Slay in Character

by Lynn Cahoon

“You might want to get a dog.” Cat paused at the doorway. “They’re cheaper than keeping a personal masseur on staff twenty-four seven.”

  “You’re not going to laugh when I come home with a huge dog who has a habit of chewing on antique wooden furniture legs.” Shauna leaned against the counter. “But if you’re serious, maybe a cat. We’d have to announce it on our website, since some people are allergic and it might affect sign-ups.”

  “If you want a cat, we’ll deal with the loss of income, if there is any. I think a pet would increase the feeling of home around here. Don’t they have hairless cats?”

  “They do, but not in my house.” Shauna smiled. “Hey, what did you find out about that cat at Outlaw?”

  Cat told her the story. “Seth and I were going to head up to Outlaw and try to catch it, but I think that was the night of the break-in. It’s been such a crazy week, I’m not sure what day it is. Maybe he can run up there tomorrow with me after he does the airport run to Denver. Since they’re all on the same plane, he should be back sooner than usual.”

  “So we’re adopting Angelica? That sounds right.” Shauna smiled and made a note on her pad of paper. “Are you going upstairs to write?”

  “Yeah. With the words I got yesterday, I might just be able to meet my deadline next week easy.” Cat glanced at her watch. “Will you come and get me when you’re done playing chauffeur? I’d hate to disappoint him. Talk about being excited for the reveal—it does feel kind of like Christmas morning around here. Except for the lack of snow.”

  Cat didn’t see anyone as she climbed the stairs to her third-floor office. The guests must have been sleeping in. Most of the group had a day job, well, except Kelly, and this week had been a vacation as well as a writer retreat. She felt thankful that so many people had chosen to take their limited vacation time to attend her retreat. The next three sessions were already full, and they had another one in which everyone was from the same town, so she assumed their members already knew each other. She hoped they would take the Covington student attendee under their wing as quickly as this group had adopted Jessi.

  She sat in front of her computer, turned on the power, and went straight to her manuscript. No internet surfing today. No checking email. The words were first today. She even pushed the worry she felt about Jessi out of her head. She was working. And all that mattered for the next couple of hours was what happened on the page. She checked her notes and dove into the project.

  The next thing she knew, someone was knocking at her door. Checking the clock on her computer screen, she was surprised to see it was already 9:50. “Come on in, I’m just saving and shutting down.”

  Shauna set a muffin and a travel mug of coffee on Cat’s desk as she saved her document in two different spots. She was so close to being done, there was no way she’d be able to start all over if her computer died. Well, she guessed she could, but she wouldn’t meet deadline. She’d heard too many horror stories about lost files to take a chance now.

  Finished, she unwrapped the muffin and took a big bite of the spice cake and walnut treat. “How’d the morning go? Any problems?”

  “Nope. Even Kelly decided to head out with them. She took her laptop, so I think she’ll find a quiet hole somewhere in the library and write, but she did go with them.” Shauna sipped on her own coffee. “They’re a nice group of friends. Sometimes I really love what we do.”

  “I know, right? I was thinking that too this morning. I guess we’ve survived another retreat. We should celebrate.” Cat finished off the muffin.

  “Knock on some wood, missy. We still have most of a day and the airport runs to get through. Survival doesn’t count until the fat lady sings.” She nodded to the door. “Ready to go see Seth’s folly?”

  “Isn’t there a mining camp named that somewhere?” Cat stood and, after wiping her mouth, threw away the napkin. “Let’s go see what the man has built for us. Make sure you ooh and ahh loud enough so he can bask in the glory.”

  “You’re pretty snarky sometimes, you know that?” Shauna laughed as they made their way downstairs.

  “And that’s why we’re friends.”

  When they got to the walkway that went through the tree line, the bushes had been cut back since when Cat had tried to go find Seth the previous day. Now the path was free of any barriers. Looking around once they passed the hedge, all Cat saw was the barn. The pastured fence around it had been refurbished with new boards in places. The door to the barn was standing open and Cat thought she saw at least one vehicle parked behind the barn. She couldn’t tell who owned the newer-model pickup, but she knew it wasn’t Seth’s.

  Shauna pointed to the doorway. “I guess we’re supposed to go in there?”

  “Let’s go.” Cat smiled, but she was uneasy. What exactly had Seth been up to for the last week? And why had it been such a secret? Maybe he’d decided the house needed a dog and had made a place for it to sleep out in the barn. But then why fix the fence? Too many questions. Cat followed Shauna into the barn’s open door and almost ran into her when her friend froze.

  Seth and Paul Addison stood in the middle of the barn. And to the left, a black horse stood in a stall. The nameplate on the stall was carved with the word Snow.

  The horse saw the newcomers, nickered, and threw her head in a greeting. Shauna raced toward the stall and put her arms around the large neck, burrowing her head into the curve.

  Cat made her way to Seth and kissed him. “Well played, Seth, well played.”

  Seth pulled her into a hug. “I had to do something to make up for being stupid. Shauna can hold a grudge for a long time. I went to Paul and negotiated the release of the hostage.”

  Paul grunted. “No one but Shauna wanted the horse anyway. She should have had it moved here weeks ago. I came by, and Seth was here. So we talked.”

  “Yeah, but I hadn’t upgraded the barn yet.” Seth pointed to the roof and supports. “The place had good bones, so it just took some TLC to get it going again.”

  Shauna turned, and with a watery smile, she beamed at the men. “Thank you. I don’t care how you pulled it off, but I’m so thankful you did.”

  Cat walked over and stroked the soft leather on the saddle. Shauna’s name was hand-tooled into the stirrups. A second, less decorated saddle sat on a second saddle horse. Bridles and lead ropes lined the wall next to the stall. And on the other side of the barn, a stack of hay and a second stack of straw lined the main wall. In the corner, there must have been ten bags of feed tucked nearby.

  “If the food isn’t right, Harrold at the feed store said you could exchange it, but he said that’s what you used to order when you were taking care of Snow.” Seth stared at Shauna, waiting. “So, it’s okay?”

  “Oh my, Seth, it’s more than okay. This is the best thing you could have ever done for me. If I’m ever a witch to you, just say Snow and I’ll back off. Thank you.” And with that, Shauna launched herself into Seth’s arms and hugged him. And she burst into tears.

  Seth’s eyes widened and he looked for guidance from Cat. She mimed patting Shauna’s back and so, robotically, he did. “I’m really glad you like it. I’m sorry for causing you pain before.”

  Paul shuffled and stepped toward the door. “Well, I’ll get in touch with you for the reading of the will, but this part at least is done. Take care, Shauna. It was good to see you again.”

  Cat knew Paul hadn’t liked Shauna when his boss was alive, but maybe now that they weren’t in competition for Kevin’s attention, he didn’t have to be quite the same jerk.

  Shauna sensed Paul’s movements and left Seth’s arms to grab Paul before he could sneak away. “Thank you so much. I know you never liked me, but Snow needed me and I couldn’t bear thinking that she was going to be sold, or worse.”

  Again, Cat mimed the patting on the back to the frightened Paul, and after a short hesitation, he too followed her nonverbal instructions. “You are most welcome Shauna. I’m glad you are so happy.”

  Now Shauna turne
d her attention to Cat. But instead of hugging her, she bounced. “This is the best day of my life, well, since, never mind, no sad thoughts. Snow and I will get through this. My grief counselor told me I needed to be more active. Now I can ride whenever I want to.”

  A meow came from the straw, and a white cat with black patches strolled out into the sunshine. Angelica found a sunbeam coming from the open door and lay in the dirt, rolling around on her back.

  “Oh, my God. Seth, you brought the cat down from Outlaw.” Cat knelt close to the feline and gently rubbed her belly. “Hey, pretty girl. Do you like your new home?”

  “I wasn’t sure if you wanted her to become an indoor cat, but since she’s been hanging out at Outlaw for the last few months, I thought she might be a good companion for Snow.” He leaned over and rubbed the cat on the top of her head. “I kept having to round her up as she kept trying to follow me to the house.”

  Paul had disappeared shortly after Shauna had released him from her hug. Cat went and grabbed Seth’s arm. She nodded toward Shauna, who was talking to Snow like she was her best friend. “Let’s give them some space.”

  A girl and her horse, Cat mused. And their cat. She looked back and saw Angelica sitting by Snow’s pen watching the horse and Shauna reunite. “I don’t think she wants to be a house cat.”

  Seth looked down at her as they walked back to the house. “I think one Cat is enough for a house.”

  “Funny.” She leaned into him. “Thank you for doing this. She’s happier than I’ve seen her in a long while.”

  “Since Kevin, I know.” Seth glanced back at the barn. “She deserved a bit of happy in her life. She works hard. I hope she finds someone soon. And someone who really deserves her.”

  Cat knew that Seth hadn’t though much of Kevin, but like her, he had kept his opinions to himself. As they came around the tree line, Paul stepped out onto the path to stop their progress.

  “Good, you’re alone. I’m not sure how much more positive attention I could have stood from Shauna. I know the woman hates me.” Paul crooked his head around the corner just to make sure Shauna wasn’t coming down the path.

  “What do you want, Paul?” Cat knew Shauna had good reasons to hate her ex-fiancé’s business manager, but she’d be polite for awhile. Especially after what he’d done for her friend.

  He turned back. “I realized I didn’t finish answering Seth’s question. The two of you interrupted us before we could finish the conversation.”

  Seth put an arm around Cat. “Paul and Joseph John went to school together. I thought he might know more about him.”

  “Well, that and he was a pretty strong rival in the construction business with Shield Holdings. When we found out Kevin had been murdered, Joseph John’s name was one of the first ones I gave Chief Edmond. But then, well, you know the rest of that story.” Paul peeked around the corner again.

  Cat bit back a smile. Shauna had the guy nervous. “So why the fascination with ghost towns?”

  Paul shook his head. “It’s not ghost towns, it’s serial killers. The guy has a crazy collection of memorabilia of all the local murders that occurred. The kids at school used to tease him about reading all those freaky books. But he’s harmless enough. I mean, he didn’t kill pets or weird stuff like that.”

  Cat wondered if the guy’s fascination hadn’t led him down the wrong path, at least with Danielle.

  Paul continued. “He’s big into that fantasy cosplay stuff too. We had to postpone a meeting on a project we’re providing backup support for last weekend because he was going out of town Friday to this crazy conference in Denver. Seriously, he was just in Denver. You would have thought he could spare an hour for at least a video chat, but no. We had to wait until Tuesday morning when he was back in town.”

  Cat thought about the timing. He could have been in Outlaw on Monday when Danielle was killed, especially if the conference was his cover. She’d have to text this information to Uncle Pete and see if he could verify it. But why would he try to run over Jessi? Nothing in this investigation added up. Nothing.

  Paul left through the front of the house and then walked back behind the barn to get his truck. Apparently being hugged by Shauna had unnerved him more than he wanted to admit. Seth and Cat grabbed sodas and sat in the kitchen.

  “I’m thinking we’re on our own for lunch. Want me to order a couple of pizzas?” Seth’s grin was a mile wide. “She liked the surprise.”

  “No, she loved the surprise. Get a veggie and whatever you want, I’ll pay.” Cat leaned her head against the back of the chair. “I really thought when Paul told us the story about Joseph John that it would prove he killed Danielle, but honestly, it just made more questions in my head.”

  “I seem to remember it’s someone else’s job to find out who killed Danielle, not yours.” He picked up his phone. “I can pay for my own pizza, you know.”

  “We’re paying for your meals this week. It’s part of the deal. If Shauna’s too busy to cook, I’ll buy pizza.” Cat didn’t look up. “Besides, maybe it will force me out of my doldrums. I have to be a good hostess for half a day more.”

  “You’re always a good hostess.” Seth stood up and dialed his phone. He left the room to order, and Cat picked up her own to call her uncle. Maybe he could use the bits and pieces of information she was feeding him. Because to her, all it looked like was a bag of fabric scraps, with no pattern at all.

  CHAPTER 21

  “Here’s to the Warm Springs Writers Retreat. Thank you for hosting our little crew this week. It’s been fabulous.” A tipsy Kelly stood and held out her glass to the group. “I’ll have you know I wrote more than twenty thousand words and finished one book a month before deadline. I love having some breathing room.”

  “You are horrible.” Connie pulled on Kelly’s arm. “Sit down and stop bragging. I thought I was doing great with having twelve thousand words. And I got a whole notebook of research stuff for my next book.”

  “You’re both amazing.” Cora wiped a bit of margarita off her dress where Kelly had spilled as she sat down. “If there’s one thing to be said for our little group, Cat, it’s that we’re competitive.”

  “From the numbers you all reported this afternoon while we were talking, I think this is the most productive session we’ve ever had.” Cat held a glass up. “To writers who find the words to make every story sing.”

  “Hear, hear,” the group joined in, clinking glasses. Seth and Shauna sat together at the far end of the table, whispering.

  “Something you want to share with the group?” Cora winked at Cat as she poked Shauna.

  Shauna blushed, the margaritas giving her a happy glow. “We’re just talking about Snow. She might be a little lonely in the barn. I think maybe we need another horse. You all did go visit her this afternoon, right?”

  “Yes, we visited your horse.” Jessi laughed as the others ducked the question. She glanced around the table. “Or at least I did. Snow’s an unusual name for an all-black horse.”

  “One of Kevin’s jokes. He bought the horse as an investment, then when I came into the picture, I just fell in love with her.” She set the glass aside. “If I’m taking her riding tomorrow, I better slow down on the celebratory drinks. I can’t believe Paul left her trailer as well as all her tack. I’m afraid I’m going to have to send him a thank-you note.”

  “Hold off until the will is read. Snow and her stuff might have been yours all along.” Cat was happy for her friend. After all the sadness in the last few months, she’d finally found something to be happy about.

  “Well, it looks like I’ll be staying at Dante’s for the time being, so if you need any help, I’ll be glad to come over.” Jessi pushed the food on her plate around with a fork. “He wants me to stop working at Outlaw until this guy’s caught.”

  “It’s not a bad idea.” Seth took a bite of his last taco. Everyone at the table was staring at him. “What? I do have an opinion on this, and Jessi needs to stay out of places where th
ere are a lot of nooks and crannies and fake guns, unless she wants a bodyguard following her around all the time.”

  “I don’t think I’ll get away from that.” Jessi sighed. “I had a long talk with Dante this afternoon and he set out the ground rules. I want to argue, but in the end, he’s only looking out for my best interest. Cat, I realize I was a total jerk to you yesterday. Thank you for not giving up on me.”

  “That’s a very adult way of looking at these restrictions.” Cora patted the girl’s arm. “Don’t worry. Cat’s uncle will find whoever did this to Danielle soon. I can feel it.”

  Cat’s phone rang, and as if he had heard his name, she saw from the display it was Uncle Pete. She handed the bill and its leather carrier to Seth. “Would you give this to our waiter when he comes by? I’ll be right back.”

  “Sure.” He looked like he wanted to ask, but then didn’t.

  She picked up the call before leaving the table. “Hey, Uncle Pete. Hold on a second and I’ll go outside. We’re at the restaurant.”

  “We’ll meet you outside.” Shauna waved her off. “Go handle this.”

  Cat weaved through the crowded restaurant, and when she reached the outdoors, sat on one of the benches on the walkway to the parking lot. The smell of flowers from the overgrown beds lining the parking lot and surrounding the restaurant was a sharp contrast from the food smells she’d just left inside. “Hey, sorry about that. What’s going on?”

  “I wanted to get back to you on your suspicions on Joseph John. It took some quick talking for him not to get his lawyer involved, but I’ve got enough I can take him off the suspect list. Not only was he at this costume thing in Denver, he ran a large segment of the activities right in the middle of the time Danielle was murdered. And they have him on tape. He was obviously amused when he realized he’d been considered a suspect. And yes, he admitted to having a serial killer memorabilia collection.”

  “So he’s creepy, but not a killer.” A couple passing by the bench looked down on her and quickly stepped away, deciding to wait on their car valet a little closer to the parking lot. Cat chose her next words carefully, making sure there wasn’t anyone else close enough to overhear. “That’s disappointing.”