Pawsitively Murder (Silver Springs Cozy Mystery Series Book 2) Read online

  “Why does Erline think she’s in trouble?” Maggie asks.

  Clem shakes her head and takes another bite. “I don’t know. She wouldn’t say. Maybe just because Felicity was in her house when she was killed. I really don’t know. You’ll have to get that out of her.”

  “What about Felicity? What was the cause of death?”

  Clem shakes her head again. “I really don’t know anything. I was just there because Daniel called me because Erline was asking for you. And he thought I might be able to talk some sense into her after she locked herself in her bedroom. But I got nowhere. She only wanted you.”

  Maggie has no idea why. In May, she spent a few mornings with Erline, Ginger Rae and Winona at The Coffee Bean and she even went to the weekly Bingo night with them, and the rest of Silver Springs. But other than that, they were her mother’s best friends, not Maggie’s.

  “I guess I’ll have to talk to her then.”

  Clem nods and they finish their sandwiches in silence. Clem fills the sink with their dishes before they get into Clem’s car for the short drive to Erline’s house.

  “How are Ginger Rae and Winona?” Maggie asks as they drive across town.

  “Since this happened? About as worried as Erline.”

  “They think she’s in trouble too?”

  “I don’t know. I just saw them briefly yesterday. They looked panicked. But I didn’t have a chance to talk to them. You know how Ginger Rae is. She was trying to take control of everything and just ended up getting in Daniel’s way instead.” Clem smiles at the memory.

  “And aside from yesterday’s events? How are they?” Maggie hasn’t put in any effort to stay in touch with them since she went back to Denver after solving her parents’ murder.

  Clem shrugs. “Same old, same old.”

  They pull into Erline’s driveway and park next to a police car. Maggie hasn’t been to this house in years but she remembers it from her childhood. The only thing that reassures Maggie that any time has passed since her last visit is that the trees and shrubs have grown.

  As soon as Clem and Maggie have closed the car doors, the front door of the house opens and Erline’s husband comes rushing outside. Maggie doesn’t know him as well as she knows Erline, but seeing him brings a smile to her face; he’s a familiar landmark in this town she hasn’t called home in over three decades. He doesn’t match the sentiment.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” Jeff says, his hands coming to rest on Maggie’s arms as he pulls her toward the house. Maggie doesn’t have time to extricate herself from his hold. “She hasn’t left our bedroom all day. I don’t think she’s had anything to eat. She won’t even let me in.”

  Maggie allows Jeff to bring her inside. “Where did you sleep last night?” she asks.

  Jeff pauses in his frantic movements to get Maggie to Erline and raises an eyebrow at her. “On the couch. She didn’t exactly give me a choice.” As soon as the words are spoken he pulls her to the foot of the stairs and up the whole flight, never taking his hand from her arm.

  Jeff knocks on the bedroom door and Maggie hears shuffling on the other side of it. “Erline?” he calls but there is no response, just continued shuffling. Jeff turns to Maggie and says, “I think she’s been pacing all night.”

  “Who are you talking to?” Erline demands from just on the other side of the door. It’s clear to Maggie that she’s panicked.

  “It’s Maggie,” Maggie says.

  Erline unlocks the bedroom door and cracks it open, her small face peeking through the opening at Maggie’s chest height. “Well what are you waiting for? Get in here.”

  Erline opens the door wider and pulls Maggie into the bedroom, slamming the door before the others could even think of following her inside.

  “What’s going on?” Maggie asks, concerned about Erline’s wild eyes.

  “It was Vern. I know it was.” Erline’s voice is almost too fast to catch each word.

  “Who’s Vern?” Maggie asks calmly, hoping to restore some kind of normalcy to this situation.

  “Felicity Myers’ husband. I know it was him. She’s been worried about him for months. And now he’s gone and done it—”

  Maggie lets everything sink in before she says, “I thought you were worried you were in trouble.”

  Erline looks up quickly and continues her pacing. Maggie sits on the edge of the bed and waits for Erline to explain.

  “I do think I’m in trouble, but I don’t know how yet. Either Vern is trying to frame me or I was the real target. I don’t know which.” Erline reaches one end of the bedroom and turns around, never breaking stride or changing her speed.

  “Why?”

  “Because I was about to figure out what was going on. He knew Felicity was suspicious. But she couldn’t prove it. So I started following him.”

  “You what? Erline, you have to be careful.”

  “I know, I know. But Felicity was my friend.”

  Maggie hangs her head and looks at her feet. She wonders what she’s getting herself into by being here. “Okay, so you started following him. What did you find?”

  Erline shakes her head. “Nothing. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t hiding something. He’s just doing a better job at hiding it than I was doing at finding out what it was.”

  Maggie isn’t sure if Erline is losing it. She is 81 years old and sounds paranoid. Could this all be a delusion she’s convinced herself is real? But even if it is, Felicity is dead and Maggie has a feeling she’s going to have to figure out why.

  Maggie spends another thirty minutes with Erline alone in the bedroom. By the end of their conversation she’s almost positive that Erline needs to see a shrink.

  “Just . . . promise me you’ll look into Vern,” Erline begs, finally sitting on the bed next to Maggie. She looks exhausted after her sleepless night of pacing the bedroom.

  Maggie doesn’t want to promise anything. If Erline is right, then Maggie could put herself in harm’s way and end up being a target. And if she’s wrong, then Maggie’s time would be wasted. Time that she could be spending in a thousand different—and more productive—ways.

  But this was one of her mother’s best friends, someone who would have been a mother to Maggie if she’d needed it. She can’t tell her no when she’s essentially family.

  “Okay. I’ll look into Vern.”

  Erline sighs and falls onto her back on the bed. Maggie is surprised that such a quick motion doesn’t jolt the octogenarian’s back. “Thank you,” Erline whispers, her eyes closed as she quickly drifts off to sleep.

  Maggie stands quietly and walks to the bedroom door. When she opens it, she finds Jeff and a police officer just on the other side of the door, talking in whispers.

  “Maggie,” Jeff says, looking up at the sound of the door opening. “Is Erline okay?”

  Maggie considers how to answer. She thinks Erline is going off the deep end but should she really tell Jeff he might be losing his wife to dementia?

  “She’ll be fine,” Maggie says. “She just fell asleep. I think she was exhausted.”

  Maggie looks in the direction of the officer. “I’m sorry. Maggie, this is Officer Joan Malin. Officer Malin, this is Maggie Boothe. Detective Stevens asked for Maggie’s assistance on this case because she was the only person Erline was willing to talk to,” Jeff explains.

  Maggie shakes Officer Malin’s hand and they smile warmly at each other. “Detective Stevens told me to expect you. Didn’t you catch Eleanor and Charles Boothe’s . . . you’re their daughter aren’t you?” Maggie nods shyly. “I was so sorry to hear about your parents’ murder.” Maggie nods again, not sure what to say.

  After a pause, Maggie changes the subject. “What was the cause of death for Felicity?”

  Officer Malin’s eyes dart about uncomfortably. “I . . . I don’t know. But even if I did, I couldn’t disclose that.”

  “Oh right. Of course. Sorry I asked,” Maggie apologizes. “I guess I’ll be going then. I’ll just stop by
the police department to check in with Detective Stevens.”

  Officer Malin nods and resumes her post outside Erline’s bedroom. Jeff follows Maggie downstairs. At the front door he says, “Thank you so much for coming. I know it was out of your way. But Erline thinks very highly of you.”

  Maggie gives Jeff a sad smile, wondering if this is the beginning of the end for him and Erline. “Anything for you two.” She looks around quickly. “Where’s Clem?” Maggie expected Clem to give her a ride again.

  “She had to open the shop. She took the morning off but this is a big sales weekend with all the extra tourists.”

  Maggie nods. “Can you give me a ride?”

  Jeff looks worried. Maggie can tell he doesn’t want to leave Erline alone even though she’ll be asleep for hours. “I’ll let you borrow my car. I won’t be needing it today I don’t think.” He hands her a set of keys. “It’s the black Honda in the garage.”

  Maggie takes the keys gratefully and says, “Thanks. I’ll try to get it back to you tonight when Clem gets home.”

  “No rush.”

  Maggie waves as she leaves the house for the garage. An orange cat darts in front of her, nearly tripping her. She isn’t sure if Jeff and Erline have a cat or if this one belongs to a neighbor. She starts the car and backs out of the garage. Maggie is anxious to talk to Detective Stevens and learn more about Felicity Myers. She’s already more involved than she intended.

  CHAPTER 4

  Opal is furious. She spent the better part of the morning stuck in her prison in the car, brought away from her home against her will. Her hiding spot under the bed is less than ideal and she slinks out from beneath it. The hair stands up on her back, making her look menacing and angry.

  She’s back in Silver Springs. It wouldn’t be such a bad place if it weren’t for the two dogs she has to share the house with. They think they own the place. Obviously they’ve never had a full time feline resident who has put them in their place.

  Opal made her frustration clear to her human as soon as she was allowed out of the prison. She hopes she got her point across and this will be a short trip. And their last. There is no reason she has to be here again. She would have been perfectly happy staying home and hunting for her food.

  But since she is here, Opal decides to make the best of a bad situation. As soon as the human voices disappear and the dogs become interested in her closed bedroom door, Opal wanders into the attached bathroom to find the window open a crack. She jumps onto the toilet and slips through the window into the freedom of the outer world.

  Opal’s first observation once outside is that there are no other cats lurking around. During her last visit, Opal stumbled across a possibly crazy group of cats that acted like they were protecting some great secret. And that great secret was in Opal’s house, even in her bedroom. She was assigned two guard cats—Luna and Misty—and couldn’t leave the house without one of them following her every move.

  This time, Opal is completely alone.

  She considers the few areas she checked out in May. She heads toward the dog park for a few paces but has no interest in coming across a canine. They are best left alone. And if they must be approached, she knows to do so with much caution and her claws drawn.

  The only other place she visited on multiple occasions was the seemingly abandoned house where the cats meet. She decides to start heading in that direction to see if Luna is around. Opal doesn’t usually seek out company, but Luna was interesting and unobtrusive. Plus, she knows the area.

  Opal reaches the fence surrounding the house. She doesn’t see movement anywhere—not from cats or humans. She easily jumps over the fence. It’s not high—just high enough to keep the dogs out. She stays low to the ground in the tall grass and creeps to the board covering the open window leading into the basement.

  As she reaches the entrance, Opal hears voices she recognizes. There is a deep, throaty growl she knows is Jester, the leader of the group. She hears Luna’s meek and mild voice, followed by two more she can’t place.

  Opal peeks around the board and all twelve of the cats she met in May turn to face her. Either she wasn’t as quiet as she thought or they have experienced enough intruders to sense someone’s presence without actually seeing or hearing them.

  “Well, if it isn’t Opal coming back,” Jester says, stalking toward the window. Opal makes no move to enter the room. Now that she’s here she isn’t sure it was such a good idea. “Don’t just stand there, join us.”

  Jester’s voice is the opposite of friendly but Opal doesn’t dare go against his orders. She jumps down into the room and walks with as much confidence as she can muster to a spot next to Luna.

  “We didn’t expect to see you again,” Luna whispers. “We thought everything was safe now.”

  Opal is brought back to May’s strange conversations about protecting the humans from themselves and keeping something out of the paws of the dogs. She is seriously questioning her own sanity now at thinking coming here was a good idea. The dog park might have been the better option.

  “Is it safe?” Jester insists of Opal.

  She looks up at him and wonders what he’s talking about.

  “The trinket. Do the dogs have it?” he asks, panic making his voice grow higher pitched.

  Opal is still confused and turns to Luna for help. “The thing that was on the collar I made you take off when you left the house with it.”

  “Oh. Yes. It’s safe. It’s in the house. Still in my bedroom away from the dogs.”

  Jester yowls. “It’s been in Silver Springs since you left and we didn’t know? We thought it was with you in Denver with plenty of distance from the other keys and from the dogs searching for it.”

  Opal cowers. She doesn’t know what’s so special about this one trinket, or what keys have to do with it. She doesn’t want to know if it means spending more time with Jester.

  “Keep Luna in the know. She should be aware of its location at all times. How long are you staying?” Jester asks, his voice only slightly calmer.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t even know we were coming,” Opal responds. “Should I bring it to Denver? I can wear it again.”

  “Do not wear it outside,” Jester bellows and Opal cowers. “There is too much risk that it could get caught on a branch and fall off. Leave it in the bedroom away from the dogs. Luna will escort you back home.”

  Opal is relieved. She doesn’t want to spend another second in this basement with Jester. She happily follows Luna back through the window and toward her house.

  They walk in silence, Opal slightly behind Luna. With a guide, Opal has the confidence to look around and take in more of her surroundings. To her surprise, there are cats everywhere: lurking in bushes, up in trees, even beneath cars. She wonders how many of them are connected to the group of deranged cats.

  For all of the cat activity, there is very little human movement. The only person of note is a redhead. And Opal only notices her because of the shiny objects in her hand that catch the sun and reflect it straight into Opal’s eyes. The woman looks around furtively, standing outside of her small black car. When she decides it’s safe, she grabs the shiny object and stuffs it into a backpack.

  Opal realizes she’s lagged far behind Luna and she jogs to catch up, matching her stride rather than staying behind her.

  About halfway home, she finally musters the courage to ask Luna about the group of cats. “Do you all live down there?” Opal asks. She was once a stray herself and knows the challenges of that life. She enjoyed being responsible for herself, but there were too many predators to ever relax.

  Luna nearly laughs. “Have you looked at us? Half of us are fat and the other half have collars.”

  Opal hadn’t spotted those details. She was always too worried about unintentionally landing on Jester’s bad side.

  “We all have humans. We just meet there every day. Some of us have freedom at night too. It’s the best of both worlds, really. We get our freedom b
ut get the comfort of a bed when we want it. The only problem has been adjusting to the dogs’ schedule. We’d prefer to meet at night but then we’d miss all of the dogs’ movements.”

  “So, what are these meetings about?” Opal asks. She’s never met so many cats who prefer to spend time together rather than alone.

  “That thing on your collar. And the three keys that activate it. But one of them might have gone missing. There’s been suspicious activity in the house where it’s kept. We have a scout checking it out. Tango, the orange cat in our group. He just got back from a mission and will probably go out again tonight.”

  By now they’ve reached Opal’s open window and they both hear Suzie come charging from the front of the house. Opal doesn’t have time to react to Luna’s delusional comments about keys activating a trinket and Tango going out on missions. She leaps through the window and Luna scoots up a tree away from Suzie’s scratching paws, just in the nick of time.

  CHAPTER 5

  Maggie parks Jeff’s Honda at the surprisingly busy Silver Springs police department. She’s lucky to find a spot, something she hadn’t planned to have trouble with on a Saturday afternoon. But a murder always changes the dynamics of a town, especially a small one.

  Inside, the scene is even more chaotic than outside. It looks like it’s all hands on deck and Maggie blends into the small crowd as soon as she walks through the door. She looks around for a few moments and realizes that almost everyone is in uniform, she’s one of the only non-officers in the front room.

  Detective Daniel Stevens spots her after a few minutes and smiles brightly. He waves her through to his office and she’s relieved to be away from everyone else.

  “Thanks for coming. Have you talked to Erline?” Daniel asks once they’re both seated and Maggie has a Styrofoam cup of coffee. It’s not the best, but it’ll do after her early morning.

  “I have.”

  Before she can offer any other information Daniel asks, “And?”