built a pedestal combining both of the books, which he’d topped with a Statue of Liberty figure he must’ve found somewhere.
As a final touch, he had strung a length of red, white, and blue twinkle lights left over from a July Fourth display like bunting from the window’s top edge. Red letters spelling out “Hot Seller” ran along the bottom edge.
“If you don’t, you know, like it, I can change it,” Robert said in a diffident tone when a few moments had passed and Darla still had made no comment.
Smiling, she turned toward him. “You did a wonderful job, Robert. I was simply admiring your work. But wherever did you find Lady Liberty?”
“I remembered seeing it in Mr. Plinski’s store, and Ms. Plinski said I could borrow it.”
“Very clever. I think I’ll make you our official window dresser from here on out. That is, if you don’t mind taking on an extra duty.”
“Yeah, I could do that. And maybe some stuff inside, too. No offense, but the Halloween decorations inside are kinda lame.”
Once again, the tone was offhanded, though she could see the pleased color in his cheeks. Darla’s smile broadened. Really, Robert was a good kid despite a few annoying quirks. She’d have to ask James if he’d noted the vest homage thing.
Then, recalling her errand, Darla’s smile faded. “Finish up the stocking with James, and I’ll be back in a few minutes. Oh, and see if you can keep Hamlet somewhere readily accessible. I might need him.”
“You’ve got it, boss.”
He took the stairs in two oversized hops and went back inside while she made her way more conventionally down the few steps to Jake’s place. With luck, her friend wouldn’t think what she was about to suggest crossed some sort of crazy-woman line.
“Hey, kid,” Jake greeted her as Darla gave a perfunctory knock and stepped inside. Gesturing Darla to join her at the kitchen table turned desk, she asked, “How are you holding up?”
“It’s still a bit of a shock,” Darla admitted as she sank onto one of the chrome chairs. “I mean, Curt was a royal pain in the butt, and I didn’t much like him, but no way did I want to see him dead, especially like that.”
“Don’t worry, you’re allowed to be upset. In fact, I’d be concerned if you weren’t. I was a cop for twenty years, and I still wanted to puke every time I had to call in another stiff.” She paused and gave a dismissive wave. “Oh, they claim you get used to it after a while, but if you’re halfway human, you never really do. The kids, they’re the hardest . . .”
She trailed off, and Darla saw a fleeting expression of remembered pain in the older woman’s eyes before she focused back on Darla again.
“But what was all that you said on the phone about meows and witnesses?” Then, as Darla opened her mouth to reply, Jake shook her curly mane and put out a restraining hand. “Wait. If this involves a certain black cat, you’d better start from the very beginning and tell me what happened from the time you arrived at the brownstone until the police showed up.”
Darla complied, starting with Barry’s concern that the door had not been properly locked and ending when she had left Reese and Barry at the scene—omitting, of course, the whole “tick, tock” conversation. Jake listened intently and then flatly stated, “Okay, so you saw cat paw prints near Curt’s body. Why would you think they belong to Hamlet? There’s got to be two dozen feral cats in the neighborhood.”
“Yes, but remember I told you last week how I found what looked like grease on his fur, and that I thought he was getting out of the apartment somehow? Well, the same day that Porn Shop Bill came by to harass Robert, Curt told me that he’d seen a cat he was sure was Hamlet running out of his building that very morning. And the prints I saw next to Curt’s body today were pretty darned big. The feral cats I’ve seen around the neighborhood are all scrawny things.”
Jake sighed. “All right, so maybe it was the little hell-raiser who was down in the dead guy’s basement. But it’s not like Reese can drag his furry butt down to the precinct and question him about what he saw. So why does it matter?”
“Curt’s death might still have been accidental,” Darla explained. “If it was, I-I need to know if it was