A few minutes earlier, I might have scolded Nina for snooping, but now I feared something was amiss.
Eunice patted my shoulder. “You better check on Abby. If she’s home, tell her that I have Oscar.”
I nodded and joined Nina, who had opened the gate to a small alley between Abby’s and Eunice’s houses.
Daisy sniffed the air and pulled on her leash, something she rarely did. She all but propelled me through the passage along the side of the house. A light shone through a window far in the back.
Nina flicked on the flashlight in her phone so we could see our way to the rear of the house. The small, fenced backyard was quiet and calm.
“Abby?” I called.
No one answered.
Daisy pulled me toward the sliding glass door. I flicked on the light in my phone and shone it on the back of the house.
Nina and I approached the door slowly, calling Abby’s name.
Still, no one responded.
Between our phone lights and the dim light inside, we were able to see a tidy living room. A cat carrier sat in the middle of the floor.
Nina shrieked.
Chapter 6
Dear Natasha,
You were so right about gray being the trending color. I’m painting my living room and I’d love to know what color you see trending next.
Pinkie in Blue Ash, Ohio
Dear Pinkie,
You are wise to think ahead so your living room won’t be outdated. I’m predicting a return to bold 1960s orange, which will coordinate beautifully with all our grays.
Natasha
“What? Do you see Abby?”
“Turn around.”
She had aimed her light toward bushes near the gate to the alley. A blue cat collar decorated with rhinestones hung on a branch of a holly tree. “There’s no way a cat could shed its collar that high off the ground.”
Cats were fairly crafty. I wouldn’t put it past one to have somehow managed to leave its collar hanging from a branch five feet in the air. On the other hand, maybe Nina had a point. Had Abby taken off her cat’s collar and flung it? If she doted on her cat like Eunice had said, then surely she wouldn’t have done that.
“Sophie,” said Nina softly. “The door is unlocked. . . .” She pulled the sliding glass door open about four inches.
I grabbed Nina’s arm. I was thoroughly confused about the right thing to do. Part of me wanted to yank the door open and go running through Abby’s house flicking on lights. But part of me knew that wasn’t right. If, heaven forbid, her house was a crime scene, we would be contaminating it. And worse, if Abby came home and found two strangers in her house, she would have every right to call the police and report us. For all we knew, Abby had been coming and going as usual.
“That cat collar hanging on the tree isn’t normal.”
“We can’t just go inside,” I protested.
“You have to be kidding me,” said Nina. “What if she’s upstairs dying in a closet?”
“Honestly, Nina, I think we’d better not go in.”
“I hope using the light on my phone hasn’t drained the battery.” Nina turned off the light and dialed 911.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m calling for a wellness check,” said Nina.
“Eunice already did that.”
“Hmm.” She gave me a wicked look. “What if it were you? What if Mochie were wandering around the neighborhood without his collar and I didn’t see you for a week? What if you didn’t show up for one of your events? Wouldn’t you want someone check on you?”
“I would. I would most certainly want that.”
“Why is that cat collar in the tree? It won’t hurt to do a second wellness check.”
While we waited, I filled Nina in on what Eunice had said.
Wong arrived in ten minutes. She was African American but continued to use the surname of her ex-husband, a marriage that she claimed had been a huge mistake. Wong loved to eat, and her uniform strained against the buttons. I was delighted to see her because she was smart. She was brilliantly logical, and she didn’t put up with nonsense from anyone.
Nina explained the situation to her, ending with, “And Sophie won’t let me go in to look around.”
“You should listen to Sophie,” grumbled Wong. “Did you touch the door handle?”
“Yes. There isn’t another way to open the door.”
“When’s the last time you heard from her?” asked Wong.
Nina sighed so loud that Wong flicked her flashlight in Nina’s direction.
“We don’t actually know her.” Nina launched into an explanation of the ghostwriting situation.
“Her neighbor Eunice hasn’t seen Abby recently, and Abby’s indoor cat showed up at Eunice’s house,” I added.
“I’ll go inside and check on her. You two stay out here, but don’t touch anything. Did you hear me, Nina?”
I tried to hide my smile. Wong knew Nina would be nosy.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I thought we could go inside with you.” said Nina.
“Sometimes you can for a welfare check. Usually it’s family members who are worried, and they would know if something was out of place or unusual for the person. Most of the time the person is fine, but once in a while we find that someone fell down stairs and broke a leg or something. But I have to clear the house first. It’s my job to make sure no one is hiding and that it’s not a crime scene. You two stay out here.”
Wong knocked and shouted, “Ms. Bergeron? Police, Ms. Bergeron!” She slid on a glove, opened the door, and slowly walked into Abby’s house while Nina and I waited on the back patio. Wong continued to call out Abby’s name.
Nina started to talk, but I shushed her. “Listen! If she’s weak or tied up she might not be able to scream.”
I didn’t hear a thing. So much for that theory.
We watched Wong’s flashlight as she walked through the first floor. There must not have been any sign of Abby in the kitchen or dining room.
Nina sidled through the open door and into the living room. She flashed around the light on her phone.
“Nina!” I hissed. “Get back here.”
“Sophie, the cat bowls are gone,” she pointed out.
I squinted. “The cat carrier is sitting out in the living room. Maybe she was planning to take him someplace.”
Wong returned in short order. “Everything was neat as a pin. The beds were made, and there weren’t any clothes lying around. The shower is dry as a bone. Ladies, I believe Abby Bergeron has left town.”
“And let her cat run outside?” I asked.
“Maybe he escaped, and she had to catch a flight,” said Wong. “I’ve seen people leave their pets at home without food or water. It happens.”
Nina gasped.
I was horrified by the thought. But I didn’t think that was the case here. If that had been Abby’s plan, the cat carrier wouldn’t have been in the middle of her living room. And the cat’s collar wouldn’t be hanging in a bush.
“So can we come in now?” asked Nina.
“You don’t even know her. You wouldn’t know what was out of place. I don’t see the point. Besides, I still have to clear the basement.”