PAWSitively Sinister (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 11) (14 page)

“Like a scar?” Savannah asked.

She shook her head slowly. “No, fresh blood running down the side of his face.”

“What did he do or say when he came to your room?” Rochelle asked.

“He just stood there and stared at me. He looked sad. He didn’t talk. Just stared.”

“How old were you then?”

“Maybe ten years old.”

“Which room was your grandmother’s reading room?” Savannah asked.

“Um, it’s not there now. Before I left, they covered it up.”

“Sealed it?” Craig asked, frowning.

“Yes, that’s what they did—they sealed the room.” She squinted her eyes in contemplation. “I think it’s behind the wall at the end of the hall down in the boy’s rooms in the basement.” She took the last drink of her soda, looked at Rochelle, and asked, “Can I go now?”

“Certainly,” Rochelle said. “I can take you back.”

Miriam shook her head. “Mattie can call our friend in the cab.”

“Okay, if you’d rather.”

Once Miriam and Mattie had left to wait outside for the cab driver, Rochelle and Savannah let out a deep sigh and rolled their eyes at each other. Rochelle said, “Boy, that got intense. I didn’t know what she was going to do. I’m just glad Mattie was here. I think she’s a calming factor for Miriam.”

“So what now?” Savannah asked. “What do you think her story means?”

Rochelle shook her head. “That when she was a mere child, she tapped into a bunch of spirits, perhaps? Children are great vessels for spirits and it can be frightening. But this punishment thing… I don’t know what that’s about.” She thought for a moment and added, “What she recalls might be a combination of something that happened in the physical world and something she experienced in the spirit world.”

“Do you think there is a chamber in the place where the sinister things happened?” Savannah asked. “… like maybe Madam Randall held those missing people prisoner?”

“But why, Savannah?” Craig asked. “It doesn’t make sense. What was the purpose?” “Extortion?” Savannah suggested. “Maybe she was stealing from her clients and she was afraid they’d rat her out, so she locked them up.” Savannah seemed to get a second wind. “Or she stole their identities in order to sell them to criminals. Gads, who knows?”

“Come on, Savannah,” Craig said. “How many secrets can one castle hold?”

“Well, you’ve gotta admit we’ve found some pretty tangible evidence of something odd going on there. Stolen property, personal documents from missing people… Miriam’s recollections… ” Savannah said.

Craig mulled over Savannah’s words before saying, “It’s for certain that something’s not right at that place.” He smacked his lips. “Let’s see if we can find Julian Fletcher and then decide what to do.” He looked at Savannah. “From the sounds of it, we might need some of Michael’s carpentry expertise.”

“Well, that was an experience,” Savannah said as the couple left Rochelle’s apartment and climbed back into Craig’s car.

“Wasn’t it?” Craig agreed. “We didn’t get quite what we wanted, but we did get a whole lot of other stuff that seemed to just muddy up the mix.” He chuckled. Looking at his watch, he said, “Where do we go from here? What are we actually looking for? A band of thieves, mystic scammers?”

After riding silently for several miles, Savannah asked, “Hey, did you check to see if Pamela and Gordon Randall had a record? Were they ever arrested? Were there any complaints against them?”

Craig shook his head. “That’s the first thing I checked. Nothing showed up. Now, if I had their fingerprints we might have a different story—or their DNA. Randall could have been an alias.” He then slowed the car and said, “Well, there’s Julian Fletcher’s place—still no Jag.”

“Well, you’re right about one thing,” Savannah said. “The situation just keeps getting muddier and muddier. Maybe we need to sit together tonight with the others and organize what we know and what we think we know and sort of figure out what our priorities are as far as our next step. What do you think?”

Craig grinned in Savannah’s direction. “I think you’re a genius, Investigator Savannah.” He looked at his watch, “Two thirty-three. Are you ready to head back to the palace of the unknown evil?”

****

That night at dinner, Ruth was eager to ask Laura about something that had happened late that afternoon just before closing. “Who was that man? Why were you chasing him through the mansion?”

“Oh, that peculiar man?” Laura said. “Did you see him?”

“Yeah, what did he do, try to run off with something?”

Laura shook her head. “No. It was kind of odd. First that crazy granddaughter showed up with your sister.”

“Yes, I saw them come in, but they did not stay long.”

“No, they didn’t. When the granddaughter saw the old guy hobble in with his crooked cane, she turned white as a ghost.”

“Wow!” Savannah said. “Did the guy see her?”

“Yes. He saw her reaction and he came to me to ask who she was. I told him she used to live here a long time ago when she was a child and that’s when he went berserk.” She chuckled. “Well, as berserk as a guy his age and in his condition can get. When he saw the two women standing near the front door, he fled through the yellow tape into the restricted area, and that’s why I was chasing him. I didn’t know where he was going or what he would do. Nor did I know what I would do if I caught up to him.” She grinned. “Of course, he really wasn’t moving very fast, but what was I going to do, tackle a ninety-year-old man?”

Once the laughter had subsided, Craig asked, “Where did he go?”

“I can tell you he ran through the kitchen,” Arthur said. “Suzette and I were coming in for a bite to eat and he almost knocked her down. I yelled at him to watch out and he just kept on going.”

“Where’d he go?” Craig asked.

Suzette’s face lit up. “He left in a snazzy black Jag.”

“You probably didn’t get a license number, did you?” Craig asked.

“Craig,” Iris said, “you’re going to arrest a poor old man for running through a restricted area in a private home? Come on. Maybe he peed his pants and was in a hurry to get to a bathroom.”

Everyone snickered and smirked at Iris’s remark.

Craig grinned at his wife and asked Suzette again, “Well, did you get a number?”

“Sure did,” Suzette said, proudly.

Craig looked surprised. He smiled. “Hey, a girl after my own heart.”

“It was personalized: s-p-r-t-b-g-o-n,” she spelled.

“What?” Craig asked, making a face.

“I’d say, Spirit Be Gone.”

“Hmmm,” Craig muttered as he jotted something on a pad he’d removed from his pocket. He looked at Suzette and winked. “Hey thanks, kiddo.” He addressed the others. “I’m going to make a few calls—see what I can find out about him.”

Just then, Craig looked down at his feet. “Oh, hi there, Rags. I wondered who was bumping me in the calf.” He reached out and petted the large cat as he walked away toward Koko.

“What are you two up to tonight?” Arthur asked, ruffling Koko’s fur as she wrapped her slender body around his ankles.

“They seem to enjoy their evenings carousing together, don’t they?” Savannah said, chuckling, as everyone watched the two cats stroll toward the atrium.

The door chimes abruptly interrupted the mood and everyone was surprised to see Rupert usher in Rochelle and Peter.

“Hi,” Savannah greeted. When she saw the look on Rochelle’s face, she asked, “Everything okay?”

Rochelle nodded. She then put her hand on Savannah’s arm. “I want to go in there.”

“In where?” she asked

“Where I felt the spirits. I can’t stop thinking about what created that vortex of spirit activity. I want to spend more time there and see if I can pick up anything useful to Miriam.”

Savannah turned toward Arthur, who immediately rose from his seat at the table.

“Sure,” he said, hugging Rochelle briefly.

“Can I come along?” Suzette asked. “I’ve never watched a psychic person work.”

“Me, too,” Iris said, excitedly.

Savannah looked to Rochelle for her response. She nodded, then glanced at Lily. “Not the baby. Keep the baby out here,” she said firmly.

“I’ll entertain her,” Ruth said. “I do not want any part of that evil energy.”

Rupert thinned his lips before saying, “I’ll stay out here with Ruth.”

“Well, I’m not going in there,” Michael said. “What about you, Arthur… Craig… Peter?

While the other two men shook their heads, Peter abstained. “I’d better keep an eye on Rochelle,” he explained. He appeared concerned. “Don’t want something… harming her.”

Laura and Gail exchanged looks and both decided to stay put and enjoy a serving of dessert and coffee.

Once the small group of Rochelle’s followers had gathered in the laundry room, she gave a few simple instructions. “I want you all to be quiet. Don’t say a word or make a sound. Stay outside the vortex area. I’ll show you where that is.”

Everyone nodded. When they reached the door to the stairway, Rochelle turned and made brief eye contact with the other three women and Peter, then stepped through the doorway and down the stairs. She motioned for them to walk to the right, gesturing when it was okay for them to stop. She then moved toward the center of Ruth’s old room and stood silently with her eyes closed.

The others watched as Rochelle began to sway slightly. Within a few minutes, she tilted her head as if she were listening for something. That’s when Savannah made quick eye contact with Suzette. They grinned at one another when they saw how mesmerized Iris seemed. Suddenly Savannah put her hand up to her mouth.
Someone left that darn door open and here come the cats,
she thought. The spectators, except for Iris, who seemed to be in a trance, watched as Rags walked straight to Rochelle and sat down.

At the same time, Koko began marching around Rochelle in a small circle. She circled twice, then sat on the other side of her and stared in the same direction she and Rags faced. Savannah rolled her eyes at Suzette as the two of them watched Koko’s ears twitch and tweak in all directions. Suzette grimaced.

After several seconds, without warning, Rags rose up on all fours. The fur on his back stood on end as he began to retreat, taking deliberate steps back, back, back, his head down and his eyes focused ahead toward the wall. Koko, in the meantime, sauntered up to Rags and sniffed him, jumping back as if she’d been struck by a bolt of electricity. When Rags sat down a short distance behind Rochelle, Koko continued staring at him.

Soon, without warning, both cats walked to the wall in front of Rochelle and began clawing on it as if bent on digging their way through. Savannah grimaced.
Darn it,
she thought as she noticed deep scratch marks appearing in the maroon-print wall covering.

Within a few seconds, Rochelle let out a deep sigh. “What are they doing?” she asked when she noticed the cats. She didn’t wait for an answer. “Don’t let them go through. They want to follow the other cats.”

“Other cats?” Savannah whispered, furrowing her brow.

“They’re in there,” Rochelle said rather weakly. “… with the spirits. Those spirits are lost, unable to release from the evil… the cats are with them.”

Savannah glanced at Iris, who continued to stare into space and Suzette, who sat wide-eyed.

Just then, Rochelle turned to face the others and pointed toward the two cats. “The answer is in there—behind that wall.” She walked to where the cats stood. “Savannah, come get Rags. It’s okay now.” Rochelle picked up Koko and handed her to Suzette. “Let’s get out of here—I think we’ve had enough for one night.”

The group returned to the dining room to find Lily asleep in her portable crib. All eyes were on Rochelle as she sat down next to Peter. After a moment of awkward silence, Savannah asked, “Rochelle, can you talk about what happened in there?”

She nodded. “Peter, I could use some water, please.”

“Sure,” he said, heading toward the door. He turned back and asked, “Where’s the kitchen?”

Suzette chuckled. “Hey, I’ll get it,” she said, jumping up from her chair and darting out through the door. “It’s easy to get lost in this place.”

“Thank you,” Rochelle said, reaching for the tall glass of water. She took a few sips before saying, “There were people calling for help—calling from what seemed to be their graves. I thought it odd that there were so many, like maybe this place was built on an old Indian burial ground.”

“So they were native Americans?” Arthur asked.

“Oh no—people of all races.” Rochelle grew quiet before repeating, “Burial ground. There’s a gravestone down the road a ways, isn’t there?”

“Yes, that’s a memorial to my sister,” Arthur explained. “She’s not buried there. At least that’s what my stepgrandmother told me.”

Rochelle stared at Arthur for a moment, then said quietly, “I sense that they’re buried under this house. Was it a cemetery at one time?”

When no one spoke, Savannah said, “Well, we’ve done some research on this place, and I don’t recall coming across that information.”

Suzette shook her head. “I didn’t see it, either.”

Michael leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “But during the time this place was built, they didn’t check for old burial grounds, did they?” He turned to Arthur. “Ever find any Indian artifacts around here?”

He shook his head.

“Did you say there are cat spirits in this… graveyard?” Savannah asked.

“At least one—maybe more,” she said.

Savannah chuckled nervously. “Gosh, sounds like ancient Egypt, where cats were buried with their deceased owners.”

“Could it be that these spirits are trapped in the house—that they’re not actually buried here?” Iris asked.

Rochelle stared at Iris. She narrowed her eyes as if in contemplation. “Could be, of course. When that happens, it’s usually because they have a commonality or attachment to one another or to the place—the environment. So yes, it could be that the spirits were attracted here for another reason.”

She glanced around at everyone. “But I can tell you this: they want to leave. Something is keeping them from leaving.”

“Did you get any clues as to what that is?” Craig asked. Iris looked at her husband, surprised that he would ask such a question. He said in his defense, “I’m curious from an investigator’s point of view, of course.”