Read Online Copycat Killing: A Magical Cats Mystery by Sofie Kelly - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sofie Kelly
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Maggie got to her feet and pulled out her keys. “I’ll take them,” she said as I opened the door. “You should sit down.”
“Ms. Paulson?” the officer asked. I saw a flash of recognition in his eyes.
I nodded. “The uh…body’s in the basement.”
Maggie gestured toward the storage room. “This way.”
Ric nodded hello, but didn’t say anything.
“Please wait here, Ms. Paulson,” Officer Keller said.The three of them followed Maggie through the empty store to the back of the building.
Movement out on the street caught my eye. Another vehicle had pulled in at the curb. I realized it was Marcus’s SUV just as he got out of the driver’s side.
I met him on the sidewalk, trying hard not to limp. “Hi,” I said. I was uncomfortably aware of the fact that this was the second body I’d found in as many days.
He gestured at the building. “Hi. What happened?”
“Maggie and I found one of the artists—Jaeger Merrill—in the…uh basement. It looks like he fell down the stairs and drowned.”
He exhaled slowly. “That’s two bodies in two days, Kathleen.”
I shifted uneasily—and painfully—from one foot to the other. “I know,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
“I wasn’t blaming you,” he said, quietly.
I cleared my throat. “I thought you’d still be out at Wisteria Hill.”
Marcus shook his head. “Dr. Abbott and her team are finishing setting up a grid to search the area where you found the remains. There isn’t anything I can do out there right now.” He gave me a quick, appraising once-over. “How are you?”
“Just a little stiff.”
His eyes narrowed as though he didn’t quite believe me but for once he didn’t challenge what I’d said.
“Marcus, do you think those bones actually could be Roma’s father’s?” I asked.
His mouth moved and he pulled a hand back over his hair before answering. “This stays between you and me,” he warned.
I nodded. I’d kind of expected to get his stay-out-of-my-casespeech. Maybe we were finally moving beyond that.
“Dr. Abbott doesn’t think it’s a smallpox burial site. She doesn’t believe the bones are that old.”
I rubbed my fingers over my bandaged thumb, picking at a loose edge of adhesive tape with one nail. “So it’s possible?”
He shrugged. “It’s just way too soon to tell.” He gestured toward the co-op building. “So why were you here?”
By now I was used to the way the conversation could abruptly change course with him. I looked back over my shoulder. “I brought the truck down to help Maggie take some things over to her studio at River Arts. She had some orders from the co-op Web site to pack.”
“Okay.”
“After we had the truck loaded, she wanted to check on the basement again. Larry Taylor may have a line on a pump, but there’s more rain in the forecast and there’s a lot of water down there already.”
“Who found the body?”
I stuffed my hand in my pocket before I could pick off the tape that was holding the gauze in place on my thumb. “We both did. When I realized Jaeger was dead, Maggie and I went out into the storeroom and I called 911.”
He nodded and looked around as though maybe there was something important here on the sidewalk. “The body was in the water?” he asked.
“Partly. His…feet were on the stairs. He…uh…was faceup, just the eyes and nose out of the water. There was water on the steps. They’re old—just painted wood—without any safety treads so they get slippery.”
He nodded again. Marcus never wrote anything down, that I’d ever seen, but he remembered everything. His blue eyes were focused on my face, but I could see that his mind was already working, shifting through my words. Just then Ric came out the door, stopping to pull off a pair of blue latex gloves. He looked at Marcus and gave a quick shake of his head.
“Do you want Maggie and me to stay around?” I asked.
Marcus patted his pocket. Looking for his phone, maybe? “No
Maggie got to her feet and pulled out her keys. “I’ll take them,” she said as I opened the door. “You should sit down.”
“Ms. Paulson?” the officer asked. I saw a flash of recognition in his eyes.
I nodded. “The uh…body’s in the basement.”
Maggie gestured toward the storage room. “This way.”
Ric nodded hello, but didn’t say anything.
“Please wait here, Ms. Paulson,” Officer Keller said.The three of them followed Maggie through the empty store to the back of the building.
Movement out on the street caught my eye. Another vehicle had pulled in at the curb. I realized it was Marcus’s SUV just as he got out of the driver’s side.
I met him on the sidewalk, trying hard not to limp. “Hi,” I said. I was uncomfortably aware of the fact that this was the second body I’d found in as many days.
He gestured at the building. “Hi. What happened?”
“Maggie and I found one of the artists—Jaeger Merrill—in the…uh basement. It looks like he fell down the stairs and drowned.”
He exhaled slowly. “That’s two bodies in two days, Kathleen.”
I shifted uneasily—and painfully—from one foot to the other. “I know,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
“I wasn’t blaming you,” he said, quietly.
I cleared my throat. “I thought you’d still be out at Wisteria Hill.”
Marcus shook his head. “Dr. Abbott and her team are finishing setting up a grid to search the area where you found the remains. There isn’t anything I can do out there right now.” He gave me a quick, appraising once-over. “How are you?”
“Just a little stiff.”
His eyes narrowed as though he didn’t quite believe me but for once he didn’t challenge what I’d said.
“Marcus, do you think those bones actually could be Roma’s father’s?” I asked.
His mouth moved and he pulled a hand back over his hair before answering. “This stays between you and me,” he warned.
I nodded. I’d kind of expected to get his stay-out-of-my-casespeech. Maybe we were finally moving beyond that.
“Dr. Abbott doesn’t think it’s a smallpox burial site. She doesn’t believe the bones are that old.”
I rubbed my fingers over my bandaged thumb, picking at a loose edge of adhesive tape with one nail. “So it’s possible?”
He shrugged. “It’s just way too soon to tell.” He gestured toward the co-op building. “So why were you here?”
By now I was used to the way the conversation could abruptly change course with him. I looked back over my shoulder. “I brought the truck down to help Maggie take some things over to her studio at River Arts. She had some orders from the co-op Web site to pack.”
“Okay.”
“After we had the truck loaded, she wanted to check on the basement again. Larry Taylor may have a line on a pump, but there’s more rain in the forecast and there’s a lot of water down there already.”
“Who found the body?”
I stuffed my hand in my pocket before I could pick off the tape that was holding the gauze in place on my thumb. “We both did. When I realized Jaeger was dead, Maggie and I went out into the storeroom and I called 911.”
He nodded and looked around as though maybe there was something important here on the sidewalk. “The body was in the water?” he asked.
“Partly. His…feet were on the stairs. He…uh…was faceup, just the eyes and nose out of the water. There was water on the steps. They’re old—just painted wood—without any safety treads so they get slippery.”
He nodded again. Marcus never wrote anything down, that I’d ever seen, but he remembered everything. His blue eyes were focused on my face, but I could see that his mind was already working, shifting through my words. Just then Ric came out the door, stopping to pull off a pair of blue latex gloves. He looked at Marcus and gave a quick shake of his head.
“Do you want Maggie and me to stay around?” I asked.
Marcus patted his pocket. Looking for his phone, maybe? “No
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