Free Downton Tabby by Sparkle Abbey Page B

exactly what I needed as I slowly drove home to my pets and what I hoped was a quiet evening.
    What a day.
    I could not believe all the equipment that had been in the hidden room had just disappeared. It begged the question: who else knew about the room? Heidi hadn’t, and she was close to Cash. So, who else could have come into a locked house and carted away all those electronic things between the time I’d left and Malone and I had come back?
    I wondered if Malone had had any luck with the crime-scene team. I hadn’t heard from him. Not that I’m saying the man has to check in with me, but he had to know I was curious.
    It wasn’t late, but the evening seemed darker than usual, overcast and quiet. A sliver of moonlight reached out from behind the clouds but didn’t make much of a dent in the darkness. I pulled into my drive, hit the garage-door opener button, pulled in, and hit the closer. As the door slid down I noticed a man across the street. I glanced around for the dark SUV I’d been seeing. Nothing in sight.
    Grabbing my things, I got out of the car and went in. Once inside I dropped my bag and kicked off my shoes. I felt a little spooked and wished I’d gotten a better look, but I wasn’t going back outside. My next-door neighbor April Mae was traveling with her painting cats. (Long story but the cats really do paint, and people buy their paintings.) Freda, my neighbor on the other side was gone on an Alaskan cruise. I reminded myself I needed to get over to her house and check on her plants.
    I walked through the house and greeted the animals, but the prickle of uneasiness I’d felt didn’t leave me. I don’t spook easily, but I guess having found a dead guy, a secret room, and a mysterious intruder, all in two days’ time, kind of had me on edge.
    I fished my cell phone out of my bag and kept it handy just in case.
    Just in case of what, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t immediately turn on any lights but peered out the living-room window which faced the front of the house. I couldn’t see anyone anymore.
    Wait. Was that someone moving in the shadows near the neighbor’s Manzanita tree? I stared hard at the darkness.
    No, it was just a branch.
    I flipped on the kitchen light and laid my cell phone on the counter. Opening the refrigerator, I perused my options for dinner. I definitely needed to do a Whole Foods run. I should have stopped by before coming home, but my mind had been on other things. Murder will do that.
    I pulled eggs, spinach, mushrooms, and goat cheese from the fridge. Okay, an omelet it was. I promised myself I’d do serious shopping tomorrow. Tonight I was simply too beat to deal with going back out for groceries.
    My kitchen was small but efficient. I reach in a lower cabinet for a pan and set it on the stove. As I started to turn on the burner, my doorbell rang. I set the pan aside and went to answer the door.
    I know what you’re thinking. And no, I didn’t just fling open the door without looking. I’m not like one of those too-dumb-to-live heroines in the low-budget horror movies, oblivious to the danger and inviting in the axe murderer.
    I’d picked up my cell phone, 911 at the ready, and looked out the front window again. I couldn’t see anything.
    I walked to my entryway and leaned against the door. “Who is it?”
    “Your favorite reporter,” came the reply in that distinctive broadcast voice. “Callum MacAvoy.”
    Well for cryin’ in a bucket! I understood persistence was important in his field, but Callum MacAvoy was headed right to number one on my never-want-to-see-you-again list.
    I yanked open the door. “How did you get my address?”
    “I’m an investigative reporter; you’re on damn near every civic committee in town; it wasn’t difficult.” He rolled his eyes. “Listen, I just have a few questions for you.” His dark chinos and the white shirt with a Channel 5 News logo on the pocket made it seem like he was here in an official capacity.
    I peered