Chapter Thirteen – Lia

She’d invited a complete stranger to come and have dinner with them. What a fool. But she could have dinner with Sam at any time, and Lenny certainly looked as if he needed a good meal, and she didn’t mean one that came out of a cat food can.

“Do you have any news on Ophelia?” Lenny asked as he guided them to Rodney’s.

“None. I went over the sheriff’s report. He covered everything, Lenny. Ophelia did just seem to vanish.” Sam tried to keep his fears out of his voice. Lia cast a glance his way; he thought someone had taken Ophelia.

“Where was she last seen?” Lia asked. Had Ophelia let someone into her car? A hitchhiker maybe?

“She went to work. Ophelia works in the truck stop down on the highway. Worked there for five years,” Sam explained

“Mr. Jepson, he owns the truck stop and lets Ophelia bring home any leftovers.” Lenny grinned. “He’s been real kind, he’s come and brought me food five times since Ophelia vanished. He says she can have her job back if we find her in one piece.” Lenny turned and faced Sam, his face white. “She is still in one piece, isn’t she, Sam?”

“I hope so, Lenny.” Sam looked as if he might say more, but then changed his mind.

“It must be so frustrating,” Lia said. “Not knowing.”

“It is,” Sam answered as Lenny ran on ahead. He acted like a kid, skidding along the sidewalk and jumping over any cracks.

“Is there any hope?” Lia asked.

“There’s always hope.” He took her hand. “Thank you, this means a lot to Lenny.”

“I want to help. I know what it’s like to feel as if you are alone with your troubles. It’s good to do something for someone else.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I totally get why you do this job now.”

“You do?” Sam asked.

“Sure. It gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling. And you get paid for it.”

“Ah, the money.” Sam paused. “I don’t get paid a lot.”

“In gratitude you do,” Lia replied.

“And that sure doesn’t pay the bills,” Sam told her honestly.

“I don’t care. My job at the newspaper would allow us to live modestly.” All Lia wanted was for them to be happy, and for them to be together.

“You are a wonderful woman, Lia.” Sam kissed the top of her head.

“I wish I could wave a magic wand and everyone’s problems would simply disappear.”

“Me too. But that is not what life is about. It’s how we deal with our problems that allows us to grow.”

“Wow, aren’t you the philosopher.” She tugged at his arm.

“I learned that from my sister.” Sam’s voice was quiet.

“You have a sister, you never mentioned her. Are you close?” Lia asked.

“We were. Now, not so much. She has a family of her own.” Sam kept his eye on Lenny as two lions crossed the street, reminding Lia of just how different Cougar Ridge was to any other town she’d ever visited.

“But you were close. While you were growing up, just like Lenny and Ophelia.” Now she understood why this was so important to Sam.

“Kind of. Lenny and Ophelia only have each other. They don’t have parents. Or other family.”

“That is sad,” Lia replied.

“It is, which is one of the reasons I took this case, even though chances are I will not get paid.”

“One of the reasons?” Lia asked.

“My sister disappeared when she was fifteen,” Sam confided. Lia had guessed he had something to share, but had not expected this news.

“Oh my goodness. Just like Ophelia. What happened to her?” Lia held her breath, waiting for Sam to answer.

“She was forced to be a dancing bear.”

“No!” Lia could not think of anything worse than being penned up and then forced to dance.

“Yes. I found her eventually and brought her home. I can still remember the fear of not knowing what had happened to her, and the complete relief when she finally came home. That is what I want for Lenny.”

“So what else have you got to go on?” Lia asked.

“Very little.” He lowered his voice. “According to Mr. Jepson, Ophelia left work after her shift. She never made it home. No one saw anything.”

“That’s it? A young woman disappears and no one sees a thing?” Lia asked.

“I checked all the hospitals, but the sheriff had already done that. He interviewed everyone from Cougar Ridge who was on the road that night. And I mean everyone. He’s contacted all the other local sheriffs. He has been thorough. Which leaves me going down less conventional routes.”

“Which are?” Lia asked.

Sam shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. I have passed the only photograph Lenny has of his sister to Nevis, and asked him to clean it up. I’ve placed an ad in the newspaper. Bear Creek News covers a wide area and I’m hoping we might get some fresh leads.”

They reached Rodney’s and went inside, ordering their meal before finding a table. Lenny was well known to the staff, and they all got extra-large servings.

“You are a popular guy, Lenny,” Lia commented.

“It’s Ophelia they like. She’s a good listener. That’s what Rodney always says.” Lenny ate his food fast.

“Hey, slow down, Lenny,” Sam warned.

Lenny looked sheepish. “That’s what Ophelia always says.”

“Sounds like Ophelia is a wise woman,” Sam said.

“She is, she kept us safe, kept us together.” Lenny paused, fork halfway to his mouth. “You will find her, won’t you, Sam?”

“I’m gonna try my hardest.” He sighed and stabbed a chip with his fork. “I’m just surprised they never found her car. Whether she drove it away or someone stole her, and it, I would have thought it would have been found.”

“I know where her car is,” Lenny said brightly.

Sam turned his full attention not Lenny. “You know where it is? Why didn’t you report it to the police?”

“Why would I?” Lenny asked.

“Because it’s a clue. If Ophelia’s car is found, there may be clues inside that help us figure out what happened that night.”

Lenny frowned. “Why would it have clues?”

Sam sighed audibly. “Someone might have taken her from the car. Or she might have left a note. Or the sheriff might be able to find evidence. Forensic evidence, things we can’t see with our eyes. Where was the car found, Lenny?”

Lenny frowned. “In the garage.”

“The garage? You mean someone put it in for repairs?” Sam asked. Lia could feel his sense of exasperation growing. “This is really important, Lenny.”

“It’s in Mr. Pritchard’s garage down the street. He doesn’t have a car of his own, so he lets Ophelia use it. He says if the car stays out in the rain and the snow it’s going to fall apart.” Lenny laughed and ate his dinner.

“Do you know who put the car in the garage?” Sam asked gently.

“Ophelia,” Lenny said as if it was obvious.

“So Ophelia came back here with the car the night she disappeared and then went out again?” Sam asked in disbelief. “That isn’t what you told the police.”

“She didn’t drive the car to work, the battery was dead.”

Sam was utterly silent for one long drawn-out moment as he tried to comprehend what Lenny was saying. Lia put her hand over his, trying to get him to calm down; she could sense his rapid breathing, and hear his heart racing.

“Lenny, why did you tell the police she went to work in her car?” Sam asked at last, once he had himself under control.

“They asked how she usually got to work.” He looked confused. “So I told them she drove her car.”

“But she didn’t that night?” Sam asked.

“No, I told you the battery was dead.” He looked down at his plate. “It was my fault, I left the lights on. I like to go and sit in the driver’s seat and pretend to drive.”

“It’s OK, Lenny, we all make mistakes,” Sam said, regaining his cool. “How did Ophelia get to work on the night she disappeared?”

“She ran.”

“Ran, as a cat?” Lia asked, her heart racing too as she saw the breakthrough in the case, and prayed they would find poor Lenny’s sister.

“Yes, she said she would be late, so she kissed me on the cheek, told me not to worry, and she might be a bit late back. Then she shifted into her cat and ran off. That’s the last time I saw her.”

“So she would have come home the same way. Running. Or would she have gotten a lift?” Sam asked.

Lenny shook his head. “She would run. Don’t get into cars with strangers,” Lenny mimicked what his sister must have taught him.

“We need to finish our meal and then I’ll head back to Bear Creek and go through all the notes on the case again,” Sam said. “There may be something we missed, or when the ad runs, we might need to ask different questions. Did anyone see a … What kind of cat is she?”

“Tabby, like me, only she has a white smudge on her nose.”

“Great. Do you have a photograph?” Sam asked, hopefully.

“Oh, yeah.” Lenny pulled out his phone and let them see the photograph of his sister, she really was a typical tabby cat, the kind you find sitting on numerous laps all around the world.

“She is beautiful,” Lia told Lenny.

“We play together, race around, and climb trees. Ophelia loves being a cat, that’s why we moved here. She said no one would bother us. We could run and play and chase our tails.”

“That sure does sound like fun,” Lia said honestly.

“Does this mean you will find her?” Lenny asked.

“I don’t know, but it does mean we have a lot more to go on,” Sam said, his voice filled with new confidence. So this was what it was like to have a break on a case.

“Maybe you have been looking in the wrong places,” Lia said suddenly.

“What do you mean?” Sam asked.

“We’ve looked everywhere,” Lenny confirmed.

“But you looked everywhere a person might be found,” Lia said. “If she wasn’t human…and she got hit by a car…”

“Oh, wow,” Sam said, suddenly catching her train of thought. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “You are a genius.”

He looked at his watch. “Do you think it’s too late to call the local veterinarians?”

“Who cares if it’s too late?!” Lia said excitedly. She pulled out her phone. “Let’s split down the list of veterinarians in the immediate area, and make some calls.”

“I don’t understand. If Ophelia was a cat, she would still come home. She could turn back to her human body and tell someone who she was.” Lenny looked even more confused.

“What if she can’t shift back?” Lia asked, not wanting to frighten Lenny. “She could have a broken leg, or lost her memory.”

“You mean she won’t know who I am?” Lenny asked, mortified.

“We don’t know, Lenny. But if we find her, we can help her, no matter what is wrong with her,” Sam promised.

While they ate, Sam and Lia took turns calling around the various veterinarians, apologizing for the late hour. A couple of the calls ended abruptly with advice to call back in the morning. However, after half an hour, there were three eaten meals and one lead.

“There’s an animal shelter over in Bear Bluff. They have taken in a cat with a broken leg, which matches our description. It was hit by a car and taken to the veterinarians in Bear Bluff. After they patched her up, she was transferred to the animal shelter while she recovered,” Lia said, getting up from the table. “The young woman over there, Ronni, is willing to open up for us to take a look.”

“They are?” Sam asked incredulously. “I was just about to suggest we leave this until the morning.”

“No, we can go now.” Lia stood up. “Damn, we still have to get back to Bear Creek and get a car.”

“We can use Ophelia’s,” Lenny suggested.

“I thought the battery was dead,” Sam replied.

“I charged it up,” Lenny told him. “I promised her I would, since it was my fault.” His face lit up with excitement. “She won’t mind if we borrow it, not if it means she can come home.”

“Lenny, we don’t know for sure it’s her,” Lia said gently, but it was no good, Lenny was beyond excited.

“It has to be her, that’s why she hasn’t come home.” He was out of his seat and running for the door. “I’ll go on my own if you don’t want to go.”

“No, we can all go,” Sam said. He cast a glance at Lia. “That’s if you want to come too.”

“Of course, I would not miss this for the world.” Lia only hoped that when they reached the animal shelter, they would find Ophelia. One happy ending was better than none, and she still could not see how Sam was going to figure out who stole the jewelry, and who was trying to blackmail Mr. Delamere and blame Lia.