Cat Among the Fishes

by Louise Clark

  The wave had submerged Sledge too. He stood up, shaking water from his shaggy head and wiping it from his bearded chin. “I think I’ll go up and sit in the sun for a bit. Maybe I’ll build my own castle just so Stormy can demolish it.”

  Noelle emerged as he said that. “Really, Sledge? You’d do that?”

  “Sure,” he said. He gave her one of his glinting smiles. “Want to come help me?”

  “Yeah. Daddy likes sandcastles. We’ll build it by one of the minnow pools.” A gleam appeared in Noelle’s eyes. “Maybe Heather will get upset and say Stormy can’t do it, and we can tell her it’s my…” She pointed to her chest. “My castle and my cat can do whatever he wants to it!”

  “Let’s do it!” Sledge said, ever willing to dive into a cheeky stunt.

  “Noelle,” Christy said, a warning in her voice. But it was too late. Noelle was swimming energetically toward shore, Sledge splashing along beside her. Neither was listening to Christy’s cautious mom warning.

  “A dust up may be just what everyone needs,” Quinn said beside her.

  “Another one, you mean.” She sighed, watching her daughter and the rock star pause for a moment to play in the waves. “It turns out Dylan was the reason for Heather’s missing pills. He apparently planned to dump the whole bottle because his parents were fighting over Heather’s use of them, but he was interrupted.”

  “So that explains the pills, which will help Adam, but what about the evidence about the car? Did someone plant the tip deliberately? Or did he really see the car there?”

  Frowning, Christy looked at Quinn. “The tip must have been planted. Adam claimed he wasn’t at the info center parking lot. If he wasn’t there, how could anyone have seen Greg’s car?”

  Quinn returned her gaze steadily. “Because Adam was there? Because he’s the one who murdered Norman Laing and he’s trying to cover it up?”

  “Well, there is that.” Christy slipped into the water to float in place again. She paddled lazily for a minute, thinking about the case and all of the loose ends that didn’t make sense. “What did you think about the story Greg told us last night? About Corey Bunch becoming a quadriplegic after diving off a cliff into the rocks.”

  Quinn lowered himself into the water to float beside her. “A tragic accident. They were all in high school, so he was probably sixteen or seventeen when it happened.”

  “His life would just be opening up. Everything he expected for the future would be changed in an instant.”

  “Yeah,” said Quinn. “Greg called him a nerd, said he was bright, with a lot of potential. The accident meant no career, no independence.”

  “No love life or babies. It was Sheila’s tragedy too,” Christy said. She found her feet for a minute as a larger swell loomed. “It sounded like she nursed him for years. That must have been tough.” The wave passed. She sank back into the water again.

  Quinn moved his arms lazily, keeping himself in place. “In some ways, I suppose it was. Watching your kid struggle with a disability would be hard, but she loved him.” He looked directly at Christy. “You know what it’s like to love a child. There are no reservations.”

  His words and his expression warmed Christy. She smiled at him, a non-verbal thank you. “Yeah, I can see that.” She paddled some more, thinking. “Then why is she so chirpy? From what Greg said, Corey’s death was recent. If something happened to Noelle—” She shuddered, unable to even finish the sentence. “I wouldn’t be camping and smiling and having a good time a few months later.”

  “People grieve in their own way.”

  “I suppose.” They floated in silence for a time. “But the day we heard Shane Higginson was dead she seemed to be pleased, almost gleeful.” She turned her head to look at Quinn. “That’s odd, don’t you think? She knew Shane from the time he was a kid. Greg said he used to visit Corey regularly. You’d expect that she’d be sad… or something like that, even if it wasn’t full grief.”

  Quinn stopped paddling and righted himself. He was frowning. “She told you and Patterson that Shane was bullying Rhonda Hicks.”

  Christy grimaced and stood up. “Yeah. She disapproved of him. That would account for it, I guess.”

  She put her hand to her forehead, shielding her eyes against the sun. In its steady return up the beach, the ocean had submerged the lower tidal pool where Stormy was fishing. Ellen had retreated back to the umbrella, taking the cat with her, and was once more on her chair. Roy was sitting up now and it appeared he was giving directions to Sledge and Noelle. She laughed. “Sledge and Noelle went back to the original tidal pool to do their building. Your father’s decided to direct the castle construction.”

  Quinn looked back to shore. “So he is. They’ve already got two turrets up and a retaining wall in-between.”

  Christy enlarged her viewpoint. “I think there’s an arms race going on. It looks like Haley building a new castle. Heather and Tamara appear to be helping her. The castle is even bigger than before.”

  Quinn flopped back into the water. “Let’s stay here and be safe.”

  Christy laughed and sank into a wave. She floated on her back with her eyes closed. The sun was warm on her face, the water cool. Her mind drifted lazily. “Sheila Bunch seemed upset when she discovered Woodgate had arrested Adam.”

  “She did,” Quinn agreed.

  His voice was a low rumble beside her. She looked over. His eyes were closed, the dark lashes fanned out on sun-kissed cheeks, as he bobbed on the surface. He seemed to be as relaxed as she was. She closed her eyes again, visualizing the scene at the Farnsworths’ campsite the previous day. “It was almost as if she expected Woodgate to arrest Greg, not Adam.”

  “Why wouldn’t she?” Quinn murmured. “It was Greg’s car that was identified.”

  “Yeah.” The water surged around her, cradling her as she floated on it while the warm sun made her drowsy. Her mind drifted with the current. She hadn’t been at the camp the previous morning when the Farnsworth family had gone off on their mini golf expedition. She’d been on her way back from Long Beach with Quinn, Tamara, and Sledge, but after the arrest Ellen had mentioned that Haley came over to their site at breakfast, bragging about going to play mini golf. Noelle had been upset because they were going and she wasn’t invited. After Haley departed, Ellen said she’d used the incident as a teaching moment to help Noelle understand the importance of good manners and not doing or saying things that might make people feel jealous or hurt.

  Haley had a tendency to shout, no matter what she was talking about. If she wanted to brag, she upped the volume. The whole campground probably heard about the expedition to the mini golf place.

  The whole campground heard… Christy stood up abruptly, water sluicing from her short, red-brown hair and tanned skin. “Oh, my heavens!”

  Quinn opened his eyes. He looked over at her and smiled that lazy, appreciative smile that made her shiver inside. “What’s up?”

  “Sheila Bunch is the tipster.”

  He blinked, then he too stood up. He stretched and Christy admired the way the muscles in his chest moved under his skin. “What makes you think that?”

  “She told us she saw the mini van was gone, but more importantly, she knew the Farnsworths were going to play mini golf.”

  She told him about Haley crowing about it to Noelle. “She assumed the whole family was going and that was confirmed when the mini van drove off and Greg’s car remained. She may have left her own site before Adam headed out to the caves, so she didn’t realize there was someone left behind.”

  Quinn was frowning now, following her reasoning. “If the family was playing mini golf, Greg would have a solid alibi, so Woodgate would have to assume the tipster got some or all of the numbers on the plate wrong. He would then have to chase down cars of a similar make and model, but without the license plate it would be much more difficult to place a car and driver at the scene.”

  Christy nodded. “What if he was never able to find a gray subcompact that fi
t the criteria—other than Greg’s, that is? He couldn’t put Greg at the murder site, so he couldn’t arrest him, but he’d continue to believe Greg had something to do with the crime, even if Greg wasn’t the killer.”

  Quinn was frowning at her. “While he was chasing after Greg, and probably Adam Farnsworth, the trail would go cold.”

  “And the killer would finish her holiday at ClanRanald campground and go home.”

  Quinn’s gaze was steady on her face. “You think Sheila Bunch murdered both Higginson and Laing.”

  “She had good reason to hate them both. She was alone in her campsite with no one tracking her comings and goings. She could easily have slipped away to meet with and murder both men.” Christy put her hands on her hips in an unconsciously militant stance. “Now all we have to do is prove it.”

  Quinn’s slow smile lit his face. “I think you’re right.” He moved closer until their bodies were inches apart. “Warrior woman,” he whispered in her ear.

  She turned her head, met his eyes. His mouth was inches from hers. The urge to shift, just a little, and kiss him was strong. She hesitated, undecided. He took the initiative. His mouth covered hers, his lips playing a slow, easy rhythm that had her pulse quickening. She leaned into him, kissing him back and for a time all she thought about was her reaction to him and how right it felt.

  When he drew away his eyes were heavy lidded, their expression intent. “We need to talk,” he said.

  “Yes.”

  He reached up to stroke her cheek with the tip of his finger. “But first we have to catch a killer.”

  “Yes, we do.” She laughed and held out her hand. He took it in his and together they sloshed through the waves back to shore.

  Chapter 23

  “We have to get Patterson on side,” Christy said as they reached shallower water, nearly back at the beach. “That means talking to her.”

  “She’s probably at the cop shop in town,” Quinn said. He was staring at the tidal pool where Sledge and Noelle were constructing an extravagant castle. Haley Farnsworth had paused in her construction and was standing with her hands on her hips watching them.

  Ellen had relocated her chair and was sitting by the tidal pool holding the cat’s leash. Stormy, however, wasn’t fishing for minnows. He was sitting beside one of the towers. As Christy watched, he reached out to flick a turret out of existence. Sledge and Noelle ignored him.

  “She could be searching for clues anywhere,” Christy said, increasing her speed as they reached the edge of the water. She had a very bad feeling about what was happening up the beach. “I’ve got her cell number programed into my phone. I’ll call her before I leave and hope she’s brought it with her.”

  Quinn cast her a sideways look. “Before I leave? You’re going alone?”

  She shot him a quick look. “Are you suggesting you come too?”

  He met her eyes. “Yeah.” Then he smiled, that slow, attractive smile that always made her feel warm and cared for. “We make a good team.”

  He was right, they did make a good team. But… She wanted to ask him about Tamara, to have that discussion he’d suggested, but in the moment she couldn’t say the words. She looked up at the group by the tidal pool. Tamara was standing by Heather, who hovered over Haley. From their body language it appeared Heather was encouraging her daughter to work on her own castle. Haley crouched down and started to build.

  She shouldn’t be jealous of Tamara, but she was, and she shouldn’t be annoyed Tamara was focused on the Farnsworth kids, not Noelle, but she was. “Sure. I’ll track down Patterson, then head off. Ellen won’t mind staying with Noelle.”

  “Works for me,” he said.

  They walked up the beach, letting the sun dry them as they went. It was a beautiful day, with just the hint of a breeze to alleviate the heat from the cloudless sky. As they neared the tidal pool, the sounds of Haley’s high-pitched, childish voice interacting with Noelle’s deeper, more mature one indicated all was not well.

  “He’s going to wreck my castle!” Haley’s voice was loud and raised. Heather murmured soothing sounds. Tamara, who had been working on Haley’s sandcastle, stood up and looked concerned.

  Noelle dug out wet sand and dumped it in her bucket. “No, he’s not. He might pounce on my castle, but he won’t bother with yours.”

  Sledge was rebuilding the tower Stormy had demolished. Roy cocked his head and pointed. “You have an opportunity for expansion if you put a gate in your curtain wall and make a tunnel to the tidal pool. You could build a satellite castle there.”

  Quinn snorted with suppressed amusement.

  Sledge looked over, his gaze following Roy’s pointing finger, and grinned. “Good idea. What do you think, Noelle?”

  “I like it!”

  Maybe you could build a dock and help the cat with his fishing.

  Heather Farnsworth wasn’t paying much attention to what anyone but her daughter was saying. “Now, Noelle, why don’t you just take the cat over to your towels and keep it away from the sandcastles. Then everyone will be happy.”

  Noelle glanced up at her briefly. Her expression said she was having none of it. “Stormy won’t.”

  No, I won’t! Way to defend me, kiddo! Go for it.

  Sledge started to laugh. Roy glared at Heather along with Noelle.

  “They’ll come to blows in a minute,” Christy muttered to Quinn. “All of them, including your father.” She increased her pace, walking more quickly, almost jogging up the beach.

  Tamara touched Heather on the shoulder. “Why don’t you and Haley come down to the water?”

  “I have the cat on the leash, Heather,” Ellen said. “I have implicit faith in his good manners.”

  Way to put a damper on a guy’s fun, Aunt Ellen!

  Noelle lifted her chin. “Stormy only wrecked the castle before because Dylan was being mean to me. He won’t hurt Haley’s castle.” She narrowed her eyes. “In fact, I’ll show you! Come on, Stormy. Let’s bust up our castle.”

  Really? Oh, that will be fun! The cat launched himself on one of Noelle’s towers, which crumbled under his weight. Noelle kicked over the adjoining curtain wall. Sledge slammed his hand on his chest in the vicinity of his heart and made choking sounds. He landed in the tidal pool with a splash, arms and legs outstretched.

  Haley shrieked, “They’re doing it, Mom! Stop them before they hurt mine!”

  Heather rushed forward. “This is very bad behavior, young lady.”

  “Damn it!” Christy said. She was still too far away to do more than shout ineffectively. She began to run.

  Roy went to stand between Heather and the pair energetically destroying their sandcastle. “Chill,” he said.

  “Don’t you dare tell me to chill,” Heather said, furious.

  “That’s caught it,” Quinn said, jogging alongside Christy.

  “Your cat and that…” Heather pointed at Noelle. Her curled lip indicated Noelle wasn’t her favorite person at the moment. “And that child are causing my daughter stress she doesn’t need right now. I demand she stop creating such a fuss and leave the sandcastle alone.”

  “You’re the one making a fuss,” Ellen said. She had come up to stand beside Roy, defending her family. She shot Heather a piercing look. “Sit down. Noelle is doing nothing wrong and I have control of the cat.”

  Heather’s face went purple and her eyes blazed. “How dare you!”

  The cat flopped down on the mound of sand. My work is done.

  Heather lifted her foot. It looked like she was about to kick the soft mound of sand, if not the cat himself. Tamara reached out. “Heather, don’t!”

  Noelle yelled, “No! Don’t hurt him!”

  As Christy reached the group, Sledge emerged from the tidal pool and scooped up the cat.

  Haley began to cry. Heather’s shoulders suddenly sagged and she reached for her daughter.

  “Mom?” Haley said, sniffling and looking anxious.

  “I think your mom has a lot to d
eal with at the moment,” Christy said, keeping her voice level, though with some difficulty.

  “Mrs. Jamieson is right, Haley. Noelle can do whatever she wants to the sandcastle she built.”

  Hey, what about me?

  Sledge, who looked like he was having the most fun he’d had in days, said, “You’re coming with me.”

  Why?

  “We’re going to write a song.”

  Together?

  “Yup. About the battle on the beach.”

  Awesome! Do I write the lyrics or the melody?

  “We’ll negotiate.”

  He wandered off, the cat under his arm. Heather and Tamara looked puzzled, obviously thinking the conversation didn’t make sense. Haley hadn’t been listening, and the rest had all heard Frank’s part, except for Quinn, so Christy wasn’t worried. She said to Roy and Ellen, “I’m going into town. Is Trevor still at the police station?”

  Ellen nodded. “As far as I know. He hasn’t checked in recently.”

  Christy went over to Noelle. She was looking at the sandcastle disconsolately. “It’s not as much fun without Da… Stormy.”

  “Give it a few minutes to simmer down,” Christy said. She lowered her voice. “Then Daddy can help.”

  Noelle grinned at her. “I’ll go work on the song with them.” They bumped fists and Christy laughed. Noelle danced away to join the cat and Sledge under the umbrella. Ellen picked up her chair, handed it to Roy to carry, and followed.

  Tamara was helping Heather calm Haley down and Quinn was watching, his expression thoughtful. Christy said to him, “Still want to come with me?”

  He pulled his gaze away from Tamara, and nodded.

  “Okay. Let’s go.”

  On the way back to the campsite, Christy called Patterson and made arrangements to meet her at a coffee shop not far from the police station. While she was phoning Patterson, Quinn sent Trevor a text to let him know there were new developments and to ask him if he could attend a meeting with Patterson. After a minute, Trevor texted back, asking when and where.