A Killer Christmas Wish Page 5

  He rubbed at his chin where his stubble was starting to show. “It’s unusual, but he was a big shot here in Aspen Hills, especially with the college. Maybe that explains it?”

  Cat glanced at the clock; it was after ten. She yawned and took her cup to the sink to rinse. “That could be it. I just think it’s weird. Also, I wanted to tell you I might ask Dante to come by the retreat tomorrow.”

  “Okay, well, that’s upfront at least. I can’t say I’m happy about it. And we are going to have to have a serious talk once the guests go home. But I can play nice for a week. I think.” Seth put his cup in the sink, then went to the back door to check the lock. “Why is my not-so-favorite-neighborly-mob-boss coming by?”

  “I want him to meet or at least see Julie. She told me tonight that she’s writing a book about Aspen Hills.” Cat took Seth’s arm and they walked out of the kitchen, turning off lights as they went.

  They walked over to the dining room. Seth refilled water bottles into the small fridge as Cat combined cookies onto one plate and put the extra plates on the counter for Shauna.

  “That seems like an odd coincidence,” Seth said after checking the lock on the front door.

  They left the lights on in the foyer and the dining room. No one was in the living room and it appeared that Shauna must have come through and cleaned up the cups in there. The fire was almost burned out and there was a grate covering the front to keep in any sparks.

  “I thought so too.” Cat paused in the living room and Seth came up behind her, putting his arms around her.

  “We could snuggle by the fire,” he whispered in her ear.

  She giggled. “Not on retreat week. It’s a rule.”

  “I hate that rule.” He chuckled and she wondered if he was remembering a certain kissing session that had been interrupted by a writer who’d been reading in the corner of the room. They hadn’t seen him when they’d snuck into the living room. Cat’s face burned at the memory. “We need to act professionally.”

  “I’ll behave. But thank you for tonight. I was worried you would never forgive me.” Cat turned down the lights in the living room and moved toward the stairs.

  He followed her. “You know I could never stay mad at you. Besides, we need a united front, especially with weird stuff going on. Just make sure you stay safe, okay? I’ve got a bad feeling about this whole Michael and book thing.”

  “I do too,” Cat admitted as she opened her bedroom door. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  She felt too keyed up to even try to go to sleep for a while so she grabbed the mystery she’d been reading and curled up on her bed. It was going to be one of those retreats where sleep didn’t come easy.

  Cat’s alarm woke her the next morning. She’d fallen asleep with the book in hand and on top of her covers. At least she’d changed into her pjs before she’d fallen asleep. She thought about her day. She had a good hour or two before the guests would emerge from their rooms if this would be like the other retreats. So if she hurried and got into her writing clothes, she could meet her word count early. Then any word sprints she did with the writers would be gravy. Besides, she’d set an aggressive word count goal for the week. It wouldn’t do to be the only one who didn’t meet her goal.

  Cat pulled on sweats and got semi ready for the day, including pulling her hair into a clip that she hoped made her look scholarly and not just messy. She ran downstairs and almost ran into Julie who was carrying her laptop and a notebook downstairs.

  “Oops, I didn’t think anyone would be up this early.” Cat grabbed the stair rail with one hand and steadied Julie’s computer with the other. “Are you an early writer too?”

  “Guilty as charged. Some people get up early to work out, I use the extra half hour before getting ready for work to work on my book. I may be wasting my time, but at least I feel like I’m making progress.” Julie started downstairs. “Do you think there will be coffee ready?”

  “Why do you think I’m running downstairs? My office is on the third floor with my bedroom. If it’s not already in the dining room, Shauna will have some in the kitchen.” Cat waved her into the kitchen. She’d been right, there was coffee brewing, but no Shauna. Cat glanced out the window and saw her friend heading out to the barn to feed her horse. “Let me get you a cup. Do you want a cookie or something to go with that? Breakfast will be ready at nine, but we could get you something now if you’re hungry.”

  “Coffee will do. I saw a small study on this floor. Is that fair game for use?” Julie set her computer down on the table as she took the travel mug Cat had filled for her. “Mmmm, it even smells strong.”

  “We buy quality coffee mostly because I’m addicted. And it’s a good selling point with authors who are thinking about coming to the retreat.” Cat pointed to the sugar dispenser on the table. “Do you need cream?”

  “Black’s fine.” She picked up her computer, glancing around the large kitchen. “You must have done some remodeling to have such an amazing kitchen.”

  “It was the first thing we did. My ex-husband and I took out a wall and removed the original pantry. This used to be a small dining room and the kitchen space. When I got the house a few years ago, we went through and modernized all the appliances.” Cat loved talking about the work she’d done to the house.

  “You were married to Michael Latimer, the economist?” Julie’s eyes sparked. “He’s one of the town’s citizens I’m thinking about including in the book. Do you know they still teach from his lecture notes at the college?”

  “I don’t know much about economics, but Michael was an excellent teacher.” Cat tried to keep her voice steady. Make that four times in two days. This was getting downright weird.

  “Well, I’ll let you get writing. I’m excited to get started today.” Julie headed to the door but paused before leaving the kitchen. “Write true!”

  Shauna came into the house at the same time Julie was leaving the kitchen. She slipped off her coat, then sat on the bench to change her boots for house shoes. She glanced at the door. “That’s a weird saying.”

  Cat shrugged. “It’s kind of like write hard. Or write fast. Kind of a battle cry for nerds. She’ll be in the study writing.”

  “Okay then, I’ll get something going for her in case she wants something to munch on that’s not just sweets.” Shauna went to the sink to wash her hands. “All of the cats were in the barn with Snow this morning. I swear, they have a morning meeting every day. I don’t know why we put in a cat door in the cellar for them to go in and out.”

  “I saw Angelique in my office yesterday, but I never see the kittens in the upstairs of the house.” Cat sat down at the table and sipped her coffee.

  “Uh, oh, what’s wrong?” Shauna pulled bowls out of the cupboard and opened her notebook to what Cat assumed was a recipe.

  “What are you talking about? I was talking about the cats.” Cat was confused by Shauna’s quick change of subject.

  “You never sit down in the morning when you’re in the middle of a project. I figured you’d want to steal as much time as possible during the retreat since you are on deadline.” Shauna grabbed milk and eggs out of the fridge. “So what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong. I just want you to know that Dante may be showing up this morning if I can get ahold of him.” Cat swore. “I should have texted him sooner.”

  “Wait, Dante’s coming here. After the blowup you had with Seth. Are you crazy?” Shauna paused in the middle of dumping a cup of flour into a large mixing bowl.

  “Seth and I are fine. And he knows. We talked last night.” Cat sipped her coffee. “This is weird, but I want him to see Julie.”

  “You want to know if she’s the writer he talked to,” Shauna completed adding the flour then measured out the salt. “Why Julie?”

  “She told me last night she’s writing a book about Aspen Hills. Get this. She just asked me about Michael. That’s four mentions in two days. If I was superstitious, I’d say something was going on.” Cat stood and refilled her cup. “Anyway, if I’m not around when he comes by, that’s who he needs to see or meet. I’m heading upstairs.”

  “Okay, that will work.” Shauna paused. “Cat?”

  “Yeah.” Cat paused at the door to the kitchen.

  Her friend studied her face. “Are you sure you and Seth are fine? Maybe you’re just noticing Michael’s name more because you’re thinking about him.”

  Cat smiled, shaking her head. “I’m not worried about marrying Seth because of what happened with Michael. If I’d been smart, I would have seen through my infatuation with him for what it was all those years ago. A rebound from Seth. This is right. I know it.”

  “Then we’ll find the perfect dress if we have to drive to New York to find it.” Shauna went back to mixing her batter.

  Cat left the kitchen, then paused at the bottom of the stairs. The problem with living and working with your best friend was at times, Shauna could read her mind. There was no way she was going to voice any doubts to Seth. She’d screwed this relationship up the last time they’d been together. This time was going to be perfect. Down to the dress.

  She took a minute and texted Dante, telling him about Julie and asking him to stop in to meet her.

  The response came quick. ARE YOU SURE I’M WELCOME?

  She smiled and texted back. I’VE TALKED TO SETH. JUST DON’T OVERSTAY YOUR WELCOME. OR KISS THE COOK.

  The answer came fast. LOL I DIDN’T THINK YOU COOKED.

  And that was the problem with Dante. He’d been best friends with her ex so he knew that Michael had been the cook in their relationship. She texted back, FIGURE OF SPEECH, then put her phone away. She didn’t need to burn her writing time chatting with Dante.

  She opened her Word document and got lost
in the story.

  A knock on the door brought her out of her work trance and she looked up and saw Shauna bringing up two slices of some sort of breakfast bread and a carafe of coffee. “Hey, I didn’t know if you wanted to eat a real breakfast or just keep working. Seth’s already eaten and left for a few hours. He’s bidding some remodel project.”

  “I could just have the bread and coffee. I’d like to finish this chapter,” Cat admitted. “Unless you wanted me to eat with you.”

  She shook her head. “I ate with Seth. And I’ve got some things to finish for the writers’ breakfast so we’re good. By the way, our neighbor stopped by a few minutes ago.”

  Cat took a bite of the bread. It was banana with chocolate chips. Her favorite version. “And?”

  Shauna set the carafe on her desk. “He said that Julie wasn’t the woman who came to talk to him. He said she called herself Cooper, but he thought it wasn’t her name. He tried to use it to get her attention and she didn’t seem to respond to it. Forties, dark hair, and weathered skin, like she either loved sunbathing as a teen or worked outside for most of her life. He did say she looked oddly familiar. That maybe she was a townie.”

  “That’s a lot of details.” Cat wrote everything down. “But at least if she does approach me, I should recognize her. I feel better knowing it wasn’t Julie who threatened him.”

  “Just be careful. I’m going to see what I can find out at the grocery store. Maybe she is a local and she’s just messing with Dante. Maybe she wants money.”

  “Bad choice to try to shake down. And she’d know that if she was local,” Cat reminded Shauna.

  “It never hurts to ask around.” Shauna’s watch buzzer went off. “I’ve got a breakfast casserole in the oven that needs to come out. Let me know if you need something with some protein in it.”

  “Sugar keeps the mind fed.” Cat smiled. “I’ll grab a protein bar before I take the group to the library. Can you make sure I’m out of here at nine-thirty at the latest?”

  After Shauna left the office, Cat looked at the description of the author that had approached Dante. The one thing she knew was that Covington College’s unique position with the nation’s crime families must still be a secret to this writer. Nobody was that stupid to threaten a mob boss with exposure.

  Nobody.

  6

  As soon as Cat and the writers arrived at the library’s classroom, Miss Applebome shooed the writers into the room. She pointed to Cat. “Come to my office.”

  Cat followed the head librarian for Covington College into her wood paneled office. The wall behind her was filled with degrees of all kinds from different universities. Cat blinked when she saw the law degree from a local university. Miss Applebome had made learning her life’s work. “What can I help you with?”

  “I wanted to tell you that the Michael Latimer Collection is opening in a couple of weeks. We’re having a reception for everyone who had been involved with his life and his work, as well as several local dignitaries.” Miss Applebome held out an envelope. “Here’s your invitation. It’s a cocktail party so please dress appropriately. And since it is happening this week, please bring your writers along. I know the college would enjoy having them at the event.”

  She apparently was finished with what she needed to say because she circled back around the desk. When she saw that Cat hadn’t moved, she dropped her hand from the doorknob and turned back.

  “What’s wrong? This is a huge honor for him, even though it’s after his death. You had to know he was monumental in his field.” Miss Applebome’s tone had softened a bit. “Say something, you’re scaring me.”

  Cat tucked the envelope into her tote. Well, this explained at least some of the talk about Michael. “What night?”

  “Wednesday. The event starts at seven.” Miss Applebome started to reach out to touch Cat but apparently thought better about it and dropped her arm. “Do you think you can attend?”

  Cat lifted her chin, trying to process the words she was hearing so she could answer the librarian. “Of course. But I’ll have seven guests with me, not just four.”

  Miss Applebome blinked and then nodded. “Thank you for telling me.”

  Cat headed to the door and made a beeline for the exit. What in the world was going on this week? Mention number five of Michael. She needed to talk to Uncle Pete. Figure out what happened to Dan. At least that would get her mind off this weird avalanche of Michael mentions.

  She would have told Miss Applebome that she was too busy, except this event would be good for the writers. And it would add to their retreat. But if no one wanted to go, she’d go with the flow and stay home too. Maybe they could just write for the evening. Then play Scrabble or something.

  Who was she kidding? They would jump at the chance to attend a college reception for a collection opening. Especially if it would be an open bar.

  She walked into town and down Main Street to the police station. She walked into the lobby and wasn’t surprised to see that she and the officer at the desk were the only two people in the room. “Hey, Maddie, is my uncle in?”

  “Hi, Cat. I just finished the latest Tori book. My niece lets me read her copy after she’s done, but she takes so long. I think she reads a book three or four times before she puts it away,” Maddie chatted on. “But you don’t want to hear about me borrowing a book. I know, I need to buy my own copies and support a local author, right? Anyway, your uncle is in his office. He’s on the phone.”

  “Oh, I can try back later.” Cat started to turn.

  “Hold on, now he’s off. Let me buzz him and tell him you’re here.” She focused on the switchboard, announced Cat’s arrival, then nodded to her. “He says go on in. See you later, Cat.”

  She moved through the narrow hallway with current and past officers’ pictures on the wall. She poked her head into the office and smiled when she saw him coming toward her. He gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  “What are you doing here?” His smile dropped. “Never mind, I know what you want.”

  She followed him into the office and sank into one of his chairs. “I’d like to mark Dan’s death off my worry list. I’ve had a lot happen in two days. Did you know the library was doing a collection of Michael’s works?”

  “Wow, that’s a sharp left turn.” He sat down and pulled out a bag of suckers from his desk drawer. “Want one?”

  She grabbed a grape one and unwrapped it “You didn’t answer so I guess the answer is yes, you knew.”

  “I got my invitation to the reception a couple of weeks ago. I thought you knew about this.” He sighed and unwrapped a cherry sucker. “But from the look on your face, I guess not. Maybe Clarise was going to keep you out of this, knowing your feelings about Michael.”

  Cat frowned. “Clarise?”

  Her uncle’s face pinked. “Miss Applebome. Her first name is Clarise. Anyway, the college must have pushed her to invite you. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. You’re not a widow in this situation.”

  “I know, but she invited the writers too. If they want to go, we’ll go. If not, I’ll stay home. But I don’t want to talk about that. What happened to Dan? Heart attack? Stroke?”

  He shook his head. “Murder. He was suffocated. I’m sorry, I know you wanted it to be a natural death. I’ve opened an investigation. The CSI guys are at your house right now.”

  Cat rubbed her face. “I can’t believe he was killed in my house. I need a sign on the door that says no handguns and no murders are allowed here.”

  “If you think it will work.” He smiled at her. “And if it does, let me know and I’ll post the signs all over town. Look, I know you’ve had your share of unfortunate events since you’ve moved back to town, but honestly, I don’t blame you for these.”

  “Gee, thanks.” She enjoyed her treat in silence for a few minutes. “Dante says someone is writing a book about Aspen Hills and they threatened him with exposing Covington’s special status.”

  Her uncle leaned back watching her. “And you believe him.”

  She thought about their meeting. “He seemed upfront with the information.”

  “As his kind always does.” Uncle Pete opened his notebook. “Is there any sign that Dan Lawrence was that writer? Or that he knew Dante or Michael?”