Paws and Effect (6 page)

“I was in Ruby's studio,” she said. “She was making bath salts.”

Ruby Blackthorne was the new president of the artists' co-operative. She had multi-pierced ears, Kool-Aid–colored hair and a collection of funky T-shirts. She was also whip-smart and a talented artist, getting some much-deserved attention for her large pop-art paintings.

“You should see what she's done to her hair,” Maggie said, picking a clump of cat hair off my jacket. It seemed pretty clear Owen had been doing some roaming around during the afternoon.

“Did she shave one side of her head again?” I asked. “Or do her bangs navy blue? I liked that.”

Mags shook her head. “No. It's brown, light brown.” She made a motion in the air with one hand near her chin. “And she cut it about to here.”

“No lime green or neon orange?”

“No.”

“That is odd,” I said.

“That's what I thought.” Maggie led the way into Eric's. “Do you want to eat at the counter for a change?” she asked.

I could see two empty stools at the far end. “Sure,” I said.

Nic was working. Like Maggie and Ruby, Nic was an artist. He worked with found metal and paper and also did some photography.

“Hi, guys, what can I get you?” he asked. He was about medium height and stocky, with light brown skin and deep brown eyes.

“Tea, please,” Maggie said. She looked at me. “Hot chocolate?” she asked.

I nodded.

Nic gave us each a menu. “I'll be right back,” he said with a smile.

I slipped off my jacket and got up to hang it on one of the hooks on the end wall. “What are you having?” I asked as I sat down again.

“The special is a polenta bowl with roasted vegetables.”

“That sounds good.” Everything on Eric's menu was good. He was a great cook and since his wife, Susan, also worked for me at the library I often got an advance taste of new additions to the menu.

Nic came back then with my hot chocolate and Maggie's tea. They talked for a moment about an issue she was having with one of her cameras and then he headed to the kitchen with our order.

Maggie began the little ritual she did with her tea. She reminded me of the way Owen insisted on checking his food before he ate it.

“I called Roma,” she said, lifting the lid of the pot of hot water and dropping in the tea bag. “She said it's okay to take John out there tomorrow.”

“That's great.” I took a sip of my hot chocolate, topped with a couple of the Jam Lady's homemade marshmallows. It was chocolaty and not too sweet with a hint of vanilla from the marshmallows. In other words, perfect.

“Hey, is Dani about my height, a little bit thinner with long blond hair?” Maggie asked.

“Uh-huh,” I said. “Did you meet her?”

She opened the lid of the little pot again and poked
the tea bag with a spoon. “No, but I just saw someone I guessed was her with Marcus heading into the bar at the hotel.”

“When?” I asked swallowing hard against the lump that was suddenly stuck in my throat.

“When I was walking to the studio,” Maggie said. “Three hours ago I guess.” Then she looked at me. “Wait, you don't think that . . .” She let the end of the sentence trail away.

No I didn't, I realized. I trusted Marcus and I wasn't going to be jealous and suspicious. “No,” I said aloud. I hesitated. “But something happened earlier, when Marcus and I had breakfast with his friends. Did John mention Travis to you?”

She peered into the little pot for the third time before finally pouring her tea. “The environmental engineer?”

I nodded. “Uh-huh. When they were all in school together Travis and Dani were a couple.”

“I take it they're not a couple anymore.”

“No.” Nic came back then with our polenta bowls. Once the steaming dishes were in front of us and he'd gone to take someone else's order I told Maggie what had happened at breakfast. I knew I could count on her to be discreet.

“So he's still angry after all this time?”

“Very,” I said.

She reached for her tea. “It's painful to hold on to that bitterness for such a long time.”

That was Maggie, always taking the compassionate viewpoint. She was unrelentingly kind.

“You know, it doesn't really sound like the kind of thing Marcus would do,” she said.

“That was my thought,” I said, chasing a mushroom around the side of my bowl with a spoon. “But why would you admit to sleeping with your best friend's girlfriend if you didn't?”

“The only reason I can think of is you wanted to hurt him, and I know
that's
not Marcus.”

*   *   *

We finished supper and Maggie went back to her studio while I headed back to the library. It was quieter than usual and Owen and I were on our way home by eight fifteen. Over the summer and early fall I'd been experimenting with the library's closing hours.

Owen disappeared—not literally—down the stairs headed for his basement lair as soon as we were in the house. I hung up my things and made a cup of hot chocolate. The one I'd had at Eric's had left me craving more of the Jam Lady's homemade marshmallows.

I took my cup and wandered into the living room. Hercules was curled up in the big chair. He at least looked guilty.

“That's not your chair,” I said. To my amusement instead of jumping down he moved over as though he was inviting me to join him. So I did.

Once I was sitting down with my feet up on the footstool Hercules climbed onto my lap and eyed my mug, whiskers twitching.

“Marshmallows are not cat food,” I said.

“Mrr,” he grumbled.

I swiped my little finger in the creamy vanilla foam
and held it out to him. “Do not tell Roma I did this,” I warned. “Or your brother.”

The moment the words were out there was an indignant meow from the kitchen doorway. Owen was standing there, glaring in my direction.

“How do you do that?” I asked.

The little tabby stalked over in high indignation, jumped onto the footstool and looked pointedly at the cup. I swiped another finger through the melted marshmallow and held out my hand so Owen could have a taste. That meant jostling Hercules just a little, which got me an annoyed look from him as well. Finally everyone, including me, had tasted the marshmallows and, in the case of the boys, licked the stickies off their whiskers. Hercules stretched out on my lap. Owen sprawled across the footstool with his head on my legs. And I told them about Maggie seeing Marcus with Dani.

Neither one of them seemed the slightest bit interested. I realized that I didn't really want to talk to them. I wanted to talk to Marcus. I put one hand on Hercules so he wouldn't be disturbed and reached over for the phone with the other.

Marcus answered on the fourth ring. “Hi,” he said. “I was just going to call you.”

“I was going to come out for a few minutes, if that's okay,” I said. I could tell by their ears that both cats were interested now.

“It's more than okay,” he said. “Are you leaving right now?”

I smiled. “As soon as I get the cats off of me and put on some shoes.”

“I'll see you soon, then,” he said.

Hercules sat up of his own volition, murped at me and jumped down to the floor. Owen, being a little contrary, rolled onto his back and looked at me. I picked him up and set him down on the floor next to the footstool, where he rolled on his back again, paws moving lazily in the air as though he was doing a very low-energy workout.

I leaned down and stroked the top of his head. “You're very goofy,” I told him.

*   *   *

Marcus was waiting on the back deck when I walked around the side of his house. He looked tired. I could see lines around his mouth and his hair was mussed as though he'd been pulling his hands back through it, which is what he did when he was stressed.

He wrapped me in a hug. “I'm glad you're here.”

I stretched up on tiptoes so I could kiss him. “Me too,” I said.

He gestured at the swing and we sat down, his arm around my shoulders. “I'm sorry about dinner,” he said.

“I got your message,” I said, thinking how good he always smelled. Sitting so close, it was easy to get distracted.

“I had a meeting with the prosecuting attorney that ended up being rescheduled at the last minute.” He paused and cleared his throat. “And I talked to Dani again.”

“Is she okay?” I asked.

He exhaled, his breath stirring my hair. “She's
upset about Travis and a little embarrassed that you found out about the two of us that way, but she's okay.”

We rocked slowly back and forth in silence.

“It was Dani who made the oatmeal with the plaster of Paris, not you, wasn't it?” I said.

He laughed softly in the darkness. “How did you know?”

I laid my head against his shoulder. “Because you're more careful than that and I don't think that's a quality that's just happened since you graduated.”

He kissed the top of my head.

“And I was watching Dani,” I continued. “She was embarrassed. I could see it in her face.”

“I came out of the tent and she was sitting on a rock next to the camp stove holding this big pot of oatmeal, which was more like a big pot of concrete.”

I stretched up intending to kiss the line of his jaw, but he turned his head and I ended up kissing the side of his mouth instead.

“Umm, what was that for?” he asked. “Not that I'm complaining.”

“That's for being so kind to Dani—then and now.”

He put his other arm around me. “She's a good person, Kathleen. Things haven't always gone so well for her.”

As it got darker I could see the first stars overhead. “You mean Travis,” I said.

“I thought he was past it all, I really did,” Marcus said. “I haven't spoken to him since graduation and all he said to me then was that he was never going to forgive me.” He shifted on the seat of the swing so he
was facing me. “I'm sorry Travis dropped all of that on you and I'm sorry I didn't tell you about them.”

“I have to admit, it didn't sound like you—sneaking around with someone else's girlfriend, I mean.”

“I'm not trying to make excuses,” he said. “But Dani did try to break it off with him. And for the record, the compromising situation Travis caught us in was me—without a shirt—kissing her just outside her dorm room. We weren't in bed together.”

“I don't understand,” I said, trying not to sound judgmental. I didn't see why Dani couldn't have ended things with Travis before she got involved with Marcus. “What do you mean she tried?”

Marcus made a face. “Travis was—still is, as far as I can tell—extremely persistent.”

“You're saying he wouldn't take no for an answer.” I leaned back and the swing began to sway gently back and forth again.

“Now I realize that's a sign of a very controlling person. We'd call it obsessive or harassment. But back then . . . And it didn't help that Dani's family was crazy about Travis. They put a lot of pressure on her to try to work things out.” He blew out a breath. “We were kids. It . . . uh . . . it was complicated.”

There was more to what had happened between him and Dani. My instinct wasn't wrong. “What do you mean by complicated?” I asked.

Marcus's cell phone rang then. “Hang on,” he said. He leaned sideways and reached for his phone on the small table next to the swing. The only thing he said was, “Hello.” He listened and then his body went rigid.
I saw him nod even though the person on the other end of the call couldn't see the movement. “I'll be right there,” he said finally, ending the call.

But he didn't move. He just sat there, one hand still holding the phone.

I touched his shoulder. “What's wrong?” I asked.

He turned his head toward me and cleared his throat before he spoke. Even so, his voice was husky with emotion. “That was Hope,” he said.

Hope Lind was also a detective with the Mayville Heights Police Department.

“It's . . . it's Dani. She fell off an embankment out by Long Lake.”

“Are they taking her to the hospital in Red Wing or going to Minneapolis?” I wondered if John knew yet. And what about Travis?

Marcus shook his head. And then I knew. I didn't need to see his face. I could see it in the slump of his shoulders and the way his hands just hung between his knees. “No,” he said. “She's . . . she's
dead.”

M
arcus left to meet Hope, and I drove home. Before I got into the truck I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a hug. “I'm so, so sorry about Dani,” I said. “If you need me call or just come by. It doesn't matter how late it is.”

He nodded. “Drive carefully.”

I did drive home just a little more attentively, thinking how fragile life can be. I barely knew Dani but I had liked what I did know. As I headed around the house to the back door I stopped to look up at the stars overhead and hoped that wherever Dani was now she was at peace.

Marcus showed up just after six a.m. I'd had a restless night. I was leaning against the counter waiting for the coffee when he tapped on the back door. He had dark circles like sooty smudges under his eyes and he needed a shave. The half smile he gave me didn't make it anywhere near his blue eyes. He
propped an elbow on the table and leaned his head on his hand. I got a cup of coffee and set it next to him.

“Thanks,” he said.

I sat next to him at the table. “Could I get you some breakfast?”

He put a hand over mine. “Just sit with me for a bit.”

We sat like that for maybe a couple of minutes and then Marcus said, “I have to tell John.” He stared down at the table. “And I have to find Travis.”

“I'm coming with you,” I said. “Maybe John will know where he is.”

“You don't have to come,” Marcus said.

“I'm coming,” I repeated. He gave my hand a squeeze.

I scrambled eggs with the last sausage patty I'd gotten from Burtis Chapman and served them with toasted English muffins and more coffee. Marcus ate every bite on his plate but I think I could have cooked the eggs shells and toasted the bag the muffins had been in and he wouldn't have noticed.

“Hope's taking the lead on this one,” he said, pushing his plate back and folding his hands around his cup. “I just thought it would be easier for everyone if I was the one who broke the news to John and Travis.” He shook his head. “I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong.”

“No, you're not.” I put my arms around him. “I liked Dani. I'm sorry I didn't get to know her better. Would you, maybe later, tell me more about her?”

He nodded. “I'd like that. I think maybe the two of you would have been friends.”

“I'm sorry we didn't get the chance,” I said, and
even though I'd barely known Dani I had to swallow down a sudden lump in my throat.

I went upstairs to finish getting ready for work, leaving Marcus with Hercules, who had been sitting next to his chair in silent sympathy from the moment he'd arrived. When I came back down Marcus was talking to the cat in a low voice, not the first time I'd seen that kind of thing happen.

“John is staying out at the Bluebird Motel,” I said.

Marcus slipped something to Hercules, trying to be surreptitious about it. I let it pass. I could get a hint of the unmistakable aroma of stinky crackers and I knew one or two wouldn't hurt the little tuxedo cat.

“I texted Maggie,” I continued. “She was planning on taking John out to Wisteria Hill. Don't worry, I didn't tell her why I was asking.”

Marcus pulled a hand over the back of his neck. “Thanks. Hope is looking for Travis.” He got to his feet.

“Are you ready?” I asked.

“No,” he said. I linked my fingers though his and we left anyway.

A red SUV was parked in front of John's room at the Bluebird Motel. There was a rental company sticker in the top right corner of the windshield. The tailgate was open, which told me that John was up, getting ready to start his day. Marcus knocked on the door and then lifted my hand and kissed it before letting it go.

“I should be out of here in about ten minutes and you can—” John opened the door as he stuffed papers
into his messenger bag. He looked up, surprised to see Marcus and me instead of the maid he'd probably been expecting. “Hi,” he said. He looked at us and his expression grew serious. “What did Travis do?” he asked. “Is he all right? I swear I'm going to kick him when I see him. He didn't come back last night and I had to rent a car this morning so I can get everything done. Lucky for me I found a place that opened at seven thirty.”

I felt my chest tighten as though a giant hand were squeezing me. This was part of Marcus's job and I wondered how he did it over and over again.

“Marcus, is Travis all right?” John asked a lot more insistently.

“As far as we know,” Marcus said. He was in police officer mode. His voice was strong and steady.

“What do you mean as far as you know?”

Marcus ignored the question. “John, it's Dani.”

John grinned. “Let me guess. She got nabbed for speeding again.” He looked at me. “Dani has a lead foot.”

“Could we sit down for a minute?” Marcus asked.

“Sure.” John took a couple of steps back. “C'mon in.”

I followed Marcus into the room. It looked just like any other motel room I'd ever been in: bed, nightstand, dresser, flat-screen TV above the desk. There was a large duffel bag on the end of the bed.

John gave Marcus a puzzled smile. “So what's up?”

“Dani was out looking at the land around Long Lake,” Marcus said.

“Yeah, I know. I talked to her yesterday afternoon.
She said she might stay in town last night. She didn't want to run into Travis out here.”

“John, she had an accident,” Marcus said. I could see the tension in his shoulders and the stiff way he held his body.

John's gaze darted between the two of us. I stuffed my hands in my pockets because they suddenly felt huge and clumsy. “What kind of an accident?” he asked slowly.

“She fell. There was an embankment not that far from the lake. It looks like she was taking core samples.”

John swore. “Is she in a hospital here or back in Minneapolis?”

For a moment Marcus didn't say anything, and when he did it was just a single word: “Johnnie.”

John closed his eyes. I could see from the set of his jaw that his teeth were tightly clenched together. He let out a shuddering breath. “When?”

“Last night,” Marcus said. His right hand moved sideways and I caught it, giving it what I hoped was a comforting squeeze before letting go again.

John opened his eyes again. “This wasn't supposed to happen,” he said. “Not to Dani.” He looked at me. “You didn't know her, Kathleen, and I know this is the kind of thing people always say when someone dies, but she was special.”

“I'm sorry I didn't get to know her,” I said, feeling more than a little helpless in the face of both his and Marcus's grief. “I liked what I did know. I'm so sorry.”

He gave me what passed for a smile for him right
now. “Thank you.” Then he turned to Marcus. “We have to find Travis. He can't hear about this from a news report or from some stranger.”

“I'm working on that,” Marcus said. “Do you know where he is?”

John shook his head. “Like I said, he didn't come back here last night. I got the maid to check his room. The bed hadn't been slept in. I just assumed he'd stayed in town . . . like I thought Dani did.”

Marcus's phone buzzed then. He pulled it out. “It's Hope,” he said. “She might have something.” He stepped just outside the door.

“Hope is Marcus's partner,” I explained to John. “She'll be in charge of the investigation. Don't worry. She'll find Travis.”

John put a hand over his mouth for a moment. “I know what a jerk he was yesterday but he shouldn't have to hear this from a police officer, a
stranger
.”

I shook my head. “He won't.”

“I should go with him.” He meant go with Marcus to give Travis the news, I realized.

“I think you probably can.” I hesitated, and then laid my hand on his arm for a moment, hoping there would be some comfort in the gesture.

“It wasn't supposed to end like this,” John said, glancing toward the door. “We were supposed to be friends again. Why don't things work out the way they're supposed to?”

He was talking to himself, not me, which was good, because I didn't have any answers.

Marcus came back in with the news that Travis was in Red Wing.

“I'm going with you,” John said. He looked at me. “Kathleen, could you . . . explain to Maggie. Please tell her I'm sorry. And I was going to call Rebecca.” He made a helpless gesture with one hand.

“I'll take care of all of that,” I said. “Don't even think about it.”

Marcus put a hand on my shoulder and leaned down to kiss me. “I'll call you or I'll come in to the library when we get back. I don't know how long this is going to take.”

I nodded. “I wish this hadn't happened.”

“Me too,” he said.

I'd driven my truck up to the Bluebird Motel. Marcus and John got into his SUV and turned in the direction of Red Wing and I headed back to town. I had my things so I just went to the library even though it was early. I parked at the far end of the lot, the way I usually did, and as I walked across the pavement to the front entrance I couldn't help thinking that it felt wrong somehow that it was such a beautiful day given what had happened to Dani. Once I got inside I put on a pot of coffee and while I waited for it I called Maggie. This wasn't something I could do in a text.

“I'm so sorry,” she said. “Is John okay? And Marcus?”

I leaned against the counter. “They're all right. Sad. Shocked.”

“What can I do?”

I sighed. “I don't know. I have to call Rebecca, but other than that, I don't think there is anything we can do. She was out there by herself, so there'll be an investigation. Hope's in charge given that Marcus knew Dani.”

“What if Brady and I went out to Wisteria Hill? I could try to find that plant again. Brady knows that whole area, too.”

“That's a good idea,” I said. I had no idea what effect Dani's death would have on the work of the coalition of environmental groups. I wasn't sure how John and Travis would feel about staying in the area and continuing their work without her. I knew they felt strongly about stopping the development.

Maggie promised to take pictures of anything that seemed promising and we said good-bye. I knew she was right about Brady. He and his brothers had grown up in the woods in and around Wisteria Hill. His father, Burtis Chapman, had worked for Idris Blackthorne, Ruby's grandfather and the one-time area bootlegger. A lot of things had happened at the old man's cabin on his stretch of land adjacent to Wisteria Hill, but the trees told no tales.

I called Rebecca and explained what had happened to her as well. She expressed her sympathy and I promised to be in touch if she could help in any way. “John was out here last night after supper,” she said. “I'd found two more of my mother's books. He spoke about his friend. It sounded like she was a nice person.”

“I think she was,” I said.

*   *   *

Marcus came into the library just after eleven. He'd been home to shower and change. He was wearing a white shirt with dark trousers, he'd shaved, and the ends of his hair were still damp.

“C'mon up to my office,” I said. Susan was at the circulation desk. “I need a few minutes,” I said to her.

“Take your time,” she said. As usual, there had been a reporter from the
Mayville Heights Chronicle
out at the scene of Dani's accident. The story was already online at the paper's website.

Once we were in my office Marcus hugged me. “How are you?” I asked, leaning back to study him. He still looked tired but he was in police officer mode and his emotions were firmly in check.

“We found Travis,” he said.

I waited, holding both of his hands in mine. There wasn't anything I could say to erase the pain in his eyes. I would have given anything to be able to do that.

It was then that I noticed the beginning of a bruise on the left side of his jawline. I let go of his hand and touched it gently with two fingers.

He winced.

“He hit you,” I said softly.

Marcus nodded. “He still has a pretty good right cross.”

“You let him?” Marcus was strong, with fast reflexes. He'd clearly taken the punch instead of avoiding it.

He looked away for a moment and a flush of color came into his cheeks. “I don't expect you to understand, Kathleen,” he began, “but he needed to.”

“I do understand,” I said. “Do you want some ice?”

“No, I'm okay.” He worked his jaw from side to side. “It looks worse than it feels.” He let out a slow breath. “He cried, Kathleen. He swung at me and then he started to cry.”

I felt the prickle of tears myself but I swallowed them away because this wasn't about me. “What do you need?” I asked.

He let go of my hand so he could rake his own through his hair. “They're both coming over to the house tonight. We, uh, we want to do something—I don't know, maybe some kind of memorial service for the people she worked with and her friends. I thought maybe we could plan something.”

“That's a nice idea,” I said. “What about Dani's family?”

“There's just an older brother and her grandmother. John is going to try to contact the brother.”

“So how can I help?”

“Will you come tonight?” he said. “I know you didn't really know Dani but—”

I cut him off before he could finish the sentence. “I would be honored.”

He smiled and I saw some of the stress ease in his face. “I have to get to the station,” he said. “Hope is waiting to find out when we can expect the medical examiner to be finished.”

“All right,” I said. “I'll see you tonight. If you need me before then—”

“I'll call, I promise.”

I laid my hand gently against his cheek. “I love you,” I said.