Feline Fatale Read online

  “That’s excellent news, Ruth. And, Teddy, with your background in public relations, I’m sure you can get her elected.” For the first time, Margaret acted semi-human and approached Ruth, giving her a small but stiff hug. “Together, we’ll fix what’s wrong with Brigadoon!”

  I half expected an invisible orchestra to start playing the music indicating the end of act one of whatever drama we were acting out. I glanced at James, who scowled his obvious anger.

  “There’s nothing wrong with Brigadoon,” he said coldly. “And I’m glad you’ve all given me this heads-up. I’ll fight the election of any resident who wants to ban pets. A lot of us love animals. That’s one reason many of us chose to buy units here. Nice to meet you, Kendra.” He stalked down the hall, pushing his shopping cart in front of him.

  Leaving me with the evil three.

  Well, hell. Hating me was their problem. I had a reason to be there, and I knew I didn’t look like a burglar. I’m in my mid-thirties, reasonably presentable, wearing casual clothes today, sure, but my shoulder-length brown hair was nice enough, and I always wore makeup to enhance the best features of my ordinary but relatively okay face. I was sure I didn’t scare them.

  Even so, I sighed, then said, “I’m sorry to hear there’s such a controversy here, but I’ve just come to take care of the animals I was assigned.” And if I could do anything to help their owners chuck these nasty characters and their hatred of pets out of there, I’d consider it. “Please excuse me.”

  As I started to turn toward one of the wreathed units—its number was on my list—a scream issued from behind me, causing me to cringe.

  It was Margaret. “There’s that damned cat again!” she shouted.

  I turned once more, and saw a streak of light yellow fur disappear down at the end of the hall. I guessed it was a small ginger cat—no, kitten, considering the size.

  I inhaled sharply. Wanda had warned me about a certain little kitty—an indoor, apartment sort not intended to roam outside at all, especially at Brigadoon, which had rules against such activities. Wanda had taken on its care this week. Which made me its weekend guardian.

  “That isn’t Lady Cuddles, is it?” I asked, glancing again at Margaret. Would someone who clearly hated animals as much as she did even know a cat’s name?

  When she glared at me and nodded angrily, I cried, “Oh, no!”

  Ignoring Margaret and her equally nasty neighbors, I hurried down the hallway in the direction the kitty had dashed.

  Chapter Two

  LADY CUDDLES WAS every bit as elusive as Wanda had warned. Fortunately, James Jerome assisted me after he saw the kitten run by him. We finally cornered her at the far end of some additional twists in the hall. She’d found a decorative ficus plant and leaped into its upper leaves. As I reached to remove her, she hissed and extended her claws. Her blue metal ID tag, a cute little kitten face attached to a white mesh collar, sparkled as she moved, reflecting the sunlight streaming in through the nearest window.

  “Hi, Lady Cuddles,” I said soothingly. “We don’t know each other, but I’m here to take you home.”

  “Here.” James took off his cotton shirt and handed it to me. “Wrap this around your hands when you reach for her. I have some guinea pig food in my pockets, but it’s all vegetarian, and I don’t think it’ll tempt a cat.”

  I noticed he didn’t offer to attempt to pluck Lady Cuddles off the plant. But the kitten was my responsibility, so I couldn’t complain. I did use his shirt as protection, though, as I reached out and retrieved the clearly unhappy little feline from her precarious perch. I expected she’d try harder to claw me in an attempt to get away. Instead, she became absolutely docile in my hands.

  “Good girl,” I praised, as I hugged her against my chest—clad in a sweatshirt on this Saturday in January, rather than one of the nicer garments I wore on days I both pet-sat and practiced law. I’d be heading to my law office later, but no client meetings were scheduled, so dressing down was de rigueur.

  “Mrrrow,” responded Lady Cuddles, rubbing her small, fuzzy face against me, her eyes closed in what appeared to be ecstasy.

  She definitely lived up to the cuddly part of her name. I hugged her closer, won over by her sweet change of mood.

  I unwrapped James’s shirt from my hands and handed it back. “Thanks,” I said. “And thanks, also, for sticking up for pets’ rights against Margaret and friends. Do you really think they could outlaw residents’ keeping animals here?” That would be awful for Wanda, who had become chief petsitter at the complex since moving in a few months ago. Many condo owners were in the film industry—surprise! Burbank is an adjunct of the Hollywood area—and they often traveled for meetings and movie shoots. That kept my fellow PSCSC member nice and busy, along with clients she’d had before she moved there.

  “Not if I can help it,” James replied grimly. “A lot of us own pets and, far as I know, we all care for them responsibly. Not too much noise, or droppings not picked up, or anything like that. Margaret’ll face a lot of opposition if she tries to change anything. We’d all rather get rid of her than our beloved animals.”

  “But those other people—”

  “The Bertinettis?”

  I hadn’t heard their last name before. “Ruth and Teddy?”

  James nodded, then shrugged. His expression was mildly bemused. “I don’t know them well. They moved in about six months ago, and I don’t think they have any pets. But the idea of their moving here and wanting to make major changes like that …” He scowled. “They can go right back to wherever they came from, if that’s their attitude. And I’ll do all I can to keep any of them from any position of authority here.”

  Lady Cuddles wiggled in my arms. “I’d better get her back home,” I told James. “I’ll let Wanda know everything that went on here this afternoon. She’ll probably be in touch with you to help work out a plan to protect pet ownership. If you don’t hear from her first, please contact her.”

  “Thanks, Kendra. I’m glad to have met you.” He seemed to really see me for the first time. Did I detect a glimmer of interest? Probably, since his gaze headed toward my left hand, which clutched Lady Cuddles. I wore no ring.

  But my emotions were definitely involved with someone else. Someone really outstanding.

  I made sure my smile in return was remote. “I’ll be interested to hear, from Wanda, what happens around here.”

  AS I SUSPECTED, I had to guess at how Lady Cuddles wound up where she’d been. A window in her owners’ unit was raised so slightly that I couldn’t imagine one of James’s guinea pigs slipping through, let alone a kitten. Of course, a few guinea pigs grow big, so that might not be an appropriate analogy. In any event, Lady Cuddles must be basically boneless to have gotten through there. The window opened onto a balcony several feet from the balcony of the adjoining unit. The building’s outer wall was stucco, not entirely smooth but not easy to get kitty claws into for edging along it. Had Lady Cuddles leaped?

  I might never know, but I did see a window open next door. Still, how would she have gotten out of that unit and into the hall?

  I asked her, before all this surmising made my brain ache. She looked at me with her baby blue eyes, her pointed little ears at attention and her small white whiskers twitching. She was so adorable that I had to hug her again.

  I have to admit I’m more of a dog person than a cat lover. My own furkid is a tricolor Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Lexie. The felines I’ve pet-sat for have been varied in looks and temperament, and tend to be more standoffish than cuddly.

  But I really liked Lady Cuddles. Which made me worry about her all the more as I attempted to lock all windows, check every vent, and close off all other potential avenues of escape. Sure, I worried about my liability in the event one of my charges got loose and disappeared, or worse. But I had my clients sign contracts. I wasn’t sure Wanda did the same. My insurance should cover both me and my company, Critter TLC, LLC, in the awful event of Lady Cuddles having an
exit strategy I couldn’t conceive of.

  But it was concern, not only potential costs, that made me double-and triple-check on Lady Cuddles between visits to the rest of the additional Brigadoon units where I tended to other pets on Wanda’s behalf.

  I didn’t need to stop in at Wanda’s apartment, though, to care for her pup, Basil, a Cavalier like my Lexie, but of the Blenheim—auburn and white—coloration. Basil was beloved enough to be invited along on the humans’ weekend outing.

  I returned to Lady Cuddles’s abode a final time before I left the Brigadoon complex altogether that day. She was still there, thank heavens. And I was doubly blessed by not running into Margaret Shiler or the Bertinettis again before my departure.

  In my car, a blue Ford Escape hybrid, I used my hands-free device to call Wanda as I drove away. I hoped I’d just get her voice mail. I wasn’t one for wanting to interrupt a romantic tryst, especially since the male involved was an even dearer friend of mine than the female one.

  But Wanda picked up on the second ring. “Hi, Kendra. Everything okay?”

  I filled her in on the best parts of my visit to Brigadoon first: how the pets were getting along without her—basically fine.

  Then I told her about my run-in with Margaret and her pet-despising buddies. I finished with my concerns about Lady Cuddles. “I did my darnedest to find and close off other possible ways for her to get out, but if you have any suggestions, just let me know and I’ll go back.”

  “Oh, Kendra, I’m so sorry you had to deal with all that.” I heard a male mumble somewhere in the background. “Darryl says hi, and thanks, and it’s time to hang up.” Wanda laughed, then grew serious again. “I don’t know what else to tell you about Lady Cuddles’s escape routes. And I really, really appreciate this, Kendra. Please do feel free to call if there’s anything else I should know.” Another mutter from Darryl, and she finished, “As long as it’s really important.”

  “Tell Darryl he owes me, too,” I said with a laugh of my own. “Give him a hug for me, and Basil, too.” I ended the call.

  I went next to visit a longtime client, Stromboli, who also lived in Burbank. Stromboli was a good-natured shepherd mix, and I always enjoyed sitting for him. I especially liked the fact that he was the next-door neighbor of my good friend Maribelle Openheim and her energetic terrier mix, Meph—short for Mephistopheles. Maribelle and I had become buddies after I’d chided her about leaving Meph neglected in his yard while I watched Stromboli. She’d been going through a difficult time in her life, but she’d pulled through fine and now treated Meph like the pampered family member he should be.

  Maribelle wasn’t home this afternoon, though, so I spent a significant amount of time playing with Stromboli after feeding him.

  I decided to head next to North Hollywood, not far from Burbank. There, I stopped at a modest house and used a key to get in. I went immediately to the living room and looked into the huge double-sided aquarium that occupied its center.

  “Hi, Py,” I crooned to the beautiful ball python that resided inside. Pythagoras was a stunning glossy blue, patterned all over with beautiful magenta swirls. He’d gotten a little larger than when I’d first met him some time ago, but he remained utterly tame.

  At least I thought so. I didn’t take him from his tank much now when his owner, Milt Abadim, wasn’t around—although when I’d first cared for him, I had carried him around with me now and then.

  Today, I did the standard cleanup and care that Milt liked me to do. Unfortunately, that involved feeding Py a mouse. Fortunately, Py was used to eating frozen rodents that Milt bought in bulk. I defrosted one first, then made certain that the microwaved mouse wasn’t too hot for Py to handle.

  I placed it in his habitat, watched Py happily slither toward it, then turned away. I didn’t enjoy watching. But a while later, when I turned back, there was a bulge in Py that hadn’t been there before.

  “See you tomorrow,” I told him, then left.

  More stops, to see pups who required two visits a day, including a couple at Brigadoon, plus a last check to ensure that Lady Cuddles was where she belonged.

  Finally, my petsitting ended. Time to go pick up my own adored pup, Lexie, who’d been pampered for the day at Darryl’s place, Doggy Indulgence Day Resort.

  I LOVE DOGGY Indulgence. It’s even open on weekends, mostly to accommodate customers who work in the entertainment industry, so I’d happily brought Lexie there on this Saturday while I was tending to other pets at their homes.

  Even more important, Lexie likes it, too. She plays with other pups there when she wants to, sleeps in the area filled with people furniture when she doesn’t.

  She always dashes over, from wherever she is, to greet me.

  That day, I walked into the facility filled with pups, interspersed with staff members. I headed for the desk at the front of the mostly open main room, but didn’t see Lexie at first.

  I didn’t see her at second, either.

  Puzzled, I approached the nearest staff member. Unfortunately, it was Kiki, the employee I liked least. The blue-eyed bombshell was a wannabe actress—who in L.A. isn’t? The good thing about her was that she was great with dogs, gushing over them as if she adored them all.

  The bad thing about her was that she was awful with people.

  “Hi,” I said, pasting on a perky smile. “Where’s Lexie?”

  She shrugged skinny shoulders beneath her lacy shirt. “Oh, I’m sure she’s around somewhere.” Her glance over my shoulder suggested she really didn’t give a damn. Had she stopped caring for her canine charges? If so, why was she still employed?

  “Yes, but where?” I asked slowly, as if talking to someone who didn’t understand the language.

  “Ask Darryl. Or his dear Wanda. Your friend, isn’t she?” Kiki started to walk away. “It was so nice of you to introduce them.”

  “They’re not here,” I reminded her through gritted teeth.

  “What a surprise,” she tossed back. “That means we can’t talk to either of them.”

  Every muscle within me tensed up. Oh, how I wished Darryl was there!

  Of course, if he was there, Kiki wouldn’t dare be this offensive to a client.

  I blocked her path. “Let’s find Lexie, right now,” I said as calmly as I could. Inside, I was really worried. It wasn’t like Lexie to ignore me this way.

  “Oops,” Kiki said, “I think I’m needed in the kitchen.” She slithered away from me even slicker than Py did, and headed for that part of Doggy Indulgence.

  What was that all about?

  Speculation about Kiki’s feelings for Darryl suddenly shot through me. Did she have a crush on him? Was his tryst with another woman—whom he had met thanks to me—making Kiki even crazier than usual?

  But she hadn’t seemed that attached to him before. She’d even teased me about the ID of Darryl’s new main squeeze when he’d first taken up with Wanda.

  Who knew what stick had slid up Kiki’s spine now?

  And most important, where was Lexie?

  I hurried to one of the other attendants, an older lady named Lila who wore a Doggy Indulgence green knit shirt like the one Darryl usually wore. Her ample curves made it look substantially different from the way it looked on Darryl’s skinny bod. I asked, “Have you seen—?”

  “Lexie? Sure, Kendra. She was in the kitchen last time I saw her. And … well, I heard that scene with Kiki. She’s … well, it’s not my business, but I think she needs a talking-to by Darryl when he gets back. She’s been acting really weird, like her hormones are out of kilter or whatever.”

  “Whatever.” I hurried to the kitchen, but it was empty of anyone—dog or person—other than Kiki, who stood staring out the window over the sink. She seemed aware of me when I walked in, and glanced up, giving me a nasty, yet somehow smug, glare.

  Did she know where Lexie was?

  Had she harmed her?

  My panic increased. “Where’s Lexie?” I demanded again.

  “L
ike I said, she’s around somewhere,” Kiki said. “Maybe she interfered with some other dog and got snapped at.” She smiled remotely, barely budging the smoothness of her overly made-up face.

  I felt certain that cryptic remark was intended to tell me something, but I had no time to figure out what it meant. I hurried back to the main room. “Lexie!” I shouted.

  A few of the other dogs—a Yorkie, a Lab mix, and a pit bull—dashed over as if to let me know of something amiss.

  “Where is she?” I asked them.

  But none of them answered.

  Neither did any of the human attendants.

  “Lexie!” I wailed. “Where are you?”

  Chapter Three

  TO MY RELIEF, I heard an answering bark. But from where? I stared all around the pine-patterned linoleum floor from one large playroom zone to the next. No Lexie. I inhaled deeply, as if I could scent her over the usual disinfectant smell. But as much as I adore dogs, I don’t share their acuity of senses.

  I called her again, listening carefully for her location.

  Sure enough, the smart pup barked back once more. From the direction of Darryl’s office? That seemed odd. I knew he kept it locked when he wasn’t around.

  But there were multiple reasons why it might not be locked. He’d forgotten. He’d given someone a key. He’d hidden a key that someone had found.

  Or someone with no right to be there had broken in.

  At least I no longer felt like following my first instinct, which had ordered me to call the guy most important in my life at the moment—Dante DeFrancisco. The megamillionaire was powerful as well as sexy, but there wasn’t a damned thing he could have done to fix this for me, even if I’d wanted him to.

  Except be there for me … Only, he was out of town.

  “Over there!” Lila pointed unnecessarily in the direction I was heading. I seemed to have turned into the Pied Piper, in fact, since canines and staff members all were following me.

  I got to the door of the office that jutted into one side of the playroom and tried it. The knob turned. And as I pushed the door open, Lexie leaped out. She danced on her hind legs as we were finally reunited. I knelt to throw my arms around her and let her lick my face. Other doggies joined us on the floor, and I petted as many as possible, then laughingly stood up.