Photo credit: testspiel via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
This is the sixth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V before continuing.
Danielle came outside one morning to find a cat hiding underneath her car. She wouldn’t even have noticed if the newspaper hadn’t landed right next to her car, giving Danielle the opportunity to spot the feline as she bent down to pick up her paper. Wanting to make sure she didn’t turn the cat into roadkill when she started up her car, she decided to coax the kitty out from under her car. It wasn’t easy, but once the cat decided Danielle wasn’t going away so he might as well introduce himself, Danielle recognized the address on his tag: he belonged to Kiera.
Danielle decided this was as good an opportunity as any to introduce herself to the “crazy cat lady,” so she picked up her new friend and carried him across the street to Kiera’s house.
The woman who answered the door was not at all what Danielle had been led to believe by her neighbors. Not only was she nowhere near as hideous as Caleb was convinced she was, but she seemed perfectly friendly. She was short, pleasantly plump, wore wide, round glasses and a broad smile. “Oh, Baxter, did you make a new friend?”
“I found him under my car and wanted to make sure I didn’t run him over,” said Danielle.
“That was very kind of you, and I’m sorry he got in your way. Would you like to come in? I just finished making myself a pot of coffee that you’re welcome to share with me.”
“That would be lovely, thank you. I’m Danielle, by the way.”
“Hi, Danielle. I’m Kiera. You must be the new neighbor who just moved in across the street.”
“That’s right. I’m sorry to intrude, but I’ve met just about everyone else in town, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to get to know you a little.”
“Of course. It’s no intrusion. I should have introduced myself to you earlier, but I’ve just been swamped.”
Danielle followed her hostess into the house. It was indeed full of cats, but she saw no evidence of either spy or circus paraphernalia. “Swamped with what, if I might ask?”
“Oh we have this big event at work and it’s been all we can do to keep up with everything that needs to get done, much less our normal responsibilities.”
“What kind of event?”
“A fundraiser. I’m sorry, I should probably should have started with the fact that I’m the marketing manager for the local animal shelter.”
“So you do have a job!” The words were out before Danielle could stop them, and once they were, she wanted nothing more than to suck them back in.
“Of course I have job. My goodness, what have they been saying about me?”
Danielle felt her face grow hot. “Oh, this and that.”
“That I’m a crazy cat lady?”
“That and/or an heiress and/or a wealthy divorcée and/or a Russian spy and/or a runaway circus freak.”
Kiera snorted. “Circus freak? I haven’t heard that one before.”
“But you had heard of the Russian spy theory?”
“Not exactly, but it doesn’t surprise me. I must confess it’s my own fault. I work from home and I don’t get out much, which is bound to make anyone suspicious.”
“Lives alone. Keeps to herself. That is kind of the MO of most serious killers.”
Kiera chuckled. “It is, isn’t it? It’s not that I don’t have friends. It’s just that I don’t happen to live next to any of them.”
“So the animal shelter, huh? Is that why you have all the cats?”
“That or I work for the animal shelter because of all the cats. It’s really hard to say which causes which. At this point I think they’re encouraging each other.”
Kiera poured two cups of coffee and set them down on her kitchen table. Danielle took a seat as Kiera cleared away piles of papers and dirty dishes. “Sorry about the mess. Habits of living alone and all that.”
“I don’t mind. My place will probably start to look similar in the near future.”
“Yes, let’s talk about you. What brings you to this neck of the woods?”
“I just wanted to get away. As far away as possible. I have a sister who lives in the city, so I wanted to be near her without actually moving in with her. This neighborhood is close enough that I can still spend time with her while retaining my independence.”
“I see. Mind if I ask what you’re running from?”
“Divorce. Bad one.”
“Yes, well, no shortage of those.”
Her tone caught Danielle’s attention. “Speaking from experience?”
“Yes, but it was many years ago and I didn’t get the large alimony payments my neighbors seem to think I did.”
“What happened? If I may ask.”
“He wanted to try a threesome.”
Danielle spewed half her mouthful of coffee across the table and choked on the other half.
Kiera laughed as she helped Danielle clean up the mess she’d made. “I told him I was fine with it, but I wasn’t really. I was hoping he would get it out of his system and then we could go back to living our lives, but that’s not how it worked out.”
“Let me guess: he just wanted to have sex with the other woman.”
“Yes. Except the other woman was a man.”
“OK, you know what, I think I’ve had enough coffee.”
Kiera laughed. “I’m sorry. Is this better or worse than what our neighbors have been saying about me?”
Danielle crinkled her brow as she considered. “I think it depends on who you ask. Some of them might say this was worse, but I’m not so sure.”
“What about you? What caused your bad divorce? I told you mine.”
“Yeah, yours makes mine sound so boring. He cheated. I confronted him. He promised to leave her, but then he didn’t, so I left him. It’s your basic divorce story.”
Kiera nodded. “Perhaps, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less, does it?”
Danielle stared into the surface of her coffee. “No. It doesn’t.”
“I’m sorry.”
Danielle made a weak attempt at a smile. “Thanks. I’m sorry about what happened to you.”
Kiera waved a hand. “Oh, don’t be. It was a long time ago and I’m sure we’re both happier now.” She looked around her as she said, “He never would have let me keep all these cats.”
To be continued…
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