The Cats that Broke the Spell (The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery Book 8)

by Karen Anne Golden

  Lizzie looked away and said, “Bud Baxter, and I can’t be sure about the second voice.”

  Katherine thought, She’s lying. I know she knows who it is.

  A vehicle pulled up outside. Its tires crunched on the gravel drive.

  “Who could that be?” Katherine asked, moving to the storage room’s window.

  Colleen was already looking outside. “Who do you know that drives a gray pickup?”

  Lizzie jumped up so hard from her chair, it tipped over, hitting the wall. “We’ve got to leave . . . NOW!”

  Katherine asked, “Is that the man who beat you up?”

  “Yes.” Lizzie moved to the door, and hobbled out.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m getting the hell out of here and you should too.”

  Katherine called after her. “I think it’s a terrible idea to leave right now.”

  Lizzie didn’t answer. She went to the kitchen, unlocked the back door and stepped out. In a tense voice, she said, “Amara, take the cats home.” Amara meowed and trotted toward the path to the cornfield. The clowder of cats trailed behind her with Isadora bringing up the rear. Lizzie didn’t follow the cats, but turned right on the sidewalk and headed toward the pickup.

  Katherine raced to the door. “Get back in here,” she demanded.

  “This is my battle. Not yours. Lock the door.”

  Katherine stepped back, shut the door and locked it.

  “Katz, call the sheriff,” Colleen said, running into the room.

  Katherine fished her phone out of her pajamas’ pocket and punched in 911. When the operator asked the location of the emergency, Katherine hurriedly gave her the location, citing home invasion. “The intruder fled my house and is armed with my gun. Someone else we don’t know has driven up the lane.”

  This time the 911 operator took the call seriously. She said, “Move to a safe area. Help is —”

  Katherine cut her off. She rushed to the side window and sneaked a peek outside. The man had gotten out of his truck and was walking toward the rear sidewalk. The utility pole with the overhead flood light provided enough light for Katherine to see he was wearing a ski mask and carried a handgun. “Oh, my god! Colleen, go upstairs and lock yourself in your room. Take Scout and Abra with you.”

  “No way. He’ll have to break in here to harm us. We can protect ourselves. I’ve got the bat. Grab a butcher knife. I’m not leaving you alone with a madman.”

  “He’s outside, and he’s armed with a handgun. Our weapons are no match for what he’s packin’.”

  “Where’s Lizzie?”

  “I can’t believe this. She’s walking up to him.”

  “Is she insane?”

  “Now she’s saying something to him.”

  Colleen rushed up to the window. “Move over so I can see.”

  The man grabbed Lizzie by her hair and thrust his gun in her back.

  Colleen put her hand over her mouth to cover a scream.

  The man pushed Lizzie to the back door and kicked it several times with his boot. “Let us in or I’ll kill her,” he shouted. “I know you’re in there. She told me.”

  Scout and Abra trotted into the kitchen. The fur on their backs bristled to full height.

  In one fluid movement, Katherine grabbed both of them and put them in the dumbwaiter. “When you get upstairs, hide.”

  “Waugh,” Scout cried nervously.

  “Please, for Mommy,” Katherine said, her voice breaking.

  Colleen snatched the insert door off the floor, placed it over the opening, then pushed the button. In her haste, she forgot to twist the turn-buttons to lock it. The dumbwaiter rose to the second floor and stopped.

  The masked man kicked the door again. “Open the damn door or I’ll blow her head off.”

  Lizzie pleaded, “Please do what he says.”

  Colleen begged, “Katz, don’t open the door. He’ll kill us.”

  “I’m sorry. I have to help her.” She slowly opened the door. The man pushed Lizzie inside and forced her on a chair. He waved the pistol in Katherine’s and Colleen’s direction. “Don’t try anything stupid, or I’ll shoot. You, with the red hair, drop that bat.”

  Colleen reluctantly let go of the bat. It hit the floor with a loud thud, then rolled underneath the table.

  “Put your hands up,” he ordered.

  Katherine and Colleen did as they were told.

  Aiming the gun at Lizzie, the man looked around the room. He observed the pantry door open.

  “Get in there,” he ordered Colleen.

  Colleen didn’t protest and did what he asked.

  He shut the door and latched it. Then he retrieved a large plastic zip-tie from his jacket’s pocket. It was already fastened into a loop. Shifting the gun and aiming at Katherine, he walked back to Lizzie. “Get up and put your hands behind your back.”

  Lizzie slowly rose and turned around, “Please, don’t hurt us. I beg of you. Don’t hurt us.”

  “Shut up!” he yelled. With the experience of someone who had detained people before, the man used one hand to tighten the zip-tie. “Sit back down.” He then extracted another zip-tie and secured her left leg to the chair. “Elizabeth, I’m not going to harm you, but if you breathe a word to the law about me, I will personally wring your neck. Understood?”

  “Yes,” she answered meekly.

  He pulled out another zip-tie. Moving over to Katherine, he tied her hands in front. “Now you’re going to take a little walk with me.”

  Colleen cried from the pantry, “No . . . no. Katz, don’t go.”

  “Shut up,” he said to Colleen. “I do the talking here. No one is going to get hurt. Do what I say and I’ll be gone before you can bat an eye.”

  “What is it you want?” Katherine asked.

  “The key.”

  “What key?”

  “You know what key. Don’t play games with me. Give it to me.”

  “I’m not playing games. I’ve got all sorts of keys.”

  “The one to the shed.”

  “Which shed?” she stalled.

  “The only shed that has a lock. I know Bud Baxter gave you a key.”

  Katherine wanted to say that the retired farmer hadn’t given her the key to the shed, but Iris had stolen it from Dr. Goodwin’s pocket. She didn’t want to quibble with an armed man. “I can’t get the key out of my purse with my hands tied.”

  “Where’s your purse?”

  “On the floor by the refrigerator.”

  “Kick the purse over to me.”

  Katherine walked over and with a sweeping motion of her leg slid her purse to the man. “The key is by itself, in the fold on the side.”

  The man unceremoniously dumped the contents of the purse on the kitchen table. Finding the key, he said to Katherine, “Lead the way.”

  “Oh, don’t go,” Colleen begged from the pantry. “Katz, he’ll kill you out there. Oh, please don’t go.”

  “Colleen, I’m so sorry I let him in,” Katherine whispered, then walked out.

  “Don’t try anything funny or I’ll shoot,” he said, sticking the gun in her back.

  Approaching the last shed, the man ordered. “Go over there and lean against that fence post.”

  Katherine obliged. She thought back on the self-defense course she had taken while living in Manhattan. The instructor said to act helpless and scared. She didn’t have to act helpless or scared, because she was already trembling from head to toe. She’d seen a video on how to get out of a zip-tie restraint, especially if it was positioned in the front. She had to wait for the best time to break loose, and prayed she wasn’t harmed before then.

  The man came up to her, took out another zip-tie and tied her leg to the post. Katherine thought, Damn, the video didn’t teach us how to get out of this one. The man pulled the tie very tight. “Ouch,” she cried.

  He went to the shed, unlocked the door and walked inside. Searching for a light switch, he soon realized there wasn’t a
switch on the wall. “Where’s the light switch?” he asked brusquely.

  “It’s a pull-chain. In the center,” she answered.

  When the man had his back to her, Katherine raised her arms up and using the muscles in her shoulder blades, slammed her arms down with such force that the zip-tie popped off. Then she leaned down and tried to undo the one on her leg. It wouldn’t budge.

  The man started throwing plastic storage boxes out of the shed. Katherine wondered what he was looking for. There was so much junk in there, it would take hours to sort through it. Finally, he walked out carrying his handgun in one hand and a small black case in the other. “Found it,” he said jovially. “I’ll be on my way now. Sorry for your inconvenience. Someone is sure to come by in the morning and help you folks out.”

  Katherine held her breath and questioned what his next move would be. She winced thinking he was going to shoot her any second.

  Instead the man turned and walked toward the farmhouse.

  Katherine flinched when she saw the scarecrow approach the man from the side. He was pointing her Glock in the man’s direction.

  The scarecrow spoke in a firm manner, “Put your gun down or I’ll shoot.”

  The other man answered sarcastically, “If I’d known I’d have to do battle with a scarecrow, I would have brought my flamethrower.” He dropped the black case, but not his pistol.

  The scarecrow fired the first shot. The bullet hit the man in his right arm, which made him involuntarily drop his weapon.

  “Son-of-a-bitch! Are you crazy?” the man shouted, clasping his arm.

  “Step away from the gun,” the scarecrow ordered.

  Still clutching his arm, the man stepped back two feet.

  “Now take your ski mask off.”

  The man used his left arm to remove the mask.

  Katherine caught her breath, and slowly exhaled. The man behind the mask was Sam Sanders.

  The scarecrow reached up and removed his burlap hood. “Do I look familiar?”

  Sam Sanders was taken aback but quickly recognized the man. “What are you doing back in town?”

  “So I could be closer to you.”

  “I thought I told you to get out of Erie or I’d kill you.”

  “I did, but as the years went by, I decided to come back and nail you for what you’ve done.”

  “You’ve got nothing on me,” Sam said cynically.

  “Is that a fact? For starters, Dr. Goodwin was using this shed to store PCP. Then when the time was right, he sold the drug to you, and your people made it into angel dust. I think what’s in that little black case will explain everything?”

  Katherine was stunned. The director had stolen drugs right underneath her nose. How could I have been so blind? Suddenly she remembered the web page Jake had mentioned — the one with the Lladro angel advertised. The cats had surfed up the page. Did they know the director was stealing PCP to make angel dust?

  “My lawyer will get me off on some technicality,” Sam said confidently.

  “Not when I tell the sheriff I saw you shoot Dr. Goodwin.”

  “Good luck with that. Who’s going to believe you? All I see is a poor excuse of a man dressed up like a scarecrow.”

  “You might as well give it up! I know where you’ve buried your victims. It was pretty stupid of you to bury them on my land.”

  Sam threatened. “I still have those photos of you at the whorehouse to show your wife.”

  “You can’t blackmail me anymore. I don’t care if she sees them or not.”

  “You’ve got me then,” Sam said, changing his tone. “Want to make a deal? Fifty percent of the cut?”

  Colleen and Lizzie jogged down the sidewalk.

  When Lizzie saw the scarecrow, she screamed, “Nicholas!” She fell to her knees, paralyzed by shock.

  Colleen rushed to Katherine tied to the fence post. She held a pair of scissors in her hand.

  “You’re a sight for sore eyes,” Katherine said gratefully. “How did you escape?”

  Colleen cut the zip-tie on Katherine’s leg, then whispered, “Scout came back down in the dumbwaiter and fiddled with the pantry latch. She busted me out and I freed Lizzie.”

  Katherine broke free from the fence post and limped around the fence. She grabbed Colleen’s arm. “Get down. It’s not over yet.”

  Nicholas was momentarily distracted by Lizzie. He hadn’t noticed that Sam Sanders was stooping down for his handgun.

  “Watch out!” Katherine yelled.

  Nicholas looked back at Sam and warned, “Don’t even think about it.”

  Sam reacted by picking up the black case. He threw it at Nicholas.

  Nicholas fired another shot but it missed Sam.

  Sam snatched his handgun and pointed it at Katherine. “I’ll blow her head off if you don’t drop your weapon.”

  An off-duty deputy from a neighboring county stepped out of the shadows. Deputy Daryl Cokenberger assumed a shooter’s stance. He pointed his service revolver at Sam. “Put the weapon down. Now.”

  Sam continued pointing the gun at Katherine. His hand was shaking from the shock of being shot in his arm.

  Daryl advised, “It doesn’t have to end this way.”

  Katherine cringed and closed her eyes.

  Colleen sat nearby and didn’t move for fear Sam would shoot her as well.

  Stevie peered around the corner of the shed. “Dad put the gun down. Think of your sons . . . your grandkids.”

  Sam turned and fired a shot at Daryl. The bullet missed and hit the window in the shed and shattered the glass.

  Daryl retaliated and fired several shots. One of them hit Sam Sanders in the chest. Erie’s notorious crime boss fell backward, dropped his gun and collapsed on the ground.

  Daryl immediately pointed his gun at Nicholas. “Put your weapon down.”

  Nicholas released his grip on Katherine’s Glock. It fell to the ground, bounced and landed in a mud puddle.

  Stevie ran to his dad and knelt down beside him. He felt for a pulse, then looked up at Katherine and shook his head. He moved his hand over his father’s eyelids and closed them.

  Katherine broke the solemn moment, “Stevie, when your dad came into the house, he could have murdered all three of us, but he didn’t.”

  “Did he hurt you?” Stevie asked.

  “No, he didn’t,” she said with a sympathetic look.

  Stevie quietly bowed his head.

  Katherine said to Daryl. “Is Jake with you?”

  Jake stepped around the shed and ran over to Katherine. “Katz, I’m right here. Are you okay?”

  “Scared senseless, but other than that, I’m sure glad to see you.”

  “Daryl and I were a few miles from Erie when Stevie texted that Salina woke up screaming that something awful was happening to you at the farmhouse. He asked if we could swing by and pick them up to go check on you. Do Salina and you have some kind of psychic connection?”

  Katherine shrugged. “Don’t know. Where is she? She can’t come out here and see this.”

  “She’s in the house with the cats. Stevie told her to stay put and lock the door.”

  Katherine gave a sigh of relief.

  Jake drew Katherine into an embrace. “My days of making promises to other people are over. I should have never let you stay here by yourself.”

  Katherine answered nervously, her heart racing a mile a minute, “I’d make a joke about being a pioneer, but my knees are knocking. I just want to go back to the farmhouse, change into something warm, and pour me a giant glass of wine.”

  Daryl hurried over to Colleen. “Are you injured?” he asked.

  Colleen threw him a haughty look and refused to answer. She stormed toward the farmhouse. Daryl followed her and gently took her arm. “Colleen, listen, the sheriff is on his way —”

  “You must be joking. A turtle would’ve been faster.”

  “I don’t have much time to explain why I sent you that text. I was asked to be a part of a task
force to bring Sam Sanders down. I was afraid the news would leak to Sam and he’d retaliate by harming you. I didn’t want to take that chance.”

  Colleen’s eyes narrowed. “Instead, you broke my heart. Why didn’t you just tell me?”

  “I took an oath to not tell anyone. When the sheriff gets here, I’ll have to go with him.”

  “Why? You shot Sam Sanders in self-defense.”

  “I’ll have some official explaining to do, which might take some time, so I want to apologize right now.”

  The sound of sirens grew louder as the sheriff and his deputies sped down the lane.

  Daryl explained in a soft voice. “If I could take back that text I would, but I can’t. I’m sorry. I just need you to know that I can’t live in this world without you. I love you. I’d do anything to undo what I’ve done.”

  Colleen answered tartly, “A diamond ring ‘round my finger would make a good start.”

  Daryl yanked her into a hug. He bent down and buried his face in her hair. “Will you marry me?”

  “That’s for me to know, and you to find out. Perhaps, I’ll let you know on the Caribbean cruise we’re taking.”

  “We’re going on a cruise?” he asked with a wink.

  “Yes, the one you book tomorrow. My semester is over in December. In the meantime,” Colleen gestured with her ring finger, “I’ll be needin’ a ring.”

  “Making up is hard to do,” Daryl chuckled.

  “My sentiments exactly,” Colleen smiled.

  Nicholas walked over to Lizzie and helped her up. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. “What’s troubling you, precious?” He smoothed her hair with his hand.

  She laughed uneasily. “Oh, just about everything. How about you?”

  He kissed her. “I’ve missed you.”

  Lizzie started to cry. “Nicholas, I was having an affair with Sam.”

  “I’ve done a few things I regret, so we’re even. I’m here now,” he said. “Nothing else matters.”

  The sheriff and two of his deputies ran toward the group, guns drawn. When they saw Deputy Cokenberger, they stood down.

  Recognizing Stevie, the sheriff walked over to him. He looked down at Sam Sanders. “Is your father dead?”

  Stevie stood up and nodded.

  “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “I ain’t,” Stevie said bitterly, walking away toward the farmhouse.