Katherine and Colleen relaxed on their Adirondack chairs and sipped their wine. They made light conversation, and were getting ready to call it a night, when Scout and Abra trotted in. Their tails were twice the normal size. The cats screeched in a shrill, high-pitched tone, “Mir-waugh . . . waugh . . . waugh!” They arched their backs and began their death dance, swaying back and forth, hopping up and down in front of the screened porch that overlooked the lake.
Katherine lunged out of her chair. “What’s wrong?”
The Siamese stopped and stood tall, their ears swiveled in the direction of the beach.
Katherine and Colleen heard the pounding of someone running in front of the cabin. “Come back. Come back to me,” a woman’s voice screamed.
Scout cried a long, menacing growl.
Colleen launched out of her chair. “That wasn’t a spirit.”
Katherine picked up Abra and held her close. Talking in a soft voice, she said to the cat, “Everything is okay. I’m going to take you to the bedroom,” then to Colleen, “Can you get Scout?”
Colleen said, “Sure.” She walked over to pick up Scout, but the Siamese was frantically pawing at the torn screen.
Scout had been working on making the opening bigger since Katherine and Colleen arrived at the cabin. Finally, she succeeded. She disappeared through the opening and jumped down to the sandy yard.
Colleen panicked, “Katz, Scout got out.”
Katherine didn’t hear Colleen. She put Abra in the bedroom and shut the door. Abra howled on the other side like she was being murdered.
Colleen ran down the hall. “Didn’t you hear me? Scout got out.”
“Again?” Katherine asked incredulously. She yanked Scout’s leash off the kitchen counter and hurried to the back door. “She probably ran back down to the beach.”
“I’m coming, too.”
“Grab a flashlight.”
Colleen found the light on a hook by the door and jogged after Katherine. They took the path that ran in front of the cabins. The full moon cast an eerie shadow on the path. Twenty feet away, Scout sat on her haunches, staring at them.
“I see her,” Katherine said. “Scout, wait for us.”
Scout turned her head, then dashed to the front of Cabin Six. She stopped momentarily to see if the humans were following, then rounded the corner.
“Scout, stop!” Katherine commanded, to no avail.
Katherine and Colleen sprinted, but the loose sand prevented them from building up speed.
Scout peered around the corner of the cabin. “Waugh,” she cried urgently, which sounded like hurry up.
Katherine said, catching her breath, “She wants us to follow her.”
“You think?” Colleen said, trying to make light of the situation.
When Katherine caught up with Scout, the Siamese was very agitated. Katherine tried to snap the clasp of the leash on Scout’s collar, but the cat darted away.
“Come back here,” Katherine pleaded.
Scout ran and stopped in front of Cabin Six’s side door, which was standing wide-open. She swiveled her ears forward then backward, in an inquisitive motion.
“Do not go in there,” Katherine warned.
Scout rushed in and disappeared in the darkness.
“Just great,” Katherine muttered.
Catching up, Colleen said, “This is creeping me out. I’m not going in there.”
“Is anyone home?” Katherine called from the door. She rang the doorbell. “Hello, is anyone home?”
No one answered.
Colleen said, “Find a light switch.”
Katherine found one inside the door and turned it on. She screamed and stepped back.
“What’s wrong?”
“Look!” Katherine pointed at the man sprawled face-down in front of the fireplace.
Colleen gasped, “Is he dead?”
Katherine moved to find out, then heard something loud drop in the back of the cabin. She glanced down the hall. She saw the silhouette of a cat in front of a closed bedroom door.
“Scout, come here, darling. Come to mommy.”
“Na-waugh,” Scout cried. She stood up on her hind legs and tried to turn the door knob with her front paws.
“Hiss,” the Siamese snarled.
Katherine dove for the cat, snatched her around the middle, and attached the clasp of the leash to Scout’s collar.
Scout shrieked.
Katherine thought she heard movement on the other side of the door. She held onto Scout and flew past Colleen. “Let’s get out of here.”
Colleen ran behind her. “What’s the plan?”
“We need to call 911.”
“Now? Are you crazy?”
“Not now. We’ll call when we get back home. Whoever murdered that man may still be in the cabin. They might come after us.”
Colleen stumbled, but caught herself before falling on the sandy path. The flashlight flew out of her hands and fell down the dune. She quickly got up, squinted back at Cabin Six, to see if anyone was following them, then saw something in the corner of her eye. She looked in the direction of the beach. A shimmering shape hovered over the sand. The apparition was a woman, dressed in a long dress that billowed out around her. She had long hair, which whipped around her face as if the wind was caressing it.
When Katherine realized Colleen wasn’t right behind her, she stopped, turned and stared down the path. Colleen was glued to the edge of the dune. Katherine said urgently, “Come on. We have to get inside.”
“Look,” Colleen said, pointing.
Katherine jogged back to Colleen. Her eyes followed where Colleen was pointing. They grew big in shocked surprise. “It’s the ghost,” she stammered, then tugged Colleen’s arm. “Snap out of it! Come on.”
Scout caught a glimpse of the specter and growled.
Colleen, once an active member of a ghost-hunting group, wanted to investigate, but her gut instinct said to go back to the cabin. She dashed past Katherine. “Go . . . go . . . go!”
Katherine chased after her with her nose buried in Scout’s fur. “It’s okay. We’re almost there,” she said, trying to calm the Siamese down.
Katherine and Colleen cut through the space between Cabin Four and Cabin Three.
Scout began to struggle. Katherine held her tighter. “Quit fighting me. We have to get inside.”
“Waugh,” Scout protested.
Colleen was the first to run through the back door, then Katherine, holding Scout.
Katherine quickly realized that in her haste to catch Scout, she’d forgotten to lock the cabin’s door. She hurriedly locked it.
Colleen noticed it and said, “The killer could be in here.”
“Shhh,” Katherine shushed her. “I’m putting Scout in with Abra, and getting my Glock. You stay here. If anything happens, run to the manager’s office.”
“Be careful.”
Katherine continued to hold Scout as she moved quietly to the bedroom. Abra began wailing on the other side of the door.
Great, Katherine thought. Gee, thanks, Abra. Just announce to the killer that we’re home.
Katherine partially opened the door and stuck her foot in to prevent Abra from running out. She then set Scout down on the floor. Abra ran over to Scout and began washing her ears.
Katherine hurried inside, grabbed her gun from the chest of drawers, then darted back into the hallway. She quickly checked the bathroom, then sprinted to check on Mum. She opened the bedroom door and sighed with relief. Mum was in a deep sleep, and snoring. She quietly closed the door.
Katherine walked down the hall, and made sure the killer wasn’t in the living room or on the screened-in porch. She then joined Colleen in the kitchen. Colleen had collapsed on a kitchen chair.
“There’s no killer in the cabin, and Mum is sleeping.”
“That’s a relief. I’m so scared. I can hardly breathe.”
“Me, too,” she agreed, yanking her cell off the charger and punching in 911.
The dispatch operator answered, “911. What’s your emergency?”
“My name is Katherine Cokenberger. I’m calling from the Seagull Cabins. My friend and I were taking a walk with our — I mean — my cat, and my cat got away and ran into Cabin Six.”
“Ma’am, state your emergency?” the dispatcher asked firmly.
“The door to Cabin Six was open and my cat ran in. Inside, we found a man lying dead on the floor,” Katherine explained in a terrified voice.
“Was it someone you know?”
“No, I’ve never seen this man before in my life.” Katherine continued with more details, such as the address of the Seagull Cabins, and how she felt the murderer was still in the cabin in the back bedroom.
The operator asked, “Are you there now?”
“No, I’m in Cabin Three. I’m calling from Cabin Three,” she repeated.
“Stay there, lock your doors, and wait for the sheriff to stop by and talk to you.”
“Okay, will do.” Katherine hung up.
Colleen asked, “What are we supposed to do?”
“Stay put until the sheriff gets here.”
***
Back in Cabin Six, Misty sobbed in Josh’s arms. “I told you not to go through with it.” She shook uncontrollably.
“No, you didn’t,” he protested.
“I told you on the phone.”
“You didn’t,” he continued. “Don’t cry,” he consoled. “I hate it when you cry.”
Misty wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, careful not to touch her bruised eye. “What are we going to do? They’re probably calling the sheriff right now.”
“Who were those women? Did they see you come in here?”
“I don’t think they saw me, but the family next door may have recognized me, especially the dad.”
“What are you blathering about? What family next door?”
“The family of four that are staying for two weeks.”
“So?”
“I was on the path in front of the cabins. I thought I saw Arlo walking ahead, so I called out to him. When the man turned and glanced back at me, I realized it was the dad of the family that checked in.”
“Then what did you do?”
“I didn’t have to do anything because his kids ran out to greet him, and they all went inside their cabin.”
“Where were you when you called out to him?”
“Close to Cabin Three.”
“I’m bankin’ he didn’t see you. Now back to my original question. Who were those women?”
“I think it was the gals who rented Cabin Three.”
“What do you mean, you think it is? Didn’t you check them in?”
Misty shook her head. “When I checked in the mother, she said the other two in her party would be arriving shortly. The online reservation was made by a woman named Katherine. I spoke to her yesterday. She said her water heater was broken. I never heard back from her, so I think Arlo took care of it.”
“Do these gals have a dog? What was that thing snarling and scratching at the door?”
“It sounded like a cat.”
“How would you know that?”
“Dogs don’t hiss. When Katherine booked online she stated she had two cats. I think one of the cats got outside, and the women were trying to catch it. That dumb cat led them right here.”
“That wouldn’t have happened if you’d shut the damn door when you came in,” Josh criticized.
“How was I supposed to do that when you yanked me back to the bedroom?” She started crying again, “I was too upset when I saw Arlo lying dead on the floor.”
“Calm down,” Josh demanded. “You have to keep a level head about this.”
“How can I do that when you murdered my husband?” she cried.
Josh pushed her away, and gave an angry look. “If you back out of this now, so help me, you’ll wish you’d never met me.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said,” Josh said, calming down. “I injected your old man with a hefty dose of that drug you told me to use. It stopped his heart pronto. The coroner will think Arlo kicked the bucket from natural causes.”
“I’m getting sick,” Misty said, sitting down on the bed.
“Get up. We have to get out of here.” Josh grabbed Misty by the arm and led her to the cabin door. Misty looked at her prone husband, and covered her mouth to not scream, then she composed herself. “Are you sure you were careful not to touch anything?” She’d watched enough crime shows to know how incriminating evidence is left at a crime scene.
“Touch anything,” he repeated. “My fingerprints are everywhere. I work here, remember? My prints are all over the place and so are yours.”
“Are your prints on Arlo?”
“Do you think I’m stupid? I wore gloves.”
Misty looked at her husband’s body. “It doesn’t look like there was a struggle. Why is that?”
“He came in the cabin and went to the fireplace. He was turning on the switch to the gas log, when I came up behind him. I stuck the needle in his neck. The drug was so fast, he didn’t have time to react. He just fell on the floor.”
“Is the syringe still stuck in his neck?” Misty panicked.
Josh patted his jacket pocket. “I’ll get rid of it when I go check on that woman.”
Misty looked at Josh like he’d lost his mind. “Then what? Kill her. Where is she?”
“At that abandoned trailer up the road from here.”
“You left here there? With the crazy homeless man who lives there?” Misty asked, shocked.
“There wasn’t anybody there.”
“Did Kate recognize you?”
“I told you already. I came up from behind and put her in a chokehold. I guess I don’t know my own strength. She wasn’t moving, so I let go, then she started to fight. I smacked her around a little, then she fell and hit her head,” he said, lying about what really happened. He left out the part about kicking Kate in her ribs.
“Okay, enough. I don’t want to hear any more. Kate will come to and make her way back here,” Misty said, then added, “That is, if she’s still alive.”
Josh glared at her. “I didn’t kill her.”
“Let’s go,” Misty said nervously. “You go to your cabin. Get rid of the syringe tomorrow. Keep a low profile. Got it?”
They both heard sirens wailing in the distance.
Josh took her arm and directed her out the door.
“Josh, I’ll be the number one suspect, so do not, absolutely do not, try and call me or come and see me. In a week, I’ll meet you at the place we talked about.”
“I’ve changed my mind. That’s a ridiculous plan. I work for you. The sheriff will suspect me if I don’t show up for work on Monday.”
“All right, have it your way,” Misty said, throwing her hands up in exasperation.
“Get moving,” Josh said. “You go back to your cabin. When the sheriff knocks on your door, take forever to get there. Tell him you’ve been asleep. When he tells you Arlo is dead, start crying your eyes out. Got it?”
“Okay.” Misty started for the path in front of the cabins.
“Don’t go that way,” Josh warned. “Climb down the dune and take the beach route. Come up on the lake access road. You don’t want anyone at the cabins bumping into you.”
“You’re nuts. I’m not going down there at night. The damn beach is haunted. I’ll take my chances,” she said, walking to the path in front of the cabins.
Chapter Eleven
Waiting for the Sheriff
Colleen paced the floor in the kitchen. “What’s taking the sheriff so long? You don’t think he’ll make us go back and identify the body?”
“Why would he do that? We don’t know who the victim is.”
“I wish I had Kate’s number.”
“Why?”
“So, I can text her about the murder. Maybe we should walk over and
let her know. Maybe we should call the manager?”
“Let’s do what the sheriff wants us to do. Sit tight until he gets here to talk to us.” Katherine peeked out the kitchen window at Kate’s cabin. “Her outside lights are on, but the rest are off. She probably turned in for the night.”
“I’d like to be in my bed too,” Colleen lamented. “That poor man. I wonder who he is — I mean — was?”
“I hope the sheriff can tell us.”
“Are you going to tell him about Scout leading us to the crime scene?”
“Ah, no,” Katherine said adamantly.
“What are you going to say?”
“The bare facts. We heard a woman run by our cabin. She was screaming bloody murder. She scared my cat who tore a hole in the screen and got out. I’m going to say exactly what I told the dispatcher.”
“You know Scout deliberately led us there. She was waiting for us to catch up.”
“I’m leaving out that part.”
The loud sound of sirens pierced the night. Colleen and Katherine hurried to the back door and peered out the curtain. Driving down the service road, the sheriff’s SUV was first, then followed by two deputies in separate vehicles. An ambulance arrived last. They all parked behind Cabin Six.
Katherine and Colleen walked back into the kitchen, sat down at the table, and waited for the sheriff to come. They didn’t wait long. A heavy knock sounded on the door.
“That was fast,” Katherine said, surprised. She got up and answered the door.
The sheriff, with a large belly and a booming voice to match, stormed in. He was as friendly as a rattlesnake. “Which one of you called this in?” he demanded.
Katherine replied softly, “I did, Sir.”
“I should charge you with false reporting. What kind of joke is this?”
“I’m not joking.”
“There isn’t a body in Cabin Six. There isn’t a murderer in the back room.”
“But . . . but. . . my friend and I saw a man lying dead on the floor.”
“I want to see some IDs . . . now,” he said brusquely.
Katherine reached for her bag, which was on the table. Colleen grabbed hers from the half wall in the kitchenette. Katherine showed her license first.
The sheriff studied the driver’s license. “Katherine Cokenberger. Erie, Indiana. Where’s Erie?”
The Cats that Walked the Haunted Beach (The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery Book 10) Page 9
