The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer (18 page)

“Is Lonny's dad still around?”

Scoop shrugged. “I don't know, shortly after the kidnapping he moved with Lonny over to Bingham County. They bought some land way out in the boonies.”

“Where's Mrs. Klonsky?” Jackie asked.

“She died from cancer when Lonny was three.”

“What happened to Mr. Fedewa after the drop?” Sarah asked.

“Well, he felt responsible for his son being kidnapped, and then when the delivery failed… he fell into a depression.”

“Where is he?” Sarah clenched her hands, anticipation ran through her body like a runaway train.
We're so close.

“He left town, and drank himself to death. He died a few years after the kidnapping.”

“What a horrible tragedy. I feel so sorry for the Cat Lady.” Tears prickled in Sarah's eyes, and she blinked fast to stop them.

“I do too, but how are we going to get Klonsky?” Jackie asked.

“The only way we can.” Sarah leaned back in her seat and looked away, deep in thought.

“Enlighten me, oh wise one.” Jackie pretended to gag.

Sarah stuck her tongue out at her friend. “We're going to have to get a confession from him.”

“Hold on, what are you talking about?” Scoop protested.

“That's the only way we can catch him.” Sarah crossed her arms over her chest.

“This is a matter for the police to handle,” Scoop said with a stern look.

“But Klonsky is the police. The Cat Lady isn't going to get justice, and he's going to get away with murder.”

“Not only that, he's going to get the Cat Lady's money,” Jackie added.

“The only way Klonsky would inherit the money is if Mrs. Fedewa left it to him in her will,” Scoop argued.

“What if she didn't have a will, what happens then?” Sarah asked.

“Well, the estate would be divided among her heirs.”

“The only heir was her son, right?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah, and he's presumed dead.”

“But, a body was never found,” Sarah said.

“Did you say there were two men down by the creek?” Scoop asked.

Sarah nodded, as questions danced in her mind.

“Did Lon ever call the other man by name?” Scoop leaned forward in his seat and gave Sarah an intent look.

“Not down by the creek, but at the Cat Lady's, he called him D.W.,” Jackie jumped in.

“D.W.?”

Sarah stared at Scoop. She saw the glimmer in his eye.
Who was D.W.?

“Yeah,
” Jackie said.
“What does that mean?”

“I'm not sure, but I've got to do some research. I don't want you kids doing anything until you hear back from me.” Scoop stood and pushed his chair back.

“Where are you going?” Sarah asked.

“I'm going to find out if Mrs. Fedewa had a will.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“I have my ways.” Scoop cracked a wide smile. “My name's Scoop Davis, I used to be a star reporter, you know.” He leaned on the table and gave Sarah a warning look. “I don't want you kids doing anything until you hear from me.”

“Okay,” Sarah said with a smile.

Scoop paid for his drink and left the restaurant. Sarah watched him march through the door, his stride long and purposeful.
He's a man on a mission.

“What should we do now?” Jackie asked, blowing bubbles in her soda.

“We need to get a confession
from Klonsky,” Sarah responded.

“You heard Scoop. He doesn't want us doing anything until we hear back from him,” Lacey protested.

“So, Scoop isn't the boss of us,” Sarah giggled.

“You so have a problem listening to authority figures, girlfriend.”

Sarah snickered. “Scoop's not an authority figure, he's just an adult.”

The girls burst out laughing.

“How in the world are we going to get a confession?” Jackie asked.

“Let's head back to the tent and brainstorm,” Sarah suggested.

The Super Spies paid for their sodas and left. They strolled out of the restaurant into the muggy heat. Walking back to their bikes, Sarah obsessed about Klonsky. How
were
we going to get a confession from him? Mounting their bikes, they began to wind their way home. No answer came to her, just more questions.
Who is D.W.? Why would he want the Cat Lady dead?

 

Sarah glided into the front yard, standing on her pedals, the wind fanning her hair out behind her. Slowing when she hit the grass, she waved to Uncle Walt as he pulled out of the driveway. Jackie and Lacey stopped on the sidewalk before the driveway and waited for him to back out into the street.

Sarah dropped her bike as the other two girls coasted up beside her. “Man, riding made me thirsty all over again. I'm going to grab a soda.” She bounded up the steps and opened the front door. “Does anyone else want one?”

“I do,” Jackie said, dropping her bike.

Lacey nodded.

“Okay, I'll meet you guys at the tent.” Sarah dashed inside and met an excited Lily. She ruffled the dog's fur affectionately and then grabbed the sodas. On the spur of the moment, she ran down to her bedroom and snatched the Cat Lady's photo album.

“There might be more clues in here,” she muttered to Lily, who trotted behind her.

After making sure Lily was secured in the house, Sarah jogged out to the tent. She found Lacey and Jackie inside rolling the sleeping bags out of the way.

Sarah handed out the drinks, and then popped the top on hers. She took a long swallow. “That hits the spot.”

“It sure does,” Jackie nodded.

The air in the tent felt hot and sticky. Sarah opened the flap a
nd secured it
, hoping some fresh air would circulate. While she did that, Jackie and Lacey finished moving the bed rolls
to the side of the tent.

The girls sat in a circle in the middle of their shelter, their knees touching. Sarah's stomach clenched. Her intuition told her answers lay inside the faded pages of the photo album. She just had to look. Opening the book, her brow furrowed as she concentrated.

“What are you looking for?” Lacey asked.

“I feel like we missed something the first time we went through it.”

Sarah fell silent as she turned the page. On the next page they found a portrait of young David Fedewa. The picture was taken when he was just a year old. A photographer had done an excellent job catching his joyous expression.
He looks like his mo
ther,
Sarah realized with a start. It surprised Sarah how much he resembled the Cat Lady. David had the same dark hair and expressive brown eyes. Written below the picture in his mother's neat handwriting was the caption,
David William Fedewa, one-year-old.

“Look how happy he is,” Lacey said with a catch in her voice.

“Yeah, this whole thing makes me so sad.” Sarah's eyes filled with tears.

“Can you imagine being five years old and someone taking you away from your parents?” Jackie asked.

“This is such a tragedy.” Sarah wiped a tear from her eye. “Imagine never seeing your parents again.” She put the photo album down on her sleeping bag and took a couple of deep breaths.
“I've been thinking about the confession.”

“Uh-oh, that can only mean trouble,” Jackie giggled.

Sarah gave Jackie her raised eyebrow smirk. “Well… the chief didn't mention the murder weapon to Klonsky. So, I thought we could send him an e-mail.”

“Why?” Lacey asked.

Sarah stifled a groan. “To tell him we found the murder weapon.”

“Why?” Lacey picked nervously at her shoe.

“So he'll meet with us.”

“Why do you want to meet with him?” Lacey squirmed.

“To tape his confession.” Sarah exchanged a look with Jackie and sighed.

“We don't know his e-mail address,” Jackie said.

“Yeah…but Scott might.” Sarah glanced at Lacey.

“Yeah, he might.” Lacey frowned and fidgeted with her shoelace.

“Okay, so we send him an e-mail and tell him to meet us,” Sarah continued.

“Can't we just call him on the phone?”

Sarah shook her head. “We don't have his phone number. Besides he's a cop, he's not going to say anything over the phone.”

“What are we going to say in the e-mail?” Jackie asked.

“We're going to tell him we know about the knife he threw in the creek.”

“What makes you think he's going to believe us?” Jackie asked.

Sarah sighed. “Because, we're going to tell him we saw him throw it in the water.”

“So?” Jackie stared at Sarah, her expression suggesting Sarah was on her way to crazy town.

She rolled her eyes. “So-o, the only people who know about him throwing it in the creek are him and D.W.”

“Yeah?”

“So, he'll know we're telling the truth.”

Jackie nodded. “Okay…but we don't want him to know the e-mail came from us.”

“True.” Sarah took
another drink of her soda. “I think we can open a junk e-mail account and only use it this one time.”

“All right, but won't he be able to trace it back to the computer we use?” Jackie asked as she attempted to tame her curls.

“You're right, so we're going to use one of the library's computers.”

“Oh man, that's the third time I'll be at the library during summer vacation. My reputation is ruined.” Jackie flung herself down on the tent floor with her arm draped across her forehead.

“It's a small price to pay to avenge the Cat Lady's death.” Sarah cracked a wide grin. “Besides, you might just want to take a look at a book. It's amazing what you can learn.”

“So-o lame.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Let's call Scott and see if he can get Klonsky's e-mail address.”

“I'll do it,” Lacey volunteered. She scrambled from the tent.

“I hope this works.” Jackie frowned.

“Yeah, me too.”

“My reputation is on the line.”

“Don't worry, you can go shopping after this is all over,” Sarah said, giving Jackie a playful nudge.

“I'm just kidding about that.” Jackie gave Sarah an affectionate smile, and then sat up. “I'm just worried something might go wrong.”

“Like what?”

Jackie shrugged her shoulders. “I don't know.”

Sarah sighed. “Jack, we have to do something.” She started pushing grains of sand on the floor into a pile.

“I know. I know. It's just risky.”

“True, but it's even more risky to do nothing. Remember, Klonsky's trying to frame us,” Sarah said as she brushed her hair away from her face. “Besides, if we don't avenge the Cat Lady, who will?”

“You've got a point,” Jackie said with a solemn nod.

Just then Lacey scurried back into the tent. “Scott wants to meet us at the library in twenty minutes.”

“We just left the library.” Jackie flung herself back down on the floor.

“Do you want to send the e-mail or not?” Lacey frowned.

“Definitely.” Sarah nodded.

“Another trip to the library?” Jackie groused.

Sarah snorted. “Let's go. It's worth it just to see the beanpole walk in there again.”

For the second time that day, the Super Spies hopped on their bikes and pedaled their way to the library.

As Sarah pumped her pedals, she enjoyed the wind in her hair. It cooled her skin, drying the sweat on her neck and brow. All of a sudden, she realized she hadn't thought about her friends at home since she met Jackie. It dawned on her she didn't miss them as much as she thought she would. She thought back to last summer, about the soccer games and pool parties she had attended. They seemed so important then. Now, the only thing Sarah could thi
nk about was catching Klonsky.
Her stomach fluttered; she knew once they sent the e-mail it was the beginning of the end.

The flutter in Sarah's stomach suddenly twisted into a tight knot. Her emotions were all mixed up, a combination of anticipation and fear. One minute she was flying high at the thought of actually solving the Cat Lady mystery. The next minute she felt the huge weight of dread when she realized the Super Spies must face Klonsky one more time.

Sarah coasted to a stop in front of the library, banishing the crooked cop from her mind. She decided to focus only on the task at hand. Jackie and Lacey drifted to a stop beside her. The girls found Scott sitting on the steps. They parked their bikes in the rack and walked over to him.

“Hey,” Scott said.

“Hey,” the girls responded in unison.

“So tell me this crazy plan of yours, Sarah.”

Sarah took a deep breath and explained the e-mail plan.

“Where are we going to meet Klonsky?” Scott asked.

“I don't know.” Sarah scratched her head. “Probably down by the creek.”

Jackie nodded. “Yeah, we know the area like the back of our hand.”

“We'll just meet at the willow tree.”

“I don't know.” Scott pursed his lips and shook his head. “Are you sure he doesn't know about the knife, already?”

Sarah frowned and gnawed on her thumbnail. “I don't know. Where are they in the investigation?”

“Last I heard they were bringing in the Staties.”

“Man, we need to find out if Klonsky knows about the knife,” Sarah said.

“Let me call my dad. I'll try to get the info out of him.” Scott pulled his cell phone out his pocket.

“Try walking over there, you'll probably get better reception.” Lacey pointed to the corner.

Scott walked to the corner with his phone against his ear. After a few minutes, he frowned and began talking. Sarah noticed he wore regular tennis shoes and walked with a slight limp.

A pickup truck rumbled past, and Sarah watched Scott plug his opposite ear as he listened to the person on the phone. She realized they were lucky; traffic was light at this time of day.

Sarah paced, waiting for Scott to get off the phone. It all boiled down to this one detail. If the chief told Klonsky he had the murder weapon, all was lost. He would get away with murder. Scott closed his phone and walked back, wearing an uneasy expression.

“Well?” Sarah asked.

“It's weird…I didn't talk to my dad, because he's out of the office, but I talked to Officer Wilson,” Scott began.

“And?”

“I don't think they know about the knife.”

“Why do you say that?” Sarah stopped pacing and studied Scott.

“Because Klonsky brought in a knife today, saying he thinks it's the murder weapon.”

Sarah took a few steps toward Scott. “Who brought in a knife, saying it was the murder weapon?”

“Klonsky.”

“That is totally weird.”

“What does that mean?” Jackie asked.

Scott shook his head. “It's just strange because my dad ran tests on the knife we found, and it came up one hundred percent positive it was the murder weapon.”

Sarah started pacing again. She gazed down at the ground as she walked, deep in thought. “So, Klonsky doesn't know they have the real murder weapon.”

Scott shook his head. “It doesn't look like it.”

“How can they tell which knife killed the Cat Lady?” Lacey asked.

Scott walked over and sat next to Lacey on the steps. “Remember when you found the knife in the creek?”

Sarah stopped pacing and listened to Scott.

“Do you remember the tip was missing?”

“Yeah,” Lacey nodded.

“Well, this is kinda gross, but the knife broke when Klonsky stabbed the Cat Lady.”

“So…what does that mean?”

Scott cracked a smile. “Well, the tip was found when they did the autopsy on the Cat Lady, and it fits the knife we found perfectly.”

“Wow.”

“Okay this is great news,” Sarah said.

“It is?” Lacey asked.

“Yeah, that means our plan will work,” Jackie said.

“So what are we going to say in the e-mail?” Scott stood and brushed his shorts off.

“We're going to say we know he killed the Cat Lady, and we found the murder weapon down by the creek.” Sarah brushed a wayward strand of hair out of her face.

“Yeah, we'll have to ask for money,” Jackie blurted out.

“Why?” Lacey asked.

“Because, why wouldn't we just take the knife to the police? We have to have a reason for returning it to him.” Sarah went back to chewing her thumbnail.

“Oh.”

“So we'll tell him we want ten thousand dollars,” Sarah continued.

“Okay, do you guys have an e-mail address to send this from?” Scott asked.

“We were going to set up a junk e-mail address just for this reason,” Sarah said.