by Katie Penryn
We stood in companionable silence while we quaffed our beers.
Noticing me rolling the cool tin over my cheeks, he laughed. “I often come out here at this time of the year and chill. It’s so peaceful and the breeze is delicious.”
I agreed, but mentioned that the dogs were thirsty and I should make for home.
“No problem,” he said. “Look.”
He showed me a tap and dog bowl similar to the one at our end of the Esplanade. He filled the bowl and offered it to Zig and Zag, who wagged their tails at him and drank.
“It’s a good idea having facilities for the dogs,” I said.
“Anything to keep the beaches clean.” He crumpled up his beer can and tossed it into the garbage bin. I did the same.
“Speaking of beaches…the tide’s still out. I suggest we go down to the beach and paddle in the rock pools in the shallows. That’ll cool you down.”
My toes curled up in anticipation inside my hot sandals. What harm could it do? I knew him. The dogs knew him. I didn’t have to collect Felix for some time yet.
Seeing my indecision, he said, “The dogs will look after your shoes.”
He moved off towards the steps down to the beach expecting me to follow him.
Of course, I did. It would have seemed rude to make a stand now about being alone with him. Insulting even. I hesitated again when we reached the top of the steps leading down to the beach. The flags were flying to warn of an incoming riptide.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “It’ll be safe on the beach itself for some time yet. High tide’s not for a few hours.”
The sand above the high water mark held the heat of the day. It tickled and massaged my feet as I walked over it down to the high tide mark and the still damp sand below it.
His faint shape loomed out of the incoming sea mist.
“Great, isn’t it?” he called out to me as he beckoned me onwards down to the rock pools.
I dipped my toes in the first pool I came to. It was at body temperature, like liquid silk. We played follow-my-leader all along the beach and back again, kicking up the cooling salt water.
A dog howled somewhere deep in the town. My dogs answered a pitch higher. They sounded anxious, but I wouldn’t be on the beach much longer.
“Come down this end,” my guide called back to me. He led me over to the left sea wall, the one that protects our street from winter storms. “There’s a deep pool here.”
When I caught up with him he suddenly pushed me against the stonework. Oh, no. He was getting fresh. Was he going to try and kiss me? Before I had a chance to work out my response to such an attempt, he jammed his forearm across my throat.
“I’ve had enough of your prying, Ms Nosy Parker Munro,” he snarled.
“You’re hurting me,” I managed to bleat.
He increased the pressure on my windpipe and rammed by body hard against the wall. I struggled to breathe. I swung my hands up to pull his arm away. I couldn’t knee him, he was too close. I stomped on his foot, but I had no shoes on and it hurt me more than it hurt him.
“That’s the way you want to play it, is it?”
So quickly that I couldn’t react, he slid his forearm away grabbing me around the neck as he did so. He was throttling me and I could not move. My last thought would be I should have listened to Felix. A blinding light shone across us and moved on as a motor boat crossed the entrance to the bay. It had been enough to frighten my assailant off me. A quick look showed him standing ready to stop me from running back up the beach. I took my chance and made off through the rock pools out towards the incoming tide.
Taking advantage of his night blindness I hurried away from him running one hand along the wall to guide me. I splashed through pools and over rocks. I was getting away. Then I slipped on a patch of seaweed and crashed down hitting my head on the rock beneath my feet. I lay stunned as splashes behind me told me he was coming to check on me. I closed my eyes and held my breath as he stood over me, hoping he would think I was dead or unconscious.
“Just in case the tide doesn’t drown you, I’ll be waiting on the beach for you,” he said as he kicked my head.
It took all my self control to act limp and not cry out. He waited a few seconds more, but the waves were lapping at the rock now. I heard him splash his way back to the shore. I tried to sit up but I was too dizzy and my head ached. I rolled over onto my back. That would give me another few inches before the sea covered my nostrils. It was already washing up over the rock and falling back.
I tried again to move. If I stayed as I was, I would drown and then I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone who the murderer was, and Dubois wouldn’t set Gwinny free.
As soon as I lifted my head I disappeared in a swoon.
Chapter 23
Felix
I cast around me for any library cats who might challenge my entrance through their cat flap. Seeing no one, I pushed with my nose and followed through as the flap swung open. Once inside, I checked again for a hostile welcoming committee but all was quiet. Time for shift mode. I morphed from cat to man, taking my time about it, not wanting to jar my system more than necessary. I straightened up to my full height and loosened my shoulders.
I strode swiftly through the service corridor and took the flight of stairs up to the entrance hall. I glanced outside the glass doors to where my fellow felines, the two stone lions, shone white under the security lights. No one was around. I turned back to the area Penzi and I had visited only that morning and fetched up at the reception desk where we had filled in our membership cards. On either side stacks of books stretched back the full length of the building. The smell of old paper and newsprint curled around my nostrils.
I wanted the library’s internet café. A glance at the map on the notice board beside the desk told me it was up another floor. All the better. The further I was away from street level the less likely I was to be seen. That’s when I spotted the security guard, a human guard, his flashlight flickering up and down between the aisles. How I wished Penzi and I had thought this plan through properly. By rights she should have been there to freeze the guard with her magic while I went to work. As it was I would have to be extra careful. At worst, I could shift down to being Felix the cat, but too many shifts in twenty-four hours took it out of me and who knew what I might need my strength for on the morrow.
I trod lightly on what were now wooden stairs up to the floor housing the computers for the use of the public. It would be a doddle for me to hack into the library’s system and access their log book. From there I would check out what sites Edna’s ex-boyfriend, Harry Llewellyn, and her business rival, Quentin Williams, had visited. If either of them had ordered rohypnol on the net, I would know. Penzi could then tell Dubois to access the system and confirm my findings.
I sat down at the computer the furthest away from the windows and set my pocket flashlight on the desk. I switched on the PC. The clear light from the screen cast an eerie glow around me dazzling my eyes as I geared up to the challenge before me. But first things first. I needed a slug of Laphroaig. I hitched my silver hunting flask out of my pocket and took three swallows, all I would allow myself if I was to keep my wits about me.
Five minutes of key tapping and I was into the system. Now for the access log. If neither of the suspects had ever made use of the library’s internet café, they would both be in the clear. Any record of a log-in by either would mean I would have to investigate every instance for the past year to be safe.
I entered the ex-boyfriend’s membership number in the search box and waited while the system churned away to give me its answer.
An angry meow sounded at my feet. A burly tom cat, a tabby with a huge head covered in scars, knocked against my leg.
“What the hell are you doing here, mate?” the tabby demanded. “This is my territory. Hop it or I’ll fetch the guard.”
Before I could answer another cat strolled into view. Another male. This one a vicious looking white Persian with one blue
eye and one green.
“Do as my colleague says,” he spat at me and jumped up on to the computer desk. He moved closer to me and held his paw over the keyboard saying, “Or else….”
The PC chose that moment to display the results of my search. Harry Llewellyn had accessed the library system every day during the previous month. That could be innocent enough, coinciding as it did with the period that his PC appeared to have been out of use at his home. Nevertheless, I would have to check out every log-in.
But what was I to do about the feline guards? I’d never tried talking to a cat while in man mode. Cat to cat I was used to. There was nothing for it but to try. Either that or catch the cats and lock them in a cupboard, and I didn’t fancy my chances doing that.
I forced myself to relax – looking cool always worked better with felines. I rolled my shoulders and took a deep breath. “Well guys, it’s like this. I’m working for a beautiful redheaded witch—”
“Not fair, man,” said the tabby. “I’ve always wanted a witch of my own. How did you get the job?”
“It’s a long story and you probably wouldn’t believe it.”
“But you are one of us, aren’t you? Someone saw you come through our flap. Not thinking of moving into our territory? We have a full quota here in the library. No new recruits needed.”
“No, I don’t want your job, but I do need to do mine, which is to ferret out some information from this system. My witch’s mother is in jail and it’s up to me to find the data that will set her free. If you want, you could help me by keeping the security guard busy while I finish up here.”
The Persian took his paw off the keyboard and licked it. “Okay. But you have to promise to bring your witch to see us. Not during the day as we sleep then. It’s always good to network. She might know of a witch looking for a cat. Anything to get out of this boring library. There’s a limit to how many books a cat wants to read.”
“Done,” I said. “Now can I get back to work?”
The cats slunk off across the floor to the stairs. “We’ll keep the guard down in the basement,” the tabby hissed.
I turned back to the search results, scrolling through them rapidly anxious to get through the work. That was the part of the job I didn’t enjoy. For me the fun was cracking the password and getting into the system. This was grunt work…but necessary, so I bent to it.
Edna’s ex-boyfriend, Harry Llewellyn. had done nothing untoward. Just emails to his family and purchases of books. He had surfed some but it was all above board.
Onto the next name: the rival. Again nothing. Several letters to clients. His use was sporadic. It was probably easier for him to do his correspondence from the library when he was in town.
I wondered for a moment whether Quentin Williams could have used his office system to order the rohypnol but dismissed the idea. It would have been too risky.
The time on the PC clock was still early, a couple of hours to go before dawn. I decided to see if any of our other suspects had ever used the library system. That meant descending to the reception desk and going through the card catalogue. I found cards for all our other suspects, plus the two cleared by the police: the driver who had delivered the fridge, cleared because he had an alibi, and Keith Gardner, the man from the Union Jack who helped move the fridge, cleared because the police had taken his personal computer in and declared it clean. Obviously, there was no card for Edna’s parents or the Good Samaritan as they lived in Bordeaux.
If I’d been in cat mode my whiskers would have been twitching as it was the hair on the back of my neck rippled as I typed in The Union Jack owner’s membership number. I tapped my nails on the desk while I waited for the search to complete. Yes, the man had used the library computers. How lucky I’d thought to check all the suspects out. Gardner had logged in only five times. All within the past month. I scrolled through the entries.
Bingo!
I pulled out my phone and rang Penzi to tell I’d identified the murderer and to say she could pick me up. There was no answer and the phone went to voice mail. Penzi had probably fallen asleep. I decided to walk back. It wasn’t far. But first I had to phone Dubois and give him the news.
A grouchy voice answered my call. “Do you have any idea what time it is?” Dubois growled. “Who is this?”
“It’s Felix, Mpenzi Munro’s friend. I’ve just found out who murdered Edna Yardley, and I have conclusive proof. I’m at the library. Keith Gardner, the man from The Union Jack, used the computers here to find a supplier of rohypnol and place an order. One bottle of the drug from a company with a strange website address.”
“How did you get into the library? It’s all locked up at this time of night.”
“Never mind about that, Dubois. Just listen to me for a moment. Keith Gardner paid for the rohypnol with Paypal. You have only to audit the library’s computer system and you will have all the proof you need. Stupid man went to the trouble of not using his own PC, but he paid with Paypal which is so easy for you authorities to check out. He should have had the sense to use bit coins.”
There was silence at the other end of the call for a moment. Dubois had to be having trouble absorbing my information.
“Very well. We know Keith Gardner had no alibi for the time of the crime and now you have proved he had the means, but what was his motive?”
“May I remind you, Dubois, that you said you didn’t have to prove a motive?”
“True, but I’d still like to know. Maybe he’ll tell us when we grill him. I’ll arrange for him to be arrested as soon as I get off this call to you. Should take about half an hour or so at this time of night. I’ll have to call in some of my men who are off duty.”
“Fine. I’m going home now. Mpenzi was going to collect me but she seems to have fallen asleep. I’ll have to walk home. I hope you don’t find the bird has flown, Dubois.”
I rang off and made a note of the details of Keith Gardner’s transaction before closing down the computer. Another mouthful of Laphroaig, and I was running down the two flights of stairs to the service floor and the exit. The tabby and the Persian came out of one of the storerooms to meet me.
The tabby stretched and flicked his tail. “Don’t worry about the guard. He’s fast asleep in the kitchen.”
I gave both cats a stroke and a tickle under the chin. “We’ve got our man, thanks to you guys. Now will you turn your backs for a moment?”
I shifted down to my cat being and pushed out through the cat flap. Once I was outside, I decided to shift up to my leopard persona. I’d get home more quickly as a leopard and it was safe at this time of night. It was touch and go for a moment. Too many shifts had worn me out, but I pulled the energy up from somewhere. I breathed in deeply and set off for home. I wobbled for the first few strides and would have fallen over had I not had four legs. My strength didn’t come back until I turned down towards the Esplanade.
The tide was coming in, the waves lapping up high over the rock pools and falling back when I reached the Esplanade. As I turned into the road opposite The Union Jack, Zig and Zag tore past me trailing their leashes and almost knocking me over. Why hadn’t they acknowledged me, stopped and sniffed me? All my jungle instincts told me trouble and danger lay ahead. I moved into top gear, my paws thudding over the cobbles.
The dogs slid to a halt up ahead of me almost opposite the front door and started to bark by the sea wall, scrabbling up and falling down. Their excitement reinforced my premonition of danger and I raced to catch up with them.
I threw myself against the wall, clutching at the railing with my front paws while I tried to catch my breath and look down at what had upset the dogs. A dark shape lay on the rock immediately below me. Something pale washed to and fro in answer to the motion of the tide. The dogs stood on their hind legs straining to get over the wall. Penzi lay there – no hint of movement. Only her white T-shirt wafted in the waves.
I calculated the options open to me. My leopard self could jump down the twenty feet, bu
t I wouldn’t be able to scale the vertical sea wall with Penzi in my mouth. I’d have to shift up to Felix the man again, but I’d already shifted several times that day. The last time outside the library had been touch-and-go. Could I manage another shift? It took so much out of me each time.
I dropped down onto the cobbles and checked around to make sure no one was watching. My muscles needed oxygen. A few deep breaths and already my power was returning. A quick prayer to Bastet to help me. A surge of energy … and I shifted. For a moment I hung between the two forms – half man, half big cat. Penzi’s face appeared before me. I had to save her. It was my duty. It was my desire. A spurt of magic and I was Felix the bodyguard with not a second to spare if I was to save Penzi’s life.
Now what was the best plan? First of all I phoned for help, but it might not arrive in time. I couldn’t dive in. The water was too shallow. I couldn’t risk running all the way back to the Esplanade and then swimming out to reach Penzi. She could be submerged by the time I reached her. The tide was coming in fast now. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line – a vertical line. The rope! I spun on my heels, dashed across the road, snatched the key from under the stone beside the step, unlocked the door and fell into the hallway. I scrambled to my feet. Where was that rope? I remembered Sam flinging it down behind the door. Ah good, it was still there. I grabbed it and ran back to the wall, knotted it around the railing and flung it over the side.
It would have to hold my weight. I climbed up onto the wall and eased my body over the railing. I planted my feet against the wall holding on tightly to the rope and abseiled down to the sea. Penzi hadn’t moved. I checked her pulse. She was alive, but the beat was faint. The sooner I got her out of there the better. I would have to tie her on to the rope, climb back up and haul her up after me. There was no time to lose.
I fastened the rope in a crisscross fashion around her shoulders and waist, and sat her up against the sea wall to keep her head out of the water which was rising fast. I climbed back up the rope hand over hand and flung myself over the railing onto the cobbles. The dogs whined and snuffled me. I had to pull on the rope slowly and carefully so as not to bang Penzi against the wall. Strong as I am it took a toll on my muscles. My exhaustion from shifting so many times in one day threatened Penzi’s life, and so I had to stop and tie off the rope for a few moments’ rest for fear of letting go completely.