Laurie Cass - Bookmobile Cat 02 - Tailing a Tabby (24 page)

T
he next morning, I’d given Kristen the short version of the previous evening’s events, but she hadn’t had time for the full-length story.

“Stupid restaurant,” she’d muttered. “Why can’t I have a Monday-through-Friday job like everybody else?”

“You did, remember? You hated it.”

“Oh, yeah.” Her smile came through the phone. “I did, didn’t I?”

We scheduled a confab on the marina’s patio, and I headed up to the boardinghouse for the last of the big summer breakfasts.

Come Sunday afternoon, Kristen and Eddie and I were comfortably sprawled out in the warm sun. Kristen and her long legs, which were somehow deeply tanned in spite of her long hours at the restaurant, were stretched across two chairs that she’d dragged together. Eddie and I were sharing a glider love seat that, for the first time all summer, was not squeaking on the forward glide. Either Chris had finally remembered to oil it or the people in the closest boat slip had done it themselves.

“Spill,” Kristen said lazily, her face lifted to the sun. “Top to bottom.”

So I did. She’d known bits of it before, but now I told her everything. I told her about Barb calling me when Cade had been questioned by the police, told her about my promise to Cade, told her about the accidents and the various possible implications, told her about Greg Plassey and Trock Farrand and Hugo Edel and Carissa’s friend Jari. I told her about the traps, about the weekends, and about Eddie being on the roof and saving the day. I did not tell her about the rabbits.

Kristen turned toward me and opened one eye. “So it was the Weasel?”

I nodded. “Brett Karringer. After the police got there, he wouldn’t stop talking. That Deputy…” I paused. “Ash Wolverson, do you know him?”

Kristen shook her head, which meant Wolverson wasn’t from Chilson. I felt a small bleat of disappointment; I’d been a little curious about the man. “Anyway, after the police showed up, Brett confessed to everything. It was kind of weird, actually.”

It had been very weird. Uncomfortable didn’t begin to explain how I’d felt, stuck there until the police gave me permission to go, having to listen to Brett Karringer talk on and on as if he’d never stop.

“I love her so much,” he’d said. “It was the worst torture to see her throwing herself at those older guys. She was the love of my life. Maybe she didn’t know it, but she would have, I know she would have. All I had to do was show her how much I loved her, that’s all.”

At that point, Deputy Wolverson had pulled him to his uninjured feet. The effort didn’t stop Brett from talking.

“I knew I had to do something after I saw her picture with you on Facebook.” He practically spat at Cade. “She was seeing way too much of you. I couldn’t let that keep happening.”

Cade murmured something indistinguishable and Deputy Wolverson made enough of an encouraging noise that Karringer kept going.

“Yeah, I’ve been one of her Facebook friends for years, not that she knew it was me,” he said, smirking. “I just tracked down a yearbook from her high school, found some guy who wasn’t on Facebook, and signed up to be him. She friended me right away, asking if I was still dating Mimi Martin.”

He laughed at his own cleverness.

I shivered.

“The way she posted stuff online,” Karringer went on, “it was the easiest thing ever to see what she was up to. I can’t believe some of the stuff she posted. I mean, if someone was out to get her, it would have been a piece of cake to track her down.” He shook his head, then grinned at Cade. “That phone call I made got you to come running, didn’t it?”

I glanced over. Cade was staring at Karringer with an expression that I couldn’t quite interpret, and wasn’t sure I wanted to.

Karringer tried to point at Cade. His movements were now restricted by the handcuffs that the deputy had placed around his wrists. “I’m the one who really loved her. Not you, not Plassey, not Farrand, not Edel, not anyone. Me! I was the one!”

He stopped, blew out a few guttural breaths, then slid into a kind of whine. “I had to take care of all those guys she posted about on Facebook. I thought those
accidents would be just the ticket, but none of them worked the way they should have. I knew I’d have to try again, so I got a gun, but I had to lie low after Carissa. Didn’t want to make it look too obvious, you know?”

“You did something to Greg’s ladder, didn’t you?” I asked.

Karringer chuckled. “Big expensive fence he put up doesn’t do much good when he gives the code to all his friends. Pretty smart of me to be his friend, huh? I figured that was the way to go after threatening Edel didn’t work. Telling Farrand to keep his hands off didn’t work, either.”

He’d shaken his head. “All those old guys, it didn’t make sense for Carissa to be with them. It wasn’t right, you know? I had to stop her from wasting her life. I wanted to kill you worst of all.” Karringer had nodded at Cade. “But I couldn’t work out how, not if I wanted to set you up for Carissa’s murder.”

“Sorry about that,” Cade had said dryly.

“Yeah, me, too.” Karringer had shrugged as the deputy guided him into the back of the police car. “Sometimes things just don’t work out the way you want.”

And sometimes they did. I’d used my cell phone to record every bit of Karringer’s confession, and had promptly sent the digital file to Detectives Devereaux and Inwood. Almost as promptly, Detective Inwood had called to thank me, saying it would help build the case against Karringer.

“Really?” I asked.

“Everything helps,” Inwood said. “Even if he pleads out, it speeds things up when the bad guy knows he was caught on tape, dead to rights. So, thank you.”

“Oh. Well, you’re welcome, then.”

“How did Wolverson do?” Inwood had asked.

Do what? I’d wondered.

“You knew that Don and I have been training Wolverson up to detective, didn’t you?”

Not sure how I could have known that since no one had told me, but whatever. “He did just fine,” I’d said.

Inwood had gone on to describe the college courses Wolverson would be taking, and when we hung up, I knew more than I’d thought I ever would about the requirements for becoming a detective in the Tonedagana Sheriff’s Office.

Kristen reached out for a potato chip and scooped it deep into the ultrafancy dip I’d slapped together half an hour earlier: dried onion soup mix in a container of sour cream.

While she concentrated on getting all the dip into her mouth without dropping any on her shirt, I thought back to the conversation I’d had yesterday with Cade. The aide who’d lied about his whereabouts the night of the murder had been put on suspension, but Cade had made a stand for her and she would keep her job.

Plus, Cade was going to contact Carissa’s family and tell them he’d like to donate a painting to Carissa’s favorite charity for a fund-raising auction, and that they could choose any painting currently on display anywhere in the world for the donation.

I told this to Kristen. “What’s the charity?” she asked.

“You’re not going to believe it.”

“Society for the Advancement of Mincemeat?”

“You make the weirdest guesses ever. No, her mother said her favorite thing as a kid was visiting the
library. When Cade told her there’s a wonderful library in Chilson, she said that would be the perfect memorial.” I looked over at Kristen. “Are you crying?”

Kristen sniffed. “Allergies. I get them something fierce this time of year.”

She’d never had an allergy in her life, but I smiled and kept my mouth shut.

Coughing and rubbing her eyes, she asked, “So, is the Mitchell Situation resolved?”

“Now, that’s an interesting question.” I reached into my pocket and handed her the business card Mitchell had handed me the day before, a card inexpertly printed via a home computer and a laser printer.

“Northern Detective Agency,” Kristen read out loud. “Mysteries Solved by Mitchell Koyne.” She read it again, this time with her voice rising into question marks. “Mysteries solved?” She hooted with laughter. “Watch out, Minnie. This guy might be your new competition for tracking down killers.”

“He’s welcome to it,” I said. Poor Mitchell. He was operating his new business out of his sister’s attic, which, as it turned out, was where he was living these days. I wished him the best of luck. And who knew? Maybe this time Mitchell would actually make a success of himself.

Which reminded me. “Say, did I tell you who won the candy contest?”

Randall Moffit had been the only person to guess the correct (averaged) number of candies. I’d called him yesterday and he’d been happy enough to take the candy, but he hadn’t cared about the bookmobile coming to his house. I’d suggested that he give the bookmobile prize to young Sheridan, the boy who’d wanted to have it stop at his grandmother’s house.

Moffit had agreed, and my ear was still ringing from the squeal Sheridan had made when I called. I’d contacted the grandmother, who was thrilled at the idea of a library coming to her house. We got to talking, and it turned out that Sheridan’s grandmother was on the board of Chilson’s chamber of commerce. One thing led to another and the bookmobile and I were already booked to be in the town’s Christmas parade.

Kristen hopped her chair a little to follow the sun at a slightly better angle. “Soon Eddie’s going to have more friends than you do.”

I patted Eddie on the head. “He already does. Everyone who sets foot on the bookmobile knows Eddie’s name. I bet only half of them know mine. But that’s okay. I don’t really enjoy being the center of attention.”

Kristen yawned. “That’s the understatement of the year.” She dipped another chip. “So, what’s the deal with this furry guy and your doctor guy? Is he really allergic?”

I sighed. “My doctor guy has an appointment with an allergist. We’ll know more in a couple of weeks.”

“Hey, isn’t that Greg Plassey?” Shading her face from the sun with the flat of her hand, Kristen pointed to a large boat cruising past.

It was indeed. Greg had ended up buying the boat that Chris had picked out for him the day I dragged Chris to Crown Yachts. I wasn’t sure I believed in fate, but sometimes it was hard not to.

“Forgot to tell you,” Kristen said. “The Edels were in the restaurant the other day, celebrating their anniversary. The two of them looked like newlyweds.”

If Hugo had been seeing Carissa on the side, maybe her death had made him see how stupid he’d been. I
smiled, happy for Annelise. “Was it a special anniversary?”

“Dunno. All I know is Hugo called ahead, asking for that small room, and had the whole place filled with roses.” She rolled her eyes. “Nice gesture, I guess, but that rose smell didn’t do anything to enhance their dinner.”

“You have the sentiment of a soap dish.”

She grinned. “Did you know that Trock Farrand’s right-hand guy came in the other day? Said you’d talked up my place so much that he had to try it.”

“Scruffy?” I went at the dip again. “Are they going to put the Three Seasons on their show?”

“Maybe.”

The way she said it made me look up. “What do you mean, maybe?”

“Just what I said. Maybe. Scruffy would like to discuss it over dinner. At the City Park Grill in Petoskey.”

The potato chip broke in my hand. “You’re going on a date with Scruffy?”

“And I have you to thank for it.”

“Huh.” I put the chip pieces together. “Aunt Frances is the matchmaker in the family, not me.”

“About that. Is it still all messed up?”

I smiled. “Yep. But it’s just the way it was meant to be. Aunt Frances had things mixed up a little, is all.” I laid out the news I’d heard at breakfast yesterday morning. Some of which I’d known already, of course. Deena and Quincy were engaged, as per the scene in the jewelry store. Paulette and Leo were making plans to move in together, and Zofia and her bicycle partner were making plans to drive Route 66 in October.

“What about that hot kid?” Kristen asked. “You know, what’s his name?”

“Harris.” I laughed out loud, disturbing Eddie enough to make him pick up his head and move it two inches. “Remember Megan? The girl Josh was dating but dumped because she’s a White Sox fan?”

Kristen groaned. “Don’t tell me. Harris was born into a White Sox family. His childhood bedroom was decorated with Sox stuff and his first book report ever was on a biography of Whitey Herzog.”

“Pretty much.”

We ate the bowl of chips down to the bottom, talking about nothing in general, giving Eddie an occasional scritch under the chin as we watched the boats float past and the clouds drift by. Late summer in Chilson with my two best friends. I couldn’t think of any place I’d rather be.

“Pretty as a painting,” Kristen said lazily. “Speaking of which, how is Cade’s recovery coming? Will he… you know.”

“Ever paint again?” I patted Eddie’s head, thumping him just enough to make his head go up and down and up and down. He started purring. “Cade’s physical therapist says he should be able to have enough motor control for painting before Christmas. Maybe even Thanksgiving.”

“Sweet.”

Yes, it was. I’d been worried that the exertions of Friday night had set him back, but it turned out that the clearing of his name had been of more benefit than a month of exercises.

“And it’s all due to you,” he’d said. “You and your ferocious feline. Thanks to your efforts, the investments of thousands of people are safe and sound. What can I possibly do to repay you?”

I’d protested, saying I didn’t need anything, that I’d been glad to do it, that any halfway decent friend would have done the same thing, but he’d insisted. So had Barb and so had Ivy. Eventually we’d hammered out a compromise. He would paint a portrait of Eddie and I’d say thank you when it was delivered.

Kristen looked at me. Looked at Eddie. “You know,” she said, “I’ve been watching him the whole afternoon and it really does seem as if he understands what we’re saying. Especially you.”

“Don’t be silly.” I picked him up and turned him around. “What do you think, Eddie? Do you understand a single solitary word of this sentence? If you do, say something. Anything.”

Eddie looked me straight in the eye.