Copycat Killing: A Magical Cats Mystery (33 page)

I walked over to them. Harry smiled when he caught sight of me. I took the hand he held out and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here,” I told him.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said. He turned to the young woman beside him. “Kathleen, this is my daughter, Elizabeth.”

“Elizabeth, I’m so happy to finally meet you,” I said. She had her father’s smile.

“I’m happy to meet you too,” she said. “Harrison told me that without your help we might never have found each other. Thank you.” She looked up at him and I could see affection in her gaze.

I had to swallow away a lump in my throat before I could speak. “I did very little,” I said. “But you’re welcome.”

Harry Senior looked around. “Where did you put Karl Kenyon’s sculptures? I’d like to show them to Elizabeth.”

“Over in the computer room,” I said.

“Go ahead,” Harry Junior said. “I’ll be right there.”

Larry Taylor leaned sideways as he passed me. “It looks great, Kathleen,” he whispered.

“Thanks for helping with the extra lights,” I said.

“Anytime,” he said with a smile.

His big brother stood beside me and we watched the three of them make their way across the floor. “How’s it going?” I asked.

“Better than I hoped,” Harry said.

“What’s she like?”

“Stubborn, opinionated, like Boris with a bone when she thinks she’s right.”

“In other words she fits right in,” I said.

He laughed. “Yes, she does.”

I patted his shoulder and walked outside. There was a tent set up in the parking lot and Eric was working at a large grill. Eddie was beside him with one of the twins on his shoulders. I couldn’t see the other, which I hoped wasn’t a bad thing.

I made my way around the side of the building to the new gazebo in the reading garden. It was a little larger than the one in Rebecca’s backyard; Oren had built it using Harrison Taylor’s original design. Like everything both men were involved with, it was beautiful.

“Oren does nice work.”

I turned to smile at Marcus standing behind me. “Yes, he does. Have you seen his father’s sculptures?”

“I’d swear that eagle had feathers.”

I nodded. “I had the same reaction the first time I saw it.”

Marcus looked back at the building. “You’ve probably been wondering why I don’t have a library card.”

“It’s not really any of my business,” I said, but I could feel my cheeks getting pink.

His eyebrows went up.

“All right, yes, I’m curious,” I admitted. “Why don’t you have a library card?”

We walked across the grass to the retaining wall overlooking the water. “I couldn’t read until I was almost ten,” he said.

“Dyslexia?” I asked.

“Yes.” He looked out across the lake. “For a long time the library was just about my least favorite place in the world. School was right up there too.”

I thought about all the times I’d complained to Maggie about Marcus not having a library card and I was ashamed of my narrow-minded attitude. “I can see why,” I said quietly.

“I started building my own library, that way no one would know how long it took me to read a book.” He turned to face me. “I’d love to show you my books sometime.”

“I’d like that,” I said. He was so close I could smell the unique warmth of his skin.

He hesitated, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Could I make you dinner Saturday night?”

“I’d like that too,” I said.

For a moment I thought he was going to kiss me, but he didn’t. He just smiled that gorgeous smile at me.

My heart started doing the cha-cha in my chest because I knew that if—when Marcus Gordon kissed me, I was definitely going to kiss him back.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sofie Kelly
is an author and mixed-media artist who lives on the East Coast with her husband and daughter. In her spare time she practices Wu-style tai chi and likes to prowl around thrift stores. And she admits to having a small crush on Matt Lauer.

Secondhand Spirits

A Witchcraft Mystery

Lily Ivory feels that she can finally fit in somewhere and conceal her “witchiness” in San Francisco. It’s there that she opens her vintage clothing shop, outfitting customers both spiritually and stylistically.

Just when things seem normal, a client is murdered and children start disappearing from the Bay Area. Lily has a good idea that some bad phantoms are behind it. Can she keep her identity secret, or will her witchy ways be forced out of the closet as she attempts to stop the phantom?

Available wherever books are sold or at
penguin.com

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