I think I screamed. Lucas, luckily, reacted much more calmly. He swerved, cursing under his breath, his arm automatically shooting out to hold me in place even though I wore my seat belt.
Thank goodness we hadn’t been going fast. And that it wasn’t icy.
“Are you okay?” he asked, when we’d come to a stop halfway in the oncoming-traffic lane.
“Yeah.” My hands were shaking as I tried to unclip my seat belt. “Is he okay?” Before I’d closed my eyes and braced for impact, I swore I saw a big, furry leopard coat.
Before I could get my door open, Leopard Man appeared at the passenger window, peering in at me, causing me to jump.
Lucas sucked in a breath. “What is this guy doing? Is he drunk? Maddie, don’t open—”
His words fell on deaf ears as I pushed the door open. “What’s going on?” I demanded. “Are you okay? We could’ve hit you!”
Leopard Man didn’t look particularly fazed at this news. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. But I need to find your grandfather, and he isn’t home. I thought he might be with you.” He looked truly contrite but still concerned. Almost more shocking than his sudden appearance in front of the truck was the fact that he wasn’t speaking in his usual Shakespeare.
The unease I’d been trying to fend off all day settled around me like a thick fog, almost choking me. Something was terribly wrong.
Lucas was taking his cues from me, but he had one foot out of the truck, ready to … do something if the situation warranted it. I could tell he didn’t know what to make of the whole thing, especially since he didn’t have the Leopard Man history that I did. I was pretty sure he thought the whole persona was weird, but he’d never wanted to hurt my feelings by actually saying so out loud.
“I don’t know if he’s home,” I said. “He didn’t mention going out, but he doesn’t always tell me what’s he’s doing. How did you know I was in this truck?”
“You two are always in this vehicle.” He glanced up and down the street. It was truly deserted. No one had passed since we’d started this conversation, which was good because we were, after all, in the middle of the road. “I’d like to come to your house and wait for him, if that’s acceptable?”
“Um. Sure.” It was my turn to look at Lucas for a clue. I hated the thoughts that were going through my head right now. I’d always been a great defender of Leopard Man. Grandpa had always vouched for him, even if my dad had been leery, and Grandpa wouldn’t have ever let me within a hundred yards of Leopard Man if he thought there was anything dangerous about him. But tonight, in the middle of a dark street, with a man in the water and a crazy woman who wanted my cat—a crazy woman who’d been talking to Leopard Man earlier—I was ashamed to admit that I was a bit apprehensive. Nevertheless, manners won out. “Jump in.”
I could feel Lucas’s eyes boring into the back of my head, but I ignored him. This was Grandpa’s friend and he was asking for help. Grandpa would want me to help him.
“Is, uh, everything okay?” I asked once Lucas had put the truck in gear and we were moving again.
Silence from the back seat for so long I wondered if he’d heard me. Then, I heard his soft voice, almost a purr: “‘It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.’”
Lucas glanced at me. I knew exactly what he was thinking.
I turned to look behind me at Leopard Man, but he was staring at his lap. I had no idea what to say to that quote. I couldn’t even remember which play it was from. So I stayed silent until we pulled into our driveway a few seconds later. Grandpa’s truck wasn’t there.
Ugh.
When we got out of the truck, Lucas pulled me close. “Are you sure you want to invite him in? He’s acting kind of odd.”
He was kind of right. Leopard Man’s behavior tonight was certainly odd. Then again, one could argue his behavior every day was odd. I mean, really. Most people didn’t dress up like a big cat, complete with a tail, and walk around quoting Shakespeare all day. But that was normal for him. Sure, he was eccentric. It was part of the charm.
But his furtive actions and attempts to ambush our truck were a little weird, for sure.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” was all I said to Lucas. I turned back to wait for Leopard Man, who had taken his time getting out of the truck. Then he paused, shielding his eyes as a car turned into the driveway, headlights washing over us.
I hoped it was Grandpa Leo, but the headlights were too low to be from his truck. It was Val and Ethan, in her car. They parked and got out. Ethan held a couple of bags of takeout. Chinese, from the smell of it.
I waved at them, then unlocked the door and motioned for Leopard Man to go inside.
He removed his leopard-print knit hat and nodded at me as he stepped past me and went inside. Lucas followed. Val and Ethan, catching up to us at the door, both raised quizzical eyebrows at me. Impulsively, I gave Val a hug. “I’m glad you’re okay,” I murmured.
She stepped back, clearly confused by my gesture. “Of course I’m okay. What’s going on?” She glanced at Leopard Man, outwardly curious.
“He’s waiting for Grandpa.”
“Why?”
“No idea.”
“Did you see all the commotion down by the marina?” she asked.
“I did. That’s why I’m glad you’re okay. Do you know anything?”
Val shook her head. “I was there for a while tonight. Nothing was going on when I got there, but when I left to pick up Ethan the cops were around.”
“We drove right by there. Craig was at the barricade. I asked him what was up.” I lowered my voice and glanced around. “He said there was a guy in the water.”
“A guy? Like a dead one?” Val asked. Ethan, who had been quiet up to this point, sucked in a breath. His face had paled a bit under his red beard and he tugged at his knit cap a little nervously. Death made him queasy, and he’d found himself in closer proximity to it recently than he liked.
“I don’t know. He wouldn’t say anything else. Can we please go in? I’m freezing and I need to check on JJ.” I huddled in my giant North Face jacket. My family had taken to making fun of me for being so cold already this winter. They said I’d lost my New England edge. They were probably right. San Francisco wasn’t L.A. in terms of really hot weather, but still. I’d gotten used to lows of 50 degrees. Already it was hovering right around a balmy 30 degrees on the island, and we weren’t even in full-on winter mode yet.
Val motioned for me to go inside. I was grateful for the blast of heat that hit me as soon as I walked through the doorway. I’d cranked it up before I left, anticipating the cold night. Leopard Man had shed his giant coat, revealing a plain black shirt paired with his leopard-print pants, and was perched on the edge of the sofa, petting three cats at one time. They were all tripping over one another trying to get closer to him. Sebastian, the orange guy, had already left a coating of orange fur clinging to his black shirt.
“I let them out,” Lucas said, motioning to the cats. “They were waiting at the doors.”
Watching our guest with the cats made me feel a little better. Anyone who attracted cats like that had to be okay in my book. Especially considering one of them was my newest resident, a shy gray girl named Gemma, who hadn’t really bonded with anyone yet.
“That’s fine. Want to make some coffee or tea?” I asked him.
“I’ll do it,” Ethan offered. He disappeared through the door. I heard coffee grinding a minute later.
“I’ll help,” Lucas said, and followed him.
I surveyed the situation. Leopard Man was intent on the cats. Val stood by the wall, seemingly unsure of what to do with herself. I took a breath.
“I’m sorry about your shirt,” I said.
Leopard Man looked at me blankly, then glanced down at himself. He let out a chuckle and brushed a bit at the fur. “Shakespeare would have nothing good to say about this,” he said.
I looked at him quizzically.
He shrugged. “Shakespeare was not a cat lover. His mentions of cats were largely negative. It is my one disappointment with the famous bard.” He stroked Gemma’s ears with one hand and Muffin’s chin with the other. “I, however, feel a closer kinship to cats than people.”
I nodded. I could totally relate.
When Lucas came out with a mug of coffee, I used the opportunity to excuse myself.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, and took both flights two at a time to the third floor. I shoved open my bedroom door, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw JJ still curled up on my pillow. He opened one eye, twitched his ear, then closed his eye again. I could hear him purring all the way from across the room. My heart swelled with love. I picked him up and snuggled him close. He squeaked in protest. “Ah, too bad.” I kissed his nose and placed him back on the bed. He promptly went back to sleep.
“I can see the day’s events have you all stressed out,” I said dryly.
He didn’t acknowledge my sarcasm. Closing the door behind me, I headed back downstairs.
Back in the living room, Val had vanished, Leopard Man still petted the cats, and Ethan had brought more coffee. Mugs for each of us sat steaming on the table next to the couch. Lucas was in the cat room cleaning again.
I sat on the opposite end of the couch. Before I could speak, Leopard Man said, so softly I barely heard him, “I’m sorry you ran into some unpleasantness today.”
“Unpleasantness?” I repeated, my stomach flipping over. So the crazy woman had been telling him about it. “How did you…”
He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Grandpa came in through the front door. At the sound, Ethan, Val, and Lucas emerged from their various hiding places. He took one look at us all and said, “We’ll be downstairs.” He motioned for Leopard Man to follow him, which he did without a word, leaving us staring after them.