Caught dead to write, p.5
Caught Dead to Write, page 5
“I might.” Cat saw the brief disappointment cover Seth’s face, then he smiled again. “I’m trying to get that book done.”
“I know, you’re busy. Retreat weeks always are. You’re welcome anytime. I wonder what Shauna has planned for breakfast.” He stepped around her and went into the kitchen, leaving her alone in the hallway.
She swallowed and stood there a minute, collecting her thoughts. She needed to get their relationship status cleared up but they’d agreed to leave it alone until after the retreat. Seven more days and the house would be theirs again. Then she and Seth would sit down and talk. Hopefully, they’d both be happy with the results.
She headed to the dining room and counted heads. Four people sat around the table. She looked closer and saw Stephen was missing. She set the folder down and refilled her coffee cup. “Does anyone know where Stephen is this morning?”
“I know he was awake because I saw him and Dalton coming back in the house from running when I came down for coffee,” Pixie offered. “That was about seven. I’m a pretty early riser, so I took my laptop into the living room and wrote. I hope that was okay.”
“That’s fine. In fact, there are several approved writing spots in the house. The east wing is still being renovated so that’s off limits. Seth has his dog in that area, so please don’t open the door that has the Employees Only sign taped on it. But down that hall is also a small den with a library of writing and local history books available for your use. It has a desk and a writing chair in there.”
Deek held up his hand. “Dibs.”
“Typically, one person grabs it and claims it early, so unless someone decides to join you, I don’t mind. There’s also the living room where we had sprints last night. Most of our meetings and group events like tomorrow’s session from Professor Lancaster will occur in there. Of course, you can use your room on the second floor, but all rooms on the third floor are off limits. My office is up there so if you can’t find me, I’ll probably be in there. You can come in to chat if you need to, just knock first.”
She looked around the table. “There’s also an attic on the fourth floor where we’ve set up several different types of seating. You can hold a group meeting up there if someone’s in the living room. Or here if you don’t mind being around the snacks. And there’s also the front porch. The back yard has several different seating areas as well. The grounds a little soft and muddy because of the recent rain, so you might not want to venture too far. The barn isn’t off limits, but Shauna has her horse stabled there and we have several cats out there.”
“I saw one in the living room this morning. She was beautiful,” Pixie said.
“That’s Angelica. She comes in when she feels the need for human companionship, but I think her kittens like Snow better than us.” Cat heard a noise and looked up to see Stephen coming into the room. “Good morning.”
“Sorry, I went for a run, then showered and got lost in a book. It’s crazy. It’s like there isn’t an outside world while I’m here. I know that isn’t true, but it’s nice putting aside all the drama going on for a bit.” He filled a cup and sat down at the table. “I apologize for my lateness.”
“No problem. We were just going over house rules. The group can catch you up. I was just going to mention the small gym we have in the basement. The doorway is labeled and there’s weights along with a treadmill and a rowing machine, just in case the weather doesn’t allow for a run. Although, it’s supposed to be really nice this week.” Cat paused as she looked over her notes. “Oh, and one more place to write. You were all, except Dalton, given temporary passes to get you into the Covington Library this week. After your orientation this morning, you have free range of the library as well. So if you’d rather write there, it’s available. And if you check out any books, you can leave them at the front desk here on Sunday before you leave and we’ll return them.”
“Sounds like a busy week.” Cari stood and got a glass of orange juice. “I looked over our schedule and there’s not a session for Thursday. Is that right?”
“It’s a free day for you to either relax or focus on what you want to finish before the end of the retreat. Friday night, we’ll get together and review what we got done, but before we can do that, I have an exercise for you to do. Please turn them into the basket on the front desk by five today. That way, if we have any special requests, we can adjust the retreat to what you need from us.” Cat handed out the papers. “I’ll do my goal list as well since I’ll be working this week too. I have a rapidly upcoming deadline.”
Pixie raised her hand. “Can I get one of those? Maybe from a big New York publishing house?”
The group laughed and she looked around the table. “Dudes, I was totally serious.”
“I can’t get you a contract so you have a deadline, but we can talk about the state of the publishing world in our Wednesday session with me. And, I can teach you how to make your own deadlines. If you have other questions like that, please add them to this planning sheet. I don’t want to miss anything. And remember, this is your retreat. So let me know how we can mold it to what you need.” Cat set down the planner sheet she’d handed out. “Any questions?”
Five heads shook.
“Okay then, if you haven’t gotten something to eat, please make yourself at home. Otherwise, let’s dig in. I’m starving and Shauna’s an excellent cook. I’m sorry if you gain weight this week, but I can promise you won’t go hungry.” Cat stood and went to fill a plate for herself. Most of the breakfast hours, the writers would have the room for their own, but she wanted to make sure they knew she was approachable and here if they needed something.
The room had cleared out about ten and Cat reminded everyone they had a meeting with Miss Applebome at eleven. They’d need to leave at twenty till to not be late, and the head librarian didn’t approve of tardiness. A fact Cat had learned early in her college years. Miss Applebome ran the Covington library with an iron fist, and she was still twerked at the fact that Cat had “borrowed” a book a few years ago without checking it out.
Cat had learned the hard way that Covington’s library was as secure as Fort Knox and probably held as many secrets.
6
Cat delivered the writers to the first-floor conference room precisely at ten fifty-five. Miss Applebome stood waiting. A middle-aged woman with a gray topknot, she filled the stereotype to a T. She nodded her approval. Too early and the group might have been too comfortable in the space. Any later and the librarian would have considered them late. She had a fine line of what was acceptable, and Cat tried hard to stay on her good side.
“Hey, Librarian Extraordinaire, I haven’t seen you for a few weeks. Did you change the way you fix your hair?” Dalton Diggs stopped at the doorway and smiled at Miss Applebome. “You look amazing.”
To Cat’s surprise, a tinge of pink flooded the woman’s cheeks.
“Dalton, go sit down, or you can be excused from this session, since you’re very aware of the library and its different uses.” Miss Applebome’s tone was a little higher than normal.
“I’d rather sit in, if you don’t mind. I’m sure I’ve forgotten a lot about the library since our original freshman orientation. Besides, I enjoy hearing you talk about the history of the Covington Library. Are you going to tell them about the Hemmingway section? I can’t believe we got his personal papers here. What a coup for you!” Dalton nodded and went in to sit in the front row.
The boy had flirting skills, that was obvious. Cat turned to leave but Miss Applebome stopped her.
“I just wanted to let you know how much the library appreciated the gift from Michael’s estate. We’ll be able to upgrade not only the economics section of the library but several others as well. And have room left for fiction acquisitions for this and a few years to come. It was quite generous of you.” The librarian looked surprised that her words had come out so nice. If you were choosing words to describe Miss Applebome, “nice” wasn’t on the list.
Cat wasn’t sure what gift she was talking about, but she’d turned over part of her ex-husband’s estate to his lawyer since she wasn’t sure the money was totally legally obtained. Michael had friends and clients who had questionable income sources. She’d left anything that hadn’t been from life insurance or other traceable sources in a trust to be donated when the lawyer could make sure it wasn’t going to need to be returned. She had a letter from the lawyer that she hadn’t opened on her desk. Apparently, he’d started doling out the funds.
“Michael would have wanted to support Covington and the library as much as possible. He loved working here.” Cat was getting better at knowing what to say. When Michael had died, they’d already been divorced for several years. Yet here at Covington, she was treated as his widow rather than an ex-wife. “I’m glad you can find use for the donation.”
“Libraries are often the first line of cuts when university presidents have to trim the budget. Books are what keeps us thinking and understanding each other. And the library is the heart of the university. Administration just doesn’t understand that. They’d rather make sure the athletic departments are overfunded than ‘waste’ money on books and resources.” Miss Applebome patted Cat’s arm. “It’s people like you, people who understand and have a love of learning, that truly understand what we do here. The gift might have been in Michael’s name, but I know you were the one who determined that the library would get the money. So thank you.”
Cat nodded, unable to speak. She did believe in lifelong learning, but she didn’t know the librarian had realized that. Or that she saw Cat as anything but Michael’s ex-wife. Finally, she croaked out a short, “Thank you.” Then she turned and left the building.
The writers would attend the library meeting, then find somewhere to have lunch. Dalton had listed off most of the local restaurants as they walked to the library. Then they were free to return to the library for research or writing time and wouldn’t be expected back at the house until after dinner for a “come as you are” writing sprint session. She had a free afternoon.
Instead of going home and opening that letter, she decided to visit her uncle. Maybe he had news on the murder investigation. She’d like to know who had decided to take out a Covington professor in her barn. Maybe it was tied to the college’s special student roster.
No one was at the front desk when Cat entered the police station, so she walked straight to her uncle’s office. He was on the phone, but he saw her and held up a finger. She stood in the doorway, waiting for him to invite her in or tell her to go wait in the lobby. It was kind of a limbo land. Not in his office, but not out either. Kind of like how she’d felt about Michael and their marriage. He’d set up a situation where she’d thought he was cheating on her. And then he hadn’t fought the divorce. Or fought for her to stay.
At the time, she’d been too mad to question his actions, but later, she’d found out he’d been trying to protect her. He’d gotten in too deep with something and been killed. On paper, his death was still ruled an accident, but she’d been told that another “court of justice” had found his murderer and had killed him. She still wasn’t sure what she thought about all of it. So she tried not to examine it closely.
“Can I help you?” a woman asked from behind her.
Cat turned and saw a woman with a cup of coffee standing there. “I’m just waiting for my uncle. No one was at the desk.”
“Sorry, that was my bad. I went to get Pete, I mean, Chief Edwards a fresh cup of coffee. I’m Penelope. I’m the new administration coordinator.”
“Catherine Latimer, but you can call me Cat.” She reached out a hand. Uncle Pete had mentioned he’d hired someone to take over the clerical duties of the station, but he hadn’t mentioned she was a knockout. “Do people call you Penny?”
“Not if they want to live.” Penelope went into the office and dropped off the cup just as Uncle Pete got off the call. She smiled at him. “You have a visitor.”
“I see that. Come on in, Cat. You’ve met Penelope?” He stood as Cat walked in the office.
Cat looked between Uncle Pete and Penelope and nodded. “I remember you mentioning you had a new hire. So nice to meet you. Have you worked in law enforcement before?”
“Heavens no. I worked for a lawyer out of Denver before I decided to get out of the city. Pete was nice enough to ignore my lack of law enforcement background and give me a shot.” She started to leave. “I better get back to the front. Officer Grant is on a break and we’ve already had one unauthorized walk in.”
Cat waited for her to leave and shut the door behind her. “Penelope’s very pretty.”
“I guess.” Her uncle sat down and didn’t meet her gaze. “She’s very good at her job. She cleaned out that file cabinet in less than a week. I’ve been working on it for years.”
“Does Shirley know you have a new employee?” Cat watched as the red took over his face.
“No, and before you say anything, I’m planning on telling her this week. I just wanted to see if Penelope would even work out before I caused any waves with Shirley.” Uncle Pete leaned forward and stared at her. “Now don’t you be doing anything stupid. I will tell her.”
“Not my circus, not my monkey.” Cat leaned back in the chair. “So, anything on the murder investigation I should know?”
“No, and no. I’m not talking to you about it.” Uncle Pete moved a pile of files to the side of his desk.
“That seems to be your answer for everything, not talking about it.” Cat held up a hand before he could respond. “Sorry, that was uncalled for. I’m just a little off. The library got a check from Michael’s estate.”
“So the family must have come to an agreement?” Uncle Pete knew about the special circumstances around Covington College and Aspen Hills. Basically, the college was originally chartered for the sole purpose of being somewhere safe that mob families could send their children to get a college degree without fear of reprisal from any other family. Covington and by location, Aspen Hills, was protected by the charter. No mob business was supposed to happen at the college or in the town. A family leader had gone outside the rule book in the Michael situation. And they’d paid for their rule breaking with the most severe punishment available.
“I guess. I know I told Dante to keep me out of the discussion about the money, but I thought he might let me know when it was over. At least the library is benefiting from the situation. Maybe he’s not in town.” Cat chose a grape lollipop out of the jar on Uncle Pete’s desk. She’d been upset since Miss Applebome had told her about the donation. Even though Michael had been gone now for years. And they’d been divorced for longer than that. What was it about relationships that kept giving you a sucker punch?
“Look, if you want, I’ll reach out to Mr. Cornelio and see what’s going on. He arrived in town late last week. His team reported to the station as soon as they arrived as per the covenant. I’m surprised he hasn’t reached out to you for coffee. I know the two of you are friends.” Her uncle watched her face as she took in the news. What he didn’t say was he didn’t like the fact she was friends with Dante, who was now head of one of the biggest mob families in the country.
“I think I was pretty clear the last time we talked that all we were was friends. So maybe he’s still mad about that.” Cat got up and stretched. “Well, if you aren’t going to give me any information about Professor Barring’s murder, I’m heading back to the house. Shauna was making grilled cheese for lunch.”
“Cat, just be careful. From what I can see, there’s at least one suspect for the murder attending your retreat. I know I cleared everyone with a background check, but Stephen Barring and his wife were serial domestic violence calls. I’ve heard rumors about an improper relationship between her and at least one student. Dalton Diggs’ name has come up several times as the possible student, although no one had seen anything but some heavy flirting between the two. The husband signs up for the retreat right before his wife was killed and then decides to continue to attend? He’s not acting the part of grieving widower well.”
“We all grieve in our own ways.” Cat thought about Stephen’s answer when she’d asked the same question, if he was sure he wanted to do this now. “He told me that it was better than being in their house.”
Uncle Pete tapped his pen on the table. “Now that I can understand. After your aunt died, I spent a lot of nights on that couch over there. I didn’t want to go home to a bed that was going to be empty forever.”
“You’ll tell me if you find more evidence, right?” Cat paused at the door. “I don’t want anyone else to be in danger.”
“I’ll shut your retreat down if I think one of the writers is the killer. Don’t worry, I’m keeping a close eye on all of you.”
After she left the station, she turned toward home. She wanted to be sitting in the kitchen, eating grilled cheese, and laughing with Shauna and Seth. Not thinking about death and reasons behind a killing.
When she got home, Shauna took a plate out of the oven and set it in front of her at the table. “I was expecting you back fifteen minutes ago.”
“I stopped to talk to Uncle Pete.” She didn’t make eye contact with either Shauna or Seth and she could feel their gazes on her. “Nothing to be worried about. I was just checking in on the investigation.”
“I bet Pete loved that. How many times has he told you to not Nancy Drew a case?” Seth got up and poured himself a glass of milk. “Cat, I saw the body. Whoever killed Harriet Barring was angry. The body was beat up. I don’t know if that was the cause of death, but she looked a lot like the zombie she was dressed up as.”
“That’s what’s bothering me. She was dressed as a witch at the party. Why would she be in a zombie costume when she was found?” Cat took a bite of her sandwich, the gooey cheese still hot. “Did anyone see a zombie at the party?”
“A couple.” Shauna nodded. “I talked to one of them. That professor doing the Covington seminar tomorrow. He was dressed as an Indiana Jones wannabe but his wife was in a zombie costume. Not that it was a good costume, just a ripped-up t-shirt and some oversized dirty jeans. She did have on some nice earrings, which a true zombie would have lost.”
