A Story to Kill

by Lynn Cahoon

  “Good afternoon to you as well,” Seth called back up to her, as he came up the stairs. She met him on the third-floor landing. He now stood in front of her, a bag from the local hardware store in his hand. “I ran out of finishing nails, and I wanted to finish up a sample of the window seating today. I think you’re going to love it. Of course, you’ll have to make decisions on the upholstery, but we can do that next week.”

  Cat stared at the bag. “So you were upstairs in the attic working, but then you went to the store?”

  “Yep. See the evidence?” He jiggled the bag with a laugh. He started to step around her, but she grabbed his hand, stopping him. He studied her face. “What the heck’s up with you? Don’t tell me you’re mad about last night. I thought we had fun.”

  “No. I mean, yes, I had fun. But this isn’t about last night. When did you get back from the store?” Cat squeezed his hand, wondering if she was going to pass out.

  “Are you all right? You saw me walk in with the bag, what, thirty seconds ago? A minute if you count my parking the truck?” He leaned closer. “You don’t look so good. Do you need to sit down?”

  She pointed to the ceiling. “I was writing and heard something in the attic.” She paused. “Wait, I might have seen something in the backyard earlier. I assumed it was a dog or a coyote.”

  “When did you see the dog?”

  Cat shrugged. “I don’t know. An hour ago? I took a break from writing, stood in the window for a few minutes, then saw something cross the yard. I wasn’t looking straight at it, so it could have been anything.”

  “And the noise? When did that happen?” Seth was calm and rubbing her upper arms.

  She stepped away from the touch. “I guess about ten minutes ago. I ignored the first one. Then, when it happened again, I came out to tell you to be quiet.”

  His lips turned up on the ends a bit at that one.

  “What? I’m a writer. I need my quiet time to get anything done. Or at least not banging.” Cat looked up at the ceiling. “But it wasn’t you up there.”

  He shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. You go downstairs and take your cell with you. If I don’t come back down in a few minutes, call 911. I’m sure it was just a raccoon or maybe a bird you heard, but let’s not take any chances, especially with what’s happened with your author friend.”

  “He really wasn’t my friend.” Cat took a deep breath.

  Seth put his hands on her shoulders. “Breathe and focus. Where is your cell?”

  Cat walked back into the office and took her cell off her desk. Then she waited at the top of the stairs for a second, watching Seth.

  He saw her stop and waved her down. “Go,” he hissed. “I’ll be fine.”

  She took one step after another and with each movement, she felt more like a coward than a second line of defense. She tried to see up the stairwell, but there was no one there. She ran into the kitchen and stood by the table, staring at her phone. What determined a few minutes? Five, ten? No more than twenty; she was convinced of that. Hopefully, he’d be down in five.

  One minute passed, then two. Then three. At four, she found the keypad on her phone and held her finger over the screen. Five, she’d call for help at five. She hadn’t heard a shot or anything, but she was two stories below. Maybe she wouldn’t have? She hadn’t heard any noise when Tom Cook was killed, and she’d been upstairs in her office.

  The kitchen door creaked open and Cat’s breath caught. Shauna pushed through with an armful of plastic bags. Her face brightened when she saw Cat standing there. “Good, you’re home. Come help me unload the SUV. Seth has the driveway blocked with that truck of his so I had to park on the street. And my ice cream was melting.”

  Cat held out the cell. Her hand shook as she held it out in front of her. “I can’t leave. There’s someone in the attic, and Seth went up to find out who it is.”

  Shauna pushed past her, dropping the bags onto the table. “Why are you in here?”

  “He told me to go to the kitchen and wait for a few minutes, then call the police.” Cat’s heartbeat raced in her chest.

  “When was that?” Shauna put her hand on Cat’s arm.

  She looked down at the phone. “Five minutes, thirty seconds. Should I call now?”

  “Let me go upstairs and see what’s going on.” Shauna headed to the door.

  Cat wanted to follow but her feet felt nailed to the floor. “Wait. Let me go.”

  Her friend turned back around. “Are you sure?”

  Cat nodded and took a deep breath. “I need to see what happened.” Putting a hand on the door, she felt Shauna’s hand on her arm stopping her progress. She turned, meeting Shauna’s gaze. “What?”

  “When do I call the police if you don’t come back?”

  Chapter 8

  Cat didn’t have to answer because just then the door opened and Seth came into the kitchen. Cat sank into a chair. “You’re all right.”

  He nodded and went to get a glass of water from the sink.

  Cat waited for him to drink the entire glass in a few swallows before she asked the next question. “Who was in the attic?”

  Seth shook his head. “No one. I went through the entire thing, twice, and there wasn’t a person or animal in the place. I even checked the windows to see if that had caused the bang, but they were all locked up tight.” He frowned, his gaze drifting upward toward the ceiling.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” Cat stepped closer and took the glass from his hand.

  He dropped his gaze and considered her question. “It could be nothing.” He paused, but when Cat didn’t move, he shrugged. “There’s just something off about the space. I didn’t notice it before, but the space is off. And it appears some things have been moved around. Of course, I might just not be remembering how I left things.”

  “So you think someone was up there? Could someone have snuck out when we were talking?” Cat considered the third-floor layout. The attic stairway was in sight of where they’d been standing. If someone had come down those stairs, either she or Seth would have seen them. “I wasn’t hearing things. I’m not crazy.”

  “I didn’t say you were crazy.” Seth looked at the bags on the table. “Crap, I’m blocking the driveway, aren’t I? I was going to unload the back, then park on the street.”

  “No worries, you can do that as soon as you bring in the rest of the groceries. I’m going to put these away.” Shauna started unpacking the thin plastic bags. She looked at Cat. “You want a glass of wine or a beer?”

  “Beer and I’ll get it myself.” Cat waited for Seth to leave the kitchen. “I heard something, I know it.”

  “Sometimes you get all caught up in your stories, are you sure what you heard came from the attic? Could it have been from outside? Maybe a bird flying into the turret?” Shauna carried the box items to the cupboard and started stacking them.

  Cat opened her beer and took a pull off the cool bottle. “Maybe. But I don’t think so. It sounded substantial. I thought Seth had torn down a wall or something.”

  “Maybe until your uncle finds that murderer we shouldn’t be alone in the house. Let’s make a buddy system so there are always two people here. With our guests this week, that shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

  Cat took three cartons of eggs from a sack and put them in the fridge. “Not a bad idea.” She smiled at her friend. “When did you get to be so smart?”

  Shauna’s laugh echoed through the kitchen. “I’ve always been this way. You just haven’t noticed, my dear.”

  The door to the kitchen opened and Seth walked in. “Sounds like you two are having a party in here.”

  “Girl talk.” Shauna grabbed another bag. “Is that everything from the SUV?”

  He nodded and she threw him the keys. “Make sure you park it in the driveway when you finish unloading your truck.”

  Seth paused, turning to Cat. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “A little shaken, but I’m fine. Shauna and I are sett
ing up a plan to keep a few of us in the house at all times.” She saw him start to say something and held up her hand. “Don’t. I take it you didn’t find anything?”

  “Nothing. However, I think it’s a great idea and make sure you put me on the schedule. Heck, with the amount of work I have here, you could be my only client for a while and the business would be fine. I do have a few odds and ends I need to finish up, but this week plan on me being here full time.” Seth left the kitchen and both Cat and Shauna watched him leave.

  “He’s not so bad on the eyes. I guess we could do worse than having our own bodyguard.” Shauna brought Cat a cup of warm apple cider she’d had simmering on the stove and took away the empty beer bottle.

  Cat settled into a chair and stared at the cup. “I don’t know. Seth is intense. And I’m not sure I’m ready for his kind of attention.”

  “You’re saying you don’t have feelings for the man?” Shauna sipped from her cup.

  Cat set the cup on the table and faced her friend. “It’s worse than that. I do have feelings for the guy. But what if I ruin it again? I was the one who moved on. I don’t think I could hurt him again like that.”

  “Then don’t.” Shauna looked at the clock. “The group said they were staying in town for dinner tonight so I guess it’s just the two of us, unless you want to invite Mrs. Cook to join us for dinner. And Seth, of course.”

  “Seth can make his own dinner.” Cat stood. “I’ll go see if Mrs. Cook is here. What are we having?”

  “Oh, just French dip sandwiches and a pasta salad. We can add on some cheesecake if you think it would seal the deal.”

  Cat headed upstairs and knocked on room number five, where Mrs. Cook had been staying. No answer. She called out, knocking harder, “Mrs. Cook? Are you in there?”

  A crash sounded down the hall and Cat ran to the source. Only one door was open and it was covered in crime-scene tape. She peeked around the door, staying out in the hallway, and spied Linda Cook staring back at her, holding onto a drawer from the dresser.

  “What are you doing in here? The police sealed the room for evidence.” Cat waved the woman closer to the door, but Linda Cook ignored her motioning. “Seriously, you need to get out of here. Uncle Pete’s going to have my hide for this.”

  Linda Cook’s shoulders sagged, and she set the dresser drawer back into the rails and closed it. She walked over to the crime-scene tape and ducked under. Cat pulled the door closed and turned to Mrs. Cook. “What were you thinking?”

  “I just wanted Tom’s laptop. I’m his beta reader, so I’ve been reading his newest book as he finishes chapters. I just missed him tonight and wanted to escape back into his story.” Tears fell down her face. “Don’t call me Mrs. Cook. Just Linda please.”

  “I’m sure the police took it into evidence.” Cat grabbed the tissue box off a hallway table and gave it to Linda, then motioned to the stairs. “Come down to the kitchen and eat dinner with Shauna and me. You’ll feel better after a good meal.”

  Sniffing, Linda shook her head. “I know dinner isn’t included in my rate. I don’t want to be a bother.”

  “You are so not a bother. We could use the company. Things have been kind of weird around here today.” Cat led Linda down the stairs to the first floor. “Hey, were you up in the attic this afternoon?”

  Linda pushed through the swinging door into the brightly lit kitchen. “You have an attic? I haven’t taken a tour of the place yet. I’ve been too busy dealing with Tom’s things. His lawyer called me earlier and we met over at the coffee shop about noon. I was there until just now.”

  Shauna quickly poured Linda a glass of water. “Can I get you something else to drink? A cold beer or a soda? How about a cup of tea?”

  “Tea would be great. I’m not sure how I’m going to get to sleep tonight without a book to read. I packed so quickly when the police called, I wasn’t sure what I stuffed in my luggage.” She took a long sip of the water.

  “We have a great library temporarily set up in the living room. I’ll take you there after we eat. And if you don’t find something there, we’ll check out the books I have in my office. Books are one thing we don’t have a short supply of.” Cat grabbed two of the already-filled plates and set one in front of Mrs. Cook and one at Shauna’s chair. She went to the fridge and grabbed another beer for herself. She looked at Shauna who was just finishing the tea. “You want one?”

  “Definitely.” Shauna held out her hand and Cat slid a cold bottle into her friend’s grip. Then she returned to the table with her own meal.

  Seth entered the kitchen, but stopped just inside the door. “Oh, I see you’re eating. I was just coming in to say I’m out of here and will be back tomorrow at seven sharp.”

  Shauna stood and grabbed a bag off the counter. “Here’s your dinner. Thanks for moving my car.”

  He exchanged the keys for the bag and grinned. “Thanks. I’m sure this will be better than the can of chili I was planning on opening for tonight.” He waved to the table and caught Cat’s gaze and winked. Then he left.

  When Shauna returned to the table, she shrugged. “I had an extra sandwich, so I packed Seth a meal. He did help bring in the groceries and chase down your ghost in the attic.”

  “Whatever.” Cat took a sip off her beer. “You know if you feed strays, they never leave.”

  Linda Cook nodded and set her half-eaten sandwich down on the plate. “Boy, that’s true. Tom was always feeding strays at the house. Now we have three indoor cats and two that are still wild but come to eat every night. I hope our housekeeper remembers to feed them. It was kind of Tom’s job.”

  Shauna grinned, showing that she had understood Cat hadn’t been talking about a stray kitten. “I’m sure she’ll remember.”

  Linda sipped her tea. “Do you really have ghosts in the attic?”

  *

  The next morning, Cat turned off her alarm at five and pulled on jeans and a tank. Today she was determined to get her words in before the house woke up and started demanding her time. She’d scheduled a morning get-together about the writing process for after brunch and was in charge of taking the group to the library today. If words were going to get done on her own manuscript today, it needed to be now, when others weren’t draining her life-force.

  Shauna was already in the kitchen when she arrived. She pointed to a half-completed tray. “I was going to bring that up for you in a few minutes after the zucchini bread finishes baking. You want to take a snack up now? I’ve got leftover muffins from yesterday.”

  “Just coffee.” Cat leaned against the counter as she took her first sip of the day. Heaven. Shauna ground her own beans. She’d explained that part of the draw to places like this was the food and drink choices owners made upfront. Cat signed off on the expense, knowing that even if the business went belly up, at least she’d have premium coffee. Eyeing the bunch of bananas on the counter, she ripped off a banana. “And this.”

  “I take it you’re trying to work this morning?” Shauna kept her head down, chopping fruit for the morning spread.

  “Deadlines don’t wait, even if you find a dead guy.” Cat chuckled. “I made a funny.”

  “No, you didn’t.” Shauna put the chopped fruit into a bowl and squeezed a fresh lemon over the top of the fruit.

  Cat pointed to the other half of the lemon on the cutting board. “Won’t that make the fruit sour?”

  “No, it will keep it from browning on us while your writer friends sleep the day away. I swear, if I was paying these rates to finish my book, I’d get the darn thing done and start a new one.” She squeezed the second lemon half over the fruit and then went to the sink to wash her hands and her knife. Cat had learned quickly not to mess with the chef knives. Shauna treated them like they were gold, and from what Cat knew, she’d probably paid enough for the knives to be made of real gold.

  She watched as Shauna put the clean knife back into her carrier and put the whole thing up on a shelf. “I can’t believe you don’t th
ink that was funny.”

  Shauna didn’t even look up as she walked over and put the covered dish into the oversized fridge. “You really don’t have a good sense of humor. Maybe it’s a writer thing. Your guests are always saying things that they mean to be funny, but honestly, most of it just falls flat. Except for each other. That Rose used to laugh at anything Tom Cook said, funny or not.”

  “She was pretty besotted with the man.” Cat felt her lips curve into a smile. Someday she might have rabid fans like Tom had, but not if she didn’t meet the deadline on this next book. She walked to the kitchen door. “Call me if you need me to come down. I’ll have my cell on the desk.”

  She climbed the three flights of stairs to her office. Arriving, she turned on the light and her computer, then went around the room, opening up windows for a bit of fresh air to cool down the room. Leaving the door closed when guests were in the house, the room could get a bit overheated, but Cat didn’t want people coming in and assuming they could use the office.

  Shauna had suggested a sign, but she knew other writers. Signs could be misinterpreted, whereas a locked door kept people out. She opened up her Word document, took a couple sips of coffee as she reread the part where she’d ended writing the story yesterday. Then she checked her notes and started creating.

  An hour later, Shauna unlocked the door with her key and set the breakfast tray on the table near the window. She refilled Cat’s cup and then left, without either one of them speaking. Cat’s attention returned to the manuscript.

  When the cell rang, she didn’t look at the display before answering. “Tell them I’ll be down in a few minutes. I’m just tying up this scene.”

  The breathing on the line got heavier and then she heard one word. “Catherine?”

  She dropped the phone, staring at the display with the words call lost. This couldn’t be. No one called her Catherine. Well, except for Dean Vargas no one called her Catherine. But that hadn’t been the dean on the line. If she didn’t know better, Cat would have sworn on a stack of bibles that she’d recognized the voice. Michael’s voice. Her dead husband had called her cell.