Page 18 of Out of the Shadows
“I understand,” she said, looking glum. “You don’t have to stay here, Jack. Logan can be overprotective.”
“Until we know what’s going on, there will be an Angelhart here. At least for a couple days, then hopefully we’ll have answers.”
“Mom?” Cody called. “Mom!”
He sounded worried, and Laura and Jack jumped up and ran to the barn. Cody was coming out.
“What’s wrong?” Laura asked.
“I can’t find Nimbus! She’s not in the box I made for her. What if those people scared her? What if she ran away?”
“Remember, cats don’t always have kittens where we want them to. She might be looking for a different nest.”
“But she could have them any day! If she got scared and ran off and got hurt the kittens will die.”
He was near tears.
“Let’s look for her,” Laura said. “We’ve been feeding her and she hasn’t left for two weeks. I don’t think she would leave when she is so close to giving birth.”
Jack followed the mother and son into the barn, but he gave them space. Laura looked in each stall, Cody at her side. They both patted the horses when they walked by. At the last stall on the right, Laura said, “Aw.”
“Where is she?” Cody said.
Jack walked up behind them as Laura went into the stall and squatted in the corner. She moved some of the hay and a cat hissed. Laura spoke softly to the cat, stroked it, put her hand on its stomach. “You’re a good mom, Nimbus,” she said.
The cat was small, mostly gray with white paws and a gray-and-white-striped tail.
“I missed her,” Cody said. “I looked and didn’t see her.”
“She burrowed into the hay. It makes her feel safe,” Laura said. “Bring her food and water here, okay?”
Cody ran to another vacant stall and returned with the food and water. He carefully placed it close to the cat.
“Is she having the kittens?” Cody asked quietly.
“My guess is two days. I think she wants to have them here, so we’ll check on her and let her be for now.”
“Okay. I’ll bring her fresh water tonight and in the morning. But we should let her rest, right?”
Laura stood. “Right.”
They walked out. Cody said to Jack, “I found Nimbus hiding behind the barn with a sore leg. Mom said she was feral, but I talked to her and fed her and didn’t scare her for days and days until she trusted me and came into the barn. Then we found out she was pregnant. She only lets me pet her now, not Sydney.” He said that with some pride. “And of course Mom, but all animals love Mom.”
“I don’t know about that,” Laura said and put her arm around her son’s shoulders. She turned her left arm up, revealing a faded scar at least three inches long. “I’ll never forget Whiskers, the cat who gave me this. He was one mean feline.”
Chapter Six
Margo left Logan’s office without talking to him and drove to his golf resort nestled in Desert Ridge, an area west of Scottsdale. He’d bought it several years ago with a group of local investors who wanted to bring one of the oldest Phoenix resorts back to life after years of neglect. Golf was as common as breathing in the desert, and while Margo didn’t particularly care for the sport, her dad, Jack, and younger sister, Luisa, loved it.
True to her word, Veronica had contacted the resort manager, Annette DuBois, who already knew of Margo from the work Angelhart Investigations had been doing for Logan. She drove Margo in a golf cart to the far side of the property where the maintenance building was located.
“Veronica said to help with anything you need,” Annette said with a slight accent. Margo wasn’t good with accents—she thought maybe European. Annette had been with the resort since Logan and his group bought it.
“Can you tell me anything about Charlie Barrett?”
“I can tell you that he didn’t come to work on Saturday when he was scheduled. I don’t normally concern myself with day-to-day staff issues, but because it’s Charlie I’m kept apprised.”
“Which means?”
