“What we need to know, Kathy, is exactly what happened,” Quinn told the girl in the hospital bed.
Kathy didn’t break into hysterics. She looked at them gravely. “I swear to you,” she said. “It came to life. It had been in the hall. I didn’t like it—but I wasn’t even paying any attention to it. The cat! Even the cat knew…I felt his claws and heard him hiss and I looked up…and it was right there, right in front of the desk.”
“And it had been in the hall?” Quinn asked.
Kathy nodded. “Colby said that he’s left it in the attic, but it was downstairs, in the hall. I tried to run,” she said in a whisper. “And it grabbed me.”
“It has some kind of a battery. Maybe it did move,” Tracy said. “And those old houses like ours…they’re creepy at night. Where we are on Elizabeth is close to the cemetery. We’re not in a tourist area. It can feel dark and as if…almost as if history is weighing down on you.”
“It moved,” Kathy said softly and flatly to Quinn.
He patted her hand. “We’re going to get rid of it—in a way that will make sure it can never, ever come back to hurt you.”
Tracy swung around and headed out to the hall. Danni came over and told Kathy to feel better, to rest, and to feel assured they’d manage the situation.
Then they left her; Colby Kennedy followed them out to the hall where Tracy was waiting.
Tracy didn’t look very cute or gamine-ish then. She looked cross—and the expression she had for Quinn and Danni was irritated—and maybe a little desperate.
“What are you doing? Encouraging her in this ridiculous notion?”
“Tracy,” Colby said, uncomfortable.
“Look, she was obviously delusional. I almost think she did it just because Colby and I were actually away on a vacation!” Tracy said.
“Tracy!” Colby was visibly shocked.
“I’m sorry; I’m sorry. I love Kathy, but this is a really serious situation and we have to help her—not feed into her fears. She needs therapy—not people who are just trying to humor her,” Tracy said. “I’m sorry,” she told Danni and Quinn. “I’m just tired. Really tired.”
“Yes, of course,” Danni said. “You must be exhausted.”
Tracy nodded. “Forgive me.”
“They’re just going to go down and get rid of zombie-nun,” Colby said.
“Please, just be careful of the house,” Tracy told them. “That’s horrible. Kathy is here…and I’m worried about the house. This is all just—very upsetting. Oh!” She exclaimed, looking stricken. “The cat!”
“Waldorf,” Colby said. “We have a cat. Actually, Waldorf is old—you might remember him?”
“I do—big fuzzy thing,” Quinn said. “I think he was already several years old when I came to visit you.”
“Don’t worry—we love animals,” Danni said. “We’ll take care of Waldorf.”
“There’s a great guest room downstairs,” Tracy told them. “The master upstairs is ours, of course, and I think Kathy had her things in the second bedroom upstairs.”
“Not a problem,” Danni said. “We’ll be fine wherever.”
“The cat! How could I have forgotten Waldorf?” Tracy asked with dismay.
“You were worried about Kathy, first, of course,” Quinn said.
Colby looked worried then, too. “The cops told me they locked the house, but they didn’t mention the cat. I hope poor old Waldorf isn’t out in the streets somewhere,” he said.
“We’ll find Waldorf,” Quinn assured him.
Colby handed Quinn a set of keys. “Call me?” Colby asked anxiously.
“Of course,” Quinn assured him. “First things first—we’ll find Waldorf.”
As they left the hospital hallway, Quinn could hear Tracy speaking to Colby. “I’m kind of worried. I’m not sure you should have called in kooks from New Orleans. I mean, all of New Orleans is voodoo crazy. We’re just going to make poor Kathy worse. I need coffee; I need a drink! I need something. I’ve got to take a break. I’ll be back soon. I need to get out of here—just for a few minutes.”
Danni glanced at Quinn. She had heard, too.
He arched a brow to her.
“I might rather live with the zombie-nun,” Danni said.
He grinned. She waited until they were heading to the parking lot to speak again.
“What do you think?” she asked him then.
“Tracy is upset, maybe,” he said. “Maybe she’s really nice. Or, maybe, poor Colby—great guy—married a bitch.”
Danni smiled. “I’m far more concerned with Kathy,” she said.