Read Online Cat-Eye Witness (A Klepto Cat Mystery) by Patricia Fry - Free Book Online Page A

we’re getting rid of that catalog right this minute,” Iris insisted. With a dramatic flair, she picked it up and let it dangle between her forefinger and thumb as if it were contaminated. Her face lit up. “Hey, we can have a ritual and burn and bury it.”
    Savannah remembered laughing at Iris and saying rather sheepishly, “I guess I really am being silly.”
    “No, no, you’re not being silly, Savannah,” Iris said tenderly. “What you’re experiencing is very real. And let me tell you, there are tricks you can use that will truly help.” She looked over at Savannah and said matter-of-factly, “I killed one of my ex-husbands once.”
    “What?” Savannah stared wide-eyed, mouth open.
    “Oh not really.” Iris laughed. “I just pretended that I did through a ritual. I made a crude doll that represented him. Then I stabbed him with pins and scissors, set him on fire and buried him in the backyard.”
    “You really did that?” Savannah asked.
    “Yes, and it worked, too.”
    “Oh my gosh, he died?”
    Iris chuckled. “No. But I stopped dwelling so much on the negative aspects of our relationship and breakup. I put my hatred of him to rest—at least to a point.” She leaned forward toward Savannah. “Our minds are strange. Either it takes over or we take it over. Now you decide. Do you want your mind to be in charge—to react to everyday things like that picture in this catalog and make you feel awful, or do you want to rid your mind of the negative hold this creep has on you?”
    Savannah recalls nodding. “Sure, I’d like to overcome the fears, anger and all that negative stuff.”
    “Well, let’s burn and bury those fears and that anger, then.”
    Savannah smiled a little upon remembering the look on Michael’s face when he saw the two women heading out the back door with a catalog, matches and a kitty-litter scoop (their makeshift garden spade). He told her later that he considered asking what they were up to. But, when he saw how intense they were as they chatted on their way out, he just smiled without interfering. He told Savannah that he was pleased to see she was making friends of her own.
    Once the office decorating was completed, Savannah found herself stopping by Iris’s home occasionally. Iris sometimes called her just to chat. In fact, it was Savannah who invited Iris to join the Cat Alliance group her aunt and Max ran.
    Iris had expressed an interest in getting involved in something outside her small world. She said that was part of her healing—to devote some of her energy to helping others—to do good for someone else. In this case, animals.
    ***
    After a minute or two, Iris returned to the booth. She set a glass of iced tea on the table in front of the detective and dropped a plastic bag with her hair sample next to it. She started to walk away, when she changed her mind. She moved in closer to where Sledge sat and quietly asked, her voice shaking, “Can I ask what this is for? Am I some sort of suspect?”
    “Uh, as I said, Ms. Clampton, strictly protocol. Thank you.” As if dismissing her, he reached for his tea, removed the straw and took a large swig.
    Savannah’s eyes narrowed. Well, that was rather rude, she thought. She felt Iris’s pain as she watched her disappear through the kitchen door.
    Soon, the detective swallowed down the last of his tea, stood and pulled three dollars out of his jeans pocket, tossing the bills on the table. “I’ll leave you to your lunch,” he said with a slight bow. “Ms. Jordan, I’ll be in touch.” He placed a business card on the table in front of her. “Please call if you notice anything else that might be of importance to us, would you?”
    Still feeling a bit dazed, she simply nodded.
    Once the detective left, Michael centered himself on the booth seat and focused on Savannah. “What are you thinking about, hon? You’ve been awfully quiet.”
    “Just worried about Iris,” she said. “She seems so stressed. When you were