by K. J. Emrick
“Then why did you take Anna’s book?” Jon asked him.
Still crying, Steve said, “I needed to get rid of the body. The evidence. All of it. The book had blood on it so I picked it up with the gun, but then I heard someone outside. I had to leave. I even left the money behind. I found out later that it was you that I’d heard, Darcy.”
He stopped his pacing abruptly and stood still with his head hanging down.
They weren’t done, though. “Why Jeff?” Darcy asked. She needed to know all of it.
“He got too close,” Steve explained, gesturing helplessly with his hands. “I had heard that Jeff had talked to Mark, asking for the town’s financial records. Like Anna, I just meant to talk to him. I had brought the gun for protection, but once again it got out of hand.” Steve started to pace again, frantically.
He stopped and turned to face them, yelling, “I didn’t mean to!” He lunged and grabbed the bars of the cell and Jon pulled Darcy back. “I love Jess so much. I’d do anything for her.”
“Even kill good people,” Darcy pointed out. Grace looked at her oddly, and she realized that she’d included her ex-husband with Anna as “good people.” “Why not just get a divorce Steve? That seems so much easier than killing people surely?”
“I couldn’t do that. I have a position to uphold in this town. A divorce would have ruined me.”
Darcy shook her head. “Why would a divorce have ruined you Steve? You would have still been Mayor.”
“Because Jess is not the kind of woman that a respectable Mayor has by his side. Helen has so much more respect in this town and was the perfect wife for me, except in the bedroom.” Steve screwed up his face in disgust and Darcy recoiled, saddened for her good friend whose only crime had been to stand by a man that didn’t love her.
“Come on, Darcy,” Jon said to her. “We’ve heard enough.”
Darcy was about to walk away with Jon and Grace when she had a thought. Turning back to the pathetic former Mayor Darcy said, “I know this is a longshot but do you know anything about Linda’s missing cat?”
Steve looked at her for a beat. “What?” Darcy could tell he was confused by the question.
“Didn’t think so but it was worth asking just in case.” With that she turned away from him for the last time and left him alone. She hoped he rotted jail for the rest of his life.
Chapter 23
It took several days for life to get back to normal. Misty Hollow was big news for a while as the media descended upon them to break the story of the town’s murdering Mayor.
Darcy was at work in her bookstore one morning after the news people had finally left town when she looked up and saw Smudge dashing across the square. He looked to be heading in the same direction as she’d seen him going that other time a few weeks ago.
“Watch the store for me will you Sue? I have a quick errand to run.” She didn’t wait for Sue’s answer and was out the door and following her cat in double quick time.
He was dashing down the sidewalk heading in the direction of the industrial district again and Darcy wondered what on earth he was up to? What was out this way that would be of interest to her cat? She really didn’t know what he got up to when he wasn’t with her.
She carefully followed him as he raced across the lawns and sidewalks making sure to keep up with him this time. She was still close behind as he got to the narrow street that led away from town toward the section comprised of large warehouses and storage facilities. She had been pacing herself better this time and didn’t have the painful stitch that had ended her pursuit of him last time.
She followed him down the narrow street and emerged onto a wider road. There was barely any traffic about and it was easy to keep track of him as he raced down the sidewalk. He stopped in front of one of the larger buildings and he slipped in through a hole in the fence. Out of nowhere came a huge, black dog, barking madly with slobber flying from his mouth. Smudge didn’t miss a beat as he bounded up the side of one of the buildings inside the fence perimeter. The dog skidded to a stop down below barking furiously. Smudge just looked down on him with a haughty expression.
His gaze then turned back in Darcy’s direction like he’d known she was there watching him. For a moment he looked straight at her and she knew then that he had known she was following him all along. She could see he had something in his mouth but couldn’t work out what it was. Then she watched as he slipped easily inside the building through a broken window.
What was he up to? Did he want her to follow him? It seemed like he might. She wasn’t sure what to do about the dog who was still standing at attention waiting for Smudge to come back. The dog was a problem but she needed to get into the building so see what Smudge was up to.
As she was debating what to do a shiny black Cadillac Escalade with dark tinted windows pulled up across the road and the passenger door flung open. Darcy couldn’t see who was driving but heard someone whistle and call out in a deep gruff voice.
“C’mon, you mutt!” Recognizing the voice, the dog instantly left his post, slipped through the hole in the fence and up into the vehicle. The door slammed and the huge SUV powered away.
Darcy breathed a sigh of relief. One problem taken care of. Now she needed to find her cat. She ran across the road and checked the spot in the fence that Smudge had entered and the dog had exited through. She found that it was just big enough for her to squeeze through.
Now how was she going to get inside the building? She couldn’t very well climb up and get in the way Smudge had. It was too high and there were no hand or foot holds that she could see. There must be another way in.
She was worried about her cat. Why would he be coming all the way out here? She couldn’t think of one reason but he was a cat after all and who knew what they got up to when their owners weren’t looking.
She worked her way around the entire outside of the building trying every door to see if one may have been left unlocked.
No luck.
Just as she was about to give up and find somewhere to wait for Smudge to emerge she found a little flap of sheet metal that was bent slightly backwards like someone else had used it as a way in at some time.
Darcy wasn’t sure that she would be able to fit. It looked more like a space for a child than an adult. She didn’t think that the dog would have even been able to fit through.
She inspected the opening to make sure that there were no sharp edges. She didn’t want to take the chance that she might injure herself in the process of going through the opening.
It looked pretty safe. The edges were mostly smooth with only a couple of sharp points. She pushed the flap of sheet metal up as far as she could. She was sure to keep well away from the sharp points as she carefully squeezed her way through the opening but still managed to snag her sleeve on one of the rough edges. After a brief struggle, she was able to free herself without too much difficulty.
It was darker inside here. She took a couple of moments to let her eyesight adjust and thought that it might have been smart to let someone know where she had gone. But she didn’t really have time and now there was no way to let anyone know.
She shrugged. Too late now to go back. This was one situation that it would have been handy to have a cell phone but there were valid reasons she didn’t have one. She hoped that everything would be okay and she wouldn’t have the need to call for help anyway.
She needed to see what her cat was up to. She carefully made her way further into the building. It was mostly empty thank goodness. There were some large cardboard boxes throwing dark shadows across the floor and some odds and ends of wood and metal strewn about. She was careful where she put her feet though just in case.
Now where was Smudge?
She listened carefully for any sound that might give her some idea of what direction to go. Apart from the wind blowing through the eaves it was silent. She moved quietly further into the building all the time listening for any sound.
Hearing a rustl
ing noise behind her she stopped still and listened. For a few moments it was silent and then she heard it again. It was definitely coming from behind her and it sounded like a kind of rustling noise. She was no longer alone. Something or someone was definitely coming her way. Heart rate accelerating in her chest she took a deep breath and debated whether to go back the way she’d just come and check it out.
She was sure that Smudge was further in and her goal was to find him. But the rustling noise was disturbing. Of course, it could just be another cat, or a mouse or rat, but she couldn’t be sure of that. Her instincts were screaming at her that it was the two legged variety of animal that was stalking her.
She hadn’t seen anyone else about when she had been outside but that didn’t mean there hadn’t been someone hiding in the shadows, watching her.
She decided to wait the person out. She armed herself with a nice solid piece of wood about the size of a baseball bat and then found a little niche in among the stacked cardboard boxes and settled down to watch and wait. It didn’t take long before a dark figure crept past her hiding place. She’d thought she was done with dark figures stalking her.
Slowly and quietly she worked her way out of her hiding spot and crept up behind the figure. She lifted the makeshift baseball bat up and back ready to strike a hard blow to his head when he, before she could blink, swiftly turned toward her and grab one of her arms holding the bat away from him so she couldn’t club him over the head with it. He wrestled the bat out of her hands and bent one of her arms up behind her back. He was strong and tall and she didn’t have a hope of getting away from him.
She panicked and started to struggle violently against him.
“Darcy, Darcy stop, it’s me. It’s Jon.” It took a moment for his voice and words to penetrate her panic. “It’s okay love, it’s me. You’re safe.”
All of the fight went out of her for a moment and he loosened his grip on her arm. Panic was replaced with anger. Turning around quickly she pounded her fists against his chest. “For Pete’s sake Jon, what are you doing? You just about gave me a heart attack, especially after all that’s gone on over the last few weeks and with Steve trying to kill me. Did you not think that perhaps it would have been wise to let me know you were here?”
She moved away from him then breathing deeply, trying to calm down.
“I’m sorry Darcy. I guess I didn’t think. I was on patrol in the area when I saw you heading into the building and was worried about you. I decided to follow you just in case you needed help.”
Darcy sighed. It was kind of sweet of him to worry about her. She just wasn’t used to someone being concerned about her. She looked at him and he seemed so earnest. It was impossible to remain mad at him.
She smiled and he visibly relaxed. “It’s okay Jon. I’m not mad at you. When I heard someone coming I was just scared I guess. I appreciate you looking out for me. I’m not used to someone caring.”
Jon pulled her into his arms and squeezed for a moment. Letting her go he said, “What are you doing here anyway?” He looked up and down and all around. “It’s not really structurally sound.”
“I followed Smudge in here. I don’t know what he is up to coming into a place like this. I don’t want him to get hurt.” Just then a blur of black and white fur scampered up to them and wound himself around Darcy’s ankles.
“Smudge!” She scooped her big tom cat up into her arms. “Where have you been? What have you been getting up to?”
Smudge struggled in her arms and pushed his way out, dropping to floor. He scurried away but stopped a little way away from them, looking back at them, his eyes wide and intense.
“If I didn’t know any better I would think he wants us to follow him,” Jon said slowly.
“It certainly looks that way doesn’t it?” Darcy smiled. “Okay boy, what is it? Show us.”
Smudge looked at them for a moment more and then took off further into the building. Jon and Darcy followed him as quickly as they could but they weren’t as adept at getting over the debris littering the floor as the cat was and he had to wait for them a couple of times.
It wasn’t long before Smudge stopped and Darcy and Jon caught up to him. He was sitting next to a hole in the floor about three feet by three feet. He let out a heart rending meow, followed by another. Darcy was instantly concerned. Her cat just didn’t meow like that, ever.
“What on earth…” Darcy was about to pick him up when Jon held her back.
“Hang on a minute.” He carefully lowered himself to the floor on his stomach and wriggled his way closer to the hole. “Oh wow…”
“What is it?”
“Come look for yourself, but be careful.”
Darcy copied what Jon had done and as she looked over the edge of the hole she couldn’t believe it. Down below in what must have been the basement of the building was a big ball of snowy white fur surrounded by four smaller balls of snowy white fur with little black faces and black tipped ears.
“Persephone!” Darcy was overjoyed to see Linda’s cat alive and… mostly well. And she’d had kittens. How on earth had she gotten herself trapped down there. Darcy guessed it had something to do with that big dog from before. More importantly how had she been surviving all of this time? It was weeks since she’d gone missing. Darcy had a sneaking suspicion that Smudge had been feeding her so that she would survive. He was such a good cat. Linda would be ecstatic.
Jon stood up and began dialling on his cell phone. “We’re going to need some help.” he replied to Darcy’s puzzled look.
About ten minutes later, a couple of men from the local fire brigade had arrived and rescued the poor cat and her kittens. Jon had called Linda as well, and she arrived shortly after the firemen did. As expected, Linda was thrilled to see her friend safe and sound, if a bit dirty.
Darcy watched it all unfold with a big smile on her face, and a black and white cat by her side.
“Well, Smudge.” She knelt down to pat him. “It seems we’ve both had a couple of busy weeks.”
Smudge meowed in agreement.
Chapter 24
A few days later after the excitement of solving the missing cat mystery had died down Darcy was working in the book store while Sue was out on an errand. She was tidying up, rearranging some books and generally getting rid of the dust that had accumulated.
It felt good to have nothing more important than this to worry about. Everything was good now. Two mysteries had been solved and even the fog had cleared out over the past few days. Misty Hollow was just a sleepy little town again.
Smudge was lying in a patch of sunlight up on top of the nearest bookshelf. He had spent a considerable amount of time cleaning himself this morning and she wondered if he had plans for later. Maybe he had a girlfriend at one of those places he visits when he disappears. She laughed at her train of thought. Sometimes she fancied that Smudge was more human than cat.
She jumped when she heard the bell over the door ring. She looked up and smiled when she saw Jon walking toward her.
He came right up to her and with no hesitation pulled her into his arms. His kiss was warm and familiar. They’d had a lot of practice over the last few days. The faint image of her great-aunt materialized just to the left behind Jon. The old woman’s spirit was smiling indulgently at Darcy. Then she nodded her head and dissipated in a puff of mist. Darcy took it to mean that Millie now approved of her relationship with Jon. She felt comforted by the knowledge.
“Well, hello yourself,” she said when Jon let her go. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“I am. But I missed you.”
She smiled at him. It felt good, being this happy. Smudge jumped up on the counter between them and purred. He was a bit of a hero around town now after finding Persephone and helping to bring her safely home to Linda. She had promised to keep him in cat treats for life as a reward for his bravery.
Jon laughed at him and scratched the cat’s ears. “I guess we’ll have to shar
e Darcy,” he said to Smudge. “How does that sound to you?”
Smudge meowed and pressed his head into Jon’s hand.
Apparently, Darcy thought with a smile, Smudge was fine with that arrangement.
-End-
Chapter 25
Bonus - The Missing Cat Mystery
(Smudges Point of View)
It’s a common human misconception that cats spend all of their time sleeping.
Not true.
We may look like we’re sleeping but what we’re really doing is continuously scanning our territory for any abnormality.
Like now.
I may look like I’m sleeping at the end of Darcy’s bed all snuggled up in the blankets. But what I’m really doing is monitoring my human’s sleep pattern. She is thrashing about, making little noises and I can tell she is having a nightmare.
It’s not a pleasant one and is probably more than a dream. Darcy is different than most humans. She is so much more sensitive to the atmosphere around us.
Darcy’s thrashing is getting more violent so it’s time for me to remove myself before I get kicked off. It’s happened before and it’s not pleasant believe me.
I’m never sure what’s the best thing to do in this situation. Should I wake her up? Or is it better to let her sleep through it? If I wake her up now she may miss some piece of vital information that could mean life or death.
Better to let her sleep through it.
I wait patiently by the side of the bed. I don’t have to wait too long. There’s more violent thrashing as she wakes up with a long wrenching gasp. It scares me a bit I’m not afraid to admit. This was a bad one. Not your ordinary dream.
She squeaks as I jump up onto the bed again. I rub up against her so that she knows it’s me and that she’s not alone.