The Cat, the Wife and the Weapon

worth of sodium and I was thirsty now.

“No. We are so undermanned we only had one squad car to follow up on the BOLO. They thought they’d run into him coming away from this neighborhood, but nothing. It’s like he disappeared into thin air.”

“He said he’d be back—and I believe him.” I drank half my water, realizing my heart had sped up again at the thought of his return.

“What did he want?” she asked.

“He wants his son. Thinks I’m hiding him.” Syrah was weaving between my legs and rubbing his head on my calves. Marking his territory in case the curious Yoshi got any ideas, no doubt.

“I searched the NCIC database before I came here,” Candace said. “I don’t want to scare you any more than you already are, but you need to know this. About fifteen years ago, Gannon served time—first in a hospital for the criminally insane and then when he was competent to stand trial, he did a stint in prison.”

I drank the rest of my water, the glass nearly slipping from my trembling hand. “F-for what?”

“He went nuts when he was pulled over on a routine traffic stop,” she said. “Wailed on the officer with a baseball bat he conveniently had in his front seat. Put the officer in critical condition. Seems Gannon claimed the officer was an alien. He was convicted of felonious assault, so this guy is a violent offender.”

“Both Kara and I knew he was off, but now I’m even more scared of him,” I said. “My question is, how did he find out Finn was in Mercy?”

“Exactly. I have no idea. But I intend to find out. Violent offenders reoffend. He could be our killer—but I have to find him and interview him before coming to any conclusion on that.” She stood. “Where’s Finn, by the way?”

“He’s with Karen,” I said.

“I’ll ask the squad car out in the field to run by her neighborhood,” she said. “If Gannon found you, he might be able to find Karen, too. She was at the diner with you, right?”

“Yes, she was there and so was Tom.” I tore at a cuticle with my teeth.

“Guess we should alert Tom to the situation. Trouble is, the man doesn’t have a cell phone and I don’t have the time to—”

“I’ll go to his place and tell him. He planned to pick up Dashiell and then see if he could extricate his brother from the house. He’ll want to protect Finn and his mother from Gannon.”

Candace pointed at me. “You lock this place up tight and set your alarm—whether you’re out of the house or not. You hear me? If anything happened to you, well…” She shook her head and averted her eyes.

I walked around and hugged Candace. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

Fourteen

Fifteen minutes later, the late-afternoon sun doing little to kill the chill in the air, I pulled into Tom’s driveway. As soon as I got within five feet of the front door, I heard raised voices. My stomach tightened and I stood still. What is going on now?

Then I recognized the voices of both Tom and Bob exchanging heated barbs. I went to the door and knocked loudly so they could hear me over their argument.

Bob was saying, “You owe me, brother. Mom owes me. I’m tired of this family crap.”

I knocked even louder, and this time Tom opened the door. His face was flushed with anger and his eyes had what looked like minuscule red lightning strikes mapping the whites.

He said, “Oh. Hi.”

“Hi.” I smiled, wishing I could relieve the distress that seemed to have taken over his whole demeanor. Too many awful things had happened to him in the last week.

“Come on in.” He stood aside so I could enter. “Bob was just leaving.”

Didn’t look like he was leaving to me. He was standing, arms folded, his cheeks just as red as Tom’s. No flirty smile today.

“Where am I supposed to go?” Bob said.

“Back under the rock you slithered out from,” Tom answered.

“Um, guys, please. This isn’t good for either of you.” I felt out of place playing referee, but someone had to. The bad blood between these two must have gone back a long way.

Turned out, a cat accomplished what only pets can do. Dashiell came lumbering into the living room and offered up a pitiful meow.

“See?” I said. “Even Dashiell wants you to stop.”

Tom looked embarrassed. Even the brash Bob looked down at the floor.

Tom said, “You’re right. The stress isn’t good for Dashiell. His blood sugar is stable and I want it to stay that way.”

I knelt and Dashiell came to me. He rubbed against my knees. I petted him, glad he could do catlike things again after the major scare of finding him unconscious. “He looks fine, Tom. I know you must be relieved.”

“Guess I should say I’m sorry for letting him escape,” Bob said. “I had no idea he’d get so sick.”

Tom stared at his brother, looking a tad stunned. “Was that an apology?”

“Yeah, it was,” Bob said. “You want to apologize for treating me like dirt on your shoe now?”

“Okay, how’s this?” Tom said. “I’ll give you money to leave. A thousand bucks. One condition, though. You leave Mom alone.”

“You’re kidding, right? You think I came here for a thousand stinking bucks?” he said.

“Why did you come, Bob?” I said.

He reverted to his rogue smile and I saw a change in his eyes. Like a curtain dropped. The mask was back on. “Family first, they always say.”

“Oh, sure,” Tom said. “And I’ve got a bridge spanning the Atlantic I’d like to sell you.”

“Is a compromise possible?” I asked before Tom got worked up again.

“I won’t stay long. How’s that?” Bob said.

“How long is not long?” Tom said.

“I’ll be gone in a week,” Bob said. “I’ve got some prospects and just need a place to hang out until I settle a few things.”

“You’re broke again?” Tom said.

“Is a week tolerable, Tom?” I asked. Though I wasn’t exactly fond of Bob, I was beginning to feel a little sorry for him. I mean, what kind of prospects could he have here in Mercy?

“As long as he stays out of my face, I guess a week is okay. But no longer.” Tom turned and walked toward the kitchen. “Come on, Jillian. I need a drink. And I’m not talking about sweet tea.”

Tom grabbed the bottle of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey from a high kitchen cupboard and poured us both two fingers in water tumblers. I am not really a fan of whiskey, but there are times we all need the comfort of spirits, as my grandma used to say. Tom downed his drink in one gulp. He closed his eyes and said, “I needed that.”

Staring down into the glass, I said, “You might need more than one shot after what I have to tell you.”

His eyes widened. “What’s wrong? It’s not Finn, is it?”

“Well, there is a connection. A big connection.” I quickly told him about the episode with Rory Gannon.

“Great. How did he end up in Mercy?” Tom said. He wasn’t actually expecting me to answer, just voicing his frustration. He went on, saying, “We have to get over to my mom’s house right now. If he knew where to find you, he probably knows where to find my mother.” Tom started for the back door.

“But how, Tom?” I said, hurrying after him.

“I don’t know, but somehow the man’s found out about Finn and is here looking for him.” He pulled me by the hand as we went outside. “Right now I’m just sorry I got you involved. Since my mother has zero security, even though I’ve offered to install a system at her house at least a dozen times, Finn won’t be safe there.”

“There’s no room for him here,” I said as we practically ran around the back of the house toward the driveway.

“I’ll make room,” Tom said. “If Bob has to go, so be it. Let’s take your van. Get over there as fast as possible.”