Chapter 18

I rode home and, when I got there, updated Lei with the outcome of my talk with Rita. Lei notified the Humane Society about Rita's cats and told me they would send an animal control team with a portable chip reader out to Rita's house tomorrow, Christmas Eve. They would check for missing pets among the strays in the enclosure and make sure everything met all county requirements.

Still feeling bad that I hadn't found Lady Sapphire, I called Elvira Scarborough. I told her that I'd found a lot of cats, but not hers. With Aunt Fae's blessing, I invited her to join us for an evening of gingerbread decorating. "Wouldn't you like to get out of your house and do something festive?"

Mrs. Scarborough agreed to come and was due to arrive at the same time as Keone.

I took a shower, blow-dried my long hair, and swiped on mascara and lipstick. I dressed in black pants paired with my "ugly" Christmas sweater—a favorite Aunt Fae had produced from one of her many packages from Maine. The woven cotton number featured a grinning reindeer face with big antlers. HORNY was spelled out below the reindeer head. I grinned at the thought of Keone's expression when he saw it.

That cheered me up a bit, along with the homely scent of gingerbread wafting up the stairs from Aunt Fae"s kitchen. The comforting aroma provided contrast to the worry gnawing at my gut.

Where the heck were Lady and Tiki?

But I'd done all I could for the moment. The holiday was upon us, and it was time to be festive. I heard the doorbell chiming at the front door as I finished my grooming, and I flew down the stairs.

"I'll get it!" I hollered to Aunt Fae in the kitchen. I flung the door open with a wide smile and a welcoming gesture. "Happy holidays!"

Keone and Mrs. Scarborough stood on the top step. They had been conversing, and now they turned to me. Their jaws dropped simultaneously at the sight of my sweater.

Mrs. Scarborough colored up and covered her mouth with a hand, giggling. "My goodness, dear, that is . . ."

"The best ugly sweater I've ever seen," Keone finished. He stepped across the threshold to take me in his arms. "I love it."

He kissed me, and that went on for a bit which required Aunt Fae to usher Mrs. Scarborough in and offer her refreshments.

Now my client sat across from me at the dining room table, piping icing onto her gingerbread construction. Instrumental carols played in the background, drifting from the speaker I'd let Aunt Fae open early for the occasion.

"It's good to be here," Mrs. Scarborough said, a smile lifting her wan features. "Thank you for inviting me."

"Of course, Mrs. Scarborough. I'm just sorry we didn't find Lady for you."

"Please, call me Elvira. And I know you tried your best."

I shook my head in regret. "Elvira, I was so sure Lady would be in that cage I found. We so wanted to get her home for you before her kittens were due."

"Wherever Lady is, I just pray that she's being well-cared-for."

"And I hope the same thing for my missing cat, Tiki."

As I tried to concentrate on assembling my gingerbread house, Keone and Aunt Fae, in the kitchen, engaged in a playful competition of decorating sugar cookies for the roof. Their laughter echoed into the dining room along with the sound of the festive music.

"Kat," Elvira noted with a soft chuckle, "the roof of your gingerbread house is upside-down."

I glanced down at my gingerbread construction, realizing my error. "I guess I"m a bit distracted," I admitted, flipping the roof to the correct orientation.

Keone placed a warm hand on my shoulder. "Still concerned about Rita and those cats?" he asked.

"And where Tiki and Lady are," I said.

The sudden buzz of Keone"s cell phone interrupted our conversation. He glanced at the screen, his brows furrowing slightly. "It"s the Nakasone family landline," he said, and answered the call with a quizzical expression. "Hey there. What's up?"

The family must have his number from when he dated her Aunt Lani before I arrived in Ohia. My eyebrows rose as he addressed Sandy, who had made the call. What was a nine-year-old calling Keone for?

The serious expression on Keone"s face as he listened to her sent a wave of alarm through me.

"I'll be right there," he said, and ended the call. He glanced at Aunt Fae, Elvira, and me. "We have to go help the girls right now. It's an emergency."