The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer

by Lisa Orchard

  “I’m all ears.” He pulled the chair out, and sat down crossing his arms over his chest.

  There was no sympathy from him this time. The officers sat across from Sarah. She noticed they were waiting for her uncle to stop talking.

  “I am not happy. It’s three o’clock in the morning.”

  Sarah sighed and gazed down at the floor. “I know, I know.”

  Officer Wilson cleared his throat. “Okay, Sarah, why don’t you tell us what happened tonight?”

  “Spit it out,” her uncle demanded.

  Sarah told them the whole story. While she spilled her guts, Officer Wilson jotted furiously on his notepad. Uncle Walt, on the other hand, tugged on his hair so often she was positive he’d be bald by the time the story was finished. Chief Johnson hovered in the back of the room pacing and listening.

  “That’s how we ended up at the Cat Lady’s,” Sarah finished.

  Officer Wilson leaned in. “Did you ever get a confession?”

  Sarah shook her head. “When I tried, I was told it was none of my concern.”

  “Almost.” Officer Wilson glanced at the Chief.

  Sarah didn’t dare look at her uncle; she could tell by his agitated tugging, he was still angry.

  “You mean to tell me you crawled through your bedroom window in the middle of the night?” Uncle Walt asked.

  Sarah’s shoulders sagged. Here we go. “Yes.”

  “You even had the gall to drag your sister into this?”

  “She wanted to come. She could’ve stayed home.”

  “So, that’s how you see it?” Uncle Walt muttered.

  Looking at him out of the corner of her eye, Sarah noticed his face was a frightening shade of red. He stood and paced. Her shoulders slumped, and she sighed again. She had escaped his rage for the moment.

  Officer Wilson glanced at her uncle before continuing. “At any time did Officer Klonsky say anything to incriminate himself?”

  “What do you mean incriminate himself?”

  “Did he say anything that only the killer would know?”

  “No, but doesn’t he incriminate himself just by showing up at the creek?” Sarah held her hands up at her sides with her palms facing up. “He did ask us for the knife.”

  “Good question.” Officer Wilson winked. “It’s circumstantial evidence. We’ll have to see how the district attorney feels about it.”

  The chief and her uncle finally sat down. Sarah felt outnumbered as she faced the men. She slumped even further in her chair, wishing she could melt into the floor and get away.

  “I know who Klonsky’s sidekick is,” Sarah blurted out. She sat straighter in her chair, and suddenly she beamed. Maybe, just maybe, I can get out of this mess.

  “What?” Chief Johnson asked.

  “I know who Klonsky’s sidekick is,” Sarah repeated, sitting even straighter and leaning forward.

  “Well, who is he?”

  “He’s David Fedewa,” Sarah proclaimed.

  The three men stared at her in stunned silence.

  “For real,” Sarah raised her eyebrows and nodded.

  “What are you talking about?” Chief Johnson demanded.

  “How do you know?” Officer Wilson asked.

  “Because, when I asked Lon why he murdered Mrs. Fedewa, D.W. said she had the same last name as him.”

  The chief lunged out of his chair, sending it to the floor. “Oh my…Are you sure?” He stared at Sarah as he returned his chair to an upright position.

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  The chief strode to the door, pulled it open, and stormed down the hall. Sarah heard him holler at one of the detectives to hurry up with the prints.

  Officer Wilson winked at Sarah. “When we get the prints back, we’ll know for sure.”

  “It’s him. That’s why Klonsky killed the Cat Lady.”

  “I’m not following you.” Officer Wilson frowned.

  Sarah sighed, but stopped herself from rolling her eyes. “Klonsky killed the Cat Lady to get David’s inheritance.”

  “So, you think the Klonskys had David this whole time?” her uncle asked.

  “Yeah, I think they kidnapped David and hid him.”

  “We have to prove it,” Officer Wilson said.

  “Why don’t you ask David?”

  Officer Wilson gave Sarah a rueful smile. “If it were only that simple.”

  “I see it on detective shows all the time,” Sarah insisted. “They’re always getting one of the partners to turn on the other.”

  “Yes, they are.” Officer Wilson glanced at his notes briefly, and then rose from his chair. “I’m going to go talk with the chief. I’ll be right back.” He stepped out of the room, leaving Sarah alone with her uncle.

  Sarah avoided eye contact with him, and the tension between the two of them grew thicker by the minute.

  “You are grounded for the rest of your life.” Uncle Walt bristled, both of his hands were tugging at his hair. Sarah cast a furtive glance down to the floor, looking for tufts of snow-white hair.

  She expelled a weary sigh. “No time off for good behavior?”

  “No!” he thundered. “Sneaking out of the house at night, and that’s just the beginning. You broke the law!”

  Sarah knew he was just warming up. “We didn’t know we were breaking the law.”

  “Oh, come on, Sarah.”

  “For real, we didn’t. Besides we didn’t have a choice. Klonsky was trying to frame us for the Cat Lady’s murder.”

  “Breaking the law is never an option.” He pivoted toward Sarah and gave her a long look. “You trespassed on a crime scene and removed evidence. That’s a felony! That’s jail time!” He glared at her, his face red with anger.

  The image of an overripe tomato danced through Sarah’s mind. She remembered the tomatoes the Wykowski boys had hurled at the Cat Lady’s house. Her uncle’s face resembled one of those tomatoes just before it hit the old woman’s siding. Sarah averted her gaze as a bubble of nervous laughter rose in her throat. I always laugh at the worst times.

  She took a couple of deep breaths and faced her uncle again. “Yes we did, but we didn’t have any other choice. Klonsky was going to send us to jail.”

  “Why didn’t you come to me or go to someone in authority?”

  “We did!” Sarah exclaimed. “The chief didn’t believe us.”

  “You went to the chief with what you found?” Uncle Walt asked, leaning forward in his chair.

  “Yeah, we found Klonsky’s service pin. The chief said he probably lost it during the investigation.”

  “You could’ve come to me, Sarah; I would have helped you.”

  “I didn’t think of that at the time.” Sarah stared down at her hands and sighed. There was silence in the room as her uncle digested what she told him.

  “So, the only way the police can prove their case is by getting David to talk.”

  Sarah noticed her uncle sounded calmer, and his hands were trying to tame his wild hair.

  “Yeah, our ‘get the confession plan’ didn’t work.” Sarah sighed again, relieved she had diverted her uncle’s focus for a little while.

  She closed her eyes and laid her head on the table. Visions of the Cat Lady paraded through her mind. A deep sorrow coursed through her veins for the misunderstood woman and the tragedy she endured at the hands of the Klonsky family. The unfairness of it all hit Sarah like a punch in the stomach.

  Officer Wilson walked back into the room, interrupting her thoughts. “We did get a hit on those prints, and it’s a good probability he is David Fedewa.”

  “No kidding?” Uncle Walt asked.

  Officer Wilson nodded. “No kidding. Now all we have to do is get him talking. We’re going to start the interrogations right away.”

  “Did you have his prints on file, or something?” Sarah asked.

  “Yes, when he was kidnapped the detectives lifted prints from his bedroom, for identification purposes.”

  “I want to hear Dav
id’s interview,” Sarah blurted out.

  “You could probably sit in the observation area,” Officer Wilson said. He glanced at her uncle.

  Uncle Walt sighed. “We’ll talk about it. You’re still grounded, though.”

  “I know.” Sarah clasped her hands again and laid her head down on them, turning away from her uncle. She concealed the smile bursting out on her face. Just by the way Uncle Walt answered the last question, she knew she was going to hear the police question David Fedewa. Sarah needed answers to the questions haunting her. She needed to know the whole story.

  Chief Johnson walked back into the room. “All right, young lady, tomorrow morning I want you down here to discuss your punishment.”

  “Punishment?” Sarah asked, raising her head.

  “She’ll be here,” her uncle answered, giving Sarah a stern look.

  “Not only did you girls break the law, you put your lives in danger,” the chief ranted.

  Sarah sighed. “I know, I know.”

  “You meddled in a police investigation.”

  “We were trying to help.” Sarah sat up straight in her chair and put her hands in her lap.

  “Did I ask for your help?”

  “No, but if we didn’t help Klonsky would’ve gotten away with everything.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Admit it, we helped put Klonsky away,” Sarah pushed.

  “It’s not over yet, young lady. Don’t go counting your chickens before they’re hatched.” The chief opened the door to leave the room. “Now, go home, and get some sleep.”

  “Chief, she wants to listen to the interviews,” Officer Wilson said.

  Chief Johnson looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “I guess it’s all right. We’re starting in a few minutes.”

  Sarah’s heart leapt at the reprieve. Good, I’m sick of these lectures.

  Uncle Walt stood, and Sarah followed his lead. Officer Wilson escorted them to the lobby.

  Lacey and her aunt were waiting for them. Sarah saw the angry look on Aunt June’s face, and she knew this wasn’t over by a long shot. She squared her shoulders, steadying herself for another confrontation.

  “You’re in so much trouble,” Aunt June fumed.

  Sarah stifled a groan when she saw the frown line appear between her aunt’s brows. “I know. I’ve already been chewed out.”

  “I can’t believe you dragged your sister into this.”

  “She wanted to come.” Sarah shot Lacey a look that said ‘you can step in at any time.’

  “That’s not the story she told me,” her aunt replied, still in a huff.

  “What story did she tell you?” Sarah asked, staring at Lacey.

  “June,” Uncle Walt interrupted. “They’re going to interrogate the criminals and Sarah wants to listen.”

  “What?” Aunt June stared at Sarah with an angry expression.

  Sarah nodded and looked at the floor as she spoke. “Yeah, I want to find out the whole story.”

  “I don’t think that’s really app—.”

  “Let her, June. She’s worked hard to bring these criminals to justice.”

  “Walt, I don’t think it’s appropriate.”

  Uncle Walt sighed. “She’s worked hard.”

  “She broke the law.”

  “I know.” Uncle Walt nodded and sighed again. “But, she didn’t have a choice, Junie. I’ll explain everything later.”

  Aunt June opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out. She clamped her lips together in a tight line. “All right, but you’re still grounded.” She pulled her hair away from her face. “I’ve got patients to see in the morning, so I’m going home.”

  “We can give the girls a ride home,” Officer Wilson said.

  Uncle Walt sighed. “All right.” He looked at Sarah. “We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.”

  Sarah nodded as her lips twitched. She could barely hold back the smile that was trying to burst out on her face.

  Uncle Walt put his arm around Aunt June and guided her to the door. Suddenly, he stopped and spun toward the girls. “Lacey, you can come home if you want to.”

  Lacey shook her head. “No, I want to hear the story, too.”

  Uncle Walt nodded and proceeded out the door.

  Just then, Jackie bustled down the hall, followed by her parents.

  “Hey, Beanpole, we’re going to hear them interrogate Klonsky. Do you want to listen?” Sarah asked as a huge grin spread across her face.

  Jackie nodded, sending her curls into a frenzy. She spun around and eyed her parents. “They’re going to interrogate Klonsky. I want to hear the whole story.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her parents.

  “I don’t think so,” Jackie’s mother responded.

  “Oh come on!” Jackie pleaded.

  “Let her go, Claire.” Jackie’s father winked at his daughter.

  “I can give the girls a ride home afterward,” Officer Wilson said.

  Jackie’s mother shook her head.

  “Mom, I can’t believe you’re not going to let me!” Jackie spun away and trounced toward the door.

  “Claire, let her finish this.”

  Jackie’s mother glared at her father. “I’ve always got to be the bad guy.”

  “Not if you let her.” Jackie’s father winked at her mother.

  “Oh, all right.” Her mother threw her hands up in the air and stomped out into the night.

  “Thanks Mom!”

  Jackie’s father pivoted toward Officer Wilson. “You’ll give the girls a ride home?”

  “Absolutely.”

  He nodded and followed Jackie’s mother out to the car.

  “Let’s go kids.” Officer Wilson motioned for the girls to follow him.

  The Super Spies traveled behind the officer toward the interrogation rooms. As they walked, weariness washed over Sarah’s body. Her head still throbbed slightly, and the pain in her leg flared into a fiery rage every time she put weight on it.

  “I just can’t believe David Fedewa murdered his mother.” Lacey frowned. Her hands found the hem of her T-shirt and she twisted it in her fingers.

  “I know.” Sarah shook her head. “That part doesn’t make any sense to me.” She winced as she hobbled down the hall.

  “We’ll find out the whole story in a few minutes,” Jackie said.

  Sarah nodded. “You got that right.”

  The Super Spies rounded the corner and continued to the interrogation room. They came to the viewing area right in front of interrogation room one.

  Sarah peeked through the window and found Klonksy sitting in a chair. His eyes were red and puffy, but some of the swelling had gone down. He seemed agitated as he fidgeted and he looked uncomfortable. Good. Anger suddenly swirled through Sarah’s body as she stared at her captor. Who does he think he is? What right did he have to destroy the Fedewa family?

  As Sarah stared into the room, she realized the big picture window in the middle of the wall was actually a two-way mirror. She could see Klonsky, but he couldn’t see her. Breathing a sigh of relief, she realized her captor wouldn’t even know she was there.

  Sarah hobbled toward the interrogation room two. She found David Fedewa hunched in a chair, looking small and scared.

  She pivoted toward Officer Wilson. “When are they going to start?”

  “In a few minutes. Why don’t you take a seat?” He pointed toward the folding chairs in front of the windows.

  Sarah limped to a chair and sat down. Jackie and Lacey were close on her heels. All three girls waited for the questioning to begin.

  Just then, Scott ambled over with Detective Swift. Traveling behind them was Scoop Davis.

  “So I guess you heard that we found David Fedewa?” Sarah said.

  “Yes, I heard. I just can’t believe it.” Detective Swift rubbed his eyes.

  “I’m finding it hard to believe he was involved with his mother’s murder.” Sarah pursed her lips and shook her head.


  “Don’t jump to any conclusions,” the detective warned. “We don’t know what the Klonskys have been telling him all these years.”

  “Are you here for the interrogation, too?”

  “Yes, I am. I’ve been searching for that boy for thirty years. I want to hear his story.”

  “How about you?” Sarah asked, cocking her head in Scoop’s direction.

  “Wouldn’t miss it,” Scoop answered, smoothing his hair with his hands. “I thought I told you kids not to do anything until you heard from me?” He gave Sarah a reproachful look.

  “You did, but we couldn’t wait,” Sarah said with a shrug. What difference does it make now? She brushed her hair from her face. “Did you find out anything?”

  Scoop nodded. “I sure did.”

  “Well…?”

  Scoop pursed his lips again. “I found out there’s no statute of limitations on an heir making a claim to an estate.”

  “Huh?”

  “Yeah, speak English please,” Jackie piped up.

  “It means David could reappear at any time and claim the Fedewa estate.”

  Sarah slapped her forehead with her palm. “So that was Klonsky’s plan.”

  Scoop nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. Detective Swift sighed and shook his head, an expression of deep sorrow on his face.

  “I feel so sorry for Mrs. Fedewa,” Sarah said as a lump rose in her throat.

  “I do too,” Lacey chimed in.

  “I wish we could have done more for her.”

  Sarah choked back tears as she remembered the cruel rumors that had been circulated about Mrs. Fedewa. A deep sense of shame overwhelmed her when she thought about the circumstances surrounding the old woman’s death and how her body had been found. The poor woman hadn’t been a witch or crazy or anything like that. She had been overwhelmed by the loss of her son.

  “I’m never going to make fun of a weird person again,” Sarah vowed. Her voice sounded far away and high, as if her air supply were slowly being cut off.

  “Me neither,” Jackie said, putting her arm around Sarah and giving her a quick squeeze.

  “You just don’t know what they’ve gone through.” Sarah glanced down at the floor and exhaled a ragged breath.

  At that moment, Chief Johnson strode into the room. He was startled to see the Super Spies and he peered at Wilson with a disapproving frown. “What are these kids doing here?”