by Eryn Scott
“Another lovely feature is that there’s access to the crawlspace underneath the house right here in the finished basement.” Vivian gestured to a large, cast-iron door set into the wall.
The instinctual, animal part of Hadley’s brain set alarm bells blaring the moment she locked eyes on the door. Her skin grew clammy as her inner dialogue freaked out. All she could think was, That’s no crawl space, it’s where a killer stores bodies… or people who are doomed to become bodies.
As if to prove her point, something cried out from behind the door.
Hadley’s heart stopped. Oh no. There’s a ghost in here with us.
“So, that was terrifying.” Suze’s voice shook as she backed up a few steps. “Just checking you two heard that as well, and whatever monster lives here isn’t trying to lure me into the scary hole by myself.”
Hadley swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. “No, I heard it.”
Even Vivian—who seemed, up until that point, to be pretending everything inside the house was normal—gulped and nodded. “That definitely sounded like someone calling for help.”
They glanced at each other as the sound happened again.
“I can’t believe I’m going to do this.” Hadley shook her head as she walked forward.
Her fingers shook as she reached for the heavy iron clasp that latched the scary door shut. She felt like a character in a horror film and hoped beyond hope this wasn’t the moment where the whole audience screams at her to not open the door.
Just as her fingers closed on the latch, the hairs on her arm raised as she had a terrible thought. Vivian had brought them there just after Hadley had asked the question about her knowing Charlie. What if the woman was the killer, knew they were onto her, and brought them to her murder house to trap them in the nightmare dungeon she kept in the basement?
Glancing back at the realtor, she studied the woman’s face. There was a flicker of fear in the woman’s face which matched Suze’s—and probably Hadley’s as well. She let her guard down again. The realtor was just as freaked out as they were.
Here goes nothing, Hadley thought as she wrenched open the door and held her breath.
Even though she purposely didn’t breathe in, the smell of damp earth and mildew careened out at Hadley, as if it had been contained in there and was just as eager to leave. Blinking into the darkness, Hadley tried to make out shapes or anyone who might’ve been crying out moments before.
She jumped as something moved in the darkness.
13
The shape came barreling toward her in the dark. Hadley braced herself for whatever was about to happen. She wanted to slam the door closed, but was frozen on the spot as if she were a rabbit facing down a wolf.
Just when she thought she might pass out from the fear coursing through her body, Hadley focused in on the murky crawlspace, and she made out an orange creature.
“Mew.” The sound was strained, like someone whose voice was failing after they’ve yelled too much.
The orange shape put its paws up on the edge of the doorframe, rolling wild, white-rimmed eyes at Hadley.
“Mew?” it seemed to ask this time.
“It’s a kitten?” Suze asked from a safe distance behind her.
“It’s a kitten.” A grin pulled across Hadley’s face. She felt like laughing or crying, or both, from the relief of it all. “How in the world did you get in here?” she asked the small, dirty creature as she scooped it up in her hands.
Vivian exhaled the breath she must’ve been holding. “I recognize you,” she said, walking forward to pet the cat. “I showed this house last week, and this little one was running around outside.”
“But then how’d it get in the creepy dungeon?” Suze asked.
Vivian leveled her with an exasperated look, but Suze just shrugged.
“I’m not the only one who shows this house. Maybe when someone else was touring it, the cat slipped into the crawlspace and they didn’t realize it.”
The kitten was purring and its eyelids fluttered as if it were already falling asleep. The poor thing must have been stressed out and scared beyond measure. Hadley held it closer. “Or someone put you in there on purpose.” Her face contorted into a frown at the thought.
Neither Suze nor Vivian seemed ready to dispute that possibility, so Hadley decided something.
“I’m taking her… him?” She peered at the cat’s face as if it might tell her. “This kitten is skin and bones. I don’t know how it has survived up until now, but if it’s been living in an abandoned house, taking it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
Vivian swiped her shoulder-length hair out of her face. “It could’ve belonged to the people who just vacated the house last month. They left in a hurry.”
“I wonder why?” Suze asked, sarcasm dripping from her question.
Ignoring Suze, Vivian said, “We see this a lot. People aren’t sure if they’re going to be able to bring animals to their new residence, so they don’t chance it, they leave them behind. Or they don’t want to have to worry about another mouth to feed when they’re on the move.”
Hadley tried hard not to be judgmental of others; she knew everyone was dealing with their own problems in their own, unique circumstances. And even though she couldn’t imagine ever leaving Ansel behind—even in the weeks she’d had him, he’d become an integral part of her life—she decided to assume the people who left the kitten thought it would find a better home.
Like with me, she thought to herself as she scratched its head.
“Okay, let’s get out of here.” Hadley turned toward Vivian. “This place gives me the creeps.”
Vivian, the only one still unconvinced of the house’s lack of charm—or maybe the woman was that committed to making a deal—set her jaw and led them up and out of the basement.
The kitten was asleep in Hadley’s arms by the time Vivian pulled away from the house, taking them back to the realty office in awkward silence.
“I apologize that you didn’t see more of what you were hoping for today,” Vivian said as she parked and turned off the car.
“Oh, that’s okay.” Hadley smiled reassuringly. They all climbed out of the vehicle and walked into the air-conditioned foyer.
“Hadley, I’ll be in touch. I’ll do some more searching, and we can try again in a few days. Unless, of course, you think we could go a little higher in your budget.” Vivian looked as if someone had handed her a hundred dollars and told her it was all they had to buy a house.
Consciously working to keep the smile on her face, Hadley nodded. “A few days sounds great, but let’s stick with the figures I gave you.”
“Will do.” Vivian’s tone was clipped. She turned to the receptionist. “Genevieve, will you help Miss James set up an appointment for early next week, please?” She pulled a lipstick out of her purse and popped the lid off to slick some across her lips.
Hadley didn’t even hear Genevieve’s reply because she was too focused on the lipstick. Vivian’s was in a black, opaque plastic container with a gold, plastic strip wrapped around the middle. The tube was about as different from the pink-and-silver one Hadley found at the crime scene as a lipstick could be. Disappointed, Hadley turned her attention back to Genevieve as she clicked away at her computer, pulling up Vivian’s schedule.
Vivian clicked away too, high heels ringing off the tile floor as she walked back to her office.
It was then that Genevieve noticed the kitten tucked in the crook of Hadley’s arm. “Omigosh! Is that a cat?” She lifted her hands to cover her mouth.
Hadley and Suze explained how they’d come across the kitten in what Suze had dubbed The Murder House.
Eyes wide, Genevieve said, “Oh, I’ve heard about that place. I can’t believe Vivian took you there.” She lowered her voice, glancing at the hall leading to Vivian’s office. “I think she sees it as a challenge.”
The inkling of dissent Hadley recognized in Genevieve’s statement about one of her bosses gave Hadley an i
dea. Who knew more about someone than their receptionist? Maybe she could get the information she couldn’t get out of Vivian from Genevieve.
The woman was clicking away at her computer, remembering the job she was supposed to be doing once the story about the kitten was complete.
“Does Monday at one work for you?” she asked Hadley.
“Uh, sure.” Hadley wasn’t sure if she would keep the appointment, but wanted to keep her options open just in case Paul thought Vivian’s motive was good enough. “Hey, maybe you can help us with something.”
Genevieve glanced up from her computer screen.
“Suze here is an artist, and she’s got a show coming up in about a month, but she recently had a falling out with our town’s florist.” Hadley leaned in close. “A messy breakup.”
Suze coughed at the lie. Hadley looked over at her friend who was biting back a smile. Hadley squinted one eye, almost imperceptibly, but she knew Suze would see the just go with it gesture. Genevieve didn’t have to know that Leo was old enough to be Suze’s father.
Fully entrenched in the ruse now, Suze nodded and said, “Yeah, I was supposed to order a few arrangements for the show from him, but that cannot happen now. You guys must use a local company for staging, right? Is there a florist you’ve worked with who you’d recommend up here?”
Genevieve’s face softened sympathetically. “I’m so sorry. Breakups are hard enough in general. I can’t imagine having to be part of the same small town and see him all the time.”
Hadley and Suze glanced at each other. Hadley knew all about the awkwardness of breaking up in a small town, even though her ex significant other had moved away, she still had to deal with his family. The kitten shifted in her arms, but sighed and settled back to sleep.
“We do have a florist we work with often, actually. Let me see…” Genevieve paged through a few files sitting in an organizer on her desktop. “Here—oh…” The young woman’s face lit up out of recognition, but quickly darkened as she seemed to remember something.
She’s remembering Bloom was the shop they used, but the owner just died, Hadley thought as she watched the receptionist’s features change.
“Something wrong?” Suze asked.
“Um…” Genevieve pressed her lips into a tight line as her eyes refocused on the two women before her. “Sorry, it’s not a big deal. I was just remembering how Vivian told me she didn’t want to work with them anymore, but that was for… personal reasons. They’ve been great with us in the past.” She passed a card across the counter toward Suze.
It was a business card for Charlie Lloyd at Bloom.
Wait, she doesn’t know he’s dead?
Hadley’s brain had a hard time comprehending at first, but then it began to settle as she realized cities as big as Cascade Ridge operated differently than small towns. Whereas it seemed everyone in Stoneybrook knew the moment anyone did anything, someone who lived in a larger city might not know someone had died for weeks or months, if ever.
Next, Hadley’s brain tackled the last part of Genevieve’s statement. Vivian didn’t want to use Bloom anymore for personal reasons. That was in complete contradiction with what Vivian had told them in the car, about how he was a crook, and she wouldn’t use his business.
Suze, right there with Hadley’s train of thought, leaned forward and said, “Genny. Can I call you that? Genny?” When Genevieve’s cheeks turned pink and she nodded, Suze continued. “You can’t just drop something like that on us and leave it. We’re small-town girls. We live on gossip. What happened between Vivian and this”—she made a show of looking down at the card to read the name—“Charlie Lloyd?”
Genevieve narrowed her eyes for a moment, then shifted her gaze to the hallway once more before saying, “You did not hear this from me, but Vivian and the owner, Charlie, were… involved for a while. Last I heard, though, Vivian had put an end to it.” Genevieve shrugged.
“What for?” Hadley asked.
Genevieve smirked in that mirthless way only employees can about their controlling bosses. “She was probably afraid her husband might find out.”
Hadley felt her mouth fall open. Suze gasped next to her. “You’re kidding,” Suze said.
The receptionist shook her head and cocked a self-satisfied eyebrow.
“Whoa.” Hadley blinked, straightening when footsteps rang out from the hallway.
A man in a well-pressed suit emerged into the foyer a few moments later, smiling brightly at Hadley and Suzanne. They thanked Genevieve for her help. It was definitely time to go.
As life-long best friends, Suze and Hadley were well versed in communicating through looks. And as they walked out the realty office doors, they turned to each other to have just such a conversation about what they’d found out. The brightness of the summer sunshine put a damper on that, and they found themselves squinting and shielding their eyes, rendering any cues moot. Even the kitten blinked awake in the blinding light.
Once they got into Suze’s car and shut the doors behind them, they turned to each other, wide-eyed.
“A relationship?” Hadley moved the kitten from her arm onto her lap. “That’s even better motive than a business venture gone wrong.”
“It looks like trying to convince you the house was great wasn’t the biggest lie Vivian told today.” Suze narrowed her eyes at the building. “But did you see her lipstick? That didn’t look like the one you described.”
Sighing, Hadley nodded. “You’re right. But who only buys one type of lipstick? I think I have three different brands in my makeup drawer at home. It doesn’t definitively mean the one at the scene wasn’t also hers.”
“Yes, at home. But most women bring their favorite with them in their purse.” Suze pulled her own out from her purse to prove her point.
Hadley refrained from pulling her own out from her purse. “Let’s get home,” she said, ignoring Suze’s logic for now. “We’ve got a lot to share with Paul, and I need to get this little one a bath.” She smiled down at the orange kitten.
14
After a trip to the vet and the groomer upon returning to Stoneybrook, Hadley, Suzanne, and the kitten headed back to Hadley’s house.
The vet told Hadley the stray was a female, and she was approximately ten weeks old. He gave her the first round of kitten shots and told Hadley to return in a few weeks for the next round of shots and to get spayed. She didn’t have worms—thank goodness—but did have many fleas. The bath she got at the groomers killed the majority of those. Hadley wasn’t worried about Ansel getting fleas; she had him on year-round flea medicine since he liked to follow her outside when she gardened.
What she was mostly worried about was how Ansel was going to feel about having another cat around. Suze stayed around for the whole ordeal for emotional support. And Hadley was especially grateful for her as she set up a bed for the little orange kitten in the laundry room as Ansel sniffed and hissed on the other side of the door. Suze was chatting with him, trying to calm him down.
Both the vet and the groomer had recommended a slow introduction, putting the new cat in a room for a day or two so Ansel could get used to her smell before they met in the fur.
So far, it didn’t seem to be working. Hadley frowned, but then let it pull back into a smile as the kitten curled up in the soft bed she’d made out of a towel. She would go get the kitten her own bed tomorrow, but they’d been out too long as it was, and she could see the poor little thing just needed to sleep. After being poked, and prodded, and pampered, she looked exhausted.
Once she made sure there was plenty of food and water available, Hadley slipped out of the laundry room. The kitten’s eyes fluttered closed as she watched her go. Ansel glared up at her as if she’d betrayed him.
“Oh, don’t look at her like that.” Suze tapped her foot on the kitchen floor, snapping his attention back to her. “She’s just taking in another poor soul like she did when she got you.”
Smiling, Hadley knelt to let Ansel smell the kitten on
her hands. He didn’t hiss, but he backed away a few steps.
“I’m sorry, buddy. She needed a home. I don’t want you to be stressed, though. If you’re still unhappy with her tomorrow, I’ll try to find another home for the little gal, okay?”
Ansel ruffled his sleek, black fur and sniffed. He sauntered away to lie in a beam of sunshine next to a tower of boxes Hadley had only half packed.
She let out an exasperated breath and looked at Suzanne.
“He’ll get over himself. You’ll see.” She waved a hand toward the cat, dismissing his attitude.
“I hope so. The two of us have gotten along so well so far. I would hate to throw a wrench in it.”
“Well, like you said, if he doesn’t change his mind, you can always find someone else to take her. The most important thing was getting her out of there.”
“Right,” Hadley said and let that settle her worries for now.
Before they could change the subject, the sound of the front door opening alerted them to Paul’s presence.
“Talk around town is you’re becoming a true cat lady, Had.” Paul began talking before he even entered the kitchen. When he did, he scanned the room, presumably looking for the second cat.
“Watch it, bro.” Hadley pointed at him in warning. “If Ansel doesn’t warm up to her, you’re going to be my first choice for alternate placement. But wait… maybe she’s not allowed to stay with you either.”
Hadley felt like slapping her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to say so much, but she was tired and a little cranky. Cascade Ridge had a way of doing that to her.
Paul scoffed. “I never said you couldn’t—”
“You didn’t have to.” She shook her head.
“Had, I’m sure he didn’t—” Suze started.
“It’s not just him either,” Hadley said, interrupting her. “You’ve been odd too.”
Suze looked down at her feet and Paul focused on a nonexistent spot on the kitchen counter.
Hadley watched them closely, sure she would be able to get to the bottom of whatever was going on with them. With them. Her mind latched on to those two words. Could it be possible that something was finally going on between them romantically? She stifled the flare of happiness that came at the thought. No, I would be the first one they’d tell if that ever happened, she realized, thinking about how much she’d always wanted her two best friends to be a couple. There would be no reason for them to hide it from their biggest cheerleader.