Published by The Fiction Works
THE CATS KILL
Genre: Mystery (eBook)
Author: Susan K. Droney
eBook (all formats), $4.95
When Matt Rogers brings his beautiful young wife Peggy home to his New England hometown, no one suspects the tortured past she is escaping from … not even Matt.
After a series of murders, the local sheriff and a Boston investigator scrutinize the brutal crimes targeting the Rogers family. Although the evidence points to Peggy, Matt refuses to believe she could be responsible. Soon, however, he is forced to succumb to the harsh reality that his wife could be the killer. Could the woman he gave his heart to have committed such cold-blooded crimes against his family?
Matt Rogers sat at his kitchen table, sipping a cup of coffee and watching a breeze gently lift the red and white checkered curtains on the window. It was an unusually warm evening for early May. He stood up and set his coffee cup in the sink when an explosion rattled the pictures on the wall. Sirens sounded in the distance.
"What the hell was that?" he asked, turning toward his wife.
"Probably kids setting off firecrackers," Peggy replied. She glanced at her wristwatch. It was exactly nine o'clock.
"It didn't sound like firecrackers to me. Something exploded," he said.
She shrugged her shoulders. "Don't worry, honey. At least we're safe." She washed the coffee cup, then set it on the drainer. "Would you like to watch
TV or go to a movie? There's a good mystery playing this week. It doesn't start until ten. We could get a sitter," she asked hopefully.
"Peggy, I'm too tired tonight. Besides I don't like to do things on the spur of the moment. You know that."
"I'm sorry. I just thought that maybe for once in your life you might want to do something spontaneous instead of mapping your life out minute by minute. Next time I'll ask you a month in advance so you can pencil it into your schedule."
Matt laughed at her sarcasm. "I'm sorry, honey." He put an arm around her slim waist. "We'll do something special tomorrow night. I already have it penciled in."
Peggy turned around and nestled her face against his broad chest. The ringing of the phone invaded the privacy of their moment.
"I'll get it," Matt said.
Peggy finished straightening the kitchen, ignoring her husband's phone conversation. She heard him hang up and turned to him. He was ashen-faced, trembling.
"Matt ... what's wrong?" she asked anxiously.
"It's Mom," he choked. "Her house just blew up. That's the explosion we heard. Neal was on the phone. She'd been to his house for dinner and he had just taken her home." He shook his head in disbelief. "Neal left only half an hour ago. He said he didn't notice anything unusual." Matt blinked hard. "I've got to get over there," he said hoarsely.
"No, honey," she said grabbing his arm. "There's nothing you can do."
He stared into her eyes. "My mother has just been killed. Do you understand that?" He took his jacket from the coat rack. "I'll be back when I can."
Peggy hugged him. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. She suppressed the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I'll wait up for you."
He nodded and walked out of the house.
Peggy watched him leave, then walked upstairs and into her daughter's bedroom. She gently caressed her sleeping child's cheek and tucked a blanket around her. Yesterday Amanda Sue celebrated her first birthday. Peggy smiled as she bent and kissed Amanda Sue's warm face. "I love you, baby. Have pleasant dreams," she said softly.
Matt, racing to Neal's house on the north side of town, ran both red lights and signs. He was glad there were no cops around to delay him. They were all most likely at his mother's house anyway. He pulled into the driveway and cut the engine, then hurried out of the car and up the walk to the front door where Neal's wife waited for him. Tears streamed down her face.
"Mom's dead, Matt," she cried, throwing herself into his arms.
He stood unsteadily as he tried to support himself and Emily. He felt nauseous and swallowed the vomit rising in his throat. "Where's Neal?"
Emily moved away from him. She nodded towards the door. "In there," she sniffed. "I ... I sent the kids to a neighbor's for the night." She wiped her eyes with a damp tissue. "I don't know what to do for him, Matt. He's fallen apart. It's like he blames himself."
He squeezed her shoulder. "I'll talk to him." He took a deep breath, then grabbed the brass doorknob to balance himself. After a few seconds he walked into the house. Neal sat on the sofa, head in his hands. His hair was rumpled. Matt walked over to his older brother and sat next to him, putting an arm around Neal's husky shoulder.
Neal raised his head. Tears were splashed on his face. "How did something like this happen?" he moaned. "She was just here--" He dramatically threw his hands in the air. "--In this house for dinner." He shook his head.
Matt frowned. "Why didn't she drive over?"
"Her car is in the garage."
"What's wrong with her car?"
"I don't know. She said something about the brakes."
Matt's breath came out slowly. "None of this makes any sense. I'm going to go over to Mom's house."
"There's nothing left, Matt! It's all gone!"
"Well, maybe Jake Birch can give me some information." He looked into his brother's eyes. "It's a shock, Neal."
He nodded. "It's a nightmare."
"Do you want to come with me?"
"No." He shook his head. "I ... I can't." He swallowed hard.
"I understand," Matt whispered. "I'll be back later." He walked outside. He felt numb. He sucked a large amount of air into his lungs as he glanced around Neal's ranch-style house. He had designed this very house two years ago. At first Matt had hesitated when Neal had come to him with his plans. He tried to persuade Neal to go to another architect, but his brother stubbornly refused. Matt knew it was because of his financial situation at the time, even though Neal flatly denied it. He didn't like working with his siblings--too much of a headache, not that his clients didn't cause him any, but with his family it was different. If something went wrong he didn't want to have to hear about it for the rest of his life or to have tension between them. He'd seen that happen too many times when family members hired one another for projects.
He walked to the back of the house and seated himself on the picnic bench. Bits and pieces of thoughts and conversations randomly filtered through his mind. He'd always been tight with his family and was sorely disappointed when they hadn't accepted his young wife into the family. They were polite enough but never made much of an effort to make her feel a part of them. He wished and hoped they would welcome her with open arms, but it was futile. His thoughts took him back to last week. Peggy and his mother had been at one another's throats again. Peggy fervently vowed revenge. And Matt knew the revenge would be to not let her see her granddaughter. It was the one thing that would break his mother's heart. Their arguments were becoming more frequent, and no matter what Matt tried to do to keep peace it always seemed to backfire and he was put in the middle. He closed his eyes for a moment, then pulled himself to his feet. He walked to the front of the house and over to the driveway, and got into his car.
Twenty minutes later he arrived at his mother's home. He wasn't prepared for the sight that awaited him. He squinted, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him. He turned off the engine and stared in disbelief at the pile of rubble that had once been his boyhood home. He pounded his fists on the steering wheel.
Sheriff Birch walked over to the car. "I'm sorry, Matt." He patted Matt's shoulder. Matt threw his hands up.
"What the hell happened, Jake?" His eyes searched the man's face for some sort of explanation. Jake peered at the debris.
"We don't know."
"Well, you must know something dammit!" Matt impatiently climbed out of his car. He blinked hard. "What about my mother?"
Jake's eyes swept over the wreckage. "Matt, you can see for yourself ... she didn't have a chance. I'm sorry," he said sympathetically.
"What happened, then? Was it a gas leak?" he demanded.
Jake looked at the ground. After a few seconds, he raised his eyes to meet Matt's. "It wasn't an accident."
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