the staircase. “I’ll tell Mother about this tomorrow. And then I’ll call the president of the homeowner’s committee to see if I can rent the clubhouse for the date Mother wants.”
Norman opened the outer door and held it for Hannah as she turned off the bright overhead lights. They were about to leave when Hannah grabbed his arm.
“Wait a second, Norman. There’s something on one of the card tables that doesn’t belong there.” She walked over to see what it was and began to frown. “It’s a pair of binoculars! I wonder why someone needed those.”
Norman shrugged. “Birdwatching?” he suggested.
“Maybe. We do have a birdwatchers’ club that meets here. I’d better leave these here, too. They look expensive and I’m sure they’ll be missed.”
Hannah used her key to lock the clubhouse door behind them. Once that was accomplished, they headed back toward Norman’s car.
“It’s going to be cold tonight,” Norman said. “That breeze is icy. Do you want me to drive to the garage and park there? Then we won’t have as far to walk.”
“No, I’m okay,” Hannah told him. “It’s only one building away and we can go across the planter to get there. Mike’s probably parked his cruiser in my spot anyway, and I’ll leave the extra space open for Michelle.”
It was only a short walk and Hannah was about to start up her open staircase when she heard a plaintive yowl. “That sounds like Moishe!” she said.
“And it came from down here.” Norman bent over to look under the staircase. “It is Moishe! What are you doing under there, Moishe?”
Moishe gave another yowl and crawled out on his belly. His fur was matted down, his ears were flat against his head, and he looked terribly frightened.
“Come here, Moishe,” Hannah said, holding out her arms. No more than a millisecond later, Moishe was in her arms, trying to tunnel inside her parka.
“He’s scared to death!” Hannah said, turning to Norman with wide eyes. “What’s wrong? And how did he get out?”
“I don’t know,” Norman said, standing back so that he could see the upstairs door to Hannah’s condo. “The door’s closed.”
“Thank God you found him!” a familiar voice said, and Hannah turned to see her mother rushing up the garage steps. “I’ve been looking all over for him!”
“He was here, under the staircase,” Norman told her, and then he turned to Hannah. “We’d better take him upstairs where he feels more comfortable.”
Hannah began to approach the outside staircase, but Moishe yowled again. “He’s shaking even harder,” she said, staring down at her pet in surprise. “He’s afraid to go up there, Norman!”
“Bring him to my car,” Delores said. “I’ll take him home with me. He loves to hunt in my penthouse garden and it’ll calm him down.”
Just then, Michelle came out of the garage. “What’s happening?” she asked them. “And why are you parked in my spot, Mother?”
Hannah turned to stare at her mother. “All I know is that Moishe was hiding under the open staircase and he’s scared to death to go upstairs. Something’s wrong and I think Mother knows what it is. What is it, Mother?”
“I . . . I can’t tell you. They told me not to.”
“Who told you not to?” There was an edge in Hannah’s voice that brooked no argument. “Tell me, Mother!”
“Mike. And Doc. They wanted me to find Moishe and catch you when you got home. They said that under no circumstances was I supposed to let you go upstairs.”
“Here,” Hannah said, handing Moishe to Michelle. “Go with Mother and take Moishe with you. She can drive and you can hold Moishe. I’m going up there to see what’s happened.”
“But you can’t!” Delores said, trying to get in front of Hannah to block her way.
“The hell I can’t!” Hannah told her, pushing her mother out of the way. “Take Moishe to your place and keep him safe. I’m going upstairs and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!”
And with that said, Hannah muscled her way past her mother, Michelle, and Norman, and ran up the stairs to her home. Her heart was beating a rapid tattoo in her chest and she hoped she wasn’t about to have a heart attack. At this point, she didn’t give it more than a passing thought as she reached her door, unlocked it, and barreled inside. There was something terribly wrong and she needed to know what it was.
* * *
“Try to stop me and I’ll flatten you,” she said as Lonnie attempted to