“Okay, but just consider this one thing. Do you really want your personal trainer living downstairs?”
Now that was a chilling thought.
Rainy Days and Cats
Rain again. Was it ever going to stop? I could feel my hamstrings and calves starting to tighten up from all the walking I’d done that day and rolled over, trying to flex my feet and stretch my legs.
“Drink some water,” Petreski whispered.
“Huh?”
“Water. You’re getting sore, right? Stay hydrated, it’ll help.”
“Ngh.” I shuffled to the kitchen and filled a glass. The clock on the microwave said 2:34 and I groaned. At least I didn’t have class tomorrow. Today, rather.
I finished my water, refilled the glass and put it on the nightstand before collapsing back into bed.
When I woke again I realized I wasn’t really awake. I was in the kitchen of Lana’s house. Something had startled me. I ran to the door and growled, sniffing at the bottom of the door. I couldn’t hear anything but rain, but maybe Ruby could. I ran from room to room sniffing and growling at all the windows until I was back in the kitchen, barking at the door until the lights came on and I heard Dani’s voice. “Ruby? What is it?”
I jerked awake, sitting up with a cry.
“What? What is it? A cramp?”
“Dream.”
“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Petreski turned on a bedside lamp. “You’re okay. Is anyone hurt?”
“No. I don’t think so. Ruby’s freaking out. I think someone’s outside Lana’s house and Dani’s there.”
Petreski was out of bed and pulling on jeans before I’d finished.
I threw off the covers and headed for the closet.
“You are not going with me, Jake.”
“But –”
“No. Stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’ll call you when I know something.”
I sighed, but headed for the kitchen to make some coffee. No way was I getting back to sleep. “Fine. But you better call.” I was talking to an empty room. That man can move fast when he wants to.
The clock on the microwave read 4:12 now. I’ve heard of people getting up at four for crazy commutes or marathon training, so I figured it wouldn’t kill me to make an early start.
I watched the coffee run into the pot and wondered how I’d fill my day. It was still dark out and I could hear rain. Not hard, just a light drizzle now. I got a handful of sunflower seeds out of the cabinet and went to open Raymond’s window.
The street lights were still on. Across the street I could see standing water and a few leaves were swirling near the storm drain, but not going down. That couldn’t be good. I left the seeds on the sill and opened up my laptop on my way back to the kitchen.
I pulled on a t-shirt and socks, settled into a corner of the sofa with my phone, my laptop, and a cup of coffee, and waited.
About ten minutes later I had a text from Petreski, Dani ok. Call soon.
I texted back, Thx. Flooding be careful.
And then I waited some more. I realized that this was what it would be like, life with a cop. Lots of waiting and worrying. I wasn’t worried right now, though, so one thing at a time. I had to figure out if I was okay with the waiting.
Mostly it was frustrating, not knowing. I pulled up another local news site to see what they were saying about the flooding. More of the same.
I leaned over to get my textbook from the coffee table. Might as well get ahead while I could. But as I read the same paragraph for a third time I realized I couldn’t concentrate. Whether it was the early hour, lack of sleep, or not knowing, I couldn’t say. I needed to be doing something, but the apartment was already clean. I needed a hobby. Maybe Jennifer would teach me how to knit?
My phone started ringing and I scrambled to answer it.
“I’m on my way back.”
“Is Dani okay? Is she safe?”
“Yes. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Is there coffee?”
“Of course.”
I met him at the door with a cup of coffee and he took it with a sigh. “Best boyfriend ever,” he said once he got the first sip down.
“Well?”
“When I got there the lights were on and I could hear the dog barking. Dani opened the front door as I was getting out of the car, asking if something was wrong and saying she hadn’t called the police. I told her someone had reported a prowler, and I came to check it out since Lana Forrester had been murdered and we didn’t want to take any chances.”
“So, was there anything?”
“I looked all around the house. There was some disturbed ground near a couple of windows and some smears of mud on the back steps, but no clear footprints or signs of someone trying to force their way in.”
“I’m sure someone was there. Ruby was sure.”
“I believe you. I’m just saying that whoever was there left almost no trace, nothing solid, and all this rain isn’t helping.”
“I don’t like the idea of Dani staying there. It’s not safe. What if they come back and get in next time?”
“I told her it would be better if she left, but she says she doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“I have an idea.”
“It better not involve your sofa.”
“No. But Mr. Levine on the ground floor is moving out in a couple of weeks. Dani needs a new place, that will let her bring Ruby, so... I was thinking...”
“You’re determined to save the world, one person at a time, aren’t you?”
“No. But it makes sense.”
“You’re right, it does. But that doesn’t get her through the next couple of weeks.”
“I had a thought about that, too. But I’ll need to make a phone call and it’s too early.”
“And what’s that thought?” Petreski asked as he poured himself another cup of coffee.
“Jennifer Katz. She has room, and she knows Dani. Maybe she’d be willing to let her stay for a few days.”
“It’s not a bad idea. Call her later and let me know what happens, okay?”
❧
I got Jennifer’s voice mail, and when she hadn’t returned my call by lunchtime I called one of the studios where I knew she taught. Jennifer was in the middle of nowhere on a retreat – no cell phones. Was it an emergency?
I had to think about that a minute. “I’m not sure. If it turns out to be one, can I call you back?”
“Yes, of course. Namaste.”
“Um, nama..., thanks, bye.” I disconnected, feeling awkward. Was I supposed to say Namaste, too? Was it like aloha? I’d ask Jennifer when I reached her.
I left Petreski a voicemail to let him know that Dani didn’t have a place for at least two more nights and crawled into bed for a nap. I hated sleeping in the middle of the day, but my legs hurt and I was exhausted after all the early morning excitement.
An angry screeching from the tree outside finally woke me up. Raymond was on a branch a few feet from the window, screaming at the cat sitting on the windowsill. Perez.
I opened the window a few more inches to let her in. “It’s okay, Raymond. Thanks for looking out for me.”
Perez looked back at Raymond, eyes wide, and jumped down to the floor. She looked up at me, still looking startled.
“Raymond is my friend. Don’t mess with him, okay?”
Her whiskers twitched and she looked away, crossing the room to stand by the door. She mewed once, then scratched at the door, looking at me, then at the doorknob.
“Looking for Bridger?” I checked the time. “I don’t think Don’s home right now.”
Another mew, another scratch. Geez, in Cat form she was actually kind of cute and I felt sorry for her, knowing things weren’t going great for her right now.
“Fine. We’ll go see.” I took Don’s spare key from the basket by the door, just in case.
When there was no reply to my knock, I started to unlock the door. A paw appeared, reaching for my toes, as I opened
the door. “Watch out little dude, I’m opening the door.” Perez slipped in as soon as the door was open wide enough.
“Keep an eye on him, okay?” I told Perez, and left the doors open so the cats could have the run of both places while I fixed myself some dinner.
About the time the pasta water started to boil I heard Bridger scrambling up onto my bed, where he rolled around on the pillow Petreski usually used before curling up for a nap.
Perez watched me from the floor at the foot of the bed.
“You can get up there if you want to join him. I’m not fussy.”
She looked up at the bed, then back at me.
“Is it because I smell funny? Yeah, Petreski told me. There’s nothing wrong with me. I’m just me, and I am what I am. You want to hang with Bridger, you’re going to have to get over it. What’s it going to be, Princess?”
She looked at me for another few seconds, then jumped up on the bed. I turned back to the stove and poured pasta into the water. When I looked again, Perez was holding Bridger down and licking all around his face and head. I wondered if Petreski would be able to smell them on his pillow later.
Petreski called while I was eating. Dani still didn’t have a place and didn’t want to leave the house. Petreski was going to go by and check things out later.
“We’re going to leave a car out front. Maybe whoever tried to get in will come back and we can catch them in the act.”
“I don’t like it.”
“I don’t either, but we can’t make her leave. We’ll do everything we can to make sure she’s safe.”
“Is it okay if I call her?” I asked.
“Yes, but don’t tell her too much, okay?”
“Got it. I just want to tell her about the apartment.”
Dani answered on the first ring.
“Dani, hi. It’s Jake Hillebrand.”
“Oh. Hi, Jake. Your, um, your boyfriend was here earlier. I guess you know?”
“Yeah. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, just nervous.”
“Sure. But it sounds like they’re going to do everything they can to make sure you’re okay. I was going to see if Jennifer Katz could put you up for a few days, but she’s out of town and I can’t reach her.”
“Oh, I couldn’t ask either of you to do that.”
“Well, I tried anyway, but it didn’t work out. But I do have a line on an apartment for you, if you’re still looking.”
“Really?”
“There’s an apartment in my building that’ll be available next month. It’s an older building, a ground floor studio, but it’s a great location and probably the lowest rent you’re going to find around here anymore.”
“Can I bring Ruby? Are dogs okay?”
“Yes, absolutely. Some of the other residents have pets. There’s no laundry on site, but there’s a laundromat nearby. If you’re interested I can set up a time for you to come see it.”
“Oh, gosh. Yes. Thank you so much. You let me know when, and I’ll be there. Do you know if there have been a lot of applications already?”
“I don’t, but it doesn’t matter. My parents own the building, so if you want the apartment it’s yours.”
She thanked me a few more times before I was able to get off the phone. I tossed it down on the sofa next to me and looked over to see Perez watching me from the armrest at the other end of the sofa.
“What?”
She mewed, short and quiet.
“You know what? Most people think I’m a nice guy. I like to do things to help out my friends. Maybe I drink too much coffee and read trashy romance novels and eat more pizza than is technically good for me, and sometimes I have dreams about bad things that turn out to be real, but that doesn’t make me a monster. Maybe you should give me a chance. Just sayin’.”
She mewed again. Maybe that was a maybe. Time would tell.
I heard the door open and close downstairs, and from the way Bridger perked up I could tell it was Don coming home. Bridger was at the door by the time Don got to the top of the stairs.
“You’ve got cats,” Don said as he bent to pick up Bridger before the three-legged terror tried to climb up his jeans. “Were you a good boy today?”
“You asking me or him?”
“Well, I was asking him. But were you a good boy, too?”
“I was asleep for most of it.”
I told him about the events of the day while he greeted Bridger and “Princess”. Perez even let him scratch around her ears for a few seconds before slipping out of his reach. I tried not to take it personally.
“She likes you,” I said.
Don shrugged. “I guess. She’s skittish. We respect each other’s boundaries. I need to take this one home and feed him, grab a shower, then I’ll be back over. Got a couple of DVDs at the library if you’re interested?”
“Sure. Got nothing going on tonight.”
“How ’bout you, Princess? Dinner and a movie? Come on if you’re hungry.”
Perez jumped down and trotted across the hall, Don following and closing his door behind them.
I put away the leftovers and cleaned up the kitchen while I waited for Don to come back, and wondered whether Perez was going to eat cat food. I wasn’t about to ask her.
Waters Successfully Muddied
“Who do you suppose was outside Dani’s house?” Don asked. We were at Ground Up, sitting on the sofa I had shared with Jennifer just a few days ago. I leaned forward to push down the plunger on the French press.
“I’ve been wondering that myself. And why.”
“Who have we got? Standing, Miletti, Gloria, Lana’s dad...”
“No one seems to have seen Lana’s dad. They haven’t been able to reach him and he wasn’t at his home when they sent someone out there.”
“Where’s out there?”
“He’s got a ranch or farm out past Brenham somewhere. Not sure, exactly.”
“So he’s not completely out of the running. Who else?”
“Could be unrelated. Could be someone who heard the homeowner was dead, and went there to rob the place, not realizing there was a roommate still living there. Could be someone after Dani. What if Dani was the target all along and Lana was in the wrong place at the wrong time?” I said it, but it didn’t feel right.
“But if it was whoever killed Lana, why come back?”
“Looking for something, maybe? Or maybe they were after Dani because they think she might know something or have seen something?”
“I wonder if they came back last night?”
“There was a car parked in front of her house all night, and I think if anything had happened, Petreski would have told me.”
“It could have been anyone. Seriously. Someone we don’t know about. One of her co-workers, a stalker. Did she have a stalker?”
“Not that I know of. From what I saw, from what Dani said, it seems like she led a pretty quiet life.”
“I wish we knew what Petreski meant when he said ‘involved’. It didn’t sound like they were really dating, you know?”
“Yeah. I picked up on that too. But I don’t think he’s going to tell us any more than that.”
We drank our coffee, keeping one eye on the weather in case it started raining again. The weather app on my phone said it wouldn’t, but it had been wrong before.
❧
Petreski was waiting for us when we got home. He was sitting on the interior steps, and I didn’t bother asking how he got in – he always managed to get in. I’d seen him looking grim before, but this took it to a whole new level.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Standing is dead.”
“Wait... what? Standing? Dead?”
“Can we go upstairs?”
“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” We all went upstairs, and Don detoured to his place to drop Bridger off.
“Was Perez here last night?” Petreski whispered as soon as Don was out of earshot.
“Yeah. Here and at Don’s. Why?
”
I wouldn’t say he looked at me like I was stupid, but he was definitely waiting for me to catch up.
“Oh. No way. You can’t think...”
“I have to confirm. She has no alibi.”
“Even if she was here, she still doesn’t have an alibi. She was a Cat.”
“I know, but at least –”
“Hey.” We both jumped when Don came in the room. “Sorry. Y’all sure are jumpy.”
“Yeah, well, I... Wow. Standing. I’m guessing it wasn’t natural causes, right?”
“No. No question of that.”
“How, um, how unnatural was it?”
“Shot with his own gun.”
“Could it have been suicide?” I asked. “Guilty conscience for being a major prick?”
“Wow,” Don raised an eyebrow at me. “Harsh.”
I shrugged. For some reason I didn’t want to examine closely, I was angry on Perez’s behalf.
“No.” Petreski answered. “Men like Standing don’t usually kill themselves. And they certainly don’t stash their own bodies in dumpsters.”
“Well, no, I guess not,” I admitted. “I suppose it’s too much to hope that the dumpster was behind Slippery When Wet and the gun was nearby with fingerprints all over it.”
“Nowhere near. The gun was wiped clean and the dumpster was in an alley behind a pawn shop near Standing’s apartment. It could have been completely unrelated to Lana Forrester.”
“But you don’t think so,” Don said.
“Of course not. But this makes things so much worse.”
“Because he was a cop?” I asked.
“Yeah, which gets everyone worked up on its own, but on top of that I’ve got a sneaking suspicion he was dirty, and no one wants to hear about it.”
“Hey, what kind of car did Standing drive?” I asked.
Petreski didn’t have to look at his notes. “An Audi TT.”
Don’s eyebrow was up again.
“Kind of pricey for a cop, isn’t it?” I asked. Petreski’s personal car was a six-year-old Honda Accord.
“That’s what I said.”
“Gloria got into an Audi,” I said.
Not a Mermaid Page 9
