The Cat, the Sneak and the Secret

by Leann Sweeney

  She looked at me, her eyes filled with tears. “Yes. At least I think so. How did you know?”

  “A number of things came together for me tonight. It all makes sense. I should share—”

  The doorbell rang.

  Confused, I said, “Did Belle offer to pick Amelia up?”

  Lindsey shook her head. “I said I’d bring her back to the coffee shop when Mrs. Rucker’s shift was finished.”

  Whoever was at the door rang again and as I stood and turned, I noticed three cats sitting at the foyer entrance, staring at the front door.

  Chablis was oblivious. She remained asleep in Amelia’s arms.

  Through the peephole I was surprised to see both Zoe and Rebecca standing on the stoop. What were they doing here this late?

  I opened the door, but the only greeting came from Zoe. Rebecca had this deer-in-the-headlights look. What was going on?

  Zoe said, “May we join you, Jillian? When I visited Belle’s Beans tonight, Belle rambled on about how benevolent Lindsey and Seth were being, and how generous you were to help care for an employee’s child. So I hurried over to Rebecca’s house and picked her up. You have a special someone staying here with you this evening, am I right?”

  Before I could speak, Zoe shoved Rebecca into the foyer ahead of her and then shut my door.

  That was when I saw the gun Zoe had pressed against Rebecca’s spine.

  “I love your home, Jillian.” Zoe glanced at the ceiling and into the living room.

  She seemed as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world to come calling while holding another person at gunpoint.

  Meanwhile, Lindsey had carefully lifted the still sleeping child’s head off her lap and stood. “What are you two doing here? Checking up on me?”

  Lindsey obviously couldn’t see that her mother had a gun pointed at her. But when she came closer, she squinted at her mother. “Mom? What’s wrong?”

  “Sh-she’s got a gun,” Rebecca said. “Get out, Lindsey. Take Amelia with you.”

  Lindsey’s eyes grew wide, but she didn’t move. “I’m not going anywhere.” She looked at Zoe. “What’s wrong with you? There’s a little girl here. You could hurt someone.”

  But I knew then that Zoe already had hurt people. This woman was crazy. Absolutely crazy. And Lindsey didn’t understand that yet.

  I said, “Why don’t we all sit down and talk this over? I’m sure—”

  “Shut up,” Zoe said through clenched teeth. She turned back to Lindsey and smiled again, her eyes almost glazed, staring far off, but her finger oh so steady on that trigger.

  My mind raced as I tried to think of a way to distract Zoe without anyone getting hurt, especially that innocent little girl.

  Before I could come up with anything—and what was there to do when an unstable person was holding a weapon?—Zoe spoke.

  “I came here to take care of business and I suppose sitting would be more comfortable.” She pushed the gun harder into Rebecca’s back. “Move slowly into the living room. And if you make a false step, so much as a twitch, anyone could take a bullet. Even her.” She nodded in Amelia’s direction, and thank God the child was still sound asleep and oblivious of what was happening.

  My cats had retreated when the door first opened, but now began to creep back out from their various corners to see what was going on. Chablis was awake now, her blue eyes crystal bright, her gaze directly on Zoe. But she didn’t move away from the little girl she’d apparently adopted. Instead her coat, puffed out in fear, seemed to almost obscure Amelia from Zoe’s prying eyes.

  I gestured us all into the living room, the swish of the tassels on Zoe’s suede boots eerie, the click of Rebecca’s heels on the wooden floor halting, echoing her fear.

  Zoe glanced first at me and then at Lindsey. “You two sit where I can see you—and just so you know, I have a very twitchy finger. This gun could go off without warning if you so much as step toward me. Meanwhile, the two of us will just stand here, thank you very much. Isn’t that a good idea, Rebecca?”

  Rebecca nodded. Her face was drained of color. Her skin bore a thin layer of perspiration. She seemed terrified and I belonged to that awful club, too. We were all terrified—except for Zoe. She seemed as calm as the lake on a quiet morning.

  I eased into the chair next to the sofa, and Lindsey sat by Amelia. Her leg jiggled and she clasped her hands in her lap. From the look she gave Zoe—fear and compassion seeming to merge—I felt confused. But Lindsey knew what this was about. Too bad my racing heart and I had no idea.

  Zoe stared intently at Amelia. “So much trouble over someone so tiny. Isn’t it strange how that can happen?”

  Ah. Amelia was the focus of Zoe coming here with Rebecca in tow. Why?

  I took a deep breath. The why wasn’t important right now. Getting this woman to put down the gun was all that mattered.

  Taking a page out of Finn’s book, I decided on the direct approach. “Zoe, can you tell me what this is about?”

  “Your new best friend, Lindsey, hasn’t come clean?” Zoe cocked her head and smiled this odd smile. “Oh, she’s still keeping Mommy dearest’s secret, isn’t she?” She glanced at her prisoner. “How do you manage to control everyone so well, Rebecca? I simply don’t understand how you do it.”

  Syrah was sitting at the edge of the foyer, his eyes on Magpie. The little tortie was stealthily moving toward the shiny ornament and tassel on Zoe’s boot. My heart skipped. If this woman had no problem killing a human being, she wouldn’t blink at shooting a cat.

  Then I saw Merlot slinking right behind Magpie.

  No, no, no. Please stop, kitties. This is no game.

  I heard the back door open. It had to be Finn returning. Oh my gosh, no. Not him, too.

  But cats do love it when their prey is distracted. Magpie struck first, her mouth clamping on to the tassel in an attempt to tear it off Zoe’s boot. She then got help from her brute of a boyfriend, Merlot, who leapt onto Zoe’s leg and wrapped both paws around her calf.

  As Zoe dropped her gaze to the cats, Rebecca’s elbow came up and smashed into her chin. Between the blow and the cats wrestling with her, the woman went down.

  Yoshi got to them first, just as Finn and I raced to prevent that gun from going off. The little dog grabbed the sleeve of her gun hand and began pulling. Finn called him off and we were on top of Zoe before she could make another move. Finn grabbed her wrist and pulled the gun away while Rebecca and I pinned Zoe down.

  She started fighting to free herself, so Rebecca sat on her legs. “Finn, call 9-1-1 and get that gun as far away from here as possible.”

  I heard Lindsey say, “I already called 9-1-1.”

  Finn stepped back, but rather than leave us, he unloaded the weapon and put the magazine from the automatic in his pocket. Then he helped restrain Zoe. How did he know how to do that? But his dad had been a cop, after all. Was a cop again. I’m sure gun safety had been part of his parenting when Finn was younger.

  Since I faced the still thrashing woman, I said in the calmest voice I could muster, “It’s over, Zoe. Stop fighting.”

  She answered by spitting in my face.

  Twenty-eight

  Tom and Candace arrived together, bursting in through the front door with panic in their eyes. But the steel and strength of two trained officers took control once they realized no one was hurt. They took over, cuffed Zoe and raised her to her feet.

  That was when I realized that Magpie had her prize. She held the tassel with its little gold attachment in her mouth, and Merlot followed as she took off for the basement, probably to stash it away. As I witnessed this, the relief was immediate and welcome. That little sneak had saved us all from who knows what—and she had absolutely no clue she was a hero. She just wanted that tassel and didn’t care how she got it.

  Tom and Candace led Zoe to my dining roo
m table, past the still sleeping Amelia. My days of slumber like that were long gone, but I was so glad the little girl hadn’t seen or heard anything.

  “Lindsey, why don’t you take her into your room and put her to bed?”

  “Shouldn’t I call her mom? It’s time for me to pick her up at Belle’s Beans and I said I’d give them both a ride home. She’ll worry.”

  I thought about this. The child was sleeping so soundly and I didn’t want her to be exposed to what was about to become an interrogation of everyone here. “Just put her to bed. I’ll call Belle and make an excuse.”

  Lindsey nodded and carefully picked up the sleeping child. Rebecca was still sitting on the floor, head down, shoulders shaking. She was crying and with good reason. I sat next to her and put an arm around her. “It’s over. Just take a deep breath.”

  But as Lindsey walked past with Amelia, she looked up and in a shaky voice said, “Can I see her?”

  Lindsey turned so Rebecca could catch a glimpse of closed eyes, curled lashes and pouty mouth—but only briefly. She then went down the hall with her daughter.

  I helped Rebecca up and led her to a living room chair. Tom and Candace had planted Zoe in a chair so she faced the kitchen. The two Marner women couldn’t look at each other right now. Maybe that would come later, but for now it was a good thing.

  Finn brought Rebecca a glass of water and she took it with trembling hands. He smiled at me and said, “Should I make coffee?”

  I nodded. “Sounds great.”

  While he was doing that with Yoshi’s invaluable assistance, I called Belle. “Could you ask Lucy if it’s okay if Amelia spends the night? The poor baby is sound asleep.”

  “Sure, sweetie,” Belle said. “I’ll take Lucy home. She’s worked two shifts today and maybe she could use the time alone to get a good night’s sleep.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” I disconnected.

  Lindsey came down the hall with Syrah balanced on her shoulder. That boy of mine knew when comfort was needed.

  “Amelia will stay the night. Her mother knows nothing about what happened, and we’ll keep it that way for tonight.”

  “Good.” Lindsey walked to the sofa and sat across from her mother. Chablis immediately claimed her lap.

  I sat next to Lindsey, and Syrah stretched out behind me on the sofa back.

  I heard Candace reading Zoe her Miranda rights, but I doubted the woman was even listening. She was rocking and humming, her mental state apparently deteriorating now that her endgame was over without a success—if killing people could ever be called a success.

  But I still had no idea what brought her here tonight holding Rebecca at gunpoint—a woman who had comforted her in her grief only a few days ago, however insincere that comfort probably was.

  “Is what happened here enough to make you finally tell the truth, Mom?” Lindsey’s voice was as cold as the chill outdoors. “Tell Jillian who you nearly got killed tonight.”

  Rebecca sighed heavily, her tearstained face still pallid. “My daughter. No—my daughters.”

  I blinked, stunned. “What are you talking about?”

  Tom had been listening and came around the sofa to stare down at Rebecca. “Yeah, what are you talking about?”

  “Amelia is my daughter. Lindsey saved me from being disgraced in this town.” She focused on her Lindsey. “I am so sorry for what I made you do—and so very grateful.”

  “Are you kidding me?” I felt anger boiling up inside and I was about ready to spew out my disgust. If I understood what Rebecca was saying, I couldn’t believe what she had put Lindsey through for the last five years—but it sure made sense. The child had been protecting the parent.

  “It was wrong,” Rebecca said. “But we thought it was best. People would talk, we knew, but a teenage pregnancy seemed almost . . . normal, whereas a divorced woman, a woman with standing in the community, with an unexplained pregnancy? Well, that would have destroyed me.”

  “It’s okay to destroy your daughter, though? That’s okay?” I couldn’t hold back as the horrible thing she’d done to Lindsey sank in even more.

  Tom put a hand up. “Wait a minute. You said we. Who’s the we?”

  “Rhett and me. He was Amelia’s father. And that was another reason why we needed Lindsey’s help. Zoe would take him for every penny if she found out we’d still had feelings after the divorce and—”

  “Oh, but I wasn’t as stupid as the two of you thought, was I?” Zoe called over her shoulder.

  Maybe she wasn’t crazy after all. Maybe she was just mad as hell.

  Tom walked back to face Zoe. “You want a lawyer or not?” His tone was harsh, disgusted. This room held a world of hurt and sadness right now.

  I was guessing despite the handcuffs, Zoe felt as if she were in control. But it was Rebecca who spoke. “I can tell you everything you need to know.”

  Tom’s face was scarlet, his fists clenched. But he managed to say in a controlled voice, “Tell me about you and Mike. Why him? Why did he have to die?”

  Finn, who’d been silent in the kitchen and who’d made the soothing smell of coffee surround us all, rushed to Tom’s side with Yoshi on his heels. Finn pulled at Tom’s arm. “Dad. Come on. It’ll be okay.”

  I joined Finn, the shock at seeing Tom so angry almost paralyzing me for a second. I’d never seen him react so forcefully before, but I totally understood.

  “She’ll just lie to you.” Zoe apparently wanted the spotlight back on her. “Don’t you want to know how I found out? Don’t you want to—”

  “You haven’t waived your Miranda rights, Mrs. Marner,” Candace said. “We can’t let you speak to us without a lawyer unless you waive those rights.”

  “Okay, consider them waived. I want the truth out there. My truth, not hers.”

  Tom broke away from Finn and me. He gripped Zoe’s upper arms and shook her. “Then start talking.”

  Candace put a hand on his back and in a quiet voice said, “We have to do this the right way. The legal way.”

  Tom took a deep breath. His arms went limp at his sides as he backed off.

  Finn locked his arm with Tom’s, and his dad winced in pain. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Finn said.

  “Just a little cut. It’s nothing. I need to get on with this.”

  We all walked to the table where Zoe sat cuffed with her hands behind her.

  I kissed Tom’s cheek, squeezed his hand. “We’re getting answers. That’s what matters now.”

  Zoe said, “How touching. Such a sweet family moment.”

  Candace’s attitude changed in a flash. She pointed at Zoe. “You shut up until I’ve got your signature on a waiver. I want my tape recorder ready to save every word you say.”

  I wondered if they should be talking about all this at the police station, but Tom wanted an answer to his most pressing question about Mike right away, of that much I was certain.

  Candace spoke to me before she left to get her evidence kit where she kept all her forms, along with her tools of the trade. “Do not let Tom talk to her until I get back.” She looked at Finn. “You fixed coffee. I think several of us could use a cup, especially Tom.”

  She ran out through the back door just as Morris and Lois were about to knock. She pushed past them saying, “Need to get a waiver from the car. Make sure Zoe Marner says nothing until I get back.”

  Of course Morris’s first words were “Do I smell coffee?” I was grateful for someone who could cut through all the tension.

  Lois glanced my way before focusing on Zoe. “I take it the one in cuffs has some explaining to do.”

  “Oh, she sure does,” Tom replied.

  Finn handed mugs of coffee to Tom and me. He said, “Why don’t you sit with Lindsey and Rebecca? They probably shouldn’t be alone together. I’ll be fine.” He sipped his coffee, never takin
g his eyes off Zoe.

  I walked back into the living area while Finn stayed with Tom.

  I glanced between Rebecca and Lindsey. “Either of you want coffee? It’ll be a long night, I assure you.”

  They both shook their heads. The silence between these two seemed as toxic as their relationship. I sat on the sofa. “Why did you protect her, Lindsey?”

  “Because she’s my mother. I may not like her one bit, but I will always love her.”

  But she still never so much as glanced at Rebecca.

  Twenty-nine

  Candace slipped the waiver in front of Zoe, and once she read it and said she was ready to sign, Candace unlocked her handcuffs. Once she’d signed the form, those cuffs were slapped back on faster than I could blink.

  Tom sat directly across from Zoe, and Candace took the chair to her left. I’d turned around from my spot on the couch to look at them, and I now focused on Tom. I wanted to offer anything I could to help him get through this.

  Though Zoe’s back was to me, her voice was full of scorn when she spoke. “Guess you figured out it wasn’t suicide. How?”

  “We ask the questions,” Candace said. “Why did you kill Police Chief Michael Baca?”

  “It was an easy decision. He died because he mattered to Rebecca. She told me she loved him—not that she’s actually capable of loving anyone. That was all I needed to hear. She had to hurt as much as she’d hurt me. Rhett’s death meant nothing to her. She didn’t even shed a tear when they found his body. But Mike’s suicide? Oh, I could tell that hurt her.”

  “You’re saying you took a man’s life to get back at a woman you hated?” Tom sounded incredulous and I saw a flush creeping up his neck.

  Candace saw this, too, and she reached over to put a hand on his arm and nodded at the recorder sitting on the table.

  “The police chief knew Rebecca hated me and I didn’t want that getting out. It might make him suspicious. Though I am a great actress, I wasn’t sure how long I could keep up the charade if he started questioning my loyalties to my very dead husband.”

  Syrah seemed to come out of nowhere and jumped on Tom’s shoulder, offered a gentle head butt before leaping over to the nearby window seat ready to watch what happened next. We were all listening, even the cats. But Rebecca seemed to have shrunken in size and for me, she was a contagion, a patient zero. If she hadn’t slept with her ex and used her daughter selfishly, none of this might have happened.