Chapter 15

Almost as if she read my mind, Rita darted a glance around and tugged The Cat Shelter founder by the arm. "Come over to a quiet corner and I'll tell you about it." She drew the retired vet off to the side and leaned in close.

I couldn't read her lips, a skill I had been working on in my Secret Service days but never perfected. "Gosh darn it," I muttered.

Clara waved a hand in front of my face to get my attention. "What's got you so interested?"

"Oh, sorry. I was distracted. Was lost in thought," I said quickly. "K K Investigations's first case isn't going so well."

"Oh?"

"We're looking for missing cats in this area, specifically a beautiful pedigreed Himalayan who's about to have kittens any day. Her owner is distraught at her loss."

I had been to visit Mrs. Scarborough just a few days ago to report on our lack of progress. I'd needed the packet of tissues I'd thought ahead to bring; the poor woman was a wreck, and her grief had made me miss Tiki even more.

"Yes, I've seen the flyers around town," Clara said. "K K Investigations? That's you? And who else?"

"The name stands for Kat and Keone," I said, feeling a blush prickle my cheeks. "K K. It was his idea, I swear."

"I am so happy that you two are moving forward as a couple."

"Well, he has many positive attributes," I said primly.

Clara laughed, her teeth gleaming white. "I'll bet."

The party continued, and though I tried to drift close enough to eavesdrop on Rita and Jill, I had no luck.

I eventually let it go, enjoying the carol singing, delicious food, and potent drinks.

I didn't have to spy on them, because I had made up my mind: I was going to check out Rita's house and see if I could find whatever mysterious project she was working on there.

* * *

Sunday morning I woke with a bit of a hangover from the Red Hat party, and judging from the groans coming from Auntie's room, she had one too. Tiki's absence was an ongoing wound as I patted the empty space beside me on the bed.

Hangover or not, I was determined to follow up with my idea about a surveillance visit to Rita's house. I grabbed my phone from the charger and texted Keone that I had a lead, and did he want to meet me in Hana town?

He replied that he was already gone for the day; he had to fill in for another pilot who was sick and fly a couple of runs into Kahului.

That left me with a wide-open day to work on the case, and post-party blues to shake off.

I threw the covers off and got up to chug water, take a few aspirin, and don my exercise clothes. I planned to go to Hana and find Rita's house, and along the way, I'd blow the hangover out of my system.

Aunt Fae and I both felt better after a second cup of coffee. I retrieved the e-bike from the garage as she put trash bags into the golf cart's rear area to make the rounds of the park, emptying the trashcans from yesterday into a big, locked bin. We worked off our rent at the former model home by providing caretaking services for the park, especially on the weekends when the regular county employees were off. I couldn't have kept up with all of it without Auntie's help.

"See you later for gingerbread house making," I told her. "We'll both be ready for more sugar by then."

"Hard to imagine after yesterday's party binge," Auntie said. "But I've got everything on hand, including candy and royal icing to plaster all over our house. Is Keone coming over?"

"Last I heard," I told her. "He's never made a real gingerbread house before. Said he wouldn't miss it. He has flights today, though, so it'll be after dinner."

"Perfect."

We each hopped onto our respective vehicles and went our separate ways.

I set the coordinates to Rita Farnsworth's address into my phone and pedaled along the road, glad it was early enough for the tourists not to be out yet. I whizzed along twice as fast as a normal bike would go, dodging the reaching branches of a red-blossomed hibiscus and a toad sitting on the road.

What would Rita's house be like?

And what was this secret project of hers?

Time was running out as Lady Sapphire's due date approached.

And what about Tiki? Where could she be?

I glided by Rita's cottage. Her place was on the edge of Hana town at the end of a long driveway. I scanned around, looking for cover and a way to sneak up, but from the general layout, that was going to be difficult.

The front yard was neatly mowed and the asphalt driveway leading to the house and garage was lined with red hibiscus bushes. Rita's bright yellow electric car was pulled into an open shelter beside the main dwelling, an A-frame style home that looked like it had been built in the 1970s. A tall hedge of the same hibiscus bushes that lined the drive surrounded the house's backyard, screening whatever was inside from view.

"Dang it."

I cruised by the property a second time.

The only opportunity to approach undetected had to be from behind the house and grounds. I could conceal the bike and approach from behind the backyard, which butted up against an open, fenced pastoral area.

A few blocks away, I found a grove of java plum trees and parked the bike among them. Once I shed the bright neon Ugliest Helmet and Vest, I was ready for action. I'd dressed for infiltration in a green tee and camouflage running tights with a pair of pull-on, waterproof ankle boots; those would come in handy if I encountered mud and rough terrain.

It still felt a little weird not to be carrying my weapon, but two days before Christmas, in a peaceful town like Hana, and on a mission like searching for a missing cat—well, wearing a gun seemed like overkill.

So to speak.

In lieu of my trusty Glock, I'd loaded my shoulder holster with a can of pepper spray.

After locking up the bike in the brush beneath the trees, I worked my way to the edge of the java plum grove and pushed down three rows of barbed wire atop the cattle fence with a heavy branch. I was tall enough, standing on a stump on one side, to hop over unscathed, landing gracelessly in the tussocky meadow.

I surveyed the pasture; fortunately it looked uninhabited. The grass was long and damp from winter rains. I waded through it, watching for the hibiscus hedge.

That barrier wasn't far. Fortunately, the back of the property hadn't been planted in the thick, impenetrable-looking hedge, but instead was the same fencing as I'd climbed over successfully. Rita probably valued her view out the rear of the property of the green-robed hills in the distance across the pasture.

I sneaked along the edge of the fence, glad of the rubber boots as I stepped squarely in a wet cow patty. "Ugh."

I couldn't worry about the manure clinging to my boot until the mission was accomplished; I was likely to encounter more before this adventure was over.

Finally at the hibiscus hedge, I peered around the tall green barrier with its bright red flowers. My eyes widened at the sight before me.

A massive cage, much like the one I'd seen at The Cat Shelter, filled most of the backyard. Inside, an umbrellalike rain central shelter made of clear ridged roofing covered an elaborate climbing and resting structure covered in indoor-outdoor carpeting.

Cats rested on every visible part of the structure: big ones, little ones. Long and shorthairs. Tabbies, calicos, tuxedos, whites, and seal points. Cats the color of fog and rain, earth, and sunsets. Everywhere the eye could see, cats and more cats.

My heart lifted with a great surge of relief.

This had to be where Lady Sapphire and Tiki were! Adrenaline pumped through me as I looked for a way over the fence.

And then I stopped, frozen in my size elevens, at what I saw next.