Cat In A White Tie And Tails

As the only girl in her family of five kids, Temple didn’t get excited about female competition. There was at least one part of the Catholic religion she found sympatico and that was the concept of free will. If Matt found another woman (even if she was just an immature, overgrown girl like Krys) more interesting and attractive than he found Temple, he was welcome to walk.

Well, maybe Temple had just a tiny competition bone in her compact body. She did find Krys immature and note that her parade of photos was making Matt squirm in that well-concealed way he had of doing.

“Thank you so much,” Temple told Mira. “It’s so thoughtful of you to preview such a large, extended family to the new kid on the block.” Followed by a flick of the eyes to Krys. “Even though I work in a ‘people’ profession, it’s always nice to know the lay of the land.” Another swift glance at Krys and her string of “she smiled, he smiled” photos. What else could the poor guy do?

Matt was trying not to smile now and his dear mother remained oblivious.

Temple already felt her native, ex-reporter indignation rising in Mira’s behalf. It must have been a nightmare for the sensitive girl she’d been to “disgrace” her own family. She’d obviously not been given Instruction One about protecting herself from an early age, the way girls today were.

If the despicable Cliff Effinger was haunting her even from the grave—the watery Las Vegas grave, in fact—it had to stop here and now and in Vegas. She and Matt had stayed up half of last night in their posh suite shish-kebabing their brains for all they could remember about Effinger and how he might possibly have had something anyone would want, besides his cold dead slimy body in the deep, dark ground.

“Time to get on the road,” Matt said now, standing up. “Are we ready?”

Temple was reminded of The Magnificent Seven mounting up for an assault on the bandits terrifying the Mexican villagers.

“Ready,” she said. “Maybe Krys would like to carry Louie. It’s good exercise for the biceps and pecs. And you have all us ladies to shepherd to the car.”

But when Krys hefted the carrier, she stuttered backwards in surprise, having overcompensated. “Either your cat has lost a lot of weight, or it’s empty. What is he? The Cheshire cat, all teeth and no body?”

Temple hastened over to shake the bag. Empty. “Hmm. The zipper’s open. Louie will do that,” she told the two hovering females. “He, uh, makes his druthers known.”

“And he has a way with zippers?” Krys asked, skeptical.

Matt answered for Temple. “He’s the Houdini of the cat world. Nothing can cage him if he doesn’t want to be confined.”

“He’s loose in here?” Mira asked, looking around in alarm.

A good question. The apartment was only on the sixth floor, but Temple wanted to check all the windows. Every one was locked. They surveyed each room, hunting high and low and finding no trace of hide or black hair nor dashing white whisker.

“Will we ever find him?” Mira fretted.

“Not until he wants to be found,” Temple said. “He can pull this vanishing act in my tiny two-bedroom condo in Las Vegas.”

Privately, Temple was glad to have Louie confined to quarters by his own choice than pulling a stunt like this in a whole strange house, which was exactly where they were headed. Maybe this was a protest move on Louie’s part. Everything in Chicago would be strange or even risky to out-of-towners like Louie and her.

“This trip has been a huge break in Louie’s routine.” Temple told the puzzled non-cat associates, “I’m sure he’s hiding away somewhere to soothe his frazzled nerves.”

“So he’s high-stung?” Krys sounded disdainful.

“Willful,” Temple answered. “Like all cats, he often knows better than we feeble humans do.” She exchanged a glance with Matt.

They both knew that Louie was opting out of the highly charged family reunion coming up. Too bad they weren’t cats and easy to hide.

Chapter 16

Search and Unexpected Seizure

Alone at last.

My ears had been burning up a bonfire overhearing all the speculation about my druthers and whereabouts.

I had done the Houdini trick of hiding in plain sight. Well, for one of my species.

I had been lounging in a hammock … the canvas sling at the bottom of the kitchen laundry bag, inhaling the comforting, homelike scents of antiperspirant, cosmetics, and shampoo. After all, my current roommate enjoys being a girl.