Page 40 of The Matchmaker

“This is the best part of the job, isn’t it?”

She’s right. It’s hard to beat that feeling when you realize that you might have helped steer the trajectory of someone’s entire future in a better direction. Even with all the heaviness around me, at least there’s this bright bit of news.

I settle into my office as the phone rings. It’s a few minutes early for our chat, but when I check the number, it’s not Beenish.

“Nura?” the woman on the other line asks once I answer. “This is Patti—your neighbor from three doors down. I saw the flyer for your kitty taped up over at Java Nut. I think I might have spotted her on my way home.”

“You saw Gertie?” I sit up straight.

“It was definitely a white-and-silver kitty. I tried getting closer, but she got spooked. Slipped behind The Tavern next door.”

I grab my keys. Skirting my desk, I tell Darcy to reschedule my call with Beenish, and hurry out the door. Maybe the police had it right. Maybe the door really did blow open, and then Gertie freaked and bolted. Maybe I can find her. Maybe Khala won’t ever have to know what happened.

—

But three hours of searching the nooks and crannies around The Tavern prove fruitless. There’s no sign of her. No trace at all.

“Any luck?” Patti asks when I pull into my driveway. She’s standing across the street, her beagle on a red leash.

I shake my head. “She may have fled by the time I arrived.”

“I wish I could have grabbed a picture,” Patti says. “She moved quickly.”

I hesitate. “Patti, did you happen to see anything unusual the day Gertie went missing? Any strange cars or people on our street?”

“That was Tuesday, wasn’t it? I babysit the grandkids on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I was gone for much of the day. I’m sorry, honey. If I’d seen your door open, I’d have shut it. I’m happy to share my handyman’s information so you can get it fixed right up.”

“Thanks, Patti.”

“Don’t worry, hon, she’ll turn up. I bet she didn’t go far. Those woods across from us, they’re a dream come true for a cat to explore.”

I look at the shadowed woods in the distance. Pine and poplar and brush ten acres deep. I imagine Gertie slipping out my door to frolic among those trees, chase squirrels, and catch mice in her twilight years. A final moment to reclaim her Siberian forest roots.

If only this was the image that stuck. Not the other thought that runs in a loop in my mind’s eye. Of that man. The one in the dark hooded sweatshirt. His face obscured by a mask. Drifting down my street. Skulking about my house. Who knew that grabbing Gertie, Khala’s treasured pet, was the exact right way to bring me to my knees.

I blink back tears. If that’s his plan, if that’s what happened, if he’s behind this, then it’s working.

Eleven

“Are you sure Darcy’s still on for the wedding?” Azar asks over the car Bluetooth.

“Why wouldn’t she be?” I stop at a red light. I’m on my way to Khala’s to get the jewelry set to go with my sari.

“I’m just saying, I can be there.”

“I thought you broke up with me.”

“Fine. I can admit that I’m jealous. Darcy getting to eat all that amazing food? How’s that fair?”

“You turned it down!” I make a right onto Long Island Drive. Sunlight wanes through the trees.

“Sometimes you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.”

“I’m fine, Azar.”

Besides,I think,I’m pretty sure Zayna wouldnotapprove.

“And you have the Mace?” he asks.

---