He didn’t look forward to what went with retirement, to getting old. As long as he could do the ranch work, was healthy and could do the things he liked, age didn’t matter, it was the going downhill that could scare a guy. He didn’t like to see it in the men he knew, and he wasn’t going to like it in himself.
He wished Charlie hadn’t had to go out. She’d hurried away frowning and so tense, jingling her car keys, her jacket over her shoulder. He hadn’t liked her urgent need to hurry down to the village for what he thought was no sensible reason. The phone call from her aunt still puzzled him.
Answering the phone, Charlie had moved away with it so as not to be talking in his ear. “They haven’t?” she said. “None of them? But they often…” A pause, then, “They are? They did?” She’d glanced across at him. “It’s possible. The way they…Yes, I have keys. I’ll go right down…”
Another pause. “Yes, please do. No. I’ll bet you’re in bed, reading. No, stay there, there’s no need. It’s cold out. Yes, that’ll be fine. Tell them I’ll see them there.”
Hanging up, she’d said only that Wilma thought her cat and maybe Clyde ’s and the Greenlaws’ cats were locked in one of the empty houses. She didn’t say how Wilma would know that, and it didn’t make sense to go racing down there. Those cats could be anywhere, they wandered all over the village, no one could keep track of them. And why did she have to race down there in the middle of the night? If a cat got shut in somewhere, it would be fine until morning.
She’d said vaguely that someone in the neighborhood had heard a cat crying in one of the empty houses, as if it was shut in. But that could be any cat, most of the families in that neighborhood had cats. Why the hell would it be Clyde ’s or Wilma’s cat?
Well, hell, he thought more reasonably, Charlie’s concern hadn’t been so much for the missing cats as for her aunt Wilma, who was inclined to worry over that tabby cat. It was nearly midnight. If Wilma was still awake, then most likely she was worrying. And when Wilma worried, Charlie worried. That, plus her concern for her clients’ empty houses, was hard on Charlie though she’d never admit it. He’d be glad when she sold her business, he hoped that would take the pressure off. There was always something, a broken waterline, the resultant damage to attend to, a leaky roof…Now that her books had found a growing market, Charlie’s Fix-it, Clean-it was becoming more headache than pleasure, its many disruptions offering more stress than she needed.
Well, he guessed he was being cranky for no reason, out of sorts because a couple of cats had dragged her away on the one evening in weeks that he’d been able to come home early. But he had to smile, too, at her going down there to roust out a couple of cats. He’d grown to like those cats, and he sure wished them no harm. He’d gotten used to having them around the station, particularly Joe Grey, taking over like he owned the place, bumming Mabel’s lunch, sleeping on his desk. If that cat wanted to nap on a court order, you had to remove him bodily-independent as hell, and mule stubborn.
Looking into the fire, watching the big dogs twitch in their sleep, he thought again about retirement, about being home with Charlie, riding together, cooking together, working on the place. And while Charlie was writing, maybe he’d take a stab at writing his own book. He’d thought about it some. Something related to law enforcement, maybe a few suggestions for civilians on how to keep themselves safe in an increasingly dangerous world.
Or maybe they’d buy a few more horses, get some classes going for the local kids, get them away from TV and video games and too much computer time-help them do things rather than sitting around letting the spectator media numb their minds. Get them outdoors and make them responsible for a horse, help them see how strong they could be and how satisfying it was to become proactive in shaping their own lives.
The ringing phone brought him back. Glancing at the caller ID, he picked up.
“We’ve had a break-in,” Charlie said. “I called the station, told Officer Baker I’d call you. Davis is on her way. You don’t need to come, I just wanted to-”
“I’m on my way,” Max said. “I don’t need to tell you-”
“Not to touch anything,” she said impatiently. “They didn’t ransack the house, but Theresa’s miniature paintings are missing, and I’m worried about the other houses, Frances Becker’s beautiful antiques and Rita Waterman’s jewelry.”
“You’re still in the Chapmans’? Get out, Charlie. Get out now. And stay out. Keep your phone on, don’t hang up.”
“I’m already out, I just-”
The phone went dead. Scowling, he rang the station, told the dispatcher to get two more cars over there. Quickly he turned off the fire and raced for the door, snatching up his jacket and hardware, was out the door and swinging into his pickup, heading down the hills.
28
ENTERING THE CHAPMAN house, Charlie had gone into the laundry room first to check on the mama cat. Before she’d switched on the light, a low hiss greeted her. She’d paused, then thrown the switch for the single light over the washer.
Mango stood just outside her blanket-lined box, boldly facing Charlie, her tail lashing, her ears flat, shielding her kittens with a growl so businesslike that Charlie hadn’t approached her.
“Someone was here,” she said softly. “Someone scared you, Mango.” Nothing but intrusion by a stranger would have frightened Mango so. She peered around Mango to see if the kittens were all right. They seemed to be, two of them nosing at their mother, the other two curled up, yawning.
The laundry window was closed, as it should be. The room was as she had last seen it, nothing seemed different. Mango continued to face her, too upset to settle in again with her kittens. Leaving her alone to calm down, Charlie moved into the kitchen, her hand concealing her pepper spray.
Nothing seemed disturbed there, the small electrical appliances and the kitchen TV were all in place. But as she’d entered the dining room, she’d stopped cold and backed against the wall, scanning the living room and the hall beyond, then looking around with dismay.
The walls were no longer bright with the jewel-like rows of miniature paintings that she’d so enjoyed. All three walls were bare except for rows of small picture hooks marching across like dark insects poised in some miniscule military maneuver.
Warily she’d moved on through the house knowing she should leave, should go back outside and call the department. Removing her shoes and switching on lights as she entered the silent rooms, she’d slowly scanned each area, walking in the center, away from the cupboards and cabinets that a thief would have examined and where he might have left minute debris from his shoes.
She’d found nothing else disturbed beyond the missing paintings. No closet door had been left open, no drawers with their contents spilling out. The sliding glass door with its pry marks was securely locked; she used a tissue around her fingers to make sure. At last, certain that no one was there, she’d called out to Joe Grey and Dulcie, at first using only, “Kitty, kitty,” in the silly, high voice that she sometimes used to tease Joe, and that he hated. She’d called Joe’s name, and Dulcie’s, but there was only silence.