The Purrfect Lie (Klepto Cat Mystery Book 12) (5 page)

“Well, isn’t this special?” Michael said, petting Layla’s silky fur.

“Don’t be too flattered,” Margaret said. “That’s her favorite chair, lately.”

Shortly, Rags strolled over to where Michael sat and stared up at Layla with interest. “Oh no you don’t,” Michael said. “There’s not room for all three of us.” Before he could react, however, Rags leaped into Michael’s lap and stood there on all fours. When Jack jumped up on the arm of the chair, Michael threw his hands in the air. “I give up. I surrender the throne to the mighty felines.” Carefully lifting Rags, Michael edged out of the chair, placing the cat in the seat next to Layla and he joined his wife on the sofa.

“Cats rule, dogs drool,” Margaret quipped, laughing, as they all watched the cats make themselves comfortable on the chair. “Okay now,” Margaret said, “down to business. Michael, open the letter.”

“Was it sealed?” Max asked, watching Michael remove a folded scrap of paper from the dingy envelope.

Michael nodded. “Probably at one time.”

“What does it say?” Margaret asked, excitedly. “What does it say?”

“Already spending that million dollars, are you, Maggie?” Max said, chuckling.

Michael cleared his throat and glanced briefly around the room. “To whom it may concern. If you’re reading this, I must be dead and the truth must come out.” Michael looked up, his eyebrows raised.

“Go on,” Margaret said. “How much did he leave us?”

Michael continued: “I don’t know why I did it—I guess it was the times, the drugs, the family stigma that marked me for life. She made my life worth living, despite the constant fear of being found out. She didn’t know any better. I did.”

Michael glanced around at the others before reading the remaining paragraph. “I took the little girl from her home and raised her as my own. I can only hope this confession clears a path for me into heaven.”

Michael turned the letter over in his hand. “It isn’t signed.”

“Holy cow!” Margaret exclaimed. “She stole a child?”

“He or she,” Max said. “It could be either one, right?”

“Yeah,” Savannah agreed. “Michael, is it dated?”

Again, he turned the letter and the envelope over and shook his head.

“My gosh,” Savannah said, “there’s a child…or maybe she’s an adult now…who was snatched from her family and she may have grown up never knowing them.” Tears welled in her eyes, as she looked at her own daughter. “That’s just so darn sad.”

No one spoke until Max broke the silence. “We’d better turn that over to the sheriff,” he said quietly.

Michael nodded.

“I wonder what
we
could find out about this guy…or woman,” Savannah said. “Max, who did you buy the property from? Do you remember the name?”

“Yes, they ran the nursery here for a couple of decades before I bought it. Their name was Greene.”

“Auntie, you must have known them; you lived next door,” Savannah said.

“I knew who they were. I visited the nursery a time or two, but didn’t socialize with them or anything.” She shuddered. “Gads, do you suppose one of them was a kidnapper?”

“Did they have children?” Savannah asked.

“Heck if I know. I don’t remember seeing any running around over here, but I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Michael looked at Max. “Do you know where the Greenes are now?”

He shook his head.

Savannah picked up the letter and stared at it.

Just then, Rags raised his head. He jumped down from the chair, stretched, then walked toward the table where Michael had placed the envelope. He sniffed the air a couple of times, then jumped up onto the table and began snuffling the envelope. When Jack noticed Rags, he leaped to the floor and trotted toward him. He stood with his paws on the table, his nose in the air, and his eyes on Rags.

Without warning, Rags picked up the envelope and trotted off with it, stealthily dodging Margaret’s attempt to grab him. Before anyone could stop him, the cat ran behind the sofa.

“Darn it, Rags,” Savannah said, standing. She squatted and peered behind the sofa. “Bring that here, Rags,” she demanded.

Just then, she heard Lily say, “No-no.”

When Savannah looked to her right, she burst out laughing. There was the baby, crouched next to her and shaking her finger at Rags, mimicking Savannah’s scolding manner. “Leave it to your child to hold a mirror up for you,” Savannah lamented. She was still laughing when she felt something nudge her left thigh. She turned in time to see Jack sitting next to her trying to get a good look at Rags.

“You have lots of help there,” Michael said, chuckling.

“Boy, do I!” Savannah agreed.

As everyone watched, Jack darted around the sofa in time to greet Rags, who emerged from the other end, still carrying the envelope. Jack reared up on his back feet and batted at Rags, who sauntered past him, dropping the envelope in the middle of the room. Rags then swished his tail and scurried down the hallway, Jack racing to catch up.

Savannah quickly retrieved the envelope, tucking the letter back into it. “I agree with Max. I think we should call Deputy Jim. Some little girl may be out there not knowing who her parents are.” She stared at the letter in her hands. “…or who
she
is.”

****

The sheriff deputies arrived just after the two couples had finished dinner.

“Come in out of the cold,” Margaret invited. “There’s gumbo left; want a bowl?”

“Mmm. Sounds good,” Deputy Jim said. He nodded toward the other officer. “…but we just ate.”

“Yeah, if we’d known…” Deputy Ben said, smiling.

“So what did you find here tonight?” Jim asked. “Savannah said you’ve located a missing person.”

“Not exactly,” Michael said. “We found this confession letter about an abduction.”

“Presumably it occurred many years ago,” Max added.

Once Jim had read the letter, he handed it to Ben and asked the others, “Where exactly did you find this?”

“Well, the cat…” Max started.

Jim raised his eyebrows and shook his head slowly. “
Your
cat, I suppose,” he said to Michael and Savannah.

“’Fraid so,” Michael said, chuckling. “Come on, let’s show them your new room, Max.”

“New room?” Jim questioned, looking confused.

“Well, it’s obviously been there all along, but I didn’t know it existed until today,” Max explained. “It was hidden behind a large shrub and I never noticed it. It appears that someone was living down there at one time.”

“Yeah,” Michael said, “someone taped this letter to the bottom of a drawer in an old dresser and then, presumably, died.”

“Here are some light bulbs,” Margaret said, following the men into the basement. She then shivered and scurried back toward the house.

Michael took them, calling after her, “Thanks.” He pulled a chair to the center of the room under a ceiling light fixture. Once he’d replaced two bulbs, he stepped off the chair and motioned toward the switch on the wall. “Let there be light.”

“Still works,” Max said, after flipping the switch.

Michael pointed. “The cat found the letter on the floor right about there.”

After the officers examined the dresser and scrutinized the rest of the meager furnishings in the room, Ben said, “Seems to be the only thing this person left here…obviously, to be found at some later date. Evidently, whoever cleaned out the place after his death didn’t notice it.” He looked at Max. “How long have you been here?”

“Almost eight years. It was a nursery before I came.”

“I remember that,” Jim said. “Greenes’ Nursery. My wife used to buy plants and fertilizer here. Do you know where the Greenes are now?”

Max shook his head. “Sure don’t.” He squinted in contemplation. “It seems like they told me they were moving to a milder climate. But that might be anywhere…Southern California, Florida, the Caribbean…”

Jim took one more look around the room. He then nodded toward Michael and Max. “Well, thanks for bringing this to our attention. Let’s hope it helps to resolve one of our old cases.”

“You don’t have high hopes, though, huh?” Michael asked.

Both officers shook their head. Jim started to walk out of the basement, but turned and said, “Max, if you…” he smirked and added, “…or the cat happen to find anything else, will you let us know?”

“Sure,” Max said, nodding.

As the deputies prepared to leave, Margaret stepped out of the house, sidled up to Max and asked him, “Should we tell them about the prowler?”

“What prowler?” Max asked.

“You know, the one that let the cats out.”

He thinned his lips. “Maggie, I really think it was one of us don’t you? Why would someone come onto our property and let cats out? It doesn’t make sense.”

Jim and Ben looked from Maggie to Max, then Jim said, “Well, we’ll see you folks later. Thanks again.”

Once the officers had left, Savannah began packing the baby’s diaper bag. “We’d better get Lily home. Don’t want her to wear out her welcome.”

Michael corralled the baby and began to put her jacket on her, saying, “Thanks again for dinner Max; it was great. I didn’t even know I liked gumbo.”

“Good thing you like it,” Max said, “I think Maggie has packaged some up for you to take home.”

“Yes, here it is,” she said, returning from the kitchen.

Savannah smiled. “Super. No cooking two nights in a row!” She then said, “Hey, Auntie, want to take Lily and me to your friend’s day care place one day next week? I’d love to meet her. I also want to get some party favors at the mall. You can help me pick them out.”

“Sure, let me give Barbara a call.”

****

“Good morning,” Savannah said, lowering the window of her SUV as her aunt walked up to the car the next day.

“Hi.” Margaret said off-handedly.

When Savannah saw her trying to peer into the backseat at Lily, she lowered the window a little.

“Hi, sweet girl. How are you today?” Margaret cooed.

“She’s in a pretty good mood,” Savannah said. “Eager to play with some children her own age.”

When the baby began to squirm and fuss, Margaret said, “I hate that they make babies face backward in the backseat these days. They must get lonely.” She opened the car door and began comforting Lily.

Savannah nodded. “Yeah, she much prefers it when someone sits there with her. She’s a social little thing.” She glanced back at her aunt. “So get in,” she said. “You can sit with Lily if you want.”

Margaret hesitated before saying, “I think I’ll take my own car. One of our shipments didn’t come in and I need to arrange for a tracer—also want to see if I can find enough litter in town to get us through until it does arrive. I’ll meet you at Barbara’s, introduce you, then I need to split.”

“Oh,” Savannah said. “Well, I guess that’ll work. Does she know we’re coming?”

“Yes, I wanted to make sure it was okay. She said she has only a couple of kids today—an infant and a boy about Lily’s age.” Margaret kissed Lily’s cheek and closed the car door, then said to Savannah, “Now, you’re going to turn right on Eisen. Take a left on Quail Place, and she’s down near that cute little park.”

“What park?” Savannah asked.

“Just follow me.” Margaret stepped back so she could see Lily again and said enticingly, “There are play horsies to ride and baby swings.”

Savannah smiled at her aunt, then whispered, “We’re getting her a swing set for her birthday.”

“Oh, she’ll like that,” Margaret said. “Hey, I’ll meet you there, okay?”

Once they’d arrived and parked their cars, Savannah said, as she took Lily out of the baby seat, “What a nice place. Gosh, she’s only a few miles from us. I could walk Lily over here.” She cringed. “…if I can bear to leave her.”

“Maybe you could volunteer here, although I think there’s a screening process.”

“I would hope so,” Savannah said, as the two women walked to the front door of the home.

Margaret’s knock was answered within a few moments. “Hello,” a woman of about fifty-six with a sweet, friendly face said upon opening the door and inviting them inside. She reached out for a hug. “Maggie, so good to see you.”

“Barbara, I’d like you to meet my niece, Savannah Ivey. She’s my sister Gladys’s older daughter.”

Barbara closed the door behind them and said to Savannah. “How nice to meet you. I went to school with your mom. We were in the same class. I lost track of her after high school, though. She married that handsome Ted Jordan, and I went off to college. Didn’t return until the early 1990s. I think I saw you with your dad a few times when I’d come back to visit my folks.” She focused on Lily. “And now you have a child of your own. Isn’t she darling? What’s your name, cutie pie?”

“This is Lily. She’s celebrating her first birthday in a few weeks and I realized I haven’t done a very good job of socializing her among her peers.”

“Good grief, Vannie, you sound like you’re talking about a litter of kittens…socializing her?” Margaret said, feigning a sneer.

“Savannah’s right,” Barbara said. “As we discussed on the phone, Maggie, Lily should start spending time with other children her age. She has a brother, right?”

Savannah nodded. “Yes, Michael’s son Adam is ten, and they do enjoy playing together when he visits, but she doesn’t know any same-age children.”

“Well, come on in. Bradley should be here any minute,” Barbara said, leading them into a large playroom where an infant slept in a crib.

“People leave their little babies?” Savannah asked, quietly.

Barbara nodded. “We consider this the child’s home away from home, which is comforting to parents of infants as well as toddlers.”

“Certainly,” Savannah said. She looked around. “This is a wonderful room—so bright and colorful.”

“Color is important for brain stimulation,” Barbara explained. She motioned for the women to sit down. “There are actually places to sit this morning. That isn’t always the case around here.”

Savannah perched on the edge of a blue floral sofa and placed Lily on the floor in front of her. “See the toys, sweetheart?” she said to the toddler. “Want to go play with the toys?”

Lily looked around then reached for Savannah, who lifted her onto her lap.

“Have you run the day care for long?” Savannah asked.