  “We know Brody was at the market at seven-thirty,” I pointed out.

  “Sophia told me that she met up with Brody at nine. She said they were back in port by two and home by two-thirty.”

  Jemma looked doubtful. “If this woman works for his family, it’s likely that she will say whatever she’s told to say.”

  “I agree, and she did look frightened, but I can’t prove otherwise, so at this point, I have no grounds to insist that he was the one who killed Cammy. In fact, the official statement by the sheriff’s office is still that she either fell or jumped to her death from the bluff. We saw the coroner’s report and know otherwise, but unless we want to spill the beans about what we know and how we know it, we really can’t use that information.”

  I tucked my legs up under my body and leaned my elbows on my thighs. “It seems to me that the only way we’re ever going to figure out the truth is to find someone who knows what really happened and is willing to talk. If this Sophia seemed terrified when she spoke to you, it seems likely Brody is just using her to verify his story. If her mother works for the family and depends on them to provide her a place to live, it’s likely she feels powerless to do anything other than cooperate.”

  “So, we just need to figure out a way to get to her,” Josie said. “We need to figure out a way to convince her she can trust us to protect her if she tells us the truth.”

  “Can we?” I asked. “Protect her, I mean. If she tells us what she knows, chances are Brody will know who spilled the beans. Her mother not only works for the Davenports but she also lives on the estate, and I assume it’s the Davenports who are responsible for her ability to live in this country, although I don’t know that for certain.”

  “It is true that Gloria is here on a work visa sponsored by the Davenports,” Parker admitted. “Sophia was born in this country, so she isn’t in danger of deportation, but she is obviously concerned for her mother. I realize what I’m asking is a risk, but Sophia may be the only means we have of getting our answers.”

  “Someone other than you should talk to her,” Josie said to Parker. “You already tried. Maybe she’ll open up to someone else.”

  “I’ll do it,” Jemma said. “I was going to go with the two of you to talk to Archie, but this seems important. If I’m unsuccessful at getting the information we need, someone else can give it a try.”

  “Do you have a way to contact her? Do we have a cell number or know where she lives?” I asked Jemma.

  “No. I don’t have contact information.”

  I looked at Parker. “How did you manage to get an interview with Sophia in the first place?”

  “I went through Deputy Todd, and he set it up with Brody, but while I was talking to her, Sophia mentioned that she’s working on her GED and takes classes at the learning annex on Mondays and Thursdays. I don’t know what time, but I guess you can call the annex and ask them when they do GED prep. If nothing else, I guess you can just show up tomorrow and hope she’ll give you a few minutes of her time.”

  Chapter 12

  I woke up as nervous as all get out on Monday. It was a good thing I’d made plans to meet with the pet rescue folks this morning to try to find the mama cat and the remainder of the kittens. If I had nothing to do but think about things until two-thirty when I was supposed to meet Josie for the trip to Piney Point, I was sure I’d go crazy.

  Three volunteers, two women and a man, showed up with traps designed to catch the cats without injuring them. The trail was one that could only be accessed by foot or horse, or I supposed motorized dirt bike, so I wasn’t sure how they planned to get the traps to the cats. When I explained the terrain, they realized that hauling a bunch of equipment up the hill wasn’t going to work, so for today, they simply brought a small cat crate should we be successful in catching any of the felines as well as pieces of food to lure them in. Once the rescue group was able to get a feel for the lay of the land, they’d come up with a plan to transport the remainder of the equipment.

  I asked a lot of questions as we walked. I asked how long the group of volunteers had been working together, and I asked about their success rate in catching and rehabilitating the cats. I asked about the risks to the cats during the trapping process and the likelihood the cats would actually find new homes.

  One of the women told me that for the cats who’d been on their own for a significant amount of time, it was often impossible to domesticate them. There were times they’d simply neuter or spay them and set them free in a sanctuary where there was plenty of she
lter and volunteers to provide food. Those cats didn’t seem to want a lot of human interaction and actually did better without it.

  The kittens, however, were another story. They were young enough to be content and happy in a home situation. It was the kittens the group most wanted to save, although if the mother was a new stray and not overly feral, they’d welcome the chance to work with her as well.

  The rescue group looked around the area where I’d found the black kitten for quite a while but had no success. They suspected the mama cat and any kittens she might have had with her had moved on when I’d chased after the first kitten, but the group decided to return with a trap they would monitor for a few days. If the cats showed up, they’d take it from there, and if they didn’t, they’d remove the trap and consider the case closed.

  I was concerned that the mama cat would be captured and the babies left behind, but the volunteers assured me they would make certain they’d trapped all the kittens before leaving the area with the mama. I supposed I just needed to trust that they knew what they were doing. I also figured I’d come back up here tomorrow and look when there weren’t so many people around. If I was the mama cat, I would have heard us coming for miles. I was convinced that the reason I was able to catch the black kitten in the first place was because I was alone, and the cats hadn’t heard me coming. I supposed I’d leave the dogs behind again tomorrow and see what I could find.

  By the time I made it back to the cottage, it was almost one. Tegan and Josie were both at the Rambling Rose, but I knew Josie planned to pick me up at two-thirty for our trip to Piney Point. Jemma wasn’t around despite the fact that she worked from home. I knew she planned to track down Sophia, so perhaps that was where she was now.

  I knew that convincing Sophia to talk to us, and gaining her cooperation wasn’t going to be easy. If Sophia did know something, which I suspected she did, she really was in a precarious position. If the Davenports found out Sophia was talking to us, not only would her mother most likely lose both her job and her place of residence, but it was likely her mother would be forced to return to Mexico as well.