Fat Cat Takes the Cake (20 page)

A
fter lunch alone in her apartment—alone except for her furry guy, Quincy—Chase became aware of the sun streaming through her balcony French doors.

“You know what we should do, don't you?” She dangled the harness and leash and Quincy jumped up and came over.

“I think we've done it, old boy. I think we've conquered this leash thing.”

As they strolled in the bright, crisp air, she called Anna.

“You were right.”

“I usually am, but what about this time?”

“We finally have it mastered, the walking on a leash.”

Quincy stopped walking to study a noisy junco in the tree above them. The small bird with its soft gray back and
white breast sent out a trill that made Chase check her cell phone. Quincy swished his tail and walked on, his ears pointed rearward at the sassy bird.

“And Quincy likes it?” Anna said.

“He seems to. He comes running when I get the harness out.”

“Be sure you fasten that thing, Charity. I don't want him finding a dead body two days before my wedding.”

“I sure wish we could find the bridesmaid dresses.”

“Oh, didn't Julie tell you?'

“I haven't talked to her.”

“They came! Julie dropped them off on her lunch break a few minutes ago.”

Chase had forgotten they were being sent to Julie's place instead of hers, since they received so many baking supplies already at her place.

Whew! “That sure is good news. Should I come over and try mine on?”

“Come over when Julie's off work and I'll see if they need altering.”

What a relief. Chase couldn't think of a single other thing that needed doing before the wedding. The Bar None would close Wednesday and Thursday, Christmas Eve and Christmas, and Anna would be married Wednesday evening.

Feeling like she weighed less, Chase walked on, musing about life and death and murderers.

Was Ron North a thoroughly bad person or not? He had a borderline-dangerous habit of stalking women. Okay, it
was
dangerous, since it had driven Dillon Yardley to try to
end her life to escape him. So she came down on the side of thoroughly bad for him.

Bart Fender must have been head over heels in love with Dillon, but that didn't excuse his actions. He must have been driven by knowing that his love wasn't enough to keep Dillon going. All of that was on top of his drug dealing. Bart's future would be decided by a jury, but Chase wondered what Dillon's would be.

On the other hand, Principal Snelson and Mr. Hail had been deliberately defrauding defenseless older people for their own financial gain. They were just as evil as the others involved in this whole mess. She chuckled to think of Mrs. Snelson throwing her husband's clothing in the dump. She had heard of women leaving their husband's belongings in the front yard, even in the rain, but never driving them to a dump.

It looked like Dickie Byrd's campaign had fallen through. The last time she drove past his headquarters, it was empty. A few of Monique's posters still clung to poles and stared out from shop windows, but most were gone. Monique had been seen in the company of a local bank executive. Dickie, Rich, or whatever he was called now, had left town. Chase was confident he would run for office somewhere else eventually. He'd been politicking his whole life.

They were now in front of the Meet N Eat, since it lay along their regular route. Another few pounds of weight lifted when she thought about how she was through fending off the charming, electric Eddie Heath. A person who ran a health food place had nothing in common with a person who baked decadent cookie bars.

Julie was tied up with the rest of the real estate case, as well as an additional one she had been given in an e-mail late Saturday. She had yet to celebrate not being a murder suspect, but Chase was making plans for that. They
would
celebrate. Exactly where and how and with whom wasn't clear, but Chase was thinking about it a lot. It would happen.

“I
'm sorry, Quincy,” Chase said. “I promise we'll have a tree next year.”

Quincy loved the small artificial tree Chase usually put up in her apartment. He didn't love the tree so much, though, as he liked batting the ornaments off and seeing where he could hide them.

This was the first year Chase hadn't had a Christmas tree. She hadn't had time, between going out to dinner with Mike twice, baking far into the night after that and every day since the Minny Batter Battle, and getting last-minute wedding tasks done in her spare moments. The reception seating was constantly being redone as regrets and acceptances came in. Some people “informed” Anna they would
be bringing extra people. Had they never had to manage a wedding? It was almost impossible to fit in extra people unless enough guests canceled. Something had to give and it was her own tree.

Since the dresses had arrived two days before the wedding and Chase and Julie were at Anna's late the last two nights getting them fitted, there had been no chance for a bachelorette party. Julie promised they would have one after the wedding, somehow, somewhere.

Now, getting ready to walk down the aisle of the wedding chapel, she knew everything was worth it. Julie stood in front of her, her more petite figure showing off the asymmetrical one-shoulder design a bit better than Chase's did, or so Chase thought.

Chase peeked around Julie's shoulder to see the men lined up in front. Bill's son, Rick, stood beside his father. Next to Rick was an old friend of Bill's whom Chase and Julie had met half an hour before the wedding. Bill was appropriately pale and nervous in his handsome dark suit.

The padded pews held Anna's and Bill's dearest friends and a few distant relatives.

Anna stood behind them and around the corner, out of sight of her intended until the proper, dramatic moment.

The music changed to Edvard Grieg's ethereal “Morning Mood,” the cue for Julie and Chase to start down the aisle. Chase waited for Julie to get four rows ahead, then she started the slow, unnatural, bridesmaid's gait: step, pause, step, pause.

Anna had tried to figure out a way for Quincy to act as
ring bearer, but Chase prevailed in talking her out of that. What chaos that would have been!

Mike looked up at Chase as she passed, melting her heart with his smile and those deep chocolate eyes. Mallory, close beside Tanner in the next row, sat with her left hand casually on top of her right, displaying the diamond promise ring he had given her two days ago at Bar None. Inger sat with them, smiling and happy, her baby bump getting larger every day.

Professor Andy Fear sat with his arm protectively around Hilda Bjorn. Hilda gave Julie a huge smile as she passed. The older woman never tired of telling Julie how grateful she was that Julie had saved her from selling her house and had put “that bad man” in jail.

That wasn't technically correct. Both Snelson and Hail were still awaiting trial and were free on bond, but they would eventually be there, Chase was sure. When the news reported that Principal Snelson's wife had hauled his clothing to the city dump on Sunday, the day after she had kicked him out, he became a topic of derisive conversation on the news media and in the Bar None shop. Footage of him fleeing reporters who were shoving microphones in his face replayed over and over on the nightly news. He had dropped out of sight, though. Maybe he was staying with Hail now, until their trials. If he hadn't turned out to be such a sleazeball, Chase could almost feel sorry for him.

When they reached the end of the aisle and turned to face the back of the chapel, Chase spied Grace Pilsen sitting alone in the last row. Her nose was still red and she wasn't completely healthy, but it was nice she had shown up. And
very nice she was sitting far away from everyone else so she wouldn't infect them.

The music changed again. This time Mendelssohn's “Wedding March” rang out.

Anna, resplendent in the biggest smile Chase had ever seen and shimmering in a silk silvery, gray-on-gray dress, slowly walked down the aisle to become Mrs. William
Shandy.

2½ cups unbleached flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

½ teaspoon sherry flavoring

½ cup milk

1 cup fresh rinsed blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.

Add beaten eggs and sherry flavoring.

Add milk and flour mixture alternating, starting with milk, in three parts.

Rinse and pat dry blueberries. Fold into mixture.

Spread in greased 8½ x 11–inch pan.

Bake 15–20 minutes.

Cool completely before adding drizzle.

Drizzle Topping

1½ cups powdered sugar

2–3 tablespoons milk

¼ teaspoon vanilla

Mix thoroughly until thin enough to drizzle, adjusting milk.

First of all, you have to have a proper harness. Cats can't be walked with a collar and leash. As many cat owners know, collars don't stay on many cats. A harness especially made for a cat will contain her, though, if you fasten it. There is a strap that goes around Kitty's neck, and also one that goes under her tummy immediately behind her front legs. Most, if not all, are made of nylon and clean easily. If your cat just can't stand a harness, there is what's called a cat holster, made of cotton, and looks like a little jacket. They aren't as adjustable as a normal harness, so you'll need to do some measuring for that one.

You can use a regular leash or one that's like a bungee. They attach on the part of the harness that's on the cat's back, not on the neck.

After you've picked out the kind and color, take your time at first. Introduce him to the harness gradually, a little bit at a time. Let Tommy Cat sniff it and get acquainted for a few days before you try to put it on him. You can even hold it out to him with a treat in your other hand so he associates it with good things.

Just as with a horse, touch the harness to the cat in various places until Kitty doesn't flinch and accepts it. Then, you can put the harness on, but just for a few minutes. Different cats will get used to this at different rates. Associating treats here won't hurt, either.

As she gets used to wearing it, put it on her, still without the leash, and play with her while she has it on.*

Next step is to attach the leash and let Tommy Cat drag it around for a few days. Try to do this in a place where the leash won't hang him up on anything!

When you start to walk Kitty with you holding the leash, do it in the house at first and don't lead her. In fact, you may never be able to lead her all that much. You can lay down a trail of treats, trying for a straight line. After this is working well, you're ready to go outdoors!

For indoor cats, which is when you normally use a leash, be prepared for them to startle at everything until they get used to the great outdoors.

It's good to establish a regular time of day for walking, just as with dogs, so Tommy Cat will expect it then. However, cats don't do their business on walks like dogs do. Walking a cat is done to give them fresh air and something different to smell, see, hear, and experience.

Every step of the way, tell Kitty how well she's doing and don't spare the treats!

Another tip. It's a lot easier to train a very young kitten (in which case, you'll need different sizes as she grows). Quincy, of course, is a very smart cat and got trained quickly for his age. Be sure to do all the fasteners securely so your cat doesn't escape and find dead bodies.

Most of this information is from the ASPCA's site at aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/teaching-your-cat-walk-leash.

*Extra tip from
Bodge

Janet Cantrell
is the national bestselling author of the Fat Cat Mysteries, including
Fat Cat at Large
and
Fat Cat Spreads Out
.