The Purrfect Lie (Klepto Cat Mystery Book 12) (13 page)

“Good gosh, Michael, unconscious? Does it look like she fell or did she faint or something? Her husband told you she hasn’t been feeling well.”

He shook his head. “Hard to tell. Max went to get Mr. Crankshaw and Craig has called for an ambulance.” Michael looked out toward the highway. “Before they arrive, Savannah, let’s divert the children’s attention, shall we?” He took her arm and led her toward the group. As they approached, he said, “Come on, everyone, let’s see what you’ve all found and hand out some prizes, shall we?”

When Savannah noticed Allan and Margaret kneeling next to Lenore Crankshaw, she said to all the others, “Yes, come on. It looks like you’ve found most of the treasures. I see some of you carrying bulging bags.”

As she turned toward the house, two of the older children caught up to her, Charlotte carrying Rags and Adam holding both of their bags. He reported, “We found marbles, an old fork, this cool disappearing-ink pen, and a magnifying glass.”

“Ragth helped find that bag of cat treatth,” Charlotte said, placing him on the ground and taking hold of his leash.

“Do you think we won?” Adam asked, excitedly.

Savannah smiled. “Could be.”

“Suzette should win the prize,” Craig said, catching up to Savannah and the children. “She’s the one who found the poor woman.”

“Awww,” Adam complained.

Joshua came running up about then and asked, “What is the prize, anyway?”

“Yeah, what is it?” Adam prodded.

Michael grinned and said for all to hear, “The winner gets to wash the dishes after the party.”

While everyone else laughed, Adam and Joshua cringed and made faces at the very idea.

Once everyone had gathered around the tables and chairs, Savannah dug into a large bag and pulled out three kites, handing one each to the children, who whooped and hollered as they headed to a clearing beyond the orchard to fly them.

“Wait,” Michael called.

“What, Dad?” Adam asked.

He reached out and took Rags’s leash from Charlotte and pointed. “How about you fly the kites out in the front yard today? You can go out to the orchard after the ambulance leaves, okay?”

Savannah watched as the kids raced toward the circular driveway in front of the house. When she saw Rags sniff the air around the large bag she held, she ruffled his fur, then reached in and retrieved a small wooden box filled with three jars of her preserves. “Suzette, you’re the winner. I hope you like apricots and plums.”

“Love them,” she said, taking the box in her hands. “Thank you. Thank you. But Savannah, it was really Rags who found the woman. When I saw that Rags wasn’t cooperating very well with the kids, I took his leash for a while and he led me out where the woman had fallen.”

“Good God,” Craig said, shaking his head. “The cat did it again!”

Just then, Deputy Jim walked toward the guests. “Sorry to disturb your gathering,” he said to Michael. “I’d like to ask a few questions. Who found Mrs. Crankshaw?”

“I did,” Suzette said. “…well, Arthur and I and Colbi, actually.”

Jim glanced at Michael and Savannah. “Is there someplace where we can talk?”

Savannah nodded. “Sure, just make yourself comfortable up there on the porch—or go on in the kitchen, it you want. We’ll serve the cake down here.” She then asked, concern in her voice, “How is Lenore? It looked as if she was on her way over here with a little gift for Lily’s birthday when she…,” her voice trailed off.

The deputy stared out toward the ambulance as it edged its way out of the Crankshaw’s driveway. “Not good. This may, in fact, turn into a murder investigation.”

“Have you heard anything more about Lenore’s condition?” Michael asked over breakfast the following Monday morning.

Savannah shook her head. “She’s in a coma. They’re calling her condition grave. There’s still the question of possible foul play. They don’t know if she fainted from dehydration and hit her head or if she was attacked. Evidently, no one here at the party saw anything.”

“Well, she was kind of hidden from view. She probably headed over here about the time everyone was crowded around you getting their treasure maps.”

“Yes, that’s what I thought. I just hope she wakes up and can tell authorities what happened.”

He took her hand. “So how are you feeling after our big weekend? You must be exhausted.”

“Other than that one awful…incident, it was a fabulous weekend. I’m so glad we did it and that the weather cooperated. It was chilly by summer standards, but sweater-perfect.” She leaned, elbows on the table, her chin in her palms. “I already miss everyone.”

“You’ll be staying in touch with your cousins, right?”

“Yes.” Her face brightened. “It will be wonderful to communicate with them more often. Wasn’t Jimmy’s and Belinda’s baby adorable?”

“Yes,” Michael said. “Made me want another one.”

“That’s my phone,” Savannah said, leaving the table to retrieve it. “Hi Auntie. Are you and Max back to normal after our wild weekend?”

“Wasn’t it great? I had such a good time catching up with my sisters and some of my nieces and nephews. Did you know we called your Uncle Ray while we were all together and talked to him and his wife?”

“Yes, Mom told me. I think everyone will have happy memories of Lily’s first birthday for a long time.”

“Oh yes.” Margaret paused. “Hey, I was talking to Craig Saturday about the abduction and he said they don’t have any leads. He says he’s pretty certain this girl didn’t go missing from here. Now that things have calmed down, I’m wondering if we should check old newspapers in other areas.”

“Gosh, it may have happened in another state or another country, for that matter. That could be an endless task.”

“Well, if you’re not up to it, then…”

“Wait,” Savannah said, “I didn’t say that. I’m as curious about this as you are. I’m just wondering if we’d be wasting a lot of time running around to other cities looking for clues. And there’s the fact that we don’t know if this little girl is twenty-five now or fifty…was he twenty when he took the child or sixty? …was it in the seventies that he took her or the nineties? But, hey, it could be…interesting. I’m game if you are. Not today, though. I have plans.”

“Oh, something more fun than hanging out with me?”

“Of course not, Auntie. It’s for Lily. It’s a playdate. We’re going over to Straley for a picnic with Mary and Crissy.”

“Who?”

“You know, the woman I met at the party store with the little girl Lily’s age.”

“Oh yeah. Didn’t you invite her to the party?”

“Yes, I did. They had other plans. Hey, gotta go. When do you want to check out the missing persons and where?”

“Let me think about it. I’ll devise a plan.”

“Okay.”

****

“The sun feels good. I’m glad the wind died down,” Savannah said once they had arrived at the little park near Mary’s house.

“Yes, it really whipped all night,” Mary said, pulling out a large quilt. “What did you bring for lunch?”

Savannah grabbed one end of the quilt. “Egg-salad sandwiches and fruit. Lily loves egg salad and just about any fruit. I also took some of my jelly-filled cookies out of the freezer to share.”

“Sounds delicious. You bake?”

“Yeah, quite a bit. The fruit is from our orchard. I canned it over the summer.”

“Wow! You are Dolly Domestic, aren’t you? Did your mother teach you how to do all that stuff?” Mary asked as she pulled a couple of toys out of a tote bag.

“Yeah. Plus, when you find yourself living with an orchard on your property, you kind of have an obligation to use the gifts,” Savannah explained.

“Gifts?”

“You know, the fruit.”

“Oh yes. I get it.”

Savannah looked at Mary. “Do you like to bake and cook?”

“Actually, baking is one of my hobbies. I’m self-taught. It’s just one of those things I love doing…like my art.” She then said, “Oh, wait, I almost forgot. Crissy has a little something for the birthday girl.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” Savannah protested.

“We wanted to. I hope she’ll enjoy it—eventually.”

Savannah frowned. “Eventually?”

“Yes, you may enjoy it more now,” Mary said, laughing. She put a small gift in her daughter’s hands and told her, “Give it to Lily.” She walked Crissy toward Lily and repeated, “Give Lily her present.”

Before Mary could react, Lily took one look at the package in Crissy’s hands and reached for it. Crissy wasn’t about to turn loose, and a tug-of-war ensued. Within a few moments, the wrapping tore and the children were each left holding a handful of tissue paper.

“Ki-ki,” Lily said, squatting down and looking into the eyes of the Himalayan cat that had been hand-painted on a wooden plaque. “Ki-ki,” she repeated.

Savannah kneeled next to Lily and picked the gift up off the ground. “It sure is a ki-ki, isn’t it, honey. It’s beautiful, Mary,” Savannah gushed, studying it more closely. “Hey, it looks just like Buffy.”

“I hope so,” Mary said, smiling. “I copied it from a photo I took of her at your house last week.”

“Oh my gosh, you are good,” she said standing. She hugged Mary. “This is gorgeous. Thank you.” She then leaned over and hugged Crissy, kissing her on the cheek. “Tell Crissy thank you, Lily. Can you give Crissy a hug?”

The two women smiled as Lily wrapped her arms around Crissy, almost knocking her off her feet.

“This will hang in Lily’s room forever,” Savannah said. “She’ll never outgrow it.”

“That was my intent. I hope she likes it.”

Savannah studied her friend for a moment, then asked, “Do you happen to be a Gemini?”

Mary looked askance. “No, why?” she asked.

Savannah frowned. “Really? Um…well, your art…Geminis are supposed to be creative, so I thought…”

Mary smiled. “No, I’m a Taurus…May tenth.”

“Oh,” Savannah said, suddenly caught up in her own thoughts. When she saw Mary scattering toys on the quilt to keep the kids entertained, she rushed to help. “So what did
you
bring for lunch?” she asked.

“Something my dad used to fix me when I was a kid. It’s a veggie and macaroni medley.” She laughed. “He’d serve it warm on cold nights, but I like it cold—like a salad. Crissy likes some of the veggies and pasta. I packed a yogurt, in case she’s in the mood for that.”

“I know what you mean about being in the mood,” Savannah said, placing some of Lily’s toys on the blanket and setting her down next to Crissy. “Now you share, Lily,” she scolded.

Once the children were engaged in play, the two women sat in beach chairs near them and Savannah initiated the conversation. “So tell me about your parents. They must adore Crissy. Do they like being grandparents as much as my mom does?”

Mary took a breath and looked down at her daughter. “I didn’t know my mother. My father raised me.” She leaned toward Savannah. “You know, he was an older dad and not all that well. He died while I was still in college.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and I sure do miss him now that we have Crissy.” She looked at Savannah. “Oh, don’t get me wrong, I have the most wonderful husband and we just adore our little girl, but I yearn sometimes to share it all with my dad.”

Savannah got up out of her chair and retrieved a toy Lily had tossed into the grass, checked her diaper, and then sat back down. “So you don’t have any family?”

“No. No one. And neither does my husband, if you can believe it. We’re both…orphans.” She looked at Savannah. “Do you have family? Well, I met your aunt, right. That was your aunt?”

“Yes, Aunt Margaret.” Savannah chuckled. “Oh, we have family, all right. We just celebrated Lily’s birthday with oodles of them.” Her smile faded. “My dad is gone now and I sure do miss him, so I know that feeling of loss.” She looked up into the sky. “How he would have loved meeting his granddaughter.”

“How do you know he didn’t?” Mary asked, quietly.

Savannah tilted her head as if confused. “Huh?”

“Maybe they met on the other side before she came to you. Maybe he hand-picked her for you.”

Savannah stared at Mary for a moment, then she smiled. “What a beautiful thought. I love it. Is that how you feel about your dad? Is that how you keep from being sad?”

She nodded. “Yeah, it helps.” She reached toward her baby and said, “Crissy Mullen Rice, shame on you.”

“What did she do?” Savannah asked.

“She threw that toy at Lily.”

“Oh, I don’t think it hurt her. She’s fine.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want her to be a bully.” Mary addressed the child again, “No, no.”

“No-no,” Crissy mimicked.

Both women tried to hide their laughter.

All of a sudden, Savannah stood and raced after Lily, who had toddled off toward the swings. “Want to swing, Lily?” She turned to Mary. “There are two baby swings. Would Crissy like to swing?”

“Sure,” Mary said, standing up and walking with her daughter to the swing set.

Once they had the girls secure and they began pushing them ever so slowly in the swings, Savannah said. “I like your scenario. Thanks for sharing that. To think that Dad met Lily and even chose her for us is comforting.”

“It’s all I have.” She tipped her head and said, “Well, I have friends. But most of them have no children or their children are older. I’m so glad to have met you, Savannah, and you, Lily,” she said, patting the baby as she swung past her.

The women had been quiet for a few moments when Mary said, “Savannah, since we’re on the subject, could I share something else with you? I don’t know why I feel like I can open up with you, but it feels good. Women need good friends, don’t you think?”

“Oh yes,” Savannah said. “I don’t know what I’d do without my girlfriends, and that includes my aunt. She and I have a lot of fun together.” She looked at Mary. “What is it you want to share?”

“Well, I don’t quite know what it means, but my deep sadness didn’t actually start when my dad died. I’ve felt it all my life. Of course, I kept it buried as much as I could. I always figured it was my mommy-loss—that I missed my mom or missed having one.”

“You never knew her?” Savannah asked.

“No. She died in childbirth.” She faced Savannah. “It could be mommy-loss, I don’t know…but for as long as I can remember, I’ve felt this underlying sadness as if something crucial to me is missing. Know what I mean?”