PAWSitively Sinister (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 11) (9 page)

“How’s the sale going?” Peter asked, stepping inside and glancing around the room. “Looks like more stuff than when we were here before.”

Laura laughed. “Well, it does seem that way, because we keep bringing more in as things sell. We’re actually down to the bare bones.”

“So you could come every day and find new goodies?” Rochelle asked.

Laura nodded. “Yes, and some people do.” She turned her attention to Miriam. “Hello, Ms. Randall. Nice to see you again.”

“Hi,” she said. “… it’s Moore. The Randalls were my mother’s people.” She rushed to the other side of the room and knelt down next to an ornate standing ashtray. “This was my grandfather’s. He had it made in Belgium.” She faced the others, “… when times were good. Our company failed, you know. That’s why they kicked me out of here.”

“When was that?” Rochelle asked.

“What?” Miriam said.

“When they kicked you out.”

She blinked and then scowled. “Oh, that was before I was thirty—around 1990, I think. Father said the money was gone, and a lot of our servants had already left.” Suddenly Miriam glanced up, a look of horror on her face. She let out a yelp and stepped back toward Rochelle and Peter, moving behind them.

“What’s wrong?” Rochelle asked, sounding concerned. She looked in the direction the woman stared. “That’s Savannah and baby Lily. You’ve met Savannah and her baby before, haven’t you?”

She shook her head and gulped.

“No we haven’t met yet… ” Savannah started.

Miriam interrupted, “The cat. Where did that cat come from?” she asked, terror in her eyes.

“Oh,” Savannah said, quickly picking up Rags. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were ailurophobic?”

“What’s that?” she asked, peering out from behind Rochelle.

“Someone who’s afraid of cats.”

“I’m not afraid of cats,” Miriam insisted. “But that one’s spooky. I don’t like that one. He scares me.”

“Why do you think that is?” Rochelle asked, gently.

Miriam thought for a moment, furrowing her brow as if trying to remember something. “I don’t know.” She looked across the room at a painting on the wall, and pointed. “It used to be there!”

Everyone looked where she pointed. “What did?” Rochelle asked. “What do you remember being in that spot?”

She slumped a little. “I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head slowly.

“Oh, I just put that painting up today,” Gail said.

“What was there before?” Savannah asked, still holding Rags in her arms.

“Uh, let me think.” She looked around the room, then said, “There it is.” Gail picked up a smaller picture, looked at it, and gasped. “It’s him!” she said, turning it to face the others.

No one spoke at first when they saw the uncanny likeness of Rags painted on the canvas and framed in an elegant black-and-gold frame.

“My gosh, that does look like Rags. He could have posed for that picture.” Savannah walked closer and examined the painting more carefully. “It’s Rags, right down to the snip of white on his nose.”

After everyone peered at the painting for a few moments, Rochelle turned to see Miriam’s reaction, but the woman was no longer standing behind her. The front door was open and she was gone. “Miriam!” Rochelle called as she stepped out onto the porch. “Miriam!”

Peter joined her and they quickly scanned the front gardens. “Well, that’s strange,” Peter said. “Maybe she went back to the car. I’ll go look.”

Rochelle headed in another direction. When she walked onto the covered patio on the southwest side of the house, she heard sobbing. “Miriam?” she called quietly as she moved slowly in the direction of the sound. When no one responded, she continued her approach toward one of the massive pillars supporting the vine-covered arbor. “Miriam, where are you?” she whispered. “I can hear you, but I can’t see you.”

Rochelle heard a giggle.

“I fooled you, didn’t I?” Miriam said. “I used to fool them, too.”

“Well, where are you? Would you like to come out so we can do some work together? You want to get rid of those nightmares, don’t you?”

“My night-screams? Yes.”

Rochelle suddenly noticed a hand appear from a thick tangle of vines growing up one of the pillars. She watched as Miriam emerged—her ruddy face was stained with tears and there were bits and pieces of flowers and leaves in her unkempt graying dark-blond hair. “So this was your hiding place when you were a child?” Rochelle asked, smiling.

Miriam nodded. “That I did not forget. I did forget Spirit—my grandmother’s mean cat. I hated that cat. It always got more attention than I did.” She shook her head. “Grandmother and Father never believed me when I told them he bit me. Once he attacked me and knocked me down. I was bleeding from his claw marks. The servants found me and everyone thought I just fell and skinned myself up.” The woman looked Rochelle in the eyes. “Spirit was evil, I know he was,” she insisted.

“Well, we’ll have Savannah put Rags away.”

“Rags?”

“That’s Savannah’s cat’s name, Rags. He won’t attack you, but we’ll put him away so you aren’t distracted while we work together, okay?”

Miriam nodded.

“I’ll go in first to make sure the cat isn’t around, then we’ll get started. Savannah?” Rochelle called when she stepped into the living room.

“She took the cat to their room,” Peter said.

Rochelle nodded. “Good.” Then she walked out the front door and called to Miriam, “The cat’s gone. Come on in.”

When Savannah returned, she approached Miriam. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know he would frighten you.”

Miriam nodded, looking down at her feet. “Okay.” Then turning to Rochelle, she asked, “Where are we going?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Rochelle said. She asked Savannah, “What do you think? I want to eventually take her down to the… affected area, but I feel like it’s too soon.”

“There are a couple of empty bungalows; how about out there?” Savannah suggested.

“Perfect. A more neutral environment.” Rochelle turned to Miriam. “Okay with you?”

Miriam nodded, and Savannah ushered the two of them to the Lilac Bungalow, pushing Lily along in the stroller.

On her way back, Savannah texted Michael: “Where are you?”

“Atrium,” came the quick reply.

When Savannah arrived in the atrium with Lily, she found Peter, Arthur, and Suzette relaxing with Michael.

“Come join us,” Michael said, pulling a cushioned wicker chair up next to his. He lifted the baby out of the stroller and placed her on his lap.

“Hi, pretty girl,” Peter said, reaching out for Lily’s hand.

“So is Rochelle with that gal?” Michael asked.

“Miriam? Yes, out in one of the bungalows,” Savannah said. She glanced around the room at the others. “She freaked out when she saw Rags. It seems that her grandmother had a cat almost identical to him… ” she paused. “There’s a painting of him in there,” she said, nodding in the direction of the living room. “It’s uncanny how much Rags looks like that cat. Well, Miriam says her grandmother’s cat was mean and she hated him. When she saw Rags, she remembered that cat and got really scared.”

“Yeah, that’s probably going to cause a rough start for Rochelle’s session,” Peter said.

“Maybe it will help shake Miriam’s memory,” Arthur suggested.

Savannah nodded, then turned toward Michael. “I’ve been thinking about calling Craig and telling him what we’ve discovered. I wonder if we should report what we’ve dug up to the authorities.”

Everyone glanced at one another in contemplation. “What do we really have?” Michael asked. “… only a few pieces to some bizarre puzzle—nothing, really, to tell the police.”

Arthur leaned forward in his chair. “But Detective Craig might like to be in on our investigation. He could possibly help us find enough incriminating evidence of… ” He looked around at the others and shrugged. “Heck, we still don’t know what.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Savannah said. “If he doesn’t want to get involved, he may have some tips for us amateur sleuths, right?”

Arthur and Suzette nodded. “He could more easily check criminal records,” Suzette said.

Ignoring Michael’s look of uncertainty, Savannah stood. “I’ll be right back, then. I’ve been itching to call him all day.” When she returned, all eyes were upon her.

“Well, what did he say?” Michael asked.

“He’s driving down.” She asked Arthur, “Do you have space for him and Iris?”

Arthur nodded. “Sure.” He chuckled. “We could accommodate another… ” he looked at Suzette, “… how many do you think?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t actually seen the whole place yet, have I? It’s massive.”

“So you didn’t live in a big place growing up?” Savannah asked.

Suzette chuckled and shook her head. “No way. Relatives kind of shuffled me around between them and none of them had much. I come from sturdy, hard-working stock, but no one that I know of ever made it rich. I lived on a small farm once with a horde of cousins. There was land and animals, but the house had only four rooms, as I recall. Mostly it was apartment-living for me.” Her eyes widened when she reported, “I stayed in a big hotel once. This place reminds me of a hotel more than a home.”

“Home?” Arthur said, laughing. “It was never a home.” He took Suzette’s hand. “… until you came.”

“How sweet,” Savannah said, smiling.

Suzette grinned from ear to ear. “Gotta love him,” she said.

Awww, stop it, you guys,” Arthur said, standing. “So, Savannah, when are they coming?”

“Tomorrow, I believe. He’ll let us know.”

The group was just finishing up a tray of appetizers and glasses of wine when Rochelle walked in. “Ruth and Rupert told me where to find you,” she said.

“Where’s Miriam?” Savannah asked, looking beyond Rochelle.

“Waiting in the car. Peter, she’s ready to leave.”

“How’d it go?” Savannah asked.

Rochelle shrugged. “I think pretty well. She seems to have broken through some of the blocks. I want to give her time to think about what she uncovered today then get her back here for a session inside. Eventually, I’d like to take her to the… active spot. If we’re going to help her, and if that’s what she’s afraid of, she probably needs to face it.”

“Is she upset?” Savannah asked. “I mean, I remember how Arthur’s sessions sometimes upset him.”

He nodded. “You got that right.”

Rochelle shrugged. “She’s a little shaken, but actually calmer than when we arrived here this afternoon.” She turned to Peter. “We’d better go.”

“Come back when you can have dinner with us,” Michael suggested as he and Savannah walked out with them.

Savannah addressed Rochelle with concern. “You seem drained.”

“Oh, Savannah,” she said, grabbing her arm and gazing around the room, “I’m afraid of what secrets this place harbors.”

Savannah frowned. “Bad vibes, huh?”

“Yeah.” Rochelle was quiet for a moment, then she said, “I hope I’m wrong, but kiddo, this place seems to reek of evil.” She stopped at the front door and glanced back into the room. “That woman saw something or experienced something here that frightened her at a very deep level.” She stepped outside and walked straight to the car, gesturing only with a weak wave as she slipped into the passenger seat.

****

The following day Savannah offered to help with the sale, so Lily stayed with Ruth, who wanted to rest and catch up on some pleasure reading. On the floor were Savannah, Laura, Gail, and Suzette. Student volunteers were on call to help with carry-outs and restocking.

Meanwhile, the three fellows agreed to clean out the sheds and barn. After working for a couple of hours, Arthur said, “Whew, are we having a heat wave or am I just working too hard?”

Michael chuckled. “Temps have been mild all week, except those nights when it rains. Those are good cuddling nights.”

Arthur grinned, then asked, “Is anyone ready for a break? There are cold drinks in the cooler under the tree over there.”

“Sounds good,” Michael said, following Arthur to the shady spot. Rupert joined them. After gulping down a refreshing drink, Arthur leaned back against the tree and began tossing pebbles toward the old pond.

“I noticed the cover has been moved,” Michael said. “Did you do that?”

“Yes, I was looking down there again this morning to make sure we were able to keep the water out,” Arthur said. Suddenly, he sat upright. “Hey, in fact, I thought I saw something—maybe a coin. My flashlight hit it just right to catch a glint. You guys came along about then and we headed for the barn, so I forgot about it. I think I’ll climb down and see what it is.”

“Ahhh, the energy of youth,” Michael said. “I’ll be relaxing right here when you get back.”

“Me, too,” Rupert said. “Go on your treasure hunt, kid.”

Several minutes after Arthur disappeared from view down into the hole with Koko draped across his shoulders and a battery-operated lantern in his hand, he called out, “Hey Michael, bring me a shovel!”

Michael grimaced for Rupert’s benefit, then lifted himself out of the canvas chair.

“I’ll wait here,” Rupert said, chuckling.

Michael glanced around until he spotted a small shovel. He picked it up and carried it to the pit. “What do you need this for, anyway?” he asked

“Just toss it down here,” came the response. “I think I’ve hit some sort of jackpot!”

“I don’t want to drop it on you, Arthur. Step aside, and move that lantern out of the way.” After carefully releasing the shovel into the pit, Michael asked, “So what did you find?”

“I’ll tell you when I know,” Arthur said, picking up the shovel. After a few minutes he shouted, “Wow!”

“What is it?” Michael asked, still peering into the pit.

“You’re not going to believe this,” Arthur said, holding something up for Michael to see. “This is an antique pocket watch. And look at this great old-fashioned cameo brooch… isn’t that what it’s called… a brooch?” He held it up against his chest. “Women wore these things in the Victorian era.”

Michael ran his hand through his hair. “Holy moly,” he said, his eyes wide. “Where did you find that stuff, anyway?”

“Koko found the watch. When I saw her playing with a piece of chain, I used that little hand digger we left down here and it popped right out of the ground.” He then held up a small wooden object. “… but most of the jewelry was in this box. It was almost completely buried over there against the wall.” Arthur swiped his arm across his forehead. “It’s crazy down here. The more I dig, the more stuff I find.” He grinned up at Michael. “It’s addicting!”