The Cats that Cooked the Books (The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery Book 11)

by Karen Anne Golden

A round of congratulations circled the table.

  Katherine said, “Jake has some good news, too.”

  “What’s that?” Mark asked.

  “You’re looking at the new department head,” Jake announced.

  Linda asked, “History, right?”

  Jake smiled.

  Mark spoke, “Linda and I have some great news also.”

  “Yes, we do,” Linda said with a grin. “We’re getting married in the fall.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Jake said.

  “Congratulations,” everyone said at the same time.

  “Is the wedding going to be in Indy or Erie?” Chief London asked.

  “In Indy. You’re all invited, so be looking for your save-the-date postcards.”

  Connie, an avid gardener, interjected, “Katz, come over to my house soon. I’m dividing my daylilies.”

  “Yes, I definitely will.”

  Jake chuckled. “Katz has planted so many daylilies at our house, she needs another acre or two of land.”

  “I have not,” Katherine disagreed.

  Connie laughed.

  Chief London asked, “How are the cats?”

  Jake answered, “Our cats are just fine.”

  “How’s the Abyssinian? What’s her name again?” Linda inquired.

  “Abigail, but we call her Abby,” Katherine said.

  “Oh, that’s right.”

  Mark asked Linda, “How do you know her?”

  “Well, let’s just say Abby has expensive tastes.”

  “How’s that?” he asked.

  “She likes to play hockey with expensive objects.”

  Katherine giggled. “Especially, rare, brown diamonds.”

  Katherine was glad everyone knew what she was referring to and didn’t have to mention how Abby had pilfered a diamond from a friend’s purse, and used it as a hockey puck for days before she dropped it on Detective Martin’s foot.

  “Here’s a little piece of trivia,” Mark said. “I drove Katherine’s late great aunt to Wisconsin to pick up Abby.”

  “I remember you telling me that. I’m so happy you did,” Katherine said.

  The evening wore on with too much eating, drinking, dancing, and having a wonderful time. Katherine rose from her chair and walked over to Salina’s table. She asked the teen, “Do you have a ride home?”

  Salina nodded and said in a happy voice, “I’m staying with Shelly tonight.”

  Margie piped in, “Yes, a sleepover. Cokey and I’ll take her home.”

  “Oh, okay. That works. How have you been, Margie?” Katherine asked.

  “I have a new remodeling job downtown. Do you remember where the Buy it Here antique store was, next to the Erie Hotel?”

  Katherine nodded. “Several weeks ago, I saw the ‘For Sale’ sign in the window. I’m glad it sold. I was worried no one would buy it because of how shabby it looked on the outside.”

  “Shabby on the inside too,” Margie added.

  Katherine eyed her table. Jake stood up and motioned her to the dance floor. She nodded and said, “I’ll see you later. I can’t deny a handsome man a dance.”

  “Who me?” Cokey teased.

  Katherine winked. “No, not you, the other handsome Cokenberger.”

  Close to midnight, Daryl and Colleen stood up and walked to each table and thanked everyone for coming. They stopped at the head table first.

  “Are you all having a good time?” Daryl asked.

  “Yes, we are,” they said in unison. A well-meant round of congratulations was voiced to the happy couple.

  Colleen stood behind Katherine, and bent down and said, “What did you think of our grand entrance in the Impala?”

  “I think it was so romantic. I remember the first time you met Daryl.”

  Colleen smiled. “You were dating Jake. Jake introduced me to Daryl. The four of us were going to a fish fry and Daryl drove.”

  “And?” Katherine prompted.

  “I thought it was so cool that he had a classic car. It was love at first sight.”

  Daryl picked up on the end of the conversation. He reached over and hugged Colleen. “I heard that. Did you marry me for my car?”

  Colleen belted out a loud laugh. “Come on, handsome. We have other tables to go to. Katz, I’ll catch you later,” she said, leaving.

  After the proud couple walked over to the next table, Katherine lightly grabbed Jake’s arm and whispered in his ear, “Who’s that guy back there?”

  “What guy? The place is crawling with guys?”

  “The big one standing at the entrance.”

  “I don’t see anyone.”

  “Geez, look closer. He looks like Luca Brasi.”

  “From the Godfather movie?”

  “Yes, waiting to offer his wedding congratulations or something.”

  “Oh, that’s Ted,” Jake laughed. “He’s a jack of all trades. Today, he’s a bouncer.”

  “What? He works for the wedding barn people?”

  “Not just the barn people,” Jake teased. “He works for anyone who has odd jobs to do. Daryl gave him a few extra bucks to watch out for anyone looking like they’re packing shaving cream.”

  Katherine scrunched up her face in disbelief. “Shaving cream? Why would anyone bring shaving cream to a reception?”

  “Daryl doesn’t want anyone messing with the Impala.”

  “What does his car have to do with it?”

  “He doesn’t want folks to write “Just Married” or some other prank message on his car. Shaving cream can permanently discolor the paint, and because the Impala has been painted before, Daryl doesn’t want to take the chance.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep, seriously.”

  Daryl and Colleen returned and assumed their places at the bridal table.

  Someone sitting at a table close to where the bouncer stood, screamed, “Look out! A rat!”

  The guests stopped talking. A big hush fell over the rowdy crowd.

  A very proud, rotund, ginger cat strolled in, with something dangling from his mouth — a very dead field mouse.

  One of the members of the band sang into the microphone, “Who let the cat in? Meow. Meow.”

  The cat was oblivious to the crowd. He trotted down the aisle between two rows of tables, jumped up on the stage, deposited the mouse, and then made a beeline back to the door. The bouncer graciously opened it for the feline, who left with his tail hiked straight up in the air, then Ted called after the cat, “Mouser, git back in the truck!”

  One of the catering staff grabbed a napkin and went over and picked up the mouse.

  “Eww,” Shelly and Salina shouted at the same time, then the crowd started to laugh.

  Colleen called over to Katherine, “Is that considered good or bad luck?”

  “It’s good luck!” Katherine grinned, not sure if that was the correct answer, but the right answer to her superstitious friend.

  Colleen snickered. “Only in Indiana.”

  The guests started clinking their glasses again. Colleen leaned into Daryl and said, “My lips are numb.”

  Daryl kissed her on the nose. “Mine are, too. How about we blow this popsicle stand?”

  Chapter Three

  Emma Thomas, former cat wrangler for a famous magician, vet tech major and graduate with an associate’s degree in bookkeeping, got off the bus in Nyack, New York. She walked several blocks, then stopped to make sure no one was following her. Then she crossed the street and backtracked a block. She hailed a cab, which drove ten blocks to where her grandmother owned a Victorian house along the Hudson River. Paying the cab driver in cash, she got out and walked a block in the opposite direction. When the cab was out of sight, she turned and hurried to her grandmother’s. Now, a little out of breath from the long diversionary hike, she stood outside the back door and hesitated to go inside. She didn’t want to face the sad news that her beloved Grammy was dying.

  The caregiver, Nancy, was in the kitchen and saw Emma thro
ugh the window. She opened the door, “Hello, love,” she said. “Come in. Make yourself at home. Pearl wants some soup, so I popped out here to make it.”

  Emma walked in and put her Vera Bradley satchel purse on the kitchen counter. “Tomato Bisque, right?”

  “Her favorite.”

  “How is she today?”

  Nancy didn’t answer for a few seconds, then said, “Not good. You better brace yourself, dear,” she paused, then said in a sad voice, “Ms. Pearl is not long for the world.”

  Emma brought her hand up to her lip and covered her mouth to stifle the sob that was growing deep inside her. A tear fell from her eye. She wiped it off before it ran down her cheek.

  Nancy poured the can of soup into a large cup and placed it in the microwave. “Sweetie, I’ll let you compose yourself before you go in. I know you don’t want to upset her.”

  Emma nodded, took a deep breath, then walked down the hall to her grandmother’s bedroom.

  Pearl was sitting up on an ornate walnut Rococo bed, with a tall headboard. She had several pillows propped up so she could see the document she held in her hand. Her boyfriend Lawrence sat on a chair beside the bed.

  When the door opened, Pearl looked up, surprised. “Emma, my sweet girl, come in. What a welcome surprise. I didn’t know you were coming.”

  Emma walked over and took her grandmother’s hand. “It’s good to see you.”

  Lawrence stood up and hugged Emma. “Long time, no see.”

  “How are you?” Emma asked Lawrence, then regretted asking such an insensitive question. She thought, Of course he’s not okay. The love of his life is passing away.

  Pearl said in a weak voice, “Pull up that chair in the corner and sit close to me. We need to talk business. I need to tell you some legal things. I don’t want you to interrupt me because I don’t want to think about it too much. Okay?”

  “Sure,” Emma said, drawing up the chair and sitting down.

  Lawrence started to leave, but Pearl called him back. “I want you to be in on this meeting, too.”

  He walked back and sat back down in his chair. “Okay, dear.”

  Emma said lightly, trying to change the depressing tone of the conversation to a sunnier one, “Official meeting, huh?” She smiled. “Should I take notes?”

  Pearl chuckled, then returned her gaze to the document she held in her hand. “I was going over this with Lawrence. You came in just at the right moment. I’ve made a numbered list. Emma your name is on my checking and savings account. When I pass, my lawyer will take care of removing my name. Every nickel and dime in that account will go to you, honey, including what’s in there now and what I will get for my house.”

  “Grammy—” Emma started to interrupt.

  Pearl put her hand up. “Stop, let me finish. I put my house up for sale and it sold in two days. Seems there’re a lot of folks out there who love Victorian homes.”

  Emma was shocked. “I had no idea you were going to sell this house. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because you would have tried to talk me out of it.”

  Emma agreed. “Probably.”

  “It makes perfect sense to sell it now. That way you don’t have to mess with it. Okay, next on my list. While you’re here, I want you to go through the house and pick out what furniture you want. I need to know lickety-split because in two weeks there’s going to be an auction.”

  “Auction? Where?”

  “Somewhere in Manhattan at one of those swanky auction houses. Lawrence is taking care of that. Right, dear?”

  “Yes, I have that covered,” he said in a sad voice.

  “Emma, I want you to understand that I want Lawrence to have the money made at the auction.”

  “Oh, Grammy, that’s a wonderful idea, but I don’t really want any of the furniture. I’d like the family photos, things like that, but not the furniture.”

  Lawrence stood up, “I really must go now. I have several errands to run. Pearl, do you want me to bring you back anything from the deli?”

  “Yes, that’s a great idea. Bring back something for dinner, so we can sit in the dining room like old times.”

  Lawrence picked up Pearl’s hand and kissed it, then he left.

  Pearl returned to the topic at hand. “Are you sure you don’t want some of the furniture? What about your bedroom set? You’ve had it since you were a teenager.”

  “No, thanks, Grammy.”

  Pearl took a deep breath, then asked, “How have you been? Are you still working at the casino, oh, forgive me for not remembering its name?”

  Emma shook her head. “I’m not working there anymore.”

  “Really? That’s news to me,” Pearl said, stunned. “When did you quit?”

  Emma shrugged her shoulders and remained quiet for a moment. She wanted to say that in the last twenty-four hours she’d been a very busy girl. For starters, she’d quit her job without notice. She’d left her fiancé, Ray Russo. She went to the bank and withdrew her entire savings account, only leaving a few hundred in the checking. After that, she used her key to the joint-owned safe deposit box she shared with Ray, and withdrew another $250 thousand in cash (his money or the mob’s money, she wasn’t sure which), and a pink USB flash drive.

  Her plan had been to open the deposit box and take out half the cash, but she got a little greedy. She knew Ray had tons of money stashed away, which she wasn’t privy to. Finding the flash drive was a surprise. She’d never seen it in the box before. It was lying on the bottom in a manila envelope with a metal clasp. Curious like a cat, she’d opened it. A note was folded inside. She’d pulled it out and read it. Written in red ink: Guard this with your life. It’s the complete ledger of our operations. Signed Marcel. She’d peered into the envelope and saw the flash drive, then tipped the envelope and the flash drive slid out. It was labeled: AR. AR, she’d thought, then a light bulb went on in her head— accounts receivable. She’d slipped the flash drive in her purse, put the note back in the envelope, re-clasped it, and returned it to the box. She didn’t have a clue what was on it, but she’d make it a point to find out.

  Pearl asked a second time, “When did you quit your job?”

  “Yesterday.”

  “Why?”

  “I have other plans.”

  “What about your fiancé? What does he think of your plans?”

  “Seriously, Grammy, I don’t give a damn.”

  “What?”

  “I left Ray.”

  “Oh, my!” Pearl said, shocked. “Why?”

  “Because he’s a crook. I’ll spare you the sordid details.”

  “What did he say when you told him you were leaving him?”

  “I didn’t have to tell him. I got lucky.”

  “How is that?”

  “Yesterday afternoon, when I came home to our apartment—”

  Pearl cut her off. “You said our apartment. Honey, I didn’t know you lived with Ray.”

  “I’m a big girl now, Grammy. It was cheaper to share expenses. Why maintain two residences when you can share one?” Emma knew her grandmother didn’t approve. Back in her day, women didn’t share apartments with men unless they were married.

  “Go on.”

  “As soon as I walked in the door, my cell rang. It was Ray, a very annoyed Ray. Seems he was in a bit of trouble and needed me to bail him out of jail.”

  “Jail?”

  “I told him I had a horrible headache and that I’d get one of his friends to do it.”

  “What did Ray do to land in jail?”

  “Oh, he assaulted a New Jersey police officer over a speeding ticket. After Ray finished screaming at me—”

  “Screaming?”

  “Yeah! He went ballistic when I said I couldn’t bail him out.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I held the line until he calmed down, then he said I could call his friend, Marcel. I said I would, but you know what?” Emma asked, smirking. “The beauty of it is, I didn’t call Marcel,
and for all I know, Ray’s still in jail.”

  “Oh, my goodness.”

  “Serves him right,” Emma said.

  Pearl shook her head, “I hope he doesn’t come after you.”

  “If he does, he won’t find me.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Grammy, I came here to tell you I’m moving. I bought a three-story building.”

  “A building? A whole building?” Pearl asked with interest.

  “Well, it’s sort of like a row house connected to other buildings on a main street. It has enough room on the first floor for a small café.”

  “A café?”

  “I want to open a coffee bar in a small town.”

  “Here in New York, or New Jersey?”

  “Not, exactly. I can’t afford anything here. Everything listed on the real estate websites were too expensive for me.”

  “So, where’s the building? Row house?”

  “I’ll get to that part in a minute,” Emma said, smiling. “I found a business that used to be an antique store. I’m having the first floor remodeled to be a quaint, little coffee shop where I’ll serve different blends of coffee, tea and maybe a light fare of cookies and muffins,” she explained dreamily.

  “I didn’t see a deduction in our checking account. Did you get a mortgage?”

  “I bought it in cash. My cash. Sight unseen.”

  “Congratulations, sweetheart. This is great news. I want to hear more about it.”

  “There were two real estate contenders: one in the South and the other one in the Midwest. The one in Midwest was a better deal because the asking price was lower than the one in the South. What’s really amazing is that I can live above the coffee shop. The second floor has a living room, kitchen, half bath and a flex room. The third floor has two spacious bedrooms and a full bathroom.”

  “Sweetie, it sounds perfect, but the Midwest is a big area. Where in the Midwest?”

  Emma didn’t answer the question, but went on describing the three-story building, “It was advertised as a storefront because the site where it’s located is surrounded by other businesses, which, and you will love this part, are historic buildings on the National Register for Historic Places.”

  “It sounds wonderful, dear, but where? You didn’t tell me where? I’ll need your address.”

  “I’ll call and give it to you later this week.”