Murder to Spare

by Tamara Woods

  "I'm fine, baby girl. Thank you for giving me a chance to nap. I felt so wiped out earlier. Just not at myself."

  Isa shrugged off the praise and the memory. She didn't know where to put those ideas so instead of dealing with it, she'd put it away to deal with again at another time.

  Her aunt turned to the only customer in the place. "Dena, so good to see you! Do you need any help?"

  "Oh no, Isa assisted me. And she was dead-on. I can tell she learned from your knee," Dena said, showing off her crystals.

  Auntie nodded with approval. "You can checkout her out then. I'll pick up a bit around the shop."

  Isa rang up her items and told her the price. The other woman, reached into her Coach bag, probably not bought used and gave Isa her card. She hesitated before taking her purchases.

  "Do you need any other help, Dena?" Isa asked.

  "Actually..." She started and then stopped. Isa looked up and saw the indecision on her face.

  "However I can help, I certainly will."

  She took a deep breath and spoke all at once. "Would you be interested in hosting my book club? There's not many of us, but we have the time and the money to make it worthwhile for both of us. We'd want to rent out the area for one evening per month."

  Isa's eyes widened. If this wasn't a sign, she wasn't sure what was. "That sounds wonderful! We'll definitely have to run this by my aunt before any decision is made, but I think this could definitely be a worthwhile endeavor."

  Isa looked around, but found that her aunt must have been in the backroom. She took one of Dena's card and promised to get in touch with her after she'd chatted with her aunt. As the door closed on behind her, Isa's phone vibrated on the counter.

  Clare: Want to hit The Rec neighbors tonite?

  Isa: Not what I planned, but okay.

  Clare: What were you planning? Books, bubble bath and wine? Alone?

  Isa: ...

  Isa: I feel attacked.

  Clare: Haha, knew it! See ya after work.

  Isa stuck her tongue out at her phone and shoved it into her pocket. Maybe she liked her rest and relaxation to be predictable. Who cares? It made her happy.

  At lunchtime, instead of locking the door and hunting down her aunt like she wanted to, she put on the soup that her aunt had ready for the customers. Whenever her aunt made soup, she made way too much and froze the extra. Auntie contended that everybody liked home cooking.

  Isa wrote on the blackboard outside today's specials of potato soup. Most people didn't come to The Mystic Book for food, but if they were already hungry, they'd try the soup or a light sandwich to for their break.

  She made quick work of getting the food, cutlery, and bowls ready for the walk-ins. A satellite radio station for concentration played in the background. The relaxing music reminded her of sitting on beach in the summer. It added to the New Age-y vibe of the store.

  She soon lost herself in the ebb and flow of the customers. Between selling books, incense, beverages, and doling out reading advice, she was steadily on the move. Isa greeted a couple she hadn't met before and went back to ringing up a high school-aged girl. She asked if the girl was a Robinson, because she'd gone to school with one. Everybody in the family had a distinct look.

  The girl gave a long suffering sigh. "You must've gone to school with Bea. Everybody remembers Bea."

  Isa tried not to smile at the girl's clear angst. "What is your name?"

  "Lulu."

  "Now, I'll remember you, Lulu. Come back real soon and tell me what you think about your book."

  The girl nodded shyly and left quickly, barely avoiding running into Auntie.

  "Is that one of the Robinsons?" Auntie asked.

  Isa nodded.

  "Mr. Robinson sure had some powerful sperms. All them kids look just like him."

  "Auntie!" Isa admonished, looking around to make sure no one had overheard her.

  Her aunt waved away her concern.

  "Girl, when you get to be my age, you go ahead and you say what's on your mind. While you still have a piece of one left." Auntie laughed at her own joke.

  Isa had to admit that did sound pretty sweet, but she probably wasn't for that much freedom. Or the wrinkles that went along with it. She told her aunt as much.

  "Wrinkles? Girl, black don't crack."

  "Oh Auntie," Isa shook her head. She was such a mess.

  AFTER DINNER THAT NIGHT, Isa found herself dragging a little, but was still in Clare's passenger seat on the way to The Rec's neighborhood. The area felt more like an industrial park with fewer homes, some of them even trailers. The people who lived in this area weren't necessarily interested in being involved in the comings and goings of the town, but maybe they'd like to be in the paper. That's the angle Clare wanted to use anyway.

  They approached Carl Redding's home first. It was a small, pea green single story circled by a white fence. The truck in the driveway had seen better days and a car in the front yard was propped up on cinder blocks. From the look of the rust on its roof, the car wasn't on the top of the Carl's To-Do list. Several well-fed cats scampered in the tall grass.

  He hadn't added yard work to his list either.

  Clare used the knocker shaped like a cat's paw with a ready smile on her face. The curtain flickered in front of the door. Carl opened the door, holding an orange tabby close to his chest and a scowl peaking underneath his gray beard.

  "Hi, Mr. Redding, do you have a couple minutes? I'm writing an article about the terrible tragedy that occurred over the weekend. Did you happen to hear or see anything?"

  "Nope."

  "Did you know Chad?"

  "Nope."

  "Do you ever spend time at The Rec?"

  "Nope" And then he slammed the door in their face, cutting off the conversation. After they'd gone to three houses and gotten three more doors slams, the two realized they needed a different approach.

  "This is not working out," Isa said.

  "Thanks, Captain Obvious."

  "Don't be mad at me cuz people are treating you like you're trying to introduce them to your lord and savior, Cthulhu." Isa shrugged. Then she snapped her fingers. "We've been going at this all wrong."

  Clare frowned at her, still smarting over the Cthulu remark.

  "Just follow my lead."

  She took them back toward Mr. Redding's home. Instead of knocking on the door, she casually stood right beside of the fence talking louder than usual.

  "You know, those police said the guy who was murdered might be have been involved in some illegal stuff." Isa saw the curtain at the door twitch.

  "Are you serious?" Clare responded, curious to see where her friend was taking this.

  "Yeah, something crazy about stealing cats for some type of kitten mill. Maybe a deal went bad. I don't know?"

  Clare gasped, putting a hand on her heart. She's such a ham. "That's horrible! What would they do with those poor helpless kitties?"

  "I'm not sure, but in a place like this where there's plenty of cats and nobody cares about them, people could do some pretty nefarious things. Big Pharma pays a lot of money for feral animals to do drug testing."

  As Isa expected, Mr. Redding's door opened with a bang. There he stood, that scowl even bigger, but a little tear running down his cheek. "They can't take my babies, you hear me? They can't take my babies!"

  Isa felt a stab of remorse and she opened her mouth to assure him when Clare stepped in.

  "Listen Mr. Redding, we don't know for sure what happened that night. Or why. All we can do is to do our best to find as many pieces of the puzzle as possible, so we can figure it all out, and keep your fur babies safe."

  He nodded. "Y'all come on in. It's cold out there. Let's have us a little talk."

  Isa tried to signal no to Clare, but her friend either didn't see her or simply didn't care. Typical.

  Surprisingly enough, inside his home was neatly organized and didn't smell strongly of cat pee. The floor was an older wood, but it was well taken ca
re of. The front door opened into the living room, but it might as well be the jungle cat room. It was dominated by the biggest cat jungle gym system that Isa had ever seen. It extended from the corner to corner with all kinds of little seating spaces at varying heights, especially near the ceiling. He gently placed the tabby down and offered them a seat. Isa gingerly sat on the edge of the plaid couch with her hands clasped on her knees. Clare sat close to her, eyeing the cats, who looked down at them suspiciously. She'd always been more of a dog person than a cat. Isa was fine with most animals, but in this place she felt way outnumbered.

  "Would you like something to drink or eat or something?" Mr. Redding asked, rubbing his hands on his knees. He didn't seem like he was used to many visitors.

  "No, thank you. We're fine," Clare said.

  A little gray kitty with tuxedo markings and green eyes was checking Isa out and she tried to play it cool so he'd come over.

  Isa decided to start in on the conversation. "Were you outside taking care of your kitties Saturday morning, Mr. Redding?"

  His green recliner was underneath the cat jungle, like it was part of their route. A brown and black cat jumped down onto the arm of his chair and he didn't even jump. He pet the cat while he spoke.

  "My routine is the same every morning."

  He ticked it off with his fingers.

  "First, I get up early cuz kitties like to eat when the rooster crows. I clean out the kitty restrooms. I put on my robe, let out the kitties who want out, and the let the ones in who want in. Then I put out everybody's foodstuffs—outside and in the kitchen."

  He smiled for a minute and his eyes warmed. Isa felt a bit more at ease listening to him talk about the loves of his life. "I've got some furbabies who like to live outside, ya know. I got a garage out there that they can come in from out the cold and the wind. I get 'em spade and neutered to try to keep down the pet population. I always watched the Price is Right when I was growing up," he said with a nervous chuckle.

  Isa looked at Clare with confusion.

  "Bob Barker used to say, 'Have your pets spayed or neutered' at the end of the every episode."

  "Oh right! I forgot all about that," Isa said. "Did you see anything unusual while you were feeding them, Mr. Redding?"

  He stroked the cat that had taken up his lap, sucking at his teeth in thought. The gray kitten was making his way toward Isa, moving carefully, slunk low to the ground.

  "I don't think so...wait, yes ma'am, I did see two cars. A truck and a car, I mean. Two vehicles. Normally there ain't nobody back that early." he said.

  "Do you remember what they looked like?" Clare asked.

  "One was black. Looked like new. Very shiny. One of them big black SUVs. Tinted windows. Don't see too many of those around here. The other one was a regular Ford pickup truck. Had a logo on the side of it. I think it was green and white. I didn't pay a lot of attention to it. I was trying to feed the kitties without them eating the food before I put it down."

  The truck sound like it was for a business. It could have been Chad's, Isa thought.

  "Did you hear anything?"

  "I saw three people go up in there. Looked like a woman and two men. Couldn't hear what they were saying. Couldn't see 'em too good. I didn't have my glasses," he said sheepishly.

  "Wait, there were two men and a woman?" Clare was unconsciously leaning forward in excitement. This was the first real piece of evidence that they'd heard.

  "Yup. I couldn't place them, but I don't get out much." He shrugged sheepishly and another cat jumped down onto the back of his chair and curled up.

  "I can see why. You have a lot to take care of here," Clare said.

  The tuxedo kitty had made his way to Isa's lap. He stepped daintily over to her, curled up on her thighs and promptly went to sleep.

  Mr. Redding's eyes widened, "He hasn't gone up to nobody. Not even me. He usually hides away from folks. Even the other kitties. You have to keep him."

  Isa paused in mid-pat. "I have to—wait, what?"

  "Yup, yes ma'am, he done chose you. You're his human. Cain't mess with that. It's sacred." He nodded decisively, and apparently in his mind that was that.

  "Yes ma'am, it's sacred." Clare's eyes were dancing with her laughter.

  "Let me get you a starter bag together." He stood up, letting the cat jump out of his arms onto the seat of his chair.

  Isa felt a flutter of panic. She didn't want a pet. "A starter bag? Hold up—"

  "I have some adoption papers for you to sign too. He's had all of his shots and he's fixed. He's a good baby. He just don't like a lot of people."

  "Me neither," Isa mumbled.

  "He lost his mama when he was real little. I think that's why he's so skittish."

  Me too, Isa thought. He nuzzled her hand, his little motor going. Her heart started to melt.

  "He doesn't seem skittish now," Clare chimed in. Isa shot her a look, but it didn't have the usual heat. It was hard to stay mad at a friend when you were meeting your feline soul mate.

  "What am I going to do with a cat? My aunt is going to kill me," she said quietly.

  "You tell Auntie Maybel about how all of this went down, she'll understand. If there's one person in town who understands fate, it's her." Clare pointed out.

  Isa couldn't argue with her there. Her aunt was notorious for letting "the vibes" sort things out for her. Maybe that's why she's in so much of a mess.

  Mr. Redding returned with a bag chock full of kitty stuff and a two-page document that gave Isa the ins and outs of the kitten's life. He said he'd have the paper notarized tomorrow and would send her a copy in the mail.

  "Mr. Redding, are you the county cat clerk, or something?" Clare asked only half-kidding.

  "I have an unofficial animal sanctuary. I wish I could have a bigger place and really do it up right, but I can't yet. Some day," he said with a smile.

  Now that they'd gotten to know him a little bit better, he seemed much more like a gentle giant than the taciturn mountain man who had answered the door earlier.

  "Do you really think that boy could've been involved in some bad kitty juju?" he asked Isa.

  Clare jumped in, seeing Isa waffling. "We're honestly not sure. We're trying to help by doing little interviews like that."

  He looked down at the paperwork that Isa had signed. "Oh, you're Maybel's girl. I remember you when you were this big," he demonstrated, holding his hand up about three feet from the ground. "You tell her I asked about her."

  Isa promised that she would. He'd given her a little carrier for the kitten. "How much do I owe you for all of this?" she asked.

  He shook his head. "Oh no, this is the right thing to do. I'm not accepting or expecting any money from you." She decided then and there that she'd send him a check after he'd sent her copies of the notarized paperwork.

  As they were making their way back to the bookshop, the silence was only interrupted by the sound of the kitten lightly snoring.

  "Auntie is gonna kill me."

  "Yup, she sure is."

  CHAPTER NINE

  "A CAT, IN MY HOUSE? Oh heck no! Huh-uh! Take it back!"

  Auntie shook her head so vigorously that her hair wrap crookedly slumped on her head, covering one of her eyes. She brushed away the brightly colored cloth impatiently.

  "Auntie, I didn't have a choice. Mr. Redding said I had to take him. He said it was fate." Isa emphasized the word, knowing this would wiggle into her aunt's psyche. She held him to her chest and pet him to let him know he would be alright.

  Aunt Maybel paused in trying to retuck her wrap. "Carl...er...Mr. Redding said that?"

  "Yes, ma'am. He said to tell you he asked about you."

  "Oh, did he?" she smiled, and patted her wrap back into place with her shoulder up coyly. Isa caught a glimpse of what a young Maybel must've looked like when she was thinking about a suitor. Then she snapped out of the moment. "But that's not the point. No! I won't be having no feline in this house."

  Isa presente
d the little ball of fur to her. He seemed to know what was up and looked almost sadly at her aunt. "But look at him, Auntie. He lost his Mama too. He needs love. Mr. Redding said this little baby wouldn't let anyone near him until I came."

  "He really did say it was fate, Aunt Maybel," Clare chimed in, setting down the kitty bag. "And he hooked up Isa with all kinds of kitty stuff. Plus, he's already had his shots and he's fixed."

  Isa didn't remember him mentioning the cat was fixed, but maybe she'd missed it.

  "Just look at him." Isa thrust him at her aunt. He curled up in Aunt Maybel's reluctant palms, and booped her nose with his little paw. That's all it took. Isa watched as her aunt changed from being totally against him, to being under the kitten's spell.

  "Fine then. If he's got Carl Redding's stamp of approval, that's fine. But you have to be a good boy," she said, shifting her voice lower, bringing the kitten closer to her bosom. Her mewed at her. "You can't go ripping and roaring and destroying all the things in the house. Just because you're cute don't mean you won't be trouble. And another thing..." She kept giving the kitten a lecture while she shashayed away, leaving Isa with a smile on her face.

  "That cat is magic," Isa said.

  "Yup and it sounds like Mr. Redding is too."

  "There's definitely a story there. Maybe Auntie will spill it one day," Isa said. She looked down at all of the cat gear. "I better get busy to putting all of this stuff away."

  "I gotta go home and take care of Mama. I'm sure she's bored as all get out."

  "Is she involved in any clubs anymore?"

  Clare shook her head, "Nope, she said she doesn't have the energy anymore. I think she's mad, because a lot of the women kind of abandoned her in her time of need. Or she feels like they did."

  "She does?"

  Clare reminded her friend how whenever someone was sick or needed help in her groups, her mom was the first person who'd volunteer to help. But now that she needed assistance, they weren't there for her. She felt like she'd been left out in the cold. Isa shook her head. That was a shame. She'd thought Whisper Valley folk were better than that. She said as much to Clare.