The Cat, The Professor and the Poison

by Leann Sweeney

  “The chip has an antenna. It’s sending a signal. We just need to read what it’s telling us,” he said.

  “It’s not talking to me,” I said. “Cats talk to me, but not little electronic devices.”

  The doorbell rang, and I left Tom alone with his tiny antennas and signals. I assumed Kara must have forgot her key when she went off to who knew where. Candace once again had her gun stuffed in the back of her jeans. She was looking through the peephole, and before I could ask who was there, she threw the dead bolt and opened the door.

  Brandt VanKleet stood on the stoop. “Is my brother here?” he said, trying to look past Candace and me.

  “We haven’t heard from him,” Candace said. “Is there a problem?”

  “I don’t believe you. He’s here. I know it,” Brandt said.

  “He’s not here,” Candace said. “I tried to offer you a little help earlier, and—”

  “Let him in, Candace,” I said. “He may act and think like he’s ready for the Supreme Court, but I can tell he’s worried.”

  Candace sighed heavily. “Here’s the deal, Brandt. First of all, I’m armed. Second of all, there’s a very strong man, an ex-cop, working on something in the other room. You pull anything funny, and one or both of us will take you down. Understood?”

  “All I care about is Evan. He’s depressed about our father’s death. I need to find him,” Brandt said.

  And that’s where the worry was coming from. He really did care about his brother, even though he apparently didn’t want anyone to know.

  “My rules if you come in here?” Candace said.

  He nodded, and I had to say, his arrogance was quickly fading. He looked frightened.

  Candace opened the door wider so he could enter. Once again, she made sure he walked ahead of her into the living room.

  He glanced around. “You’re being straight? He’s not here?”

  “We’re being straight,” I said quietly. “But you haven’t been, have you?”

  Brandt exhaled and looked at the floor. “I never lied.”

  “You just decided we didn’t need to know things. That’s a mistake, Brandt,” Candace said. “Sit down, and let’s see if what you’ve withheld might help us find Evan. That is, if he’s really missing. I’m sure you haven’t checked everywhere in town. Maybe he wants his space.”

  “My brother and I may argue, but we do communicate. He said he was sleeping in—and that kid can sleep—but his room was empty.” Brandt plopped onto the sofa looking defeated and troubled. “Lawyers are supposed to be tough. And I know the law; I know that we didn’t have to say anything to the police. But that didn’t help us any. And it sure didn’t help you.” He raised his head and looked into Candace’s eyes.

  She’d taken the seat opposite him. “He could have driven into town. It’s not that far. But since you’re concerned, you can help us.”

  I sat next to Brandt. “Why are you so worried? Something happened, didn’t it? Another argument?”

  Brandt looked at me with a troubled stare. “No. President Johnson called my mother. He told her that Officer Hoffman came here and attacked you for some reason. And that he took off and can’t be found. Is that true?”

  I nodded. “Very true. Caught-on-videotape true.”

  Candace’s face was taut with anger. “Why in the heck did Johnson tell you anything?”

  “He cares about my mother,” Brandt said. “He’s worried that since Evan and Patrick Hoffman were friendly once, that could mean Evan might be . . . involved in this bad business going on here. Can you see why I was afraid my mother might have told you that today?”

  “But you’re more worried about what Lawrence Johnson told your mother. You think Evan is with Patrick Hoffman?” I said.

  “Not willingly. And, yes, that’s why I’m . . . afraid.” Brandt didn’t look down, didn’t stare out the window. He’d settled his gaze on Candace now, and he wanted help.

  “Okay,” she said, her tone no longer tinged with anger. “Tell us everything and start with why you think they might be together.”

  “It all started when my brother got drunk one night and passed out. Patrick Hoffman was there to pick him up, dust him off and steer him, so he said, in the right direction—to those wacko kids who adore Doug.”

  “Those wacko kids?” I said. “Your brother considered them his friends.”

  “Yeah, but Doug fed them all sorts of hype about global warming, saving the rain forest, treating animals ethically, things like that.” Brandt’s face reddened. “Don’t get me wrong. Those issues are important, but—”

  “Yeah, they’re important,” Candace said. “But you’re saying Douglas Lieber might have had something to do with that protest the night Evan was arrested?”

  “Something to do with it? He planned it. Evan told me so the other night—after we had that argument. We got our acts together and went to his room to talk. He was pretty upset because now Doug is saying he isn’t about to pay Evan’s tuition.”

  “And yet he’d gotten Evan in trouble in the first place,” I said half to myself. “Was Lieber friends with Patrick Hoffman?”

  “I don’t know about friends, but they knew each other,” Brandt said. “I’ve told you Doug was behind the protest, but how will it help you find Evan? Because I want to make sure he’s okay.”

  “Because you think Hoffman came to town?” I said.

  “Right. Or maybe he’s disappeared for another reason. I mean, our father had awful highs and lows. Sometimes he wouldn’t get out of bed when he was on summer break from the college. Maybe Evan is depressed enough to do something worse than stay in bed.”

  “You’re talking about suicide, huh?” Candace said.

  Brandt nodded solemnly.

  “Suicidal people are sometimes drawn to water,” Candace said. “We have one officer who runs rescues on the lake. We could send him out to check around the shores and the docks.”

  “No,” I said. “My gut tells me Evan’s not suicidal. He wants the police to find the killer, wants to see that happen. You said you tried to reach him?”

  “Like a hundred times. Voice mail over and over.” Brandt closed his eyes for a second, took a deep breath. “Something is wrong.”

  “Wait a minute,” I said. “Kara might know where he is. She’s been looking for information she can get from any source for her book.”

  “Her book?” Brandt said.

  “Never mind,” I said, unsure exactly what she’d told Brandt. “She programmed her number into my phone. Let me call her.”

  I grabbed my phone off the end table. But I got voice mail, too.

  “Text her,” Candace said.

  “You think I know how to do that?” I said impatiently.

  Candace took my phone, brought up a screen and used the tiny keyboard to type in the words phone home. When she was done, Candace said, “Now let’s hope she calls and that she knows where Evan is.”

  “He likes to drive around,” Brandt said. “His rental is one of those tiny cars, a white Ford. He’s probably traveled the roads around here, and—”

  “Your father’s place. Could he have gone there?” Candace said, her eyes alive with excitement.

  “We did go there the other day—but I made sure we didn’t cross the crime-scene tape,” Brandt said.

  “How much you wanna bet that’s where he is?” Candace said.

  But before he could answer, my phone rang. Guess text messages work better than regular calls, because Kara’s caller ID came up. I started to ask her about Evan, but she interrupted me.

  The fact that she was whispering was my first clue that something wasn’t right. I had to ask her to speak up.

  “I was just texting you when I got yours. That guy is here at the professor’s farm. We looked in the window and Evan recognized Hoffman. You need to send the police.”

  “So Evan’s with you,” I said, looking at Brandt and nodding.

  His features relaxed, and he smiled.

>   “The police need to come without sirens, or Hoffman will run. That’s why I was afraid to call 911,” she said. “Hurry or he might leave.”

  “You and Evan need to get out of there. Now,” I said.

  “We’re leaving,” she said and disconnected.

  My heart was beating a mile a minute as I explained everything to Candace and Brandt. Candace called Baca immediately and then went to the closet and came out with her holster. She strapped it on and put her gun in place.

  “You two stay here with Tom.” She held out her hand. “I’ll need your keys—and Kara’s phone number.”

  I showed her the number in my phone’s address book, and she must have committed it to memory because she simply repeated it. We went to the kitchen, and I grabbed my keys off the hook. “Maybe you’re blocked in,” I said.

  But when we looked in the driveway I saw that Tom had parked his Prius alongside my van, and I didn’t see Brandt’s car, so he must have parked in the road.

  Candace left, and now the worrying began for me as well as for Brandt.

  “She’s good,” I said. “And Chief Baca’s good. They’ll catch this man. Then maybe we can understand why he killed your father and Rufus, because I’m convinced now that he did.”

  “I might have an explanation.” It was Tom. He’d come into the living room and held his hand out to Brandt in greeting. They shook hands.

  “What are you talking about?” I said.

  Tom held up several sheets of paper with printing on them. “This explains why Professor Lieber did what he did.”

  “Professor Lieber?” I whispered.

  Thirty

  But Tom glanced at Brandt and got a sheepish look on his face.

  Bet he wishes he didn’t blurt that out, I thought. But Lieber ? Why Lieber?

  Tom glanced toward the kitchen. “Where’s Candace? I should give this information to her.”

  “She’s gone,” I said. “Kara called and said she and Evan went to the farmhouse, that they spotted Patrick Hoffman there. She and Baca and probably the entire Mercy police force are on the way over there.”

  “Kara went to that farm?” Tom said. “I told her she had to wait until the crime scene was released by the police, told her that she could get in trouble.”

  “My brother is with her,” Brandt said. “Tell me what Doug has to do with my father’s death.”

  Tom stared hard at Brandt for what seemed like an eternity. “You’ll find out anyway. A microchip that I am assuming your father implanted in a cat led me to information stored on the Internet. The two professors were working together to create VanLieber Raw Pet Food. I’ve got formulas, expenses, everything right here.” Tom held up the printouts again.

  Brandt looked dumbfounded. “Doug and my father? Working together?”

  “That’s right,” Tom said. “But the money for this business plan seemed to have dried up, and from what I can tell, Professor Lieber had put up a pretty penny.”

  “He killed my father over money? Is that what you’re saying?” All the color had drained from Brandt’s face.

  Neither Tom nor I said anything for several seconds.

  Finally I spoke. “We can’t be sure of that. What about your mother? She’s with Lieber now, right?” I looked at Tom. “Shouldn’t we warn her?”

  “I’m switching from geek mode to cop mode. Lieber doesn’t know he’s a suspect. We don’t want to set him off.” Tom looked at Brandt. “Can you call your mother, play it cool, ask her what she and Doug are doing? Where they are?”

  Brandt nodded and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. His hand was shaking when he tapped a few digits. When he said, “Mom?” his voice wavered.

  I could hear her every strident word. “What’s wrong, Brandt? I can tell you’re upset.”

  “I’m fine,” he said, sounding calmer now. “I was just checking in. What are you and Doug up to?”

  This time I couldn’t hear her.

  After a few seconds, Brandt said, “He didn’t say where he was going?”

  I heard her loud “No” this time.

  I raised my eyebrows, questioning this outburst.

  Brandt put the phone on speaker then.

  She said, “So I’m stuck here without a car. Where did he have to go in such a big hurry?”

  “You got me,” Brandt said.

  Tom made a motion with his hand to keep her talking.

  “Um, any favorite places you guys have found in town?” Brandt asked.

  “No. And that coroner lady phoned. The death certificate has been issued and I can pick it up. If I had a car.”

  “Did you call Doug after he left?” Brandt asked.

  “I tried. He’s not answering, and that’s not like him. He got a phone call and he was out of here. And what am I supposed to do now?”

  “I can come over and take you to see the coroner,” Brandt said.

  “Would you?” she said. “That would be great. The sooner we get the death certificate, the sooner this mess can be settled. That farm belongs to you and Evan. If we sell it, he’ll have enough for tuition.”

  “Um . . . I thought Doug said he’d help with that,” Brandt said.

  “Until about a month ago, I thought so, too. But all of sudden he says Evan should work his way through school. Anyway, we can talk when you get here. Thank you so much, sweetheart.”

  She disconnected before Brandt had a chance to say good-bye.

  Tom said, “Go stay with your mother, but stall her about this death certificate thing. Create some excuse not to get on the road. There’s a killer loose, and the police will want to know exactly where you are. And if Professor Lieber returns, stay cool and call me.” Tom rattled off his number, and Brandt added it to his phone.

  “But what about Evan? You think he’ll be okay?” Brandt said. “Was Evan the one who called Doug and he’s gone to that farm, too?”

  “If Lieber’s on his way there, he’ll be met by the entire Mercy police force. We’ll make contact with them and make sure they know what the microchip revealed.”

  Brandt seemed hesitant, but he finally left with my urging after I told him he had to take care of his mother.

  “I hope Brandt doesn’t take a detour to that farm to play big brother,” I said to Tom as we stood in the foyer.

  “I think he’ll do what we said,” Tom said. “Now call Candace.”

  But she didn’t answer, and when I called Mercy PD, B.J. put me on hold—probably because lots was happening and he thought I called to chat with Candace.

  “Come on, come on,” I said into my phone.

  “Forget it. Let’s go,” Tom said. “B.J. probably has more than he can handle right now.”

  Since Candace had used my van, we took Tom’s Prius. It was a lot peppier than my vehicle, anyway. We made the drive to the farm in less than ten minutes, and the whole time I kept trying to phone Candace. But she was obviously too busy to answer.

  The tree-lined road was crowded with police and emergency vehicles for the third time in a week. Tom took my hand when we got out of the car and led me to where Morris was standing.

  “That’s far enough,” he said. Seemed his job was to make sure no one got past him.

  But when we explained why we had come, that we had important information, he radioed Candace. Soon I saw her running down the driveway toward us.

  I could read a hint of panic in her eyes. “Hoffman’s got them, both Evan and Kara. We’re waiting on a county SWAT unit.”

  “Oh my God. They’re hostages?” I said.

  “Yup. Saw a rifle of some kind. But we don’t know what Hoffman wants until we make contact. And right now that’s dangerous without major backup. We need help on this one.”

  “He’s not working alone,” I said. “Tom, can you explain what you learned from the microchip?”

  I wouldn’t have made sense if I tried to repeat the Pledge of Allegiance right now. My heart was hammering. John’s daughter was in that house with a cruel, desperate man
, and I suddenly realized I felt as responsible for her as John once did. And just as worried as her biological mother would have been if she were standing in my shoes this minute. And where was Douglas Lieber? Was he in that house, too?

  “I didn’t see that coming,” Candace was saying in response to Tom’s explanation. “Had my sights set on Hoffman as the only bad guy.”

  Tom went on to tell Candace about Lieber getting a phone call and taking off.

  “C-could Lieber be in there, too?” I said. My voice was tremulous.

  “We won’t know until SWAT gets here,” she said. “But Deputy Dufner only saw three people in the house when he used his binoculars. Once Hoffman figured out we were here, he started staying low and away from the windows.”

  I gripped Candace’s upper arm. “Please help her.”

  Candace nodded solemnly. “I will. Promise. You and Tom wait in your car. And make sure you make room for SWAT to roll in.”

  We both nodded, and Tom put his arm around me as we headed back to his car. But then I saw what was probably Evan’s rental as well as Kara’s car parked not far from the driveway. “Her gun,” I said. “Maybe she has it with her.”

  “Ah, the gun. I warned her about that, too,” Tom said. “If she is armed, we need to tell Candace and the rest of the officers. She told me she knows how to shoot, but I’m guessing that means she’s had occasional target practice.”

  “Let’s have a look in her car if Morris gives the okay.”

  Morris said he was waiting for SWAT to brief them and couldn’t leave his position, that they were minutes away. But we could look in Kara’s car.

  I wasn’t sure whether I was happy or upset to see that gun sitting in her glove compartment. Tom took it and checked the chamber.

  “Not even loaded,” he said. “Wouldn’t have done her any good. We’ll just keep this safe.” He carried the gun flat against his thigh as we returned to the Prius. “Don’t want anyone going nuts if they see me with a gun. Those SWAT guys are pretty intense.”

  He set it on my lap when we climbed back in the car. I held up my hands, not wanting to touch the thing.

  “It’s not loaded. You need to get over your fear of weapons. I can teach you how to shoot when this whole thing is over. For now, just hold it. Get used to it.”