A Mew to a Kill

by Leighann Dobbs

  We stood there for a few seconds just to be sure. No other sounds came.

  “I guess it was my imagination,” I said.

  We slowly moved further inside. It smelled of something that I couldn’t quite place. I guess if emptiness had a smell that would have been it, kind of old and stuffy. A thin layer of dust had formed on the surfaces and I noticed it was eerily quiet. There wasn’t even any noise coming from outside.

  Paisley’s place was sparsely furnished—a sectional sofa and a coffee table in the living room, a dinette in the kitchen. All the furniture seemed sad somehow, as if it knew its owner was not coming back.

  “Where do we start?” Pepper broke the silence, startling me.

  “Good question. Where would you hide incriminating pictures?”

  “Hmm … maybe in a drawer. Or maybe a photo album.” She waved her hand at the photo albums lined up on several bookshelves set against the wall between the living room and kitchen.

  My heart tugged. The albums must have held the photos Paisley had been so proud of. There was something else on those bookshelves, too—cameras. I walked closer to inspect them.

  “These are antique cameras. Some are worth a bundle.” I spent a lot of time at antique auctions. Even though I was only after old books, one couldn’t help but get an education in the other items and I was always surprised at some of the prices old cameras fetched. I saw two rather expensive ones that dated back to the 1800s on Paisley’s shelf.

  “Some of these go for almost a thousand dollars. She must have almost ten grand in cameras here,” I said.

  “So, she did have something of value. Something the brother might inherit.”

  “Yeah. It’s not a ton of money, though…”

  “But if you were in trouble or needed drugs, it might be just what you needed,” Pepper pointed out.

  “And they were right here at the house. Not in her shop, which might explain why her shop was burned to cover up the real reason for the murder.”

  “Do you really think Kenny would kill her? He’s just a kid. And he was trying to straighten himself out.” Pepper was always seeing the good in people.

  I shrugged. “Maybe he’d gotten into something. Fallen in with bad people or gotten himself into a situation where he needed money.”

  “Maybe. We should still look around for other evidence.”

  I was heading toward the kitchen when I heard a scratching sound from the back of the house. My heart froze.

  “Did you hear that?” I whispered.

  This time, Pepper nodded. “Who would be here? There’s no other car out front.”

  Maybe it was just a squirrel or something. My heart lurched. I remembered Paisley saying something about what an animal lover she was. “You don’t think she could have had a pet and it’s trapped back there, do you?”

  Pepper’s eyes widened with alarm. “I don’t know. I hope not.”

  I raced down the hall with Pepper on my heels. We passed a bedroom, a bathroom and then there was a third door that was closed. I heard a noise coming from behind it.

  “In here!” I reached out and touched the cold brass knob. Another noise. Yep, something was definitely in there.

  Before I could push the door in, it jerked open violently, pulling me into the room. A tall man in a hooded sweatshirt pushed out of the room past me. He was holding something in his right hand. He bowled into Pepper, knocking her over, then shot down the hallway toward the front door.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “It’s the killer!” I blurted it out before I even knew what I was saying and took off after him. I exploded out the front door, looking left and right to see where the intruder had gone. I spotted him to the right, heading for a neighbor’s yard. I hadn’t gotten a good look at him and could now only see him from the back. The hoodie over his head obscured his hair, but I had a good idea who it was by the tall, lanky build.

  It was Kenny, Paisley’s brother.

  My feet pounded down the street after him, following him into the side yard. I could hear Pepper breathing heavily just behind me. We were gaining on him! I dug deep for a burst of speed. Either my running had greatly improved without me even trying or the guy didn’t run very fast.

  A low fence separated the yard from the one behind it. He tried to vault over it, but he still held whatever he’d taken in his right hand and couldn’t grab the fence properly. His foot caught on the bottom of the fence and he landed face first in the grass.

  Pepper shot out in front of me, flying over the fence and landing on top of him. I jumped on for good measure and we held them there with his face smashed into the grass while he squirmed and struggled.

  “Get off. Let me up.” His voice was muffled because I was sitting on his shoulders. I moved down a tad—I didn’t want to suffocate the guy, just restrain him.

  “Why did you kill your sister?” I demanded.

  “What? You’re crazy. I didn’t kill anyone!”

  “Then why were you at her house? What did you take? Evidence?”

  “Evidence?” He struggled to turn over but with two of us on his back, it was impossible. I tried to see what it was that he’d taken, but he’d fallen on his right hand and the object was hidden.

  “Okay, Kenny. I’m going to flip you over. Don’t try anything funny.”

  “Who the heck is Kenny?”

  What a strange thing to say. Pepper and I exchanged a look as we eased up and flipped him over. Our mouths dropped open when we saw who we had captured.

  Neil Lane.

  ***

  "You killed Paisley?" Pepper stared at Neil with wide eyes. So much for her special tea. Neil Lane was a killer and no matter how powerful Pepper's tea was, it couldn't help him now.

  Neil's brows mashed together. "What?" I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't kill Paisley." He leaned over and spit out some grass.

  "No? Then why were you in her place? And how did you even get in there?" I asked.

  A flurry of emotion crossed his face, like gray clouds crossing the sky. He looked away from us.

  When he didn't answer, I continued. "What did you take? Some evidence that proves you were the killer, I imagine."

  His right hand was still clenched around something. I saw an edge of paper sticking out. No, not paper. A picture. I grabbed it out of his hand and looked, then immediately wished I hadn't. It was a picture of George and Paisley. I showed it to Pepper.

  She turned away quickly. "Gross. I wish I could un-see that."

  "Why in the world would you have this?" I demanded.

  Neil screwed his eyes shut. " Because … because …" he blubbered, obviously close to tears.

  I realize he had something else in his hand. What was it? Something he didn't want anyone to see, most likely because it would incriminate him. But why would he take a picture of George? This was getting confusing. "What else do you have there?"

  "Nothing." His voice was gruff.

  "I don't think it's nothing. I want to know what's going on here." I reached down and tried to pry his hand open.

  "It's none of your business." He clenched his hand shut tighter. "I didn't kill her and that's all you need to know."

  "I think maybe you did. Maybe you killed her for George. Is that why you have this picture? Were you in cahoots with him?" I felt pretty clever coming up with that line of reasoning until I realized it didn't make much sense. If Neil was in cahoots with George, why would George have insisted on giving Paisley Neil's slot in the art show?

  "No!" Neil yelled.

  I dug my cell phone out of my pocket. "You have two seconds to tell me exactly what you were doing in Paisley's house, what's going on here and why I shouldn't call the police and tell them I found Paisley's killer."

  Neil's whole body seemed to deflate. "I didn't break in." His voice was laced with resignation. "I have a key."

  "Why would you have a key?"

  And then it came to me. I stared at his right hand. Wait a minute, don't tell me�
�

  I reached down and pried his hand open. It seemed as if Neil had lost all his fight and the tiny black velvet box in his hand told me why. I opened it and my suspicions were confirmed. Blinking at me from inside the box was a shiny diamond engagement ring.

  ***

  Pepper’s brows pinched together. "You stole a ring from Paisley's house?"

  Neil shook his head. A tear rolled down his cheek. "I didn't steal it. Well, not technically. I just took it back after I found out what she had done."

  To my and Pepper's horror, Neil started sobbing. Big, gut-wrenching sobs. Maybe he'd indulged in that tea Pepper had sold him earlier in the day and it had softened him up.

  Either way, I didn't feel comfortable watching a grown man cry, especially while sitting on top of him. I stood up and so did Pepper. Neil sat up, covered his face with his hands and sobbed into them while Pepper and I looked at each other wondering what to do.

  "You mean to tell us you were engaged to Paisley?" I asked.

  Neil nodded, unable to talk.

  "And you had a key to her house?" Pepper added.

  "Yeee-ees," Neil blubbered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny, gold key.

  Pepper compared it to the one we’d used for the front door. It matched.

  "Why didn't you say something before?" I eyed him suspiciously. "How come no one knew about the two of you?"

  "It was supposed to be secret. Paisley didn't want anyone to know. It was our secret—that's why she never wore the ring in public. I thought she was just being private. You know, didn't want gossip." He sniffed and ran his sleeve across his nose, then he glanced at the picture of George in my hand. "But I didn't know about that."

  "You didn't know she had a fling with George?" Pepper asked.

  "No, of course not. What kind of guy do you think I am?" Neil shook his head. "I might be anti-social, but that doesn't mean that I'm not like most other guys who want their girlfriends to be monogamous. It turns out she had a lot of things going on I didn't know about, like cavorting with George to take that slot away from me in the art show." He looked like he was going to cry again and I wished I had some tissues. "She was a traitor."

  "That's why you killed her," Pepper suggested.

  He shook his head violently. "No. I would never do that. Besides, I think she was already dead when I found out about all of this."

  I crossed my arms across my chest. "Wait a minute. Myrna said you were there the morning Paisley's shop burned. She heard your car driving off. I think you did find out and you were so mad that she was cheating on you that you went and killed her and burned down the shop in a rage."

  "No, that's not how it was," Neil insisted. "I was there that morning but I never went into the shop. I saw George's car in the back. I didn't stop because I knew Paisley didn't want anyone to know about us. I was a fool to believe that she really just wanted to keep things private. The whole time she was just using me."

  "Wait. You saw George's car at Paisley's the morning of the fire?" Maybe George really was the killer and if Neil could swear to seeing him, it might be just the thing the police needed to bring him in.

  Neil nodded. "Yes. Of course, I didn't know the place was on fire, otherwise I would've stopped and put it out and I didn't know … that she … she … " He broke down crying again and I rolled my eyes. If he was going to break down every five minutes, we’d never get the story out of him.

  "Did you tell this to the police?"

  "The police? No. I never talked to them."

  Maybe Myrna never mentioned the car sound to Striker or, if she did he had no idea whose car it was.

  "Anyway, I had driven straight from the airport. You can check my flights. I was at an art show in Kentucky and just got in that morning. I was going to surprise her by leaving flowers in the back of her shop. I sometimes left things there for her." His face crumbled again and I braced myself for more crying, but he recovered and continued talking. "When I saw George's car there, I didn't even stop. I just drove off and then later I heard how she had gotten the spot in the art show and Maisie told me the rumor about her and George. And then I found out she was dead and I remembered George had been there that morning. Maisie said she thought Paisley might have some pictures, and so I came to Paisley's house looking. I had to know if it was true, even though she was already gone. And when I found that…" He gestured violently towards the picture. "I took my ring back. She was playing me the whole time."

  Neil was the other man that Opal had told us about. I remembered how Paisley's ghost didn't want to give up the other man. She didn't seem like she'd been playing him. It had almost seemed like she really cared. I wished I could tell Neil to comfort him, but telling people you talked to ghosts was never a good idea, so I refrained.

  "So, why were you lurking around her shop this afternoon?" I asked instead. "Did you think the ring was in there?"

  "Oh, no. I knew it was in her house. She always put it on when I came over. I just went to the shop to take one last look at where she died. Despite all this, I still love her." Neil frowned. "But that was in the morning before we saw each other in the tea shop."

  "And you went there again in the afternoon?"

  "Nope. Not me."

  I pressed my lips together. I had mistaken Neil for Kenny just now in Paisley's house. They had the same build. Maybe the person I'd seen this afternoon was Kenny and if so … why was he lurking around the shop?

  I remembered the charm I'd found in the alley. "You said you left Paisley notes by the back door. Did you ever leave gifts, like jewelry?"

  "Jewelry? No. I wouldn't leave jewelry outside like that." His head dropped and he lowered his voice. "But maybe I should have. Maybe she would have loved me back and maybe she'd even be alive now."

  Pepper’s eyes softened. She always was a sucker for the underdog. I'd never get her to believe Neil was the killer now. Then again, I wasn't so sure I believed he was, either.

  If his story was true, then he was an eyewitness to George being there when the fire was set. And I had the evidence that Paisley had something on George—something that George might want to kill for—right in my hand.

  Were those two things enough to bring to the police?

  Probably not. I needed one more thing. A piece of physical evidence that would link George, the fire … and I had an idea of where I might find it.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “I knew Neil wasn’t the killer.” Pepper settled back in the passenger seat of the Jeep as we drove toward George’s real estate office.

  “He still could be. He might have found out about Paisley’s affair with George and killed her in a jealous rage. Maybe he’s framing George? He could be lying about seeing him there that morning.”

  “Pfft. You don’t think that otherwise you wouldn’t have let him go.”

  “I didn’t know what to think. But we need to look around in George’s real estate building. Myrna said she saw a light on in the outbuilding that morning. And since it’s just getting dark now and the office is closed, it’s the perfect time to poke around without anyone seeing us.”

  “You’re hoping we will find something that pulls it all together and incriminates George.”

  “Exactly. But I still wonder about Paisley’s brother. I don’t know where he fits in. I saw someone lurking around the alley next to Paisley’s shop this afternoon and Neil just told us it wasn’t him. It could have been Kenny, they have the same build.”

  “I know. I thought that was him back at Paisley’s house!”

  “Me, too.”

  “But why would he be lurking around her shop?” Pepper asked. “The cameras?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Or maybe he’s just missing his sister.” Pepper’s voice got that sappy tinge to it and I did a mental eye-roll knowing she was feeling sorry for Kenny.

  “Right. We can’t jump to conclusions. We need solid evidence. If we don’t find something here, we might want to figure out how to get into
Kenny’s room at the halfway house and see what he's hiding in there.” I pulled slowly into the empty parking lot and parked behind the building so no one could see us from the road.

  We got out and snuck over to the door. It was short, not even six feet in height and just an old piece of wood with rusty hinges and a hasp, simple enough to open except for the big padlock keeping it closed.

  My stomach sank. “It’s locked.”

  Pepper chewed on her bottom lip. “Julie Brown works as George’s admin, and if I know Julie, there’s a key hidden around here somewhere. She’s notorious for losing keys and always has to hide a spare.”

  Pepper stood on her tiptoes and ran her fingertips along the top of the door frame. “Before I opened the tea shop, I worked with Julie in the consignment store down on Brick Road. She used to like to hide the key someplace easily accessible.” She moved from the top of the door over to one of the small windows, her fingers tapping along the top. She stopped and smiled, then pulled down a silver key.

  She held the key out and I took it and tried it in the padlock. It worked. I wondered if George knew a spare key to his storage building was so easily accessible.

  Pepper put the key back and we pushed the door, its hinges creaking as it swung open.

  “Shhh…” I whispered. Not that anyone was around to hear us. We stepped into the dark.

  “Did you bring a flashlight?” You’d think I’d be prepared with these things by now with the many times I’d had to look for things in the dark, but I wasn’t. Thankfully, Pepper was—she had a flashlight app on her cell phone. She turned it on and pointed the thin sliver of light around.

  The building was long and thin. Once, it had been a chicken coop for the original farm, but George had revamped it into a storage shed. It was filled with a mishmash of broken chairs, old filing cabinets and boxes, all of which looked like dark shadows unless Pepper's flashlight was pointed directly at them.