The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer

by Lisa Orchard

  “Cross your fingers, girls. Let’s hope we find some answers tonight,” Sarah whispered.

  She peeked out from behind the tree and stared at the house. It sat dark and forbidding. No lights shone in the windows, and the worn out look it had by day turned sinister at night. Sarah’s stomach clenched into a tight knot.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Lacey gulped.

  “We have to. We can’t let Klonsky get away with murder,” Sarah said. Her voice sounded braver than she felt, but she was more determined than ever to put the crooked cop away.

  “We don’t even know if it’s Klonsky,” Lacey argued.

  “What about the knife we found?” Sarah whispered.

  “We don’t even know if it’s the murder weapon.” Lacey peered at the house as she spoke.

  “We don’t know it’s not, either.” Sarah rolled her eyes, refusing to believe anything but her own theory.

  Lacey sighed. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

  “Then stay here, wimp.”

  “No way! I’m not staying here by myself.”

  “Guys, we’re wasting time,” Jackie said, drumming her fingers on the tree trunk.

  “Jackie’s right. Let’s get going.” Sarah peered out from behind the tree again. “Well, here goes nothing.” She took a deep breath, and sprinted across the street.

  Jackie and Lacey caught up with Sarah at the basement window. She sat hunkered down in the dark, waiting for them.

  “What took you so long?” Sarah grumbled.

  “You do that every time,” Jackie groused.

  “I suppose I’m going in first?” Sarah whispered.

  “Yep.” Jackie peered into the dark window.

  Sarah pushed her backpack through the window, and then backed up and went in feet first. She remembered to arch her back. Once inside she took a deep breath, working up the courage to go down the box stairs. It was so dark she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. Nervous sweat broke out under her arms; she felt swallowed by the inky darkness.

  Her heart raced as she fumbled for her backpack. Images of the Cat Lady’s ghost invaded her mind. Her hands trembled and she willed them to stop. Sarah swallowed her fear. It was a huge lump that didn’t go down easily. Reaching into her pack, she pulled out her flashlight. Turning it on, she took several ragged breaths, easing her panic. Finally, she descended the makeshift stairs, the beam of her light casting eerie shadows on the walls and ceiling.

  “Okay, it’s safe. Come on down,” Sarah whispered when she reached the floor.

  She heard Lacey mutter in a strangled voice. “I want to go next.”

  “Hurry up.”

  Finally, all three girls were together at the bottom of the box stairs.

  “It’s a lot different being here at night,” Lacey whispered.

  “You can say that again,” Sarah answered as she watched Jackie come down the box stairs.

  All of a sudden Jackie shone her flashlight under her chin and contorted her features. “Blaaaah.”

  Lacey shrieked and jumped back, tripping over the box stairs. She landed on her rear and clouds of dust erupted around her. “Knock it off,” she sputtered.

  “It wasn’t me, it was the Cat Lady’s ghost,” Jackie snickered.

  “Shut up.”

  Jackie laughed at Lacey sprawled in the dirt. Sarah’s lips twitched, but she stifled her laughter and took a deep breath. She felt some of the tension leave her body.

  “You guys are total freaks!” Lacey snapped.

  She coughed spastically. Standing, she brushed the dirt off her sweatpants and adjusted the waistband. Glaring at Jackie, she stepped closer to her sister.

  “Okay, you guys, let’s start looking for clues,” Sarah said.

  The girls climbed the stairs to the basement door. Sarah opened it and shone her flashlight into the inky darkness of the kitchen. Repugnant air hit Sarah as soon as she stepped into the room. She pulled her collar up over her nose, hoping it would mask the smell.

  “What are we looking for?” Jackie asked, covering her nose with her sleeve.

  “We’re looking for anything connecting Klonsky to the Cat Lady. Let’s look in the living room.” Sarah walked through the kitchen, her flashlight cutting through the murkiness.

  The house was stifling. It had been closed up since the murder, and the foul stench of cat urine polluted the air. Sarah pulled her collar tighter around her nose and mouth. Jackie and Lacey followed her, covering their noses. Taking a deep breath, Sarah stopped between the kitchen and the living room.

  “Okay, guys. Let’s look for more pictures, a photo album, or better yet a diary,” she said, in a muffled voice.

  The girls fanned out, and aimed their lights on the shelves. Sarah avoided shining her light on the blood spatter and concentrated on the pictures sitting on the far wall. She hoped to find some answers in the faces of the photographs.

  “There’s not much down here,” Jackie said after a few minutes. “Just piles of newspapers.”

  “Let’s go upstairs.” Sarah gestured for the other girls to follow her.

  She tiptoed toward the staircase beginning in the living room. Climbing slowly, she focused on finding clues. The air grew warmer as Sarah ascended. Sweat broke out on her brow, and she wiped it away. All of a sudden, the stairway seemed to narrow. Sarah’s heart beat rapidly, and her breathing came in shallow gasps. Relief flooded through her when she reached the top of the stairs and found a wide hallway. Stopping, she bent down and took huge gulps of breath. The panicky, closed in feeling went away. Turning, she noticed the stairway appeared normal again. Jackie and Lacey were staring at her, both of their faces shiny with sweat.

  “It’s hot up here, let’s hurry,” Jackie said.

  Sarah nodded and opened the first door at the top of the stairs. It was a boy’s bedroom. She flashed her light around and then stepped inside.

  Shining her light around the room, Sarah noticed the airplane wallpaper was peeling away from the walls. A twin bed sat across the room near the window. It had been made, but by a child’s hands. Sarah could tell because the bedspread draped the bed in a haphazard fashion. On one side, it hung all the way to the floor. Perched on top of the bed was a well-loved teddy bear. Its brown fur had been worn away in spots, and one button eye hung by a thread. Strewn about on the floor were toy soldiers, along with a baseball and glove. The closet door stood open, and Sarah caught a glimpse of clothes hanging on hangers. In a heap on the closet floor were clothes that had been hastily discarded, as if the young boy hadn’t had time to re-hang them. Sarah’s throat constricted as it dawned on her this room hadn’t been touched since the day David disappeared.

  Her eyes welled up. “The poor Cat Lady, she must have been so sad. Losing her son just ruined her life.”

  “She must have been totally grief-stricken,” Jackie sniffled.

  Lacey nodded. “Yeah, can you imagine, waking up every day, not knowing where your kid is?”

  The girls stood in silence as Lacey’s words washed over them. Sarah felt a deep sense of loss and her heart went out to the weird old woman. Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, but she forced them back. She cleared her throat. “Let’s go down the hall. I don’t think we’ll find anything in here.”

  Jackie wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “Okay.”

  The next room appeared to be the master bedroom. Where the rest of the house was cluttered and dirty, this room had been well maintained. There was very little dust on the shelves, and a single baby picture of David sat on the bureau.

  “I think the Cat Lady spent most of her time here,” Sarah said.

  “It looks like it. Jackie pursed her lips and wiped the sweat from her brow.

  “There’s only one picture of David?” Lacey said, raising her hands in a gesture of confusion.

  “It might have been too hard to have a bunch of pictures around.” Sarah peered around the room, wondering where to start.

  “Yeah, I think
this poor woman was tormented by grief.”

  “You’re right about that. Why don’t you guys start looking over there on the shelves, and I’ll start going through the night stand.”Sarah’s fingers tingled as she rummaged through a drawer. We’re close. I can feel it. “I so want to get Klonsky, you guys,” she said, closing the drawer. “We have to get justice for the Cat Lady.”

  “Absolutely,” Lacey said in a determined voice.

  “Guys, I found a photo album,” Jackie whispered. She opened the cover, looking for clues.

  “Great, we’ll take that back to the tent, and check it out.” Sarah walked over and grabbed the album. “We don’t have time to look at it now.” She stepped back and placed it in her backpack.

  “I can’t seem to find anything,” Lacey complained.

  “I can’t either.” Sarah brushed her hair out of her eyes. “You would think the Cat Lady would’ve kept a diary or something.”

  “You hide your diary between the mattress and springs,” Lacey pointed out. “Maybe the Cat Lady did the same thing.”

  “Have you been reading my diary?” Sarah asked, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at her sister.

  “Not at all,” Lacey feigned innocence. “I just know where you keep it.”

  “I’m definitely moving it now.” Sarah walked over to the bed and reached between the mattress and springs. Her efforts were rewarded and she felt the leathery binding of a book. “Hey, I think I found it,” Sarah beamed as she pulled the book from its hiding place.

  “What is this?” Jackie knelt and pried something from the carpet.

  “What is it?” Sarah walked over to where Jackie knelt. She carried her backpack with her, placing the diary inside.

  Jackie aimed her flashlight on it. “It’s some sort of tie tack or lapel pin. It has the number ten on it. I think it’s got blood on it!”

  “It’s a clue! Wrap it in this tissue and put it in my backpack.” Sarah handed Jackie a tissue and her knapsack.

  Jackie wrapped the pin in the tissue, and put it in Sarah’s pack next to the diary. She had just zipped it close when a loud thump came from the rear of the house. Sarah clicked off her flashlight and dropped to the floor. Her companions followed her lead.

  “What was that noise?” Lacey whispered. Sarah heard the tension in her voice.

  “I don’t know,” Sarah replied in a low voice. Sweat rolled off her forehead and down the side of her face.

  The girls stayed frozen in their crouched positions. Sarah listened for more thumping noises.

  “I don’t hear anything else,” Jackie whispered.

  “I think it’s time to go,” Lacey whined.

  “Yeah,” Sarah agreed. “Let’s go.”

  Sarah led the girls into the hall. She stopped just outside the bedroom door and listened. The hair on the back of her neck prickled, but she heard no other noise.

  “Let’s go already,” Lacey insisted.

  Sarah moved forward again. She made it as far as David’s bedroom before the sound of voices startled her.

  “Crap.”

  She opened the door to David’s room and scrambled inside. Jackie and Lacey were right behind her. Sarah shut the door once her companions were out of the way.

  Heavy footsteps thumped up the stairs. “I don’t think it’s a good idea ta be here,” a man whined.

  Sarah recognized the voice as one of the men from the creek. Klonsky had called him D.W. Her stomach tightened into a painful knot, and her heart pounded against her ribs.

  “I lost something, and I want to make sure I didn’t lose it here.”

  Sarah shuddered at the sound of Klonsky’s snarling voice. Pressing her ear against the door, she listened. Jackie followed suit. Grabbing Jackie’s hand, she squeezed as she strained to hear more of the conversation. Her throat constricted and she had a hard time swallowing. Lacey huddled next to Sarah as if she were cold.

  “What did ya lose?” D.W. complained.

  “My service pin. You know, the one I got when I had ten years on the force.”

  “That’s jus’ great,” D.W. fumed, showing a rare spark of anger. “You’re a cop and you lose somethin’ at your own crime scene.”

  “Calm down,” Klonsky grumbled. “The lady could have grabbed it in the struggle.”

  Sarah heard the two criminals as they reached the top of the stairs. They were right outside David’s door.

  “Come on,” Klonsky exhaled an irritated sigh as he stomped further down the hall. “It could have her print on it… even a partial would be bad.”

  Sarah couldn’t hear the conversation anymore, but she’d heard enough. Her heart lurch in her chest and goose bumps rose on her skin.

  “We found his pin,” Sarah whispered.

  “We’ve got to get out of here,” Jackie muttered.

  Lacey’s breath was hot and quick on the back of Sarah’s neck, as she grabbed Sarah’s shirt and held on for dear life.

  “If we’re going to go, we’ve got to go now,” Sarah said.

  She turned the knob on the door and slunk out into the hall. Pausing, she listened to the two men rummaging around in the Cat Lady’s bedroom. Sarah crept toward the stairs—Lacey and Jackie were right behind her.

  Sarah held her breath as she tiptoed down the stairs. Her heart pounded against her ribs. She was sure the men would hear it and come searching for the source of the noise. She wanted to get down those stairs as fast as she could. Lacey still clutched the back of her shirt, slowing her down. Jackie took up the rear.

  They reached the living room when the sound of a door opening from above stopped the girls dead in their tracks. Sarah searched frantically for a place to hide. She heard heavy footsteps as the criminals moved toward the stairs.

  “Over here,” she muttered.

  The girls dashed behind a couple piles of newspapers just as Klonsky and D.W. came down the stairs.

  “It’s not here. So, we’re fine,” Klonsky said.

  “’Less the cops found it already.”

  Klonsky laughed. “No problem, I’m heading up the investigation, so I know what they have. Everything’s going like clockwork.”

  Sarah heard the arrogance in his voice, and it turned her stomach. The villains’ footsteps grew fainter as they turned toward the kitchen.

  Suddenly, Lacey sneezed against Sarah’s back. Sarah’s breath caught in her chest and her throat tightened. She turned and grabbed Lacey’s head, forcing it down into the carpet. Lacey struggled against her and whimpered in protest. Sarah let her up only to keep her quiet. Clamping her lips together, she stifled the groan that was about to escape. I can’t believe my sister’s bad timing. Clapping her hand over Lacey’s mouth, Sarah pressed down tightly. She could feel Lacey’s teeth against her lips. Her sister struggled against her. Sarah was pressing too hard. Reluctantly, she eased the pressure off of Lacey’s mouth.

  “What was that noise?” D.W. asked from the kitchen.

  Sarah heard footsteps coming back into the living room. All of a sudden, a beam of light flashed around the piles of newspapers. Her heart lurched in her chest and her spirits sank. We almost made it. What will Klonsky do if he catches us? A chill ran down her spine and she held her breath, praying they wouldn’t be discovered.

  “Probably one of those cats,” Klonsky said.

  “Yeah. You know there’s somethin’ familiar about this here house,” D.W. said.

  Sarah watched the beam of his light as it roamed around the room. She heard him amble through the maze of newspapers coming closer to where they hid. Her heart thundered in her chest. I wish I could disappear into the floor.

  “You don’t say?” Klonsky asked.

  “Yeah, I’m thinkin’ I’ve been here afore.”

  “You were here before, with me, the other night.”

  “No, I mean afore that.”

  “I doubt that.” Klonsky dismissed him. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  “Lon, I thinks I been here,” D.W. insi
sted.

  “Let’s go.”

  Sarah watched as D.W., in a moment of independence, took a step toward the shelves. He shone his light on the photos and took several more steps to get a better look at them. By doing this he stepped directly on Jackie’s hand. Jackie grimaced in pain as his full weight crushed her hand.

  D.W. shone his flashlight on the ground. “What the heck?”

  “Yeow!” Jackie howled. She tugged at her hand trying to pull it out from under D.W.’s foot.

  D.W. shrieked and dropped his flashlight. He stumbled back against a pile of newspapers. They cascaded to the floor.

  “Run!” Sarah shouted.

  She grabbed Lacey’s hand and pulled her away from the carnage. Turning toward the kitchen, Sarah saw Klonsky looming in the darkness. He blocked the only way to escape.

  All of a sudden, Lacey tripped and pushed Sarah from behind—she stumbled, stopping inches away from Klonsky. She couldn’t see his face, and hoped he couldn’t see her.

  “What the heck…” he snapped. He brought his light around to see.

  Sarah swung her backpack and knocked his flashlight to the floor. She could hear it rolling away out of reach. Klonsky staggered back and lost his balance. Next, she heard a loud thump as he crashed to the floor. He must have tripped over a kitchen chair.

  Thinking fast, Sarah reached around Lacey and grabbed Jackie’s strap on her backpack. She tugged it, trying to pull it off her shoulders. Jackie seemed to understand what she was doing and dropped the backpack to the floor.

  “Perfume,” Sarah whispered.

  Jackie rummaged around inside and pulled out the bottle and handed it to Sarah. Meanwhile, Klonsky floundered in the dark, looking for his flashlight.

  Spying her opportunity, Sarah dashed by the crooked cop, pulling Lacey with her. She heard Jackie fumble with her backpack and hoped she was right behind them.