Monday, December 28: six days after the murder
1 p.m.
When we arrived home, Craig was there. He and Ethan were in the living room watching something on TV that looked violent. Grandpa didn’t seem surprised to see him.
“Did you hear?” I asked.
“I did. He’s a good guy,” Craig said.
“What happened?” Ethan wanted to know.
“Katrina’s bail got set at two hundred thousand dollars,” I said.
Ethan’s eyes widened. “Whoa. How is that good?”
“That’s not the good part,” I said impatiently. “Leopard Man came to the rescue and put up her bail. It’s like he’s this guardian angel just waiting to swoop in and make life better. He’s so incredible.” I nearly swooned.
When Leopard Man’s true identity had come to light recently, he hadn’t loved the attention or the fact that people now knew the truth about who he was. But he was making the most of the situation by remaining his quirky, elusive self most days—except when he was courting Ellen the librarian around town or making sizable donations to things that mattered on the island.
Like Katrina’s bail. If she had to wait around for her trial in jail, it would have killed her. I was certain of it. I’d still offered to try and raise the money, but he’d basically told me not to waste my time and to go save more cats.
We needed more people like Leopard Man in this world.
“That’s great,” Craig said, but his lack of enthusiasm was kind of obvious.
“What?” I asked. “Is there some problem with that?”
“Not at all.”
“Then why so subdued?” I looked around for my hat. I had promised to pick up Katrina once all the paperwork was done and didn’t want to be late.
“I’m not subdued.”
“You so are.” I plucked the hat off the top of a cat tree and pulled it over my hair. “Hurry up and tell me why. I have to go pick her up shortly.”
Craig sighed. “This is the problem with knowing everyone on this island for your whole life.”
I arched my eyebrows at him.
Ethan, taking the cue, rose. “I’m going to go to the general store. I want to make us some veggie burgers tonight.”
“You might want to get Grandpa a real burger,” I called after him. He waved his acknowledgment as he headed into the kitchen. I turned back to Craig. “So?”
“I’m just worried about how this is going to go down.”
“How what is going to go down?”
“This trial.”
“How do you know she’s going to have to go on trial?”
He gave me a look. “Because that’s what happens after you’ve been arrested for a crime.”
“So you don’t think they’re competent enough to find the real killer?” I asked.
He pressed his lips together so they almost disappeared. “I didn’t say that.”
“You don’t have to. They aren’t looking for anyone else, so that says it all. Which is why we need to do something about it. Hey, your chief was there. At the arraignment.” I’d wanted to ask Grandpa what they’d been talking about, but after all the excitement with Leopard Man posting bail, I’d forgotten. “You think he’ll help Grandpa figure out who really killed Virgil?”
Craig was silent.
I rolled my eyes. “I know, I know. It’s official police business.”
“It’s not that, Mads. It’s…” He sighed. “Forget it. Go pick up Katrina. We’ll talk later.”
“Okay.” I shrugged into my coat and zipped it. “Hey, how’s Jade?” I asked.
His gaze shifted away. “She’s fine.”
I waited, but that was it. Guess he didn’t want to talk to me about his love life. “Great,” I said. “Next time you come over, don’t be so chatty, okay? I couldn’t hear myself think.” I grabbed my bag and headed out the door, leaving him standing there.
The county correctional facility that served the entire island was in Fisherman’s Cove, the smallest town on the island. It was on the other side of Turtle Point. This town was less of a tourist draw. There was no quaint downtown, just small, no-nonsense homes for the fishermen who still made their living out on the sea. Most people who came to visit never came out this way, if they even realized there was another town at all. However, there were great beaches and state parks out here. When I wanted to go to either in the height of summer, I usually went to Fisherman’s Cove to avoid the crowds.
However, it was a male prison, so Katrina couldn’t stay there. Instead she’d been relegated to the lockup at the Turtle Point PD, which really wasn’t a long-term solution. I wondered what they would’ve done had she not made bail. She probably would’ve been sent to a women’s facility on the mainland. Which also would’ve been unbearable for her.
When I pulled up at the police station, Katrina stood outside shivering in the freezing cold air. She had on a pair of sweats, her hiking boots, and a cargo jacket over a T-shirt. I realized it must’ve been what she was wearing when they’d picked her up the other night.
“Why are you standing outside?” I asked when I’d pulled the car over and she opened the door. “You’re going to freeze. How come they didn’t let you get warmer clothes?”
Katrina slid into the car and slouched down in the seat. “Just drive,” she said. “I want to get as far away from here as possible.”
I cranked up the heat and obliged. “Are you okay?” I asked when we were a safe distance from the jail. I knew it was kind of a stupid question, but I didn’t know what else to ask her. Why were you there that night? What were you doing at Virgil Proust’s house?
None of those would be good, so I went with the obvious.
She shot me a look and didn’t say anything.
“Okay. Well, I know that was a dumb question, but I had to ask. I bet you’re hungry. I’m taking you to my place. Ethan’s making veggie burgers. And I’m guessing fries, since you can’t have veggie burgers without fries.” I was kind of babbling.
But now she looked panicked. “I can’t visit anyone. I need to go home.”
“Katrina. You’re not visiting. We’re family. You’re coming for dinner. And staying with us is totally an option. It might be better than going home alone.”
“I need to see my babies,” she said. “They’ve been all alone.” Katrina’s two cats, Fred and Ethel, were her whole world. Somehow, despite what she did for a living, she’d managed to keep her permanent crew at two. Most rescuers had a houseful.
“Adele and I have been taking care of them. Did you really think we wouldn’t?” I asked. “They’re fine! They can’t wait to see you. And if you want, we can bring them to our house. There’s plenty of room. So think about it over dinner and then we’ll go pick them up.” I wasn’t leaving her any wiggle room. I didn’t want her to go home alone. Grandpa and I had already discussed it.
Plus, I wanted to know if she’d talk to us at all. About why she’d been there in the first place, and what had happened. And what the fight with Virgil that she’d forgotten to mention had been about. But mostly, I just wanted her with me where I could keep an eye on her.
“Who posted my bail?” Katrina asked suddenly.
My hands tightened on the steering wheel. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to tell her, but it probably wouldn’t be a secret for long anyway. “Leopard Man,” I said.
“Really?” She sniffled. “He’s such a good man. How can I ever repay him?”
“Show up at court,” I said. “So we can get this nonsense over with and get you cleared of this. Katrina. Seriously. What happened that night? Why were you at the Prousts’ house?” I couldn’t resist. It was one of my biggest problems—when there was an elephant in the room, I had to try to move it.
Silence. Then my phone began to ring.
Cursing it, I reached for it and answered.
“Are you on your way back?” Grandpa asked.
“Yes, we’re almost there,” I said.
“Good. Your sister got one of the guest rooms ready.”
“Awesome,” I said. “We’ll see you soon.” I hung up and turned back to her. “So? You were about to say something.”
She hadn’t been, but I really needed her to.
“Maddie. I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she said.
“But you were there,” I pressed. “You told Grandpa and the lawyer that you were there. Why would you go over there? You said you were staying out of the neighborhood for a while.”
I could feel her glare even without turning to look at her. “This is what you used to do when you were the pain in the butt kid I had to babysit,” she said.
I half smiled. “Leopards never change their spots. So?”
“I needed to check on one of the cats,” she said. “I heard it was hurt.”
I frowned. “Which cat?” I hadn’t seen or heard about one of the ferals needing medical attention. Not to mention, the cat probably wasn’t at Virgil Proust’s house.
She waved me off. “Doesn’t matter. I couldn’t find him.”
“So you weren’t technically at Virgil’s house, then. You were just in the neighborhood. Is that what you meant?”
“Yes. Of course that’s what I meant.” She didn’t look at me. “The lawyer probably misunderstood.”
Something about her story was off to me, but she clearly wasn’t saying anything else. I kept my mouth shut for the rest of the drive until we pulled into the driveway. “Did you actually see Virgil? Before…” I couldn’t finish the sentence.
Katrina stared out her window so I couldn’t see her face when she responded, but her voice was flat. Like scary flat. “Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, I did.”
Grandpa materialized next to the car, opening Katrina’s door for her and offering a hand to help her out. “Hey there, beautiful,” he said, wrapping her in a hug. “Hey, Leo,” she said, her voice muffled against his shoulder.
With a sigh, I turned off the engine and got out. I really wanted the full story about that night, but it was like pulling teeth.
And I wasn’t sure why.