I woke up alone.
Carmedy left a message saying that he was meeting with Valerio. I was betting it would include lunch and felt a bit envious. They were probably eating a gourmet, locally sourced lunch while I was going to have bagels, cream cheese and peach jam.
Okay, maybe I wasn’t that envious.
I finished processing the report and started proofreading. Honestly, I doubted anyone had time to read this stuff. But if they did, they’d find everything properly referenced and interlinked to corresponding digital documents. No auditor would complain my i’s and t’s weren’t dotted and crossed.
Still, a girl could only take so much admin crap before having a meltdown. So, I logged out and left the office before Carmedy came back to ask if I was done yet. Since I had laundry to do, I went home.
I didn’t keep track of Magnus’s shifts, so I had no business being disappointed he wasn’t home. It’s not like I’d been around much either. Still, I was disappointed. Magnus and I were much better friends now that we weren’t together as a couple. We had practice living together from when we were both students and we had a history. I didn’t have to explain how shitty my job could be. He didn’t need to explain how sad his could be working as a pediatric nurse. At the same time, we appreciated the humour that came our way too and shared it without fear of being labelled crude, crass or ghoulish.
When I started thinking that way, moving into my dad’s place seemed wrong. Then he’d bring a party home and having my own space seemed like a great idea. Until I had to do laundry.
Screw it! I didn’t have to make a decision yet. That settled…or not settled for now, I was able to attack a few chores like taking out the recycling, watering my poor forsaken plants and cleaning out my closet. All mostly mindless tasks that helped me think. Give me enough closets and I could solve the problems of the world.
Cats.
When I took the case, I concentrated on the pet owners. Leaving a dead animal on a doorstep is a pretty personal message. Thinking that the cat-killer had an issue with the families seemed reasonable. That didn’t make it correct, especially since I couldn’t find a common denominator between the families other than cat ownership.
If Paulo Crabbe was the killer, it might be his way of getting attention, or a step toward killing the women he watched. It wouldn’t be personal so much as staged for effect.
If Blake Collins was the cat-killer, it might be personal, but directed against his wife. If that was the case, maybe she had returned to the neighbourhood too. Or it might be directed against the neighbours who called the police. I should get the details and follow that up.
If it was someone else… Nah. There was no point going there until I’d eliminated the suspects I had.
All my clothes were out of the closet and arranged in piles on my bed. I could bag up the stuff I was getting rid of and organize the rest. Or I could hang up the stuff that needed hanging and the use rest of my time, and my police login, to get the names of the Collins’s neighbours. I opted for the latter.
At five, Carmedy called.
“Are you coming back tonight?”
I looked at my bed and nodded. “I’ll be back after I’m finished in East Hills.”
“Are you still tired? I could go if you want.”
“I’m good.”
Wild horses couldn’t keep me away. I’d just found out that Mrs. Parnell used to live beside Mr. and Mrs. Collins.