One Taste Too Many

by Debra H. Goldstein

  “Each of us can look in a different direction,” Emily suggested. “He can’t be hiding too far away.”

  Harlan nodded. “Why don’t you two go around the building toward the loading dock while Emily and I scour this side of the building?”

  “Let’s meet back here in ten minutes,” Peter said. “If we haven’t found RahRah by then, I’ll call in reinforcements to help us search.”

  The four separated. Peter and Sarah stayed together at the front door. “Sarah, if you go straight toward the loading dock, I’ll check out these overgrown bushes and parked cars.”

  Peter started to slide behind the bushes planted next to the door, but Sarah remained rooted. This was the second time today he’d mentioned the loading dock. Had he forgotten she’d tripped over Richard’s dead body there? She’d never be able to forget.

  Glancing back at her, Peter hit his forehead with his hand. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I’ll check out the loading dock and the parking area the chief of security and I blocked off for our use during the Expo. You can look around this area.”

  “Thanks.” Sarah slipped into the space between the building and the entryway beds while Peter made his way toward the loading dock. She tried to make herself think like a cat.

  “RahRah, if I had nine lives,” she said aloud, “I wouldn’t want to chance wasting one in this parking lot. No, I’d try to find a space I could crawl into and hide.”

  Moving around the plants, Sarah noticed a drainpipe coming down from the gutter at the corner of the building. Its bottom was hidden by the edge of a large bush but she felt sure, if it was like the ones on a house, it curved into a drainage pan that might be holding rainwater. Sarah approached the pipe cautiously, keeping her eyes pointed down.

  When she saw RahRah curled against the pipe, his back arched, she was too far away to reach him. She forced herself to move slowly, lest she scare him more. “It’s okay, RahRah. No one is going to hurt you. I’m going to take care of you.”

  He didn’t budge, but Sarah imagined RahRah was watching her every movement.

  It felt like an eternity until she closed the gap between them, bent, and picked him up. RahRah didn’t fight her. Rather than yell for the others, she simply stood in the flower bed and nuzzled him until everyone straggled back.

  Emily was first. She reached out to pet RahRah but clearly thought better of it.

  Smart. After being with Jane, RahRah probably was in no mood for company, even Emily. Sarah was happy to note that RahRah clearly considered her as family.

  “Are you going to take him back to Jane or do you want me to go get her for you?”

  “Neither.”

  “But Jane’s looking all over for him.”

  “I’m not giving him back,” Sarah said, as Harlan and Peter joined them. “Jane doesn’t know how to take care of RahRah.”

  As Sarah hugged RahRah closer to her body, Peter cleared his throat. Before he could say anything, she again declared, “I’m not giving him back to Jane. Surely, under the circumstances we can find a way to thwart the trust?”

  Peter ran his hand through his hair. He exchanged a look with Harlan. “It seems pretty clear that Jane is entitled to—”

  “But,” Harlan interrupted. “If we all think there is a problem with the care RahRah’s been getting, I don’t see why you can’t put him in some type of temporary protective custody while we try to persuade a court that RahRah deserves a different trustee.”

  If she hadn’t been cuddling RahRah, Sarah would have thrown her arms up in joy. This was what she’d been saying for days. Unfortunately, from Peter’s furrowed eyebrows, she could see he wasn’t convinced.

  “Peter, you’d be the first one to come up with something creative if we suspected a problem caring for a child,” Harlan observed. “Why should RahRah be treated differently because he’s a cat? If anything, he’s even more helpless because he can’t speak for himself. Remember, Judge Larsen is out of town this week. Do you want to leave RahRah in Jane’s care for a week? Think about what could happen in seven days.”

  Peter swallowed. Sarah could almost see the wheels turning in his head. “Well, I don’t see a tag on him, so I’m not really sure this is RahRah. I’ll have to do some checking around as to which cats are missing and who might need to be brought in to identify him. It might take me a few hours or a few days. My jailhouse isn’t the place for him. Any of you have a car here?”

  The twins shook their heads.

  “I do,” Harlan said.

  “Well, until a positive identification can be made of this cat, I think the three of you should get out of here and set up a temporary cat shelter for this little fellow.” He reached out and petted RahRah. “Looking at him, I can see he’s been an indoor cat. I’d hate to see him get hit by a car or be without food while I search for his rightful owner.”

  Still holding RahRah close to her, Sarah leaned over and gave Peter a kiss. “Our hero.”

  Peter blinked.

  “Get out of here, you three.” Harlan and Sarah didn’t wait to be told again. As she followed Harlan, Sarah glanced back at Peter and wondered if he’d shooed them away so quickly to avoid Jane seeing them or so they wouldn’t tease him about the pink tinge on his cheeks and neck.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Emily loosened the clipped front seat belt of Harlan’s SUV so she could watch him drive and maintain eye contact with Sarah and RahRah huddled in the backseat. “Now that we’ve effectively kidnapped RahRah with the chief of police’s blessing, where should we go?”

  Harlan braked to let a car out of the parking lot. “Someplace Jane won’t think about right away.”

  “That rules out Sarah’s apartment or your office. What’s left? One of the extra rooms in Jane’s house?” Only Emily laughed at her joke.

  Sarah had no idea where they should go, but it wasn’t the carriage house. She stared at RahRah. If a cat could trust a human to be his mother hen, she knew RahRah trusted her. That was it. “We can go to Mom’s place in Birmingham.”

  Emily’s eyes widened. “Perfect. Jane will never think to look for you there. I doubt she knows our mother lives in Birmingham, but if she does, she doesn’t know where.” She smiled at Harlan. “It’s a good thing Mom is at the spa. She hates cats. Growing up, Mom claimed she was allergic to cats. We had dogs and goldfish, but cats weren’t allowed to cross our doorstep.”

  “Maybe that’s not the best place to go then.”

  Sarah laughed. “Oh no, it’s perfect. RahRah’s been there plenty of times when I’ve picked up something when Mom wasn’t home. Besides, Mom’s out of town. What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

  “Won’t she have a problem with RahRah’s stuff having been there when she gets back?”

  “We’ll clean the house by then. We won’t leave a trace and she’ll never know.”

  Emily giggled. “I love it. What about food and the other things you need to take care of RahRah?”

  “Jane didn’t take the box of food and toys I put together for her. It’s under my kitchen sink. Do we have time to get it?”

  “I think it would be better if we go straight to your mom’s. I can always run to the store and pick up some food.” Harlan stopped for a red light two blocks from the Civic Center.

  “Do you have the key to Mom’s place with you?” Emily asked.

  “Yes. I keep it on my key ring.”

  “Good. Use it.” Emily opened the car door and got out.

  “What are you doing?” Sarah said. She looked at the light. It still was red.

  “The three of us need to split up. That will make it more difficult for Jane to find out we have RahRah. I’ll go back to the Civic Center and get a feel of what she’s doing while Harlan drops RahRah and you at Mom’s. He can then go back to his office to figure out our next legal maneuver. Should Jane run into one of us, she’ll never realize the three of us are colluding against her. Once things settle down, one of us can bring you stuff from your apartm
ent.”

  “How will I know what’s going on?”

  “Keep your phone on.” She slammed the door as the light changed to green.

  Harlan pulled forward through the intersection.

  “What’s the best way to get to your mother’s house?”

  “I-65.”

  For the first few minutes after Harlan got on the highway, Sarah stared at the back of his head. She let him drive in silence, like a chauffeur, while she gathered her thoughts. “Harlan, why are you doing this? Can you get in trouble for helping me?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe.”

  She looked at the partial reflection of his face in the mirror. “So why are you taking this chance?”

  “Because it’s the right thing to do.”

  Sarah leaned back against the leather seat of Harlan’s SUV. Considering what she’d seen earlier in his office, everything about him at this moment confused her. She couldn’t match the Harlan who was so driven to follow the letter of the law and care for his clients, including Emily and her, against a Harlan who possibly engaged in criminal behavior.

  There wasn’t much time left for her to decide whether she should let sleeping dogs lie or confront him about the papers she’d seen in his office. At the Civic Center, he’d kept a straight face while denying any knowledge of a Main Street development or the possibility of Southwind being moved into one of the old houses. And what about the discussion between Jane, Chef Marcus, and him? Whatever Harlan had said had diffused the tension of the moment. She sighed out loud.

  Glancing at the rearview mirror, Sarah realized Harlan was watching her. She turned her head toward the window. What else had he fibbed to her about during the past few months? Maybe even her job had been a big lie. Perhaps Harlan hired her when no one else would simply to keep tabs on what happened with Bill’s property during the divorce? Considering she wasn’t secretary of the year, would he have kept her on after her divorce settled if he only hired her for ulterior reasons? She had a hard time believing that.

  “Sarah? Earth to Sarah.”

  “What?”

  “Hey, you seem a million miles away. Which highway exit do I take for your mom’s house?”

  Sarah looked through the window, trying to figure out exactly where she was. A flashing billboard alternating ads for an attorney, a jewelry store, and a local sporting event caught her eye. “It’s the exit after the one we’re about to pass. Go to the second light and take a right. It will be the fifth house on the left.”

  She swallowed hard. She wanted and needed to confront Harlan before they reached her mother’s house. Still, what if the knowledge of Harlan’s involvement in the development project was what had gotten Bill and Richard killed? If it was, and she revealed what she suspected, would she be his third victim?

  Seated in the back of the car, she weighed the consequences of the confrontation going badly. Harlan could easily turn in any direction other than the way to her mother’s house and she’d be stuck. Jumping out of a moving car with RahRah wasn’t a viable option. No, there was no question Harlan could do something horrible to her and no one would be the wiser.

  Well, that wasn’t quite true. Emily would be able to tell Peter that the last time she saw Sarah, Harlan was taking her to their mother’s house. Of course, Emily wouldn’t be able to refute Harlan if he told Peter, “I dropped Sarah off and went for cat food. When I got back to the house, no one answered. I saw RahRah through a window, but no one else appeared to be there. I figured Sarah went out for air or to run some other errand, so I left the food on the doorstep. I had no idea where she went.”

  Sarah shuddered. If she pushed him too far, he might kill her in her mother’s house and then tell Peter, “Through the window by the door, I saw RahRah lying peacefully on the hallway rug. I knocked several times and rang the bell, but no one answered. I never thought to look in any of the other windows. Maybe if I had, I would have seen her lying on the floor and been able to help her.”

  Neither scenario was particularly pleasing.

  “We’re here,” Harlan said. “Street parking or the driveway?”

  “Your car will be less obvious to the neighbors if you go down the driveway.” After the words left her mouth, Sarah could have kicked herself.

  Harlan pulled down the driveway and put the car in park, but he didn’t turn the ignition off. “What kind of food should I get?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Cat food.” Harlan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “I’ll run over to the grocery store before I go back to my office. Just tell me what kind of food you want and whatever else you need.”

  “That would be great.” Sarah leaned over the seat and rattled off a quick list of items for Harlan to pick up. When she finished, she grabbed RahRah and her purse, slid across the seat, and exited the car.

  As she started for the door to the kitchen, Harlan rolled his window down. “Sarah?”

  With her foot on the first step, she turned back to face him. “Yes?”

  “Is something wrong? Something besides RahRah.”

  She stared at him, weighing her words. “Have you forgotten Bill and Richard are dead and Peter doesn’t seem to have any suspect except my sister?” Granted, Peter had admitted to her last night that he thought Emily was being framed, but he still had no idea by whom. And, as of this moment, Emily was the only one who’d been arrested.

  Harlan grimaced. “No, I haven’t forgotten. Believe me, I’ve been racking my brain why Peter has been so hung up on Emily as his primary suspect.”

  “Have you gotten anywhere in your figuring?”

  “Maybe. What do you really know about Chef Marcus?”

  Sarah thought about what she knew about Marcus. The things that came to mind were his size, balloon pants, and quick temper. “Only whatever Emily has told me about him and I like his food.”

  “Me too. When I realized things weren’t adding up between what I was finding and Emily was saying, I did a bit of digging. According to Emily, he’s an expert chef, but not so good with numbers. Well, that doesn’t seem to be quite true. Apparently, he owned and sold a piece of the restaurant they worked at in California for a profit.”

  “Maybe that’s what he invested and was losing in Southwind?”

  “It would make sense based upon what Emily told us about him begging her to come home and help him salvage Southwind and his need to sell Bill a controlling interest, but from the incorporation and license filings I found, Chef Marcus didn’t put a penny of his own money into Southwind. He had an equal ownership interest for being the working partner. From day one, Bill and a few others put up the collateral to get a line of credit at the bank. That means they were original partners and if the restaurant failed, Chef Marcus walked away debt-free.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Pretty sure. I’ve checked the incorporation papers and Alabama Department of Revenue records. During the period Emily thought they were losing money, Bill and Marcus bought out all of their partners except Jane.”

  “Jane? Jane was an original investor?” Sarah shifted her weight and changed her grasp of RahRah. Less restricted, RahRah stretched in her arms. She looked at him and an idea formed in her head. “Between her shares and what she inherited from Bill, is Jane the controlling partner rather than Marcus?”

  “It would appear so.”

  “I can’t believe Emily knows. She swears she didn’t find out Bill was involved until after she already was working at Southwind.”

  “I’m inclined to agree with you. Which brings me back to wondering what other things Marcus lied to Emily about.”

  “But why? Why lie to Emily?”

  “Maybe Marcus knew how she felt about Bill and for some reason it was so important to him that she take the job, he shaded the truth. Once Emily found out about Bill’s involvement, Marcus was boxed into a corner. He invented a new lie to justify his first one. I don’t think Marcus was lying about the business not making money, but part of the loss ma
y have been money being siphoned off cash flow for the Southwind buyouts.”

  “What about moving the restaurant to Bill’s house and maybe doing some further development of the Main Street area?”

  “Other than Bill coming to me with his zoning question, I never handled his legal work. People have talked about converting Main Street into an entertainment district for years, but I’m not aware of anyone actually going forward with their plans.”

  Sarah stepped back from the car. Up to now, everything he’d said was plausible and explained much of what she’d seen in the folders on his desk, but how could he deny someone was trying to develop the area around Bill’s house or that he knew about it? The proof was in the papers on his desk. What possible reason could he have for not admitting his knowledge of someone’s development plan to her? Suddenly, she felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. “Harlan, were you at the Civic Center the night Bill died?”

  “Earlier in the evening. I was supposed to meet a client, but the client was delayed. I left long before Emily and Bill were there.”

  “Why were you meeting your client there? After all, wasn’t the Civic Center closed?”

  “It was a convenient location for us.”

  Sarah wrinkled her forehead. Just when she thought things were making sense, she was more confused than ever. “I don’t understand.”

  “Most of the Expo committee and those cooking or setting up were down there at some point the night Bill was killed. My client and I both had to be there so it was an easy meeting place for us. The last time I saw Bill, well before he must have died, he was talking to Marcus. I have no idea if Emily was in the building or already had left. Anything else?”

  He sounded annoyed. Sarah didn’t care. Although she didn’t want to ask him about what she’d seen in his office, she needed to be alone to sort out what he’d said against the papers he had. If it still didn’t make sense, she’d ask him to explain the deeds and diagrams—when they weren’t alone. “Nothing else. I think while I settle RahRah in, you better go get the food and cat litter so you can get back to your office.”