PAWSitively Sinister (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 11)

by Patricia Fry

  “Why would they do that?” Suzette asked.

  “Like Gail said, as a sacrifice to the witch gods.” She shook her head slowly. “Who knows what goes on in that world?” She then asked Gail, “Did he say when he last saw his friend? What time period are we talking about?”

  Gail took a deep breath and pursed her lips. “Let’s see, the guy said he and Abe were about the same age—early thirties. They were new in town—actually immigrants who didn’t know anyone. That’s why the friendship was so important to Henderson. I’m guessing this man is close to seventy now, so probably sometime in the 1980s.” Suddenly something caught Gail’s eye. “What’s all this?” she asked when she noticed the jewelry Savannah had spread across a placemat on the table.

  “The guys found it buried out in the pit,” Savannah explained.

  Gail stared down at the items. She was silent. Finally, she picked up a large pocket watch

  and ran her fingers over it, saying quietly, “An engraving of an old oak.” She quickly turned it over and gasped. “My God,” she said, lowering herself into a dining room chair. She looked up at Savannah and Suzette. “I think this is Abe’s watch.”

  “What?” Suzette and Savannah said in unison.

  “Why? What makes you think so?” Savannah asked.

  “If I remember right, Abe’s father’s name was Leonardo Potello or something like that.” Gail pointed. “Look, this has the initials, LP.”

  “Wait,” Savannah said, grabbing Suzette’s arm. “Abe—Abel Portelli,” she said slowly.

  Suzette placed her hands over her mouth. “O. M. G.,” she said, in colloquial fashion.

  “What?” Gail asked, her eyes wide.

  “That’s the name on some of the papers we found in the pit.”

  Chapter 5

  Later that afternoon while Savannah fed Lily an early supper in the atrium, her phone rang. “It’s Rochelle,” she said, looking up at the others.

  “Here, I’ll finish feeding her,” Arthur offered, taking the jar of food from Savannah.

  “Hi, girlfriend,” Savannah said into the phone as she walked through the dining room and kitchen and out the side door. “How are you two?”

  “Good, and you? How’s it going at the mansion?”

  “Crazy. We found a stash of jewels. Now I think we’re dealing with pirates. She gazed out toward the ocean. “I guess it’s not out of the question, actually; the Randalls had access to the open sea.”

  Rochelle hesitated, then said quietly, “It’s interesting you would say that.”

  “Why?” Savannah asked.

  “Miriam called. She says she’s pretty sure her grandmother was involved in something illegal, but she doesn’t know what. She thinks it had something to do with the people who came for readings.”

  “Did she have a dream?”

  “No. It was something that evidently came out of our session, but she didn’t believe it, so she didn’t tell me about it until later. She wants me to ask you guys if you found any treasures. She kinda sorta remembers a tunnel with a treasure at the end of it. Now I don’t know if she’s delusional. I don’t think she’s drinking, but she could be smoking pot—taking pills, maybe....”

  “Wow! So there may have been some sort of theft ring going on here? But I wonder why the items were buried. Wait… what did you say about a tunnel?”

  “Miriam mentioned a tunnel. That’s all I know.”

  Savannah paused for a moment before asking, “Did she say anything about people going missing?”

  “What? No, she didn’t. Why?”

  “We’re not sure,” Savannah said into the phone. “But there was an older gentleman here this morning claiming that the last time he saw a friend of his, he was heading out here to the mansion for a reading. Rochelle,” she said, lowering her voice, “we found this missing guy’s personal papers in that pit.”

  “Wow!” Rochelle said. “It just gets crazier and crazier, doesn’t it?”

  “Sure does. Hey, do you have another session planned with Miriam?”

  “Yeah, that’s why I’m calling. She thinks she’s strong enough to do one there in the mansion. Okay with you guys? How long are you staying, anyway?”

  Savannah’s voice brightened. “Craig and Iris are coming this evening—should be here in time for dinner. Want to join us? There always seems to be enough food around here.”

  “Oh, I don’t think that would work out. I’ll have Miriam with me, you know.”

  “Okay.” In response to Rochelle’s question, she said, “We’ll stay at least a few more days. So you’re coming out tonight?”

  “Yes. What time will you be finished with dinner?”

  “Probably around seven thirty.”

  ****

  It was five fifteen by the time Craig and Iris arrived. Rupert ushered them to the Acacia Bungalow. Once they were settled, Craig texted the Iveys and suggested they come out and fill him in on what had transpired in recent days.

  “Well,” Michael said, sighing, “we have a box of personal documents for people who, evidently, don’t exist… ”

  “… or have gone missing,” Savannah added.

  Michael acknowledged her and continued, “We found valuables and we don’t know who they belong to… ”

  Savannah jumped in again. “Well, we know the owners of two items—one said her dead grandmother took the cameo from her during a séance here, and one of the watches belongs to a missing person whose last known destination was… none other than this mansion.”

  Michael chuckled, saying, “And we may be dealing with some sort of ghost.”

  “… or two… or three,” Savannah added.

  “Ghosts?” Iris said, her mood suddenly accelerated.

  Savannah nodded. “According to Rochelle. And Ruth had some sort of ghostly experiences, too.”

  Craig turned toward Savannah. “You said you did some research. What, exactly, did you find?”

  “One previous owner of this place advertised herself as a healer. She gave psychic readings and did séances. But according to stories we’ve heard from people coming to the sale, she may have also been a crook.”

  “You say someone identified some of the items you found?”

  Savannah nodded. “One woman who came here for the sale recognized a brooch. She said she brought it here… I don’t know… in the seventies, maybe, trying to communicate with her dead grandmother, who had given it to her. When it went missing that night, Madam Randall told her that was a sign from her dead grandmother. Don’t you know she was shocked to see it some forty years later right here in this place?”

  “Wow!” Iris said almost breathlessly. “Where do the ghosts appear?” she asked.

  Craig smirked playfully at his wife and shook his head. “Did you check out any of the people whose private papers you discovered?”

  Savannah nodded. “Suzette and I found a little possible information… ”

  Michael leaned forward. “I’ll bet you have better resources for finding long-missing people, Craig.”

  He thinned his lips. “Possibly, yes. I can snoop down at the station.” He looked around. “Where are the documents?”

  “Arthur’s holding onto them,” Michael said. He then suggested, while pulling his phone from his pocket to type a text, “Come on, let’s go to the atrium for happy hour. I’ll ask him to bring them along.”

  “Suzette and I’ve been calling it ‘ghostly hour,’” Savannah remarked, “because we’re always sharing stories of strange occurrences.”

  “Cool,” Iris said. “Let’s go. I want to hear ghost stories. I also want you to tell me where everyone has seen the… spirits.”

  Ignoring his wife again, Craig asked, “Is Suzette Arthur’s sweetheart?”

  Savannah nodded. “She’s great. You’ll like her, Craig. Arthur is so happy!”

  “Neat,” he said. “Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”

  “He’s started his reconstructive surgery,” she said. “Wait ‘til you
see him.”

  “And he bought a house,” Michael said, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

  Craig looked a little surprised. “He’s not planning to live here, then?” he asked.

  “Oh no,” Savannah said, shaking her head. “He’s eager to leave this place behind.”

  “Where’s the baby?” Iris asked.

  “Oh, Arthur and Suzette wanted to help her practice walking.”

  “She’s walking?”

  “Yeah, a little. Didn’t I tell you?” Savannah said, looping her arm in Iris’s as they stepped out the door and toward the mansion.

  “Look at you,” Iris said when they entered the living room and she saw Lily walking from Arthur to Suzette.

  “Yay,” Arthur said, clapping his hands. The approaching foursome also applauded and cheered.

  “Ma-ma!” Lily said when she saw Savannah. The baby dropped and crawled quickly over to her mother, who picked her up and hugged her.

  “Hi Lily,” Iris said, in an attempt to engage the baby, who buried her face into Savannah’s shoulder.

  “Did you two wear her out?” Michael asked.

  “Guess we did,” Arthur said, awkwardly lifting himself to a standing position. He ambled over to Craig, his hand out, saying, “Hi, Detective Craig. Good to see you.”

  “Well, you, too, guy. You look great,” Craig said, shaking his hand firmly.

  “Thanks.” Arthur held a hand out to Suzette, who scrambled to a standing position. “I want you to meet Suzette.” He then said to her, “This is another one of my saviors, Detective Craig, and his amazing wife, Iris.”

  “Well thank you, Arthur,” Iris said. “So nice to meet you, Suzette.”

  Craig spoke softly to Arthur, a twinkle in his eye, “She’s a looker. Good job, guy.”

  Arthur and Suzette smiled at one another.

  “I’ll meet you all in the atrium for cocktails,” Savannah said, “after I change the baby.”

  Michael caught up with her as she headed for their quarters. “I’ll go with you.”

  By the time the Ivey family had joined the other two couples, Craig was deeply involved in poring over the documents they’d found in the pit. The jewelry was spread out on a small table in front of him and Iris sat across the table, picking through the items.

  “This is mighty suspicious,” Craig said. “I just wonder what these Randall people were up to—slavery, kidnapping, or just petty thievery?”

  “Well, it appears that they knew good jewelry when they saw it,” Iris said. “There must be $10,000 worth of stuff here.” She looked at Arthur and then Michael and Savannah. “Is there more?”

  Arthur shrugged. “Could be more down in that pit, actually. We haven’t had time to do much digging.”

  “I wonder why they left it behind,” Craig said in contemplation.

  “Maybe they had to leave in a hurry, “Arthur suggested. “They may have planned to come back and get it, but never had the chance.”

  Craig stared at Arthur for a moment.

  “Where do you see the ghosts?” Iris asked, eagerly.

  “Well, there’s an area down in Arthur’s quarters—which used to be the basement—where there seems to be the most activity,” Suzette responded.

  “Did you see anything?” she asked, rather excitedly.

  Suzette shook her head. “Ruthie had an experience there, and so did Rochelle.” She put her hands up in front of herself defensively. “Not me… uh-uh,” she said. “But the granddaughter of the madam is coming for a session tonight, right?” Suzette asked Savannah.

  She nodded.

  “The granddaughter?” Craig said, his eyes lighting up. “You located the granddaughter? What does she say about her family? Does she know about the jewelry and the missing people?”

  Arthur grimaced and said, “Well, she found us, actually, and she doesn’t really remember much about her life here. She has a block sorta like I did and Ms. Rochelle is working with her.”

  “Ohhh,” Craig responded, sounding disappointed.

  “There will be a session here tonight?” Iris asked.

  “Yes,” Savannah said. “In fact, we’d better eat. Rochelle and Miriam will be here in about an hour.”

  ****

  After a hearty fried-chicken meal in the dining room, everyone had gathered in the atrium for dessert and conversation, when Rupert rose to answer the door chimes.

  “That’s probably Rochelle and Miriam,” Savannah said. “I’ll get it, Rupert.” She exchanged greetings with the pair, then asked, “Where do you want to… ?”

  Rochelle said, “I’d like to take her to the area where she experiences the most… ”

  “Anxiety?” Miriam said. “Yes, down that hall, into the laundry room, and through that door to the basement.” She took a deep breath, a determined look on her face. “I can do this… Mattie says I can, Shirley says I can, Doug says I gotta do this. I can do this,” she said, as if reciting a mantra.

  Savannah peered at Miriam before excusing herself to check with Arthur. “They want to do the session in your quarters, Arthur.”

  He nodded and stood to accompany Savannah. Before they walked away, Craig caught Savannah’s attention. “I’d like to talk to the granddaughter when she’s finished.”

  She thought for a few moments, then said, “I’ll let her and Rochelle know. It probably depends on how things go down there, okay?”

  He nodded.

  When Savannah and Arthur joined the two women, he hugged Rochelle and shook Miriam’s hand. He then said, “Yeah, I guess it’s okay if you do it down there. Come on, I’ll help you find a suitable place.”

  “I think I’ll go back to the atrium, if you don’t mind,” Savannah said.

  Arthur and Rochelle nodded and he proceeded to lead the two women into the west wing of the mansion.

  “Yup, that’s the door,” Miriam said, pointing as they entered the large laundry room. When Arthur started to open the door, she said, “Watch your step. There are stairs.” She crossed her arms in front of her and shivered as she took a step back. “What’s behind that door scares me. It scares me a lot.”

  Miriam turned and started to retreat, but Rochelle put her hand on the woman’s shoulder and asked calmly, “Don’t you want to find out why? You want your awful nightmares to stop, don’t you?”

  The distraught woman clasped her hands under her chin and nodded. She turned quickly toward Rochelle and asked, “But what if the truth is scarier than the night-screams?”

  “There are no guarantees, Miriam. It’s completely up to you if you want to go in there or not.”

  When Arthur saw the torment in the woman’s demeanor, he approached her. He said quietly, “Miriam, let Ms. Rochelle help you. You must get those demons out or you’ll never be free. The truth might be awful, but, once it’s out—once you know what it is—it can never hold you hostage again.”

  Miriam stared at Arthur for a moment, then looked at the door. “I want to try,” she said. She took a few steps forward chanting, “I can do this. I can do this.”

  Rochelle gestured for Arthur to open the door wider for them. Once Rochelle had stepped inside, she gasped and shook her head. She took short breaths and said, “Not here.” She pointed. “Over there.” She moved quickly in that direction, pulling Miriam along by one hand. Arthur followed behind them, looking around the area trying to imagine what had upset Rochelle. Once they had reached the living room in Arthur’s quarters, Rochelle asked, “Miriam, are you all right?”

  She nodded.

  “Want to lie down on this sofa?”

  Miriam glanced around the room and said, “Okay.” She sat and then laid down with her head on a dark-blue throw pillow.

  “Will you be okay?” Arthur asked.

  Rochelle said, “Yes. We’ll be all right.”

  Arthur looked at each of the women before walking up the stairs and through the door. Before closing it behind him, he glanced around the room again.

  ****
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  Nearly an hour later, Rochelle and Miriam appeared in the atrium. The small gathering of people stared at the two women as if seeking clues as to what had happened during the session. Neither of them offered even a hint.

  Finally Savannah asked, “Want something to drink? You must be thirsty.”

  Rochelle nodded. “Water would be great. Thanks.”

  “Do you have a canned soda?” Miriam asked, her eyes wide in anticipation.

  Suzette stood. “Yeah, I think we can find one. I’ll go look.”

  Rochelle instructed, “Bring her water, too, please.” She faced Miriam and said sternly, “You need to hydrate first. Then you can have the soda.”

  Miriam looked down and nodded.

  “Come, sit,” Savannah said, indicating two chairs to her right.

  “This is a cool room,” Miriam said. “I don’t remember a room full of flowers and plants like this when I lived here. She looked up. “That’s a rad ceiling.” She spun around a few times, almost tripping over Michael’s feet. “Oh sorry,” she said.

  “Otherwise, is the mansion pretty much as you remember it?” Michael asked.

  Miriam nodded. “Yeah, only I just learned that I had forgotten more than I remembered.” She put her hands on top of her head, rolled her eyes. “Gawd, the things I had forgotten!”

  “Do you want to talk about some of the things you remembered tonight?” Rochelle prompted as she sat down. She gestured for Miriam to sit next to her.

  When Suzette returned with a tray holding two tall glasses of ice water and a soft drink, Miriam quickly reached for the can. At the same time, Rochelle picked up both glasses of water and handed one to Miriam. “Let’s hydrate first, okay Miriam?”

  “Okay,” she said, sounding disappointed. After the woman had finished half of the water, she said, “That’s enough. Any more and I’ll have to pee.” She turned to Rochelle and asked in a complaining manner, “Can I have the soda now?”

  Rochelle grinned slightly and nodded, then prodded, “I think you should talk a little about what you remembered tonight. These people need to know about it and it would be good for you to acknowledge it verbally.”