Free The Cat, the Lady and the Liar by Leann Sweeney

was gone, Tom said, “Protecting their secrets is what she meant.”
    “I—I—This is plain awful,” I said, shaking my head. “Not what I expected. But I’m glad we came. After listening all night to that cat screech, I was ready to bring Isis with me today and drop her off at the Longworth place. Now I’m glad I didn’t.”
    “A little information can make all the difference. Let’s go.” Tom put his arm around my shoulder. “You look completely wrung out. If you want, come to my place for a nap before you go home. Dashiell and I will make sure you’re comfortable.”
    Dashiell was Tom’s big, lovable cat. He purred as loud as a jet engine when he curled up in my lap. I leaned into Tom and we started walking.
    He went on, saying, “By the way, the original Dashiell Hammett had a great quote that seems appropriate right now. He said, ‘You got to look on the bright side, even if there ain’t one.’ ”
    I stopped and rested a hand on Tom’s cheek. “Thanks for coming, and for stepping in when I was too taken aback to even speak.”
    “I’m glad I could help. You don’t have to go it alone, Jilly. People care about you—and I’m one of them.”
    We hugged and I gave him a quick kiss. But as we continued on through the quiet little park to Tom’s car, I only wanted to go home. After what I’d heard, I needed to love on my own kitties. And maybe, just maybe, I could make friends with Isis.
     
    On the ride back to Mercy, I’d checked my phone and the video feeds from my cat cam, but I didn’t see any of my three in the living room. Usually Merlot would be sleeping on the window seat about now, but he was nowhere to be seen.
    Meanwhile, Tom got a call from a customer about a malfunction in a security camera he’d installed, and though he offered again to drop me off at his place for some peace and quiet, I refused. I arrived home about three o’clock, disengaged the alarm at the back door and walked into the kitchen. I heard the sounds of Animal Planet coming from the TV—Syrah especially enjoyed Animal Planet while I was gone—but when I called my three cats’ names in succession, none of them came to greet me.
    Strange. And even stranger, I heard no yowling coming from Isis’s basement apartment. Suddenly I no longer felt tired. What went on while I was away?
    I kept calling for my cats in a questioning tone as I descended the basement steps. The first thing I saw downstairs was the bedroom door ajar. A hint of panic tightened my gut. But when I reached the door, I saw scratch marks on the doorknob as well as all around the knob.
    “Sy-rah?” I called, trying to keep the irritation I felt out of my voice. “What have you been up to, my friend?” This was his work, no doubt about it. Who knew cats could open doors? But he’d done it before, and now he’d done it again.
    The bedroom was empty. No Isis, no other cats. Last autumn someone broke in and catnapped Syrah, so I still felt worried even though my home was now well-secured. That was how I’d met Tom, in fact. He’d set up the cameras and alarms and checked everything regularly. Since the alarm hadn’t gone off, surely there hadn’t been another break-in. But the question remained, where in this house were my cats and our less than friendly visitor, Isis? A quick look in the basement pantry, utility room and bathroom proved they were not down here.
    I went back upstairs, and it didn’t take long to find them—or at least I saw Syrah, Chablis and Merlot. They were in my quilting room and had my sewing machine cabinet surrounded. The scene reminded me of three ships on the ocean ready to attack a pirate vessel. Isis could be considered a pirate in this house—trying to steal attention and upset the norm. She must be in my Koala cabinet—a lovely piece of equipment that expands to provide a cutting table and plenty of room for machine piecing—not to mention plenty of places to hide.
    Chablis was the first to break her intense