by Patricia Fry
A MEOWvelous Witness: A Klepto Cat Mystery
Book 16
by Patricia Fry
A MEOWvelous Witness
A Klepto Cat Mystery
Book 17
Author: Patricia Fry
ISBN: 978-0-9966732-8-0
All rights reserved
© 2016 Matilija Press
Chapter 1
“Savannah!” Colbi hissed, barely able to breathe. “Over here. Hurry!”
Savannah aimed her flashlight in Colbi’s direction. “What? What is it?”
Her voice sounding pinched, Colbi said, “Oh, my gosh! I think it’s a body.”
“Are you sure? What kind of body?” Suddenly feeling a gripping fear, she blurted, “Please tell me it’s a squirrel or a rat.”
“No, Savannah. It’s a person. Get over here!” she spat, impatiently. “Bring your flashlight. Mine quit working, darn it.”
Savannah hesitated. “I don’t really think I want to see this, do I?”
“Probably not.” Colbi closed her eyes and shivered. “Oh, Savannah, what is going on? This just can’t be happening.”
“Maybe it’s not happening. Maybe you’re just imagining things.” Savannah stepped closer to Colbi and grabbed her arm. “I don’t see anything. Let’s go.”
“Stop it!” Colbi whispered. “There is a body.” She pointed. “Now look. It’s right there…up against the house.” Colbi clutched her jacket more tightly around herself and turned away. “Oh my God, Savannah. How did he get there? Where did he come from?” Glancing back at the limp form in the glow from Savannah’s flashlight, she gasped. “Is that blood? Savannah, I think that guy’s been murdered.”
Savannah’s eyes wandered to the second-story window. “Maybe he jumped from up there. Could he have broken into your house and tried to escape through that window?” Upon closer examination, she reasoned, “I guess not. It doesn’t look like it’s open and it’s certainly not broken.” She peered into the darkness. “Maybe he walked up from the highway, drunk and passed out.” She spoke more quietly. “Could be that he’s just sleeping it off.”
Colbi shook her head slowly. “I don’t think so. He looks dead to me. That’s not a sleeping position, it’s a…a…dead position, if I’ve ever seen one.”
“And how many have you seen?” Savannah challenged.
“Not many. And I wish I wasn’t seeing this one.” Colbi turned away again. “What should we do?”
Savannah took a deep breath and let it out. “Well, we’d better call someone.” Easing her cell phone from her pocket, she tapped in a number.
The answer came promptly. “9-1-1. What is your emergency?”
“This is Savannah Ivey. I’m at the Stanton place out on the highway east of town and we’ve found what appears to be a…a…body…a…dead one,” she said, her voice quivering.
“Dead, you say? Is this a residence?”
“Yes.”
Is the…body inside or outside the house?”
“Outside.”
“Is the victim an occupant of the home? Someone you know?”
“No.”
“Are you sure he’s dead?”
“Pretty sure. …looks like someone hit him over the head or stabbed him or something. There’s...blood.”
“How did you discover the body, ma’am?”
Savannah glanced at Colbi, then looked at the dining room window and noticed two cats peering out at her. “As I understand it, the resident cats alerted the homeowner that something was wrong. Ms. Stanton called me, and when we started looking around, we found it.”
“Okay, ma’am. Officers are on the way.”
Once she ended the call, Savannah turned to Colbi. “Do you know who it is?”
“No!” she practically shouted.
“Are you sure? Take a closer look, will you? The cops will want to know.”
Colbi cringed, then stepped slowly toward the body. “Ugh, looks like he was bonked on the head.” Suddenly, she froze. “Hey! I think that’s…isn’t that…? Oh no!” she screeched. “Look Savannah—look at who that is!”
“Who?” she asked, frowning. “I don’t want to look. Come on, don’t make me look.”
“You made me look.”
“Yeah, but it’s your house.”
“Just look. You’re not going to believe it.” When Colbi heard Savannah gasp, she grasped her jacket sleeve. “What does this mean? Oh my gosh, we’re going to be blamed for this just as sure as you and I are standing here right now. I know it. Who wanted him to vanish into thin air more than we did? No one. And now he’s dead—probably murdered—at my house. This is awful—just blasted awful!”
As Colbi chattered nervously, Savannah’s head began to reel. She thought back to the first time she’d seen the man who now lay dead at her feet.
****
It was eight days earlier. She’d just arrived to meet one of her best friends at the local diner. “Colbi, what’s so important it couldn’t wait until lunchtime?” Savannah complained good-naturedly as she slid into a booth with her fifteen-month-old daughter. “Or even forenoon coffee, as my dad used to call it.”
Colbi smiled. “Don’t you like eating breakfast out? It’s a treat for me—getting to enjoy a full breakfast that someone else cooks.”
“Yes, I love breakfast out, only…”
“Only what?”
“Obviously, you’ve never had to get a husband off to work, feed a menagerie of animals, bathe and dress an active toddler, and make yourself presentable, all before eight a.m.,” Savannah explained.
Colbi’s tone was sympathetic. “Oh, I guess it would be hard.” Then smiling, she reached for the baby. “Hi, sweet Lily. How’s my girl?” she cooed. “Here, let’s get that jacket off you—as cute as it is, it’s gotta be hot.”
“Ki-ki,” Lily said.
“Ki-ki?” Colbi repeated, cocking her head. “Where’s the kitty?”
Lily patted Colbi’s chest. “Ki-ki.”
“My pendant,” Colbi said, laughing. “She remembers my silver one with the cloisonné Siamese cat on it. Wow! What a memory.”
“Yes, she doesn’t forget much and she does love kitty-cats, don’t you, honey-bunny? Let’s put you in the highchair, shall we?” Savannah said, lifting the toddler. “Then Mommy better have some coffee so she can wake up.”
“Sorry about that,” Colbi said. “I could have met you at eight thirty, if that would have helped.”
Savannah smirked playfully at her friend. Once she’d strapped Lily into the highchair, wiped the tray down with a disinfectant wipe, and handed the toddler a baby treat, she turned to Colbi. “So what’s the occasion? Why did you summon us at the crack of dawn?”
Colbi laughed. “Crack of dawn? I’ve been up for hours working on a magazine story. I even fed Dolly and the feral cats and watered my houseplants.”
“What time do you get up, anyway?” Savannah asked.
“It depends. This morning, it was around four thirty.” When she saw Savannah’s wide-eyed expression, she said, “I’ve been asked to write an article for a major magazine and I wanted to get a good start on it before I go to my real job at the newspaper.”
“Oh, nice. What’s the article about?”
Colbi pushed her light-brown bangs to one side. “Would you believe, women on overload? The piece features tips for living a more stress-free life.”
“So are you writing it using expert quotes or a ‘don’t do as I do, do as I say’ perspective?” she asked, grinning.
“A little of both, I’m afraid,” Colbi admitted. “Don’t you think we all succumb to the str
ess in our lives at times? But some women can’t seem to get a grip. They don’t have the right tools in place for handling their stress. I’ve had some productive interviews with two high-powered businesswomen and a life coach.”
“Well, if you’d like to interview me on how to do it all in sixty minutes flat, just let me know,” Savannah offered.
Before Colbi could respond, the server approached with menus. “Good morning, ladies. I’m Becky; I’ll be your server. What can I get you to drink?”
“Hot tea for me,” Colbi said.
Savannah thought for a moment before ordering a cup of coffee.
The waitress nodded toward Lily. “And the baby?”
“I have something for her,” Savannah said. “She’s fine. Thank you.” Before the young woman could walk away, Savannah glanced around then asked, “Iris isn’t working today?”
“I think she’s on the dinner shift. She just fills in these days. She’s trying to get her home-decorating business up and running, you know.”
Savannah nodded. “Yes, she’s really enjoying her new career.”
“Do you know Iris well?”
“Yes, she’s one of my best friends,” Savannah explained. She nodded toward Colbi. “And she’s soon to be her mother-in-law.”
“You’re marrying her son?” Becky asked. “Cool. I’ll bet she’s a fun mother-in-law. Everyone seems to like her.”
“Oh yes, she’s a wonderful person—a lot of fun,” Colbi said. She motioned for Becky to lean closer. “Just don’t accept an invitation to go to her mountain cabin with her.”
Savannah laughed. “Good advice.”
“Oh, so you two were in on that fiasco, were you?” Becky said, wide-eyed. “I heard about that. What a frightening experience. Weren’t you terrified?”
“I sure was,” Colbi said. She smiled. “But we had fun, too. There’s nothing quite as healing as spending time laughing with girlfriends.”
“Yeah, it was a blast,” Savannah agreed. “But I’m not eager to have that much fun again anytime soon.” In a more serious tone, she added, “With Iris moving on, an era here at the diner is coming to an end.”
Becky picked up a toy Lily had pushed off onto the floor, then shook her straight black hair into place. “Yes, I guess so. Our customers miss her. She’s a hard act to follow in this business.” She spoke more quietly. “I understand they’ve hired and fired quite a few people to take her place. Sure hope I’m one of the chosen few.”
“Well, good luck,” Savannah said.
The server started to walk away when Colbi called her back. “Becky, I know what I want. I’d like two scrambled eggs with cottage cheese and tomatoes.” She hesitated. “And sourdough toast with orange marmalade.”
“Sounds good,” Savannah said. “I’ll have the same, only a biscuit with your boysenberry jam instead of the toast.”
“Got it,” Becky said while making notes on her pad. “I’ll be right back with your beverages.”
“So what’s up?” Savannah asked Colbi. “You said you had to talk to me. Is everything okay?”
After hesitating, Colbi said, “Yes. It’s all good.”
“Only good?” Savannah questioned.
Colbi took a deep breath before saying, “Great. Everything’s great—I’m engaged to a wonderful man and in only a matter of weeks, we’ll be married.”
“Weeks? I thought you were planning a May wedding.”
Just then, Lily tossed her sippy cup and it landed on the table next to Savannah. “Oops, careful, baby girl.” She offered the toddler a sip of the juice. When Lily pushed it away, Savannah set the cup on the table and sprinkled some dry cereal on the highchair tray, then turned to Colbi. “So why did you change the date?” When Colbi didn’t respond, Savannah glanced in the direction her friend was staring. “Earth to Colbi,” she joked.
Appearing a bit distracted, Colbi shook her head a little. “What?”
“You were going to tell me why you moved your wedding date up.”
“Oh yes. We just decided not to wait. We’ve set the date for April second—in two weeks and three days.” Colbi suddenly leaned forward, her brow furrowed. “You can make it, can’t you?”
“I’m sure we can.” Savannah quivered with excitement. “Wow! It’ll be here before you know it. Are you still planning to have the wedding at your place?”
“Yes, Damon and Harrison are creating the most beautiful outdoor room.” She choked up. “Sorry, I get emotional every time I think about how well my fiancé and my brother are getting along now.”
Savannah patted Colbi’s hand. “What are they doing out in the yard?”
Sniffling, she said, “Well, we’ll say our vows under a rose-covered arbor; guests will have a view of the mountains behind us. They’ve made a nice flat place for tables and chairs. They’re even putting up lattice patio covers for shade.”
Savannah smiled at her friend. “Oh, that will be so nice. And if it rains?”
Colbi cringed. “If it rains, there goes our budget and the ambiance. We’ll have to rent a tent, I guess, or move inside.” She waved her hand in front of her face. “Let’s not even think rain, okay? I’m nervous enough about how it’ll all come together.”
“Sure. How many guests do you expect?”
“Probably around thirty, counting the little ones—it’ll be small. But I want it to be lovely.”
“Of course. So what about after the wedding? Where will you set up housekeeping? Is your brother still taking over your family home? You and Damon want to move into a more modern place, right?”
“Yes,” Colbi said excitedly. “Didn’t I tell you? We rented a great property in the Applegate tract with an option to buy. It’ll be difficult going from Damon’s modest rent payment and just taxes and insurance payments on my house to a large house payment, but we think we can make it on our two salaries. We’ve been saving and we’re both doing some freelance writing to generate extra income.” Her eyes sparkled when she added, “Damon has started writing a novel. He’s had this dream for a long time. He knows a woman who’s making a pretty good living from her first attempt at a novel and he’s eager to jump on that bandwagon.”
“Wow! Can’t wait to read it.” Savannah handed Lily a doll she’d tossed onto the table. “Harrison will pay you for your share of the family property, won’t he? That should help with your house payment.”
Colbi nodded. “Uh-huh, once Harrison completes culinary school and he’s working full time. That should start in a month or so. Yes, that will help.” Her face brightened. “You know, he’s working part time at that classy restaurant in Straley while going to school. He can’t wait to be a full-time chef and have enough coming in to bring Leah and the baby here.”
“So they’re still planning a life together, are they?”
“Oh yes,” Colbi said, smiling broadly. “He’s eager to be a family man.”
“And he’s okay with that drive to Straley for work every day?”
“For now. He says the restaurant owner has another restaurant in Mason and they might make him head chef there and move the other chef to the Straley restaurant, because he lives in that area.”
“Now, that would be a perfect solution, wouldn’t it?” Savannah said. “It would cut his driving time in half.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know how long he’ll stay there. I can see him wanting to move up in his career. His dream is to open his own restaurant. So the Stanton homestead, where we grew up, may eventually be sold or he might rent it out, I guess.” Colbi stirred a little sugar into her tea. “But that’s down the road. One step at a time.”
“How does Leah feel about all this?”
“From what I can tell, she’s eager to be a part of Harrison’s dream.”
Savannah smiled. “It sounds wonderful. I’m so pleased for you both.” Her demeanor took on a more serious tone. “Who would have thought your brother would change so dramatically? I mean, just a matter of months ago, he
and Leah were both living on the streets—him with a drug habit and Leah, a runaway, pregnant with a Hawaiian gang-banger’s child, believing she had no options.”
“Yeah. Heck, this time last year, I didn’t know whether my brother was dead or alive.”
“This time last year,” Savannah said, quietly, “I didn’t even know you had a brother.”
“Yes, that’s right.” Colbi let out a sigh. “A lot has happened in my world in just a matter of a few months.” She smiled broadly. “I feel so blessed to have my brother back.” She hesitated. “People can change, Savannah. I guess the stars finally lined up in Harrison’s favor or he simply found the right motivation…”
Savannah stared across the table at her. “Sometimes all it takes is a rendezvous with death.”
Wincing, Colbi said, “Well, something sure turned him around, and if that’s what it took—if that awful beating is what did it—I’m glad it happened.”
Savannah stared across at her friend for a moment, then took a deep breath. “Okay, Colbi,” she said, a glint in her eye, “what was so important that you had to drag me out of bed to tell me?”
Colbi smiled coyly. “Well, I have a very important question and I couldn’t wait to ask you.”
“What?”
“Savannah, my best friend in the whole world, would you be my matron of honor at our wedding?” She clapped her hands together and bounced a little in her seat. “Please say yes.”
Savannah smiled at her friend’s exuberance. “Of course I will,” she said warmly. “It would be a privilege and an honor. Thank you.”
“Oh good.” Colbi pulled a pad of paper out of her purse and confided, “I’ve been doing some research and here’s a list of some of the matron of honor’s duties.”
When Savannah saw the list Colbi held in her hand, she was taken aback. “Holy moly, girl, that’s some list.”
Colbi chuckled. “Oh no, this one’s mine,” she said. “And not one thing is crossed off yet.” She quickly turned the paper over and raked her pen across it. “There. I crossed off ‘ask Savannah to be matron of honor.’” She then held up the list. “See why I’m feeling so overwhelmed?” She turned to another page. “Here’s your list. I only wrote down those duties that make sense in our situation—help me pick out a dress, hold my bouquet at the wedding, stand up with me…”
