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MITCH STAYED THE NIGHT with Lauren, while Zoe remained at Chris’s.
The next day, the four of them went to church. Lauren was guilty of not attending for a few weeks. So was Zoe. And the guys.
Father Mike seemed pleased to see them, and told them that Mrs. Snuggle was still playing with the new catnip toy he’d bought her.
After the service, Lauren and Mitch had lunch at the local vineyard. Although it was October, the temperature was pleasant, and they enjoyed a simple meal of crusty bread, ham and cheese, with fresh fruit salad for dessert.
She’d heard Zoe making plans with Chris to go hiking in the nearby Tahoe National Forest and wondered if she should suggest more activity-based outings. Although, it was nice not to do too much over the weekend, after being on her feet a lot during the week.
“What are you thinking?” Mitch asked softly as they finished their dessert.
“Maybe we should go hiking more,” she blurted. “But not for hours and hours,” she added quickly.
“Sure.” He seemed amused. “What about next Sunday?”
“Great.”
“Chris and Zoe might decide to have lunch here next weekend.” He chuckled.
“We could go bowling.” She racked her brains for some other activities. “Mini golf. Horse riding. Tennis.”
“Hiking is my first choice.”
Lauren remembered the last time they’d explored a trail and the long, slow kisses toward the end.
“Mine too.” She hoped her cheeks weren’t flushed.
Mitch stayed for dinner at the cottage, but then went home, citing an early start the next morning.
“Brrt?” Annie asked after Mitch left.
“It looks like it’s just the two of us tonight.” She wondered if Zoe was staying with Chris again.
She curled up with Annie on the pink sofa while they watched a few sewing videos.
“We must start on our second cushion cover,” she murmured to her fur baby.
“Brrt.” Yes.
“I’m back!” The rear door slammed and Zoe walked into the living room.
“I wasn’t sure if you were coming home this evening or not,” Lauren admitted.
“I would have texted you if I wasn’t,” Zoe told her. “I had a great time this weekend – did you?”
“Yes.”
“Brrt.” Yes.
“I’ve come up with an awesome idea! Tomorrow we can go shopping in Sacramento and find Nellie’s hubby’s department store, and grill him!”
***
THE NEXT MORNING, LAUREN crunched granola in the kitchen while Zoe outlined her plan.
“First, we’ll visit Mrs. Finch and check she’s okay, then we’ll drive to the city. I’m sure we can find the department store.”
Since they usually visited Mrs. Finch on Mondays when the café was closed, Lauren didn’t have a problem with that suggestion.
“And what are you going to say to Nellie’s husband if we find him?” she asked.
“Brrt?” Yes, what? Annie sat on the pine chair next to Lauren.
“I’ll think of something.” Zoe waved her hand in the air. “No problem.”
“And what are you going to buy – or pretend to buy?” Lauren wanted to know.
“Hmm. What about pillow cases? Chris needs some new ones. His are a bit scratchy.” She wrinkled her nose.
“Good thinking.”
“Something manly and not too girly. But they also need to be soft enough for me,” Zoe continued.
“What about the grocery shopping?” Lauren pressed.
“We’ll do that on the way home,” Zoe replied airily.
“You seem to have everything – most things – covered,” Lauren conceded.
“And we’ll go to the ice-cream shop while we’re there, since Deborah said it’s practically next door to the department store!” Zoe’s eyes lit up.
“Okay.” Lauren smiled at the thought of her current favorite flavor, maple rhubarb.
“Brrt?” Annie asked.
“You’ll be staying here and minding the house,” Zoe told her. “It’s a very important job.”
“I don’t think they allow cats in department stores,” Lauren said regretfully. “You could have a cyber play date with AJ or Toby while we’re out.”
“Brrt.” Annie gave a little nod, bunted Lauren’s hand, then jumped off the chair. She trotted toward the living room.
Lauren heard a jingle from that room. Annie must be playing with her ball.
“Let me set up Annie’s playdate.” Lauren took her bowl to the sink.
“Okay. We’ll zoom to Mrs. Finch’s and then zip to the city.”
Lauren entered the living room.
“AJ or Toby?” she asked.
Annie patted Lauren’s phone that lay on the coffee table, pressing the speed dial button for Toby.
Lauren spoke to Toby’s human Jerry, who was pleased to hear from them, and offered to end the call when the cats had finished playing.
Toby chirruped, his furry golden face appearing on the screen. They’d met the Siberian Forest Cat at a local cat show a while ago, and the two felines had become fast friends.
Lauren blew Annie a kiss, and grabbed her purse. Annie was busy showing Toby her jingly ball.
Lauren drove them to Mrs. Finch’s house. After checking she was okay, they declined her offer of a cup of coffee, although they made one for her. Their friend promised to stop by the café tomorrow after hearing about the new mocha cupcakes, saying she was looking forward to trying them.
“I bet they’ll sell out in no time,” Zoe enthused as they sped toward the city.
“I hope so,” Lauren replied, concentrating on the traffic and sticking to the speed limit. Although it was after morning rush hour, there were still other drivers on the road.
Zoe told Lauren all about the pillowcases she wanted to purchase.
“If you tell Nellie’s husband about your pillowcase hunt, I don’t think he’ll realize you want to grill – ask him questions,” Lauren teased when they neared their exit.
“Exactly what I was thinking.” Zoe grinned.
“Do we know his surname?” Lauren became serious. “How are we going to find him?”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” Zoe tapped her cheek. “I guess we could wander around and find him that way?”
“What if he has an office?”
“What if he’s in charge of pillowcases?” Zoe giggled.
Lauren took the correct exit and managed to find a parking space near the ice-cream shop.
“I wish we could stop for one now.” Zoe looked longingly at the store as they walked past.
“On the way back.” Lauren wanted to get this sleuthing business over and done with. Then she’d be able to enjoy her treat.
“I guess.” Zoe sighed and caught up with her.
Maybe they should come to the city more often. Everyone said walking was good exercise, and by the time they reached the new department store, Lauren was sure they’d covered at least two blocks.
“Phew!” Zoe fanned herself dramatically as they entered through the automatic glass doors. “And it’s not even that warm today.”
“Now where?” Lauren asked. They stood in the beauty section. Rock music played softly from hidden speakers, and people walked past them, intent on their destination.
“Hmm.” Zoe spun in a slow circle. “Where would pillowcases be?”
“What about checking the store directory?” Lauren pointed to a board near them.
“Perfect.” Zoe strode over and scanned the diagram. “Next floor.”
They took the elevator and walked out into the bed linen area.
“Now all we have to do is find Nellie’s hubby and the perfect pillowcases for me – I mean Chris – me and Chris.” Zoe’s cheeks had the tiniest bit of pink on them.
“What do you want to do first?” Lauren asked. Maybe she should buy some pillowcases as well. Organic cotton, or—
“Over there!” Zoe grabbed her arm. “Do you think that’s Nellie’s husband?”
Lauren saw a man of medium height helping an elderly lady walk down an aisle. Nothing else about him seemed familiar.
“No.” She cast her mind back to the adoption day and the brief glimpse she’d had of Nellie’s henpecked husband. “No,” she repeated with more certainty.
“Pooh.”
“Why don’t we look for pillowcases first?” Lauren suggested.
“Okay.” Zoe zoomed over to the correct section. “This one. No, this one. Hmm, I don’t know.” She pointed to a pale pink packet.
Lauren picked it up. She loved it. And it was organic cotton. But what would Mitch think? A stray thought made her giggle. If Mitch didn’t like the color, he could always bring his own pillow case to the cottage.
“I’m going to get them. There’s two in the pack.” Lauren checked the price. Affordable.
“I hope Mitch likes pink.” Zoe grinned.
“He doesn’t seem to have a problem sitting on our pink sofa.”
“True. Ooh.” Zoe’s attention was diverted to a purple pillowcase – with tassels.
“That is so you.”
“Yes, it is.” Zoe grabbed two pairs. “Okay, now we have to find the hubby.”
“After we pay,” Lauren reminded her.
“Oh, yeah.”
Luckily, the store wasn’t busy and they found a register right away.
“Where is Nellie’s husband?” Zoe led the way around the store.
“I think Deborah said his name was Richard,” Lauren offered.
“Oh, good. I don’t think I heard that bit since I was busy at the counter and you were checking out the kittens.”
“After you had your turn first,” Lauren reminded her.
“True.” Zoe touched her arm and smiled. “Okay, let’s start sleuthing!”
After a few minutes of walking around and occasionally getting distracted by looking at sheets, Zoe sighed. “This might be just a teensy bit harder than I thought.”
“Uh-huh.”
“But there are still three more floors to check.” Zoe brightened.
Lauren glanced at her watch. She hoped they found Richard quickly, because now she had a craving for ice-cream – and it wasn’t quite lunchtime yet.
“Look!” Zoe nudged her.
A man of medium height, wiry build, and receding hair, dressed in a suit, came out of a rear staff entrance and walked over to a sales clerk.
“I think that’s him.” Lauren’s pulse sped up.
“Yeah, it’s definitely him.” Zoe’s eyes lit up. “Let’s go!”
She strode over to him.
“Excuse me, are you Richard, Nellie’s husband?”
“Why, yes, I am.” He looked a little taken aback. “May I help you? I’m the manager of this section.”
“We wanted to say we were sorry for your loss,” Zoe told him.
“Did you know Nellie?”
Lauren noticed the sales clerk stepping back to give them some privacy.
“She was at the adoption day at the Norwegian Forest Cat Café – Lauren’s café.” Zoe indicated Lauren.
“Yes.” She felt she had to say something.
“Oh.” He nodded. “I’ve always felt guilty that Nellie couldn’t have a pet, but I have severe cat and dog allergies. Mom got me a dog when I was a boy, and I couldn’t stop sneezing and my eyes got all red and itchy. We had to give him away to a good home – one of our neighbors. I told Nellie before we married that I was allergic, but she thought it was something my parents had made up because they didn’t want to look after a pet.”
Lauren and Zoe glanced at each other.
“Last week wasn’t the first time she’s tried to adopt a cat.” He shook his head. “She got a big surprise not long after we were married when she brought home this gorgeous furry kitten. I sneezed all night, and I had to go and sleep on the couch.”
Zoe’s expression to Lauren read, Yikes!
“How many years were you married?” Lauren asked, wondering if his answer would tally with his mother’s.
“Twenty-three.”
It did.
“That’s a long time,” Zoe remarked. Lauren couldn’t decide whether her cousin was impressed – or depressed.
“Do you know Rebecca?” Lauren remembered how his mother had praised Rebecca, the shelter volunteer, at the adoption event.
“Oh, yes.” His expression brightened. “We used to go to school together – she was a nice girl, and she’s turned into a nice lady.” He hesitated. “My mother wanted us to date, and we went out a couple of times, but I thought we made better friends than anything else.”
“When did you meet Nellie?” Zoe inquired.
“At college. I’ve always been—” he pressed his lips together.
“What?” Zoe leaned toward him.
“Drawn to bad girls,” he admitted, his cheeks turning crimson. He scanned the store, as if checking for eavesdroppers.
“Nellie was a bad girl?” Zoe’s expression was one of astonishment, mirroring Lauren’s silent thought.
“Yes. Well, not really bad. She was different to any of the other girls I’d dated, and she said she wanted to be with me. She was very attractive back then.”
“Do you have any idea who wanted to murder her?” Zoe pressed.
“No.” His face hardened. “The police have already asked me that – a horrible detective called Castern. I told him I have an alibi.”
When they didn’t say anything, he continued, “I was here.” He gestured to the bed linen in the aisle surrounding them.
“And I have witnesses.” He pointed to the sales clerk who’d given them some privacy. “I also have to clock in, even though I’m a manager. Now, can I help you two with something? We have a special on pillow shams right now.”
“No, thanks,” Zoe replied. She patted her pillowcase purchase. “I’ve already got what I need.”
“But thank you,” Lauren added.
He nodded, then strode toward the staff entrance.
“Let’s get out of here.” Zoe headed toward the elevator. “I definitely need some ice-cream.”
“Me too.” Lauren followed her cousin, noticing a shelf of ugly vases. Each one had a different pattern, but they all sported diamond shapes in depressing colors, like puce, and sooty smoke. She wondered why anyone would want one in their home. Then she reminded herself that everyone had different tastes – someone who liked that style of vase might think her pink sofa was ugly!