The Cat, the Wife and the Weapon: A Cats in Trouble Mystery (10 page)

I reached out and rested my hand on her forearm. “I am totally on board. Until Lydia came here, I had no idea Nolan Roth had been murdered. I was on a mission to help Finn. He
is
a good kid, Candace. Sometimes you just know when someone’s good and decent. I’m with Tom. Finn deserves all the help we can offer.”

I felt her arm muscles relax beneath my touch. “You understand I have to make my own decision about the kid’s character, right? Because both Tom and Finn were more than a little unhappy with a man who ended up murdered and I can’t ignore that. You get where I’m coming from?”

“Of course,” I said. “But I know you, Candace. You’ll see what we have already seen when it comes to Finn. I’m sure of it.”

“You know what? You are the best thing that ever happened to this town,” she said. “You can put things in perspective in an instant.” She snapped her fingers for emphasis.

Hearing the sound, Yoshi sat at attention. Wonder what he thought was about to happen?

“Coffee’s ready,” Liam said.

“Toast coming up,” Tom said. “You have the following gourmet choices: peanut butter on toast, peanut butter and frozen bananas on toast or your always delicious dry toast.” He pulled four slices from my toaster and hastily dropped them on to a plate.

I helped Liam pour us all coffee. Soon we were sitting at the small table in the nook, munching our food and gulping coffee like it was water from an oasis.

Yoshi sat at Candace’s feet. She’d dropped the leash and put her foot on it to make sure he stayed close. I didn’t have to tell her the cats and the dog hadn’t quite managed to come to an understanding yet. Yoshi almost had this worried look—ears down, blinking a lot. Poor guy. He seemed to understand he was in the middle of a big mess.

At some point, Syrah had taken a spot on the window seat in the living room. This offered him a good vantage point to observe the dog while still keeping an eye on whatever bug was moving outside. Merlot, however, surprised me by plopping down about two feet away from Yoshi. He started what I called his “inquiring” chatter—something Maine coons are known for. Poor dog just kept cocking his head from side to side as they stared at each other.

While Tom started another batch of toast, Liam refilled our coffee mugs.

“I could get used to good-looking men waiting on me,” I said.

Liam sat down and said, “I have three sisters. Comes natural to take care of the ladies. Back to business, however. Since Finn isn’t with us yet and you spent more time than anyone with him yesterday, did he say anything about the gun?”

I said, “Finn says he never put any gun in his backpack.”

Candace looked at me as if I wasn’t ready to graduate from kindergarten. “Sure. So someone else just put it in there when he wasn’t looking. I hate when that happens.”

“You’re going to give him the benefit of the doubt, remember?” I said. “In my opinion, he’s being as honest as he can. And I’m not saying the gun isn’t his. I’m saying he doesn’t remember ever seeing it. You had a concussion last summer. Remember how you felt afterward?”

She briefly closed her eyes, as if recalling the blow to the head that put her in the hospital. “I do. I understand he might not remember. But how far back does his amnesia go?”

Tom hovered near the toaster, but I could tell he was listening to every word.

Candace went on, saying, “The kid was walking around with a loaded gun and a head injury. I have to completely understand what brought Finn here and how the gun ended up in his possession—hear the explanation from Finn himself.”

“So Tom told you about the gun right away?” I said.

Tom said, “I didn’t. My brother decided he wanted to
help out
. He told her when he called his new best friend Candace at the police station looking for me.”

“Ah,” I said. “Bob. How nice of him.”

“Time to interview Finn,” Candace said. “Unlike you and Tom, I don’t have the luxury of trusting Finn’s character and I can’t make decisions about guilt or innocence until I’ve gathered and evaluated all the evidence. Does that make sense?”

I nodded. “I know. But let Tom and me help you with him. He sure trusts Tom and I think he’s starting to trust me.”

“We do need your help,” Liam said. “But if the outcome isn’t what you want, if he did harm Roth, you should be prepared.”

Tom set more toast on the table. The smell of it, combined with the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee, would have been comforting on any other day, but Liam’s words made my stomach tighten. I could hear a hint of desperation in my voice when I said, “You’re the one who should be prepared—prepared with an open mind, Liam. He could never kill anyone.”

Just then, Merlot crept closer to us, his eyes on the dog, but I was sure he’d heard the worry in my voice. My cats were so protective, and I relaxed a tad just thinking about them.

“Please wake the kid up, would you?” Candace said.

Tom said, “Can we let him sleep a little longer? He’s injured and—”

“I need to interview him before his mother arrives. We, of course, called her and expect her in town this morning. Even though the kid’s eighteen, has a North Carolina driver’s license and I don’t need her to be present, she might insist. I sure as heck don’t want to argue with a brand-new widow. Is he in the guest room?” Candace stood, probably ready to wake Finn up. Too bad she forgot she was supposed to be keeping Yoshi on his leash.

He had his chance and took it.

When he ran, it wasn’t toward the back door or down the hall to the guest room. No. He started racing around my living room, Merlot right behind him. I was about to intervene, but then realized those two were actually playing a game. Yoshi had the advantage. The little dog could turn on a dime. Finally he stopped dead, whirled and faced Merlot. He lowered onto his front legs, his butt in the air. From growing up with my grandparents’ various dogs, I knew this was a “play position” and smiled.

Syrah, meanwhile, was staring with complete disdain as this commotion unfolded. He wasn’t about to make nice with a dog. Merlot must have caught a look from his feline friend because he turned and walked away from Yoshi. But there had been no hissing or swiping, just some much-needed fun.

“What’s going on?” a sleepy-eyed Finn said from the foyer.

Yoshi took off and leaped into Finn’s arms.

Candace said, “I take it you’re Finn. I’m Deputy Candace Carson of the Mercy Police.”

He looked at me. “You called the cops on me?”

Ten

Finn sounded and looked defensive when he said, “If you’re here to arrest me as a runaway, you can’t. I’m old enough to leave home.”

“You’re right,” Candace said. “You’re an adult in the eyes of the law. A few things have happened I need to talk to you about, though. I came here as part of an investigation and need to ask you a few questions. As I said, I’m Deputy Candace Carson. I came here with Mr. Brennan from the county district attorney’s office.”

“Hold on. What kind of investigation?” A touch of panic tinged Finn’s voice.

Yoshi squirmed to get closer to Finn and licked his cheek.

“Something bad has happened,” Tom said as he and Liam joined us in the living room.

“Tom. You’re here.” Finn smiled and his pale cheeks took on some much-needed color. Then he focused on Liam and the flush drained away. “Is this guy a lawyer? Is he planning on turning me over to my mother? Because he can’t. I’m legal.”

Candace nodded. “We all understand you were free to leave a bad home situation. But right now, we need to sit down and talk. Will you do that?”

Finn shrank back, clutching his dog to his chest.

Liam walked over to Finn and offered his hand. “I’m Liam Brennan, and yes, I am a lawyer. We just want to talk to you.”

Finn simply stared at Liam’s hand.

Thank goodness Tom took over then. He walked to Finn’s side and put an arm around his shoulder. “Liam’s a good guy. A friend. So is Deputy Carson. These people want to help and you must know Jillian and I do, too.”

“I—I do know. But this is kinda freakin’ me out,” Finn said.

Merlot sat in the middle of the living room, a silent observer of this tense human interaction. Syrah went to his scratching post near the entertainment center to sharpen his nails and, I decided, to convey his lack of interest in this gathering. That didn’t mean he was disinterested, just that he wanted us—or should I say Yoshi—to think so.

The little dog was trembling. Too many strangers for him, it would seem.

“How’s the head?” Tom brushed aside a lock of Finn’s sandy hair to examine the cut and bruise on his forehead.

“Ouch,” Candace said. “How did that happen?”

“I told you last night—or was it this morning?—he doesn’t remember,” Tom said through gritted teeth.

Uh-oh,
I thought. The last thing we needed was for Tom to get tense and overprotective right now. I looked at Candace when I said, “Finn’s probably hungry, and though I know you have lots of questions, maybe we can get some food in this guy first?”

“Sorry,” Candace said. “You’re right. Guess I was hoping Finn recalled more details now that he’s had some rest.”

“I don’t get it. Details about me coming here?” Finn looked at Tom. “Tell me what’s going on. I left home, sure. And I didn’t tell my mother. It’s not a crime.”

He thought this was about him leaving home. I wanted the poor kid sitting down when he heard the news this wasn’t about running away. I said, “You’re right, Finn. It’s not a crime. Before we talk about why these people are here, you need to sit down, maybe eat something.” I glanced around the room. “Is that okay with the rest of you?”

Liam nodded and Candace said, “Sure.”

Tom led Finn, who still clutched his dog tightly, to the sofa.

“Tom makes some mean peanut butter toast,” I said. “What about something to drink? There’s fresh coffee, but—”

“No Dr Pepper, I guess?” Finn said as he and the dog settled back on the couch.

“Sorry,” I said, watching from the corner of my eye as Liam and Candace took the chairs opposite the sofa. “After we’re done talking, I intend to fix that problem.”

Finn gave a small smile. “Milk is cool.”

Liam said, “Your dog’s name is unusual, but it sounds familiar.”

Finn told him about the little dragon in the Mario Brothers game and Liam smiled.

“I used to love playing Mario Brothers,” Liam said.

While they talked about video games, I could tell by Candace’s tapping foot and her grip on the chair’s arms that she was getting impatient. But to her credit, she allowed the guys to bond a little.

After Finn had his toast and milk and we were all on our third round of coffee, Tom took a deep breath and said, “These folks coming here? It’s about Nolan, not about you leaving home.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s with him?” He bit into the toast.

“He died yesterday,” Tom said quietly.

Finn’s eyes widened in surprise and he quickly swallowed his food. “But he’s, like, younger than you, Tom. Did he get sick or something?”

“Someone killed him,” Tom said.

“Wow.” Finn blinked several times and repeated, “Wow.”

Yoshi, who’d been curled up next to Finn, sat up and nuzzled Finn’s neck and began licking his face again. This was certainly a perceptive dog. Almost as perceptive as a cat.

“We know you were injured yesterday,” Candace said. “We understand you can’t remember part of the day. Do you recollect seeing Nolan at all?”

“Easy question. Since Nolan’s in North Carolina and—”

“He came
here
,” Tom said. “Probably looking for you.”

“Nolan died in
this
town?” If Finn had been surprised before, he now seemed stunned.

Candace leaned toward Finn, her hands between her knees. She spoke reassuringly when she said, “Finn, do you remember being in Tom’s car yesterday?”

Finn looked up at me. “Tom’s car? No way. I was in Mrs. Hart’s van. She can tell you. She and Tom picked me up. I saw a white car in Tom’s driveway when we got to his house. Is that the car you’re talking about?”

Tom went into protective mode again, saying, “Like I tried to tell you back at the station, he’s never even seen my car before.”

Candace ignored Tom, her focus remaining on Finn. “Sounds like you remember part of yesterday, which is good. But there’s a big problem and it’s bothering me. I was told there was a gun in your backpack.”

“Oh yeah. That was, like, so weird. I have no clue where the gun came from.” Finn went silent then, his expression changing. A realization was taking hold. He slowly put his unfinished toast on the coffee table, wrapped his arms around Yoshi and drew him close. “Nolan was shot, wasn’t he? And you think I did it.”

Candace said, “We aren’t sure what happened. We’re just gathering information.”

Liam added, “The police have a job to do, Finn. They need to find out what happened to Nolan. Anything you can remember might just help us straighten out this mess.”

“I didn’t see Nolan. At least I don’t think I did.” He stopped and I saw uncertainty on his face. He couldn’t remember.

Finn went on, saying, “I came to this place to be with someone who gives a rat’s ass about me. Tom said I could come anytime I wanted.” Finn stared straight at Liam. “You want to know what I remember? I remember how Nolan treated me. And I’m not sorry he’s dead.”

Oh boy. Not the best choice of words when the police had reason to suspect him of a crime. I was sitting on the floor with Merlot, whose keen interest in Yoshi had not waned, and my body tensed after Finn said this. My cat’s claws dug into my knees and then retracted in response to my body language. Merlot looked up at me with concern.

Tom’s uneasiness was evident, as well, and he said, “You didn’t kill him, though. No matter what you can or cannot remember, I know you didn’t.”

Candace said, “Maybe we should let Finn talk.”

Finn raised his chin. “Tom’s right. I may have hated Nolan, but I wouldn’t kill him. I wouldn’t kill anyone.”

I believed him and I hoped Candace felt the sincerity that seemed so evident to me. I said, “The doctor said you will never remember parts of yesterday.” I glanced around at the people in the room. “You can check with the doctor if you want, but those were his words. It doesn’t mean Finn hurt anyone during that period of time. Concussions don’t change who he is.”