When the Cat's Away

by Molly Fitz

  Cursing under my breath, I turned out the first chance I got and drove up and down the highway for an hour before going back to the house I'd found Carolann at in the first place.

  It was nearing midnight and there was no sign that she'd come back.

  I put the car in park and let my head fall against the steering wheel with a thunk. I'd lost Carolann and Bubbles.

  If I didn't fix this, Layla was going to kill me. At least that would be a murder she could solve immediately. Silver lining!

  Chapter Six

  It wasn't the sun that woke me from my uncomfortable car slumber. It was the loud cooing of the jungle fowl that had gathered in Carolann’s front yard for their morning breakfast.

  I let out a groan as I sat up in the driver's seat, my body creaking and popping in ways that weren't natural. My body was a temple. A temple that deserved a memory foam mattress.

  I looked out at the colorful Hawaiian chickens and took a moment to just feel sorry for myself. I'd rushed into this. I'd kittennapped Bubbles. This was all my fault.

  I took a deep, steadying breath. Okay, that was enough self-pity. Now it was time to actually get stuff done.

  After taking a deep swig of water and slathering on an intense amount of eco-friendly sunblock, I stepped out of the Jeep.

  One way or another, I was getting Bubbles back before I went home, and to do that I needed to find Carolann. I'd hoped she would come back at some point, but the driveway was still empty, save the Jeep.

  Testing my luck, I went to the front door and gave the knob a twist.

  It opened! I'd spent all night in the stupid Jeep when I could've been inside all cozy in Carolann's bed?

  Sighing in frustration, I got inside and took a desperate trip to the bathroom, washed my face, and rinsed my mouth with some mouthwash.

  Now I felt so much more human. Okay. Strange island, strange people. But I wasn't looking for just anyone.

  I was looking for a striking witch with a kitten in tow.

  They weren't exactly subtle. If Carolann really wanted to disappear, she'd go to Honolulu. But she came from the small town of Ashland Springs. She was staying in a beautiful tourist town. I didn't fancy her going to the big city.

  She would be easier to find in a smaller town.

  But Oahu wasn't a small island. I couldn't just pull over every time I saw someone and ask if they'd seen Carolann.

  So I started looking for clues. The house that Carolann was staying in was beautiful, albeit small. It was basically three rooms. One bedroom, a bathroom, and an open area with the living room and kitchen.

  But the most striking feature of the house was that the side facing the ocean was all windows. I thought the view from my balcony had been amazing, but it was nothing compared to this full-on scenic private beach.

  Well, Hawaii didn't have private beaches, but more private than a resort area.

  No wonder she didn't want to come back to Ashland Springs. If I had a setup like this, I wouldn't want to leave either.

  The house was on the west side of the island, so it was still cool from the shade trees and mountains, but I didn't see any sign of an air conditioner.

  I pushed open the big sliding door so the living room was completely open to the ocean and took a moment to appreciate the cool, salty breeze. If I weren't in a half-panicked state, this would be a great place to meditate.

  And I could really use some calm in my life right now. But time was important. Even though I was sure Bubbles wasn't in danger from Carolann, if I didn't get Bubbles back to Layla soon, my life would be on the line.

  So I got to snooping. Every time guilt crept in about rummaging through Carolann's things, I reminded myself that she stole my kitten. Well, not my kitten. She stole the kitten I stole!

  That was just rude.

  So far all I'd found was a bunch of herbs, a huge collection of bathing suits, and an even bigger collection of romance novels.

  Layla had been struggling to survive while Carolann sunned on the beach and Fabio ripped bodices. Great.

  But eventually, I got to a junk drawer that actually had stuff I could use. Receipts!

  I took out the small white pieces of paper and spread them all out on the floor. Which unfortunately meant I had to close the sliding door because the ocean breeze plus tiny slips of paper did not mix.

  Then I sorted them all into piles. From most traveled locations to one-offs.

  I could stop by these places one by one, ask around about Carolann, and hope someone had seen her recently.

  Once I had the receipts in order from most popular to least, I used my phone to take pictures of all of them.

  Then I set them all back in the drawer where I found them. I really shouldn't clean up after myself. After all, I was furious at Carolann. I'd been upset with her even before she pulled this stunt.

  But part of me was just programmed to not be rude. Once I was cleaned up, I looked through the pantry and found a reusable water bottle and filled it from the sink. There! I was stealing! I was totally a rebel!

  That would show her.

  But I immediately contradicted my rebellious streak when I spilled some water on the counter and instinctively grabbed the nearest towel to clean it up.

  Yeah, some rebel.

  So I grabbed a banana from the counter. There. Stealing food too! Take that, Carolann.

  I locked up the sliding door and went back out to the Jeep.

  The first stop was the local grocery store. Made sense that would be the most visited location according to the receipts.

  I studied the cars as I pulled into the parking lot. Blue sedan wasn’t much to go on, but it had been too dark for me to tell the specific make or model of Carolann's car. Why couldn't I have been more observant?

  Nope. Not dwelling on the past. This is a present moment. I took another swig of water, topped off my sunscreen, and headed into the market.

  From there, I got to finding every single employee I could and asking them about the white-haired woman who had arrived a few months ago.

  "The odd one? She's super friendly. Always getting the strangest assortment of food. Don't know where she hangs out."

  "The weird one? No idea where she hangs out normally. Actually, she talks a lot but not really about details."

  "The eccentric lady? I've never seen her come in with friends. She seems like the type who likes being alone."

  Every employee had the same story. They all remembered Carolann, but no one knew anything personal.

  But the no friends one got me. Because she wasn't the type who liked to be alone. She wanted to be with Mary. Mary who she could never be with again.

  Nope. Not feeling bad for Carolann right now.

  After the market, I looked through my phone. The next most common place that Carolann went to.

  A cafe. Oh, maybe I could get a treat! The cafe was just down the street, and within minutes I was sitting down at a table. There were only two girls working behind the counter, and neither of them knew anything more about Carolann than the employees at the market. This plan had seemed like a great place to start, but now I felt like I was running on a treadmill. Exhausting myself and getting nowhere.

  I poured out some chocolate covered macadamia nuts and chewed them bitterly. They tasted amazing but I was far too grumpy to appreciate them.

  Maybe a beach meditation wasn't a bad idea.

  "Mind if I sit here?" asked a tall man with dark, slicked-back hair.

  Even I could tell he wasn't a local. His muscles were too tense, back too ramrod straight for the aloha state of mind.

  "Feel free to sit, but I'm not sharing my macadamia nuts." I didn't especially want the company, but I'd spent all morning talking to strangers, I didn't mind talking to one more.

  And something about this stranger's tense stance told me he wasn't just trying to hit on me.

  He held out a hand. "Quentin Summers."

  Handshake? How formal. I reached over and limply shook his hand. So
many in this day and age used a firm grasp to establish dominance. I didn't have anything to prove.

  "Nice to meet you, Quentin. I'm Poppy." He didn't need to know my last name. "Are you enjoying the sights?" If he wanted awkward small talk, I could keep this going for hours. If he really wanted some fun talk, I could go into the history of downward dog and start explaining all of the Sanskrit names for all the major poses in Hatha yoga.

  It was a very passive-aggressive way of getting rid of unwanted attention, but it certainly was effective.

  "I'm actually here on business."

  Shocking. He looked ridiculous sitting at this beautiful tropical cafe in a business suit complete with a briefcase. I half expected him to hand me some fake shaving cream can like the guy in Jurassic Park.

  "I wish I was in the kind of business that sent me to Hawaii," I said smoothly. It was only sort of a lie. After all, I was turning this into a business trip, but it wasn't like I HAD to come.

  "I'm here to find someone. Someone we both appear to know. Carolann Craven."

  I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it. The idea of this starchy man out here looking for Carolann just like me was too much. "And how's that working out for you?"

  Quentin clenched his jaw and glared at me. "What's so funny?"

  I shrugged. If he didn't get it, I didn't know how I was going to explain it. "You don't exactly seem like you run in the same circles," I said finally.

  He shook his head, apparently brushing off my reaction. "Well we've been looking for her for quite some time. You seem to have had more progress in one day than we've had in all that time."

  The smile left my face. This guy. He was the reason Carolann was in hiding. The reason she wasn't coming home was because this man, and whoever he worked for, wanted something from her. I swallowed my dislike down. "Well I don't know where she is now. Sorry I can't help you."

  I really hoped he'd leave after that, but no such luck.

  "You missed the important part. We've been looking for her for days, and I guarantee we have more resources than you do. How did you find her so fast?"

  Well see, I had this magic kitten that was literally glowing as I got closer to Carolann. Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say. "I'm friends with a relative. They told me where she was."

  "None of her relatives know where she is."

  I raised a brow. How could this man possibly know that? And if they knew that much about Carolann's relatives they probably knew exactly who I was even if I hadn't given out my last name. After all, he already seemed to know that I'd only been here for a day.

  "Who exactly do you work for?" What were the odds that he'd give me a straight answer? Considering Carolann had abandoned her home and her town before she'd even found Mary's murderer, I was guessing they weren't tracking her down to tell her she'd won Publishers Clearing House.

  "I don't think I can tell you that."

  I raised a brow. He didn't think? "And here I thought we were having some nice small talk," I said, plopping another macadamia nut into my mouth.

  "I assure you that we can make it worth your while if you cooperate."

  Ugh. I'd rather have some creep hitting on me than deal with this schmutz. "Are we talking money here?"

  "If that's what you're interested in."

  "I have four million subscribers on my YouTube channel and sponsors begging me to advertise their brands. I don't think I need help from you."

  He rolled his eyes. Probably wasn't used to dealing with people, especially women, who were on even footing with him. And I looked better than him too. "I'm sure there's something you want."

  "Nothing you can help me with."

  He stood up so fast that his chair scraped against the café’s wooden patio. "This isn't over."

  "I would really like it to be." I frowned as wicked thought came to me. "In fact, if you promise never to bother me again, I can make it worth your while," I shot back, throwing his own offer in his face.

  "We can make your life easier or we can make it more difficult. The choice is up to you."

  I looked him up and down, making my displeasure with what I was seeing evident. "I'll take my chances." I stood up, not caring that I was much shorter than the businessman. I could hold crow pose for almost ten minutes straight. My strength wasn't in my height.

  Before I could leave, he held out a card. I wanted to just ignore it, but the more information I knew about the man, or company, that was supposedly going to make my life harder, the better.

  Not much. Just a name and phone number.

  "Why is she worth protecting to you? You don't even know Carolann Craven."

  I didn't owe this guy any type of explanation. But I kind of wanted to mess with him a bit. "She owes me money. Thought I'd come and collect."

  He saw right through the lie. "I thought you said you didn't need money."

  Shoot. I had bragged about that. "Well it's the principle of the thing. When someone owes you something and skips town, it's rude."

  "Wouldn't that make you want to help me more?"

  "Maybe, but I don't like you. So there's that." I gave him an overly friendly smile. "I probably won't be in touch," I said as I sauntered away.

  I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding as soon as I got into the Jeep. One thing was for sure. I needed to find Carolann before that guy did.

  Chapter Seven

  The Polynesian Cultural Center. I looked at the massive compound skeptically as I stepped out of the Jeep. This was the fifth most common place Carolann went to according to the receipts, but I had a feeling it wouldn't help me much.

  It wasn't a small market or cafe. There were dozens of employees who saw hundreds, if not thousands, of tourists a day.

  But I didn't want to skip it. So far everywhere I'd gone had someone who remembered Carolann. None of them had any information that could help me, but considering this was my only hope, I had to give it a try.

  A part of me was also excited to just check the place out. Ever since I'd first seen Carolann, I hadn't done anything really touristy. Maybe I could take this chance to have a little fun as I searched out anyone and everyone I could ask about the missing witch.

  There were a number of outdoor kiosks set up with touristy gifts. And of course, I wanted to buy everything. I managed to keep myself from running off on a shopping spree and instead methodically worked my way through the kiosks.

  The cultural center was set up as a giant interactive learning experience. There were sections of the park that represented the different Polynesian islands, each teaching a bit of history and culture from those specific islands. There was a large area for the luau that happened twice a day and a big auditorium where a large show was put on daily.

  After I made it through all of the kiosks, I let out sigh of frustration. This was going to take forever even if I didn't get distracted by all the pretty baubles and trinkets.

  Leaning against the last kiosk, I looked at some of the wood carvings for sale. I liked them because they were made by locals.

  What was the point of buying a souvenir that was made thousands of miles from where you were vacationing?

  My throat was hurting from all the talking I'd been doing. I was a people person, but even that had its limits.

  But I also really didn't want to stop. The very idea of Quentin and whoever he worked for finding Carolann before me set my blood to boil.

  Partially because I had a feeling they had nefarious intentions. And partially because I was competitive and really wanted to prove to Quentin how much better than him I was.

  I thumbed through the wooden sculptures looking for a cat-shaped one. It wasn't super Hawaiian, but Layla might get a kick out of it if I brought her back a cat-shaped souvenir.

  And if I just brought back a piece of wood instead of her actual kitten, she'd probably burn it. Not that I could blame her.

  I was still looking when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I ignored it until I realized that the sh
ape was moving directly towards me.

  "Would you like some popcorn?" the vendor offered. A young kid. His nametag said Thomas. The Polynesian Cultural Center was run by the Church of Latter-day Saints, and a lot of the employees were students at Brigham Young University–Hawaii.

  "I'm good, thanks." I liked popcorn well enough but usually stuff I made and seasoned myself. It wasn't that it was too fattening. The chemicals in the store-bought stuff just skeeved me out. I would still add an obscene amount of butter to my homemade stuff.

  "I think you'd really like some of this popcorn."

  I was about to tell off the determined salesman when I saw his intense glare.

  Well who was I to say no to a student? "I think some popcorn sounds good."

  He started to lead me away from the kiosk and a shiver went up my spine. What was so secretive that he wanted me somewhere more private? There were still enough people around, just not close enough to hear what we were talking about. So I was safe. Probably. Maybe.

  "So what kind of popcorn are you selling?" I asked skeptically. And why did we have to talk in private? What kind of trouble had Carolann gotten herself into?

  "The expensive kind."

  I put a hand on my hip and glared. The little punk had just pulled us to a private corner so he could get cash out of me.

  "I doubt your popcorn is worth much," I grumbled.

  "You're looking for the white-haired lady," he said, pushing some of his blond hair back. I winced. Was he serving food to people in between touching his gross hair? This is why I was so snobby about food. Brats like this.

  I must be tired because my grumpiness was reaching new levels.

  "The one with the cat."

  I perked up. "The cat? You saw her with a cat? Cute little white kitten?"

  "Yeah, earlier this morning. And I gave her directions on how to get to the place she wanted to go after."