A Tiger's Tale (A Call of the Wilde Mystery) (25 page)

I wished more people understood that.

“There you go. All done.”

I gave the dog a pat on her blocky head.

Better?

Better.
She sighed, gave her tail a couple of more thumps to express her gratitude, then settled down for a nap.

“She’s healing well,” I told Reedy as I packed up.

“How are the cats doing?”

“The cats are fine—Josiah was the one who lost it.”

“He’s been getting worse lately. Ever since his mama passed away a month or so ago.”

Something about what he said stirred a thought, but I couldn’t hold on to it long enough for it to solidify.

“Now that she’s gone,” Reedy continued as I followed him into the living room, “I don’t know that he keeps up with his meds like he needs to.”

“Is there someone at his church that can help out?”

He gave me a questioning look. “How did you know he went to church?”

“Josiah started quoting scripture when he got agitated. I assumed he was a member somewhere.”

Reedy nodded. “I’ll make some calls. Mrs. Belleview looked in on him a time or two, but he frightened her off the last time. Said he would only talk to the angels, or some nonsense.”

That surprised me. Though Josiah had been upset when we’d taken the cats, I hadn’t sensed he would become violent.

“What types of medications is he taking?” I asked Reedy.

“Hell, I don’t know. Gets confused if he doesn’t take them, though. Like his mind wants to go back to when his sister was alive.”

“When his . . . Josiah’s sister is dead?”

He nodded. “Abby was killed in the accident.”

“Oh my God.”

The words were barely a whisper but Reedy must have read my expression because he asked, “What is it?”

“I think Josiah kidnapped Brooke.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m not sure, but yesterday he told me his sister was alive. And I think he was the man at Billy’s Feed and Seed who bought the garden soil and the cat litter.”

“What in the Sam Hill are you talking about?”

Understanding flooded me in a rush. “The paint. Cat litter. Josiah was painting the back of your old store.”

“So?”

“You can mix cat litter into paint to make it a solid. He needed the litter to dispose of the old paint.”

“You’re jumping to a lot of conclusions based on cat litter. I’ve known Josiah since he was knee-high to a grasshopper. And I’m telling you, there is no way he’d kidnap a girl.”

“Okay, what about the other things on the list? The man at the feed and seed bought litter, and three bags of soil. Does Josiah have a garden?”

The old man’s lips thinned. “That doesn’t mean anything. A lot of folks around here have gardens.”

“Do a lot of folks around here also have to take medication to keep in touch with reality?”

“No, but I can think of a couple who probably should.” Reedy glowered at me for a moment then said, “I already told you, before his mama passed—”

“His mother . . .” I trailed off as another piece fell into place. “The maintenance worker at Ozeal’s place said he’d had a helper named Joe. But he hadn’t been around since his mother died. Which is why I didn’t follow up on it. I can’t believe it—Joe has to be Josiah.”

“No, he does
not
!”
Reedy said the last word with enough force to send him into a coughing fit so violent he had to sit down.

Reedy didn’t want to believe Josiah was capable of kidnapping, but I needed to look into the possibility—starting with having a look around Josiah’s house.

“Reedy, I’m not saying Josiah’s a bad person. But like you said, he’s confused. Here”—I showed him the photo of Brooke—“she looks a lot like Abby, doesn’t she?”

“Gracious sakes,” he whispered as his rheumy eyes flicked over the picture. “She does.”

“All I want to do is go by his place and look around. That’s it. I’m not calling the police or accusing him of anything.”

“Grace, that boy has been through so much . . .”

“I know. I just want to look around. Okay?”

He nodded then met my gaze. “But I’m going with you.”

• • •

Despite my protests, Reedy managed to climb into Bluebell, oxygen tank in tow, and sat stony faced as we drove north, deeper onto the island.

“There—take a left up ahead,” he said, voice gruff.

The thicket of palmettos was so dense, I couldn’t see much of a left to take until we’d almost passed the drive.

Reedy let out a garbled curse that may have been an insult to my driving ability as I negotiated the sudden turn. I wasn’t listening.

I slammed on the brakes and stared out the windshield.

“What in holy Moses are you doing?” he exclaimed, planting both hands on the dashboard to brace himself. “Why’d you stop?” When I didn’t answer, he went on, “We aren’t even close. The house is all the way down the drive.”

“Tabby.”

“What?”

I put Bluebell in park and opened the door. I stepped down onto the sandy lane and walked to the small, square clump of oyster shells. Not what I would call a ruin, but certainly not a pile of trash either.

I scanned the drive and saw that several pieces of tabby had settled into the ruts.

Squatting, I lifted a piece. The shell had the same sheen and grayish tint as the one I’d found.

I still didn’t know why Josiah would take Brooke, but I knew I was on the right track. I wanted to call Kai, or even Jake, but I’d promised Reedy I wouldn’t involve the police.

I also didn’t want to risk upsetting Josiah. I’d seen how quickly he could become agitated. Despite Reedy’s insistence he wasn’t dangerous, I didn’t believe that was entirely true.

Josiah knew Reedy. If we were going to find anything useful, trust would work better than force.

I climbed back into Bluebell and handed Reedy the piece of tabby. I explained that I’d found a similar piece on the roadside close to where Brooke had last been seen. I left out the bit about the witness being a tiger.

“I know it isn’t proof,” I said, “but you have to admit it’s possible that a chunk of this stuff got wedged into one of Josiah’s truck tires and came loose when he parked on the side of the road before he went through the woods to get Brooke.”

“But why? If Josiah’s confused into thinking Brooke is Abby, why would he sneak through the woods to get her? Wouldn’t he just go in through the front gate and say, ‘Let’s go, sis’?”

It was a good question.

“Look, I don’t have all the answers. But I can’t ignore this. If Josiah is living in some delusion where his sister is still alive, we need to find out whether or not he has Brooke. All right?”

Reedy’s lips thinned but he nodded.

“He trusts you, Reedy. If we’re going to have any hope of understanding what’s going on, we’ll need to look around. Which means you’re going to have to play along. If he jumps back and forth from now to sometime in the past, just go with it. But we need to get inside the house.”

“What if he’s not home?”

“If he’s not home we move to plan B.”

“What’s plan B?”

“I don’t know yet.”

I put Bluebell in gear and rolled along the shaded drive, parking in front of a small, tidy house painted a cheerful buttery yellow. A set of rocking chairs sat on the wide porch flanking the door. I helped Reedy out of Bluebell and up the front steps.

My heart had started running double-time when I’d caught sight of the tabby earlier. It increased to triple-speed as soon as I pressed my finger to the doorbell.

The jolly
ding-dong
of the chime and the sunny paint color only added to my sense of foreboding. I thought of Brooke’s mother, Anne, and her immaculate house and perfect appearance.

Things are so often not what they seem.

“I don’t think he’s here,” Reedy wheezed. “Truck’s gone, too.”

I let out the breath I’d been holding and looked over at the old man. His skin had paled and he was leaning heavily on his oxygen tank. He was more sick than I’d realized, and our outing was costing him.

“Here.” I led him to one of the rocking chairs. “Take a breather while I look around.”

He nodded and reached into his breast pocket, making a disgruntled sound when he came up empty.

“Damn. You made me forget my cigarettes.”

I rolled my eyes and stepped off the porch to make my way around the side of the house.

The air was still and quiet, except for a small flock of sparrows flitting around a birdbath with a statue of Saint Francis in the center. The birds took flight as I approached and began fluttering in the trees, trying to decide what branch would make the best roost.

Unlike Reedy’s place, which was shrouded in oaks and Spanish moss, here the trees opened up, providing a large area free of shade. Josiah, or possibly his mother, had taken advantage of the sunny spot and planted a sizable vegetable garden.

Rows of corn grew lush and tall and squash ripened on the ground in a tangled heap next to the green, feathery tops of what looked like carrots. There was a variety of large-leafed plants, of which I could only positively identify collard greens. I had to admire the bounty. I had what most would call a black thumb.

“Don’t worry,” I told the plants, “I’m not here for you.”

I started to turn to continue my exploration, when I heard . . . something.

A gasp?

I froze, straining to listen. I thought the sound might have come from the patch of corn.

“Hello?” I leaned toward the cornstalks.

After a minute I shook my head. “Talking to animals is bad enough—don’t start hearing plants, too.”

I’d only taken a few steps when something rustled in the corn. Something big.

Pausing, I focused my mind on the garden. I picked up the zinging hum of a tiny animal.

Digging-digging-digging.

A shrew.

Whatever hid in the greenery was much bigger than a shrew and it wasn’t an animal.

“Josiah?”

I inched closer to the corn, though in the back of my mind I had to wonder why he would be hiding in a vegetable patch.

Of course, I’d never studied the effects of a brain injury on a human being in veterinary school but I knew people could revert back in time. Josiah had seemed very childlike during his tantrum over the cats—maybe he was playing hide-and-seek.

“Are you playing a game?”

I turned my head to listen as I crept around the corner of the plot. I inched closer to the end of the corn row and peered around the leaves—no one was hiding between the first and second row.

I continued past the next. Empty. Then the next—

A wave of shock rooted me in place.

A dark-haired girl stood between the rows, looking at me with large blue eyes. She wore a long denim skirt and long-sleeved white blouse. I almost didn’t recognize her in the plain clothes with her hair pulled up into a modest bun, but I knew.

I’d found Brooke.

Part of me had expected to find her, maybe locked in a closet or imprisoned in some way, but certainly not harvesting corn.

“Brooke?”

Her eyes widened as I spoke her name and she stumbled back.

“No,” she said. “My name is Abby.”

“Brooke, it’s okay.” I stepped toward her but she scrambled away, shaking her head.

“You have the wrong girl. Go away.”

She turned and fled, sprinting toward the barn.

“Brooke. Stop!” It occurred to me as I took off after her that the scenario was all wrong. She shouldn’t be running away from me—I was there to rescue her, dammit.

Had she been brainwashed? No, it hadn’t been long enough, had it?

Brooke darted through the open barn door. I followed on her heels into what turned out to be not so much a barn as a workshop. A pile of lumber was stacked chest-high in the center of the large space. Brooke ran around one side. I tried to catch her by going around the other and she reversed directions.

I mirrored her movement and we were soon eyeing each other over the wood, playing a back-and-forth game of cat and mouse.

“Why are you running from me?” I panted.

“Why are you chasing me?” she countered, not nearly as out of breath.

I was going to have to start running with Moss again if I was going to keep doing stuff like this.

“And what the hell were you doing? Picking corn?” I asked. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone all Patty Hearst.”

“Who’s Patty Hearst?”

I waved off the comment. “Never mind. Listen, I’m here to take you home.”

I knew as soon as the words left my mouth I’d made a mistake. Brooke spun around and snatched a pitchfork from where it hung on the wall behind her.

I raised my hands and stepped back when she pointed the tines at me.

“You’re not taking me anywhere.” She hissed the words like a feral cat.

“Okay. Okay.”

I was so baffled, I was having a hard time thinking straight. Obviously, Brooke was not being held prisoner. She was clearly afraid of something and it didn’t seem to be Josiah. But what?

That would be you, genius.

Did she think I was one of Frank Ferretto’s flunkies?

If so, how could I convince her otherwise?

“Brooke, I want you to listen to me. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Oh, I know what you’re after and you’re not going to get it. Keep your hands up and walk slowly to the door.”

I hesitated but the steely look in her eyes reminded me that despite the farm-girl clothes, Brooke had spent time running the streets.

Turning, I did as she asked.

As we walked out into the late afternoon sun, I tried to think of something that would get me out of the fine mess I’d stepped into. Brooke was Charles Sartori’s daughter. I wasn’t stupid enough to underestimate her.

The thought of the mob boss sparked an idea. “Your dad has been worried about you.”

She didn’t respond, so I tried again.

“He called me from prison and asked me to help look for you.” Not exactly true but close enough.

“Sure he did.”

“It’s true.”

“My father doesn’t need help finding people—that’s why I had to stay here. I knew no one would look for me here.”

“So Josiah didn’t kidnap you? Who did?”

“No one.”

Puzzled, I paused, then turned to face her. She lifted the pitchfork and held it at the ready.

“Keep moving.”

But I was too distracted to follow the order.

“That can’t be right. Someone
took
you. Taken. That’s what—” I caught myself before I said the words that hovered just on the tip of my tongue. She’d skewer me for sure if I tried to tell her about Boris.

Unless . . .

“I know you think I work for Ferretto but I don’t. Ozeal called me. A couple of days after you went missing Boris tried to attack Dr. Hugh Murray. You’ve met him?”

“Boris did what? No. Boris wouldn’t hurt anyone.” Though she said the words with vehemence, the look on her face told me she wasn’t sure.

“Tigers are wild animals and, like any wild animal, they can be unpredictable when they’re agitated. Boris went after Hugh—Dr. Murray—and I came to help. I’m an animal behaviorist. In my back pocket, I have one of my business cards. I’m going to take it out and show it to you, okay?”

“Slow,” she commanded.

Moving at a snail’s pace, I pulled out the card and held it up.

She extended the pitchfork forward and said. “Stick it on here.” I impaled the card on one of the tines. She stepped back and pulled the card free.

“My name is Grace. I specialize in dealing with animals who have issues. After you left, Boris began suffering from separation anxiety.”

The pitchfork lowered a fraction and her eyes widened. “Is he okay?”

“He’ll be happy to see you. He missed his catnip. But he missed you more.”

Brooke’s shoulders finally relaxed and she lowered the pitchfork.

I let out a relieved sigh when the points were no longer aimed at me.

“I don’t understand,” she said. “You were looking for me because of Boris?”

“Yes. And because of Ozeal. But none of that matters right now. We have to go.” If I could get her to the police she’d be safe. Jake would see to it.

“Wait. What about Josiah?”

“What about him?”

“I can’t just leave. He wouldn’t understand. Listen, he . . it . . . it’s complicated.”

“I understand that he has issues. He gets confused and upset.”

“He needs help,” Brooke said. “I’ve been trying to get him to take his meds but it’s hard to keep up with all of them. I’m not sure he has everything he needs.”

“We’ll get him some help, I promise.”

I remembered Reedy sitting on the front porch of the house in the rocking chair and had a flash of inspiration. I quickly explained my idea to Brooke. We could leave Reedy to wait for Josiah, and he could explain.

“Josiah trusts Reedy. He’ll listen to him.”

“I have to at least say good-bye. He won’t understand.”

I thought about what Sonja had said about the cats. Josiah had been devastated when we’d taken them. But this was different. Brooke was in real danger. I didn’t have a choice.

“Listen, if I managed to find you, Ferretto, or one of the creeps who work for him, will be able to find you, too.”

She still looked uncertain.

I hadn’t wanted to tell her in this way but I needed something to goad her into coming with me.

“Brooke, your stepfather is dead. He was murdered. The police think it was Ferretto or one of his cronies.”

She blinked at me in shock. “Dead? But . . . Oh my God! My mom?”

“She’s fine.” Not exactly true. But I wasn’t sure telling Brooke that her mom was headed to rehab would help convince her to come with me.

Brooke must have picked up on the subtle subterfuge because she frowned and asked, “What happened?”

I waved off the question. “I’ll explain later. Right now, we need to get you somewhere safe.”

Brooke shook her head. “I’m better off staying here with Josiah.”

“You being here puts Josiah in jeopardy.”

Tears welled in her eyes but she was still shaking her head. I had to get through to her.

“You know what these people are like. Mancini? They would kill him, Brooke.”

At those words Brooke finally nodded. She walked to the garden plot, stabbed the pitchfork into the ground, and said, “Let’s go.”

“Stop!”

Brooke and I turned. Josiah walked toward us from the rear of the house, glaring at me. In one hand, he held a gun, which was pointed squarely at my chest.

“You!” he said. “You devil. You will not take my sister!”

Crap!

“Josiah, it’s okay.” Brooke stepped toward him but her words only seemed to upset him.

“No! No, Abby. I won’t let this wolf take you.”

My mind whirred as I tried to reason a way out of this.

“Josiah, do you remember me?” I said with a gentle smile, hoping I could get him to recognize me. “I’m Grace—you met me yesterday. You’re confused. But it’s going to be okay.”

“Quiet! Speak not with your lying tongue.”

Okay, so I’d have to try a different tactic. I couldn’t think of Josiah as the confused, mentally challenged, softhearted boy who fed stray cats. In that moment, he was a delusional, unstable man pointing a gun at me.

Reasoning would not work. Sonja had said something to calm him down, something biblical. I tried to recall but drew a complete blank.

“Josiah,” I said as my desperate brain latched on to something Reedy had told me. “I’m here as a messenger. An angel.”

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you. The angels promised not to take my sister again! You’re a false prophet! That’s what you are!” His eyes had gone wild, chest heaving. “But I know. I see you. You come in sheep’s clothing but you’re a ravening wolf!”

Not the reaction I had hoped for, but there was no turning back now. Josiah thought he spoke to angels; I had to make him believe I was one.

I straightened and with what I hoped was angelic authority said, “Do not question me, Josiah. You would question one of God’s messengers?”

He glared at me with wide eyes for a long moment. “Prove to me you are who you say you are.”

Okay, that was bad. I had a feeling Josiah was going to shoot me if I didn’t conjure a halo.

Brooke continued to try to reason with Josiah, pleading with him to put down the gun. But I knew from the frenetic look in his eyes it was going to take more than that.

“Thou shalt not kill, Josiah,” I reminded him in what I hoped was a gentle, but firm seraphic voice.

“The wicked will be revealed. The enemy of the righteous will be slain.”

Oh shit.

Okay, even I had to admit I wouldn’t make a very good angel, but I was pretty sure I was going to get to meet some if I didn’t do something awe-inspiring.

I had to think. There had to be something . . .

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the Saint Francis birdbath.

Suddenly, I had a plan. I looked up at the flock of sparrows and cast my mind over the roosting birds, searching. I zeroed in on my target, and though I hadn’t done it in years, connected to the dominant bird.

I closed my eyes, raised my hands out to the side, and quoted the only bit of scripture I’d ever memorized.

“‘Ask now the beasts and they shall tell thee.’” I opened my eyes to meet Josiah’s and spoke with as much divine might as I could manage. “‘And the birds of the air and they shall
show thee
!’”

I urged the lead bird from his perch and, as he took flight, the entire flock lifted from the branches to sweep overhead in a fluttering, chirping cloud. I focused every ounce of my brainpower on guiding the bird down, down . . . calling him to me.

Come here, little one.

The bird, bless him, answered my summons, landing with a flutter in the palm of my raised hand. I lowered my hand and the rest of the birds settled around us in a noisy rush.

Brooke gasped. Josiah stared at me, slack-jawed. Then, he collapsed to his knees and began to weep.

“What the hell was that about?” Reedy shuffled toward us, wheezing. At the sound of his voice, the birds started and took flight. I had nothing to offer the little bird but my gratitude, but I sent it to him in waves.

How many people can say they owe their life to a sparrow?

He chirped in acknowledgment and flitted off to join the others in the trees.

I helped Brooke get Josiah into the house and coaxed him to take a dose of diazepam. We got him settled on the couch in the living room, and Reedy agreed to stay there and look after him for a while.

Brooke met us in the hall as Reedy and his oxygen were making their way into the room.

“Josiah’s asleep. He’ll probably be upset when he wakes up and I’m not here. But you should be okay.” She gave Reedy a small smile. “I hid the gun.”

“Peachy.”

• • •

Brooke and I climbed into Bluebell. We’d barely made it out of the drive when she turned to me and asked, “How did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“That thing with the birds.”

I lifted a shoulder. “It’s something I learned how to do when I was a kid.”

Not a lie. But I wasn’t keen on telling Brooke the truth. I knew she wouldn’t believe me and the tenuous trust we had developed would weaken.

“That’s not much of an answer.”

“Well, it’s all you’re going to get.”

She let out a dramatic sigh, punctuating it with a grumpy “Whatever.”

“Forget about the birds,” I told her. “How did you end up out here with Josiah?”

I glanced over and she shrugged.

When it became obvious she wasn’t going to answer, I tried prompting her with: “I talked to the guy who owns Billy’s Feed and Seed, what’s his name?”

“Doc Riggins?”

“That’s it—Doc. He said Josiah was in the store the same time you were, but you didn’t talk.”

“I didn’t even really notice him. But he followed me.”

“Why?”

“I was upset. Crying, you know, and I think Josiah, well, you saw how he is. He started to think I was his sister, Abby.”

“He wanted to protect you.”

“Yeah.”

It made sense except for one thing. Boris hadn’t seen a protective brotherly figure offer Brooke help—he’d seen her being taken.