Mint Cookie Murder

by Leslie Langtry

  "I'm going back to the Council right now! Wait until they hear about this!"

  Kelly and I stared as Juliette Dowd fled the room.

  "Mrs. Wrath?" I looked down to see Lauren holding up a poster board covered with drawings of people shooting each other and bleeding as they squirmed in their own gore. "Can we go next?"

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  When I got home, I took a shower and changed into a clean blouse and jeans. Riley was like a babysitter who had to watch my kid while I went on a date. Or a breakup. I didn't want to think about the idea that our relationship could end in the next 10 minutes.

  "I've got to go over to Rex's," I said to Riley. "He wants to talk to me about something." I grabbed my house keys. "You're on Philby protection until I get back. And make sure he doesn't eat anything—he's supposed to fast."

  Philby was already making a beeline for his food dish. Well, by making a beeline, I mean moving very, very slowly, but you get the idea.

  Riley scooped up the dish and put it in the cupboard. Philby gave him a shocked look.

  Mrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooooooooooooow! he complained.

  "This isn't going to be easy," Riley said as Philby started head-butting his shins. It kind of looked like it hurt.

  "Good luck!" I said as I ran out the door.

  Once the door slammed shut behind me, I walked as slowly as possible across the street. I was in no hurry to be dumped. Well, Wrath, this is it. Tonight you'll find out how Rex feels, at least. Maybe that would help with my decision.

  Rex opened the door before I could knock. Once inside, he handed me a glass of white wine, and I followed him into the kitchen. I was not prepared for this. Rex had the kitchen table set for two. Nice china, candles, the works.

  "We're not watching a movie in the living room with pizza?" I asked, sitting at the table.

  "No we're not." Rex said as he stirred something on the stove that smelled heavenly. At least he was going to make me dinner before dumping me. How sad. But still, better to be dumped in a place that wasn't public. And I could slink across the street after.

  "Can I help?" I asked, hoping he'd say no. I didn't want to help. It would be like digging my own grave or building my own gallows.

  Rex shook his head. "No, you can't. But it's almost done."

  The oven made a dinging sound, and Rex pulled a seven-layer lasagna out of the oven. It wasn't even in a tinfoil pan—it was in a real one. He'd made it from scratch. I didn't know he could cook like this. I watched, fascinated as he poured a red sauce from the pan over the lasagna and popped a loaf of Italian bread into the oven. He was going all out for this.

  Rex then hand-grated Parmesan cheese over the lasagna and brought the pan to the table. He even used a trivet. Whoa! The oven dinged again, and he took out the bread, expertly slicing it in two and grating more Parmesan cheese over that before putting it on the table as well.

  Rex joined me at the table, and we put our napkins (cloth!) on our laps.

  "I didn't know you could cook," I said as he served me a huge slice of lasagna and bread.

  He nodded. "I should've done this for you a long time ago. It was what you said to Angela that woke me up."

  "What I said to Angela?" I mumbled through a mouthful of the best Italian food I'd ever tasted. "So you're not dumping me?"

  Rex stared at me. "No! I can't believe you thought that!" He shook his head. "I've been neglecting you. All these months we'd been seeing each other just one night a week, and sitting here, watching rented movies and eating crap pizza. Then an old friend comes into town, and I take her out someplace nice twice."

  "The pizza wasn't all that bad…" Breadcrumbs flew from my lips. What was happening here? He wasn't dumping me? Did he really mean it?

  "It wasn't what you deserved. I was treating Angela better than I treated my own girlfriend."

  I perked up. "So I am your girlfriend?"

  He sighed. "See? I didn't even let you know how I felt about you. And when you thought I was inviting you out so you could think Angela and I were dating…well, it all came crashing back."

  I stared at him for a moment. I kept eating…I'm not an idiot. Yes, the food was that good.

  "You aren't interested in Angela?" I asked once my mouth was empty.

  "No. Not in the least. I don't even know why I met her for dinner." Rex scowled, and I felt like my heart was bouncing on a trampoline.

  "That was a bad idea," I agreed. "But I didn't want to say anything because I thought maybe I'd gotten it wrong about us."

  Rex shook his head. "I'm not good at this, Merry. I should've treated you better. It's just that I really enjoy spending an evening with you here. I spend so much time out in the community with my detective face on all day that with you I can really relax."

  I hadn't thought of that. Here I'd been thinking I was second string because I wasn't glamorous or fashion forward or whatever. When it turns out that's what he's wanted all along. Rex felt like he could be himself around me. I couldn't think of a better compliment. How did I get this so wrong?

  "But what about her lipstick on your collar?" I asked. It was a legitimate question that I could ask now that I knew my status.

  Rex blushed. And it was the most adorable thing I'd ever seen. "Sorry about that. The last time we went out, she tried to give me her hotel room key. I told her I wasn't interested. Inviting you to join us was supposed to show her that I was involved with someone. But it didn't because when I dropped her off, she hit on me. I made it clear I didn't want to see her anymore."

  "You did?" I actually stopped eating for a moment.

  "I did."

  "But then, why were you worried she hadn't returned your calls this morning?" I asked.

  "I didn't want to leave things on a bad note. And I really wanted her to understand how I felt about you." He checked his phone. "I still haven't heard back from her."

  I changed the subject. "Do you know what we really talked about in the bathroom?"

  Rex shook his head. His mouth was full of food, and unlike me, he had manners. So I told him what Angela had said to me.

  "She said that? To be careful with me because my heart had been broken?"

  I nodded. "Why? Is that not true?"

  "Well, she left out that she's the one who broke my heart."

  "She's a stone-cold bitch," I said. And possibly literally if she was dead now.

  "I'll drink to that." Rex clinked my glass.

  I needed to tell him. But things were going so well, I didn't want to blow all this great food and apologizing by saying, Riley shot your friend, and we hid it from you, and she's probably being interrogated by some kind of CIA Coma Interrogators right now. It just didn't seem to be the right time.

  So I told him other stuff. Like how the video showed what looked like but wasn't me on the prison cam. And how Philby was undergoing surgery tomorrow for an SD card that might have classified secrets. And how we didn't know the connection between Bobb and the cat—only that there was one because Philby hissed when he heard his name.

  "Huh." Rex said as he got up to put the food away. "I can't think of anything either. You still haven't found him? I could put out an APB."

  I shook my head and started clearing dishes. "It's probably better if you don't get involved."

  "But I am involved, Merry. Or at least, I want to be." He pushed me away from the sink and wrapped his arms around me.

  I reached up and pulled his face to mine, kissing him firmly on the lips. This was way better than I'd thought. I came over here to get seriously dumped only to find that Rex wanted to apologize and stay with me!

  His hands ran up and down my back, spreading little flutters across my skin. My lips searched his, and he responded with a little tongue. This was it! Now we were getting somewhere, I thought as I trailed kisses down his throat and started fiddling with the buttons on his shirt. Rex moaned, and it set my body on fire. Oh yeah, we were moving forward now!

  A twinge of guilt smacked my gu
t as I realized I'd made out with two guys in 24 hours. Geez! Was I a slut or what? Of course when I was kissing Riley, I thought Rex and I were through. But now that I was kissing Rex, Riley and I were through. Well, before we were even anything. And I was going to let him know as soon as I got home.

  Stop thinking, you idiot, and enjoy this! I was right. Instead of arguing with myself, I let the pleasure of making out with Rex take over. He wanted me—I knew that through every stroke of his hands on my body. It didn't take a genius to know that I wanted him too. He was the one. I had an answer for Kelly.

  Okay, I really needed to stop thinking about Kelly. That was easy because thinking was becoming terribly difficult. Rex moaned softly as his lips trailed down my neck and a surge of electricity left sparks in his wake. Oh, yes. Tonight was the night. And I'd bet his sheets were clean.

  It felt like my body was vibrating, which was nice. No, wait, it felt like my butt was vibrating. Was it supposed to do that? That was a little farther than I wanted to go the first time, but…

  "Your phone is vibrating," Rex whispered in my ear.

  "Let's ignore it." I smothered his lips with mine.

  "It's still ringing." Rex pulled back. "Do you think it's Riley?"

  "Riley can wait," I said, leaning in again.

  "What if it's about Philby?" Rex's words washed over me like frozen water.

  I pulled the cell from my pocket. It was Riley.

  "What's up?" I asked.

  "You sound like you're out of breath. Is something wrong?" Riley's voice sounded concerned.

  "I'm fine. I ate too much," I covered, feeling very, very guilty. Now that I'd chosen Rex, I felt like I'd led Riley on.

  "It's Philby. You'd better come over here. I called Kelly." Riley hung up.

  "Oh, no!" I grabbed my keys from the counter and headed for the door. "Something's wrong!"

  "I'm coming with you." Rex was hot on my heels.

  There was no time to argue. My cat needed me.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Kelly arrived when I did with her bag of nurse stuff, and we all walked in at the same time. Riley led us into the kitchen. Philby was lying in the middle of the floor on what looked like my pillow, and it looked like he'd just vomited something huge and slimy.

  "Is it a rat?" Did I have rats? I did not need rats on top of everything else.

  "It's moving!" Riley said. Philby was on his side, panting. Had the rat been rabid and bit Philby?

  Kelly grabbed a dishtowel and wiped it off, and I thought I'd probably just throw that one away. She looked at the rat and started laughing. Rex did too. Riley and I were horrified.

  "What is it? What's happening?" I asked.

  "It's a kitten. Kelly handed me the bundle in the towel. "Philby's a girl. And a mom."

  I looked down at the wet bundle and saw that it was, in fact, not a rat. Riley looked over my shoulder. "Philby's a girl?" I asked.

  "That's usually how it works," Kelly said, looking at my cat's rear end. "Oh wait, here comes another one."

  "Another one?" I gasped.

  Rex stepped around us to help Kelly. Riley was also handed a kitten wrapped in a dishtowel. He did what I did—just stared at it.

  "That seems to be it." Kelly patted Philby on the head. "Good job, Mama."

  Rex took the two kittens from us and put them against the big cat, who immediately started cleaning them up.

  "Kittens?" I was still in a bit of shock.

  "That's why she was eating so much and looked so fat," Kelly said.

  "I'm going to give Dr. Rye a piece of my mind tomorrow before the surgery!" I growled. "He never told us he was a she! Or that she was pregnant!"

  Rex shook his head. "She can't have surgery tomorrow. Philby has to feed these two around the clock for the first couple of weeks. No way they can be without her a whole day. You'll have to reschedule the surgery."

  Riley cursed. This wasn't good.

  "How do you know so much about cats?" I asked my boyfriend. It was so nice to think the word and apply it to Rex.

  He shrugged. "I grew up in the country. We had barn cats."

  The two babies snuggled against Philby as she licked them vigorously. One kitten was black and the other all-white. At least it would be easy to tell them apart.

  "So I have three cats now?" I asked. "Oh my God. I'm a crazy cat lady."

  Rex grinned. "I'll tell you what. When they're eight weeks old, I'll take the black one."

  I brightened a little. "Deal. Kelly or Riley? The white one's up for grabs."

  Riley shook his head. "No way. I'm out of the country half the time. It wouldn't be fair."

  I looked at Kelly expectantly. "Robert's allergic, remember?" She looked like she wanted to say more but changed her mind.

  "Okay, so you're taking the white one." I ignored her dirty looks. "But what are we going to do about that SD card? We need that to deal with Bobb."

  Philby hissed weakly. The two kittens gave tiny hisses. They were definitely Philby's.

  "Couldn't you do it?" Riley asked Kelly.

  She looked at Philby for a long moment. "I don't know. I've done minor extractions. But even then, she won't be up for it for at least a week. I don't think we can risk it."

  I looked at the clock. It was well after 11:00 at night. No way we could cancel with Dr. Rye. I'd have to call first thing in the morning. Meanwhile, Kelly found a box in my garage and lined it with towels. Very gently, she and Rex put Philby and her babies in there.

  "I'm still going to yell at the vet," I said.

  "In all fairness, he never told you what she was, and you didn't ask," Riley said. "And maybe she delivered early. Maybe he thought he could still do the surgery."

  "Or maybe he just thought she was fat. Like you guys did," Kelly said.

  Philby was purring as her now clean kittens snuggled up to eat. Wow. I had a family now! Sure, it consisted of cats but still a family and mine!

  Kelly mumbled something about having to talk to Robert about something, so she left. I walked Rex to the door, kissing him on my front stoop and watching until he made it to his house across the street. I was just turning to go inside when something where the base of the stoop met the house glinted in the porch light.

  I bent down. It was some sort of folded piece of paper. But it was wedged between the concrete and the siding so well it would be tough to get out.

  "Riley!" I shouted through the doorway.

  He appeared wearing sweat pants and a T-shirt. Huh. When did he have a chance to change?

  "Quiet! Philby and the babies are sleeping!" he whispered.

  "Look!" I pointed at the paper.

  Riley bent down and tried to pry it out while I went inside to get a flashlight and a flat-tipped screwdriver. I got down in the bushes next to the stoop and shone the flashlight.

  "The light must have caught on the staple." I said. "How is it possible we didn't notice this before?"

  "We haven't really looked, I guess. Neither did the police." Riley jammed the screwdriver into the tiny gap and tried to pry a bigger gap in the cement.

  "The paper's the same color as the siding. I didn't even see it when I was cleaning up Lenny's blood."

  "Do you have a mallet? Or a small sledge?" Riley asked.

  I ran into the garage and found only a regular claw hammer. It would have to do. We were approaching midnight, and I didn't think we could get a contractor here now. I certainly didn't want to leave it out all night if it was a clue.

  Riley hit the screwdriver a few times, hard. A chunk of cement broke and I was able to pull the paper out.

  "Get it inside," Riley said quickly, looking around.

  I was beyond tired. But there was no way I was going to bed without seeing what this was. Riley locked the door and closed all the curtains as I unfolded the piece of paper on the breakfast bar.

  "Do you understand it?" I pointed at the columns of numbers on the green ledger sheet. "It makes no sense to me." There were just strings of five
-digit numbers and a couple of times were the letters LS and SS. What did it mean?

  "It's some kind of code." Riley frowned and rubbed his eyes. "It all looks so blurry. I need some sleep."

  I nodded. "Let's divide and conquer. I'll take the cats to bed with me. You take the clue."

  "Good idea." He kissed me on the forehead. "See you in the morning." And with a wink, he was gone. For a moment I wanted to run down the hall after him and tell him there'd be no more kissing. That I was with Rex and not him. But the door to his room closed, and I had kittens mewing behind me. Tomorrow. I could tell him tomorrow.

  I lugged the box to my room and set it on my bed. I decided to sleep in sweats in case I needed to get up. I'd grabbed my gun from the basement earlier and had it on my nightstand. I turned off the light and curled my body around the box. No way anyone was getting to these cats tonight. Philby's purring immediately put me to sleep.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  My alarm woke me up at 8:00 a.m., and I called Dr. Rye immediately. I told him what had happened the night before.

  "Pregnant? Well, you're right. We can't operate for a little while then. How are the kittens?" he asked. I toyed with chewing him out for not mentioning Philby being a girl or pregnant but decided against it. I wasn't sure how hard it was to find a vet. Maybe it's like trying to find a doctor who takes your insurance. Or maybe it's worse.

  "They look fine, I think," I said as I looked the sleeping kitties over. "I'm really not sure, actually."

  "Why don't you bring them in anyway? I can at least do the first checkup, and you'll feel a lot better," Doc said.

  "That's a good idea." I was really nervous about this and had a lot of questions. "Same time?"

  "Same time," Dr. Rye said. "See you soon."

  Riley got up when he heard me speaking and agreed that this was a good idea. We quickly got dressed and wrapped the box in blankets before carrying it to the SUV.

  "I'm still shocked that Philby had kittens," Riley said as he drove.