Depawsit Slip (Vanessa Abbot Cat Protection League Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) (9 page)

Walter screamed bloody murder. “Get it off! Get this thing off me!”

Vanessa stared at the mayhem unfolding in front of her, but she couldn’t move. She glanced over and spotted Detective Wheeler grinning like a clown. When he caught Vanessa’s eye, he snorted with laughter.

Vanessa looked back at Walter flailing and staggering around with Henry glued to his face, and she had to smile, too. She never saw anything so funny in her life. Henry opened his mouth and tried to gain another inch of purchase by sinking his teeth into Walter’s eyebrow.

Walter staggered right, and then left. Then he tripped over a beanbag in front of the children’s toys and lost his footing. His arms flew out from his sides in search of something to catch his balance, but he couldn’t find anything with his eyes covered. He stumbled and fell. Henry rode him all the way down to the ground. He only loosened his claws and leapt clear when Walter sank beneath a tide of stuffed animals.

Henry jumped on delicate paws onto a shelf between the roller blades and ski boots. He glanced over his shoulder at Walter. Walter’s arms and legs waved above the undulating toys, and wordless grunts and grumbled curses rose from the floor. Henry wrinkled his nose and stalked away as if nothing had happened. He went back to his bookshelf and started straightening his whiskers.

Detective Wheeler chuckled and shook his head. He sauntered over to the children’s section and bent down. The handcuffs clicked around Walter’s wrist. “Come on. Stand up.”

Walter struggled to his feet. He foamed and spat and thundered when he saw Vanessa smiling. “What kind of business are you running here? These cats should be declared a menace to society.”

Vanessa’s smile vanished. “You’re the menace to society, Walter. I should have known you were the killer when Flossy scratched you.”

Ollie got to his feet and brushed the powdered glass off his clothes. “What did you do it for, anyway? You must make good money in your medical practice. You didn’t have to go in for a life of crime.”

“Didn’t you know?” Penny put in. “He’s a bigger crook than Alfred ever was. He runs the black market in five states. You check with the FBI, Detective Wheeler. Captain Jameson might not have anything on him, but the feds sure do.”

Pete finished clipping Walter into the handcuffs. “Let me guess. Alfred Botchweather was your competition.”

“That pipsqueak!” Walter snarled. “He could never be my competition. He was strictly small fry. But he got too big for his britches. He tried to horn in on one of my gambling rings. He tried to pressure one of my bookies to give up his book, and I couldn’t let that slide. I warned him more than once to stick to his barbershop. He had a good thing going with that. But he wanted to expand, and the only room to expand was into my territory. I had to stop him, and I did.”

“And now it’s all over,” Pete remarked. “You just couldn’t leave well enough alone, and now it’s all over for you.”

“Don’t worry,” Walter replied. “I’ll beat this thing. I’ve got the best lawyers in the state working for me, and I own the district attorney’s office, too. I’ll be out in a month or two, and then I’ll be coming after you. I’ll get you back for this. You just wait and see.”

Pete Wheeler nodded. “Sure you will. Now, come on. You’re going downtown.”

Vanessa watched them go. Ollie helped her sweep up the broken glass. “Sorry about all your merchandise.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Vanessa replied. “Walter did it. I can claim in on my insurance.”

“How much is this stuff actually worth?” he asked.

Vanessa smiled. “Almost nothing.”

Ollie and Penny left. A peaceful silence descended over the Opportunity Shop. Vanessa meandered through the aisles, putting things back in place. The place didn’t seem the same without the glassware table in the middle of the room. Flossy paced around in search of somewhere to settle down. She finally made up her mind and burrowed into the beanbag next to the children’s section.

Vanessa made her way back to the books and stroked Henry. “Good man. You caught the killer.”

He tucked his head into his fur and purred, but he didn’t open his eyes.

The shop door opened, and Detective Wheeler came in. He stopped next to Vanessa and gazed down at Henry. “Don’t tell me you two planned this whole thing.”

Vanessa shook her head. “Don’t look at me. I never saw him leave the bookshelf. I didn’t know he was planning to attack Walter. I’m as surprised as anybody.”

“I never saw anything like it before in my life,” Pete remarked.

“Me, either,” Vanessa agreed.

“Where’s Walter now?”

“He’s still downtown,” Pete replied. “Captain Jameson is contacting Washington. If the feds have anything on him, he’ll be going there. We won’t keep him here. We don’t have the staff or facilities to deal with a crook as big as him. And like he said, he has people in high places. The feds will have to tackle him.”

“Do you think there’s any truth to what he said?” Vanessa asked.

“Do you mean about being out in a month or two?” he asked.

She nodded. “He said he would come after us. He said he would pay us back for this.”

Pete shrugged. “They all say that. Don’t pay it any attention.”

“I can’t help it,” she replied. “What if he does? If he’s that dangerous, he’s capable of anything.”

“You won’t be standing next to him in the bank again,” Pete replied. “You don’t have to worry about that. You’ll see him coming a mile away.”

“He wouldn’t come after us himself,” she pointed out. “He would send one of his henchmen.”

“Henchmen!” Pete snorted. “You’ve been watching too many old movies.”

“I don’t watch movies,” she shot back. “You might not call them henchmen, but you know what I mean. He would hire someone to come after us. Then what are we going to do?”

“Henry will take care of them,” Pete replied.

Vanessa scowled. “I’m not joking. We’re talking about a dangerous criminal, and we just got him arrested for murder. He threatened to come after us. Now what are we going to do about that?”

“I’ll protect you,” he told her.

Vanessa had to smile. “You don’t have to do that.”

“It’s my job,” he explained.

“I think it’s a little more than that,” she returned.

“You said we could consider being something more than cop and suspect,” he reminded her. “You said we could consider it after the case ended. Now it has. You’re not a suspect anymore, and I’m not here investigating a murder.”

“No, but....” she began.

“I like you, Vanessa,” he exclaimed. “You’re the nicest, most honest, most sincere person I’ve met in....well....ever. I’d like us to be more than friends.”

“I’m just a weird old cat lady,” she replied. “Wouldn’t you rather have someone more....I don’t know....more glamorous?”

He grinned. “What could be more glamorous than catching a killer by sicking a cat on him? Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have that on video.”

Vanessa laughed. “It was pretty spectacular, wasn’t it?”

Pete scratched Henry between the ears. “He’s quite a cat.”

Vanessa nodded. “You have no idea.”

The End

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