Page 12

Chapter Eleven

Perry

Delia was already scouring the area when I arrived. “Where do you want me to look?” I asked.

Waving her hand to the right, Delia answered, “Try over there, where the water first drops off.”

It wasn’t much of a drop-off , just enough to stir the water and create a lulling sound. If it were possible, I’d build a house near a brook just like this, with the bedroom facing the running water and a row of windows I could open. I’d fall asleep to the sound of babbling water and wake to the same cadence. I couldn’t imagine ever getting tired of it. Then again, hearing all that running water all the time might make me need to pee more often.

Bending over and examining some rocks, I thought of Gayle. She would agree with me on the needing to pee more frequently part. A pang of longing hit me square in the chest. Gayle and I hadn’t been apart more than a couple of days since I’d almost died in that alley. I knew I’d miss my cats. I just hadn’t realized how much I’d miss my best friend too.

“Anything?” Nate asked as he and Gabe caught up.

I shook my head. “Not yet, I…” My hand froze, hovering over a rock and a piece of paper poking out below it. Only that wasn’t the only thing there.

Thickly swallowing, nausea built within my throat, and the world swam in front of me. I opened my mouth, desperately trying to say Nate’s name. Only meaningless, whispered gasps managed to escape.

“What have you got, Perry?” Gabe’s voice sounded far away, coming through a thick, heavy fog. “I see something white. Looks like Delia was—” Gabe’s voice cut off. His hands grabbed my shoulders, and he pulled me back. My foot slipped, but Gabe had a strong enough hold that he steadied me. His next words were harsh and clipped. “Detective Harmon.”

“What is it? Perry, are you—oh.” Gabe’s smaller hands were replaced by Nate’s larger ones, his grip just shy of painful.

“Don’t look at it,” Delia commanded, the muffled bubble covering my ears suddenly popping, the sounds of the surrounding forest rushing into my ears at nauseating speeds.

“Nate.” This time, my voice managed to break free. “Is it…Please tell me it isn’t Apollo. Please, I can’t…” I hadn’t gotten that good of a look, just enough to see that a dead, black cat was lying beside what was probably our final clue. There were millions, maybe billions, of black cats the world over. Apollo was an indoor cat, over a hundred miles away, safely behind the walls of my apartment. There was no reason this should be him. No reason except…

“This one looks too thin to be him,” Nate reassured me. “I don’t think that’s our guy.”

I nearly collapsed into Nate’s arms. He hadn’t questioned why I thought it might be Apollo. Willie was a sadistic fuck, and he knew exactly where I lived. Killing one of my boys would be just the kind of psychotic mind game I could see him playing.

Standing there, Nate’s arms wrapped around me, I heard his voice speaking into his phone and wondered when he’d taken it out of his pocket and dialed Gayle’s number.

“I’m going to hand him the phone,” Nate said before his cell was placed in my shaking hand.

“G-Gayle.”

“Perry? What’s going on? Nate just asked me if Starbuck and Apollo are okay. Why wouldn’t they be?” Gayle sounded two parts worried and one part annoyed. “I have taken care of the boys before. As hungry as they always seem to be, I think it’s me you should be worried about. If I run out of food, they’ll probably start munching on me. Either that or one of them will lie on my face while I’m trying to sleep, suffocating me to death.” I heard Gayle grunt before she said, “I think they heard your voice. God, they’re both up here now. Apollo’s headbutting the damn phone. Stop that,” I heard her scold, followed by the welcome sound of Apollo’s irritated mew.

I blew out a relieved breath and finally managed “They’re okay?”

“Yes. I just told you that.” Gayle’s irritation dissipated, and concern filtered in. “Why are you asking? What’s wrong?”

“We… I mean, there’s a…” I felt like I was going to be sick. While I was relieved the dead cat wasn’t Apollo, there was still a deceased cat lying on the ground.

“Perry, let me have the phone,” Delia didn’t so much ask as she took Nate’s phone from me. “Gayle.” Delia’s tone softened. I couldn’t hear Gayle’s part of the conversation but figured she was talking when Delia’s voice went silent. Soon, she spoke again. “I’m afraid we found a dead cat near a clue we were looking for. Mm-hmm, black…Yes, very similar, but slimmer.” I vaguely heard Delia explaining about the scavenger hunt. I’d buried my head against Nate’s chest, my visor tilted on my head and ready to fall to the ground. My face was wet, and I realized it was from tears. I felt foolish and pulled away, furiously wiping at my cheeks.

Nate’s hands fell to my shoulders, rubbing up and down. “Talk to me, Perry. Tell me what’s going on up here.” Nate tapped my head.

“I’m being an idiot.” I’d gone from shocked, to frightened, to self-flagellating in less than five minutes flat.

“Why?” Nate sounded genuinely confused.

I waved toward the deceased animal. Gabe was bent over it and blocking my view. “Because I overreacted. It’s a cat. There are a ton of black cats out there. That didn’t mean—”

“I know, but I was worried too.”

My head snapped up, and I was glad my dark sunglasses hid my bloodshot eyes. “You were?”

Nate scoffed. “Of course I was, and I think we both know why.”

I blew out a heavy breath and gave a firm nod. “Yeah, we do.”

“But Apollo is fine,” Nate stated, and despite the knowledge it was true, it still felt good to hear it again.

This time, my nod wasn’t as sure. “It’s odd, though, isn’t it? Finding a cat out here, in the woods. I mean, I’m sure there are cats out here, it’s just… They get hit on the road or fall prey to coyotes or something like that. It’s weird.” My nose scrunched, and I rubbed at the snot ready to fall.

Nate’s fingers squeezed my biceps a final time before releasing me. He didn’t comment, which was comment enough. “You okay if I go check things out?”

“I’m fine,” I sort-of lied. I wasn’t fine, but I wasn’t the sobbing mess I’d been. “I’m just going to sit over there.” I waved toward an outcropping of rocks. Nate didn’t try and help or stop me. Instead, he walked toward Gabe’s crouched body. Done with her conversation with Gayle, Delia followed and handed Nate his phone. The three of them stood there, heads together and murmuring words I couldn’t hear or understand.

Gabe finally stood. I had no idea how his joints had managed the position he’d been in for so long. Regardless, he sprang back up, a white piece of paper in his hands. Hopefully, the final clue.

Leaving the huddle first, Nate made his way toward me, sitting heavily on the rock to my right. His groan let me know he wasn’t as agile as Gabe.

“Not sure I’m going to make it up without a little help,” Nate said, his long legs stretched out before him. “Might have been a mistake sitting down.”

“Same,” I murmured. Delia and Gabe were reading over the clue, their heads close together. “Is that the last one?” I asked, suddenly fearful it wasn’t and that we had more trails to track.

“The very last,” Nate thankfully answered. “Gabe’s going to head back with it, and Delia’s going to stay with the cat while we take our leisurely time making it to base camp. After giving Malcom our final clue, Gabe said he’ll talk with the park rangers and get someone out to take care of the cat.”

Take care of . It sounded so final and impersonal. I had no idea if this unknown feline had been someone’s pet or if it was a stray. I hadn’t seen a collar. Then again, I’m not sure I’d looked carefully. “Is there a collar?” I asked, just to be sure.

“No. There could be a microchip. I doubt the park rangers have a scanner, but a local shelter or vet clinic should,” Nate answered.

I chewed on my bottom lip. “Do you think they’ll go that far to find out?”

“I think they will if Delia tells them to.” Nate sounded as sure as I felt.

Inhaling, I was glad I couldn’t smell the decaying body. Then again, from what my mind conjured, it hadn’t looked very old. “Can you tell how it died?”

For the first time, Nate was hesitant. “Not exactly. There’s no blood or anything obvious around the body. The head is at an odd angle. Cats are agile, so I’m not sure, but its neck could be broken.” Nate inhaled, held the breath, and exhaled. “Listen, Perry, this is probably a random thing, but—”

“It’s a little convenient.” Not convenient for the dead cat, but the placement, timing, and color were more than suspicious.

“Very. Delia, Gabe, and I discussed it. Gabe’s going to speak with Malcom. We’re going to see about having a necropsy done. That will give us COD and tell us more about the situation.”

“You think…” I didn’t want to say what we were all thinking.

“Maybe. Willie’s sick enough that this could be something he’d do.” Nate shrugged. “I’m not sure, Perry. I wish I was. I wish….” Nate huffed, and his muscles tensed.

Leaning against his broad shoulders, I stared at the trail we’d walked up and down today. Wishing something didn’t make it true. Everyone learned that hard lesson sometime during their life. Some of us learned it earlier than others. Some were lucky enough that they had a few blissful years none the wiser.

“I hate him,” I whispered, the words barely audible and casting a shameful tract as they passed by my lips. “I don’t think I’ve ever said that about anyone before. There are people I don’t like, people I don’t respect and don’t care what happens to, but I don’t think I’ve ever wished someone harm before or said that I hated them. I hate myself for feeling that way.”

“Willie Slater has a way of bringing out the worst in everyone, Perry. Hating Willie doesn’t make you a bad person. It makes you a logical one. I’d like to think Willie isn’t human, but I’ve worked homicide too long for such fanciful thoughts. Willie’s human, all right. He’s the worst kind of human, but human nonetheless. Only humans fall to such degrading, vindictive lows. There’s a type of malicious violence humans seem drawn to that other animals don’t. I can’t explain it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist or doesn’t happen.”

I wrapped my arms around Nate’s shoulders, snuggling in despite the heat. “I’m glad you can’t explain it. I’d be worried if you could.”

Nate’s head tilted, lying against mine. “Me too, Perry. Me too.”