Karen Anne Golden - The Cats That 03 - The Cats That Told a Fortune

by Karen Anne Golden

“I’d love to,” Jake said, then asked, “I take it your parents didn’t own a car?”

  “No need to. We had car services and the subway.”

  “I’ve been to New York, but never rode the subway.”

  “We’ll have to fix that one day,” she said, then changed the subject. “After I pick up Colleen from the airport on Friday, I’m meeting the party planner, the fortune teller and the magician. We’re going to do a dress rehearsal of the entertainment on Saturday.”

  Jake reached over and squeezed her hand. “It’s going to be fun.”

  “Enough of my stuff. Tell me about Covered Bridge.”

  “It’s sort of something you have to experience. The bridge in Millbridge is a reproduction, but a damn good one. Several years ago, some yahoo torched the original. It was devastating to the town because they base their livelihood on this once-a-year event. People were so disgusted by the arson, they took up donations. I’m talking statewide contributions. The town gathered enough money to build a brand-new bridge, which looks just like the original. That’s the first thing you’ll see when we pull in. You have to walk over it to get to the festival.”

  “Meaning no cars are allowed,” she asked, interested.

  “Just pedestrians,” he said. “There’s an actual mill that sells its own products. We’ll have to pick up some of their pumpkin bread mix. It’s delicious.”

  “I’ve never had pumpkin bread.”

  “Well, brace yourself, you’ll have lots of pumpkin this and pumpkin that before the day is over.”

  “Wonderful,” she said, enjoying gazing through the Jeep’s window at the gorgeous autumn leaves. The sky was a deep blue without a cloud in sight.

  Jake slowed down for an Amish horse-drawn vehicle that was moving at a snail’s pace ahead. While he passed, Katherine smiled at the two women inside and turned back to Jake, “I didn’t know there were any Amish in Indiana.”

  “Yes, there are. They own and farm land around here. They even have their own school for their kids. I bet the ladies are taking their produce to the festival,” Jake observed. “Hopefully, there’ll be pumpkin whoopies.”

  “I’ve had chocolate whoopies, but not pumpkin.”

  “They’re basically round pumpkin cakes with a creamy cheese icing in the middle. You’ll want to buy dozens and then take them home and freeze them. They’re incredible.”

  “I’m salivating,” Katherine replied with a smile.

  Arriving at the festival, Jake parked the Jeep on a grass-covered parking spot. The lot was packed, so they had to hike quite a ways to get to the famous bridge. Katherine was in awe and quickly extracted her smartphone. She began taking pictures of the historic site. The crowd of people attending was vast, so it was impossible to get a clear shot of the bridge. A friendly passerby volunteered to take Jake’s and Katherine’s picture together. After thanking the photographer, Katherine told Jake she’d print a hard copy for him.

  The setting was idyllic. The bridge crossed over a pond, complete with small waterfall. The small dam powered the mill, which was still in operation. As they walked over the covered bridge, Katherine began to notice “Wanted” posters stapled to the wood beams. She stopped and began to read one of them. “Information leading to the arrest of the Brook County killer who has murdered these young women … ,” her voice trailed off. On the poster were photos of three beautiful women, each with long hair parted down the middle. They appeared to be in their early twenties.

  “Oh, this is heartbreaking,” Katherine said sadly.

  Jake hugged her and said, “My cousin Daryl works for the sheriff’s department. He said there’s information about the killings that can’t be made public. Daryl said whoever is committing the crimes is a sick bastard.”

  They started walking again. The throng of people had increased to the point it was hard to navigate the street. Festival goers pushed baby strollers, red wagons, or shopping carts. Families brought their children and their pets. A few attendees had their dogs in pet strollers. Katherine hoped viewing the poster wouldn’t spoil her day. As a child, her mother would say, “Happy thoughts! Let it be!”

  Jake took her hand and guided her to the mill. They toured the inside. Katherine was fascinated to watch the old equipment make flour. Outside, Jake found a bench and Katherine sat down. Jake said he’d be back in a minute. When he returned, he was carrying two cups of steaming spiced tea, along with a giant slice of pumpkin bread, topped with a huge dollop of whipped cream. The nearby picnic tables were packed with families talking and laughing. While Jake and Katherine ate, a fifty-something couple came over. The man was tall with dark brown hair and intense brown eyes. The woman was petite with shoulder-length graying hair. Jake recognized them immediately and stood up to offer his mom his seat.

  “Hey, Mom and Dad,” he said. “I didn’t know you were coming today. Mom, have a sit-down next to Katherine.”

  “Thanks, son, but we just got here. I need to stretch my legs,” she answered.

  “Who’s this young lady?” Jake’s father asked, firing Katherine an inquisitive glance.

  “Dad, this is Katherine,” Jake said, with an ear-to-ear grin.

  Jake’s father extended his hand.

  Katherine shook it heartily. “I’m so glad to finally meet you, Mr. Cokenberger.”

  “My name’s Johnny.”

  Katherine smiled.

  Johnny turned to the woman behind him and introduced her to Katherine. “And this is Jake’s Mom, Cora.”

  Cora slowly stepped up to shake Katherine’s hand, but never once established eye contact. “I’m pleased to meet you,” she said in a monotone voice.

  Katherine asked, smiling, “How are you enjoying the festival?”

  Cora answered in a bored tone, “Just fine. John, I really want to go to the stained glass booth before they’re all sold out.”

  “Sure thing,” Johnny said, somewhat embarrassed by his wife’s cold behavior toward Katherine. “Son, are you still stopping by later?”

  “Yes, Dad, after I take Katz home.”

  “Okay, then. Nice meeting you, Katherine,” Jake’s dad said as he turned to leave.

  Jake’s face turned several shades of red. He looked at Katherine like he’d just experienced his worst nightmare. “Katz, I cannot apologize enough for my mother. I don’t know why she acted that way.”

  Katherine was speechless. She felt hurt, no, crushed. She wanted so much for Jake’s parents to like her. She just continued pretending to enjoy the pumpkin bread.

  “I’m so sorry,” Jake continued.

  Katherine took Jake’s face in her hands and kissed him lightly on the lips. “It’s okay, really. Just let it be.”

  There was a dead silence for what seemed to be an eternity, but finally Jake changed the topic. “How did it go yesterday with the new student?”

  “Good. Her name is Stacy. She had her adorable little girl with her. She said her mom was sick and she couldn’t find a babysitter. So we hauled in the playpen, put Angelina in it, and I taught the class. It went by very smoothly. Stacy is a fast learner,” Katherine answered, trying to be cheerful.

  “What’s her last name?” he asked.

  “Grimes.”

  “I know her. She’s a sweetheart. She’s a server at the Erie Hotel. Ironically, she replaced . . . ” Jake caught himself and fell silent.

  Katherine thought, Did the love of my life just almost mention that horrific Patricia Marston woman – the one who killed her mother, then my boyfriend? She answered gloomily, “I haven’t been to the hotel in a long time.”

  “I’m sorry, Katz, it was insensitive of me to mention it,” Jake apologized. Putting his arm around her, he said, “Forgive me?”

  “I wonder if I can ever forget what happened last February,” Katherine said sadly.

  “What do you mean?” Jake asked, concerned.

  “Until Patricia Marston is sentenced to life in prison, I won’t have closure for Gary’s death, but let’s not talk about
this now,” Katherine said, quickly recovering. “By the way, why would you know Stacy? Should I be worried?” she asked warily.

  Jake gave her an incredulous look. “Nope. After my wife died, I couldn’t stand being home alone, so I frequented every bar and restaurant in town. That’s how I seem to be the official social register of Erie. Stacy’s had her share of tragedy. Her father was killed in a hit-and-run accident. They never found out who did it. Her fiancé was a marine in Iraq, and then Afghanistan. He died in combat before they could marry.”

  Katherine looked puzzled. “What did you just say?”

  “Which time?” Jake asked. “I seem to be babbling about negative stuff I really don’t want to talk about.”

  “Go back to the part about Stacy’s fiancé. He died in the war?”

  Jake nodded. “What’s so sad, he never got to see his little girl. He was overseas when she was born.”

  “Something doesn’t gel. Yesterday when Stacy left the classroom, she said she was meeting the father of Angelina. Why would Stacy lie to me? I don’t even know her,” Katherine said, mystified.

  Jake shrugged. “Don’t know. There must have been a good reason though. Stacy’s never come across as a liar.” Jake got up and moved to the garbage can. He threw out the paper cups and plate. “Are you ready to see the sights?” he asked. “We’ll just walk the streets. There are several historic buildings with vendors inside, and newer pole barns with folks selling just about anything. I know a vendor that sells flavored coffee. Want to go there first?” Jake said with renewed enthusiasm.

  “Yes,” Katherine said on autopilot. She was still wondering why Stacy lied.

  Jake led the way through the crowd of people. “Does this remind you of Grand Central Station?” he kidded.

  “Definitely, but the people dress very differently in Manhattan.”

  “But look at you,” Jake said pointing at Katherine’s field coat. “You fit right in!” He hugged her.

  Jake and Katherine darted and meandered through a large group that included grandparents, parents and children to get to the coffee vendor. While Katherine bought several different flavors of coffee, Jake chatted to the vendor. Katherine liked that about him. He could strike up a conversation with anyone. A nearby country band played Hank Williams’s “Your Cheatin’ Heart.” Not exactly Katherine’s favorite song, considering her former boyfriends had all been cheaters, especially Gary.

  Several hours passed. Jake and Katherine tried every pumpkin dessert at the festival – pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin roll with creamed cheese frosting, pumpkin whoopie pies, and a slice of pumpkin pie. For lunch they walked to the outdoor food court, which was packed. Most of the fare was food Katherine never imagined would be sold by vendors in Manhattan. Fried zucchini and green tomatoes, bloomin’ onions with ranch dipping sauce, breaded pork tenderloin, chicken kabobs on a stick, and for dessert, cinnamon-sprinkled “elephant ears” and giant sticky buns with thick icing. Katherine and Jake explored them all, but jumped to the back of a long line for hickory-smoked chicken, which the vendor advertised as the best BBQ in Indiana. Later, they both agreed it was. Sitting at crowded picnic table and eating away, a tall slender man in his twenties walked over. He wore a county deputy uniform, complete with tasseled hat. He spoke to Jake.

  “Hey, cousin,” he said, flashing the Cokenberger grin. He had blond hair and light green eyes.

  “Hey,” Jake said, extending his hand. “Daryl, I want you to meet Katz.”

  Daryl bent down and kissed Katherine on the cheek. “The pleasure is all mine,” he said.

  Jake answered in a kidding tone, “Calm down there, Romeo.”

  Daryl belted out a laugh, sounding very much like Cokey.

  Katz laughed. “It’s nice to meet you. Jake has told me all about you. Did you get the invitation to my Halloween party?”

  “Yes, I did, but if we don’t catch this nutcase killing young women, I won’t be able to attend. Sheriff’s got us working around the clock.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Katherine said empathetically.

  “Any new leads?” Jake asked.

  The deputy waited for the family of teenagers to vacate the picnic table, then leaned over. He lowered his voice. “What I’m about to tell you is going to be released to the media in a couple of hours, but keep it to yourselves until you hear it on the news. We found another victim.”

  Katherine gasped, “Oh, no, that’s so tragic.”

  “The weird thing is this psycho is profiling young women with the same hair style – long dark hair, parted down the middle.”

  “Sounds like Ted Bundy,” Katherine commented.

  “How do you know about Ted Bundy?” Jake asked, in passing.

  “One of my electives at NYU was criminology. We studied serial killers. Ted Bundy preferred women with the same kind of hair style. Hope this killer isn’t a copycat.”

  “Me either,” the deputy agreed. “This attack is different from the rest. One of the state park employees found an abandoned car just outside the park entrance. The victim was abducted and discovered farther up the road. She was either thrown from a speeding vehicle or she managed to jump out. There were marks on her neck like someone tried to strangle her. She must have fought like hell. When an elderly couple came upon the scene, the perp sped off. They found the woman on the side of the road and called 9-1-1. She has some serious injuries, and it’s not sure whether she’ll make it or not. She was helicoptered to an Indianapolis hospital, where she’s in a coma.”

  Jake asked, “Did the couple ID the make and model of the car?”

  The deputy shook his head, “Nope, but they did say it had Indiana plates.”

  Katherine felt like she was going to faint. She remembered Scout and Abra doing the Halloween dance after Stacy and Angelina left the classroom. She asked, concerned, “Do you know the woman’s name?”

  Deputy Cokenberger shook his head. “We can’t release the name until the family’s been notified, but she’s from Erie. Well, gotta get back to it. Nice meeting you, Katz. I do hope I can come to your party, but I’ll let you know if I can’t.” He tipped his tasseled hat and walked through a crowd of people waiting in line for the fried green tomatoes.

  “What’s wrong, Katz? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “I don’t have a very good feeling about this. Gut feeling tells me the woman is Stacy Grimes.”

  Katherine fished out her cell phone and pressed her contact’s list. She scrolled through the names until she found Stacy’s. She pressed the phone icon but the phone rang and rang, then went into voice mail. She left a message, then pressed the end button. “Stacy’s not picking up. I’ll use my phone app to find her mother’s number.” Searching the directory, Katherine asked Jake, “There’s a million Grimes listed. Do you know Stacy’s mom’s name?”

  “Nope,” Jake said shaking his head. “I don’t know Stacy’s mom’s name, but her deceased husband’s name was Rick.”

  “Not finding it. Maybe it’s not listed. I might have her mom’s number on file in the classroom. I won’t have a moment’s peace until I find out Stacy’s okay. Jake, can we go home now?” Katherine looked up with concern.

  “Sure,” Jake answered. “I’m completely pumpkined out anyway. Let’s head to the Jeep.”

  They barely spoke on the way back to Erie. Jake tried his best to get Katherine to talk, but she just answered “yes” or “no” to his questions. Pulling up in front of the pink mansion, Jake said, “Do you want me to come in?”

  Katherine touched his hand. “Yes, please do,” she said. “Can you park in back?”

  Jake backed up, then drove the Jeep to the classroom’s entrance. They instantly noticed that the back metal security door was covered with oozing broken eggs.

  “Oh, my God,” she said loudly. “Who in the hell would do such a thing?”

  Jake stopped the Jeep and they got out.

  Jake said, “We’ve got to get this washed off before it dries and damages the pain
t. Could you unlock the door, please? I’ll go inside and get a bucket of water and some soap. While I’m doing that, you can look for Stacy’s mom’s phone number. Sound like a plan?”

  Katherine nodded and put her key in the lock. She opened the door and stepped down several steps. Jake walked back to the mechanical room’s laundry sink and drew a pail of water. Katherine rummaged in her new desk and found the number for Stacy’s mom; she added it to her smartphone’s contact’s list. A weak woman’s voice answered the phone.

  “Hello,” the voice slurred.

  Katherine wondered what drugs she might be on to cause such slurred speech. “Mrs. Grimes, this is Katherine Kendall. Stacy is taking a computer class from me …”

  Mrs. Grimes interrupted, “Ma’am, Stacy won’t be attending your class. She’s in critical condition down in Indy. My sister is coming to drive me there.”

  “I’m so sorry. If there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to call me,” Katherine said, worried.

  “Thank you. I’m hanging up now. My ride is here.” The distraught mother hung up.

  “Jake,” Katherine called urgently.

  “What is it?” he said, dashing into the classroom with water splashing out of his bucket.

  “The victim last night was Stacy. She’s in critical condition in a hospital in Indy. I’ve got to call Chief London.”

  “Why are you calling the chief?” Jake asked, puzzled.

  Katherine picked up her cell from the desk and called the chief. “Chief London, this is Katz Kendall. I think I have information regarding the Stacy Grimes case,” she said, and then hesitated. “Yes, okay, pull up to the back of the house.” She tucked her phone in her back pocket.

  “Jake, the chief’s going to be here any minute. I could have told him the info on the phone, but he insisted on coming over. Hand me a rag. That door is a mess!”

  Both Jake and Katherine were busy washing the door when the chief drove up his cruiser and parked. The chief got out and walked over. He immediately noticed the door.

  “Damn kids,” he said angrily. “Erie grocery stores aren’t allowed to sell eggs to minors in October. I wonder how these brats are getting them. If it’s any consolation, you’re not the only folks in town getting egg-bombed.”