by Kathi Daley
“I wonder how Coby knew Carl and Maria were so close,” I mused when we all settled down with our meals.
“Coby had the journals,” Bree said. “I guess what he told us they said and what they really did were quite different. After reading them, he knew Maria had stayed in touch with Carl, so he assumed he’d know where she would be.”
“Did Carl know where Maria is?” I asked.
“He said he didn’t, but I don’t know for sure,” Bree answered. “I hope Maria’s okay. It must be terrifying to have people after you.”
“Maybe she’ll be safe now that Coby has been arrested.”
“Someone hired him,” Tony pointed out. “I’m sure that same person can hire someone else. When you’re as rich and powerful as Milovich, the people he loves are never completely safe.”
Chapter 16
Saturday, February 17
“I’m really kind of nervous,” I said to Bree as I picked imaginary lint off my black wool pants. “I don’t know why I’m nervous, but I am.”
“I know,” Bree whispered back. “It almost feels like we’re meeting royalty. I wonder what she’s like.”
“Don’t overthink it. I’m sure she’s a lot like everyone else,” Tony added.
Tony, Bree, and I had been invited by Maria Milovich to visit her in the house where she’d been staying while she watched the drama surrounding Coby play out. After arriving in the United States and giving her bodyguards the slip, she went underground to watch him to see how things progressed. If there was one thing she’d learned as the wife of a rich, powerful man, it was not to trust anyone until you’d checked them out thoroughly. I felt bad for the woman. It must be hard to love a man others wanted to harm.
“I spoke to Carl this morning,” Tony commented, I think to distract us so we’d relax a bit.
“How is he?” Bree asked.
“He’ll be fine. It turns out, the bullet went straight through, producing a lot of blood but not damaging vital organs. He’ll be laid up for a while, but he told me Danko Milovich contacted him, and not only had he arranged to pay all Carl’s medical bills, he transferred a large sum of cash into his bank account as well.”
“Wow; that was really nice of him,” I responded. “And here I’ve been thinking of him as a monster all this time.”
There was a noise at the far end of the hallway. I looked up as an extremely beautiful woman who I realized right away must be Maria walked into the room. I stood up, uncertain whether I should bow, curtsy, or offer a hand in greeting.
“Thank you for coming.” Maria smiled, offering me her hand.
“Thank you for inviting us,” I answered. “I know this must sound crazy, but after looking for you this past week and talking to people who knew you, I feel like we’re almost friends.”
“We are friends,” Maria assured me. “I don’t know how I can repay you for saving Carl from the man who was masquerading as my son. I would never have forgiven myself if he’d died because of my stupidity.”
“You couldn’t have known what would happen,” Bree offered.
“On the contrary. After thirty-five years as Danko’s wife, I should have known exactly what would happen. I was rash and I’m sorry. I’ll be going back to Serbia this evening, but in the meantime, I’ve had a meal prepared for us. I hope you’re hungry.”
Bree looked downright pale, but Tony, who appeared confident and relaxed, took Maria by the elbow and indicated she should lead the way. I took Bree’s hand in mine and followed them. Once we were seated, a waiter offered us a selection of beverages. I wanted to keep my wits about me, so I declined wine and accepted water.
“Would it be okay if I asked you a couple of questions?” I asked.
“You may ask. I’ll answer whatever I can.”
“I feel like I have a fairly good idea of what occurred thirty-four years ago, but there’s one thing I’m not clear about. It seems you went directly home to your husband after giving birth to your child, but the information we uncovered suggested your husband continued to look for you for years after you disappeared.”
“My husband didn’t want the man who tried to kidnap me to know where I was, so he pretended to look for me when I was actually safe with him all along. Of course, that meant I couldn’t be seen in public. Not ever. During those first few years I remained in my suite, with only my husband, my bodyguards, and my servants to keep me company.”
“That sounds awful,” I said. “Did you ever consider leaving your husband and returning to your life in the States?”
“Being Milovich’s wife isn’t easy, and I thought of running away and changing my name so I could have a normal life quite often. In the end, however, I love my husband and am willing to do what’s necessary to remain in his life.”
“Seems like a lot to give up,” Bree said.
“Perhaps, but being married to Milovich was something I chose a long time ago, a choice I plan to honor.”
The conversation paused when the server brought our first course. When we were alone again, I asked the question in the forefront of my mind. “I know this is none of my business, but have you reunited with your son?”
Maria smiled. “I have. As it turns out, he has a wonderful life here in the States. A life I don’t intend to interfere with. We’ve spoken and will stay in touch, but no one will ever know he’s Danko Milovich’s son. There’s no way I would ever do anything to put him or his family in danger.”
“And you never had any other children?” Bree asked.
“Sadly, no. I’m afraid in the world in which I live, being the wife or child of a man such as Milovich makes you a weapon that can be used against him. I realized shortly after I married him that the world I’d chosen wasn’t one I would ever want to bring a child into.” Maria’s smile faded for just a moment. “But no need to feel sorry for me. I live a full life and am very happy. My child might not be in my life, but where he goes, so goes my heart.”
After lunch, Tony dropped Bree at her house and then drove toward my cabin.
“It’s early,” Tony said. “Do you want to do something? I have a new video game to test.”
“Actually,” I grinned, “I have a date with Brady. It’s a rain check from Valentine’s Day.”
“I see.”
“I’m pretty excited about it. When I spoke to him on Valentine’s Day, it sounded like he was relieved we weren’t going out, but he called me yesterday and said he was disappointed our dinner hadn’t worked out and wanted to reschedule. I’ve been wanting to try out that new restaurant, plus I did buy that smoking-hot dress. It’d be a shame if I never got the chance to wear it.”
“Yeah,” Tony answered. “A shame.”
I turned to look at Tony. He seemed genuinely disappointed I wasn’t free. “Shaggy is back in town; I ran into him yesterday. If you’re really in to trying out your new game, maybe he’s free. He’s a lot better player than I am, so you’ll probably have more fun with him anyway.”
Tony smiled as he pulled up outside my cabin. “I think Titan and I will just have a quiet night. I’m kind of tired. Have fun on your date.”
I leaned over and kissed Tony on the cheek. “Thanks. I’ll call you next week.”
Up Next from Kathi Daley Books
Farewell to Felines
http://amzn.to/2AwgK8f
Chapter 1
Monday, March 12
The hollow is a mystical place located in the center of Madrona Island. Given the rocky cliffs that encircle the area, it’s protected from the storms that ravage the shoreline. The hollow is uninhabited except for the cats who reside in the dark spaces within the rocks. One of the things I like best about the hollow are the whispers in the air. Most believe the sound is created by the wind echoing through the canyon, but I like to think the whispers are the cats, heralding my arrival.
“Do you hear them?” I asked Tansy as we hiked to the top of the bluff that overlooked the ocean in the distance.
“No. The cats are quie
t and that worries me.” Tansy has some sort of mystical power that’s tied in with the magic surrounding the cats. She and her best friend, Bella, are rumored to be witches. Neither of them will confirm or deny their witchy status, but both women know things that can’t be empirically explained. Tansy and I had decided to venture into the hollow after she had a premonition that the cats were unhappy and leaving the area for reasons she didn’t understand.
“It’s odd not to have seen a single cat by this point.” I paused and looked around. “Should we continue?”
“What does your intuition tell you?”
While I don’t have Tansy’s powers, it does seem I’ve been tasked with the responsibility of working with the island’s magical cats. It’s not something I asked for, but I know deep in my soul that my role with the cats is tied to my destiny. “My intuition tells me we need to climb higher.”
Tansy smiled and nodded for me to walk ahead of her on the narrow path. The trail was steep and covered in shale, making for a difficult and dangerous passage. I’m in pretty good shape, so I’m well equipped for a laborious hike, but I could sense a storm coming and was afraid it would arrive before Tansy and I would be able to make our way back down the trail and out of the hollow. Still, over time I’ve learned to trust her, so I continued, despite the risk. The trail narrowed as it wound steeply up the mountain. My legs burned as I struggled to keep my footing on the unstable ground.
“If your sense is that the cats are leaving the hollow, where are they going?” I asked. “We do live on an island, after all. It’s not like they can venture very far.”
“If the cats are intent on leaving they’ll find a way.”
I supposed Tansy was right. I knew one cat in particular who seemed to make his way between the islands with seemingly little difficulty. Of course, Ebenezer was a special cat who seemed almost human at times, but then again, all the cats I’d worked with were special in their own way.
Once we arrived at the summit, I paused to catch my breath and admire the view. The ocean looked dark and angry as the storm gathered just beyond the horizon. I listened once again, turning slightly so I was facing the sea. “My instinct tells me we should head inland, but a storm is coming and I’m not sure continuing is the best idea.”
“Never doubt your instincts, Caitlin Hart.”
I glanced back toward the narrow path. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to go on for a bit. I’d hate to have come this far and not find out what’s causing the disturbance.” The detour was going to add time to our journey and I hoped it wasn’t all for nothing. Usually it was Tansy who would lead the way while I followed. It felt somewhat unnatural for her to be walking behind me. I wondered if this wasn’t some kind of a test to prove my worthiness to expand my role as guardian to the cats.
We had just started down the path when Tansy gasped. I stopped walking and turned around to find her holding a hand to her chest. Her long black hair blew in the wind, creating a vail of sorts that framed her pale face. “Are you okay?” I walked back the way I’d come until I was at her side.
“No. I don’t think I am.”
“Should we go back?”
Tansy shook her head. “I am certain we must continue.”
“Are you in pain?” I didn’t think going on with a sick witch was a good idea at all.
“It is the hollow that’s sick. For magic to survive, a very specific balance must be maintained. I feel that balance has been altered.”
I had no idea what Tansy was talking about, but a bit of color had returned to her normally pale complexion that made me feel better. “Are you sure you want to continue?”
“I’m sure.”
I took a deep breath and turned back to the narrow path. “Okay. But let me know if you need to stop.”
I walked down the trail slowly so as not to tax Tansy, but to be honest, the farther I traveled the more urgent was my desire to run. “There’s a fork,” I said after we’d been walking a while. “Both paths are narrow and both continue inland.”
“Close your eyes and focus on the paths ahead of you,” Tansy suggested.
I did as she instructed.
“Which path feels right to you?”
“The trail to the left,” I said with a confidence I wasn’t really feeling.
“All right. Then we will continue to the left.”
I nodded and headed down that trail. I could feel Tansy walking behind me, but I could also sense her distress. I stopped and turned around. “I can go on alone if you want to wait for me here.”
“No. We’re close. Can you smell it?”
I took a deep breath and wrinkled my nose at the stench. “What is it?”
“The source of the disturbance. It won’t be long now.”
“Until what?” I had to ask. This whole thing was beginning to freak me out. After several years of witnessing some truly spectacular things, there’s no way I’m going to try to argue that magic doesn’t exist, but the idea that it depended on some sort of perfect balance was a bit hard to swallow.
“There.” I turned around in time to see Tansy pointing to a small body of water in the distance.
After we’d traversed the distance between where we’d stood and the small pond, I looked down at the murky surface of the usually pristine blue water. “Something’s wrong with the water. It smells awful. I think it’s been contaminated.”
Tansy frowned. “Yes, I’m afraid it has been tainted. I imagine the lack of clean water is the catalyst that is driving the cats away.”
“How can we fix it?”
“I sense the tainted water is a symptom of a larger problem. The answers we seek will reveal themselves in the coming days. We’ve done what we can for now.”
I turned and headed back in the direction from which we had come. As we neared the top of the path and the bluff, I heard thunder rumbling in the distance. I glanced out at the dark sea as we paused momentarily before continuing down the other side. The dark clouds had completely blocked the light the sun would have provided. I just hoped we’d make it back to the car before the worst of the storm hit.
“Do you think the cats will return if we can find the source of the contamination and fix it?”
“Perhaps.”
The walk down from the summit was accomplished much more quickly than the trip up. When we arrived at my car I noticed a large brown cat with bright eyes and pointy ears sitting on the hood. “Am I to assume this cat will be leaving with us?”
“Apollo is here to help.”
“With the water in the hollow?”
Tansy picked up the cat. She closed her eyes and whispered to it in a language I didn’t understand. The cat meowed a couple of times, and Tansy opened her eyes. “I’m afraid Apollo is here to help you resolve a different issue. Follow his lead and you’ll find the answers you seek.”
“Has someone died?”
Tansy nodded but didn’t answer. My heart sank. Occasionally, cats appeared to help me deal with a problem other than a murder, but most of the time when one of them appeared someone had died. I wondered who.
As we drove back to Pelican Bay, where Tansy lived with Bella, the sky continued to darken. The wind had picked up quite a bit, and I could tell by the heaviness of the clouds that we were in for a serious storm. I dropped Tansy at her house, then drove back toward the peninsula, where I lived. I was nearing the point where I turned on to the peninsula road when Apollo started meowing and jumping around the car. I slowed and eventually pulled over.
“What is it? Are you trying to tell me who’s died?”
“Meow.” Apollo began pawing at the glove box. I opened it, and a sheet of yellow paper fell out of it and onto the floor.
“That is just the program from Sunday services at St. Patrick’s.”
Apollo jumped from the front seat onto the floor. He picked the paper up in his mouth, then leaped back onto the seat. Once he was settled he placed the program on the seat between us.
“I don’t understa
nd what you want me to do. Today is Monday. Services are on Sundays.
“Meow.” Apollo placed his paw on the program.
I looked at what he seemed to be pointing to. “That’s the set list the adult choir sang during yesterday’s service. Do you want me to go to St. Patrick’s?”
The cat didn’t respond.
I tried to figure out exactly what it was the cat was pointing to. “Do you want me to pay a visit to Father Bartholomew? Oh God, he isn’t the one who died, is he?”
The cat still didn’t respond.
“It isn’t Sister Mary?” My heart began to race as the thought entered my mind. I’d known Sister Mary for most of my life. She was my best friend’s biological mother and almost a member of my family. “Please tell me it isn’t Sister Mary.”
Apollo just stared. I’m not sure if cats can experience frustration, but I got the feeling this cat was quickly becoming impatient with me. It seemed his silence represented a negative response, so I continued to guess at what it was the cat was trying to tell me. “Maybe someone whose name is on the list?”
“Meow.”
“Okay, good. Now we’re getting somewhere.” The first name on the list was Thea Blane, the new director of the adult choir. “Do you want me to pay a visit to Thea?”
“Meow.”
“Is Thea the one who’s died?”
“Meow.”
I closed my eyes and offered a silent prayer. She and I hadn’t been close, but I’d known her casually for quite a few years. She was single, lived alone, and didn’t seem to have any family on the island. Still, I was sure there were those who would mourn her passing. I looked at the darkening sky. Thea lived all the way over in Harthaven and the storm was getting closer. If I continued to her place, we risked getting caught in it. “Are you sure Thea’s the one we need to find?”