A Cat on the Case

by Clea Simon

  “Is that why you sought my help?” Becca paused.

  “In part.” Ruby dipped her head.

  “And I thought, maybe, I could use my power.” Becca stopped herself and, leaning forward, looked out at the street once more. As she did, a loud thunk behind them, caused Ruby to jump. The grinding that followed signaled the elevator, making its return to the ground floor.

  “Come on.” Becca grabbed her hand. “I don’t know what’s going on. I do know we’ve got to get you out of here.”

  Taking advantage of a gust of gritty wind the pair ducked out of the building, racing around the far corner of the building and up an alley. Only once they were back on Mass Ave did Becca appear to relax. Tucking the younger woman’s arm under her own, she began walking quickly down the sidewalk.

  “We’re going back to the police,” she said, her voice firm.

  “What? No.” Ruby pulled away, darting back the way they had come – where she stopped.

  “What is it?” Becca ran to her and turned to follow her gaze. The heavy-browed man had just emerged from the alley and was craning his head in every direction. In response, Becca pulled Ruby back into a recessed doorway. She ducked as she did so, as if to make herself even smaller. She needn’t have bothered. Both young women were shorter than most of the pedestrians, and a quick glance out to the street showed the man still turning back and forth, scanning the crowd for his quarry.

  “That’s it.” Becca spoke in an urgent whisper. “The police. Now.”

  She pulled on the other woman’s arm, but Ruby cried out.

  “No, I can’t. Please.”

  Becca appeared torn.

  “I came to you for help.” Ruby pleaded. “This is why. Just – please – hear me out.”

  Clara’s heart sank. Becca might not really believe she had any magical powers, but what she did have was a big heart. Her pet didn’t need any of Laurel’s sensitivity to know what her person was going to say next.

  “Fair enough. We’ll go back to my place,” Becca said. “But you have to tell me the truth this time, Ruby. And if I think we should go to the police, then I’m going – with or without you.”

  The other woman nodded agreement, but Clara continued to feel uneasy until the two had hailed a ride, leaving their pursuers behind.

  Even when they arrived at Becca’s building, she didn’t relax. Something was wrong, the little calico could tell. Something – or someone… Seized by a sudden fear, Clara raced ahead, spriting herself through the front door and up the steps.

  “Relax, clown.” Laurel sat in the foyer, licking on front paw in a leisurely manner.

  “But – I thought…” Clara looked around. The sofa cushions were scattered on the floor, and, behind her sister, she could see that the bedcovers had been torn off Becca’s bed. “What happened?”

  “It wasn’t us.” Harriet paraded out of the bedroom, tail high. “Though I did rather well, if I say so myself.”

  “Summoning a spider.” Laurel coughed, though it might have been a furball. “Is I hadn’t suggested that it was a venomous bug, it wouldn’t have scared them one bit.”

  “Scared who?” Clara looked from one sister to another. Only just then, she heard the sound of a key in the lock, and the door opened.

  “Whatever…” Becca stepped in, her eyes wide as saucers. “Kitties?”

  But if Clara feared a reprimand, she was as stunned as Becca appeared to be when her person reached down to grab up both Clara and Laurel in one big hug. “Kitties! You’re okay! What? Who?”

  Ruby, meanwhile, had stepped into the apartment. “Oh, no.” She took in the disarray, which, Clara had to admit, was more severe than any cat could produce. “I should have known…”

  “Should have known?” Becca wheeled to face her, as the cats kicked free. “Ruby, what’s going on here?”

  “Watch it!” Clara had landed on Harriet’s tail. Any other cat would have scurried out of the way, but Harriet didn’t do anything in a hurry – and Clara had been distracted.

  “Hush, please!” Clara stared up at Becca. “I’m listening.”

  Becca was working up a head of steam. “What’s going on? What do you know?”

  “She’s clueless.” Laurel, who had landed much more gracefully several feet away, circled back to murmur softly in Clara’s ear. “She doesn’t realize that Becca already moved it.”

  “What?” Clara spun around to face her sister.

  “Your cats…” Ruby was staring down at them. “They’re fighting.”

  “They’re upset.” Becca bit the word off. “As am I. I’m calling the cops.”

  She whipped her phone out of her bag, but as she started punching in digits, Ruby reached for it.

  “No, please. Just – please, listen to me first.”

  Becca frowned, but she stopped dialing. “You know who did this.”

  Ruby’s mouth opened but no words followed.

  “You – wait.” Becca glared. “The door wasn’t… Did you give someone my key?”

  “No, I swear.” Ruby fished her copy out of her pocket.

  “That doesn’t mean anything.” Becca lifted her phone again. “You could have made a copy. Maddy was right.”

  “No, please.” Ruby reached out, placing her fingers on the edge of Becca’s phone. “Please, I’m sorry, but I don’t think you were robbed.”

  Becca tilted her head. It was all the invitation Ruby needed. “I mean, I’m sorry. I brought trouble to you. But I don’t think anything of yours has been taken.”

  She turned to take in the living room and the opened bedroom door. “Please, you can check. And if I’m wrong, then call the police.”

  Becca made a distinctly cat-like growl, her eyes narrowing into a glare that would do Laurel proud. But she turned, still holding the phone. “I’m keeping my thumb on enter,” she said, even as she turned toward her violated bedroom.

  “She shouldn’t trust her.” Clara followed, tail twitching in concern.

  “You’re right on that, Clown.” Laurel marched ahead, her own tail high. Harriet, meanwhile, had moved into the living room. The pile of sofa cushions on the floor made a perfect nest, and the big marmalade was loudly purring as she kneaded her favorite tasseled pillow into submission.

  “Thank you.” Ruby followed Becca into the bedroom and watched as she piled the covers onto the bed – and checked beneath it.

  “This is not because I trust you.” Becca rose and checked the closet. “I’m taking my cue from my cats. If there was anyone here, they wouldn’t be so calm.”

  Clara looked up at that and found Ruby staring at her. The intensity of her gaze was strangely disconcerting. “Your cats?”

  Clara blinked and forced herself to turn away.

  “Yeah.” Becca glanced over her shoulder at Ruby before looking through her bureau drawer. “They’re good judges of situations. Of character too, usually.”

  The insult was obvious, and Clara felt herself stung. What had they missed? Why hadn’t Laurel said anything? Even Ruby seemed taken aback, those long dark lashes blinked rapidly as if holding in tears. She wasn’t done though.

  “It is more than that.” She spoke softly, but there was an urgency in her voice that made her soft accent more pronounced. Clara flicked her ears forward. “When you let me sleep here, I thought they were talking to each other.”

  “Well, yeah.” Becca slammed the bureau shut with more force than necessary. “They’re litter mates – sisters. They talk. Maybe they were talking about you.”

  “Maybe they were.” Clara could almost feel Ruby’s gaze. It took all her will to appear oblivious. Just another animal. “But I think, maybe, it was more. In my country, we have stories…”

  “Look.” Becca turned on her. “I don’t want to hear any more stories about your quaint ways. Okay? And whatever you have to say, leave my cats out of it.”

  With that, she waved, ushering Ruby into the living room. And
as the dark-haired girl began retrieving and replacing the cushions on the sofa, Becca gave the rest of the main room – as well as the kitchen and the back entrance – a thorough once over, even checking the cabinets where she stored pots and pans and the cat’s big bag of kibble.

  “I could tell her that nothing has been taken.” Laurel was working diligently on her other paw by then. “I could implant the idea so that she thought it just came to her.”

  “Please, let her do this.” Clara wasn’t sure, but she suspected that the fussing helped their person to process. She also had her reservations about the stranger, and anything Laurel tried threatened to expose them more. “She can tell from us that there’s no more danger here.”

  “No danger.” Laurel’s dark-tipped ears flipped back, and she and Harriet – who had allowed her special pillow to be repositioned on the sofa – exchanged a look. Harriet flicked her tail in response, but before Clara could question either of her siblings, Becca had returned. Flopping onto the sofa, she motioned for Ruby to join her. As soon as the other woman did, perching tentatively on the edge of a cushion, Becca turned toward her.

  “Spill,” she said.

  Ruby looked at her hands.

  “Fine.” Becca pulled her phone out. “This was a courtesy, but I’m sick of being played. My home was broken into. I don’t know what part you had to play in all of this, but it’s pretty obvious you’re involved. I’m calling the cops.”

  “No, please. I’m sorry.” Ruby looked like she might cry again, but Becca appeared unmoved. “It’s complicated, and I’m so, so sorry I got you involved.”

  “It’s the violin isn’t it?” Becca shook her head. “Maddy was right all along. I trusted you. I thought I had power. I thought – I don’t know, I thought I could help you.”

  “You did! You have!” Ruby was sobbing now. “And I don’t care if now they have it.”

  “But they don’t.”

  Ruby looked up, confused.

  “Didn’t I tell you? I was going to bring your stuff to you. I left it all at Charm and Cherish.”

  Chapter 33.

  “Becca, you’re brilliant.” Ruby looked like she was about to hug her companion, but Becca held her off. “We should get it now.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “This doesn’t change anything.” Becca looked around her, before returning to the foyer to retrieve her bag. “I’m still calling the police. You lied to me. You’ve been lying all along about what’s going on. About that violin.”

  “No, it’s not–”

  But Becca was fed up. “Someone broke into my apartment to find it. That only makes it more likely that it had a role in the death of that poor man.” She looked around and shuddered. “I’m just glad neither of us were here.” She broke off, staring at her phone. “Bother…”

  She ducked into her bedroom.

  “Wait, please.” Ruby went after her, taking Becca’s arm as she emerged holding a cord.

  “I knew you shouldn’t have been playing with that thing.” Clara’s nerves were getting the better of her temper. Still, she was surprised by Laurel’s low growl.

  “No.” Becca shook her off. “Look, I’ll do this for you. I’m going to call a detective I know and not just 911. Just let me plug this in.” She pushed past the other woman. “I’ll talk to him and give him the background.”

  “Becca, I know–” Ruby tried again to interrupt, but Becca wasn’t listening. Instead, she was staring down at the device.

  “Oh, hell.”

  Meanwhile, Laurel’s growl was ratcheting up in intensity.

  “Hang on.” Becca held up her hand for silence, even as she raised the phone to her ear.

  “Maddy? Is that you?”

  A high-pitched burble on the other end had her focusing intently. The sound couldn’t drone out Laurel’s growl, however.

  “What is it?” Clara was losing patience. “I said I was sorry.”

  “Don’t be such a kitten.” Harriet landed with a thud. “This isn’t about you. Can’t you feel it?”

  Confused, Clara almost snapped back at her oldest sister when it hit her. A wave – almost like a cold breeze – only they were indoors. Safe.

  “That’s terrible.” Becca’s words brought her back, and she looked up to see her person scribbling on a pad. “Yes, yes. Thank you. I’ll be right there.”

  Clara fought back her own horror at the rising wave and focused on her person.

  “Ruby, I’ve got to go. And you – you should come with me.”

  The other woman stared at her in confusion.

  “It’s Maddy.” Becca said, even as she pulled her coat back on. “She’s in the hospital.”

  Chapter 34.

  Ruby resisted, but Becca wasn’t having any of it. “No,” she said, her tone quite definitive. “It isn’t safe. You’re coming with me.”

  Clara wasn’t entirely sure that it was Ruby’s safety that concerned Becca the most. It was, however, a convincing argument, especially given the disarray of the apartment. And so even though the dark-haired girl was clearly reluctant, she let herself be led out the door.

  “I could go to the conservatory and wait for you.” She protested feebly as Becca led her up to Mass Ave. The snow had started falling in earnest, and the white asphalt was marked only by the tracks of a passing bus.

  “Same problem.” Becca protested, scanning the street. A car approached slowly, windshield wipers revealing an anxious face. Becca waved and the driver slammed on the brakes, skidding slightly as he backed up and rolled the window down.

  “Becker? Becker Corwin?”

  “Close enough.” Clara was glad to see her person check the license plate before she ushered Maddy inside, if for no other reason than it gave the shaded calico a chance to jump up by the car’s rear window. “Mount Auburn Hospital.”

  The driver glanced back, his face drawn with concern. He was staring at Ruby, Clara realized. The dark-haired girl did look vaguely ill, with her pale face and dark eyes wide.

  “Step on it.” Becca must have caught that look. “Please.”

  Without another word, the driver took off so quickly that Clara had to dig her claws in to avoid being thrown back against the glass. Outside, streetlights were coming on, capturing the falling flakes. A hush seemed to have taken over the street as the two humans beside her whispered.

  “I’m sorry about your friend. Truly.” Ruby leaned in, her voice barely audible even to the cat. “But I shouldn’t be here.”

  “We’ll talk about it later.” Becca hissed back, all the while staring past the driver. “Up here is fine.”

  Becca was out of the car almost before it had fully stopped, racing toward the brightly lit door. But if Ruby thought she could remain behind she hadn’t counted on Becca’s ability to multitask.

  “Come on!” She urged the other woman out, pausing only to make sure she was being followed as she ran into the spacious lobby and paused, her head swiveling.

  “Is this the way to the ER?” She grabbed a plump redhead in scrubs, who turned on her in surprise.

  “Are you hurt? Let me get a stretcher!”

  “No, I’m looking for a friend.”

  He nodded and pointed down a hallway.

  “Thanks.” Turning briefly to make sure Ruby was behind her, Becca set out at a brisk enough pace.

  “I’m here to see Maddy Theribault.” She was leaning over a counter by the time Clara had caught up. She’d been trotting as fast as she could, but the foot traffic had made a straight-out run inadvisable.

  A mechanical buzzer startled the little cat, opening a set of doors beside the counter and unleashing a wave of sounds and smells. Clara hesitated, overwhelmed by the barrage, but Becca appeared undaunted. Beckoning for Ruby to follow, she passed through the doors and into a space bustling with busy humans and the beeping of machines.

  Clara dodged a white-shooed
foot. The rubber sole had made the oncoming tread almost soundless, and she jumped as a monitor buzzed nearby. Unable to see Becca, she started panicked, but even with the sharp bite of rubbing alcohol and other, more cloying scents, she picked up the warm aroma of her person, and found her further along the passageway, peeking behind a set of white curtains that hung to the floor.

  “Maddy?” Becca moved from one set of drapes to the next, then stopped with a gasp. “Oh, dear Goddess, Maddy. What happened?”

  “I’m not sure.” The woman lying in the bed bore little resemblance to Becca’s usually perky friend. To Clara, who had jumped to the wide windowsill, she seemed faded. Her pink cheeks were pale, and even her shiny smooth hair had fallen down from its usual neat bun to hang in limp tendrils around her face.

  “Maddy, are you all right?” Becca reached for her friend’s hand. Even that short exchange had seemed to tire her. “Do you want me to call for the doctor?”

  Maddy shook her head, and Becca appeared to relax.

  “It’s all right,” Maddy said. “I’m just a little woozy.”

  She paused and her eyes closed. But as Becca rose to seek help, Maddy woke. “Someone grabbed me,” she said, her voice gaining in urgency. “He threw me down to the ground and grabbed my bag. But he threw my bag down too. He didn’t even take my wallet. I don’t understand it.”

  As she fell silent once more, Becca couldn’t resist a question. “Where did this happen?”

  “Well, that’s just it, Becca.” Her friend blinked up. Already, it was clear from the swelling on the side of her face that she was going to have a nasty bruise. Possibly a black eye. “I was looking for you, and I’d gone over to Charm and Cherish. I wanted to tell you something.”

  She paused, and Becca leaned forward, her face drawn with concern.

  “Something I wanted you to know right away.” Maddy’s voice was barely audible, but Becca nodded. “You weren’t answering. I thought I’d come by. The shop was closed, I went around back and knocked. I’d just given up and was starting to walk away when it happened.”

  The two friends fell silent, and Clara – safely ensconced on the window ledge – turned from the snowy scene outside in concern. Neither of the humans before her had Laurel’s power. She was sure of that. Neither had the power of a day-old kitten. And yet the calico could have sworn that a message was passing silently between them.