Angel Sleuth (3 page)

“We’ve got sushi take-out,” yelled Mary Jane from the kitchen.

Oh, crap. Raw fish served by two lunatics. Just what she needed.

* * *

“Did you read the newspaper headline this morning?” asked Mary Jane.

Kaitlin had stumbled down to breakfast, looking for her jolt of caffeine. For a minute she had forgotten about her guests, but the memory of yesterday came back in a rush aided by the whirring noise coming from a cage in the kitchen’s far corner.

“What’s that?” she asked. Mary Jane put a cup of coffee in her hand.

“A gerbil, of course,” Jeremy said. He sat at the kitchen table tearing up shreds of lettuce.

“There you go, Buddy,” he said. He placed the bowl of greens into the cage. The spinning wheel came to a halt and with it the buzzing sound. A small, furry, not too unattractive creature with a short fluffy tail emerged from the contraption and sniffed Jeremy’s offering.

“He likes peanuts better, but the people who won him have been over-feeding him. He’s here so I can get his weight down.”

Great. Now she was running a day spa for rodents.

Kaitlin fell into a kitchen chair and grabbed the paper. She’d deal with the growing circus in her house after her coffee and newspaper fix.

Mary Jane leaned over her and pointed out the headline with a red lacquered nail. “Advice Columnist Dies under Suspicious Circumstances,” it read.

Mary Jane’s finger tapped the word “suspicious.” “See. I thought so,” she said.

The story provided few details about the death, but it hinted that the circumstances were unusual. All it said was Leda Pippel, advice columnist for the local weekly, fell down the stairs in her home and died.
Fell? Pushed?
Don’t get carried away, Kaitlin told herself. The autopsy was pending.

“Creepy, huh?” said Mary Jane.

Kaitlin nodded her head and took a final sip of coffee from her cup. Mary Jane filled it again.

“This is typical Delbert Glover, the newspaper’s editor,” Kaitlin said. “He likes to embellish the headlines to increase readership. Poor Leda. Now she’s the subject of some exaggerated tale provided by Delbert’s runaway imagination.”

Mary Jane placed two slices of wheat toast with orange marmalade in front of her.

“I thought you said there was another man in Leda’s house last night.”

Kaitlin remembered the ghostlike shadow among the trees on Leda’s lawn and shivered.

“There was, I think. I wonder if anyone else knows about that?”

“Could you find out?”

“Well, I guess I could. My best friend from high school, Brittany, is the editor’s assistant.”

“You could drop in on her on your way to the Cappuccino Café,” said Mary Jane.

“How did you know I’m going to the café?”

“You go every morning, don’t you?”

She held up the coffee pot and arched one eyebrow at Kaitlin.

“Uh, no thanks. I’ve got work to do.”

Kaitlin went upstairs, got dressed, and sat, as she had done for so many weeks, in front of her computer, but the muse avoided her once more. A visit to Brittany, she decided.

She poked her head into Mary Jane’s room as she passed by. “Want to come with me?” she asked.

“Sure.” Mary Jane tossed the “Billiards Today” magazine she’d been reading on the floor. She grabbed her red shawl and tucked her feet into black patent leather ankle boots. Today she was dressed in a purple gypsy skirt and off-the-shoulder teal blue blouse. Kaitlin wore a clean tee and cut-offs.

“Does Jeremy want to come along?” asked Kaitlin.

“No, he already went out to check for hurt and abandoned animals.”

“Uh, is he going to keep all of these critters here, in the house?”

“Only in his room. He’ll find homes for them eventually.”

Eventually, thought Kaitlin.
Like Christmas
.

“Don’t worry. We won’t be staying that long. The Heavenly Companions, Inc. Northeast Chapter is meeting the end of August. We’ll have a placement by then.”

Kaitlin sneaked a sideways peek at Mary Jane. She didn’t look crazy.

Mary Jane threw her arm around Kaitlin as the two of them descended the stairs. “And by then, your book will be finished.”

“It’s not going to be if the publisher doesn’t get me a new illustrator.”

“Maybe I can help with that,” said Mary Jane. “What happened to your old illustrator?”

“Don’t you know?”

“If you don’t want to talk about it, I understand.”

As they exited the house, Mary Jane stopped, raised her arms, and inhaled deeply. She did a pirouette on the sidewalk and flapped her arms about as if she were going to fly. Kaitlin looked up and down the street wondering if any of Aldensville’s citizens had observed the performance.

“Don’t you just love it?” asked Mary Jane. She tucked Kaitlin’s arm in hers.

“Nothing like a walk in the spring air. Exercise. It’s just the ticket to blow out the cobwebs and make room for creativity.” She gave Kaitlin a meaningful look.

“I’m getting exercise…”

“You need ‘writing exercise’, like warming up before you plunge into the big stuff.”

Kaitlin shook her head. “You just don’t understand.”

The woman irritated her, but then, in a way Kaitlin couldn’t begin to explain, she also sent a feeling of warmth radiating from her toes to her nose.

“What’re you smiling about?” asked Mary Jane. She pulled open the door to the newspaper office.

“I’m not.”

Kaitlin did a mental check on the position of her lips. “I am.”

The woman standing behind the counter had blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and wore a red polka dotted dress.

“Hi, Kaitlin,” said Brittany. She looked not at Kaitlin but at Mary Jane. Mary Jane met her scrutiny stare for stare. Up and down, up and down, went their gazes, covering every aspect of the other’s appearance.

“Where are my manners?” Kaitlin said. Before she could make the introductions, Brittany walked out from behind the counter in red platform shoes that matched her dress and stuck out her hand.

“Hi, I’m Kaitlin’s friend Brittany. I love your skirt. It’s not something I could wear, but it looks so good on you.”

Mary Jane smiled and pumped Brittany’s hand with vigor. “Yeah, thanks. My name is Mary Jane. My son and I are house guests of Kaitlin. Is that dress vintage?”

“Yeah, I got it at the What Goes Around, Comes Around Shop. It’s just down the block.”

“I’ll check it out.”

Mary Jane reached out to finger the material. “Have to iron it, I bet.”

“Yeah, but worth it.”

Good God, thought Kaitlin, they’re bonding. My best friend and this strange person like each other.

Brittany gave Mary Jane a final smile, then turned to Kaitlin. “You know, you’re just the person I wanted to see. You read about poor Mrs. Pippel today?” Both Mary Jane and Kaitlin nodded. “Well, the newspaper needs someone to write the advice column. Just until we find a permanent replacement. You know, someone who knows the town, can write, and maybe a person who has some credentials in the area of human behavior.”

Brittany leaned forward slightly, a look of excitement on her face. Kaitlin finally realized her friend expected some kind of a reaction. From her.

“Sure. That sounds good.”

“Great.”

“Of course, Delbert does the hiring, right?”

“Right, but I’ll talk to him when he comes in today. He’s out covering the opening of the new farm equipment dealership down the road. Meanwhile, congratulations, Kaitlin. I’m sure I can convince him you’re just what we need.”

Kaitlin stood motionless in front of Brittany. Mary Jane, standing close by, smiled up into her face. “Yes, congratulations, Kaitlin. This is just what you need to get a jump start on your book.”

Finally it dawned on her that these two were suggesting she take over Leda Pippel’s advice column.

“Oh, no,” she said. She backed up toward the door. “You can’t mean me. Not me.”

They did mean her. Both of them stood there looking at her with absurdly supportive grins on their faces.

“I’ve got a book to finish. And I haven’t written one word on that for the past month. What makes you think I could possibly devote my time to answering letters asking for advice? I’m the one who needs help. Forget it.”

“But you’ve got what it takes. You write, and you’ve got a degree in family therapy. You worked for years in the counseling center at Fairmont Junior College before you took a leave of absence to devote yourself to your children’s books. I think you’d be great.” Kaitlin knew Brittany wasn’t one to let go of an idea once she got it into her head. She was like a human Rottweiler, tenacious, determined, but a lot prettier.

Kaitlin looked to Mary Jane for help, but she merely nodded and said, “I said you needed to warm up your writing muscles.”

She screwed up her face, squinting her eyes in consternation at Mary Jane.
Could this turn of events have something to do with the angel stuff? Did Mary Jane somehow put the idea into Brittany’s head? Well, no matter. Delbert wouldn’t go for it.

No sooner had his name passed through her thoughts, but the man himself pushed through the front door. And, of course, Brittany rushed over, threw her arms around him, and excitedly revealed her idea.

The short, bald man, about as wide as he was tall, put his hand on his chin, looked at his toes, and thought, or gave a good appearance of it.

“Well,” he said. He hesitated long enough for Kaitlin to push in front of Brittany.

“Brittany’s just being nice, Mr. Delbert,” she said. She addressed him with the name all the kids used when she was in grade school. Before she could begin her next sentence, he interrupted her.

“Wow! This is wonderful. A published author on our staff.” Tears filled his eyes, and he reached into his back pocket and extracted a handkerchief.

“It’s been so long since you’ve lived here. I’m just so darned grateful that you’d come forth this way to serve the community. Leda was a fine columnist, and I loved her like mad, but I never expected anyone of your caliber would step up to fill her sneakers. Thank you. Thank you.” Delbert grabbed Kaitlin’s hand and shook it so long she thought she’d never get it back.

* * *

Kaitlin shifted the cardboard box with the advice column letters from one arm to the other, still unable to figure out what happened back in the office. She hadn’t said a word after Delbert thanked her for taking the position, and now she was toting Leda’s files home with her so that, according to him, “she could get a jump start on the column” due the day after tomorrow.

“Need some help carrying that?” asked Mary Jane.

Kaitlin paused and placed both arms under the box. She looked Mary Jane straight in the eye. “Tell me you didn’t have anything to do with this.”

“What do you mean? It was their idea,” she said.

“I mean, tell me it wasn’t some angel thing, some warped miracle.”

“Miracles, I don’t do. Besides they’re passé. People don’t need miracles any longer. They just need a little support.”

“And I suppose you think getting me a job I can’t handle is supportive?”

Mary Jane flipped the fringe of her shawl over her shoulder and took the box from Kaitlin’s hands. “Aren’t you curious about the letters people have written for advice?”

Here we go again. Another question.
She gave forth a deep sigh and grabbed the box out of Mary Jane’s hands.

“The letters were written to Leda as advice columnist. I guess now they’re mine. Therefore, I think they’re not for anyone else’s eyes.” She was being snotty, she knew, but she couldn’t bear Mary Jane’s endless buoyant mood. She marched up the front steps, juggled the box under one arm, and flung open the door.

Jeremy stood in the hallway. “I lost Slim,” he said in a sad voice.

“Don’t tell me,” said Kaitlin. She rushed up the stairs and slammed the door to her room, then opened it again and yelled down the hallway. “Okay, I give. Who’s Slim?” Please let it not be Slim the Snake, she prayed.

“Don’t worry,” said Mary Jane. “It’s Slim the Shepherd, as in German Shepherd.”

Read her mind again.
“How can he lose a dog that size in this house?” Kaitlin asked. She heard a rustling sound coming from under her bed and lifted the bed ruffle.

Right, cuz he’s a baby.

“Found him.” She lifted the ball of fur and tucked him into her arms. “And I think he’s scared. Bring some paper towels.”

Later that evening after they’d gotten Slim into his doggy bed in Jeremy’s room, Kaitlin heard the story of Slim: runt of the litter, about to be shipped off to some research laboratory until Jeremy offered to take him off the owner’s hands. After telling her this tale, Jeremy fixed her with his sad, brown eyes and said, “You understand. Right?” Mary Jane stood at his side, her arm around his shoulders, a hopeful smile on her face.

“As long as you walk him, clean up after him, and find him a good home.” She turned on her heel and left for her room before either of them could say anything. “I’ve got work to do.”

She closed the door behind her, opened up her laptop and stared at the screen as usual. But her attention was diverted by the cardboard box filled with Leda’s advice column letters. Her intention was to return the box tomorrow and make a compelling argument to convince Delbert she wasn’t the one for the job.

“I’m not reliable,” she’d say, and that much was true. Now. “I’ve been dumped by my husband for a woman twice my age and the humiliation has sucked all reasonable thought out of my head.” Well, of course, she wouldn’t say that, but she would present a case for severe and temporary agitated depression to him, not a good state of mind for advising others in any similar brain funk.

She swung her desk chair across the floor to the credenza on which the box sat.
Maybe just one letter.

* * *

Mary Jane heard the chair slide across the floor in Kaitlin’s room. She looked up from her book and smiled at the sound. Jeremy sat curled up on the living room sofa, reading
Cat Fancy
magazine and stroking Hester’s fur. He turned the page, and the cat batted at his hand.