Cat Under Fire Read Free

you want to know what’s happening?” She gave him a steady, green-eyed gaze, then rubbed her face against him. “Lake didn’t kill her, Joe. I swear he didn’t. We can’t let them convict Rob Lake.”
    â€œYou have no reason to be so sure. You’re not…”
    â€œThere’s not one shred of hard evidence. I told you this is how it would be—all circumstantial. That Detective Marritt didn’t do a solid investigation, and he really isn’t making a good case.”
    She flicked an ear. “But what can you expect? Captain Harper never wanted to hire Marritt. Marritt’s nothing but a political appointee. I bet Harper didn’t want to put him on this case; I bet the mayor had something to do with that. Marritt’s so officious in court.”
    She saw she wasn’t getting through. “Anyway, why are court trials so damnably slow? Every little legal glitch, and a million rules.”
    â€œThey’re slow, and have rules, because they’re thorough.” He looked irritably past her down the hill. “They’re slow because they go by facts and logical procedures, and not by intuition.”
    She hissed at him and lashed her tail. “You might just try to keep an open mind.”
    He did not reply.
    But at last she relaxed, yawning in his face, putting aside their differences—for the moment. Lying close together, warm upon the breast of the hill, they watched the village begin to waken. A few cottage lights had flicked on, and now, all over the village, as if a hundred alarmshad gone off at once, little patches of lights began to blaze out. Above them, the sky grew pale, and soon the lifting wind carried the scent of coffee, then of frying sausages. They heard a child’s distant laugh, and a dog barked.
    And as dawn lightened the hills, a tangle of dark clouds began to sweep in from the sea, racing toward the north, probably carrying rain. Maybe it would blow on past, drench San Francisco instead of the village. Dulcie said, “Rob will be waking now, his breakfast tray will be shoved in under the bars.”
    Joe sighed.
    â€œHe needs me,” she said stubbornly. “He talks to me like he doesn’t have another friend in the world.” She licked the tip of her tail. “And maybe it’s easier for him to talk to a mute animal…” She smiled slyly. “Well, he thinks I’m mute. And why would he lie to a cat? As far as Rob Lake knows, he could tell me anything, and I wouldn’t understand, couldn’t repeat it.”
    Joe said nothing. Dulcie had an answer for everything. There was no diverting her. She was into the case of Janet Jeannot’s murder with all four paws. Earlier this summer, when they’d searched for clues to Samuel Beckwhite’s killer, they couldn’t help being involved; their own lives were threatened. They’d both seen Beckwhite struck down, had heard the thud of the wrench against his head, had seen Beckwhite fall. They had seen the assailant clearly. And the killer, somehow, had known they could inform the police. From the moment the man saw them, he knew they could finger him, and if he could have caught them, he would have snuffed them both.
    They had set out to solve the Beckwhite case because their own lives were at stake, but Janet Jeannot’s murder was different.
    Dulcie stared at him deeply, her dark pupils slowly constricting to reveal emerald green as the dawn light increased. “Don’t you want to see the real killer caught? You liked Janet; Clyde used to date Janet. You can’twant her murderer to go free, gloating all the rest of his life while she lies dead.”
    She nuzzled his face, licked his ear. “The first witness this morning is Janet’s neighbor, that Elisa Trest. I really do want to hear what she’ll say. Come on, Joe. Come on to the courthouse with me.”
    He just looked at her.
    She sighed and started down