In the pharmacy, I grabbed some toothpaste, a bottle of lavender-scented hand cream, and a couple of tubes of lip balm. There was an older couple standing at the end of what they call the “family planning” aisle, and they were staring at the vast collection of condoms in every shape, size, and color of the rainbow with bewildered looks on their faces. As I rolled up to them, the woman stepped to the side.
She said, “Harry, move over.”
The man jumped a little when he saw me and then shuffled over next to her.
I said, “Pardon me, just rolling through.”
They both smiled pleasantly as I went by, and just as I turned the corner I reached out and grabbed a little purple and white box with bold black lettering. It read EARLY PREGNANCY TEST. As if it was the most normal thing in the world to buy, I tossed it into the basket with a flick of the wrist and headed for the registers.
* * *
On my way home, I pulled into the pavilion at Siesta Key Beach and walked across the gravelly parking lot to one of the weathered plank boardwalks that hover over the dunes. As usual, next to the steps at the end of the walkway were about two dozen pairs of sneakers, flip-flops, and sandals that people had slipped off before they went down to the beach. It’s kind of a tradition.
Whenever anyone asks me why I live here, I talk about the beautiful weather, all the birds, the pure white sand, the wonderful people. In my head, though, I think of all these shoes lined up in rows in the dunes, some of the shoes sitting next to the shoes of their friends and family—whoever they came to the beach with—and some of them just sitting next to perfect strangers’ shoes, just hanging out. People have been leaving their shoes like this for as long as I can remember. I always think, I live here because nobody wants to steal your shoes. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.
There was a group of people playing an impromptu game of beach volleyball. I kicked off my Keds and placed them in the sand next to all the other shoes and walked down to the water to watch for a while. A flock of sandpipers was zipping up and down with the waves, picking through the foamy sand for fish eggs and bits of seaweed. I sat down and tilted my face toward the warm sun.
I thought to myself, This is what it’s all about, just to be able to breathe in the fresh ocean air and dig my toes in the cool sand. All we have in this world is time, and we should be grateful for every single bit of it.
Life is good.
ALSO BY BLAIZE CLEMENT
The Cat Sitter’s Pajamas
Cat Sitter Among the Pigeons
Raining Cat Sitters and Dogs
Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof
Even Cat Sitters Get the Blues
Duplicity Dogged the Dachshund
Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter
About the Authors
JOHN CLEMENT is the son of BLAIZE CLEMENT (1932–2011), who originated the Dixie Hemingway mystery series and collaborated with her son on the plots and characters for forthcoming novels. Blaize is the author of Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter, Duplicity Dogged the Dachshund, Even Cat Sitters Get the Blues, Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof, Raining Cat Sitters and Dogs, Cat Sitter Among the Pigeons, and The Cat Sitter’s Pajamas. Visit their Web site at www.DixieHemingway.com.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE CAT SITTER’S CRADLE. Copyright © 2013 by Blaize and John Clement. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.thomasdunnebooks.com
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover illustration © Betty Krichman represented by Adrian Chesterman
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Clement, Blaize.
The cat sitter’s cradle: a Dixie Hemingway mystery / Blaize & John Clement. — First edition.
pages cm
“A Thomas Dunne book.”
ISBN 978-1-250-00932-6 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-03028-3 (e-book)
1. Hemingway, Dixie (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Women detectives—Florida—Fiction. 3. Ex-police officers—Fiction. 4. Missing persons—Fiction. 5. Murder—Investigation—Fiction. I. Clement, John. II. Title.
PS3603.L463C38 2013
813'.6—dc23
2013009818
e-ISBN 9781250030283
First Edition: July 2013