Decker and Joy Read online

“What about the cats?”

  “I’ll come back and pick them up when we’re done,” Joy said.

  It was a short drive to the restaurant. The hostess showed them to a semi-circular booth in the back. Decker followed Joy onto the bench and scooted around with her, not letting her put an empty place setting between them. He gave her room when she started gesticulating with a breadstick while telling him about her first trip to the symphony, but after that he shifted close again. Whenever she pushed her hair back over her shoulder, Decker caught a hint of something sweet and floral. It was intoxicating. So much so, he realized he’d missed Joy’s question.

  “Sorry?” Decker asked.

  “I was wondering how you got into the private-eye business. It seems like a big jump from police officer to self-employed detective.”

  “There were parts of being a cop I really liked. And parts I didn’t. Working for myself, I get to concentrate on the parts I like.”

  “Like hunting down missing dolls?”

  “Admittedly, some of my jobs aren’t very exciting. On others, I get to meet some amazing people.” Beautiful, intelligent, funny people. He was seriously considering asking Joy on a third date when they were halfway through their second, but he didn’t want to scare her off. “Can I ask you a question?”

  Joy made a “go ahead” motion as she took a sip of her diet cola.

  “If you’re worried about Pumpkin, Spooky, Stinky, and… and…”

  “Midnight,” she supplied.

  “Midnight being adopted by a stranger, why don’t you adopt them yourself? Unless you already have enough animals,” he added. He could easily see her as a crazy cat lady—the sexy kind, not the grandmotherly, doily-and-slip-covered-sofa kind.

  “Believe me, I want to. Unfortunately, my life is too transitory right now. When I took the managerial job at Kitten Caboodle, I told Rob it was going to be for six months, until I finished my veterinary assistant diploma. But then I couldn’t get hired on anywhere else with it. That was two years ago.”

  “You didn’t want to get a pet in case you couldn’t afford to keep it? That’s responsible.”

  “That’s part of it. I’ve been leasing my apartment month to month as well, in anticipation of moving to my new job. I got my landlord to agree to let me bring the kittens into the building to be fostered until they were weaned, but the deal was for eight weeks and not a day longer. The kittens are permanent shelter residents after this weekend until we can find them homes.”

  “That’s pretty impressive. You’ve worked at Kitten Caboodle for two years and haven’t adopted anything yet. I figured you were a soft touch,” Decker teased.

  “I stayed strong until Pumpkin and the other Spice Boys arrived. I don’t know what I’m going to do now. They need a good home.”

  Decker didn’t understand the look that flashed across her face, but he smiled when she leaned into him with fake puppy-dog eyes. He outright laughed when she grabbed her bottom lip and jiggled it to make it look like it was trembling.

  “Stop it. No! I’m not taking a kitten home with me. I’m not a cat guy.” A kitten would totally ruin his street credit. Especially an orange crybaby. Maybe one of the black ones, if it promised to act aloof and mysterious when clients were in the office. Giving people head-butts for scratches was not the act of a P.I.’s cat. “I’m certain you’ll make sure they all go to good homes. In fact, I’d bet on it.”

  She smiled. “You’d bet right.”

  Joy tried to decline dessert, but Decker caught the sparkle in her eye when the waitress mentioned the tiramisu. He ordered it for her. He wasn’t a fan but it was worth it to watch Joy enjoy it.

  He drove her back to the mall, taking an obviously out-of-the-way route to stretch out the ride. She directed him to the back of the building, and he pulled to a stop beside a battered pickup which was parked in front of a steel security door.

  “Thank you for a lovely dinner,” Joy said. She didn’t make a move toward the door handle.

  “I had a great time,” Decker responded. That was an understatement. He hadn’t laughed so hard in months.

  She turned to face him full on. “Me, too.” She shifted her hand to the center console.

  He wasn’t going to get a clearer signal than that.

  Decker licked his lip as he leaned closer. Joy tilted her head and did the same. Then she pulled away, staring at the back of the building. “That’s not right.”

  “What’s not?”

  “The door.”

  He walked her to the building. Under normal circumstances, most of his motivation would be chivalry; it was late, and the area was poorly lit. The fact he got to hold her hand was strictly secondary. This time, he went with her for protection. “Look,” she said.

  No wonder she’d noticed it. Something, or someone, had scratched all the paint away from the handle.

  “Something’s wrong.”

  Chapter Eight

  Joy

  The rear door led into the shelter half of Kitten Caboodle. The back room, where the animals were kenneled, opened into the play room at the front where they wandered at will. A wall of windows with a gate in the doorway looked from the playroom into the store, allowing people to check out the pets available for adoption. The mall entry was on the store half. As soon as mall hours ended, a set of accordion doors closed, locking the place down tight.

  Not that she had a chance to show him any of that. She thought Decker would come inside with her to check things out. Instead, he backed her away from the door and locked her in his car while he called the police.

  It was ridiculous. If there had been an intruder, the animals would have been going nuts. They would have heard them, even through the door. But, no, Decker wouldn’t let her collect her poor kitties.

  He reached over and picked her hand out of her lap. “The cats are probably sleeping. You said so yourself. A few more minutes isn’t going to make any difference.” He gave her fingers a squeeze. “They’ll be fine,” he repeated.

  The Ottawa Police Service arrived quickly, and the responding officers did a walk-through. As soon as they gave the go-ahead, she yanked her hand from Decker’s and fumbled with the car door. Decker grabbed her again as she hurried to the shelter. “Take it easy or you’ll freak out the cats.”

  What really annoyed her was that he was right. Getting them upset wouldn’t help anybody. Decker’s being right didn’t make her like him any better. Somebody had broken into her store while her babies were there. That required a certain level of freaking out.

  “Breathe.” His order was gentle, but unmistakable. “The kittens are okay. You’re okay. We’ll load them up and I’ll move them to your truck while you deal with the police.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand as he escorted her to the pair of uniformed officers waiting inside.

  He introduced her to the two men, and then a burly black man appeared on the scene.

  “Charlie? What are you doing here? You don’t do break-ins,” Decker said.

  “I heard your name on the radio and figured things were going to be interesting. And they are. Introduce me to your friend.”

  “Joy, this is my former partner, Inspector Charlie Barr. Charlie, this is Joy McCall. She’s the assistant manager here and was coming back to pick up some things before heading home for the night when we noticed someone had tried to jimmy the door.”

  “Miss McCall, we’ve cleared the store, if you want to go in,” Charlie said. “Decker, I need a minute.”

  Spooky and Midnight raised their wee heads when they heard her voice, but immediately burrowed back under their blanket. Stinky meeped at her until she picked him up for a cuddle. Pumpkin launched himself at Decker when he joined them. If the man didn’t clue in to the fact he’d been adopted, Joy was going to have to explain it to him. His subconscious seemed to know. Decker settled the kitten in the crook of his arm while he gave his statement.

  The would-be robbers never made it inside. Nothing was missing. The worst
of it was the birds were squawking non-stop at being awoken late in the evening. People might call them songbirds, but there was little more grating than a chorus of shrieking parakeets and cockatiels.

  Joy stopped at the end of the toy aisle and stared. Someone had made a mess of the stuffed animals again. It was like an arm had swept them off the shelves into the middle of the floor. Rob would never have left them there, even if he’d been cleaning and the mop had gotten away from him. Especially after the strip she’d torn off him the last time.

  She pointed them out to Decker’s friend. “That’s not right. I’m sure Rob will say he didn’t put those there, and everything was shipshape when he left for the night. But…”

  “But what, Joy?” Even when he was chatting with his cronies, Decker was never more than a couple steps away. He lifted Pumpkin from his arms and laid him over Joy’s shoulder. The purr in her ear eased the tension in her neck.

  “But if the robber didn’t take anything tonight, and this happened last night too, does that mean somebody is hiding in the shelter?” she asked.

  Then she was outside, with two cats in her arms, and Decker was beside her with Spooky and Midnight in a kennel. Joy loaded all four kittens into the carrier and tucked it into her passenger seat. Then she waited for the police to search the store and shelter again. She wasn’t surprised when they came up empty.

  When they finally let her back in, Joy noticed one more thing. Light from the mall shone through wide cracks in the accordion security door. Cracks that hadn’t been there when she’d opened the store that morning.

  “I can’t explain that,” Decker said. “Maybe they tried to gain access through the mall first.”

  Eventually the police let her go home, but only after she agreed to show up at the station to give a full statement the next day—later that morning, she corrected in her head.

  “I’m following you home,” Decker said.

  “You don’t have to. I’ve kept you up too late as it is.” The mall closed at eight. Rob left at nine. Decker had driven her back to her car at eleven. That felt like days ago.

  “Joy, I’m following you to your place. A break-in, or even an attempted break-in, is traumatic. You’re going to crash when the adrenaline wears off. Let me make sure you get home safely.” He was holding her hand again. A cold gust of wind blasted through the narrow parking lot, sending dead leaves skittering along the curb. The chilly air hit her sweat-damp sweater and a shiver escaped. Another followed, and suddenly Joy was vibrating with cold and emotion.

  Maybe he had a point. “My apartment is in Stittsville.” Over thirty minutes away.

  “I won’t lose you. Buckle up.”

  The streets were deserted. She pointed to the visitor stalls at the other end of her building. Decker still managed to meet her halfway up the sidewalk.

  “I wasn’t expecting company,” Joy apologized in advance. She tried to picture what she’d find when she opened the door. She remembered the teacup and cereal bowl on her coffee table. She’d forgotten about the plate covered in coffee cake crumbs from her Netflix binge-watch the night before. A pair of gym socks hung over the arm of her recliner, and two entwined throw blankets were pooled on the ottoman. Overall, it wasn’t bad.

  The kittens were used to having free run of Joy’s kitchen, so she opened the carry-kennel’s door in case they wanted to wander during the night, and locked the baby gate leading into the hall. All four kittens were out cold when she paused to check on them before she returned to the living room. At least somebody would sleep that night.

  She felt Decker’s chest brush against her back. He looked over her shoulder. “See, they’re fine.”

  “I’m not crazy. Somebody was in the store with them.”

  “I know you’re not crazy. That pile of toys was freaky. Harmless, but freaky. Do you want me to check your apartment?” he offered.

  She was a big girl and a rational person. There had been no signs of a break-in at her home. She ought to say no. There was a security door to get into the building, and the deadbolt on her door had been engaged.

  “Stay here. I’ll take a peek.” Decker returned two minutes later. “All your windows are locked, and there was nothing under your bed except a whole bunch of balls with bells in them. I left them there,” he reported.

  She blinked and he was right in front of her. “How are you doing?” he asked.

  “Fine.”

  “Joy. How are you doing?” He used his command voice again.

  “I’m a little freaked, a lot tired, and angry our date was ruined.” It should have been illegal for dates to go so well. Then some faceless burglar had stolen it from them.

  Decker’s blue eyes darkened at her words. Joy would have worried if not for the huge smile on his face. “I’m glad you had such a good time. I don’t think the date was ruined.”

  “We spent two hours talking to the police. I realize they were friends of yours but how can you say this date ended successfully?”

  “Because it hasn’t ended yet.”

  “Would you like to go out with me again?” Joy asked breathlessly.

  “That’s my line,” Decker protested.

  “You were taking too long.”

  “Dinner again tomorrow? Or is that too soon?”

  “Dinner tomorrow sounds great.” Or lunch, but that sounded a little desperate.

  He leaned in to kiss her, and the kittens went wild. It was a conspiracy. “What’s wrong with them?” Decker asked.

  She blushed. She was such a bad kitten momma. “It’s time for their bedtime snack.”

  “Can’t they wait till I kiss you?”

  A kitten quartet of pathetic meowing rang from the kitchen.

  “Apparently not. Do you want to stay and help?” He could feed Pumpkin. It would be good practice for when he took the kitten home.

  “I should go,” he said quietly. “You have to give a statement and go to work tomorrow morning. And I have an early conference call I can’t miss. Stop tempting me.”

  She was glad he sounded as disappointed as she did that their date was ending.

  “I’ll call you later to let you know our dinner plans.”

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  “Plan on something fancy.”

  She didn’t know where they were going but she already had a dress in mind.

  Interlude

  Late October

  North Pole Unlimited Headquarters

  Nick leaned back in the chair he’d inherited from George. He’d also received the desk, the office, and the stuffed trout on the wall. He’d get rid of the fish. He was keeping the rest. George had said, “You need the space more than I do these days”, and had removed himself to a temporary office down the hall. Now the nameplate on the door read “Nick Klassen, Vice-President of Human Resources” and it was time to live up to the title.

  Jilly Lewis knocked on the open door. She’d started with the company working for George. She was ten years older than Nick, and had a son twenty years younger. As an experienced executive assistant, she had also come with the position. Nick could have hired someone new, but only an idiot would give up all her experience. Jilly kept him on track, even when he didn’t know what was going on. “I have a schedule update for you,” she said.

  “Hit me.”

  “Adelaide pushed your meeting to this afternoon. Instead, you have video interviews all morning for Andrea’s top choices. Your first is in ten minutes if you want to fix your hair.”

  He raised his hand automatically. “What’s wrong with my hair?”

  Jilly smirked at him and walked out.

  Ten minutes later he was looking at the smiling face of a thirty-year old woman. She was fully made-up and dressed-up, even though it was only a video call. He liked that she took it so seriously. There weren’t many personal indicators in the file Jilly had provided; she said the employment agency wanted to make the process as blind as possible as not to influence decisions on either side.

>   “Hello, Miss McCall. I’m Nick Klassen. Thanks for agreeing to meet this way.”

  “It’s not a problem at all.” Her voice wavered for a second before she coughed to clear her throat. “I’m glad I have the chance to talk to you.”

  “Why don’t you tell me a bit about your background?”

  “I have a veterinary assistant diploma from—”

  Two and a half hours later, Nick ended his fourth and final interview of the morning. He took a lap around his desk, stretching his arm over his head, before he strode to the president’s office. He wasn’t surprised to find Dr. Andrea Farnsworth with his grandmother.

  “How did it go?” Dr. Farnsworth asked.

  “I think we’ve gone from four to two.” He handed her the files of the two applicants he liked best. “Joy McCall has a lot of practical familiarity with animals, but not much experience on the lab side. Brent Farrin has the reverse problem. He’s got a boatload of technical lab knowledge, but has done very little hands-on work. I think you’d be happy with either of them. You just need to know what you’ll want them working on. Then we’ll find out where they are and if they’re willing to relocate. Do you have a preference?”

  “I do.” But that was all she told him.

  His grandmother wasn’t any help either. “Andrea and I will discuss things and get back to you. How is your hunt for our next security chief coming?”

  He forced a smile. “Decker is hot on E.L.V.I.S.’s trail.”

  “He’s got nothing?”

  He deflated. “He’s got nothing,” Nick admitted. The detective was working hard; the sheer number of negative results from leads he’d followed was staggering, but what they needed was a positive one. It didn’t help that Decker didn’t have the complete story. Nobody wanted the full details of E.L.V.I.S.’s proprietary technology to leave the company, even if it left the detective stumbling around in the dark. “Decker is supposed to call with an update today, but I don’t have high hopes for a recovery at the moment.”

  His grandmother winced. “That is unfortunate. Not about your candidate, about the prototype.” She brightened slightly and added, “At least we know the “evade” feature works.”