by Delia James
“Hi.” Kristen and I shook hands. Alistair pushed his nose toward Ruby. Ruby lifted her chin and looked away in cold disdain. Oh, yeah. This really and truly was Attitude Cat. Even Alistair seemed taken aback. His hesitation gave Ruby a chance to jump down onto the floor.
“Your name sounds familiar,” Kristen said. She was a few inches taller than me, and a few years younger, with tawny skin and rich brown eyes. She wore her dark brown hair in a long braid down her back. “Did we meet somewhere? And if we did, I’m sorry I forgot . . .”
“Don’t worry about it,” I told her. “We haven’t.”
Down by our shins, Alistair nosed Ruby, who turned away from him. He circled around her.
“Do not be that cat, big guy,” I muttered. “Take no for an answer.”
Alistair promptly plumped himself down and started washing his hind leg.
“I really am sorry,” I told Kristen. “He just doesn’t know when to quit.”
“Don’t worry about it. Ruby can take care of herself.” Then Kristen snapped her fingers. “I remember now! You’re a friend of Valerie’s, right? Valerie McDermott?”
“That’s right.” My yard backed up onto the garden of McDermott’s Bed & Breakfast, which Valerie ran with her husband, Roger.
“That’s how I know your name. She’s talked about you. How’s the new baby?”
“Sweet and perfect, with a very healthy set of lungs.”
“I keep meaning to call them, but everything’s just been so crazy . . .” As if to prove Kristen’s point, a phone rang from deep inside her purse.
“Sorry.” Kristen pulled out a brand-new smartphone to check the screen. She hit a button and scurried to the other end of the reception room. “Hello?” she said into the phone. “No, not a good time.”
Dr. Forsythe dug both hands into the pockets of her white coat and watched as Kristen turned her back. She was frowning hard, and she didn’t seem to realize it. Something is going on. The thought popped into my head before I could stop it. I immediately told myself to quit speculating. As a witch, you’re supposed to be attuned to the natural energies that came from the world around you, including the people. The side effect of this was that sometimes you—okay, I—thought I could tell more about a person than I actually could.
“Merow,” said Alistair.
“Quiet, cat,” I muttered.
“Sorry?” Dr. Forsythe shook herself. “Did you say something?”
“Nothing important,” I told her.
“Yes, yes,” Kristen was saying into her phone. “But I’ve got to call you back, okay? ’Kay, thanks.” She hung up and turned back to us. She smiled as she came back to the counter, but that smile was tense. Ruby purred and flicked her tail back and forth. Alistair nosed her neck. The purring stopped.
“Attitude Cat Enterprises never sleeps,” Kristen said, trying to sound casual, but her voice was strained. “Listen, Ramona, are you sure you’re good with this?”
“Oh, absolutely,” said Ramona, but like Kristen’s, her voice was strained around the edges. Alistair and I looked at each other. These two definitely wanted to have a serious conversation, but not in front of us. We should go away. Now.
“Great,” Kristen was saying. “I’ve got her bed and stuff in the car. I’ll just . . .” Kristen gestured toward the glass doors and froze. “Oh, no.”
We all looked, cats included. Outside, a woman in a checked overcoat was striding across the parking lot. She opened the clinic door like she was trying to yank it off its hinges.
“You pathetic thief!” she shrieked.
2
“WELL, GOSH. HI, Cheryl.” Kristen’s voice was bright, brittle and entirely unhappy. “I take it you got my message?”
“No, actually, I didn’t.” The woman, Cheryl, stalked forward. She had a impressive stride, especially considering the height of the heels on her designer boots. But then, it was clear this was a woman who knew the value of making an impression. Her pale face was perfectly made-up, and I suspect had been adjusted in a few other ways. Her checkered coat was fifties vintage with black velvet cuffs and a broad collar, and her perfectly bobbed, perfectly dyed blond hair was covered by a brimmed felt hat. The handbag was at least as designer as the boots. She wore chunky silver-and-turquoise earrings, and the bracelets on the wrists of her black gloves were that hypertrendy Aldina brand that you could customize with about a dozen different baubles dangling off each, like upper-class charm bracelets.
Kristen was not the only one less than thrilled to see this woman. Ruby pressed her fluffy belly down flat against the floor and made a warning noise deep in her throat. In response, Alistair yawned and stretched and plumped himself down between Ruby and the new arrival.
Cheryl stared at this unexpected piece of feline chivalry. “Who are you?” she snapped at both me and my cat.
“Anna Britton,” I told her. “And this is Alistair. Sorry. He’s got no manners.”
The look Cheryl gave me indicated she didn’t think I had much in the way of manners either. I smiled apologetically, but this time, I didn’t pick him up.
“I left you a message,” Kristen said to Cheryl.
“You would say that, now that I’ve caught you trying to hide my property!”
Jeannie, the clinic assistant, poked her head out from the main treatment area, looking in to see if she was needed. Ramona waved her away. Jeannie ducked back so quickly, I suspected she was glad to be elsewhere.
“And you . . . !” Cheryl turned on Dr. Forsythe, and Ramona clutched the counter like she was going to break a chunk off. “How much did she pay you to help her little scam?”
“There is no scam!” Kristen threw out both hands. “Nobody’s trying to hide anything, Cheryl!”
“Except the fact that you’re a thief!”
“Merr-oww,” muttered Alistair. I nudged him with one toe. He scooted sideways out of reach. At the same time, I slid my hand into my purse so my fingers curled around my wand. Yes, I have a wand, and I carry it with me. It’s not as magical as what you see in the movies or the Harry Potter books, but it does help with focus and control, like in situations when I might need to help exert a healing or calming influence, around a person, or maybe a cat.
“Cheryl.” Ramona mustered a professional smile and gestured toward the rear of the clinic with the hand that wasn’t hanging on to the counter for dear life. “Why don’t we all go back into the office? We can sit down and straighten this out.”
“There’s nothing to straighten out!” Cheryl shouted. “I’ve got a court order.” She yanked a sheaf of papers out of her purse. “She”—she flapped the papers toward Kristen—“is not allowed to take Ruby anywhere without notifying me! And you . . . !”
“I’m not taking her anywhere,” snapped Kristen. “Ruby is boarding with Dr. Forsythe for a few days.”
“So you were planning on hiding her!” shouted Cheryl triumphantly.
Ruby jumped up on the counter, her leash trailing down behind her. From there, she leapt straight into Kristen’s arms. Alistair, down by my ankles, gave a warning growl. His tail lashed back and forth.
Don’t even think about it, big guy.
Now I did pick him up. He didn’t like it and I felt his claws press ever so slightly against my sleeve. I was going to be dishing out a lot of tuna and nibbles later.
“Cheryl, there’s no scam, and nobody’s hiding Ruby,” said Dr. Forsythe firmly. “She’ll be staying with me, at my home.”
“My mother is in the hospital,” said Kristen through gritted teeth as she stroked Ruby’s back. “She needs surgery. My sister can’t get out until Tuesday. I’ve got to be there. I sent you an e-mail. I didn’t know if you’d gotten it, so I wrote everything down. I was going to leave all the details at your attorney’s office.” Kristen cradled Ruby in the crook of one arm and fished an envelope out of her purse.
/> Cheryl snatched the letter out of Kristen’s fingers and skimmed it. I kept one eye on her, but I was really watching Ramona. Her face wasn’t pale anymore. In fact, it was flushed red.
What is going on with you? I wondered. I cradled Alistair in the crook of one arm while I kept the other hand on my wand. Working any kind of spell without prior preparation is not easy, but there are some small things that can be done on the fly, including conjuring a calming atmosphere.
Of course, as an apprentice, I wasn’t supposed to do any kind of magic without permission or supervision, but Ramona was a senior witch and standing right here, so I was in the clear on this one. I tried to breathe deep and exude an air of calm.
Absolutely nothing happened.
Well, almost nothing. Ramona did glance at me and quirk one eyebrow. I blushed.
Fortunately, Cheryl and Kristen were too busy to notice any of this.
“I’ll be showing this to my lawyer,” Cheryl announced. “Expect the call. You as well.” She shook the papers at Dr. Forsythe. “This is not in the court order. Maybe you stole Ruby out from under me, but I’m getting what’s mine—”
This was too much for Kristen. “You are not touching Ruby!” she snapped, and the force of the exclamation tightened her arm around her cat. Ruby squeaked, jumped down to the floor and whisked under one of the chairs, the red leash scraping against the tiles. Alistair immediately wriggled himself free from my grip so he could drop to the floor and galumph after her. “I swear, Cheryl, if you don’t cut this out, I’ll . . .”
“You’ll what?” sneered Cheryl, a little too obviously pleased that she’d gotten Kristen to lash out. “What are you going to do once your record’s splashed all over the papers and the Internet? Huh? And when the judge hears the whole sordid story?” She smirked. “Or your mom and your sister and . . . ?”
“I’ve made up with my family. Maybe you should be working on that, and leave me and Ruby alone!”
Ramona caught my eye again and let out a long breath. I picked up the hint, tightened my grip on my wand and deliberately slowed my own breathing down. In my mind, I began a silent invocation.
In need I call, in hope I ask, an’ it harm none . . .
This time, the familiar prickling ran up my arms, and I felt Ramona’s influence boosting my own. Below us, Alistair started purring like nothing had ever been wrong. He circled Kristen’s ankles once, and then again.
Slowly, but perceptibly, the tension between Cheryl and Kristen began to fade. Kristen eased back, and so did Cheryl, although much more slowly. Alistair circled Kristen’s ankles again. Ruby cocked her head and managed to look mildly impressed. Alistair licked his chops. That’s my cat. Charm all the way. Literally.
Kristen rubbed her eyes. “I’m sorry, Cheryl. Really. I should have called. I know. Take the papers to your lawyer. You can call if there are any questions, okay?”
“That sounds fair,” murmured Ramona. The prickling in my fingers sharpened slightly, and in my mind I repeated my invocation. “Don’t you think, Cheryl?”
Cheryl’s jaw worked itself back and forth a few times, but she did take the envelope. “You will hear from us,” she muttered.
“I’ll be waiting.” Kristen sighed.
The two women glared at each other. I felt their anger struggle against the soothing aura of Ramona’s (and my) magic. Cheryl frowned hard and looked like she was about to say something. Ramona smiled and I smiled and Alistair purred, and a faint breath of warm air that could easily have been a draft curled around our shoulders. Cheryl turned away on her designer heels as smoothly as a ballerina doing her best pirouette and clicked out the clinic door.
3
THE DOOR DIDN’T slam, but we all winced anyway. Ramona’s mouth moved, and I felt more than heard her breathe the words that dispersed the spell.
So mote it be, I murmured under my own breath as I released my own energy and focus.
“Meow,” added Alistair. Ruby groomed her tail assiduously.
“Sorry about that.” Kristen sighed. “I really didn’t mean—”
“It’s not your fault,” Ramona told her before she had to say any more.
“Isn’t it?” Kristen muttered. I couldn’t tell if she was angry or just too tired for words.
“Of course not!” Ramona assured her.
“Um . . . I take it there’s a problem between you and . . . ?” I asked, because I am very good at stating the obvious.
“Cheryl. Congratulations, Anna.” Ramona chuckled, but there was no humor in it. In fact, she sounded just as tired as Kristen. “You’ve just stepped straight into one of Portsmouth’s weirdest property disputes.”
Alistair inched just a little closer to Ruby. Ruby yawned, got up and walked around to the other side of her owner. Alistair batted at her leash. She ignored him.
“Cheryl and I used to be . . . roommates.” I caught the hesitation in Kristen’s voice and in her eyes. “We found Ruby in the laundry room of our apartment building. You should have seen the poor little thing.” Affection softened Kristen’s voice and her expression as she looked toward her cat, who was rubbing up against her ankles. “Just a bundle of fur and nerves.” She picked Ruby up. Alistair plopped back on his hindquarters, immensely disappointed.
“A couple of months after we found her, Cheryl, well . . .” Kristen rubbed Ruby’s ears restlessly, trying to choose her words. Trying not to say too much, I thought.
“Meow,” said Alistair, which sounded a little too much like encouragement to be entirely comfortable.
“We started to argue about money . . . and things,” Kristen was saying. Ramona nodded sympathetically. “She was threatening to throw me out because I was broke, and I . . . well, I was broke. I offered to try to figure something out, asked her to give me time to find a new place. Then Cheryl ran out on us.” Kristen pulled a face. “I woke up one morning, and she was just gone. The rent was overdue and I couldn’t even pay my share, let alone the whole thing. But I’d seen a sign for this contest at the Best Petz store, a kind of audition for local cats. The top prize was a few hundred dollars cash and a chance for your cat to be in a commercial.” She flashed us a chagrined smile and Ruby squirmed and let herself be put down on the counter.
“Merow,” said Alistair, and I could see him getting ready to leap up beside her. I nudged his hindquarters again. I also ignored the look of mortally wounded feline dignity he leveled at me.
“Anyway, I figured, what the heck.” Kristen shrugged. “And it turned out the camera loved Ruby, and the rest is . . .” She scratched Ruby under the collar. “Well, it’s history. It’s also contracts and lawyers and agents and trademarks and merchandising and a whole lot of other stuff that makes me regret not having a business degree.”
“So, what happened?” I asked. Alistair was pacing around by my ankles and stepping on my feet, hoping I would pick him up. I ignored him. “I mean, if Cheryl’s the one who left you and Ruby, she can’t exactly claim that Ruby is her cat.”
“Well, that’s the problem. She’s finally found a lawyer she can convince that I’m the one who left and that I took Ruby with me when I did.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah,” said Kristen. “Ouch. And I’ve got no proof and no witnesses, but then neither does Cheryl, which it turns out is not as much help as it should be.”
“Because it makes the whole thing a she said, she said?”
“And what she says”—Kristen jerked her chin toward the door—“is that I stole Ruby and should give her back.”
“Along with some of the money?” I guessed.
“Along with a whole lot of the money,” agreed Kristen.
“Meow,” announced Alistair loyally. Ruby started grooming her front paw. The rest of us stood together in silent sympathy. Sympathy, and more than a little quiet scrambling to find something meaningfully supportive to say.
Of course I couldn’t ask, for a lot of reasons, starting with the fact that while this was all happening right in front of me, it remained absolutely none of my business.
“Well, I’m no expert, but I would think a judge would find the timing all awfully fishy,” I said, more to fill the silence than anything else. “I mean, Cheryl has everything to gain by lying about what happened between you.”
“Yeah, well, there’s a problem,” said Kristen. “I have some . . . stuff in my past that might make a judge less willing to listen to my side.”
“Oh,” I said, which was not the best answer, but it was the only one I had at the moment.
“Yeah, ‘oh.’” Kristen smiled in that tired sort of way people do when they really hope they can trust you. While this fresh silence was stretching out, Alistair jumped up on the counter, meowed and head butted my wrist.
I glanced at my watch. “Jeez, I’m sorry. I’ve got to get going. I’ve got a whole bunch of errands to run before the party tonight.”
“Oh, right,” said Ramona, and I know I did not miss how relieved she looked to be able to change the subject. “The unveiling is today, isn’t it? Anna’s an artist,” she told Kristen. “She’s done some artwork for the Midnight Reads bookshop, and she’s got one of those new adult coloring books coming out.”
Alistair head butted my wrist again. I scratched his ears to let him know I wasn’t ignoring him.