Page 76 of Lulu

Stephanie added, “Or that you’re not young.”

I laughed along with them. “See you both bright and early tomorrow.” I walked them to the door, a thought crossing my mind that maybe I should lock it until the next client showed up. But Crow was still out there, and he wouldn’t leave until Brody arrived. I gave him a little wave and went to the back to make sure the cage was good to go for the cat that was coming in. Food, water, litter box, comfy blanket--all there.

Satisfied, I returned to the front, and just in time. As my last patient for the day came through the door with his cat, I noticed that Brody had arrived and was outside, talking with Crow.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Stabler.” He was an odd-looking little man, his way of dressing a throwback to the sixties. He kind of reminded me of Mr. Rogers with his slicked-back hair and sweater. He took short steps up to the desk, greeting me with a friendly expression.

“Good afternoon,” he acknowledged.

“I understand you want to board Fluffy for the night.”

“Yes.”

“We’ll take good care of her. Do you have proof that she’s up to date on her shots?”

His expression sobered. “I-I didn’t know that I had to bring it.”

I asked, even though I already knew the answer, “Has she been here before?”

He shook his head, the disappointment showing on his face as he realized that he might not be able to leave his cat. I sighed, knowing that I was going to break the rules. “I tell you what--taking in animals without proof of vaccination is against policy, but I’ll make an exception just this once.”

His face lit up. “Oh, thank you! That’s very sweet of you.”

I walked around to him and took the cage from him. I peered inside at the long-haired calico. “She’s a beauty,” I murmured, noticing that she was wearing tags, which was a good sign that she’d had her shots. The name on the tag gave me reason to pause with confusion, though. It was Ginger and not Fluffy. “Huh. The name on her tag says Ginger.”

He laughed. “That’s her real name, but we call her Fluffy.”

I glanced up at him.

“My wife gave her a nickname.”

That made sense. People often gave their pets nicknames. I laughed, brushing off the flicker of suspicion that had surfaced. “Well let me get her to the back. Is there anything I should know about her?”

“No.”

“What time will you be by for her in the morning?”

“Noon.”

“Okay, then. We’ll see you then.” Assuming that Mr. Stabler would leave after I was gone, I brought Fluffy to the back and took her out of her carrier. “You’re a pretty girl, aren’t you?” I cooed, taking a minute to cuddle her. Her meow and the slight wiggling of her body told me that she wasn’t receptive to my loving, so I slipped her into her cage for the night.

I grabbed my purse, turned the lights off, and dug out my keys to the front door while walking toward it. At the door I glanced up with a smile on my face, expecting to see Brody standing there, but he was sitting on his bike with his back to me and his head bent, which told me that he was texting someone.

And then my smile wavered when I noticed Mr. Stabler, and the way he was shuffling toward his car. He appeared to be veering off course, and gradually ended up directly behind Brody. Something about him seemed off. I watched him for a minute, trying to figure out what it was. When his hand came around to his back and he lifted his sweater to retrieve something, my heart stopped. That’s when I realized what I was seeing.

I froze for a second in paralyzing fear before I had the wherewithal to reach inside my purse for my gun. Everything moved so fast after that.

He pulled a gun from the waistband of his pants.

I recognized the silencer on it as I pushed the glass door open.

He brought his arm around to the front of his body.

I dropped my purse to the ground and took aim.

He raised the gun upward in slow motion.

I saw Brody’s shoulders tense the second he realized that someone was behind him.