Claws for a Cause (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 15)

by Patricia Fry

  “Just don’t make Harrison your life’s work. That’s all. Leave room for Colbi. You owe that to the memory of your parents, too. Maybe give your brother a deadline, or give yourself a deadline. If your efforts haven’t made a difference for Harrison by a certain time—if he isn’t standing on his own two feet by then—I’d say you’ve done your best and you should think about cutting the ties—at least those ties that bind you emotionally. I mean, you want a relationship with your brother, but a healthy one, right? You can’t make yourself responsible for him for the rest of his life. What kind of relationship is that?”

  Colbi stared across the room at her guest for a moment and Savannah took the opportunity to add, her voice hushed, “Don’t let your sense of obligation for Harrison ruin your chances for a healthy relationship with Damon.”

  Colbi thought about what Savannah had said. “Yes. What I want is my brother back. I want to be his sister, not—as you heard him call me—his warden. Healthy? Yes, that’s what I’m aiming for—a healthy relationship with Harrison and with Damon.” She hesitated before saying, “That’s a good idea. I don’t know how long these things take or even what I’m doing, other than offering family support and a little tough love. But that’s a good idea to have a deadline of sorts.”

  “That’s the least you can do for Damon, for yourself, and for your future.” Savannah stood and reached into her pocket. “Oh, before I forget, here’s our house key. Margaret and Max will be gone overnight Wednesday for that conference, if you don’t mind checking on the animals and feeding them Wednesday night and Thursday morning.”

  “Not at all. It’s my pleasure.”

  “There’ll be a note with instructions on the kitchen counter. Peaches is boarding with Bonnie this week, so you won’t have to worry about her. It’s just the three cats and the dog.” “Got it. Wednesday night and Thursday morning. I’ll be there.”

  Suddenly the women looked up into the stairwell. “What in the world are those cats doing,” Savannah asked, “tearing your house apart?”

  Colbi shook her head. “I don’t know. They’re sure making a lot of noise. I’d better go check.” Just as she started to head up the stairs, a streak of fur raced past her. “I think Rags has something, Savannah,” she said, pointing.

  Savannah stood. “Oh no, Rags, what have you been into?” She bolted toward the cat, who had plopped on the floor in the dining area, a strange-looking glob lying next to him. “It looks like regurgitated plant life,” she said as she approached the cat. Before she reached him, however, he grabbed the item and ran into the kitchen then out again, with Savannah trotting after him. “Give me that, Rags. Come here.”

  Colbi, in the meantime, moved toward him from the other direction. “Here, kitty, kitty,” she coaxed.

  This time when Rags dropped the clump, he sauntered away from it.

  “No,” Colbi said, when she saw Dolly walk cautiously toward the object. She moved closer and both women leaned over to examine it. Disgustedly, Colbi asked, “Is that what I think it is?” She faced Savannah. “I think this is marijuana.”

  Savannah continued to study the wad. “Could be, I guess.”

  “Dammit. He knows that’s a rule of living here. No drugs. I wonder where Rags found this,” she said, picking it up and swiftly heading for the stairs.

  Savannah reached for Lily, who was leaning over and staring at Dolly.

  “Ki-ki bath,” Lily said.

  “Bath?” Savannah repeated. “You think the kitty should have a bath? Is she dirty?”

  “Ki-ki bath,” Lily repeated, pointing as Savannah walked away with the baby.

  Suddenly, Savannah said, “Oh yes, she looks like the kitty you saw having a bath at Auntie’s house last month, doesn’t she? Boy, do you have a good memory.”

  “Auntie?” Lily repeated. “Auntie ‘bye-bye,” she said, leaning in her mother’s arms toward the front door.

  Savannah laughed. “You want to go ‘bye-bye and see Auntie?” When she noticed Colbi disappear into the first room at the top of the stairs, she headed in that direction with the toddler, who struggled to get down. “Want to walk?” she asked, lowering Lily to the floor and helping her walk up the steps slowly, one at a time. When Savannah entered the room, she found Colbi squatting just inside the open closet door.

  “Look at this, Savannah.” She stood and began pacing. “Isn’t that just…oooh, I’m so angry right now…”

  “What is it?” Savannah asked, walking with Lily toward the closet. That’s when she noticed a jar lying open on the floor, a couple more wads of the stuff spilled out next to it.

  “I guess he forgot to tighten the lid and the cats sniffed it out,” Colbi said, still pacing. She stopped and gestured toward the closet floor. “I found another jar in one of his boots.” Dropping her arms to her side, she said, “What is he thinking? You don’t leave pot out in the open where a cat can find it.”

  “You don’t?” Savannah asked.

  “Yeah, some cats are attracted to it—they go for it like they would catnip or grass.” When she saw Savannah staring curiously at her, she explained, “I wrote an article on cats and herbs a while back.” She grimaced. “Well, this is just…he makes me so mad. What am I going to do now?” she asked, storming out of the room and racing down the stairs. When the two women and the baby had reached the lower level, Colbi giggled. “He sure doesn’t know much about cats, does he? Shoes are a dumb place to hide something when there are cats in the house.”

  Savannah joined her in laughter. “Isn’t that the truth? How many times has Dolly hidden her toys in your shoes?”

  “Only about twice a week—especially when she was a kitten. I’ve found toy mice, balls, even marbles in my shoes.”

  “Marbles?” Savannah frowned. “How…?”

  “Oh, Damon brought in a little mesh bag with a few marbles in it once as a joke and I found it in my sandal the next day.”

  “Your boyfriend gives you strange gifts,” Savannah said, chuckling.

  “Yeah, I guess he does.” Colbi ran her hand down Rags’s back and to the tip of his tail. She let out a long sigh and spoke to the cat. “Leave it to you to find what I really don’t want to find.” She glanced up at Savannah. “I don’t know whether to thank him or scold him.”

  Savannah looked puzzled. “What?”

  “Well, I need to know, but I don’t really want to know.” She slumped. “Dang, Savannah, maybe Damon’s right. I may not be equipped to give my brother the kind of help he needs. If I can’t face Harrison’s demons, how can I expect him to?”

  ****

  “Are we all packed?” Michael asked Savannah as she scurried around the kitchen the following evening, setting out the cats’ and dog’s food for her aunt and Colbi, who would both be feeding the animals while they were gone. “Got cash for the trip, batteries for your camera, Lily’s favorite toys?”

  “Yes, I’m pretty sure I have everything. The list is there on the buffet; take a look and see if I’ve forgotten anything. I packed three pair of your board shorts, your extra pair of flip-flops, five tees, a couple of tank tops…”

  “Khaki slacks and button-up shirt?” Michael read from the list. “Why do I need those? I thought we were going to be beach bums and bumettes.”

  “Bumettes?” she repeated laughing.

  “Yeah, that’s lady bums.”

  “Well, Michael, we’re invited to a luau one evening. You might want to dress up a little. I’m taking dresses. I plan to buy you a Hawaiian shirt once we get there.”

  “Okay. Whatever you say I need, I guess that’s what I need. Good job, hon.” Motioning with his head, he said, “There goes your phone. Are you expecting a call?”

  “Maybe,” she said, reaching for her cell. “Oh, hi Colbi. How are you?” Lowering her voice she asked, “Is your brother back? What did you find out—I mean about the stuff the cats found?”

  “He was mad as hell when he saw I had it. Didn’t believe th
e cats found it. He thought I’d been snooping. I told him that if he didn’t have anything to hide, he shouldn’t care if I snooped.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He couldn’t see the reasoning in that. Savannah, he’s from such a different world than I am; you wouldn’t even know we were siblings.”

  “So did he explain the stuff? What did he tell you about it?”

  “He said it’s medicinal—you know, medicinal marijuana—and he takes it for pain from an old injury.”

  Savannah didn’t respond for a moment. She then asked, “Do you believe him?”

  “Well, he told me a long story about how he’d been in a car accident and was in the hospital for a long time. That’s why he couldn’t work and ended up homeless. It wasn’t because of drugs. When he was suffering a lot of pain, someone introduced him to medicinal marijuana. He said that was the only thing that helped and he started using it daily.”

  “So why didn’t he get a job, then—I mean, once he was feeling better?”

  “Savannah, I got the distinct impression he was making up the story as he went along. At one point, he said he was looking for a job every day, but it’s hard when you live on the streets and don’t have an address or clothes or a way to clean up for the job search.”

  “Sounds logical.”

  “Yes, to a degree. But there were other excuses, too. Dig this Savannah—he said he couldn’t get a job because he didn’t have an alarm clock. He had a job once and he knew a guy in his encampment with a wind-up alarm clock. But when the guy moved and took the clock, Harrison started arriving late to work and got fired. It sounds to me like just a bunch of excuses.”

  “So you don’t believe him?” Savannah asked.

  “Well, I’ve been around enough homeless people in my job as a reporter and I must say, I’ve heard most of their excuses. So has Damon—well, he’s even lived the life—so he’s way more in tune with the mentality and way more skeptical about Harrison than I am.”

  Savannah let out a deep sigh. “So what are you going to do, Colbi?”

  “Damon wants me to kick Harrison out now—no apologies or explanations—just send him on his way until he’s clean and working steady. But that seems so heartless. I mean, how’s he going to change his life if someone doesn’t give him a break? I’m not sure what to do. Medicinal marijuana is certainly different from street marijuana—I mean, at least he has a reason to use it. And I guess if he’s getting it legally, he can’t be arrested for having it. Damon says he can’t have more than eight ounces to be legal and what Rags found in Harrison’s room was more than twice that much. But if he needs it, he needs it, right?”

  After an awkward silence, Savannah said, “It sounds like you’ve talked yourself into giving Harrison the benefit of the doubt.”

  “Savannah, you knew my brother once. What was he like then? Do you think I’m making a mistake by helping him?”

  Savannah paused, then said, quietly, “That was a long time ago, Colbi. We were both young and frankly, we did more partying than dating—saw each other at beach parties and mountain parties. It was all rather superficial, if you know what I mean. He has probably changed in many ways. Besides, you have a much different relationship with him than I did. He’s your flesh and blood, after all.”

  “Yes, my only living relative…well, except for maybe some kin in Phoenix.”

  “Really? When did you find out about relatives in Phoenix? Who are they, do you know?”

  “Well, Harrison mentioned them the other night. Mother was an only child and so was her mother. Her father had a sister, but I guess she never married. Now, Dad had a brother, but he told me he died young. Harrison said that was a lie. He overheard Mom and Dad talking once and said that Dad was ranting about his no-good, conniving older brother and wondered if his kids were as no-good as he was. Harrison remembered this, and last year, he took one of his computer-savvy friends to the library and asked him to check on the name. He actually located our uncle’s obituary, which said he was survived by two children, who would be about eight years older than us. Roberta Stanton Friedman is divorced with two teenagers and Klint Stanton never married. I think Harrison planned to hit them up for a place to stay if he couldn’t find me or if I wouldn’t take him in.”

  “Gosh, that must be a shock—to learn you have family you didn’t know about. Are you going to contact them?”

  “I might.”

  “What do they do, do you know?”

  “Evidently, she’s some bigwig at a local farm bureau and runs a small ranch, where she breeds and boards horses. He follows the carnival circuit and travels most of the time.”

  “Carnival?”

  “Yeah, can you believe it?”

  “Well, Colbi, about your brother—maybe doing nothing right now is the best thing to do. Let your brother prove himself. Give him more time as long as he’s not costing you money or causing you heartache. Hey, it might be a good idea to draw up a contract with him. Do you think he’d go along with that? Have him sign something saying he’s welcome to stay until a certain date, but if he’s doing illegal drugs or there’s any criminal activity, he’ll be evicted. If he doesn’t leave, you have something in writing—a contract that should hold up in court. Do you think he’d sign something like that? It would be a good way to find out if he’s serious about changing and if he’s being truthful with you.”

  “Hmmm, that may be a good idea, and it might actually put Damon’s mind at ease, too. Yes, I’ll think about that. Thank you, Savannah.”

  “You’re welcome. Yawwwn. Hey, three thirty comes early; I’d better get ready for bed.”

  “Oh yes, you’re leaving in the morning. Hey, have a wonderful time. And Savannah, thank you so much for letting me bounce this stuff off you. I really don’t have anyone else I can talk to about it…well, except Iris, and I don’t want to discuss Damon’s and my private differences with his mother.”

  “Yeah, not a good idea. You’re welcome, kiddo. Take care and do call me if you need to talk. I should be able to get service on the island.”

  “Aloha,” Colbi said, chuckling.

  Savannah sounded a bit giddy when she responded, “Yes, aloha.”

  ****

  Late the following afternoon, the photographers from Hammond landed in Honolulu.

  “She did pretty well,” Shelly said, referring to Lily, who was asleep in Michael’s arms.

  “Yes, she did,” Savannah said, brushing a wisp of hair from the baby’s face as they approached the luggage carousel. “Hey, there’s her stroller,” she said, quickly retrieving it.

  “Good,” Michael said. “Let’s put her in it, then I can grab the luggage. Gladys, why don’t you stand back with Lily? Here, let’s strap her in. Now stay with her, Gladys. Savannah and I’ll get the luggage.”

  “Yes, sir,” Gladys said, grinning a little at her son-in-law’s overly protective behavior.

  Savannah watched as her mother wheeled Lily away. She then turned to face the carousel and quickly motioned toward a red suitcase. “That one’s mine, Michael.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked. “There’s another one just like it.”

  “Yeah, but it doesn’t have a pink-and-purple yarn pom-pom on it.”

  “Okay,” he said, hefting the bag off the moving carousel and placing it next to Savannah.

  She checked the name tag. “Yup, it’s ours.” She pointed. “I’m pretty sure that’s Mom’s. See that black one with the red strap around it?”

  Once Michael had pulled it off the carousel, Savannah turned to her mother for her reaction.

  Gladys nodded.

  “There are two more, Michael—the one with the baby’s things and yours. Do you remember what yours looks like?”

  “I thought I did until I saw all these others. Now I’m confused. It has a blue-and-green flowery pattern, doesn’t it?”

  “Yeah.” She showed him a picture she’d taken on her phone. “See, this is
it.”

  “Oh,” he said, “good thinking.”

  “I lost a piece of luggage once,” she explained, “so I’m probably more cautious than most people. Not that a picture would have done much good in that situation. I think someone just stole it. I lagged getting to the carousel; stopped for a cup of mocha. When I arrived, my bag was gone. Someone got off with my ski outfit and I had to buy all new stuff at the resort. That set me back a small fortune. Would have been better off if I’d just hung out in the lodge all weekend.”

  Michael looked into his wife’s eyes. “I’m glad you didn’t do that.”

  She frowned. “Why?”

  “You might have met a handsome ski instructor and I would have missed out on getting to marry you.”

  She grinned. “Yeah, might have.” Then pointing, she said, “There’s Lily’s bag—that big one. And yours is right next to it. I’ll grab the smaller one.”

  “How long are you staying?” Shelly asked, grinning when she saw the load of luggage surrounding the Iveys.

  “I guess you don’t know how much stuff it takes to travel with a baby,” Savannah said good-naturedly. “We had to bring some of her favorite toys, her sippy cup…Her suitcase is mostly filled with diapers.”

  “Oh yes, they would take up a lot of room.” Shelly then said, “I think everyone has their bags; our bus is just outside that door. Ready to go?”

  “Lead the way,” Michael said, pushing an overloaded luggage cart toward the exit.

  “Just smell it, Michael,” Savannah said as they stepped outside. “There’s a perfumey aroma. I love it. And the air—it feels like it’s caressing my skin.”

  “That fragrance is plumeria,” Shelly said. “Isn’t it wonderful? Oh look, there’s a woman selling plumeria leis.” She grabbed Savannah’s arm in excitement. “Let’s get one, shall we?”

  “You just stepped foot on island soil and already you’re opening your wallets?” Michael joked. “The natives will love seeing you two coming.”

  Savannah and Shelly laughed while digging out money for the leis. When they returned to where Gladys watched Michael and another man load their luggage onto the bus, Savannah said, “Aloha, Mom,” as she placed a fresh plumeria lei over her head.