The Counterfeiter-Catching Cat: A Beatrice Young Cozy Cat Mystery (Beatrice Young Cozy Cat Mysteries Book 1) (8 page)

A faint flush colored the tops of Hannah’s cheeks, telling Beatrice that not even this straight-laced lawyer was blind to his rough charms.

“And do you know if they still spent time together? After high school, I mean.”

Hannah sighed. Lucky jumped off her lap and she brushed off her skirt. “I wasn’t exactly close with their group, so I can’t tell you for sure. I’ve seen Amy driving in the direction of Cameron’s bar on more than a few occasions. I’ve
also
heard that Jordan was controlling. Who knows if Amy got tired of him and turned to Cameron instead? But that’s all speculation. I can’t really tell you anything else concrete.”

Beatrice shook her hand and stood up. “That’s plenty for now. Thanks so much for your help.”

Hannah smiled grimly. “It’s a shame what happened to Jordan. Anything I can do, let me know.”

Beatrice thanked her, made sure that her coffee was paid for and lunch was on its way. Then she headed straight to the sheriff’s office with Lucky, Hamish, and a paper bag full of lunch in tow.

13

Sheriff Jacob Roy was pecking cautiously on an ancient computer when Beatrice arrived. He had never learned to touch type and he squinted as he worked, as if he was suspicious of the entire process.

Roy sighed heavily when he saw Beatrice enter but his eyes lit up when he spotted the brown paper bag in her hand. Beatrice knew that the sheriff always forgot to eat lunch and that he had a soft spot for their baked mac n’cheese. She put the offering in front of him and he immediately unpacked the main meal, as well as a side salad, a coffee, and a dark chocolate and cherry cookie.

The sheriff shook his head and picked up the fork, thoughtfully included with the lunch. “You sure know how to butter me up, Bee. I can’t resist this mac n’cheese. Some days I think that if you asked me to fire my deputy and hire you in his place I’d do it, just so I could get lunch every day.”

Beatrice laughed and settled into the chair opposite him. “Then it’s a good thing I have a much less dramatic request.”

Roy forked in a big bite of cheesy pasta. “I knew you wanted something from me,” he said, after chewing and swallowing. “Well, out with it. I knew you weren’t here just to apologize for your cats attacking Amy White.”

“It was just Hamish and he didn’t
attack
her. I think he was trying to tell us something.”

The sheriff’s eyebrows raised slightly. “The cat is trying to
tell
us something?”

Beatrice ignored the sarcasm in his voice. “Listen, I know Amy’s fragile right now. I didn’t want to upset her. But I think she’s withholding information. You may remember that Lucky has a habit of, um, borrowing things that aren’t his.”

“You mean
stealing
.”

“If a cat can be charged with such a thing. Anyway, he picked up Amy’s cell before we left and I didn’t discover it until we got in the car. I, er, had a little look at the contents.” Beatrice nervously twisted one of her rings. “I thought it might be important.”

“Oh you did, did you?” The sheriff threw down his fork. “You didn’t think about returning it to Amy first?”

“It’s not a felony to read someone’s text messages,” Beatrice shot back. “Anyway, good thing I did. There are plenty of texts between her and Cameron. I spoke to Hannah and she confirms that the two of them have a history and that Jordan was jealous.”

She handed over the phone in its zip-lock plastic bag with a triumphant look. The sheriff frowned but took the bag, put on gloves, and scrolled through the texts. His eyebrows pinched together.

“Well, I see what you mean about them having a history. Amy told me that she and Cameron were just old work acquaintances. That they spoke sometimes but she didn’t know him that well.”

“I doubt that’s true,” Beatrice returned. “Hannah’s seen Amy driving in the direction of his bar many times. She’s sure because there’s little else up that road. We might be able to get security footage of her heading that way. But I think this is enough to go on for now.”

Roy peered up at her. “What exactly are you saying?”

“We have to follow her,” Beatrice said, leaning forward, her blue-gray eyes intense. “She must know her cell disappeared while she was in this office, and that we’re likely to have found it. She has to act to protect herself and fast. Something’s going to happen today and we have to be there to see it.”

The sheriff sagged back in his seat and looked at his mac n’cheese with a conflicted gaze. “You want me to tail Amy White? Why? I don’t think she killed Jordan, Bee. Maybe she had motive but she couldn’t have drowned him—she’s not his match, physically.”

Beatrice shrugged. “I don’t know who killed Jordan. But I do know that Amy is hiding something. We have to know what that is.”

The sheriff opened his mouth to reply but Beatrice didn’t give him the chance. “You know I’ll follow her anyway,” she said quickly. “I’ll convince Matthew to come with me.”

Roy stabbed the mac n’cheese and swallowed another mouthful. He chewed, his eyes faraway as he thought. “You’ve put me in quite the position, Bee.”

“Don’t you agree this is a lead?” Beatrice asked, eyes pleading. “Com’on. There’s nothing wrong with following her. Plus, there’s more lunch in it for you if you go with me. A lot more.”

Roy forked in another mouthful and looked at her evenly. “I agree with you Beatrice. Amy does appear to be hiding something. What I disagree with is you being involved. I also know that once you’ve set your mind to something there’s no holding you back. I’ll drive, okay?”

Beatrice settled back in her chair and folded her hands in her lap. “I’m glad we’re in agreement, Jacob. So how are we going to do this?”

14

Hamish and Lucky sat in the backseat of Sheriff Roy’s truck, ears perked. Hamish stared out the windshield, determination on his proud face, his beautiful tan and brown fur sticking straight out all over. Lucky sat beside him. He kept looking up at Beatrice with his big green eyes as if to ask:
isn’t this exciting?

They looked, in every aspect, like crime-fighting cats.

The sheriff’s truck was parked just down from Amy’s house, lights off, waiting. They knew she had returned from work and gone home. Now they were waiting for her to come out or do
something
, anything at all. There was little sign of life in the house or on the street as a whole other than the glow of televisions and the occasional car cruising down the street.

The stress of waiting was too much for Beatrice. She twisted her hands anxiously. The cats looked as confident as ever. The sheriff sat placidly with the patience of a saint. Matthew was in the passenger’s seat beside him, reading a paperback mystery. He had changed out of his ranger’s uniform into his blue jeans and collared shirt. Locks of gray hair fell across his tanned face. Even Beatrice had to admit that he had aged well. He turned around, one eyebrow cocked, as if acknowledging that she was looking at him.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” he said in his deep voice.

“I can’t believe you agreed to come.”

He shook his head. “And leave you alone on this crazy adventure?”

“She’s not exactly alone,” the sheriff said gruffly. “ I
am
a police officer, after all.” He cleared his throat. “And Bee’s onto something.”

Beatrice crossed her arms and beamed at Matthew in triumph. “See? I’m not just some batty old loon.”

He glared at her. “That’s
not
what I think…”

Both cats’ ears pricked up in unison, their eyes darting towards Amy’s house. Matthew and Beatrice followed their gaze. A dark figure walked quickly towards a parked car in the street, got in, and started the engine.

“It’s show time,” the sheriff said. He waited until Amy had driven off before he revved the engine and crept after her.

Beatrice put Lucky in his cat carrier and then sat straight up in her seat. Where was Amy going to lead them? She hoped, for Jordan’s sake, that some clue was about to be revealed.

It seemed, at first, like she was taking them to the middle of nowhere. Amy turned onto one side road and then another. It was a dark night with only a sliver of moon visible. The sheriff had his window rolled down and she could hear the rustling of autumn leaves in the trees as they readied to drop.

Amy’s little hatchback car was the sole source of light, faint against the immense darkness. Despite the fact that his headlights were switched off, Roy drove expertly on the twisting country roads. It made Beatrice wonder if he had a lot of experience in tailing people. Then again, he had been in the Ashbrook police force for over forty years. Even though it was a small town, she imagined that in that stretch of time he had seen just about everything.

“What is she doing driving out here?” asked Matthew in an undertone. He looked over at Beatrice, his forehead creasing.

Hamish looked up with a knowing look as if he understood exactly what was happening.

After a few minutes, they realized that Amy was driving towards a popular swimming hole. Since it was autumn no one went there anymore. There was a parking lot at the end of the road and a trail that led to the river.

The sheriff stopped some distance from the parking lot where Amy had pulled in. “Let’s walk from here,” he suggested quietly.

They piled out, being careful to close the doors quietly. Hamish and Lucky, newly freed from his carrier, jumped out and headed into the dark. Beatrice didn’t worry since she trusted them not to roam far. They had an unspoken agreement: the cats couldn’t go outside alone but, accompanied, they were allowed free range. Lucky had been a bit too free with this arrangement at the beginning and had wandered far out of sight but Hamish seemed to have brought him in line.

Sheriff Roy, Matthew, and Beatrice walked softly down the dirt road. Tall pines overhung the road, their dried needles scattered over the gravel below. Birds fluttered in the treetops but otherwise the only sound was of leaves rustling in the breeze. And the distant sound of a car door opening and slamming shut.

The three humans and two cats took a path that diverged from the road and ran alongside the parking lot.

Amy’s hatchback sat next to a pick-up truck. Its interior lights were still on and they revealed a person leaning against it: a tall, buff man in a plaid shirt was smoking a cigarette. The tip glowed red in the darkness.

Amy was dragging a suitcase out of the back of her car. Her skinny frame strained against the weight. The sheriff motioned for them to go closer. Beatrice took a pocket-sized digital recorder out of her pocket and switched it on. Cursing inwardly, she realized that they weren’t near enough to pick up voices, nor could she get much closer without being seen. Just her luck.

Then she felt the scratch of little claws on her jeans. She peered down to see Hamish urgently pawing at her, his intelligent eyes fixed on the recorder. Beatrice looked at the device and its little belt clip, then at Hamish’s sturdy leather collar, and in an instant she knew what to do.

“Genius, Hamish,” she said in a low voice.

She clipped the recorder onto Hamish’s collar and watched him run through the woods and skirt under the car so that he could be right by Amy and Cameron. Beatrice beamed like a proud parent at a school concert, trying to ignore the fact that Jacob and Matthew were staring at her like she had lost her mind.

15

Cameron stomped on his cigarette and helped Amy hoist the suitcase into the back of his pick-up. After tossing it in, he gathered her in his arms and kissed her passionately. She stood ramrod straight, not seeming to enjoy his embrace.

“Is that all of it?” he asked, his arms still around her.

“Yeah. I hid it as soon as I realized Jordan was missing. So you’ll get rid of everything?”

“I’ll burn it. Don’t you worry about anything. Amy, why’re you acting so weird? Look at me!” She tried to pull away from him but he held on. “I’m doing this for
you
. I’m putting myself in danger for
you
. Hell, I’ve even been spending fifty-dollar bills at the local stores, trying to get back those fake twenties in change. Hiding them so no one would get suspicious.”

“I didn’t know that,” Amy said in a small voice.

“Okay, well, all I’m saying is that I deserve for you to tell me what’s going on.”

She managed to pull away. “I dunno if you deserve it, Cam. Tell me now and be honest—did you do it?” she hissed.

“Do what?”

“Kill Jordan!”

He paused for at least five seconds.

“No!” Cameron finally burst out. “I thought … I thought maybe you did…”

“God no! Why would you even think that? Cameron, I swear, if you did anything to Jordan I’ll never forgive you.”

Cameron kicked the dirt under him. “I wanted to. Hell, I was so tired seeing him push you around. Force you to get involved in that stupid counterfeiting scheme. And not only that, but make you spend it and take on all the risk…”

“I know, okay?” Amy cut in, her voice high but firm. “You don’t need to tell me. I feel like the biggest fool there ever was. He was my first love, Cam. I
trusted
him. So it took me a long time to figure out that he was using me—by crashing at my house, printing his money there, then getting me involved. Jordan was selfish, always was, but I guess it took something extreme for me to see it.”

Cameron made a sound of disgust and turned from her. “I just don’t get why you went along with it for so long, spending all those fake twenties, and bringing
him
the change? You must have still loved him.”

Amy hugged herself. “Don’t say that,” she said in a small voice. “I dunno why I kept doing it. He was persuasive. And like I told you, we saw that program about printing money on TV. Jordan made it seem all badass and exciting. You got to understand, Cam, neither of us had more than a high school education. You think I’m ever going to get rich as a cashier?”

“You know I would pay you to tend bar. I’d give you a good wage, too. Teach you to help me manage the place.”