by Lynn Cahoon
“Cat, what are you doing here? Shirley and I were just going out for an early dinner. Do you want to join us?” Her uncle nodded to the receptionist and as she covered the mouthpiece, he whispered, “I’ll have my phone if anything pops. Does this need me?”
The woman shook her head. “Have fun.”
They all stepped away from the desk to allow the call to continue in private.
Cat shifted back and forth on her feet. Then stopped when she saw her uncle’s eyes narrowing. She decided to jump in. “So, I was at the college today and talked to Addie Callen.”
Shirley frowned. “Why do I know that name?”
Before her uncle could respond, Cat jumped in. “It was one of the three professors that Chance had circled on his board. Along with Jessica and Michael.”
“And you decided to follow up on this clue on your own?” Iron flowed through Uncle Pete’s voice.
“Don’t reprimand her until we find out what she knows. Besides, it was a smart call for her to go since she used to teach at the college. Make believe it was part of your plan. Your blood pressure will thank you for it.” Shirley smiled at Cat. “Go ahead, dear, tell us what you found out.”
Cat glanced at Uncle Pete, then focused on Shirley. “She said that Chance used to come and talk to her about Colorado history. Which makes sense from his library requests.”
“Miss Applebome gave you his library card records? She told me I needed a warrant; then I got a thirty-minute lecture on the value of intellectual freedom and how what you read did not in any world make you a criminal.” Uncle Pete glanced at his watch.
Cat could tell he was trying to get to the restaurant and out of the station before he would be called back on some emergency. Or he wanted to get her out of there before she spilled the beans. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. And Miss Applebome didn’t give me his records, a graduate student did because I said I was helping him with his documentation for his thesis.”
“Smart.” Shirley beamed at Cat like she was a prize pupil. “So basically, it was a dead end?”
“Not exactly.” Now Cat could see her uncle shifting. She guessed it was where she’d learned it. “I asked her how she knew Jessica and Michael. Well, honestly, she brought up the fact that she was friends with Jessica, so I asked about Michael. They were all on some professor advisory committee together years ago.”
Uncle Pete waited, but when Cat didn’t go on, he frowned. “And this is the only connection?”
“According to Addie, yes. But maybe Chance knew Addie from his research and got her to talk about the professors to see if any of them were connected.” She sighed and lowered her voice, stepping closer to her uncle. “What if he was afraid that the mob was after him for some reason. Maybe he was circling the people he could trust.”
“Three professors out of the entire school? That’s a little paranoid.”
Cat shrugged. “Maybe he was just starting his elimination process.”
“As a theory, it’s not the worst I’ve heard.” He opened the door. “But if we’re going to make our reservation, we have to leave. Are you coming to dinner with us?”
“No, I’ve got to get back to the retreat. We’re doing a closing session with word sprints this evening.” She followed them out of the station. “Were you going to interview Addie? Or did I just ruin your plan?”
“She was on the list, but there are so many others ahead of her.” He glanced at Shirley. “I appreciate the information, Cat.”
As they walked away, she heard Shirley mutter, “Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it? She’s only trying to help.”
Cat was too far away to clearly hear her uncle’s response, but she got the drift. She’d wait for Shirley to be out of town to have the rest of the conversation with her uncle. Because if she let the chips fall, her uncle might be the one who was in danger of getting himself killed, by Shirley.
Chapter 21
Cat had a full house when she started the retreat roundup, as she liked to call the ending session at seven that night. Shirley had just come in from dinner. Brodie and the two couples were sitting in the living room, drinking coffee and chatting. She’d checked on Seth, who had been sleeping when she peeked into his room, but according to Shauna, he’d eaten a big bowl of chili and two grilled cheese sandwiches just before Cat had arrived home.
Cat liked the feeling of having the house full. And somehow, she thought the house liked it as well. She sat down and curled her legs up underneath her. Her cup of hot chocolate sat on the table in front of her. “Welcome to our last session. I wanted to thank you all for an interesting retreat this week. First, because we still have a day left, at least what’s open between your trip to Outlaw in the morning and our closing dinner tomorrow night, I wanted to hear from you what you expected and didn’t get. We’ll see if we can fit it in.”
“I know we talked about sitting down one-on-one and talking about my contract. Can we do that before the Outlaw trip tomorrow?” Jocelyn pointed to the dining room. “I’ll buy you breakfast and we can go into the study to talk.”
“The breakfast is part of our retreat fee.” Archer tapped his wife’s arm. “Besides, she lives here.”
“It was a joke.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Sometimes you don’t get modern humor.”
“Sometimes you’re not funny.” He sipped his coffee.
“Sure,” Cat stepped in before it turned into a fight. “I’ll meet you at eight in the dining room?”
“Sounds great.” Jocelyn leaned back. “Who’s next?”
“Wait, you have a contract and you didn’t tell anyone?” Sydney set her cup down. “I thought we were friends.”
“We are, or I wouldn’t have mentioned it now. I didn’t want you to see me differently.” Jocelyn grinned. “I’ll tell you more about it after Cat and I talk and I know it’s legit.”
“So, I wanted to talk about how to finish a book.” Tristin leaned forward, blocking the stares between his wife and Jocelyn. “I know I said I love shorts, but that was just to keep Sydney here from freaking out. I’ve decided by this time next year, I want to have a book to shop to an agent.”
“That’s so cool.” Sydney forgot her staring contest with Jocelyn and took his arm. “I didn’t know you wanted to write a book.”
“I started it in college, but well, life happened.” He grinned at Brodie. “This is a lesson for you. Don’t let life push aside your dreams.”
“We can talk about the writing process tonight.” Cat glanced around at the other guests. “Anything else on the need-to-do list?”
Brodie raised his hand and waited for Cat to nod before speaking. “So, I’ve been working on this fantasy/YA novel this week. I’m not done, but I’ve loved working on it. How do I keep writing the novel when I go back to school?”
Cat frowned, unsure of the question. “What do you mean, Brodie? Don’t you have a writing schedule already?”
“I do, but that’s for my thesis book. And it’s not genre fiction. My advisor will freak if I tell him this is what I really want to write.” He sank back in his chair. “You all were great at encouraging me to write it, and I love the story. But Professor Enders? He’s going to be less than enthusiastic about the whole thing.”
Cat nodded, understanding. It hadn’t been that long ago that she’d been writing one thing for grades and another for her amusement. “I was there, in the same spot. I chose to serve two masters, which meant the book I sold, the genre fiction one, took at least a year longer to write. I say go with your gut. Tell Enders what you are doing and have him read what you have so far. I think you’ll be surprised at his reaction.”
“Besides, if he doesn’t like it, you just do what you need to and get your degree. Then you write and submit the book you love or the next one. Writing words into stories gives you the chops to write a better book the next time,” Shirley added. “I’ve written three books so far, and I think the one I’m writing now is the one that might get me that agent.”
&nb
sp; “It only takes one,” Tristin added. “Besides, it’s good practice for when you’re working a full-time job doing something stupid and you write at night to get the passion work done.”
“You’re saying our career is stupid?” Sydney sipped her coffee, studying him.
Tristin shook his head. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. But you and me, we’re lucky. I could be a lawyer and hate my work but feel trapped because of the money. We get to turn our hobby into our job. I just want something more. To see if I have the fiction chops too.”
“Or a police officer,” Shirley said. She picked a cookie off the tray and took a bite. “I loved my job, but I always felt like something was missing. Now that I’m retired and writing, I know what I missed all those years. This is my true calling. The work just gave me plenty of research materials.”
After making sure there were no other questions, Cat did one more round robin to list off on a flipchart what everyone had accomplished this week. She was amazed at the high word counts, even though the group hadn’t been working at the house much. She totaled it up. “By my calculations, and forgive me, math is not my strongest skill, you all did amazing this week. I think that total is higher than last month’s group.”
“We’re good at getting our work done so we can play.” Sydney smiled. “And we all agreed we wanted to make time for the trip to Outlaw tomorrow. It’s still on, right? Even with Seth’s accident?”
“Shauna’s taking you, so meet down here at nine tomorrow morning. You’ll spend the morning at Outlaw, then come back here in time to get ready for dinner.” She glanced around the group relaxed on the living room furniture. “So let’s get started with these questions.”
An hour later, they were done and the group was on their first word sprint. Cat bowed out and went to the kitchen.
“Are you done already?” Shauna looked up from her computer. “I’m working on adjusting a recipe. My beta tester thought it might be better with a substitution. I’m getting ready to make a new batch of the cookies right now and thought the group might enjoy some before bedtime.”
“I’m sure they will. They’re doing writing sprints so they should be another hour or two in the living room.” She glanced at the loaf of banana bread on the table. “Can I slice that and take some up to Seth?”
“I was just up there with a plate of treats. He’s doing good, but I think he was going right back to sleep after I left. He needs the rest to heal. A normal person would have probably been kept overnight in the hospital.”
Cat glanced at the banana bread again. “Then can I have some? I probably should have eaten some more chili. I’m hungry.”
“I can make you a sandwich.” Shauna started to stand, but Cat shook her head.
“Nope, two slices of this and a glass of milk and I’ll be fine. Besides, I’m beat as well. If Seth’s okay, I’m heading up to crash too. Maybe a bubble bath first, then I’ll read.”
“Did you tell them about the change of driver tomorrow?” Shauna watched as Cat put two slices of the bread on a plate.
“Yes, and I told them you’d be leaving at nine. I can freshen the rooms if you want me to.” Cat poured herself some milk, then sat down to eat.
“No, it’s the last day. I did a full refresh today so all I’ll need to do is replace towels and dump trash tomorrow. I can do that when I get back. Besides, tomorrow’s brunch is already ready to go. I made quiches for the guests and for us.” Shauna stood and started gathering the ingredients for her recipe do-over. She turned and watched Cat. “You know Seth’s fine, right? He’s just a little banged up.”
“I’m just wondering why someone tried to hit Joey with that flowerpot in the first place. Was it accidental? Or is this all related to Chance’s murder?” Cat finished off the last bite of the banana bread. “I know, all questions that can’t be answered. Or at least not until Uncle Pete finds Joey.”
“Seth’s not in danger.”
The way Shauna said it made it sound more like a question than a statement. Cat sat the empty plate and glass in the sink. Then she grabbed a bottle of water to take upstairs. Pausing at the door, she made eye contact with Shauna. “That’s the working theory. But honestly? I’m not so sure anymore.”
* * *
The next morning, Cat got up and dressed before her alarm went off. She knocked quietly on Seth’s door, but when he didn’t answer, she opened it a crack to see if he was awake. He laid curled on the bed, eyes shut and his blond hair a mess over his face. Cat could see his chest rise and fall with steady breathing. She shut the door quietly and went downstairs to meet with Jocelyn.
She was already in the dining room, reading the paper and eating a slice of quiche. Cat poured herself a cup of coffee and filled a plate with snacks. She’d eat breakfast in the kitchen with Seth and Shauna. “Come on into the study, where we can talk without being interrupted.”
They made their way to the study. Jocelyn folded the paper and sat it on Cat’s desk. “I’m always interested in the news at different places. Your paper is so cute; there’s a lot about the college and craft boutiques at the local churches. One article was even an interview with a past alumnus who’s working at a movie production company out in Los Angeles.”
“You were busy this morning.” Cat took a bit of the cinnamon roll she’d grabbed off the sideboard. “Running into town and getting the paper all ready.”
“What?” Jocelyn set down her coffee cup. “Oh, no. That’s your paper. The paperboy delivered it around seven this morning. Of course, I shouldn’t call him a paperboy. He was a grown man.”
Cat stared at her. “We don’t get the paper. Shauna likes to run into town in the morning and pick one up. That way she gets to talk to her friends at the store. But she doesn’t go on retreat weeks.” Cat sipped her coffee, considering the folded paper on the desk. “Maybe it was someone new and we got Mrs. Rice’s paper.”
“That would explain it.” When Cat looked at Jocelyn with a questioning glance, she continued. “The guy looked confused. When I came downstairs and saw him out on the porch, he seemed to be looking at the house number and inside the windows. I went over and opened the door. I guess he didn’t see me because he must have jumped back two feet. He shoved the paper at me, then took off down the sidewalk.”
“Weird.” Cat sipped her coffee. “Tell me about your contract. Who is it from? An agent or a publisher?”
After they’d gone over the details and Cat had explained what Jocelyn needed to look for before she signed, Cat left her in the study to work on her questions for her agent. Luckily the contract was from a large, well-known romance publisher, so Cat felt confident it was standard for that house. But still there were some clauses that Cat would have questioned if it had been her contract. Like length of copyright. She smiled as she reached the kitchen door. It looked like Jocelyn was going to be published. She’d have to find out what her expected release day was so she could reach out then. Shauna was at the sink, looking out the door. “Have we ever sent flowers to a retreat graduate who released a book after attending?”
Shauna thought for a moment. “I don’t think so. I think we’ve had a few that we sent e-mails to to congratulate them on the release. But flowers, that’s a great idea. Who’s getting published?”
“Jocelyn.” Cat explained the situation and asked Shauna to put it in the follow-up file so they wouldn’t forget. She shook the paper at her. “Here’s the paper. I think there must have been a substitute and we got Mrs. Rice’s paper.”
“She doesn’t get the local paper. She gets The Wall Street Journal. And it comes via the post office.” Shauna glanced at the paper on the table. “How did this get here?”
“Jocelyn says she scared off the paperboy.” Cat refilled her coffee cup. “Ready for your trip to Outlaw?”
“Wait, do you think we need to call Pete about this?” Shauna pointed to the paper. “I’m not excited about leaving you alone here.”
“I won’t be alone, I have Seth.” Cat si
pped her coffee. “Besides, I just think someone was probably substituting for the regular guy and got our address mixed up. It’s just a paper, Shauna.”
“If you say so.” She shivered and cupped her hands around her cup, even though it didn’t feel cold in the room.
“Look, I’ll keep the doors locked. And if I hear something, I’ll call the station. Uncle Pete has enough on his mind without worrying about this.” Cat leaned back in her chair, studying Shauna. “So are you ready for this?”
“I think so. I packed a picnic basket full of treats and a few sandwiches and chips for an impromptu lunch, just in case we are there longer than expected.” Shauna tapped a pad of paper with a pen as she listed off her to-do list. “And I filled two thermoses each of coffee and hot chocolate. I was just going down to grab a cooler out of the basement for sodas and waters. Am I forgetting anything?”
“Maybe blankets in case you get snowed in?” Cat suggested, and watched as Shauna started to write it on her list.
Then she set down the pen. “You’re messing with me.”
“I am. Seriously, I don’t think we took this much food with us when it was a full-day excursion in summer.”
“Yeah, but they served you lunch. And if something had happened, like a flat tire, you would have had people right there to help. I’ll have to wait for a rescue with five other people. At least we can mark food off our worry list if that happens.” Shauna glanced at the clock. “I probably better go get ready. Do you think Seth will be down for breakfast anytime soon?”
“I figured he would have already been down.” Cat stood and went to the door. “I’ll deal with Seth’s breakfast. You go get ready. Let me know before you leave. And try to have fun.”
“I’m very fun. I’m just also very prepared. Just in case,” Shauna called after her.
Cat knew she would go get the cooler, pack it, and put it in the car before she went upstairs to get ready. Cat went upstairs to work for a few minutes before waking Seth.