“Over there,” Louis said, pointing.
Katy disappeared. Louis stayed crouched by the Grace, watching her closely. She was still out, but her lower abdomen was moving.
Suddenly, a second green blob appeared.
“Katy!”
“What?”
“There’s another one coming.”
“What? I only felt one!”
Louis could see the kitten’s head protruding now. But nothing else was happening.
“It’s stuck,” he yelled.
“You’ll have to pull it out.”
He yanked off his polo shirt and scooted closer to Grace. He wrapped the edge of the shirt over the kitten’s head and pulled downward gently but firmly.
Come on…
Slowly, the slimy little creature emerged. He grabbed the knife from the floor, carefully cut through the umbilical cord and tied it off.
Then he let out a breath, sat back on his haunches and looked down at the kitten cradled in his shirt. It was wiggling but its face was covered with tissue.
Gently, he rubbed the kitten’s nose and mouth like he had seen Katy do. At first the kitten didn’t respond then it opened its tiny mouth and let out a noise like a rusty hinge.
Yes. Breathe. That’s right. Breathe.
Another weak mew and the kitten settled in the folds of the shirt in Louis’s hands. He supposed he should set it down next to Grace but he wanted to hold it just a moment longer.
“Congratulations, dad.”
Louis looked up over his shoulder at Katy. Her face was slick with sweat and dirt. She looked exhausted but she was smiling.
“I’m glad you find this funny,” he said. He looked at the blood on her hands.
“Did the other one make it?” he asked.
She nodded.
Louis looked at Grace. The panther’s head was still down but her eyes were open now and her chest rose and fell in an even rhythm.
“Is Grace going to be okay?” Louis asked.
“Yes, she’ll be fine,” Katy said. She looked toward Keno, slumped near the door.
“What about Hachi?
“He’ll make it,” Louis said.
There was a sudden shuffling sound outside. Louis tensed and started to look for a spot to set his kitten down but then a bulky familiar frame filled the doorway.
Gary stood there, hands braced on the frame, wavering. His eyes went from Keno lying at his feet to Grace and finally back to Louis.
“What the fuck happened?” he asked.
Louis held up the kitten. “Congratulations,” he said. “You’re an uncle.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“What the fuck happened here?”
The man standing in front of Louis — Hendry County sheriff Amos Zeedler — was sweaty, sleepy and confused. It was dawn and he had just arrived at the shack in a muddy white SUV, trailed by two detectives in a county swamp buggy. One of the detectives stood in the open-air buggy holding his rifle and looking like an anxious Secret Service agent on a rooftop. The other was hovering around Gary’s SUV, making small talk.
The Hendry entourage had been led here by Gary who had reluctantly left late last night to summon help once it had been decided that four humans and a cage holding a panther would not fit in Gary’s truck. And Katy’s Jeep was too low on gas to travel far.
“I asked what the fuck happened?” Zeedler asked again, looking hard at Louis. “Who’s been kidnapped? Who’s been shot? Who shot him and who the hell are you?”
“Louis Kindcaid,” Louis said, producing the badge Mobley had given him. Zeedler’s dark eyes flicked to the badge and back to Louis’s face. He seemed surprised there was a cop on the scene.
Louis had asked Gary to tell the Hendry County sheriff that a Lee County officer was involved and that Mobley would need to be notified. Apparently Gary had forgotten that last part.
“You’re one of Mobley’s guys,” Zeedler muttered.
Louis ignored the slight. “Yes, sir. Could you tell me if you have notified Sheriff Mob — ”
Zeedler’s eyes shot up to Louis, squinting against the rising sun. “Who got shot here?”
“An Indian named Hachi Keno.”
“Is Keno alive?”
“Yes, sir. He’s tied up inside.”
“Was he armed?” Zeedler asked.
“Yes, he had — ”
“Fuck,” Zeedler muttered again, looking off toward the cypress trees. “An officer-involved shooting. Just what I need right now.”
“With all due respect, sir, I’m not your officer and most of the paperwork and investigation will fall to Lee County. Now, I would — ”
Zeedler looked back at him. “Who did this Keno guy kidnap?”
Louis held Zeedler’s little black eyes for a moment. Louis was sure the sheriff wouldn’t notify Mobley until he knew exactly what had happened and how it would play out in the media.
Damn Gary.
He had done a piss-poor job at explaining things to Zeedler. And Louis knew why. Gary had hoped to give them enough information to get Hendry County out here, and then he planned to turn into a ghost, just like he had after the episode with the Fort Lauderdale robbers. But that wasn’t going to happen this time. The Hendry County deputy had not left the side of Gary’s SUV.
“The victim, officer,” Zeedler repeated. “Who did Keno kidnap?”
“Her name is Katy Letka,” Louis said. “She’s an officer with the Florida Wildlife Commission.”
“And that man Gary Tootillo outside — how is he involved in all this?”
“Katy and I were working on a poaching case. When Katy disappeared yesterday morning, I suspected Hachi Keno had taken her and was keeping her at one of these old camps. Gary knew about the camps and we spent most yesterday searching. We found her and Keno last night.”
Zeedler blew out a breath and again wiped his brow. He was so sweaty his dark uniform looked as if were melting onto his body.
“Don’t fuck around with me, officer,” Zeedler said. “You’re a cop. Why not just arrest Keno last night and drive him and the victim back into town in Toot-whatever’s vehicle?”
Louis hadn’t been fucking with Zeedler but he would now.
“Because we couldn’t have brought Grace with us,” Louis said.
Zeedler yanked off his hat. “Who the fuck is Grace?”
“Follow me,” Louis said.
“Now wait a minute,” Zeedler said.
Louis walked toward the shack. “Follow me, sir.”
Zeedler hesitated then decided to follow Louis to the shack. When Louis pushed open the door and Zeedler stepped inside, his hand went immediately to cover his nose.
Louis had heard that sunshine was the best disinfectant but in this case, the light only elevated the place from disgusting to revolting. Feces. Bones. Maggots. Rust.
How Katy had stayed in here all night, Louis didn’t know. It had to be a powerful devotion to Grace and those kittens. Even now, she was still sitting on the floor near the cage. He could tell she was exhausted but her eyes were lit with exhilaration.
Keno was tied to a hook on the opposite side of the shack, awake but pale. Katy had taken off his shirt and cleaned his wound the best she could. Louis’s bullet had caught him in the fleshy part of his shoulder, exiting cleanly. But even a minor gun wound could easily become infected.
“Sheriff Zeedler,” Louis said. “That’s officer Katy Letka, on the floor.”
Katy raised a hand in a weary acknowledgement.
“That man is Hachi Keno,” Louis said, “and that’s Grace in the cage.”
Zeedler spun back to Louis. “Grace is a goddamn panther?” he asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“You son of a bitch,” Zeedler said. “You sneak into my jurisdiction, you solicit civilian help in a search for a kidnapper and then you shoot an Indian — all over a goddamn lost panther?”
“Poached panther,” Louis corrected. “Keno abducted Grace, which is what started all this.”
Zeedler just stood there, hand back at his mouth, his gaze circling the tiny shack. He was blanching a little and Louis hoped he would at least move outside if he puked up his coffee.