Woof at the Door

by Laura Morrigan

  I watched Kai from where I sat on the large damp log. He snapped off his latex gloves, his face lined with frustration. The cops had come up empty. It had taken them four hours to figure out what I already knew. There was no murder weapon in the house.

  I’d been sitting on that log for a long time wondering how I was going to convince Kai, or Jake, or any cop, for that matter, that the reason they hadn’t found the gun that killed Mark Richardson was very simple. LaBryce didn’t shoot him. He had spent the night snoring on the couch with a jaguar pillow.

  I still hadn’t come up with a way to explain this to the police. I couldn’t tell them the truth—that the cat had told me what had happened the night before.

  From what I could gather, LaBryce had come home earlier than normal and let her out of her enclosure. He’d made himself several drinks and passed out on the couch, resting his head on her side.

  Apparently, this morning LaBryce had been hungover and irritated that the person who was supposed to be preparing meals for Charm and taking care of her when he left was not there. She called him “Foodman,” for obvious reasons. Charm showed me his face, which was no help because I had never seen him before.

  In Foodman’s absence, LaBryce had fed her something she had never had before—from the description, I thought it had probably been pizza.

  After that, he had left and hadn’t come home.

  Charm was LaBryce’s alibi. Not exactly something I could tell the cops. The truth did not always set you free.

  I saw Kai walk to a cop who seemed to have been stationed in the room to keep an eye on me. I guess they wanted to be sure that I didn’t tamper with anything. I understood the reasoning. But it still wounded my sense of pride to have a babysitter. Maybe the cops just wanted to be ready if Charm decided she didn’t like me anymore. I looked down at where she dozed peacefully at my bare feet. With my fancy dress and shoes, I probably looked like a shipwreck survivor on some tropical island. Except most people would be eaten alive by the cat that was drooling on my toes.

  I heard a light tap on the glass. Looking up, I saw Kai pointing to his cell. I guess he didn’t want to call me and startle the sleeping jaguar. I picked up my phone and called him.

  He answered as soon as it rang. “Hey, you ready to get out of there?” he asked.

  “If she’ll let me leave.” Charm looked up and I leaned over to stroke the huge spotted head. “Let me say my good-byes and I’ll be right out.”

  I hung up and was aware that Kai was watching me as I petted and talked to the jaguar. I leaned in close to the big cat’s ear and promised to be back soon. I slowly massaged her neck and allowed myself to feel her utter satisfaction.

  I placed my forehead against the jaguar’s and closed my eyes. “I’m going to make sure you are fed and have someone to look after you until this whole mess is sorted out, okay?”

  At the thought of food, Charm plopped a paw on my knee.

  “No.” It’s not time to eat again yet, Miss Piggy.

  I stood, ignoring the hopeful look and gentle grumble and walked to the passageway. I turned to Charm, who had stood up to follow.

  “Stay,” I ordered with both my voice and my mind.

  I felt ridiculous standing there in the clingy dress pointing my finger at a jaguar like someone would a misbehaving poodle. But hey, it worked.

  I tugged on the ropes and slid the guillotine door open and secured them to the cleat. I crouched through the passageway, released the ropes on the other side, and lowered the second door into place.

  Kai watched me thoughtfully. “The double doors are obviously a security precaution. Were both of these doors open when you came in?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “So, chances are, the person who opened them was familiar with both the cat and how to operate the doors.”

  I nodded. “It would be stupid to open the enclosure and free a jaguar you had no control over.”

  Kai picked up a stainless case I assumed contained a bunch of crime-solving paraphernalia, and we started through the house. As we moved past the loitering police officers who were standing around the living room, I tried to catch snippets of conversation. Hearing a familiar gruff curse, I caught sight of Jake standing near the foyer. He was talking on the phone, and he was not a happy Yankee.

  In fact, I’m sure he was muttering a curse in Italian, or a North Americanized version, at least.

  He saw us approach and said, “Look, sir, I know you want this case closed and I’m doing—” Jake pressed his lips together tightly. He started turning an unhealthy shade of red. “How about next time there’s a warrant to search someone’s house with a lion in it, I’ll let you do the honors?” He slapped the phone closed so hard I wondered if it was still in one piece. “Chief wants to hand this thing to the governor wrapped up in a pretty little bow.”

  “We can’t just wave a magic wand and make evidence appear,” Kai said.

  Jake’s gaze settled on me. “We’ve still got one more place to look before we have to cut Walker loose. Grace, can you come back tomorrow and make sure no one gets mauled?”

  I nodded, and Jake’s phone rang. Guess it wasn’t broken after all.

  Jake moved back into the house. Before he was out of range, I heard him say, “Yeah, but I’m still going to nail Walker’s ass for reckless endangerment.”

  Kai and I walked through the foyer and stopped at the front door to let two uniformed officers past. Through the open doorway, I saw half a dozen or more news vans crowding the street.

  I was glad Kai had parked his truck inside the perimeter. The last thing I wanted to do was fight my way through a crowd of reporters.

  “How’d the media know to come here?” I asked.

  “Scanners. I’m sure someone overheard what was going on with Charm. A wild jaguar on the loose. A famous football player suspected in the murder of the governor’s son. It’s a reporter’s dream.”

  I folded my arms and glared at the crowd. This was not good. LaBryce would be put on trial by the media before he was even charged. I had to think of a way to explain that he was innocent. But how? I’d thought myself around in this circle all night and was starting to feel like a hamster. Running, running, running on the wheel . . . never getting anywhere.

  I was so caught up in the merry-go-round in my mind that I barely noticed Kai pulling on a new pair of latex gloves. Then I felt something brush my backside.

  “What the—” I spun to face him. “What are you doing?”

  “Collecting evidence.”

  I stared at him doubtfully. “From my . . .”

  He held up the hairs he’d pulled from my dress. “We collected hairs very similar to these from Mark’s body. Hold still.”

  Kai placed his case on the ground, opened it, and grabbed a bag. He knelt down beside me and carefully began brushing more hairs off into the bag. I felt myself tense in response to the way his hand seemed to linger longer than it needed to. Normally this sort of liberty would infuriate me. I waited for the glacial calm to descend, for the biting comment to come to my lips, but instead, I felt a stir of heat where he had touched me.

  “Sorry. I just need enough to do a comparison.” He was still kneeling at my hip, and when he grinned up at me, his eyes held just enough glimmer to tell me he’d gotten more than enough hairs but not nearly enough touching.

  I tried my best to give him an arch look. “Did you enjoy that?”

  He stood, holding my gaze. “Yes. It’s always nice to find evidence in unexpected places.”

  There was a rumble overhead, and I remembered the line of storms I’d seen earlier.

  “Come on, before it starts to rain.”

  We hurried out of the house toward the driveway, quickening our steps as the first raindrops began to fall. Florida thunderstorms are not known for the
ir gentle rain and light breezes. It only took an instant for the sparse, fat drops to become a deluge. The gusting winds made us stagger on our race to the truck.

  We leapt inside, slamming the doors closed. I could feel rainwater trickling in little rivulets all over me. It dripped from my hair, which had come loose and was plastered like a wet cape to my shoulders.

  The thin material of the aqua dress clung to my breasts and upper thighs. In the movies this would be sexy. I felt like a drowned ferret.

  “Great.” I shivered, goose bumps marching over my skin.

  “Here.” Kai reached over and opened the glove box. His arm brushed over my thigh as he did and he froze for a moment. “Napkins,” he said, finally seeming to remember what he was doing. “I always keep some in here.”

  I took the paper napkin and wiped the rain off my face and arms.

  I noticed Kai watching me as I dabbed at the hollow of my neck, then my upper chest. Apparently he didn’t think I looked so bad.

  Glancing at him, I asked, “What?” My voice was a little breathy and I can honestly say that shocked me.

  “I’ve never wanted to be a piece of tissue paper before, but at the moment, it seems like a great idea.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that. But I felt heat rush to my face.

  Kai seemed to shake himself mentally and turned away. He started the truck and backed out of the driveway. Winding through the swarm of reporters, who were apparently undeterred by the rain, he turned away from the house and headed back into town.

  After a few minutes of awkward silence marked only by the swish of windshield wipers and driving rain, I decided to try to break the tension that had settled like fog in the small cab.

  “Beside the hairs, did you find anything?”

  “Not yet.” Kai seemed to relax. Maybe he was glad I hadn’t commented on his tissue paper remark.

  “But you think you will?”

  “We still have one place in the house we haven’t covered.”

  “Charm’s enclosure.”

  Kai nodded and glanced at me. “Do you think you can meet me at the house tomorrow morning at nine?”

  I lifted a shoulder. “Sure, but you’ll just be wasting your time.” I had to tread lightly here.

  “You seem to be pretty certain of that.”

  “I am. I know LaBryce. And I’m telling you, whatever information you have that made you think he’s involved is faulty.”

  “LaBryce Walker and Mark Richardson got into a fight the night of the murder.”

  I thought of the man Jax had remembered when we had been at the beach that morning. LaBryce.

  “So? People get in fights all the time. Especially at parties when drinking is involved.”

  “LaBryce threatened to kill Mark.”

  I found this utterly shocking. “LaBryce and Mark were friends.”

  “Not according to the latest issue of Sports Illustrated. Mark was quoted in an interview saying he thought LaBryce was done. That he had lost his edge and hoped the team could survive another year with him as running back.”

  Ouch. “I don’t get it. LaBryce told me he was the one who talked the coaches into signing Mark in the first place.”

  “You don’t think people toss each other under the bus all the time, even if they’re supposed to be friends?”

  I knew they did. One more reason to stick with animals. Animals are much more civilized. The thought made me laugh out loud.

  At Kai’s questioning glance, I said, “That just reminds me of why I love my dog.”

  We drove for a while in silence. Though this time, it was more companionable. I worried about the person responsible for taking care of Charm’s meals. I’d barely been able to scrape up enough to feed her dinner; she’d be hungry again in the morning.

  “Kai, would it be possible for me to talk to LaBryce?”

  “Why?”

  “I need to talk to him about Charm. If I’m going to take care of her in the morning.”

  Kai seemed to think about it for a long time. I’m not sure if he was becoming suspicious of me again or if he just didn’t want to go through the trouble.

  “A hungry jaguar is a dangerous jaguar. I need—”

  “Okay. I’ll run you by the JSO.” He didn’t seem happy.

  I felt a twinge of temper. What did he think I was planning? To slip LaBryce a file so he could saw through his bars? They could and, I’m sure, would listen to everything I said to LaBryce. I started to point that out when Kai’s phone rang.

  He answered, “Duncan.” There was a long pause. “Let me guess, jaguar hair?”

  He flicked a glance at me. “I collected some tonight for comparison. I’d be willing to bet they’re a match.”

  He said a few other things that were so cryptic and technical I had no idea what he was talking about. But I knew this was not good news for LaBryce.

  Kai flipped his phone closed and said, “You might need to make long-term arrangements for the cat.”

  • • •

  Kai led me out of the elevators and down a nondescript hallway. The overhead lights were bright and buzzing. The floors either industrial carpet or industrial tile. It was nothing like the cop shows on television where the lights are dim and there are sleek glass partitions everywhere.

  This was a bit more humdrum than I had envisioned.

  Kai opened a door and motioned for me to go inside. I saw LaBryce seated at a table, his eyes hooded, massive ebony arms crossed over his chest. Whoever he was expecting to walk through the door, it wasn’t me. His expression didn’t change that much, but I saw a flash of confusion in his eyes, then he looked me up and down and his whole body tensed.

  I knew I looked a mess. The dress had dried some, but it was a disaster, smeared with dirt and clumps of jaguar hair. I’d tried to finger-comb my damp hair, but it was still tangled from the brief but violent encounter with the driving rain. I was sure the makeup my sister had so carefully applied was gone or had moved to where it shouldn’t be.

  The harsh lights didn’t help.

  LaBryce began to shake. He looked past me at Kai, and his face twisted into a horrible mask of rage.

  “Bastard!” More suddenly that I thought possible, he launched himself out of the chair and slammed Kai against the wall. The next few seconds passed so fast I was hardly able to process them.

  Kai, who must have been as stunned as I was, was slow on the uptake. LaBryce, a man who had based his ten-year career in the NFL on speed and power, held Kai easily against the wall. Then pivoted, trying to slam Kai to the ground.

  At some point I screamed. Or at least yelled, “No!” Kai managed to keep his feet and they both staggered into the table. It scooted over the floor, and I heard LaBryce yell, “What did you do to her?”

  I jumped forward and grabbed one of LaBryce’s immense shoulders. Like I was going to pull him off. It was like trying to wrestle an elephant. “LaBryce, stop!”

  Though leaning back over the table, Kai managed to get enough leverage to swing an elbow. It landed with a thud against LaBryce’s cheek.

  There was shouting and commotion behind me. I was shoved away and against the wall while a swarm of cops filled the small room. I saw the oversized shape of a Taser gun in someone’s hand, and in an instant, LaBryce was on the ground, stunned, and Kai was standing in front of me. His face was cold and stony, but his eyes burned with anger.

  He grabbed my arm and half walked, half dragged me back to the elevators. I wanted to ask him where we were going, but I was still a little shocked over what had just happened.

  LaBryce had taken one look at my disheveled appearance and leapt on Kai. It made no sense. If Kai was going to ask me to explain, he was out of luck.

  “I don’t know why he jumped on you.”

/>   Silence. The elevator opened and he pulled me down to an office marked DUNCAN. Once we were inside, he slammed the door.

  “Talk.” It was an order and not a nice one.

  I felt my back go rigid. “I just said I don’t know.”

  He shook his head. “Walker took one look at you and assumed I had done something to you.”

  “So?”

  “So, he didn’t react like a friend.”

  I didn’t like the implication. I might not tell the whole truth when it came to my ability, but I wasn’t a damn liar. “I don’t know why he did what he did. Why don’t you ask him?”

  “I’m asking you.”

  “I answered your question.”

  There was a knock at the door. Kai took another moment to glower at me and pulled the door open.

  Jake stepped into the office. “I heard LaBryce jumped you. You two okay?”

  “Fine,” Kai snapped.

  Jake gave Kai a quizzical look before turning to me. “You?”

  “Sergeant Duncan seems to think I orchestrated it somehow.”

  “Did you?”

  “No.”

  He nodded. “Come with me, Grace.”

  I stalked out of Kai’s office.

  Once more, I was in the elevator. After a second or two, Jake said, “Kai’s been under a lot of stress. I’m sure he meant to question you more . . . professionally.”

  At the moment, I really didn’t care. He had dragged me into his office and acted like I was responsible for LaBryce leaping over the table at him.

  “And he seems”—Jake paused as if he was searching for the right word—“distracted by you.”

  I huffed out a breath. But I had to admit I was curious. I had to ask. “What do you mean?”

  “Kai is a very steady guy. He’s laid-back, professional, and focused. Usually he’s focused. You seem to have . . . blurred his vision some.”

  I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Had Kai asked Jake about me? The sudden adolescent thought caught me off guard. Why did I care? I looked into Jake’s face. His gaze shifted around, looking anywhere but directly at me. He was a jowly guy to start with, so his frown was a frown. Everything about his features said he was uncomfortable with talking to me about this.