By Cat or By Crook

by Patricia Fry

  “So now you think this is a list of criminals? Grandpa wasn’t a criminal, was he?”

  “No. But I’m sure some of these people were. Others, like your grandpa and probably Colonel Atkins, were innocent bystanders.”

  Savannah grinned at her aunt over the rim of her coffee cup.

  “What?” Margaret said.

  “I just think it’s interesting how you can make so much out of something as simple as a little book with a few names in it.”

  “And a treasure map,” Margaret pointed out.

  Savannah leaned forward. “Did Iris tell you about her visitor last night?”

  “Visitor?” she asked, her brow creased.

  “Yeah, an old—really old—white-haired guy wearing a roadster cap and using a cane showed up last night in a taxi. When he saw us, he climbed back into the cab and they sped away.”

  “Wow!” Margaret said. “I wonder who that was. Probably someone looking for the treasure.” She stared down at her hands. “Or this book.”

  “There goes my phone again,” Savannah said, picking it up. “It’s Rob,” she announced to her aunt. “Hi, Rob.”

  “Good morning. How are you today after your big photo shoot?”

  “Pretty good. And you?”

  “Great.” He lowered his voice. “All the cats okay?”

  “Yes. Thanks for asking.”

  “Hey, I have some pictures to show you,” Rob said.

  “How did they turn out?” she asked.

  “Better than I could have imagined. The photographer is a genius. Too bad he’s also a druggie.”

  “That good, huh?” She looked at her aunt while asking Rob, “Want to come over for dinner tonight…oh no, we’ll have to make it tomorrow night. Is Cheryl here?”

  “Yeah, she’ll be here tomorrow. Sure, we could come then.”

  “Great, let me check with my aunt. She’s right here.”

  “Yes,” Margaret said. “We’re free.”

  “It’s set then. Come over around five-thirty tomorrow and we’ll have cocktails. I’ll put in a roast and veggies. Sound good?”

  “Sure does. See you tomorrow.”

  “He said the pictures came out better than he would have imagined,” Savannah told Margaret after she ended the call.

  “Cool,” she said, bouncing a little in her chair. “Can’t wait to see them. Oh, I meant to tell you, I’m meeting with Colbi around noon today to discuss what she’s found out about the people in this book. Want to go with me?”

  Savannah thought for a moment, then glanced at Lily, who was playing with one of her musical toys. “Yeah, I guess I could. Michael and I are going out to the Kaiser place again this afternoon to chase the rest of the cats out of the walls. I can put our dinner together this morning while Lily naps.”

  “Good. Since you have the car seat, pick me up at eleven thirty. We can stop at Peg’s Deli and get some sandwiches and salad on our way over to Colbi’s.”

  ****

  “Hi, sweet pea. How’s my favorite baby niece?” Margaret said as she slipped into Savannah’s car later that morning. When Lily pulled her blanket up over her face, Margaret said, “Oh, you’re hiding from Great Auntie today, huh?”

  “She just got up from her nap. She’ll be more awake and cordial by the time we get to Colbi’s.”

  “Kitty!” Lily shouted when they pulled up in front of Colbi’s and Damon’s house. “Kitty!”

  “Yes, we’re going to see kitties, aren’t we?” Savannah said. “Dolly kitty and baby Molly kitty.”

  “Hi,” Colbi greeted when she answered their knock. She reached out and took Lily.

  “Kitty,” Lily said. “Baby kitty.”

  “Yes, did you come to see the kitties?” She turned toward the living room and pointed. “There’s Dolly kitty.”

  “Baby kitty?” Lily said.

  “Where is that baby kitty?” Colbi asked, looking around the room.

  “Baby kitty!” Lily shouted, pointing toward the hallway.

  “Yes, there she is. Hi, Molly. Lily came to play with you.”

  “Yes, you’d better run for your life,” Margaret said, laughing.

  “She’s probably hungry,” Savannah said, pulling a fruit pouch and Lily’s sippy cup out of her tote bag. When Lily saw this, she reached out for her mommy. Savannah took her, placed her on a kitchen chair, and helped her to eat from the fruit pouch.

  “I hope you like turkey sandwiches,” Margaret said, setting a bag on the kitchen counter and pulling out the to-go boxes.

  “You know I do,” Colbi said. “Iced tea?” she offered.

  “Sure,” Savannah said.

  Margaret nodded.

  As Savannah began picking pieces of turkey out of her sandwich and feeding them to Lily, Colbi placed their drinks on the table. Before she could sit down, Savannah patted Colbi’s bulging belly. “You’re really blossoming, girl. How are you feeling?”

  “Good. Tired sometimes, but really pretty good and excited to meet our baby.”

  “Do you know what it is yet?” Savannah asked.

  Colbi smiled. “Yup, it’s definitely a baby.” She became more serious when she said, “I hope Iris is finished with the Kaiser project by the time the baby comes. She’s been so busy, we hardly ever see her.”

  “I have a feeling that will all change rather rapidly once the baby gets here. She’s over-the-top excited to meet her grandchild.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Margaret said, impatiently. “So what tidbits did you find, Colbi?”

  “More than tidbits, Maggie. You know, every single person I could find whose name was crossed off that list met with some sort of fatal accident or unexplained death. That’s eight of them. I still haven’t located information about the last three.”

  “Wow! Just as I thought,” Margaret said, wide-eyed. “What about Dexter; anything on that name?”

  Colbi shook her head. “Nothing.”

  “Gee, that’s some coincidence that so many of the people on the list died under unusual or suspicious circumstances,” Savannah said.

  Margaret huffed. “Coincidence? I doubt it.”

  “It is mighty suspicious, isn’t it?” Colbi agreed.

  Savannah wiped her hands after feeding Lily another bite of turkey. “Colbi, did Iris tell you about her visitor last night?”

  Colbi brushed her light-brown bangs to one side. “Visitor?”

  “Yeah. Some old white-haired guy came out to the Kaisers’ in a cab. When Iris walked out to greet him, he left in a hurry.”

  “Hmmm,” Colbi said. She looked at Margaret. “Do you suppose it could be…?”

  “I know what you’re going to say. Mr. Benjamin Kaiser—the guy who disappeared in…”

  Colbi nodded. “In the seventies.”

  “And was never seen again,” Margaret added.

  “Wow! Who was he?” Savannah asked.

  Colbi smacked her lips before saying, “Iris’s boss’s father. Everyone thought he had been murdered. In fact, his wife, Geraldine, was a suspect at one point. It was revealed that she was having an affair with one of his business associates and some believed she killed her husband or had him killed in order to be free.” She laughed. “Ironically, her lover was found near death shortly after that. Some speculate that Benjamin had a hit on the boyfriend and it was carried out after Benjamin’s disappearance.”

  “Wow! Talk about some crazy carryings-ons!” Savannah said. “Who lives like that?” She took a sip of her tea. “So the lover…business-partner guy…did he live?”

  Colbi and Margaret made brief eye contact. “If you’d call it that,” Margaret said with a rather sinister laugh.

  Savannah looked from one to the other. “What happened to him?”

  “Well, whoever attacked him fixed him so he’d never lead a normal life again,” Colbi explained.

  “He’d probably never have another girlfriend, either, if you know what I mean,” Margar
et said, winking.

  When Savannah looked confused, Margaret leaned toward her and said quietly, “They did a snip-and-tuck on the guy. I guess ole Geraldine probably didn’t want him after that.”

  Savannah recoiled. “Ewww. How awful.”

  “Yeah,” Colbi said, “and it was about that time that the place was closed up and everyone left, but not before they did a renovation of sorts.”

  “They did a renovation before they left?” Savannah asked.

  “Yes. I found a small article kind of hidden in a 1976 newspaper. It was about the mansion on Westin and a small work crew out there, presumably working rather clandestinely.”

  “Why was that news?” Savannah asked.

  “I guess because it was all so secretive. Locals were curious about what was behind the large wall they’d put up. Neighbors were not happy about the extra traffic in the area and the fact that they brought in people from out of the area to do the work. They even had a small tent city inside the wall, where some of the crew lived for the duration of the project, which didn’t actually last very long. As one letter to the editor described, ‘they scurried like ants to finish their work, then left the house abandoned.’”

  “Gads,” Savannah said. “Rich people—and criminals—sure live strange lives, don’t they?”

  “Yeah, they just do whatever they want and get away with it,” Margaret said.

  “Well, Michael is going to tear into some of their construction this afternoon,” Savannah announced.

  Colbi focused on her. “Really? Why?”

  “To try to get the cats out of the walls.”

  “There are cats in the walls?” Colbi asked.

  “Yes, didn’t Iris tell you?”

  “She said they were in the attic.”

  “Yeah, well, it appears that they were getting into the attic through a drainpipe that gave them access to a pathway inside the walls of the house. Maybe that pathway was built during the remodel in the seventies. Do you suppose Geraldine had that work done in order to give access to the feral cats?” Savannah surmised.

  “Gosh, that would be an expensive project just to accommodate a few cats,” Margaret said.

  “Yes, there could be more to it than that,” Colbi said. When the others stared at her, she explained, “You know, there could have been another reason for the last-minute renovation—something more alarming, perhaps.”

  “Can you check with the zoning department and get a copy of the plans for that remodel?” Savannah asked. “I imagine that would help Michael immensely with his project, actually.”

  “I sure thought I could,” Colbi said, her eyes flashing, “but there are no plans on record for the Kaiser place during that period.”

  “A little payola, huh?” Margaret suggested. She shook her head. “The rich sure do march to a very different and corrupt beat.”

  The three women sat quietly for a moment, each with her own thoughts, until Margaret took a deep breath. “Should we show Craig what we found?”

  Colbi shrugged. “I don’t know. Do you think it’s conclusive enough that he’d be interested?”

  “What would he do with the information?” Savannah asked.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty old stuff,” Colbi agreed, “and everyone involved is probably dead.”

  “Except for one old guy with white hair and a cane,” Savannah said quietly.

  “So do you think he’s one of the original gangsters?” Colbi asked.

  “Yeah, like the mysterious Dexter,” Margaret said.

  “Oh, Maggie, your Dexter is probably six feet under,” Colbi said. She added, “You know, I think we should sit on this stuff for now until I’ve done a little more research. I’d rather have something more definitive before we start sharing information with Craig, wouldn’t you?”

  “And you really should have Iris’s permission,” Savannah cautioned.

  Colbi and Margaret looked at each other, then Colbi nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right. We don’t want to ruin things for Iris. We may have to wait until the job’s over to do the exposé.”

  ****

  “Oh, there’s that gnarly sledgehammer,” Iris said later that afternoon, when Michael and Savannah met her behind the Kaiser house. She reached for Lily. “I’m going to hate watching destruction where we’ve worked so hard to reconstruct the place.” She sighed and spoke to the baby in a sing-song manner, “But we want to chase all the cats out of there, don’t we? The kitty-cats must go bye-bye.”

  Michael grinned at her. “It’s a wooden mallet, Iris.” He removed the piece of plywood he’d slid between the two sections of drainpipe and used it to close off the portion away from the house. “There, that will keep the cats already out from going back in.” Michael moved closer to the house and tapped on it a couple of times with the mallet. “See any cats?”

  “Not yet,” Savannah called.

  Michael stepped up on the berm covering the drainpipe and slammed the hammer against the dirt a few times. “What about now?”

  “No. They’re probably inside there waiting for us to leave,” Iris said.

  He picked up a saw. “You could be right.”

  “I don’t think I can watch this,” Iris said, turning away with Lily still in her arms.

  “Down,” the baby said, leaning toward the ground.

  “Okay,” Savannah agreed, “but you have to stay here with Aunt Ris-Ris and Mommy.”

  “Watch for cats!” Michael shouted.

  “Oh, sorry,” Savannah said, rolling her eyes at Iris, who feigned a guilty look.

  In the meantime, Michael carefully sawed into a section of the siding and pulled it away from the house. “Well, will you look at that,” he said. “It’s a carpeted staircase made especially for the cats, just like you ladies envisioned.” He peered up under the siding that remained using a flashlight. “Well, hello there.”

  “Cats?” Iris asked.

  “Yup. Cats eager to come out.” He moved back. “Let’s give them some room. Hopefully, they’ll want to join the others, wherever they are this evening.”

  “One, two, three…” Savannah said as they watched the streaks of fur rush through the jagged gap and toward the stand of trees. When no more cats emerged, Michael edged closer to the opening again and shined his light up into it. “It’s quite an intricate pathway—obviously well planned and executed. Come look,” he invited.

  “Wow!” Savannah said. “Someone sure loved the cats, didn’t they?”

  “Sure did,” he said.

  Iris shook her head. “Who would have thought? Are they all out of there? Can we do the repairs now?”

  “Well, let me take a closer look. I want to make sure there are no small cats hiding in the shadows or in any cubbyholes we can’t see from this angle.” After several minutes spent peering into the hole and changing position to get a better view, he said, “Iris, I’m afraid I’ll have to do more damage.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Well, there’s an obstruction about halfway up. I’d like to break into it and make sure we’ve left no cat behind.” When he saw the look on Iris’s face, he said, “It’s actually much less damage than I thought it would be—it’ll be a cinch to repair. Just two small areas.” He added, in a rather scolding manner, “Iris, you don’t want to leave a cat in the walls.” He glanced toward the shed. “Do you have an extension ladder around here some place?”

  “Uh, I’m pretty sure I saw one lying out behind the Dumpster.”

  “Good, I’ll go get it.”

  Once Michael had climbed to the spot where he saw the obstruction, he carefully cut into the area. “My God!” he said, almost losing his balance.

  “What?” Savannah and Iris asked in unison.

  Savannah took in a sharp breath. “You didn’t cut a cat did you?”

  Michael gazed down at the women. “No. Worse.”

  “What?” Savannah asked, again. When he didn’t respond, she said, “Michae
l, are you all right?”

  “Yeah, but the dead guy in the wall isn’t having a very good day.”

  Chapter 7

  Savannah gasped.

  Iris shot a quick look at her, then looked back at Michael. “What did you say?”

  “Well,Iris, I don’t think this is something you want to hear, but there’s a skeleton in your closet.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Savannah asked. “Is it a Halloween decoration?”

  He shook his head and looked down at them from atop the ladder. “No. I’m afraid the walls in this house actually do harbor secrets. There’s, what appears to be, an intact set of human bones crumpled at the bottom of the second floor.” He took a deep breath. “You’d better call Craig and ask him what we should do.”

  “Oh nooo,” Iris wailed. “That’s the last thing we need.”

  “Is Craig in town, Iris?”

  She nodded.

  “Want me to call him?” Savannah asked, when she noticed that Iris seemed too stunned to do it.

  She spoke in a near whisper. “Please, would you, Savannah?”

  ****

  Within the hour, the old Kaiser place was abuzz with activity. Savannah had dragged chairs from the patio on the east side of the house for her and Iris. She’d just sat down with Lily on her lap when her phone chimed. “Hi Auntie,” she said.

  “What in the hell’s going on?” Margaret shouted into the phone. “I saw the medical examiner go by and a gazillion cop cars, all headed toward Westin Road. Are you out at the Kaiser place now?”

  “Auntie, you’re not going to believe it.”

  “What? Did you find Dexter?”

  Savannah hesitated, then said, “Could be, I guess.”

  “What?”

  “Well, Auntie, Michael broke into the wall, you know, to make sure we had all the cats out of there…and…”

  “And what? Tell me,” she insisted.

  “He found a body—a human body.”

  “Dexter!” Margaret screamed. “In the wall? Oh, my God, this is juicy stuff. I’ll be right over—after I call Colbi.”

  “No, Auntie,” Savannah started, “I don’t think…”

  “See you in a bit,” Margaret said, quickly ending the call.