Lightstone started to do exactly that, but then noticed an assortment of letters and flyers in box thirteen. A quick check confirmed that mail had been accumulating there for several days.
Smiling maliciously, he put the thick envelope back into box fifteen, but slipped the thin envelope — the one he was almost certain the man with the cold gray eyes had addressed and sealed — into the middle of the mail stack in box thirteen.
Then he hurried to the nearby counter, pulled a sheet of paper and an envelope out of the supply stacks, picked up one of the available US government pens, block-printed five words, folded the paper and placed it into the envelope, block-printed the appropriate P.O. Box Fourteen and P.O. Box Fifteen addresses on it, tore a first-class stamp off one of the available sheets, put the appropriate change in the stamp tray, and was looking around for a cancellation stamp and ink pad when he heard footsteps.
Lightstone quickly tossed the envelope upside down into box fifteen and was heading for the door when he heard a voice outside.
'Henry?'
He barely had time to duck behind the counter before the door opened and the light came on.
He sensed Karla moving toward him, then heard a loud yowl that also caught her attention.
'Sasha?'
Another yowl, this time louder.
'What did I do, forget to lock up out here, and forget to feed you, too?'
If anything, the third yowl sounded even more insistent and demanding.
'Is that right? So what did you do with your buddy? Stash him up in the tree house?'
Henry waited until the sensuous young woman stepped back into the hallway and began walking toward the restaurant kitchen. As she did, he quickly and quietly stood up, slipped around the partially opened door and into the darkened hallway, and cautiously nudged the public bathroom door open. Then he lunged for the urinal, hit the flush lever, ran some water over his hands in the sink, wiped them with a paper towel, and hurried out into the hallway and around the corner..
'There you are!' Karla yelled as she stepped into view.
Lightstone froze, his eyes wide-open in surprise.
'Christ Almighty, that's a good way to give a guy a heart attack!' he complained as he stared down at the enticing body that was barely concealed by the thin cotton nightgown.
'Good. You deserve one.'
'Oh yeah? How come?'
'I thought you might try to sneak out on me, which is about what I can expect from men these days. But then I find out you're even more devious.'
'You call taking a leak in a portion of a house not inhabited by a bathroom-door-shredding panther devious?' Lightstone tried, uncertain of how much of his movements Karla had actually seen.
'No, this is what I call devious.' She slapped the partially-eaten turkey sandwich into his hand.
'Oh, that. Well, uh, I can explain that,' he began hesitantly.
'Go ahead. Explain to me why you only made one, and then didn't bother to wake me up to share it?'
'Well, uh, you looked tired.' He looked down at the sandwich and then blinked. 'Hey, wait a minute, I only took one bite out of this.'
'I was tired, and I still am, but I'm also hungry.' She gracefully led the way into the kitchen. 'You ought to be grateful I only took the one bite and gave it back. And speaking of lucky,' she added as she turned on the lights, 'I'm amazed you found your way through this maze in the dark.'
'I had help.' Lightstone glanced meaningfully at the panther.
'So I see.' Karla nodded as she watched the panther stare back at Lightstone, and then emit a much softer, protesting yowl.
'She complains a lot, too,' he added.
'Life's tough when the men in your life won't cooperate.'
Lightstone's brow wrinkled in confusion. 'What do you mean by that?'
'She likes you.'
'Yeah, so?'
'I mean she likes you. As in a lot.'
Henry Lightstone blinked.
'You're kidding.'
'I don't think so.'
'You mean…?'
'Uh-huh.'
'But I'm… I mean, she's…'
'Nobody ever accused us females of being smart or practical in our relationships, Henry. However,' she added thoughtfully as she glanced down at the sandwich in his hand, 'we can be distracted.'
Taking advantage of the thoroughly stunned expression on Henry Lightstone's face, Karla snatched the sandwich out of his hand, took another large bite, handed it back, went into the refrigerator for a gallon jug of water and a half gallon of milk, and then noticed the bowl on the floor.
'I see she conned you into letting her into the kitchen.'
'Uh, yeah, as a matter of fact, she did,' Lightstone admitted. 'Is that a problem?'
'Only if the county health inspectors find out.' She smiled. 'Grab that bowl, hang on to these, and we'll get her out of here.'
She handed him the jugs of water and milk, got the sliced turkey and pumpernickel from the refrigerator, and picked up two empty glasses. Then she led him into a private employee's lounge consisting of a wooden table, two chairs, and an ancient refrigerator.
Kneeling, she poured about a quart of the chilled water into the bottom of a large stainless-steel bowl, then nodded in satisfaction when the panther quickly thrust her muzzle into the bowl and began lapping away.
'What?' the woman asked when the stunned expression on Henry Lightstone's face shifted to one of total disbelief.
'Let me guess. She conned you out of the milk, didn't she?'
'Uh, well…'
'Don't tell me. You gave her cream?'
Lightstone nodded glumly.
Karla closed her eyes and sighed. 'Henry, do you have any idea what can happen when you feed a cat milk or cream?'
'I vaguely recall my grandmother saying it wasn't a good idea,' Lightstone volunteered tentatively. 'Will she be all right?'
'You mean Sasha? Oh, she'll be fine. You may not be, though, after you get done cleaning up.'
'That bad?'
'A panther with the runs is an impressive sight, my friend. So much so, I strongly suggest you cross your fingers and pray to whatever gods you think might take an interest in your problem.'
'Seems to me that sort of problem would probably rate pretty low on the old deity-response list.'
'If I were a god, that's certainly the way I'd see it,' the sensuous young woman admitted agreeably as she filled the two glasses with milk. 'But then, too, I always thought you XYs were too damned gullible for your own good… especially when it comes to double-Xs.'
She opened the ancient refrigerator, took out a large butcher-paper-wrapped package, unwrapped its contents, deftly hacked the hindquarters of a good-sized deer in several chunks with an ominously sharp cleaver, and dropped them into the large stainless-steel feeding pan next to the panther's water bowl.
'That's an interesting perspective,' Lightstone commented as he watched the panther tear into the hide- covered meat with her teeth and claws.
'Don't ever forget what she is, Henry. A hundred-pound panther with very deep-seated predatory instincts,' Karla reminded him very seriously. 'And speaking of self-preservation,' she added, looking down at the significantly reduced stack of turkey slices, 'it's a good thing you left some of this for me, or you'd have to fight both of us for what's left of that sandwich.'
