The Cat, the Wife and the Weapon

“You want to share these bad things?” she said.

“I do. But only as your stepmother and friend, not as a source for a story,” I said.

Kara frowned. “You know I’ve changed since moving here from Houston. I would never expect you to be a source.”

“I didn’t think so, but I’m pretty rattled by all that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours. Tom’s had all sorts of trouble, Finn got hurt, a man was murdered.”

“Murder, huh? I was pretty sure Candace was leaving out something about the wreck. She’ll only be able to keep a murder under wraps for another few hours. This town is never far behind the truth.” She walked around the bar, into the living room and sat in her late dad’s recliner. How we both loved that chair.

I followed, settling on the sofa. Chablis was in my lap in an instant. The scary dog was gone for now and she would take full advantage. I stroked her and she began to purr.

“Finn is the reason Tom went off the radar. Talk to me about him, Jillian,” Kara said.

I explained that Finn ran away and how Tom ended up being abducted and beaten up by Nolan, who thought Tom was hiding the boy. Then I told her how, after Tom had gotten away from Nolan, he and I had found Finn walking in the direction of Tom’s house. I also mentioned Lydia’s visit last night. “She told me the driver they found in Tom’s car was Nolan Roth—the very same man who grabbed Tom and beat him up. He didn’t die in the accident. He was shot to death.”

She said, “Tell me again why this guy was in Tom’s car.”

“Tom escaped from Nolan and left everything behind—his car, his phone, his wallet—everything but the clothes on his back.”

“Wow. Bet Tom is mad at himself for letting this guy get the jump on him,” Kara said.

“You should see his poor face,” I said.

“I caught a glimpse of him at the scene yesterday when my photographer and I were there for the story. But Morris was keeping us so far away from the accident, I didn’t notice any injuries. Will he be okay?”

“He’ll be fine—or so he says. I’m more worried about Finn and any post-concussion problems. Worried about why he had blood on his shirt, too.”

“Could this kid have had something to do with the murder, then?” Kara asked.

“You know Candace,” I said. “She has to run down every lead and every bit of evidence. You ask me, Finn doesn’t have a criminal fiber in his being.”

She set her coffee on the end table beside the chair. “What you believe in your heart and what the evidence will show might be very different. No matter what, I’ll help you and Tom and Finn any way I can.”

I felt the tight muscles in my neck relax and smiled. “Thanks. Both Tom and Finn have been through the mill.”

“Are you including the arrival of his brother, Bob the Perv, as part of going through the mill?” she said.

My eyes widened. “Wait a minute. If you’re giving him that name, you’ve met him in person,” I said.

“Oh yes. I stopped by Tom’s house this morning to talk to the house guest. Turns out, Bob’s a chatty guy. As a reporter, I do appreciate the talkative ones, but as a female, I do not appreciate him. He wouldn’t stop flirting, or making comments that he thought I might find charming. Boy, was he wrong to think I was the least bit charmed.”

“The man got on my bad side right away, too. He allowed Tom’s cat to get out and poor Dashiell nearly died.” I felt in my pocket for my phone. “Speaking of Dashiell, I need to find out how he’s doing this morning.”

“And I need to make tea. Coffee just isn’t enough.” She rose and went to the kitchen.

After I learned Dashiell was doing well and could go home anytime, I disconnected. Go home? Not yet. Not with Tom there delivering a gun to the police. I’d have to talk to him about his cat—and soon.

“Maybe you can enlighten me,” I said while Kara boiled water and filled pitchers with tea bags and cane sugar syrup. “I don’t know much about the wreck. Where did it happen?”

Kara cocked her head. “You haven’t read the paper? I am shocked and dismayed.” She smiled. “Out in the boondocks on Brown Road. Pretty nasty accident. Car hit a telephone pole. Hard to tell if the driver even braked. Of course, if the driver was already dead…”

“And you couldn’t get close enough to see much?”

“Nope. We were so far from the scene my photographer stood on someone’s shoulders to get the photo of Tom’s car we ran in the paper.”

“You didn’t see the dead man?” I said.

“Nope. Glad I didn’t, too. Chief Baca spoke to me and said, and I quote, ‘The driver died at the scene.’ They wouldn’t release his name, which is routine until family is notified. When I get the official word on his identity, we’ll print it.”

“I’ll make sure and get a paper, or… since you offered to help, you could get me a copy and do something else for me—for us,” I said.

“I’m game,” she said.

I handed her my shopping list.

She glanced at what I’d written. “This is easy enough, but can it wait until after I stop by my new house? I have to make sure they’re earning the pretty penny this home is costing me. I’d love to be in by Christmas.”

Kara’s house was being built on acreage at the edge of town. She’d used the money she’d inherited from John to buy the newspaper and build her first house.

“I’ll take Finn out for lunch, so there’s no rush on the groceries,” I said.

“I could pick up Dashiell if you and Tom are tied up,” she said.

“Thanks. I’ll call you for help if Dashiell needs to leave the clinic by a certain time and I can’t make it,” I said.

She finished making the tea, took a travel mug from the cupboard and filled it with ice. She poured herself the tea she’d been craving and was ready to go. I hugged her tightly at the back door and again thanked her for everything.

I’d no sooner closed the door than my cell phone rang. I felt like I was living in Grand Central Station instead of my own little house in rural South Carolina.

It was Candace. Seemed Hilary just arrived at the police station and wanted to see her son.

“Bring Finn here, would you? Because I’m not telling this woman where her son is until I’ve asked her a few more questions.” She sounded like one unhappy deputy.

“Getting Finn to the station to see her might take some serious convincing,” I said.

“Tom came with me after we got the gun at his house. He was talking with the chief when I learned she’d arrived. You want to talk to him and see if he has any ideas on how to get Finn to talk to his mother?”

“No. I’ll tell Finn the truth and say Tom will be around as a buffer.”

“Thanks, Jillian. I’m so tired I can hardly think straight,” she said. “Come as soon as you can, okay?”

After she disconnected, I stood in my kitchen wondering how Finn would react when I told him his mother was in town.

No, I had a pretty good idea how he would react.

My fear was what he might do.

Eleven

No surprise Finn balked at the idea of seeing his mother, so after nothing I said convinced him this would be a good idea, I called the police station and let Tom talk to him. After their chat, a reluctant Finn agreed to go with me, but we rode in stony silence to Mercy PD.

As we walked through the pristine corridors of the old courthouse to the police offices located at the back of the building, Finn remained quiet. However, when we passed a few of Mercy’s less-than-finest citizens hanging around on the benches and chairs outside the door labeled “Mercy Police Department,” his eyes grew wide.