4. Protect Your Own #2
“I’m going to start by looking at his social media and all of his teammates and roommates.
If I can confirm where he was that way, there will be no reason to approach him.
In that case, our potential culprit could be anyone, though.
Anyone who follows the accounts of your ex friends and saw that post, whether they interacted with it or not. ”
Luke and Jamie look at each other, as if they are having some kind of silent conversation.
“In that case,” my boyfriend says. “We’ll have to see that Bex is never alone at night.”
Luke agrees. “And during the day, Bexie-Boo, you need to keep where there are other people unless you’re with one of us. If your attacker isn’t Kurt, it could literally be anyone.”
Ares nods. “That’s a good idea. I’m going to give you my phone number, too. If you see or remember anything that could help us identify your stalker, call me. If you’re alone and you don’t feel safe, call me.”
I thank him, grateful for how helpful he’s being. I guess in a small town like Star Cove, even the cops are more personable than in a bigger city like Bridgeport.
“I know you guys tidied up your rooms last night,” Ares says, rising from his chair.
“I wish you hadn’t; that was an active crime scene, and now it’s contaminated.
However, I’d still like to take a walk around the house to see if you can identify anything that might still be out of place or missing. ”
We all follow Ares inside, going from room to room to take stock of everything.
“Nope,” Jamie concludes once we reconvene in the living room. “We tidied up a little too well.”
“Could have given Mary Poppins a run for her money.” Keene grumbles.
Was he always so funny? I wonder as I snort and the sip of Diet Coke I had just taken comes out of my nose.
“Easy there,” Jamie pats my back as I cough.
“Wrong… pipe.” I say between coughs.
Connor offers to help, collecting the can of soda I dropped. “Let me get you a glass of water, and let’s clean up this spillage before Poonani gets to it. That cat is hyper enough as it is; she doesn’t need caffeine.”
“On it.” Luke precedes Connor into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a kitchen towel and a bottle of water for me.
“Speaking of the demon kitty, have you guys seen Poonani today? She didn’t come to check out the stranger who just entered her territory, and her bowl of wet food looks untouched. ”
“What?” Keene sounds immediately concerned.
“Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen her since I dished out her dinner last night.
She came out the second I opened the can of cat food.
Fuck, I was so concerned with the breaking in and the stalker that I didn’t even think about her. I’m the worst cat daddy ever.”
Connor clasps his teammate on the shoulder. “No, you’re not. You dote on that cat and spoil her rotten. We’ve had a few eventful hours, your mind has been occupied by everything that’s been going on.”
“That doesn’t justify that I didn’t even notice that she didn’t come into the kitchen the second I put food out for her. And of course I spoil her. She’s my baby girl; she deserves everything.”
Connor squeezes his shoulder. “We were all worried about the break in and about Coach Harrison’s punishment.
I can’t believe he just made us skate extra drills.
And by the way, remember the last time we couldn’t find her?
She was inside the cabinet under your bathroom sink.
I bet twenty bucks she got disturbed by the intruders and went to hide there. ”
There’s a warm feeling in my heart as I watch them taking off to Keene’s bathroom. They aren’t just teammates and roommates. They’re friends. They support each other on and off the ice.
That warmth is replaced by sadness when I think about the people I considered my friends. Aisha and Kevin were my closest friends in the Pure Shine house. I can’t believe the horrible things they said about me and how they encouraged people to come after me.
“She isn’t in there.” The panic in Keene’s voice distracts me from my self-pity party for one. “What if she’s run away? What if whoever broke in took her?”
Jamie intervenes to calm him down. “We’ll go look for her, like we did the last time you couldn’t find her.
Not to make light of the situation, dude, but have you met your cat?
Poonani is the fiercest little creature I’ve ever met.
If they had tried to take her, she would have fought them.
There would be some blood somewhere. I bet they spooked her, and she ran. ”
Ares agrees. “Jamie is probably right. I’m not officially on duty for a couple of hours, I can help you look. Is there any other place she likes around campus aside from this house?”
Keene shakes his head. “No. For the most part, she stays in the house or enjoys the sun on the deck. We were outside for a while, and we didn’t see her. This isn’t a good sign.”
“Maybe she really got scared, and she’s hiding.” I intervene. “I was sitting outside with Lady M, and she didn’t come out—shit, Lady M! If you’re a bad cat daddy, I’m the worst fish mommy. What if Poonani is out there having sushi for breakfast?”
I run outside but, to my relief, Lady M is swimming around in her fishbowl totally oblivious to our human drama. The fishbowl is still in the shade, on the same corner of the table where I left her earlier.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck. Where is she?” Keene wails.
Luke takes the situation in his stride. As team captain, I know he feels responsible for his teammates’ wellbeing.
“Ok. Let’s keep calm. Let’s split into pairs so we can cover more ground quickly.
I’m going to text Tucker and Corey and have the rest of the team walk around campus.
They can check the area around Greek Row and the arena.
You and Connor go to the food hall. If she’s gotten lost, she’ll be attracted to food.
Especially since she didn’t eat her breakfast. Jamie and Ares, do you mind checking the opposite end of campus?
By the beach and the water sports facilities.
Bex and I are going to look around this part.
All the residential buildings on campus and the old road that ends by the little gas station right on the border with Shell Cove. Maybe she’s gone hunting over there.”
Everyone agrees on Luke’s plan.
“Let me put Lady M back into my room,” I say, picking up the fishbowl. “And I’ll be right out.”
Just as I turn toward the open back door, I hear a rustling noise coming from the opposite direction. We’re the last row of condos in the area, and our decks are bordered by a few shrubs, a bamboo fence covered in jasmine, and short trees that must have been planted fairly recently.
I catch some movement in the corner of my eye. “Poonani?” I call.
The bushy geranium by the three steps that allow access to our deck from the back moves again.
“There’s something in there.” I point out, catching a flash of black fur by the roots.
“Meow.”
Everyone freezes, their gazes focusing on the geranium.
Almost fluorescent green eyes peek at us from under the leaves, as Poonani’s little snout becomes partially visible.
“Thank fuck.” Keene exhales, but his relief is short-lived as he immediately worries about his cat’s wellbeing. “I hope she isn’t injured. Come here, kitty, kitty.” He crouches down, calling softly.
It’s surprising how limber he is for someone of his size. But the thing that surprises me the most is how his entire demeanor changes when he’s in the presence of his cat.
“Come on, baby girl,” he coaxes her. “You must be hungry. Daddy has some yummy food for you. If you come out, I’ll open you a can of your favorite tuna.”
Poonani might be a little demon spawn, but she’s not a stupid animal. The promise of a treat works its magic, and the small black cat comes out from under the bush.
Keene moves slowly toward her, so as not to spook her, and maybe my emotions are heightened by the shocking events of the past few hours, but their reunion brings tears to my eyes.
“Hey little girl,” Keene coos. “Are you ok? What have you got there?”
There’s something gray in her mouth; the ends are hanging from either side.
At first, I brace myself for it to be a dead mouse or some kind of prey. Keene’s back is in my way, and I can barely see what it is.
“Let me see what you brought in, please?”
This is not the first time I’ve witnessed how Poonani turns into a sweetheart with her owner. Anyone else would have been sliced thinner than Philly cheesesteak; but when Keene asks to see what’s in her mouth, Poonani surrenders her loot without batting an eye.
“It’s a piece of fabric.” Keene observes, picking up his cat with one hand and standing back up with the scrap of gray fabric in the other hand. “Where did you get this, huh?”
“It looks like a piece from a T-shirt.” Jamie observes, getting closer to his teammate. “It’s vaguely familiar. Can I see it?”
Keene hands him the piece of fabric.
“Hmm,” Jamie muses after examining the scrap for a few moments. “I think this is from one of our workout shirts. Specifically, a piece of sleeve. See this? It’s part of the Cove Knights logo that’s printed on the sleeves.”
Luke demands to see it, too. “You’re right. This is from our workout shirts. Poonani, where did you get this from?”
Keene’s cat confirms that she’s a clever little girl, because she answers my brother’s question with a meow and a swish of her tail from side to side.
“Well,” Keene says, stroking the space behind Poonani’s ear. “Whoever’s shirt that came from, it’s ruined. It’s filthy, too. What did you do, girl? Did you drag your trophy through the mud?”
“She must have,” Connor comments. “There are a couple of brownish red stains. Where did you go, Poonani? Last night it wasn’t raining. Did you try to bury your prey?”
I had totally forgotten that Ares was still here.