The room went eerily quiet.
With his own gun drawn, Guidry came around the corner from the north corridor.
He said, “Jessica Ballantyne?”
With tears streaming down her face, she handed him her gun. “I’m an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Lieutenant.”
Guidry’s gray eyes were watching her intently. “I think you’d better sit down.”
“I’m quite all right, Lieutenant.”
With his phone to his ear, Guidry came to stand in front of me. Behind him, an officer was arresting Gilda, and another officer was cuffing Cahill and advising him of his rights.
Guidry clicked his phone closed. “Thanks for leaving the back door open for us.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“An officer tailed Gilda here, then watched you come in. While he waited for backups, the other two dropped in. You must have sent out invitations.”
“Kurtz killed Ramón, not Gilda. The man’s name is Cahill. He’s a rival scientist. He’s the one who hit me, and he tried to steal Ziggy.” In sudden alarm, I said, “Don’t let anything happen to Ziggy! He’s producing bird flu vaccine.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll protect him.”
Guidry’s level voice was reassuring. Something bad had happened, it was being handled. Other bad things would undoubtedly happen in the future, and they would be handled too. The world keeps spinning, the sun rises and sets, the tides come in and go out, people cope with life.
One of Guidry’s men took Jessica’s arm and steered her out the front door. As she passed me, our eyes met and we sent each other a silent message that only two women could exchange.
Jessica asked my understanding for sparing the man she loved public humiliation and personal suffering.
I assured her that I would pretend she had killed Kurtz to keep him from taking out a law-enforcement officer.
Then I went to pick Ziggy up and move him to a safe place, because that’s what I do.
TWENTY-NINE
I made a frantic predawn call to the head of the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville. When I told him everything I knew about Ziggy, he acted as if he heard bizarre stories like that every day. Four hours later, he arrived with four pre-med students who tenderly carried Ziggy to their van. Before the day was over, he called to tell me he had removed Ziggy’s catheter and that Ziggy was fine. He also said he and his wife and kids wanted to make Ziggy a part of their family. Since there was nobody to say he couldn’t, I gave my own grateful permission. We didn’t discuss Ziggy’s vaccine-producing capabilities. That was something for the vet to discuss with research biologists, but I knew he would make sure Ziggy was protected.
On Christmas Eve, I left Ella snoozing in her new kitty bed while I went to Midnight Spanish Mass at St. Martha’s. I’m not Catholic and I don’t speak Spanish, so it was especially comforting to be with strangers united by a story the credulous take literally and the literate take metaphorically—either way, it transcends dogma or fact. I sat at the back and let the words and music and ritual create a space for my mind to take in the idea of omnipresent love present in every newborn, in every parent, in every man and woman with the courage to trust the wisdom in their hearts. When the service ended, I had moved a little closer to remembering what life and love is all about.
Guidry was at the door waiting for me.
I didn’t know what that meant.
Maybe it didn’t mean anything.
He looped an arm around my shoulders and we stepped into the dark night together.
Also by BLAIZE CLEMENT
Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter
Duplicity Dogged the Dachshund
Available from St. Martin’s Press
Praise for BLAIZE CLEMENT and DUPLICITY DOGGED THE DACHSHUND
“Fast-paced …the canine caper crowd will enjoy Florida’s leading pet-sitter.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Clement’s fast-paced sophomore effort…builds suspense and delivers startling revelations.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A fast-paced novel, an intriguing plot. Clement also infuses this entertaining story with a thoughtful meditation on death, survival, and moving on. It’s a lesson the animals in our lives already know.”
—Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Don’t let the cutesy title fool you. This isn’t one of those lightweight, frothy ‘fun with animals’ stories … . It’s tough, gritty, and edgy. One of the strongest points of Clement’s work is her knack for building suspense slowly but steadily, to the point where you have no idea what peril might be lurking just around the bend.”
—Sarasota Herald-Tribune
“Clement uses the animals in Dixie’s care…to enrich her plot, creating in the process an entertaining cozy, one of the few set in South Florida, land of noir.”
—Booklist
CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT SITTER
“A knockout read … for anyone who loves mysteries, animals, or just plain great writing.”
—Laurien Berenson,
author of Doggie Day Care Murder
“Clement’s assured cozy debut introduces an appealing heroine.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Impressive…a sure keeper, with well-developed characters, seamless prose, and a winning plot…[a] commendable new series.”
—Mystery Lovers.com
“A first-rate debut.”
—Booklist
“Entertaining … Dixie is a complex, well-conceived character and the plot fast-moving and believable.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“At once a cozy mystery for animal lovers and a jarringly earthy hard-boiled whodunit about human corruption. Clement’s sleuth, Florida pet-sitter Dixie Hemingway, is an engaging combination of vulnerability and toughness, but the real heroine of the story is a gritty Abyssinian cat. A good read!”
—Susan Conant, author of All Shots
and the Holly Winter Dog Lover’s Mysteries
“Kick off your flip-flops, find a hammock, and settle in for a fun read. Clement’s Floridian heroine, Dixie Hemingway, spouts laugh-out-loud one-liners and words of wisdom in this intriguing whodunit filled with twists, turns, and some pretty captivating critters!”
—Cynthia Baxter, author of
Monkey See, Monkey Die
“Funny, engaging, and true to life.”
—Lee Charles Kelly,
author of Like a Dog with a Bone
“Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter has it alclass="underline" a feisty heroine, lovable animals, and a solid whodunit. What more could you ask for?”
—Barbara Seranella,
creator of the Munch Mancini crime novels