by Cate Conte
Chapter 62
Felicia put down her spatula and pushed her sleeves up. I noticed that for the first time since I’d met her, she looked calm. Her hands weren’t shaky, and she seemed sure of herself.
“I wondered when someone would figure it out,” she said. “But I guess that girl had so much else going on that it wasn’t immediately clear, was it?”
I was a little surprised that she’d admitted it so easily. Or what if this calmness was just an act? What if she tried to do something and get away? I started to sweat. I glanced casually—I hoped—around the room. The staff were far enough away and making enough noise with their dishes and pans that no one was hearing us. I just hoped they’d notice if she made any quick moves. Like, if she tried to shove a catnip mouse down my throat.
Felicia must’ve sensed how jittery I’d become. “Don’t worry. I didn’t expect to get away with it, Maddie. Honestly, I’m surprised no one’s figured it out yet. But when Adele confessed, I admit I had a few moments of thinking maybe I could get away with it. But that wouldn’t have been right. I made a choice in the heat of the moment, and I’m willing to accept the consequences. As long as Gigi is all right, I can accept whatever they want to do to me.”
She shoved a piece of hair out of her face, leaving a smear of frosting over her eyebrow. “I wanted to do this job. I wanted to prove to all those people out there that I am good at what I do. That no matter what those nasty women said about me and my daughter, it didn’t change that fact. And I wanted to make some money for Gigi. So please, make sure the money from this goes to her. I added her name to my business account so she can access it. Will you promise me that?”
“Felicia—” I had no idea what to say. Was she going to turn herself in? Kill herself? Then I had another thought. What if she decided to do something crazy and dire as the grand finale to the evening? That would certainly top the announcement about how much money was raised.
“Please, Maddie. I did a terrible thing, thinking I was doing it for my daughter, and my family, and all the pain they caused. But I couldn’t live with myself very long. These last two weeks have been … stressful, to say the least. And I certainly can’t live with the pain my daughter is in over this, never mind the poor woman who for some reason I will never understand confessed to something she didn’t do.”
I could hear the live auction through the doors, in between the kitchen noises. I hear a thousand! Can I get eleven hundred? The dessert trays were disappearing one by one as the servers rushed in and out with them. And yet here we stood, frozen in this terrible moment, like one of those videos where life is rushing on around the tragic figures in a blur as they tried to figure out what to do next. For the first time ever, I was glad that Sergeant Ellory was nearby. I wanted to run out and get him, but I was afraid of what would happen if I left her here.
“I think Adele thought either Gigi or her nephew had actually done it,” I said quietly. “And she thought it would be better for her to take the rap.”
Felicia shook her head sadly. “She should’ve just let it be. They never would’ve figured it out, probably.”
I doubted that, but I didn’t want to say so and make her mad. But it still wasn’t obvious to me how she’d come to shove a mouse down Holly’s throat. “But how?” I blurted out. “How did you get in their house? Did you go there just to … to do that?”
She shook her head. “Adele called me. Told me about what Gigi was doing there. She’d gone over for her own reasons. I think she was trying to see if Holly had gone elsewhere and gotten a cat or something. But she saw Gigi and called me, afraid that the whole thing would backfire and they would have her arrested or something. So I went over and entered through the beach.” She shrugged. “I still had a key to the gate from when I catered for them. I thought the coast was clear, but Holly and her boyfriend were outside arguing. I waited until he left and I thought she went inside, but she hadn’t. She spotted me trying to slip into the kitchen. We had words. I tried to take the high road but she was just…” Felicia blinked back tears. “She was just being so nasty. I just wanted her to stop. I asked her. I asked her to just stop, could we please talk this over, but she was yelling and screaming about how she was going to call the police. The music was so loud inside no one heard, but I needed her to stop. So I…” She swallowed. “I had a bunch of those mice in my pocket. Gigi had given them to me. For my cat, Samuel.” She looked at me, hopeful again. “Will you take care of Samuel for me? Or find someone who can?”
Wordless, I nodded. She was losing it. Or maybe she wasn’t. Maybe she’d lost it that night with Holly, and now she was just calm and focused on putting things back in order.
“Thank you.” Visibly relaxing, she leaned against the counter.
“So then what?” I prompted. From the corner of my eye, I saw my friend the server and prayed that he’d stay far enough away so she’d finish the story.
“I just stuck it in her mouth. Really, I was trying to shut her up. I didn’t mean to kill her. But I guess … I shoved a little too hard. It went halfway down her throat. Her eyes got all big and she tried to hack it up, but she couldn’t. She got more and more panicked. And I just ran.” Felicia’s gaze dropped to the ground. “It was a very, very bad decision.”
You think?
“Felicia,” I said softly, putting a hand on her arm. “I’m not sure what you’re planning on doing, but I’m sure we can get you some help. My dad knows a lot of people—”
“I don’t need any help, Maddie,” she interrupted. “Thank you, though.”
We both turned as my server friend approached. “Excuse me,” he said, nodding at me before turning to Felicia. “The party’s starting to wind down. Desserts and coffee are done. Is there anything else we need to bring out before we clean up?”
She shook her head, the movement tired. “No, Jackson. Thank you, though. I think we’re done here.”
He nodded and walked out of the kitchen.
“So what are you going to do? Please tell me you’re not going to try something like Gigi did. It’s not worth it, Felicia. I bet they can make a deal or something. You’ll still have a life when it’s over. Please don’t think about killing yourself.”
She stared at me. “Oh, my dear. I’m not going to kill myself.”
I wanted to scream as Jackson returned to the kitchen. But this time, he had Ellory with him. They walked directly over to where we were standing.
Ellory ignored me. “Ms. Goodwin. You need to come with us,” he said. “We won’t handcuff you and we’ll take you out the back.”
My mouth fell open as Jackson, who apparently wasn’t merely a server, took her arm.
Felicia looked just as shocked as I felt, but she recovered nicely. “Well, you saved me the trouble,” she said. “Maddie, I was going to turn myself in. I just wanted to get through tonight, as I told you.” She looked at the cops again. “I’m ready.”
Jackson looked at me apologetically before he began leading her away. “I’m sorry, Ms. Goodwin,” I heard him say. “Your food really was excellent.”
Chapter 63
Monday
“It’s great to be back.” Adele looked around the café as if she hadn’t seen it in years, when really it had been a week. “And the renovations have started, I see.” She motioned to the official blueprints Gabe had dropped off just that morning. The job was back on track.
I nodded. “Gabe has been great.”
“I told you,” she said. “Aside from his poor choices in women, he’s a wonderful guy.”
“I was afraid you were taking the blame for him,” I said. “Once I found out he’d been seeing Holly and she’d treated him so poorly.”
“Well,” Adele said. “I have a confession to make.”
Oh God. I didn’t think I could take more intrigue. I held my breath.
“I thought I was taking the blame for him,” she said. “Once I heard what happened. After I called Felicia about Gigi, I got the heck out of there. A
nd I saw my nephew. I knew he’d gone there to try and repair things with her. So I immediately thought the worst when I heard. And then of course they thought it was me.” She shrugged. “Which was crap, but at least it took the heat off him. But then all kinds of things started happening.” She looked pointedly at me.
I flushed. “I never thought you did it. I didn’t want you to take the blame.”
“Yeah, well.” Adele shrugged. “I feel awful for Gigi.”
So did I. She hadn’t taken the news about her mother well at all. Word had it she’d been checked into a psychiatric facility where people could keep an eye on her given her fragile state of mind.
Grandpa came in and beamed when he saw Adele. “She’s back!” He went over and hugged her. To my surprise, Adele hugged him back.
“Now,” she said briskly, wiping at her eyes when he released her. “Let’s get these cats ready for showtime. We need to have some adoptions today!”
“I’m with you,” Grandpa declared.
They started working, Grandpa chattering away, catching Adele up on everything that had happened at the café this week. I watched them with a smile. At least one person had a happy ending out of all this. A rap at the screen pulled my attention away. I glanced over. Lucas.
I must’ve forgotten that someone had a grooming appointment, but I couldn’t think of who it could be. I went over and unlocked the door. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he said. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure.” I waited expectantly.
“Like, outside?” he asked.
“Oh. Sure.” I followed him on to the porch. We sat on the swing. He was silent for a minute while I wondered what this was about.
Finally he spoke. “Maddie. Listen. I’m sorry about the other night.”
I looked at him, stunned. “You are? No, I should be sorry. I am sorry. Really sorry,” I added, in case it wasn’t clear. “I messed up. And I’ve regretted it ever since.”
Lucas shook his head. “I overreacted. I was feeling really insecure because of Craig and all that. I was being childish. Of course this affected you. It was selfish of me to think it didn’t.”
“Lucas. Honestly, there’s no need to apologize. Can we just … start over?” I held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t say that he didn’t want to do that, he just wanted to clear the air because we had to work together, or some other excuse.
But he reached over and took my hand. “I’m in,” he said. “How about tonight?”
I hadn’t felt this happy in weeks. “Tonight is perfect,” I said.
“Good. Now. Can you avoid any dead bodies at least until then?”
I smiled. “I’ll do my best.”
Look for the next Cat About Town mystery, available in the summer of 2019 from Cate Conte and St. Martin’s Paperbacks!
St. Martin’s Paperbacks titles By Cate Conte
CAT ABOUT TOWN
PURRDER SHE WROTE
About the Author
CATE CONTE is the author of Cat About Town, the first novel in her acclaimed Cat Café mystery series. She is a member of Sisters in Crime National, Sisters in Crime New England, Mystery Writers of America, and the Cat Writers’ Association. She lives in Connecticut with her cats (and a dog). You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
St. Martin’s Paperbacks titles By Cate Conte
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
PURRDER SHE WROTE
Copyright © 2018 by Liz Mugavero.
All rights reserved.
For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
eISBN: 9781466883451
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St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / August 2018
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.