The Telltale Turtle (The Pet Psychic Mysteries)

by Jim Lavene;Joyce Lavene

  "Baylor, I think we owe Charlie an apology and we need to straighten out this rivalry between him and Buck. Buck is a good man, I'm sure. He certainly has a nice house and plenty of money. Normally he'd be my first choice."

  The cat rolled over and started preening himself. He was unimpressed with her thought processes. None of them actively pertained to him.

  "But I'm older now and I can take care of myself. I don't need a man to support me. I like Charlie and I can see a place for him in our lives. I know you like him too. Don't pretend you haven't stood up for him all this time."

  Baylor responded it was only his place to make sure Mary Catherine knew what was going on. If she chose to have Charlie in her life, that was up to her. She could certainly do worse for a mate, in his estimation.

  "I appreciate that." She turned out the light and got into bed. "We'll call him first thing in the morning. There's something he knows about my cousin he's not telling. We'll see."

  She stroked the cat's fur as he climbed up near her chest and put both front paws on her arm. He purred as he buried his nose in her side and flexed his claws into the down comforter. "It's all right. I know you were worried about me. I was worried about you too the other night." She laughed. "No, not when you were playing dead. You know I can tell the difference."

  The cat fell asleep beside her, but Mary Catherine had a hard time closing her eyes. It had been a traumatic week, not the least of which had been those few moments when she thought she might never hear another animal's thoughts.

  The sounds were so ingrained in her; it was frightening simply to think about it. It had been over quickly, but what if it hadn't? What if she never heard Baylor's thoughts again? Her mind almost shut down at the idea.

  She couldn't imagine what she'd do or how she'd continue with her life. Many times, she'd wondered how people lived without hearing those things. Sometimes she thought it was more a curse than a blessing. As she got older, she realized it was truly a gift to be able to share herself with Baylor and Bruno and Cheetos, for that matter. She couldn't always help them, but she did the best she could and it was very satisfying, but not in the same way it had been when she was younger and looking for attention to highlight her gift. Now it was something more personal and spiritual.

  Her cell phone rang and she stubbed her toe in the unfamiliar room trying to get to her purse. "Hello?"

  "Mary Catherine," Colin's whispered voice was barely audible. "I'm out at the convenience store in Landfall Park. Teddy called me. The psycho caller is on his way out here. I need backup!"

  SEVENTEEN

  DESPITE BUCK'S PLEAS FOR her to ignore Colin's call for help, Mary Catherine dragged herself out of bed, called Danny, and headed to the convenience store. Buck tagged along, grumbling about being out so late at night.

  Baylor, who sat next to Mary Catherine, agreed with her feelings that Buck was definitely the wrong man for her. Imagine being so put out by a little jaunt at night! She and jenny had gone out much later to pick up stray animals along the waterfront.

  "How much farther is it?" Buck asked for the third time.

  "Not much," Danny said. "But you don't get an Icee when we get there since you've been so impaciente"

  Buck was quiet after that; he wasn't so thickheaded he didn't get the childish insult. Mary Catherine tried to plot their strategy, but without knowing the circumstances, it was difficult. "Maybe you should wait by the car," she said to Danny. "Keep your eyes open and be ready to move as quickly as possible."

  "No way! I'm not staying with the car. I want to be where the action is. You stay with the car. You were injured earlier. Let me and Colin handle this."

  "All right." She could see the logic in that strategy, even though she didn't like it. "We'll get there, park on the far left side, then look for Colin. I hope he hasn't done anything stupid."

  Danny shrugged. "He's Colin. He doesn't have much choice."

  But when they got to the convenience store, there was no sign of Colin. Danny got out of the taxi and walked around the building, but couldn't find Colin. "His car is in back but I didn't see him. I told you," he reported back to Mary Catherine. "What were the chances of him not doing something stupido?"

  Mary Catherine considered the possibilities. She was afraid to try and call Colin-what if he were in a vulnerable position when his phone went off? On the other hand, they couldn't wait here all night not knowing what was going on.

  "I'll go in and talk to Teddy," she volunteered. "Maybe he's already talked to the psycho caller and Colin is going after him."

  "Can I just say one thing?" Buck held a finger in the air.

  "No!" Mary Catherine and Danny said it at the same time. Buck sat back and drummed his fingers on the car seat beside him.

  "Okay." Danny took Mary Catherine's arm. "Don't take any chances. If anything looks weird, you come back out and we call the police. Okay?"

  "All right." She took a deep breath and began limping to the door. The outside of the store looked as empty as the inside. No one was there pumping gas or buying snacks and lottery tickets. She looked for Teddy before she got to the door but didn't see him behind the register.

  She pushed open the door and a chime rang loudly. She called out for Teddy but there was no response. She was about to use her cell phone to call 911 when a back door opened and a man ran into the shop. "Where's Teddy?"

  He glanced at her and started running toward the front door. She fumbled with her cell phone, trying to alert Danny and Buck. She limped after him, but there was no way she could keep up. She couldn't speed dial fast enough and reached the door, certain the man had gotten away.

  She was about to yell for Danny when she saw him sitting on top of the man who'd run out of the store. "You got him!"

  Danny grinned. "Si! I'm hoping he was someone I was supposed to get. He looked suspicious."

  Mary Catherine finally reached them and said to the man under Danny, "Have you seen Colin Jamison?"

  "Who?"

  "The man you're trying to frame for his aunt's murder. Where is he?" She searched his face, but as far as she could tell in the dim lighting, there were no scratches on his face.

  "I don't know what you're talking about."

  Buck went into the convenience store and came out yelling for help. "He's in here with the store clerk."

  Mary Catherine rushed in (as fast as she could) and looked behind the counter. Colin and Teddy were both tied up on the floor. "Are you all right, Colin?" she asked. "Do you know what happened?"

  Buck untied both men and rudely pulled the duct tape from their mouths.

  "It was the psycho caller," Colin replied when he could move his lips. "That's what happened. I saw him talking on Teddy's phone in the back. He had a gun and tied us up here. He's probably gone by now.

  "I don't think so. I think Danny has him in the parking lot." Mary Catherine explained even as she started back outside to warn Danny that the man he captured could be armed.

  Colin and Teddy followed Buck and Mary Catherine out of the store. By that time, Baylor had joined Danny, sitting on the man and hissing at him.

  "We better search him," Buck said. "He might be armed."

  "I don't have a gun," the man protested. "I ain't done nothin'. Get these two off of me."

  "Is this the guy who tied you up?" Mary Catherine asked Teddy and Colin.

  "Yeah. He's got a gun somewhere on him." Colin didn't make a move to search him.

  Buck and Danny did the dirty work, but couldn't find a weapon. "He's clean," Danny said. "Are you sure he had a gun?"

  Colin looked at Teddy who shrugged. "It looked like a gun in his pocket to me."

  The man Danny had captured laughed. "I didn't need the real thing for you jokers. What's wrong with making a few phone calls anyway? The pay's good and it don't hurt no one."

  "We'll let the police make that decision, my friend." Colin puffed out his chest and jabbed his finger in the man's face.

  "Yeah," Teddy said. "This g
uy's with the FBI. You're going away for a long time."

  No one disabused the psycho caller about Colin's status with the FBI. Mary Catherine called the police, but there was an emer gency on Martin Luther King Junior Parkway and their response time was questionable.

  "Let's take him in ourselves," Danny suggested. "MC, you know where Angellus lives. We'll take him there."

  Mary Catherine wasn't so sure that was a good idea, but by that time Buck and Teddy were tying the man's hands with plastic garbage ties and escorting him to Colin's car. The men decided that Teddy, Buck, and Colin would take the caller to Angellus' home, with Mary Catherine and Danny leading the way.

  "Great" Colin grimaced as Teddy locked up the store. "Buck's gonna be talking about Meaty Boy advertising all the way."

  Angellus opened his front door a little after one AM to find all of them on his doorstep. "What are you doing here?"

  Mary Catherine smiled at his orange tropical shorts. "We captured the psycho caller for you, Detective Angellus. I think we might be able to find out what's going on now.,,

  "I'll tell you what's going on," he replied. "You're all going home until a decent hour or I'll put you in jail overnight."

  He started to close his front door when Sallie came up behind him with Moose running and barking behind her. "What's going on, John?" Sallie saw Mary Catherine and immediately opened the door wider for all of them to come inside. "I can't believe you left them standing outside all that time," she scolded her husband. "Would you all like some coffee? I think I have some cookies too." "

  I have to pee," the psycho caller said. "And I think these bread ties have cut off the circulation to my hands. I want a lawyer!"

  Angellus groaned as they all walked into his house. "Coffee, maybe. But no cookies!"

  Mary Catherine appointed herself as spokesperson for the group. She told Angellus everything that had happened from the time she left Buck's house until they all left the convenience store. "He confessed to calling the radio station," she explained about the man they'd taken into custody.

  Angellus shook his head. "You got me up at two in the morning to tell me you've arrested someone? You can't arrest people. You're civilians! "

  "It's a citizen's arrest," Buck said. "We're allowed to do that."

  "Did you witness him committing a crime?" Angellus looked up at the man as Danny escorted him back from the bathroom. "Nothing he told you can be used as evidence. Take the bread ties off him."

  "You can't just let him go," Colin protested. "He pretended he had a gun, and tied me and Teddy up. That must be some kind of offense."

  Angellus frowned. "Did he rob you?"

  "No," Teddy replied. "But it really hurt when that guy took off the duct tape." "

  I rest my case." Angellus looked at the psycho caller. "I apologize for this mix-up, sir. If you'd like to file a complaint against these people, I'll take your statement."

  "Yeah." The man chafed his wrists with his hands. "I'd like to file something against them. They're all a bunch of loons!"

  "But you called the radio station and threatened Mary Catherine, didn't you?" Colin accused him with all the fervor of a rampaging DA.

  "What if I did? There's no law against that."

  "Technically, that's not true," Angellus added. "Are you confessing to those phone calls at the radio station?"

  The man shrugged. "I didn't mean no harm. Someone called me; offered me a couple hundred bucks for each call. I didn't see what difference it made. No one got hurt until this guy," he pointed at Colin, "got all up in my face. And then that other guy with the ball cap and the cat jumped me."

  Angellus took a deep breath. "All right. Maybe we can work something out. If you come into the station and talk to us about this person who offered you money to call the talk show, I'm sure you won't be charged with anything and we can keep to ourselves what happened at the convenience store tonight."

  The man shrugged. "I just wanted to make some extra money. I don't want no trouble."

  Angellus got dressed and took the psycho caller to the station with a promise to talk to all of them later about the incident.

  "I think it was really brave of all of you to catch this man." Sallie smiled at them when her husband was gone. "More cookies?"

  "No, thank you." Mary Catherine struggled to her feet. "I have to go home and get some sleep. I appreciate you being so gracious with us popping in like this."

  "Yeah" Danny yawned. "Some of us have to work tomorrow."

  After saying good night to Sallie, Danny offered to take Teddy back to the convenience store.

  Buck and Mary Catherine got in Colin's car. "Maybe we should think about what we have in common." Colin pulled the car out into the road and turned back down toward the river.

  "Obviously you have the radio station in common," Buck replied. "But I don't see where that matters."

  "No, maybe you're onto something here," Colin said. "Maybe whoever is doing these things wants to get Mary Catherine off the air. Or close down the radio station."

  "That's stupid," Buck said. "Even if they hated Mary Catherine, not that anyone could ever hate her, why would they want to hurt the station?"

  "For obvious reasons," Colin pointed out. "I manage the radio station that produces her show. Anyone can see the correlation."

  "We aren't going to accomplish anything arguing about it," Mary Catherine said. "Buck may have a point, but so did Angellus. We aren't going to get anything done tonight. We'll have to take it up again tomorrow."

  The group was silent after that as they rode through the nearly deserted downtown area. Colin dropped Mary Catherine and Buck back at Buck's home.

  Mary Catherine's cell phone rang as she struggled out of the car. "MC!" Danny said. "If you need me to come get you before morning, call me. I didn't like the look on that guy's face."

  She laughed. "Thank you for worrying about me, but I'll be fine. You know what Baylor did to whoever was in my apartment. He wouldn't let anyone paw me but him."

  "Okay. I'll be there by eight thirty. Take care."

  Mary Catherine was almost too exhausted to walk inside. She focused on finding the stairs that led to her bedroom when Buck stopped her. "What was that about?"

  "Nothing. Just lining up my day tomorrow."

  "You could have my limo driver for the day, if you need him," Buck offered.

  "Thank you, but I wouldn't hurt Danny's feelings that way. And thanks again for letting me stay here. Good night."

  "You're entirely welcome." He smiled and started up the stairs. "Say, is that little vet at your place seeing anyone?"

  "No one she doesn't have to see. She's not really a people person."

  "Neither am I. Thanks."

  Baylor wanted to know everything that had happened while he'd been trapped in the car. Mary Catherine undressed and laid her head on her pillow. "We'll talk about it in the morning." She fell asleep listening to the cat complain about being left behind.

  Mary Catherine was in high spirits the next morning. Her head didn't feel stuffed with cotton, and it didn't hurt either. She was a little stiff and sore-nothing the whirlpool tub in Buck's guest room couldn't help.

  She lamented Danny's choice of outfits: a bright orange and yellow pant suit that had seen better days. She hadn't worn it since husband #2, George Wilson, had died. The incandescent colors seemed inappropriate. That was a different time in her life.

  The questionable part of Danny's decision (not that she didn't appreciate a clean outfit) was where he'd looked in her closet to find it. There were dozens of outfits in front of it. She only kept the outfit to remember those long-ago days with George.

  In the end, she had no choice but to wear it. Fortunately, it wasn't too tight. Angellus had called her earlier and left a message on her cell phone that the crime scene team would be finished in her apartment by noon. She supposed that meant it would be safe for her to go home and change clothes. That would be followed immediately by the installation of an alarm sys
tem and any other security device she could afford. She wouldn't let someone sneak up on her again if she could help it.

  Baylor complained he was all the alarm system she'd ever need... if she'd just pay attention to him. Hadn't he warned her that something was wrong in the bedroom?

  "Yes you did and I got a chair in my face for it," she reminded him as she brushed her hair.

  He meowed and rolled over on the bed, showing his back to her. If she didn't need him, he might as well stay with Buck.

  She realized his cat pride was hurt and sat down beside him, stroking his tawny fur. "You know I need you, sweetie. But we'll both be safer with an alarm system. Don't forget; he tried to trap you. We don't want that to happen again."

  The cat agreed with that and started purring and flexing on her leg. Mary Catherine got up carefully, mindful of the effect of claws on polyester. "I have to go to work now. Are you coming with me?"

  Baylor was at the door before she was. She smiled as she let him out into the hall. She knew he wouldn't leave her any more than she'd leave him. They were together until something happened to one of them. Mary Catherine didn't want to think about that.

  "Good morning!" Buck greeted them. "How about some breakfast?"

  She shuddered. "I try to avoid that meal, thank you. I'm more of a night person usually, but I appreciate you offering and your hospitality."

  "You're certainly welcome, darlin'. I hope that means we'll be talking Meaty Boy commercials by the end of the month." "

  I don't think so. You rigged the taste test. You didn't win the challenge."

  He frowned. "But Mary Catherine, the dogs ate all of it and told you they liked it. That must count for something."

  She patted his cheek. "Until the dogs like the food, without additions, I can't endorse it personally. I'm sorry. Even though WRSC thinks our major audience is people, it's really all the animals out there that trust me to be honest with them and their people. I hope you understand."