CATalyst for Clues (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 25) Read online

“No. Actually, you’re right, I could use a little me time. I’ve been wanting to check out a book club I read about in your newspaper. And there are a few old friends I haven’t had time to look up.” She smiled. “As much as I’ll miss you all, it will be kind of nice to get out and about without diaper bags and strollers.” She looked at Savannah. “Can I help you pack? Do you need to do any laundry before you go?”

  “Yes, I’ll gather up some things. I’d better pack extra clothes for Michael, since he’s staying longer than he expected.” She let out a sigh. “Oh my, there really is a lot to do, isn’t there?” She looked at her mother. “Let’s start with the laundry. I’ll wait to hear from Michael before I make airline reservations.”

  Savannah had just finished helping Gladys organize the laundry and start the first load when her phone rang. She picked it up. “It’s Michael. Hi, hon. What did Marci say?”

  “She has no problem with it. I was kind of surprised she let him go so easily.”

  “Well, she has no reason to mistrust us. Shall I make the airline reservations?”

  “No, I’ll do it,” he said.

  “Really?”

  “I figure you have enough to do and I’m sort of in between things here. I’ll email the tickets to you. I think I can get you a flight out of Henson—down there near Marci’s and Eric’s. It’ll take you to Reno. You’ll have to change planes a couple of times, but I think it’ll be an easier trip for you doing it this way. Otherwise, you’d have to get up around three in the morning and drive to San Francisco, and you still wouldn’t arrive here until after dark.”

  “Layovers, huh?”

  “Yup. As it is, you’ll land here around eight tomorrow night. I’ll be at the airport to pick you up.”

  “Oh Michael, I’ve invited Brianna to come with us.”

  “Oh? Why?”

  She glanced at her mother, then walked out of the room and spoke quietly into the phone.

  “Craig thinks she could be in danger. They’re still trying to find the Goffs. Craig believes they’re behind the kidnapping and I guess he fears they might try to keep Brianna from talking or identifying them. I thought she’d be safer with us in Connecticut.” When Michael didn’t respond, she said, “Michael?”

  “Yeah, that’s okay. I was just thinking I might need to rent a larger car.”

  “Well, Mom’s staying here, so it’s just the five of us and our luggage. Those baby seats take up a lot of space, though, so we’ll probably need a car like ours with three seats.”

  “Baby seats!” he said. “I’d better rent some.”

  “I’ll bring the stroller that doubles as a car seat. Just rent one for Lily, would you and maybe an umbrella stroller for her too. Oh wait, I can bring the strap-on baby carrier for Teddy, so maybe we won’t need two strollers.”

  Michael let out a sigh. “Little travelers sure need a lot of stuff.”

  She chuckled. “Yes, they do. Hey, we’ll see you tomorrow, hon. Thanks for taking care of all this for us.”

  “Thank you for supporting me in this.”

  “By the way, Michael, where are we staying?” she asked. “Do you have a motel room? We’d better get a second one for Bri.”

  “No, we’re at the old Hanson mansion.”

  “What? That cold, dirty, dusty, cobwebby place?” she shrieked.

  He laughed. “That’s what Holly said. But no, they’ve started renovating it and it’s livable now. I think you gals and the kids will find it quite comfortable—even luxurious.”

  “Oh, really? Well, we have a lot to do here before bedtime tonight. Better get busy.”

  “Okay. I look forward to seeing you. Oh, would you bring me…” he started.

  “I’ve already packed a couple of shirts, shorts, and clean socks for you. Anything else?”

  “I should have known. Thank you, honey. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  ****

  “Are you ready for your second airplane ride?” Savannah asked Adam when he emerged from his house the next morning with a duffle bag hanging over one shoulder.

  “Yeah,” he said, tossing the bag into the back of the car. “Boy, you have a lot of stuff.”

  Savannah winced. “Yes, I hope we can manage it all once we get to the airport. So is this it for you, Adam?” she asked.

  He nodded.

  “Have you kissed your mom goodbye?”

  “Oh.” He started to turn back toward his house, then he did a double take. “Aunt Bri,” he said upon seeing her in the front seat.

  “Hi cutie,” she said.

  Adam smiled. “I didn’t know you were coming with us.”

  “Is that okay with you?” she asked.

  “Heck yeah. Cool. I’ll be right back,” he said, running up the steps to where Marci stood with Rose. He hugged each of them. “Bye, Mom. Bye Rose.”

  “Adam, you can go get loaded up, if you want,” Savannah said. “I’ll be right there. I want to give your mom our itinerary.”

  “Our what?” he asked, scrunching up his nose.

  “Never mind,” Marci said. “Just get in the car.” She called after him. “Mind your manners, young man.”

  “I will,” he said, climbing into the back seat with Lily and Teddy.

  Savannah asked Marci. “How are you?”

  “Okay. Surgery’s Thursday.”

  “This Thursday?”

  She nodded.

  “Have you told…?”

  Marci shook her head. “Tonight. I’ll do it tonight. He’ll understand.”

  Savannah stared into her eyes. “I hope so, Marci, for everyone’s sake.” When Marci broke eye contact, Savannah handed her some notes. “This is where we’ll be. But you can always call our cell phones.” She smiled. “Thank you for letting Adam go. We really appreciate it.”

  “I owe him and Michael a lot.” She touched Savannah’s arm and smiled. “Besides, I know he’s in good hands.”

  Savannah started to leave, but turned back and hugged Marci. “Take care, okay? Everything will be all right.”

  Chapter 9

  “We must go now,” Aggie announced after ending a call on her cell phone the following morning at the Hanson mansion. “Irene says he’s failing fast.” She choked up and Keith put his arm around her shoulders, holding her for a moment. Aggie took a couple of breaths, which seemed to give her renewed energy. “Come on gang, no dillydallying, now. Is everyone dressed?”

  “I think so,” Savannah said.

  Want me to stay with the children?” Brianna asked.

  Aggie took her hand. “You’re a dear. But Brandt wants all of them there at his bedside. Irene said he has requested that they all come.”

  “Will they let the children into his hospital room?” Holly asked.

  Aggie looked to her grandson for his response. “They will, won’t they, Jess?”

  Jess nodded. “When it’s hospice, yes. They have special rooms where families can gather. We won’t stay long. Dad wants everyone to hear the message, that’s all.”

  It was a ten-minute drive to the hospital. After the cars were parked and everyone had entered the hospital building, they were led into an anteroom where they could wait. It wasn’t long before Jess announced that they could reassemble in a hospital room. There they found Brandt propped up against several pillows in his bed. His wife stood to his right.

  He smiled weakly while watching everyone file in, saying, “My family.”

  Jess led Aggie to the head of the bed on Brandt’s left, then leaned toward his father for a moment. He motioned for the others to move closer in order to hear the message.

  Once Brandt was ready, he said, “You probably wonder why I’ve brought you all together.” He glanced around at everyone. “What a beautiful family.” He smiled up at Irene, who held his hand.

  With his other hand, he reached for Aggie’s.

  Keith rolled a chair closer for Aggie and she sat down. He offered one to Brianna
, who was holding Lily in her arms. She shook her head. Within a few moments, however, Brianna led an antsy Lily to a chair in the back of the room and sat down with her, pulling out a toy from a tote bag.

  Brandt took a couple of shallow breaths. “I guess I don’t have much time, so let’s get on with it. Thank you for coming. I just want to say, I’ve learned something that may affect most of you in some way.” He paused and gazed around the room at everyone. “Michael, William…um…Keith William, I pretty much lied when I told you boys that I’m your father. I suppose it was wishful thinking.” Brandt continued to speak haltingly. “Your mother and Scott were…a…very much in love and I think that if you have a test done—you know, one of those new-fangled DNA tests—you’ll find that I am not the father.”

  Savannah squeezed Michael’s hand.

  Holly smiled faintly at Keith and she and Savannah exchanged looks.

  Brandt coughed and had a little trouble catching his breath. Once he’d managed to gain control, he said in a near whisper, “I know where your father is.”

  Michael and Keith looked at each other, then back at Brandt.

  “Did he say what I think he said?” Savannah whispered to Holly.

  Holly looked askance. “Their father’s alive?”

  Aggie gasped. “What?”

  “Scott’s alive, Mom.” Brandt rolled his head back and forth against the array of pillows. “It wasn’t me, who kept this thirty-five-year secret; it was him. He…he came to me a few years ago and told me an unbelievable story.”

  Aggie clasped Brandt’s hand against her chest. “Where is he? Where is my son?”

  “How could that be?” Michael asked.

  Brandt spoke with more effort now. “We thought he had drowned. Searchers gave up when it got dark…there was a storm brewing.” He hesitated. “Somehow, Scott managed to crawl ashore, I guess miles from where we’d been ice-fishing, and he was found by a recluse…a man who lived in the wilderness, off the land like a wild animal.” Brandt coughed and took a deliberate breath. “He nursed Scott back to health…well, as healthy as was going to get. He has some damage from the cold…”

  “Why didn’t he come home?” Aggie asked pleadingly.

  Brandt coughed a couple of times and fought to take his next breath. “He…um…Mom, he didn’t know where home was. He didn’t know who he was. He had no memory of his life before the day that man found him near death on the riverbank.”

  “Amnesia?” Jess asked.

  Brandt nodded.

  “But how did you find out?” Keith asked.

  “Yeah, how did he find you?” Michael questioned.

  “Let me tell you this,” Brandt said, “Scott stayed with the old man for many months, living off the land, mostly. When the man died, Scott decided to leave the mountain and try living a more civilized life. He said he had some bad experiences with locals in the area, so he wanted to go far…far away. With the help of truckers, random travelers, and odd jobs that paid enough for a bus ticket now and then, he found himself in a small town in Colorado. He didn’t know how to introduce himself, so he made up the name, Frank Bloom. Even though he lived a rather low-key life—taking on odd jobs that didn’t require that he have a Social Security number, for example, he did manage to marry and he even had a couple of children.”

  He looked out at the sea of faces. “Eight or ten years ago, Scott’s wife died, his children were grown, and he began remembering some things. I think it all started after he had some minor surgery. He woke up, he said, feeling confused. He started having what he thought to be hallucinations. He kept seeing himself with people he didn’t know, in a place that felt familiar, but that he didn’t recognize. It seemed as though his memory was starting to come back, but it took him some time to realize that’s what was happening.”

  Irene offered her husband some water and he took a sip before continuing. “Unfortunately, rather than seek help through a psychologist or something, Scott retreated again and returned to the wilds. He sold everything he’d accumulated and returned to living off the land.”

  He comforted Aggie when she started to weep, then said, “Long story short, he eventually remembered enough to find his way here and look me up. I was able to give him the rest of the story—his life story.”

  “When was this?” Keith asked. “When did he come to you?”

  “A couple of years ago.”

  “And he left again?” Aggie asked. “Why didn’t you keep him here, where he’d be safe?”

  “Mom, he…well, he was still suffering…still trying to get his bearings. It’s gotta be hard on someone to go through what he did, to finally accept an identity, and then to have that life fall all apart around you.” He took a couple of breaths. “Scott isn’t strong. He has struggled most of his life trying to find himself and he’s still not ready to become Scott Hanson. He doesn’t know how to do that.”

  “I want to see him,” Aggie demanded. “A mother can help a son through something like this. Where is he, Brandt?”

  “I can’t tell you that,” he said in a near whisper.

  “Then why are we here?” Keith asked.

  Michael gave him a supportive pat on the back. “Yes, why are you telling us this?”

  Brandt stared at Keith for a moment, then Michael. “Scott and I have been talking more often lately. When I was diagnosed, I told him about it and I urged him—no, I practically begged him—to know his family before it’s too late and to let you know him.” Brandt closed his eyes and shook his head. “He wouldn’t agree. He said that he couldn’t make the effort. He just didn’t have it in him.” Speaking in a slightly stronger voice, he said, “But he promised me that he would not turn you away if you were to find him. That’s why I’ve asked you here. I want you boys and your families to go in search of your father. You deserve to know him and he certainly deserves to know you.”

  “But…” Holly said. “Where would we start?”

  “I have a few leads that might help,” Brandt said. He looked anxiously at Irene and she handed him a small box. He patted the top. “It’s all in here.” He then held it out toward the two brothers, and Michael and Keith moved forward. When Keith reached for the box, Brandt held onto it and looked at Michael. Michael put his hand on the box along with Keith’s and Brandt released it, saying, “What’s in there should lead you to him, at least eventually. But you’ll need money and a lot of cunning. He’s used to hiding out—even from himself.” He looked at Savannah and Holly, who stood wide-eyed. “Let the women help. Women are clever. Listen to them.” Addressing Keith and Holly, he spoke more quietly. “You’ll notice that the search will begin in your home state.” He looked at Aggie. “Go there with them. I want my brother to know the wonderful woman who gave us life. And you boys deserve to know your father.” He coughed.

  When he couldn’t seem to stop coughing, a nurse stepped into the room and said to the guests, “That’s enough. Maybe you can come back...”

  Brandt shook his head and spoke, his voice weaker now, “I’m finished.” He held his hands out to Michael and Keith. “I’d be proud to be your father. And I pretended to myself for many years that I was. Of course,” he coughed, “I was never a dad. You boys are dads. Mom tells me that you’re wonderful fathers, like I wish…like I wish I could have been. Let Scott be the father he could have been if things hadn’t gone so terribly wrong.” He squeezed their hands and closed his eyes.

  Michael and Keith stared down at Brandt for a few seconds, then looked at each other, both of them fighting back emotion. When Michael saw the anguish on Aggie’s face, he urged her to leave the room with them.

  “Please, will you boys do it?” she pleaded. “Will you find my Scotty? I can’t bear to think of him suffering alone.”

  When Michael hesitated, Savannah said, “How can you not, Michael? If it’s in your heart to do this, I support you.”

  Holly nodded. “I agree. Keith, this is something you must do. If you don’t, you’ll regret it fo
r the rest of your life.”

  The brothers glanced at each other and started to walk out of the room with Aggie. Keith stopped and looked back at Irene, who continued to hold Brandt’s hand. He made eye contact with Michael, who nodded. Keith then approached Irene. “Tell Brandt, when he wakes up, that Michael and I will find our father.”

  She teared up. “Then he will rest in peace. Thank you.”

  ****

  Once they’d returned to the Hanson mansion, Jess approached Michael and motioned for Keith to join them. He handed each of them an envelope. “This is part of your inheritance, in case you need it to finance the…um…search for Scott. My dad and GranGran have changed the will to include you—well, they did that a while back, actually.”

  “Oh, now I didn’t expect…” Michael started.

  Keith frowned. “Hey, that’s not necessary.”

  Jess put up his hand to stop them. “I’m just the messenger. Take it—it’s yours; rightfully yours.” He grimaced. “It’s the least this family can do to right the wrong you boys had to—you know, endure.” He lowered his head. “Twins separated at birth. Now that’s just…”

  Michael and Keith remained quiet. Michael was first to reach out. He firmly clasped Jess’s hand and pulled him into a hug. “Thanks.”

  Keith followed suit, then said to Michael, “Want to walk? I think we have some things to talk about.”

  “Yeah. Let’s do. I’ll go tell Savannah.”

  Once the brothers were alone and walking, Keith remarked, “I don’t remember seeing this trail into the woods when we were here in February.”

  “No. Not with all that snow we encountered then.” Michael glanced at his brother. “So what do you think?”

  “We pretty much promised Brandt and Aggie that we’d try to find him, didn’t we?”

  “I guess we did. How committed are you to doing this, Keith? I mean, it appears that it could be a huge commitment.”

  “Especially for you, since you’d be so far from your veterinary practice. Can you close it up for a while? Or do you have someone who can keep it running for you?”