Pawsitively Murder (Silver Springs Cozy Mystery Series Book 2) Page 11

“What about Mitch breaking into Erline and Jeff’s house?” Drew asks. “Are you just writing him off as a suspect?”

  “No. He’s definitely guilty of breaking in, but I want to talk to Vern about Felicity’s murder.”

  CHAPTER 21

  Opal stretches and washes her face with her paw. The dogs didn’t come into the bedroom this morning and she’s just waking up. The sun is high in the sky, just the way she likes to start her day.

  After her quick bath, she walks to the edge of the bed—the side with the night table and her collar—but the collar isn’t there. She doesn’t think much of it. Sure, she’s supposed to keep Luna informed of its whereabouts, but it’s not like she’s had a chance to tell her yet.

  Opal has a quick snack on her way to the window and then jumps down into the grass. Luna is immediately by her side.

  “Sleep well?” Luna asks. Opal can tell she wants to be friends but Opal is indifferent.

  She humors her. “Always. Like a dog.”

  Luna meows her amusement. “Is the trinket safe?”

  Opal had hoped this question wouldn’t come out so early in their conversation. She sits in the grass and licks her front paw, washing her ears. Again. Anything to delay answering.

  But Luna is persistent. “Is it safe?”

  Opal puts her foot back down and looks in Luna’s direction. “I don’t know.”

  Luna’s pupils turn black as night and she asks, “What do you mean?”

  Calmly, Opal answers, “I don’t know where it is. It was there yesterday, and now it’s not.”

  Luna takes off at a gallop toward the house with the meeting room. Without being invited, Opal follows. She’s not sure she really wants to go with her, but if she doesn’t show, Jester is sure to track her down. She has nowhere to hide.

  Luna doesn’t even break her stride to leap over the fence around the house and Opal matches her speed. In the basement, not all of the cats are present, but Jester is there, like always.

  “It’s gone missing,” Luna says through her near panting. Opal wishes there was water but she doesn’t see a single bowl anywhere in the room.

  Jester stands from the blanket he was lounging on and towers over the two smaller female cats. “What do you mean, it’s missing?” he hisses at Luna.

  She cowers under his anger. “The Unmentionable. It’s missing. Opal just told me. We came straight here.”

  Jester turns his anger on Opal. “How did you let this happen?”

  Opal wishes she’d stayed at home today. “I . . . I . . .” She can’t form a sentence with his intimidating stare unwavering in her direction.

  “The dogs. Were they ever in your room? Could they have gotten their paws on it?” Jester asks roughly.

  Opal thinks back to yesterday morning. When the door opened and the dogs came rushing in, she ran straight under the bed. She didn’t watch what they did or if they took anything.

  “It’s possible,” she finally meows.

  “When? Where did they take it?” he demands.

  “Yesterday morning they could have. I don’t know where it might be.”

  “Yesterday morning? And you’re just bringing this to my attention now?” Jester’s anger only grows.

  Opal wants to defend herself. She doesn’t know what’s so important with this object on the collar. Sure, she’s been told to keep track of it, but she has no idea why.

  “We need to have a meeting,” Jester tells the rest of the room. The other cats that were listening to the interrogation gather around the single chair and Jester jumps on top of it. “Misty and Luna, go get the other cats that are out on missions. We’ll wait.” He turns his attention to Opal and continues. “You’re not going anywhere.”

  ***

  Opal is woken from her nap when Misty and Luna return with Tango, the orange cat she just recently met, and two others she doesn’t know, besides having seen them in this room before. Twelve cats gather in a semicircle in front of the chair that Jester is perched on once again.

  “For those of you just arriving, the reason for this emergency meeting is that Opal,” he directs his gaze in her direction and she cowers, “has just informed us that The Unmentionable is missing. We believe it has fallen into the paws of the dogs.”

  There are gasps from those who are hearing this information for the first time and suddenly a dozen pairs of eyes are looking at Opal. She wants to disappear.

  “I think we made a mistake in keeping Opal in the dark about what is so important about the collar she was given. So even though we always promised each other that no more than twelve cats would know about our plan to save the world, we have to bring a thirteenth cat into our group.”

  Jester pauses but no one protests. He looks at Opal and there is only seriousness in his eyes. His anger has disappeared, but Opal knows that whatever he says next she must listen to extra carefully.

  Jester continues, “The trinket on your collar, when paired with three keys, enables time travel.”

  Opal wants to laugh. She wonders how these cats came up with such nonsense. She keeps her reaction under wraps and stares back at Jester.

  “The three cats who just came back from missions keep tabs on the three keys. One has fallen into the wrong hands this weekend. There were four humans who were protecting the secret but they never destroyed nor enabled the keys. Somehow, the secret got leaked, and lately there has been a resurgence in humans coming looking for the keys. And the trinket that binds them all together.”

  “What do the dogs have to do with this?” Opal asks, humoring Jester by pretending she believes what he’s telling her.

  “I’m getting to that. If you can imagine what could happen if the wrong humans got their hands on the ability to time travel, you’d realize why we’re doing everything we can to keep the secret hidden. The only way is to get the humans to destroy at least one of the keys. With one missing, the powers will be destroyed.”

  Opal imagines traveling back in time to when she’d never been to Silver Springs and met these delusional cats.

  “In the wrong hands, humans would take advantage of this power and use it only for themselves. For greed and power. The dogs’ only mission in life is to please their humans. It’s become abundantly clear that they are protecting the keys by trying to keep them in the right hands, which is at least a start in the right direction. So it might appear that we’re on the same side, but they don’t see the same threat that time travel in the wrong hands would mean. The only solution is to have everything involved in time travel destroyed. But now we’re missing a key and the trinket from your collar. And we’ve lost one of the people who knew the secret—Eleanor Boothe. She didn’t leave that knowledge with anyone, so there are only three people left who know the truth. We must now protect them as well. If the knowledge dies from those protecting the secret, there is no telling what could happen and who could learn of this power.”

  Opal isn’t sure what to think. Jester is so confident in the trinket’s magical property that it’s almost believable.

  CHAPTER 22

  After leaving the casino, Maggie and Drew drive back to Silver Springs separately and meet three blocks from Vern’s house. The first thing Maggie notices about the neighborhood is that a car is in Jean Spellman’s driveway for the first time since she started keeping tabs on the house on Saturday night.

  “I suppose you have another plan to get Vern to talk,” Drew says when Maggie closes the passenger door of his SUV.

  “I do.” She smiles mischievously. “I’m going to tell him the truth.”

  Drew gives her a sideways look with eyebrows raised. “The truth? You really think that’s a good idea?”

  “The parts of the truth that matter. You’ll have to stay here because he knows you. But I’ll tell him I’m a private investigator who’s been hired to look into his wife’s death—all true—and I wondered if I could ask him a few questions. I’ll remind him that he has no alibi for Felicity’s time of death and ask about the lac
k of mourners who have come to him. Why isn’t Felicity’s family even here? Aside from April, anyway. But she doesn’t seem too torn up about all of this.”

  “And if he doesn’t talk?”

  “Then I’ll ask him about his relationship with April and their kid. There’s not much about him that looks innocent.” Maggie smiles, proud of herself.

  Drew thinks over her plan for a few moments and then nods his agreement. “I’ll keep both eyes on his house.”

  “That’s probably wise. Do you have Detective Stevens’ cell phone number?” Maggie asks.

  Drew nods, pulling out his binoculars from between the two front seats. “You’re sure about this?” he asks, giving Maggie one more chance to back out.

  “One hundred percent. Call my phone so you can listen in. If things turn ugly, hang up and call the police.”

  Drew nods, calls Maggie’s phone and she answers it. Then she slips her phone into her handbag, still connected to Drew so he can hear everything that happens inside.

  Maggie leaves the car and walks confidently to Vern’s front door. There are no cars in the driveway, but Maggie remembers his came out of the garage Sunday morning. She crosses her fingers that he’s home and checks behind her only once to make sure she can’t see that Drew is watching her.

  Maggie takes a deep breath to steady herself and rings the doorbell. She listens as footsteps approach from inside. The door opens and she’s finally looking into the face of Vern Myers.

  Vern looks left and right, then straight at Maggie. “Can I help you?” His voice is hesitant.

  “I’m Maggie.” She thrusts a hand in his direction but he doesn’t shake it. She’s momentarily thrown by his uninviting greeting, but she recovers herself and brushes down her shirt with her rejected hand. “I was hired to look into your wife’s murder and I wondered if I could talk to you for a little bit.”

  Vern isn’t entirely inviting, but he seems to weigh his options and decides to let Maggie into his house. She walks through the door and knows she’s temporarily out of sight of Drew. If they don’t sit in the living room—with the curtains open—Drew might not be able to see her at all.

  Thankfully, Vern silently leads Maggie to the living room where Maggie first learned about the existence of April and they both sit. The hardness of Vern’s eyes makes it clear that he doesn’t want to be talking to Maggie but he hasn’t figured out another option.

  “I’ve already spoken with the police on several occasions,” Vern says before Maggie can ask him a single question.

  She nods. “I just wanted to talk to you directly. Get your story straight from you, if that’s okay. It shouldn’t take long.”

  Suddenly, tears are streaming down Vern’s cheeks. He can’t look at Maggie. “This has all been too much. I don’t know what happened.”

  Maggie feels bad for making him relive this nightmare again, but this wasn’t the reaction she expected. From everything she knows, he’s either a good actor and is putting on a show for her, or he’s not guilty and she has to go back to the drawing board. Not ready to abandon Vern as a suspect just yet, Maggie continues on.

  “Let me help you figure it out,” she offers gently, wanting to reach out and take his hand, one of the few times she feels nurturing.

  Vern nods and leans back in his chair.

  Maggie waits for him to compose himself and then asks, “Where were you at the time of your wife’s murder? Between eleven and noon on Friday.”

  His eyes have gone blank. “I haven’t told the police this. That’s why they keep questioning me and keep thinking I’m guilty.” He pauses and looks directly at Maggie. She hopes he’s about to give her something new that she can work with. “I was waiting for my girlfriend. We were supposed to meet at eleven but she never showed up.”

  Without missing a beat, Maggie asks, “Who’s your girlfriend?”

  Vern shakes his head and his voice becomes unsteady. “This is really hard for me to share with anyone. Especially someone I don’t know.”

  “Is it harder than spending the rest of your life in prison for the murder of your wife?”

  “You’re right.” Life returns to Vern’s eyes. “April Newcomb. She was Felicity’s sister.”

  Vern stares straight at Maggie, waiting for her to react. She doesn’t give him the satisfaction. “And where were you waiting for her?”

  “At a hotel.”

  “Wouldn’t the police have been able to trace your credit card transaction to book the room? How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

  Vern shakes his head. “I paid in cash. I always did.”

  “You always did?” Maggie can’t help it, her voice rises. This guy is a cheating piece of scum, but she’s not sure he’s the killer right now.

  “Every Friday,” he says. He sits up and rests his elbows on his knees, leaning toward Maggie. “Look, Felicity and I had our difficulties. But I didn’t kill her. I wouldn’t.”

  Maggie thinks of Mitch and wonders if he could be guilty after all. Could he have broken into Erline and Jeff’s house on Friday and was interrupted by Felicity cleaning? Could she have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time? Would Mitch steal the jewelry as a cover and to frame someone else?

  Before she can come up with answers to her questions, a third person enters the room and points a gun directly at Maggie.

  CHAPTER 23

  Vern stands quickly and shouts, “April, what are you doing?”

  April shakes her head and looks at him disbelievingly. “I can’t believe you didn’t figure it out. I heard everything you just said, and now it’s only a matter of time before she goes to the police with this information.”

  Vern’s mouth drops open but April doesn’t take her eyes—or the gun—off of Maggie. “It was you?” he asks. “Why? She was your sister!”

  “And none of us were happy because of her. You didn’t want to be with her anymore, you haven’t wanted to for years. I haven’t liked her for years. You were dragging your feet on the divorce. This was the only way we could be together.” April’s voice maintains a certain calmness to it despite her obviously growing anger.

  Vern is speechless and Maggie is helpless. She’s waiting anxiously for Drew to come in and rescue her but she doesn’t dare take her eyes off April to see if there is movement outside.

  “What are you planning to do now?” Vern asks, panic in his voice. He’s taken a single step toward April, but Maggie is still between the two of them. From her peripheral vision, she can just barely see Vern.

  “What do you think? She was one question away from figuring out I killed Felicity. I can’t keep her around.”

  From somewhere in the house, Maggie hears a door slam open and several pairs of feet come running in her direction. She still doesn’t take her eyes from April, but April turns just as Officer Malin tackles her to the floor, kicking the loose gun away as soon as it’s free from April’s hand.

  “You’re under arrest for the murder of Felicity Myers,” Officer Malin says as she slaps on handcuffs. Those are the sweetest words Maggie has heard in months.

  Behind Officer Malin, Detective Stevens, three more officers and Drew all enter the living room. Drew and Detective Stevens both come straight to Maggie.

  “Are you okay?” they ask in unison.

  With no one paying attention to Vern, he says, “Let April go,” and points the gun straight at Drew, getting everyone’s attention.

  Drew raises his hands in the air, but it’s an unnecessary move. One of the officers shoots Vern in the foot and he immediately drops the gun and falls to the floor in pain. The same officer picks up the gun and places it in an evidence bag before anyone attends to Vern.

  “Sorry, but you brought that on yourself,” the officer says to Vern, who then puts a second set of handcuffs on him. “You’re under arrest for conspiring to kill Felicity Myers and the attempted murder of Drew Kent.”

  “I didn’t know April killed Felicity until right now,” Vern protests.r />
  The officer reads him his rights as he leads Vern, limping, to the front of the house and into a waiting cop car. Vern chooses to exercise his right to remain silent.

  Soon, Maggie is alone in Vern’s living room between Drew and Detective Stevens. She’s too shaken up to notice the tension flying between the two men.

  “Do you think you can come to the station to give a statement?” Detective Stevens asks her, his hand on her arm.

  Without thinking, Maggie pulls her arm away and nods.

  “Drew, you’ll have to come too. Thanks for the call. I think we got here just in time.”

  Drew stands but doesn’t say anything. The three of them walk out the front door and get into Detective Stevens’ car.

  ***

  Maggie doesn’t leave the police station until well after dark. She refuses to go without answers to her remaining questions but Detective Stevens won’t give them to her.

  “Don’t forget that you hired me as a consultant on this case,” she reminds him.

  Detective Stevens nods. “I know. And I’ll give you the answers you’re looking for. Let me give you a ride back to your car.”

  Maggie agrees. She needs a ride to her car and she’s hopeful he’ll talk to her in the car. She has to wait another half hour while Detective Stevens gets Drew’s statement, but finally they’re alone in the car and she asks away.

  “How did you get there so fast today?” Maggie asks as soon as both doors are closed.

  Detective Stevens starts the car before he answers. “Drew called as soon as April came into the room and confessed. He said he was listening to the whole conversation. Good thing he called when he did or who knows how this all would have ended.”

  Satisfied, Maggie asks the more pressing question. “What about the break in? I know it wasn’t April.”

  “You’re right, it wasn’t,” he answers before she can tell him who it was. “It was Mitch Cable.”

  Maggie is surprised. “How did you know? I figured it out this morning.”