The Cat's Pajamas

by Soraya May

  Andy interrupted my thoughts. “Please, Cat. I’ll try and convince Bea that you need a good deal on the oven. I know she can come across difficult at times, but she’s got a heart, you know? She doesn’t want to see you out of here, any more than I do.”

  Dammit. “Okay, Andy. From what you’ve said to me, this could be a number of things. Intermittent peripheral numbness and tingling like that could be something very minor, or it could potentially indicate something more serious. Come past the bar, tomorrow, and I’ll examine you as best I can.” I held up a hand. “But, you have to promise me that if I say so, you have to go to a licensed physician immediately, and you have to tell your sister. Okay?”

  Andy nodded, relieved. “Yeah, sure. Absolutely. Thanks, Cat.” He sighed. “Man, this is a load off my mind. I didn’t know what I was going to do about this, but talking to you has made it a hell of a lot better.”

  I tried to reassure him. “I understand it can be frightening when you think there’s something wrong, and you don’t know who to turn to, Andy. For the moment, just try not to worry about it, and we’ll take it one step at a time, okay?”

  He smiled. “Thanks again, Doc. I’ll leave you to your book, eh? See you tomorrow.” Turning, he jogged back down onto the beach, and soon was a speck in the distance.

  I stared out to sea for a few minutes, and then smacked myself gently in the forehead with my book. Sure, Andy needed my help. But practicing medicine without a license, and keeping secrets from Beatrice, were both extremely bad ideas.

  Why did I feel the need to go for the double?

  14

  Ryan

  Stop watching her rear, man. I shook my head.

  I did my best—or at least I told myself I did—but the sight of Cat going up the stairs of the old bar in front of me was seriously messing with my concentration.

  Holding tightly to my overnight bag, I tried to look anywhere else but directly in front of me at Cat’s rounded, muscular bottom. Boy, for someone who spends most of her time behind a bar, she’s in damn good shape.

  Cat reached the landing, and turned around suddenly. I pretended quickly to be engrossed in the shape of the stairs, and almost succeeded.

  She looked at me a little suspiciously. “Your room is the second one on the left, there.” The upstairs hallway was long and narrow, wood-paneled, built to house a number of guests many years ago. One window between the doors let in light from the gray sky outside. “The bathroom is the far door at the end of the hall. The pipes are a bit noisy, and I wouldn’t recommend having a bath, but otherwise it all works well enough.”

  I composed my features carefully, and looked down the hallway. “Okay, thanks.” Since Cat was evidently not planning to walk in front of me any more, I took the few steps down to my room, and pushed open the door.

  Inside, it was small, and a little dusty, but clean and dry, and lacking any type of accusing surveillance animal.

  Which, with my sincere apologies to Daisy, is a big improvement.

  Boxes of straws and bar supplies were stacked neatly in one corner, and I leaned my case against them. Apart from the bar supplies, the only other furnishings were a tall wardrobe, and a bed. The bed was small - I winced as I thought of cramming into it for days on end - but it was neatly made up, and a plush pillow beckoned me invitingly.

  “I’m not cooking for you, because I’m busy.” Cat had appeared in the doorway behind me. “You can use the kitchen whenever you want, although,” she paused, “the oven is out of action, unfortunately. Help yourself to supplies from the pantry; that’s included in your room charge.”

  “Okay, thanks.” The price Cat had named was pretty high given the size of the room, but I couldn’t blame her; she evidently needed the money, and it was pretty clear that I wasn’t really her favorite person.

  “And stay out of my way when I’m working in the bar. It gets pretty busy down there and I don’t need you under my feet.”

  I tossed her a salute. “Aye, captain.”

  I’d brought only my overnight bag of clothes and a small portable toolkit for preliminary investigation; my other, larger case was filled with more equipment and electronics, but it needed to be moved by car, and a call to Jack Collis’ phone for a taxi had been greeted with a cheery answer message saying he was fishing this morning. I’d left a message, and figured I’d pick up the case later.

  “And my room is right next to yours, so try and keep the noise down.” Cat folded her arms and looked at me, long legs crossed as she leaned against the door-frame. Damn, she’s sexy even when she’s not being very friendly.

  “No problem. I’m a pretty quiet tenant, I promise.” Trying to convince her to warm to me, I held out a hand. “Is there anything I can do to help around the place? You’ll find me pretty handy.” Like maybe kiss you again?

  Cat looked at me evenly, her blue eyes trained on me. “No, thank you. You’ve done quite enough so far.” Her eyes flicked to the wardrobe in the corner. “You can hang your clothes in there if you want to unpack.”

  Crossing the floor to the wardrobe, she took hold of the handle. “I’m pretty sure it’s empty.” The wardrobe seemed too large for the room, an ornate carved door that suggested fur coats and magical snow-covered lands beyond. Pulling at the handle once or twice, Cat grunted with frustration. “Stuck. I think the door has warped a bit because of the damp.”

  Standing behind her, I was torn between admiring the sight of her, long legs encased in fitted pants as she bent forward, and doing something to help.

  For once, let’s choose the chivalrous option, dude.

  I moved to stand behind her. “Can I, uh, help? I might be a bit more—”

  “It’s fine.” Her tone was chilly. “I’m not some kind of weakling.” She leaned forward, and put both hands on the big door-handle, bracing her feet against the floor. “It…just…needs…”

  I tried to reach past her. “Look, honestly, I’ve got more body-weight than you. It’s not a matter of you being weak, it’s just—”

  There was a crack, and the door-handle came clean off. With a squawk, Cat flew backwards, directly into my chest. She was slim, but surprisingly heavy, and the impact made me take a step back to brace myself. Instinctively my arms went around her, holding on to her. Her hair brushed about me, and the scent of her shampoo filled my nostrils. She was warm and incredibly lithe in my arms.

  “Whoops. You okay?”

  Cat, slightly shocked, looked down at the door-handle. “I, uh, didn’t think that would happen.” Her neck was invitingly open to me, and the warmth of her body against me made all the things I’d been trying to put out of my mind earlier come crashing back.

  “Sure you’re okay?” I tried not to make my voice husky.

  “Yeah. I think so.” She paused. “You can…let go of me now. But thanks.”

  Urgh. Real classy, man. I released my hold on her, but I didn’t step back. I willed my feet to do it—honest, I actually did—but nothing happened. Cat would have stepped forward, but there was no room in front of the wardrobe, and instead she twisted around to face me, looking up.

  Goddamn. Just one look like that, searching, inquisitive, evaluating, and it took all of my willpower to keep from reaching out for her. I racked my brains for a distraction, not for her, but for me.

  Say something, man.

  I coughed. “No problem. See, I told you I could be useful at times.”

  Cat arched an eyebrow, but she didn’t step away from me. “Yeah, I guess you might be of some use after all. Now and again.” The air was suddenly thick, and I was acutely aware of how close I was to her. Common Sense went to war with Desire inside me; surprisingly, Common Sense won, and I stepped back.

  Desire retreated into the back of my brain, muttering to itself.

  “So,” I tried to keep my voice level, “I guess you’ve put a lot into this bar, huh?”

  If she was surprised at my sudden interest, she didn’t show it. “Yeah, I have. It’s been a lot of wo
rk just getting it to this point. Now I feel like it’s all starting to pay off.” She looked at the floor. “When I came here, the place was practically empty, which is why I managed to buy it for so little. Now, we get a pretty good crowd most nights, and everyone has a good time.”

  I definitely had a good time, I thought. Suppressing a sudden urge to bring up the subject of kissing, I looked around, trying to find another topic. “I guess this place has a lot of history, doesn’t it?”

  Cat shrugged, and leaned back against the wardrobe, one hand on her hip. I swallowed. Damn, that’s really sexy.

  “I think it’s been around for a long time, but I don’t know much about it myself. I think there are a bunch of records in the local library about this site, but I’ve never bothered to look.”

  “Really?” That was interesting; detailed information about the building would make my job a lot easier. “Maybe I’ll check it out.” I reached out a hand. “Look, I really want you to understand that I’m not here to make things difficult, okay?”

  Cat looked out the window. “Okay.”

  “I wouldn’t be here if this wasn’t a big opportunity.”

  “Yeah, I guess it would be a pretty big deal for you if this turned out to be an important archaeological site, wouldn’t it?” She looked around the room. “It’s just a shame there’s a bar on top of it.”

  I tried not to look pained. “Not just for me, Cat. For the town, and for the whole world. History and prehistory are like memories. Not just those of one person, but memories shared by every human being. Every time we find something, we have one single chance to preserve it for future generations. Who knows how many things have been forgotten because we didn’t pay enough attention, or we thought it was too much trouble?”

  Without realizing, I’d started to pace about the small room. “The libraries at Alexandria and Baghdad, works of science and literature we can only guess at. Mayan codices in the 16th century; thousands of books, of which only four were saved from destruction. In paleontology, even the discovery of a single bone can completely rewrite our known history not just of a single species, but of an entire region.”

  I stopped, right in front of her. “Human beings are impermanent creatures, Cat. We forget things so easily. That’s why it’s so important. Because if we can remember, we must.”

  I saw my father’s face, kindly and confused, and I looked away for a moment so Cat wouldn’t see my eyes. Once lost, memories are gone forever.

  “We only get one chance to preserve the past, and we.” I swallowed. “We owe it to everyone who’s ever lived to try and do the best job we can.”

  When I turned back, I saw her looking at me almost with an expression of respect. It wasn’t exactly affection, but it wasn’t as arms-length as she’d been before, either. “I see what you mean, Ryan. Is that why you do it?”

  “Yes, and…yeah, pretty much.” I wasn’t going to tell a stranger about Dad, and I didn’t want the memory to show on my face, so I stepped closer to her. “Cat, I’m here to do a job that needs to be done, and we don’t have much of a choice about that. But I promise that I won’t make unnecessary problems for you, okay? That’s honestly the best I can offer.”

  She sighed. “Okay, thanks. I appreciate it.”

  Tentatively, I reached out and took her hand. She stiffened, but didn’t pull away. “I do wish we’d met under different circumstances.”

  “I—yeah.” Cat looked up at me, eyes wide, and that one look that froze me to the spot. Desire had been biding its time, and now it jumped me from cover with a sock full of sand; I wanted to pin her against the wardrobe and kiss her, hard. Her independence, her obstinate refusal to accept help from me with the wardrobe, and the way she responded when she was in my arms, all came flooding back to to me. I stared at her lips, full and rich and red. What would she do, right now, if I kissed her?

  Then, as quickly as it had come, the moment passed. She slipped her hand from mine, and stepped sideways, away from me.

  “You know where the basement is,” Cat said, “so maybe you ought to get on with it. As much as I need your money, I can’t imagine you want to stay here longer than necessary.”

  I nodded, fighting the urge to disagree with her.

  15

  Cat

  The steps into the basement were narrow and rickety, and not even I could get up and down them quietly. Storing the beer kegs down here was always a problem, because they were a pain in the ass to get up and down. But the cool, dry environment and the large flat space meant I didn’t really have much of a choice; there was no room to store them upstairs, and down here they were safe and secure, and when the weather was hot this was the next-best thing to an actual walk-in freezer.

  As I got to the bottom of the steps, I heard a scratching noise from the far corner. For a minute I wondered if I’d suddenly developed a rat problem, before remembering.

  No, it’s an archaeologist problem. Harder to get rid of, and people will really complain if I resort to poison.

  Ryan was in the corner, on his knees, working at a section of the wall with a small trowel. He’d stripped off his shirt, and despite the cold, his vest was damp with sweat. I was about to say something, but I stopped for a minute to watch him. His broad shoulders were packed with muscle, and I found myself wondering how someone stuck in a dusty college classroom got to look like that.

  A section of the brickwork of the wall abutting the floor had been removed, and the bricks neatly stacked in the middle of the basement. As I watched, Ryan worked carefully to scrape away dirt from something small and white that protruded from the earth behind the wall. His gloved hands moved from the tools and back to a small notebook, where he scribbled something in brief capital letters denoting what he’d found. Every so often, he would stop and pick up a camera to capture photographs of the process. He worked swiftly and surely, completely engrossed in what he was doing, oblivious to my presence. Eventually, the piece of what looked like bone came away from the wall, and Ryan picked up a brush to remove the last traces of dirt from it, then took several photographs. He sat back on his haunches and let out a long breath, then stretched his arms and back.

  Daaamn. I took a moment to admire the lean muscles of his arms, corded and tanned; maybe he’d spent a lot of time on dusty dig sites in the sun. Ryan had a patchwork of fine scars on his upper left bicep, white cross-hatchings that looked old and faded, but deep enough when they were created to be permanent.

  I coughed gently. “Hey. How’s it going down here?” Ryan looked around, and saw me, breaking into a smile. He rolled easily to his feet, stripping off his gloves and wiping his hands on a cloth, before turning around. “Hey, yourself. It’s going really well; that last one was pretty delicate, so I’m glad it’s out safely. How are you?”

  “Just getting ready for the evening. Kegs are nearly out, so I need to clean the lines and put some new ones on.” I indicated a stack of metal beer-kegs in the far corner. “Don’t let me interrupt you.”

  “No problem. I could use the break, to be honest.” Ryan picked up the piece of bone, bagged it, and put it into a labeled container. As he did, he watched me load two kegs on to a cart and wheel them over to the foot of the stairs.

  This was the part I really didn’t like. A full beer keg weighed about a hundred and sixty pounds; I’d had to learn to get them up the stairs, or I wouldn’t have had a bar. But it took me a while, and I had to take it one step at a time, which is why I always made sure it was done before the bar was opened for the afternoon and evening.

  “Hey.” As I bent over, took a deep breath, and took a firm hold of both handles, Ryan was next to me. “Can I help?”

  I opened my mouth to refuse, and he saw the expression on my face. “Yeah, I know you can do it. But I’d like to help, okay?”

  It’s not a big deal. It’s just a stupid keg. I’m not letting down the sisterhood by accepting help from this guy.

  “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

  Ryan took hold
of the keg in both hands, and hoisted it to thigh height, then climbed the stairs easily. The weight was heavy enough that his muscles strained in his vest, and I tried not to look at him too obviously as he mounted the steps and disappeared out of sight.

  His voice came from the upper floor, muffled slightly. “Where do you want them?”

  “Just in the alcove by the stairs, please. I can hook them up from there.”

  A chuckle. “Oh yes, the alcove. I remember. No problem.” There was a low clang of the keg on the floor, and he reappeared, wiping his hands on his pants. “Just the two?”

  “Yeah, thanks.” I pursed my lips. “I thought archaeologists would be, well…”

  He looked down at me as he made his way down the steps. “Well, what?”

  I flushed. “Well, a bit more…”

  “Nerdy. The word you’re looking for, Cat, is nerdy.” He was obviously enjoying my discomfort, but the look in his eyes wasn’t unkind. “Haven’t you ever seen an Indiana Jones film?”

  My laugh was genuine. “Fair point. Although you don’t have a hat or a whip.”

  “No, but I do have a leather jacket, and I do hate snakes. So it’s really pretty damn close, all things considered. Besides,” Ryan indicated the bones in the corner, “I am also quite nerdy. Who else would spend three-quarters of an hour on his knees in your basement digging away at a wall?”

  I looked across at them. “Fair point. So what do you think they are?”

  Ryan let go of the keg, and walked over to pick up one of the bagged samples. Bringing it back to where I stood, he held it up for me to inspect. “To answer your question, I’m not sure yet. But they certainly aren’t horse, or cow, or sheep, or any other common domesticated animal; that much I can tell you. Whatever they are, they’re something that was here before domesticated animals were common.” He looked at me, the light of enthusiasm bright in his eyes. “And that’s pretty exciting.”