The Black Cat Knocks on Wood by Kay Finch Read Free Book Online

then.”
    “Okay. What does all this have to do with a cat?”
    “Well, when I saw Crystal I threw on some clothes and came straight over. She’d left the door open, so I came on in, and that’s when I saw the black cat. He sure looked like Hitchcock.”
    “What was this cat doing?” I still didn’t understand Pearl’s sense of urgency for me to come over.
    “Sitting on a pile of two-by-fours when I saw him.”
    “So you want me to come in and look for the cat?”
    “No. There’s something much worse. I just wanted you to know the cat was here.”
    “I’ll take a look around to see if I spot Hitchcock inside.”I stepped over the threshold, passing Pearl on my way into the building. A clump of black hair sticking to the rough-edged doorjamb caught my attention like a flashing neon sign. I looked at Pearl. “No denying there was a black cat on the premises.”
    Good grief, had Hitchcock somehow made his way into town this morning after all? I might have to invest in a kitty GPS gizmo to keep track of the wandering feline.
    “See, I’m not imagining things,” Pearl said.
    “Guess not.”
    I looked around the two-story entry and didn’t spot Hitchcock or any other cat. A row of new windows installed above the entrance allowed sunshine to spill across the floor, lighting stacks of lumber, scaffolding, and debris left behind by the work crew. The place smelled of sawdust and greasy to-go food wrappers. A cat could find a dozen good hiding places, not to mention things to gnaw on.
    “What a mess,” I said. “Did you talk to Crystal?”
    When Pearl didn’t respond, I turned to face her and noticed her cheeks had reddened even more. Tears filled her eyes as she shook her head.
    “Why not?” I shaded my eyes against the sunlight and scanned the space again, looking all the way up to the top of the scaffolding, where a pile of red bricks sat ready to be added to a partially bricked interior wall. My gaze traveled back to a mute Pearl.
    “What’s the matter?” I said.
    “It’s Crystal.” Pearl’s voice was so low I could barely hear her.
    “What about her?” I walked farther into the space and rounded the stack of two-by-fours, nearly stumbling on bricks scattered on the floor. “Where is she?”
    But before Pearl could answer, I spotted an arm sticking out from under a heap of fallen bricks. The hand with Crystal Devlin’s French-manicured nails, lying in a pool of blood.

6
    My pulse pounded at my throat. “Good Lord, Pearl, what happened? Where are the EMS people?”
    “It’s too late,” Pearl said. “Crystal’s dead. I checked.”
    “You touched her?”
    “How else was I gonna know?” Pearl rubbed her neck as if her worst problem was a kink she had to work out. “It’s not every day I come across an emergency situation, but I wasn’t gonna stand around with my hands in my pockets if she had a chance. I had to stretch, but I managed to reach her neck.”
    “Okay, okay.” Looking at the body, I had no trouble believing that Crystal Devlin was dead. “Jeez, EMS is usually faster than this. What’s taking them so long?” I didn’t even hear a siren in the distance. “Are you sure you gave them the right address?”
    “I had to tell you
he
was here first,” Pearl said.
    “Who?” I said.
    “Hitchcock.” Pearl stared at me, all serious. “Who else?”
    “Did
you
bring him here, Pearl?” I said, even though I couldn’t see how she’d have managed that feat this morning.
    “No, I swear I didn’t, but this is all my fault. I should
never
have brought up the idea of using him.”
    “You’re right,” I said, “but that’s the least of our worries.”
    “If anybody saw your cat, though, it could mean trouble,”
    “What are you talking about?” I moved closer to Crystal, stooped to get a better look at her, and winced. A lump that felt the size of a golf ball clogged my throat.
    Pearl went on, “If people get wind of the fact that the bad luck cat was in this building,