Escape Claws

by Linda Reilly

  Daisy winked at her. “My secret will die with me. I mean—” She flushed. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have used that word.”

  Sherry squeezed her mom’s shoulder. They exchanged a look.

  Lara felt her stomach flip. “What’s wrong? What is it?”

  “Lara,” Daisy said in a low voice. “There’s something I think I ought to mention to you about Fran. About her dealings with Theo. She might have already told you, but—”

  “About her land? About Barnes trying to coerce her to sell it?”

  Daisy nodded. With a pained look, she set the tray of cookies on the counter. “Did she tell you about the screaming match she had with him at the town hall?”

  With a sense of dread, Lara slowly shook her head.

  “A number of weeks ago,” Daisy went on, “Fran had—well, kind of a fight with Theo in the town clerk’s office. Evidently, Fran wanted a copy of the plan that showed her property. Theo must’ve seen her go into the town hall. He trotted right in there after her and started harassing her.”

  Lara squeezed her hand into a fist. “He was a tyrant, wasn’t he? So, what happened?”

  Daisy sighed. “I guess the shouting got out of hand. At one point Fran raised her cane at Theo. She came close to clipping him in the eye. He got furious and said he was going to have her arrested for assault.”

  Lara covered her face with her hands. “Oh, Lordy. Then what?”

  “The town clerk, Bernice Markell, intervened.” Daisy flashed a droll smile. “She’s the sweetest, nicest woman. But if her feathers get ruffled, she can come on like a battleship. From what I heard, Bernice marched around the counter and grabbed each of them by the arm. She told Theo to get his, um, posterior out of there before she kicked it out.”

  “I’d like to have seen that,” Lara said with a chuckle. Then she frowned. “What about Aunt Fran?”

  “Bernice took Fran into her office in the back and gave her some tea to calm her down.” Daisy sighed. “Unfortunately, three other people were in the town clerk’s office that day. They witnessed everything. I heard two of our customers gossiping about it later that day. By the next day, everyone in town knew about it.”

  Lara’s heart sank. Would the police chief use it against Aunt Fran? Would he try to say she had a motive for killing Theo? That she’d displayed violent tendencies toward him in the past?

  “This is crazy,” Lara said. She recalled what Mary had told her—that no one liked Theo. “Theo must have had dozens of enemies. Josette certainly didn’t show any love lost for him.”

  Sherry rolled her mascaraed eyes. “No kidding. Josette’s been doing the dance of joy ever since she heard Theo was dead.”

  “You noticed.” Lara bit off the bat’s head.

  “Who didn’t?” Sherry hunched over the counter, closer to Lara. “But get this. Mom and I found out it wasn’t only because she hated him. Turns out Josette stands to get the remainder of her yearly alimony allotments in one lump sum from Theo’s estate—to the tune of fifty grand.”

  “Whoa,” Lara said.

  “Yup.” Sherry fetched the coffeepot and topped off Lara’s mug.

  With a miniature spatula, Daisy began sliding her few remaining cookies into the Plexiglas case on the counter. She glanced around to be sure no one was within earshot. “Apparently, she was awarded five thousand a year for each year of their twelve-year marriage. So far she’s only collected ten thousand. Once her ex-hubby’s estate is probated, she’ll get the rest. In one big fat lovely chunk.”

  Fifty thousand dollars. Lara turned this over in her mind. It wasn’t a fortune, but it wasn’t chicken feed, either. Josette, she decided, was looking better and better as a suspect. “That’s a pretty strong motive,” Lara said. “How’d you find out about the alimony?”

  Daisy winked slyly at her. “This morning, before you got here, I was bringing coffee over to Mary and Chris’s table. I heard them whispering about it. It was right after we’d all found out about Theo’s murder. ’Course it helped that I pretended to drop some sugar packets on the floor right behind their chairs. I picked up that sugar verrrry slowly, if you get my meaning.”

  Lara laughed and swallowed the rest of her cookie, which consisted of approximately one-half of a bat wing. “You were always a good detective, Daisy. Isn’t that how you figured out Sherry had been wearing your eyeliner to school every day? When she was nine?”

  “Oh, for the love of Humpty Dumpty,” Sherry sputtered. “Did you have to remind her?”

  “I’d forgotten about that.” Daisy narrowed her eyes at her daughter. “I kept finding tissues in the bathroom wastebasket with traces of coal-black eyeliner and gooey makeup remover on them. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going down.”

  Lara giggled. “I remember this one day, Sher, when you put it on so heavy you looked like Cleopatra.”

  Daisy twisted her lips into a smirk, but Sherry’s attention had already shifted. She was staring at the lone diner sitting at the corner table near the restroom.

  Sherry touched Lara’s arm. “Poor Glen,” she murmured. “He’s been there all day, nursing cups of coffee and staring at the table.”

  Lara tilted her head sideways so she could see the man more clearly. Ah yes, Glen—the sole male member of Brooke’s book club. The one Brooke claimed was “crushing” on Mary.

  “Why does he look so glum?” Lara asked.

  Daisy closed the Plexiglas case. “He’d been renting a studio apartment from Theo in the building across the street, the one next to the library.” She tilted her head toward the door, indicating the drab apartment building across the street. “Anyway, yesterday Theo tossed him out. Glen usually pays by the week, but I guess he was several weeks behind in his rent.”

  “Poor old dude slept in his car last night,” Sherry added. “For now, the library is letting him park it in their lot overnight, since the lot empties out once the library closes. Actually, it’s the circulation manager who said he could park there. She has, well, had a thing for Theo—God only knows why. A few weeks ago, I caught them canoodling in the front seat of Theo’s car.” She stuck her finger into her mouth to mimic a gag.

  Lara’s heart went out to Glen. “Does he work?”

  Sherry shook her head. “He’s worked sporadically in the past, but he’s such a know-it-all that no one keeps him on for long. Frankly, people around here are sick of him. No one even feels bad for him anymore. He’s one of those people who’s his own worst enemy, you know? Oddly enough, he’s quite intelligent. Problem is, he’s never put his brainpower to good use. Plus, he has zero personality. I don’t know where he’ll go from here.”

  Lara glanced over at Glen. A strand of gray hair dangling over his left ear, he was idly twirling circles on the table with his forefinger. He did look like a dreary soul. Of course, having Theo Barnes for a landlord couldn’t have helped his attitude any. And now he was pretty much homeless.

  “Dora insisted on buying him breakfast this morning,” Daisy said with a sigh, “but he barely touched it. I heard her reminding him to take his heart medication, but he seemed to be ignoring her. I really don’t know what’s going to become of him.”

  Lara suddenly remembered what Daisy had said yesterday about Barnes owning the place. “Daisy, Barnes was your landlord, too, wasn’t he? Aunt Fran told me he owns—excuse me, owned—this entire block.”

  “He does—did,” Sherry said before her mom could answer. “He sent us a letter about a month ago. It said we’re going to have to move the coffee shop out of here by the end of the year.”

  “What?” Lara yelped. “That’s only a few months away!”

  Daisy pressed her lips into a furious line. “Nice of him to give reasonable notice, right?”

  “But what about your lease?” Lara said. It horrified her to think that he could act in such a cavalier way toward his tenants.

  “Technically,” Sherry explained, “we’re now tenants at will, on a month-to-month basis. Theo insist
ed on making that change to the lease when we renewed it this past winter.”

  “We should have known something was up,” Daisy said quietly. “Turned out he had plans to raze this entire block. Our coffee shop, Quint’s Hardware, and Kurl-me-Klassy were all going to have to move. Relocating would have been almost impossible, especially for us. We need restaurant facilities to operate. Quint’s has already found a bigger and better space across town, so they don’t really care. It’s us and Kellie at the beauty salon who are getting the shaft.”

  Sherry craned her neck around the dining room. Aside from Glen, the few remaining customers were gawking at their phones. She gently elbowed Daisy. “Show her, Mom.”

  Nodding, Daisy stooped for something beneath the counter. She rose and placed a folded sheet of paper in front of Lara. “I got this from a friend at the town hall,” she said in a low tone. “This is the proposal Theo had for the downtown.” She unfolded the paper. “It hasn’t been made public yet. It was scheduled to go before the planning board next month.”

  Lara scanned the colored sketch. Prepared by an architect, it depicted a modern, brick-front strip mall facing the main drag. A curving, paved road led to the ritzy condo complex behind it. The stretch of meadow where she’d frolicked as a kid was swallowed up by landscaped parking. She had to admit, it was fancy looking. It would appeal to anyone who thought newer was better. She folded the sketch and gave it back to Daisy.

  Lara drained her coffee mug and set it down. She understood, now, why Barnes was so desperate to get his mitts on Aunt Fran’s land. The downtown block wouldn’t have provided access alone. He’d intended to build a whole new plaza. One that would bring him a nice influx of cash.

  But he couldn’t have done it without first buying Aunt Fran’s vacant parcel. She was the fly in his ointment, so to speak.

  “So, what’s going to happen now?” Lara said. “With Theo gone…”

  Sherry shrugged. “I guess for now we’ve gotten a reprieve. At least until we find out who’s taking over Theo’s business interests.” She squinted at the wall clock and let out a gusty sigh. “We’re closing in ten. I’ll sure be glad to see this day end.”

  The last customer finally trickled out, but not before buying five bat cookies. Daisy stuck the last two bats in a paper bag, then walked over and gave them to Glen. She leaned and spoke softly to him. He nodded, and finally he left.

  “I gotta run, too,” Lara said. She hugged Sherry, then started to dash out the door. “We’ll talk more tomorrow, okay?”

  Sherry’s eyes welled up. “Okay,” she said raggedly. “I’m so glad you’re here, Lara.”

  “Me, too.” Lara turned toward the exit, her own eyes feeling misty. She was tugging open the door when a twentysomething woman with a crazed look in her eyes rushed inside the coffee shop.

  Chapter 8

  “I’m so glad I caught you before you closed!” The young woman sounded breathless as she plopped a sheaf of fliers on the counter. Her thick black curls were fastened into a messy ponytail. She looked positively frantic. “I was afraid I wouldn’t catch you in time.”

  The woman’s apparent desperation tore at Lara. She turned back inside the coffee shop to see if she could help.

  “Um, actually…” Sherry began, looking at the clock.

  “Please,” the woman begged. “I only need a few seconds of your time. My new cat is lost and I’m terrified something happened to her. Can I put some fliers in your window?”

  “Of course!” Sherry said instantly. “Come on. Sit down for a minute.”

  Breathing hard, the woman sank onto a stool. Sherry filled a glass with water and set it down in front of her.

  Lara looked at the flier on top of the stack. A not-too-clear photo of a striped gray cat stared back at her.

  The young woman gulped down a mouthful of water. “Thank you.” She jabbed a finger at the pic. “I’ve only had her three days. Her name’s Goldy. The old woman who used to own her died about a month ago, and she ended up in the shelter. That’s how I got her.” She sniffled. “Anyway, when I opened the door to bring in the mail yesterday, she escaped outside and disappeared. I’m scared to death she’s been hurt…or worse!” She swallowed hard, tears resting on her lashes. “I hardly slept all night.”

  Lara hated thinking of all the things that could happen to a lost cat. Whisker Jog was rural. Nocturnal enemies abounded. Fishers and coyotes in particular had been known to prey on small pets. It was one reason Aunt Fran had always kept her cats inside—at least to the extent she could. Lara prayed that Goldy, wherever she was, had found a safe place to hunker down.

  “What’s your name?” Lara asked, sliding onto the stool next to the woman.

  “Sorry. I’m Wendy.” She handed Lara and Sherry each a flier. “Take this home with you, okay? If you see my Goldy, call me, please—no matter what time it is. I won’t be able to sleep till I know she’s safe.” She looked at Sherry with pleading eyes. “Is it okay if I tape two of these in your front windows? I brought my own masking tape. I promise to remove them once Goldy is found.”

  “You sure can,” Sherry said.

  While Wendy taped the fliers to the storefront windows, Lara studied the cat’s photo. It was far from top quality. Wendy had probably taken it with her smartphone, but the angle was bad. It was also partly in shadow.

  One thing in particular, though, caught Lara’s eye. With dark stripes that curved into a graceful V on her chest, Goldy’s markings were somewhat distinctive. She also had huge gold eyes. Someone would have to study the pic close up, however, to see the real Goldy.

  Lara slid her purse off her shoulder and dug out her mini-pack of colored sketch pencils. She flipped over the flier Wendy had given her. Using quick strokes, she sketched Goldy’s likeness. She held it up. “Does Goldy look something like this?”

  Wendy’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, that’s her. That’s my Goldy! How did you do that?”

  “Practice,” Lara said. She turned to her friend. “Sherry, if I put this on my Facebook page, will you share it? A lot of your friends are probably local. They can keep an eye out for Goldy.”

  “You bet I will!” Sherry reached over and clasped Wendy’s wrist. “We’ll do everything we can to help, okay?”

  Wendy swallowed. “Thank you.”

  Lara pulled out her cell and took several photos of the sketch. She handed the original to Wendy.

  “Thank you both,” Wendy said, swiping at a tear. “At least you’ve given me hope. I feel sure I’m going to find her now.”

  After Wendy left, Lara bade Sherry good-bye again and hustled out the door. Guilt was starting to gnaw at her.

  She’d left her aunt alone long enough.

  Chapter 9

  The police cars had finally vacated Aunt Fran’s driveway. The few that stuck around had chosen to commandeer the town’s prime parking spaces in front of the small park area. Lara wondered if the crime scene techs had finished collecting evidence, since their van was also gone.

  She was relieved to find Aunt Fran sitting at the kitchen table, her nose buried in the paper. Dolce, curled in her lap, blinked up at Lara as if to say, “Please don’t disturb us, we’re nice and comfy.”

  “Oodles of groceries, coming up.” Lara grinned, holding aloft four overstuffed bags. “I’ll lug in the kitty-litter bags after I unpack all these.”

  Aunt Fran beamed at her niece. “Well, that’s quite a haul. I’d offer to help you put things away, but I know you’ll do it much more quickly.”

  “I’ll have it done in a jiffykins, as Sherry would say.”

  Aunt Fran folded the paper. “Before you do that, Lara, would you please take a peek into the small parlor?” Her green eyes twinkled cryptically.

  “Uh…sure thing.”

  Intrigued, Lara set down her bags on the counter. The door to the small parlor was partway open. She pushed it open a tiny bit more and poked her head in. A low gasp escaped her.

  Darryl was sitting in the same spot
at the red table at which he’d been reading the day before. Propped in his hands was a large book boasting giraffes on its glossy cover. He was reading out loud in his sweet, childlike voice—smoothly and without hesitation. Blue sat at his elbow, staring straight at the book. Her bright turquoise eyes seemed to be following the text as Darryl read aloud.

  As improbable as Lara knew it to be, this cat had to be Blue. She was identical in every way to the elusive feline who’d warmed her heart as a child. Who’d been there all those times when she felt sad or lonely.

  “Blue,” Lara said in a hoarse whisper.

  The Ragdoll cat lifted her gaze and met Lara’s. Her tail twitched. Her blue eyes closed and opened again in a slow blink.

  It is you. It is!

  Darryl suddenly realized Lara was looking in at him. A cheery smile broadened his cheeks. “I have a new book. It’s about giraffes!”

  “I see that.” Lara smiled at him. “And I can tell you love reading it. Um, would you like a snack?”

  The boy shook his head. “No thanks. I already had one.” He went back to reading his book.

  What nice manners he has, Lara thought. And while she didn’t want to appear to be spying, she stood there for at least another minute. She watched as Blue moved closer to Darryl and rested her chin on his arm. If Darryl noticed, it wasn’t obvious. He was completely engrossed in his giraffe adventure.

  Surely he must be aware that the cat was there?

  As silently as she could, Lara pulled the door nearly all the way closed. She tiptoed back to the kitchen.

  “He’s reading a giraffe book,” Lara told her aunt. “It’s…amazing.”

  Aunt Fran nodded. “I know, isn’t it? It wasn’t until yesterday that he started reading so…well, effortlessly. It’s wonderful, of course. But it’s also baffling.”

  “And the cat—she looks so serious.” Lara smiled. “She’s listening to him read as if she’s reading along with him.”