A Tale of Two Tabbies (5 page)

“Maybe Felicity did,” Siobhan theorized. “You said she spoke to Theresa and they argued. You told her to come clean with Finn but instead she fled. Only guilty people flee.”

Siobhan had a point, but my gut told me that Felicity wasn’t the one who’d killed Theresa. There was no doubt about it: If we were going to figure out what happened, we’d need to put our heads together to break the rest of the codes.

I woke the next morning with a new lease on life. Not only were Sydney and Lucie both sitting in the bedroom window looking out at the seagulls that were diving for their breakfast but the weather service had reported a significant rise in temperature beginning today, and the brilliant sunshine streaming through my window seemed to support that very prediction.

“It seems the two of you are getting along better.”

Neither cat turned to look at me, but they weren’t fighting or hissing at each other in spite of the fact that they sat only inches apart. I slid out of bed, pulled a warm sweatshirt over my head and knee-high slippers onto me feet, then headed down to make the coffee. Once the coffee brewed I poured some into my favorite pink Coffee Cat Books mug, added a splash of milk, and headed out onto the deck with Max trailing along behind me.

The sun on my shoulders and the clear blue sky lent legitimacy to the fact that the long and lazy days of summer I’d been longing for all winter were indeed just beyond the horizon. I sat down in my favorite chair and curled my legs up under my body. I took a long sip of my hot beverage as I let the sound of the seagulls in flight and the waves gently lapping onto the shore calm my spirit and warm my soul.

The gang and I had stayed up until the wee hours trying to decipher the remaining four codes with absolutely no luck. Finn took the link Felicity had forwarded for the fake jewelry site to which she’d claimed to have made her payments to Theresa and promised to track down the source of the money trail. We hoped the other victims had made payments to the same site; if we could identify the source of the payments, maybe we could discover who the other four suspects were.

I was about to get up and head inside to make some breakfast when Mr. Parsons’s dog, Rambler, came running up to greet Max, who was playing in the waves in front of my cabin. I looked down the beach to see Cody walking toward me. Normally, an early morning visit from Cody would bring feelings of gladness, but today I had the sense he had something serious on his mind.

“Just in time for my special egg and potato hash,” I greeted lightly in spite of the knot in my stomach.

“I’m not really hungry, but you go ahead.”

“Something on your mind?”

Cody sat down in the chair next to me. He looked out toward the horizon. I tried to read his face, but there were so many emotions present I couldn’t even begin to guess where this conversation might be going.

“Do you want to talk?” I tried again.

Cody turned to look at me. “Actually, I do. Are you warm enough. Do you want to go inside?”

“I’m fine.” My heart was pounding in my chest. “What’s up?”

Cody took my hand in his. He wound his fingers through mine and gave my hand a squeeze. I could see the hesitation on his face, but I decided to wait patiently for him to speak. The longer he hesitated the larger the knot in my stomach grew. There was no way this conversation wasn’t going to be painful. I braced for the worst.

“I need to go out of town for a few days.”

I waited for him to continue. I wasn’t sure what to say at this point.

“I’ll be leaving on the noon ferry and I should be back Monday afternoon.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay. Can you tell me where you’re going?”

“Kitsap.”

I knew there was a naval base located on the Kitsap Peninsula, across Puget Sound from Seattle. It wasn’t all that far away, and a trip there shouldn’t be causing Cody this much angst unless … Cody had been in the Navy prior to moving back to Madrona Island, but as far as I knew he had officially left the service and was 100 percent a civilian now. Surely he wasn’t going to re-up.

“Kitsap? Why?”

Cody took a deep breath before he continued. Oh, God, he
was
going to re-up.

“Before I left the Navy I submitted a report to my superiors that detailed a new training method for the SEAL program. I felt then, as I do now, that the suggestions I came up with would improve the training the men and women received and, in the long run, save lives. I guess the Navy has finally gotten around to looking at my report and they agree. They want me to meet with a small committee to discuss the changes. If after they hear what I have to say they still believe the changes will improve the quality of the education the SEAL candidates receive, they’ll work out a plan to incorporate my suggestions.”

“That’s wonderful.” I hugged Cody. I was so relieved. This was what was causing him all this angst?

Cody hugged me back. He seemed to be holding on tighter than was necessary, but after his withdrawal during the past several weeks I didn’t mind.

“There’s more,” Cody said after he released me.

“More?”

“The committee is meeting at Kitsap to make my meeting them this weekend convenient for me. If the changes I’ve suggested are approved they want me to work with the committee to create the new curriculum.”

“Okay, I guess that makes sense. Will you have to spend a lot of time at Kitsap?”

“Not at all. I will, however, need to spend six months to a year in Tampa.”

“Florida?”

Cody didn’t answer, but I could tell by the look on his face that yes, he was referring to Florida.

“But what about the newspaper? And Mr. Parsons? And us?”

Cody tilted his head down and ran his hands through his hair. “Trust me, I’ve thought of nothing else since they approached me. I’m finally starting to turn a profit after months of hard work modernizing the
Madrona Island News
. There’s no way I want that all to be for nothing. And Mr. Parsons seems to really need me. I know he lived alone before I came back to the island, but he’s never seemed to bounce back to his old self after his fall. He’s getting old. His body doesn’t have the same ability to heal as it used to.” Cody looked directly into my eyes. “And you, and the
us
I want us to be, are the most important thing in my life. I can’t imagine my life without you. I want to marry you. I want us to raise a family. I want to grow old with you.”

“But…?”

“But my ideas are good ones. I honestly believe they’ll save lives. I don’t know how I can turn my back on the men and women who serve our country each and every day.”

“And they can’t make the changes without you?”

Cody closed his eyes. He put his hands over his face. He looked so very, very tired. “I don’t know. I guess they could, but my sense is they won’t. Without me there to spearhead the project my sense is that it will die.”

I fought the tears I willed myself not to shed as I looked out toward the horizon. “Are you going to reenlist?”

“No. I would be working with the committee as a civilian. I don’t have all the details yet, but I’ve decided to go to the meeting this weekend to hear what they have to say. I promise I’ll come back to talk to you about it before I commit to Tampa, if it comes down to that.”

“I appreciate that.”

Cody leaned over and kissed me. A long, deep kiss that touched my soul and assured my heart that no matter what, our love would find a way. I kissed him back with everything my heart had to offer. He slowly pulled away, tucked my hair behind my ear, and headed slowly back down the beach.

After Cody faded into the distance I had myself a good cry; then I picked myself up, washed my face, made a hearty breakfast, and reminded myself that I was a mature and independent woman who could do the right thing for her man while presenting a strong and supportive front. Okay, we all know that inside I was a total mess. Just the thought of not seeing Cody for a year made me want to start weeping all over again, but how I felt and how I acted didn’t necessarily have to be the same thing.

And a year wasn’t forever, I reminded myself. And it might not even be a year. Cody had said six months to a year. And I could visit. I think. I hadn’t actually asked that, but it wasn’t like he was going overseas. Sure, he’d be about as far from Madrona Island as one could get and still be in the continental United States, but Florida was accessible and I had always wanted to visit the state.

I told myself it would all be fine, and for a brief moment I made myself believe it. Military spouses had to say good-bye to their husbands and wives all the time. If they could do it, I could too. And I would. My heart soared with determination as I got ready for work.

On the way into town I sang aloud every patriotic song I could think of. Or at least the parts I could remember. I visualized myself being strong and fearless as I kissed Cody good-bye while “The Star-Spangled Banner” played in the background and fireworks exploded in the distance.

There was no doubt about it: Caitlin Hart was proud to be an American, and she’d do her part to ensure the safety of our men and women in uniform.

Of course my grit and determination didn’t last long once I arrived at the bookstore and filled Tara in.

“Wow,” Tara sympathized.

“I know.”

“A year. That’s so long.”

“I know.” The first of many newly formed tears streamed down my face.

“And Florida. That’s so far.”

“I know.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I …. don’t…know,” I forced out between bursts of uncontrollable weeping.

Tara hugged me tightly to her chest while I cried out the last of the tears that my poor dehydrated body could muster.

“It’ll be okay,” she assured me.

“I know.”

“And Cody would be doing a good thing.”

“A really good thing.” I took a deep, calming breath as I wiped away my tears with the tissue Tara had handed me.

“And we need to make this as easy for him as possible.”

“We do.” I began to find some of my old determination.

“We can help out at the paper and fill in for him with Mr. Parsons.”

“We can and we will.”

“So are you okay?” Tara asked.

“Not even a tiny bit. But I’ll be fine. I just need time to adapt to the idea that Cody will be gone from my life for a period of time. I won’t like it, but it won’t kill me.”

“That’s the spirit.”

I think I smiled. It was really hard to know. My face felt sort of numb by this point. I wanted to be brave. I really did. But I have to admit that brave was the last thing I was feeling at that moment in time. What I needed, I decided, was a distraction. Luckily, the first ferry of the day arrived, providing just that.

The half hour before the arrival of the ferry and the hour after it docked were the busiest times of our day. During the summer, when the ferry service was frequent, there was rarely a break in the action, but during the winter and early spring months the ferry only docked three times, creating a customer flow of too many to handle followed by hours of absolutely no customers at all.

“Tall nonfat latte to go,” Carissa Morton, an island local and volunteer coach for the girl’s high school softball team, ordered.

“Coming right up. By the way, how did your game go on Wednesday? I wasn’t able to make it.”

“We won. Five to three,” Carissa confirmed. “That should put us in first place.”

“Congratulations. I’m sorry I missed it, but I had choir that night.”

“It’s hard to take the time when you’re trying to run a business and do volunteer work. I’m lucky the law office where I work allows me to work a flexible schedule.”

I knew Carissa worked for Brown and Bidwell, the largest law firm on Madrona Island. Brown and Bidwell had a good reputation and was able to attract business from the neighboring islands as well, making it one of the largest law offices in the county.

“Tara mentioned you got a raise and bought yourself a new car.”

“I did. And the raise came just in the nick of time. I’d been keeping the old one together with chewing gum and baling wire, but I think my luck had about run out.”

“I know what you mean. My old clunker is on its last legs as well, but with the new business it’s hard to justify monthly payments. Maybe if we have a good summer.”

“If you make it through the off season you should be fine. The summer crowd should begin arriving in a few weeks.”

I poured steamed milk into the to-go cup. “I guess you heard about Theresa Lively.”

Carissa nodded. “It’s such a shame.”

I couldn’t help but notice the huge grin on Carissa’s face, which seemed to convey glee rather than something more appropriate, like sadness or regret.

“Did you know Theresa well?” I asked as I rang up the purchase.

“Not really.” Carissa handed me a five-dollar bill. “We did some business together, but other than that we didn’t really travel in the same circles.”

I handed Carissa her change. She thanked me and turned to leave, and I watched her go with a spring in her step.

As soon as the last customer left, I pulled out the list I had made of the codes in Theresa’s pad. There was one that began with CM. Could CM stand for Carissa Morton? Her response to Theresa’s death seemed suspect at best. I shared my theory with Tara, who agreed that Carissa seemed just a bit too happy about the murder of one of her neighbors.