Cats in Cahoots (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 18) (4 page)

“Yeah, I can tell that you are,” Margaret said facetiously, continuing to follow her nieces into the nursery. When she saw Lily standing in her crib, she smiled widely and held her hands out to the toddler. “Hi, baby girl. Come see Auntie.”

When Brianna saw the toddler lower her eyes, she breezed past her aunt toward the baby. “Awww, she wants to see Aunt Bri, don’t you sweet girl?”

But Lily still wasn’t having it. She moved to the back of her crib and stared out at the sea of faces. When she spotted Savannah, she held her hands out toward her. “Ma-ma,” she whined.

“Goodness, little one,” Savannah said lifting the baby, who buried her little face in her mommy’s shoulder. “A while ago you were begging to see your aunties. She turned to the others. “She was even talking to you guys on her toy phone.” Kissing the baby, she said quietly, “Now you’re all of a sudden shy?”

“Oh, she’ll be okay once she finishes waking up,” Margaret said.

Brianna nodded. “Yeah, we all kind of barged in on her.”

Before Savannah could respond, she heard the doorbell. “Who could that be?” she asked, not expecting an answer.

“Maybe a door-to-door salesman,” Margaret suggested.

Savannah lowered her brow. “Do we have those? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one except in the movies.”

“Yeah, now we have telemarketers,” Brianna said. “…phone-to-phone salespeople. Grrr. How I hate them.”

“Well, let me see who it is,” Savannah said, walking toward the front door with Lily in her arms.

When the bell chimed again, Margaret pointed. “I think it’s the back door.”

Savannah nodded. “You’re right. Two rings at the front door, one at the back door. I wasn’t sure which one I heard.” She rushed to the back door and opened it. “Oh hi, Antonio. How are you?”

“Good today,” he replied smiling. He then frowned. “I come to work on the garden and something is gone.”

“Something’s missing?” she asked.

“
Si
. And something is here.” When Savannah looked confused, he asked, “Did you pick more lettuce?”

“No, we haven’t picked any since you brought in that big batch a few days ago; we’re still using it.”

He removed his straw hat and scratched his head. “Maybe rabbit come again.”

“Does it look like a rabbit’s been in the garden?”

“No. Maybe a person pick.”

“Did they pick a lot?”

“No.
Poquito
,” he explained, gesturing with his hands. “
Uno
lettuce.”

“One plant? Was it a gopher?”

“No. People, I think.”

“Well, that’s okay. It’s nothing to worry about, right?”

He shook his head. “No worry. Plenty more.” He peered at Savannah for a moment and said, “You want to know if someone take, no?”

“Well, yes. We don’t want someone taking from our garden without permission.” She gazed over Antonio’s head at the old Crankshaw place and nodded in that direction. “Maybe it was the children. I should talk to them and let them know they can pick, as long as they ask permission.”

“Good, Miss Savannah. Good,” he said nodding and backing away. He then pulled something out of a pocket. “He leave this.”

“A package of seeds?” Brianna said from behind her sister. “That’s rich.” She walked closer and looked at the package. “Lettuce seeds.”

Antonio nodded and looked at Savannah. “What do I do?”

She shrugged. “Plant them, I guess.”

“Okay,” he said, stepping off the porch and disappearing around the side of the house toward the garden.

“So someone’s stealing from you, too.” Margaret noted as the women retreated into the kitchen.

“What?” Savannah said, still distracted by Antonio’s discovery.

“He said someone’s taking your lettuce.”

Savannah nodded toward the house on the other side of the orchard. “Oh, it’s probably the new kids.”

“Have you met them yet?” Margaret asked.

She eased a squirming Lily down to the floor before responding. “Yes, actually…a couple of them. Have you?”

Margaret shook her head.

Brianna frowned. “Why would children be interested in picking lettuce—a nice, juicy apple from your orchard maybe, but lettuce?”

“Hmmm,” Margaret said, looking thoughtful. “I wonder if they’d take a bright red watering can.” She grimaced. “Gads, I hope a ring of juvenile thieves hasn’t moved into the neighborhood.”

“How many kids are there?” Brianna asked, handing Lily a toy.

“According to another neighbor,” Margaret said, “hoards.”

Savannah laughed. “Yeah, they hoard children.”

“Vannie, how many have you seen?” Margaret asked.

“Maybe three. Adam was over there yesterday and he indicated there are a lot of them, including a boy around his age. He’s thrilled about that.”

“Do they play over here on your property?” Margaret asked, peering out the kitchen window.

Savannah hesitated. “Well, it seems that some of them have been over here, maybe bothering the horse. But so far, I haven’t seen any kids here except for one little girl, Kira.”

“That’s nice,” Brianna said. “There will be kids for Adam to play with next time he comes.”

“Yeah, I’d like to know something about them before he spends any more time with them.” She glanced toward the Crane place before scooping up Lily and taking her toward the nursery for a diaper change. “Oh, Auntie,” she called out on her way into the hall, “would you take that envelope there on the counter to Antonio? I don’t want to get distracted and forget to pay him.”

When Brianna saw Margaret staring down at her phone, she said, “I’ll do it.” A few minutes later, she joined the other women and the toddler in the living room. “He said,
gracias
.”

“Thanks, Sis,” Savannah said. Brightening, she asked, “Is everyone ready for lunch?”

“Yeah, where are we going?” Margaret asked.

Brianna grinned at their aunt. “What’s your chef hubby fixing for lunch?”

“I think he’s heating up leftovers and there’s just enough for one.”

“Bummer,” she said.

“Hey, maybe Max will cook something for us before you leave, Bri.”

“That would be a treat,” Savannah said, while putting Lily’s sweater on her. She picked up her purse. “I thought we’d go to the Courtyard Café. I’ve been craving one of their turkey sandwiches. Sound good?”

“Yeah,” Brianna said.

Margaret nodded. “Okay with me. Are we ready? Want to take my new car?”

“Hey, Bri, have you seen Auntie’s new red car?”

“No, but I heard about it. Red, huh? Pretty flashy for a…”

“For a what?” Margaret challenged.

“Nothing,” Brianna said, grinning. “Just pretty flashy, that’s all.”

In the meantime, Savannah mulled over Margaret’s suggestion. “We could take your car, but you might not want Lily’s car seat making marks on your new upholstery.”

Margaret creased her brow. “Oh, well, let’s take your car, Vannie.” Smiling, she added, “Then I can have a glass of wine with lunch.”

“Are you off duty at the shelter today? Taking a vacation day, are you?” Brianna asked, looping her arm through Margaret’s.

“Yes, it’s a special occasion. My niece, the doctor is in town.” She smiled toward Savannah. “…visiting my niece, the veterinarian.”

Suddenly Brianna jumped. “Who’s that?” she said under her breath.

“Where?” the other women asked, glancing around.

“Oh, he’s gone.”

“Was it Antonio?” Margaret asked.

Brianna hesitated. “I don’t think so, but I can’t be sure. I caught just a brief glance. He looked taller and had a lighter complexion. Hell, it could have been Dad, for all I know, or maybe Grandpa Jed.”

“Grandpa Jed?” Margaret yelped.

“Yeah, don’t you see him around here? As much as he loved this place, I’d expect him to hang around.” She thought for a minute before saying, “But then, I’ve seen Dad in Straley and he had no attachment to that city, as far as I know. I also saw him at a spa I visited in Mexico once.”

Margaret peered suspiciously at her niece. “You’re seeing ghosts?”

“Could be,” Brianna said, letting out a sigh. “Don’t you ever see people who’ve passed?”

Margaret shook her head. “No, and I don’t want to, either.”

“Auntie, you liked Grandpa Jed,” Savannah reminded her.

“Yes, when he was alive. I liked your father, too,” she said, sliding into the front passenger seat of Savannah’s SUV. “But no way do I want to see their ghosts.”

Brianna addressed her sister. “You see Dad’s spirit, don’t you, Vannie?”

Savannah glanced up while settling Lily into the car seat. She thinned her lips. “Actually, I think so—maybe a couple of times.”

“You see spirits?” Margaret shrieked.

“I’m pretty sure I have. Bri, want to sit in back with the princess?” Savannah asked as she stepped into the driver’s seat.

“Sure do,” she said, scooting in and buckling her seat belt. “So Vannie, tell me about your sightings. Do you think Dad really visits you?”

“I think so—at least I like to think so.”

“Really?” Margaret said. “You encourage ghosts?”

“Sure, those I know. It’s comforting to feel them around.”

“Isn’t that the truth,” Brianna said. She was quiet for a moment. “Do you see him clearly?”

After thinking about it, Savannah said, “No, just a fleeting glimpse—like a flash. Then I wonder if I really saw something or not. But I’m always left with a warm feeling, like Dad’s close.”

“Yes, that’s how it is for me, too,” Brianna said.

Savannah continued. “I discounted it for the longest time until I happened to mention something to Iris…”

“Oh, Iris,” Margaret huffed. “She’s a cuckoo when it comes to woo-woo stuff. She’ll make something weird out of anything you tell her.”

“Like what?” Savannah challenged.

“Yeah,” Brianna said, “like what?”

“Well, like the time I had a little too much wine and I told her I saw Tom in a dream.”

“A dream?”

“Yes, I believe in dreams. It was one of those real-as-life dreams. Well, Iris said that
was
Tom coming to visit. Man, that really spooked me. I didn’t sleep well after that for days.”

“You weren’t scared during the dream were you?” Brianna asked.

“No, not until Iris started making it seem like I’d flipped my noodle and was seeing my dead husband.” She shivered. “That’s just too weird.”

“Tell us about
your
other-worldly sightings, Bri,” Savannah encouraged, after they were seated on the patio of the restaurant and had ordered their meals.

“Well,” she said, smiling at Lily, who jabbered to her dolly in baby-babble, “recently, I was just chilling in a hot bath after a grueling day at work when I heard someone call my name. ‘Brianna, Brianna.’ I grabbed my washcloth, tried to cover as much of me as I could, and frantically looked around the room. When I didn’t see anyone and I didn’t hear anyone, I decided it must have been someone from the other side. So I listened real carefully, but I didn’t hear anything else. After thinking about it, I was sure the voice I’d heard was Dad’s. Like you said, Vannie, I felt very much at peace for the rest of the evening.”

“Oh, pshaw,” Margaret spat. “You have the biggest imagination. That was just a thought that came into your mind or maybe you were in a dream state and you dreamed it. When you thought about your dad, of course, you felt warm fuzzies.”

“So you don’t believe, Auntie?”

“Hell no. I believe that what we think we see are actually memories or thoughts coming from inside, not from outside or from some other world in some other dimension. That’s what makes sense to me.”

Savannah opened a juice pouch for Lily, then said, “Bri, tell us about when you actually saw Dad.”

“Well, there was that time in Mexico. I was in the spa dining room when I had a kind of out-the-corner-of-my-eye type sighting. I glimpse someone wearing the same kind of polo shirt Dad wore. But when I took a closer look, the vision had vanished. I think it’s a matter of my subconscious showing me something my conscious isn’t quite ready to see. Know what I mean? Sure made me smile, though.”

“Oh, hogwash,” Margaret spat. “Now can we change the subject? This one freaks me out.”

Brianna winked at Savannah. “And she says she doesn’t believe.”

“Yeah, Auntie,” Savannah said. “If you didn’t believe, it wouldn’t frighten you.”

“Here’s our lunch,” Margaret said, obviously relieved at the interruption. “Looks good. I’m hungry.”

****

Over an hour had passed and the women continued to chat while sipping designer coffee and nibbling on petit fours, when Margaret picked up her phone. “Well, I’ll be.”

Savannah gazed across the table over her latte cup. “What?”

“Max found my watering can.”

“Where?” Brianna asked.

She looked sheepishly at her nieces. “Right where I always keep it on the porch next to the spigot. See?” she offered, showing the picture Max had texted to her phone.

“And you’re sure you looked there?”

“Yes, Vannie. I’m as sure as I’m sitting here right now.”

Brianna began to chuckle. Soon her chuckle accelerated into a giggle.

“What’s so damn funny?” Margaret demanded.

“Well, I was just thinking,” Brianna paused and grinned at her aunt, “maybe one of the spirits was playing a trick on you.” When Margaret peered at her suspiciously, Brianna continued, “They do that, you know. Some of them are real jokesters.”

“Where do you get that stuff?” Margaret huffed.

“Oh, I read and I observe. That’s all.”

“Wait!” Margaret shouted, looking at her phone screen again. “Holy cow, Vannie! Look! Who’s that?”

When Savannah stared into the screen, she shrugged. “Well, it’s Rags. When did Max take that picture?” She smiled. “It’s cute.”

“Five minutes ago,” Margaret said.

“What?” Savannah screeched. “Let me see that. Where was it taken?” She studied the photograph more carefully. “That’s your house—there’s your red watering can. What’s Rags doing over there?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Vannie. But there he is, plain as day.” Margaret narrowed her eyes and leaned toward Savannah. “Do you think he had something to do with my missing watering can?”

“No. How can you think such a thing? A cat couldn’t carry off something that size. Even if he could, why would he?”