Cat Trick Read Online Free Page A

a little disbelieving.
    “A shriveled, tap-dancing raisin that had no rhythm.”
    He nodded slowly. “You win. That definitely is more embarrassing.”
    I bumped his arm with my shoulder. “Someday I’ll tell you about the time my mother
     picked me up at school after rehearsal for
Gypsy
.”
    “I look forward to it,” he said, smiling down at me.
    The street curved, following the shoreline, and ahead I could see that one of the
     tents was about three-quarters assembled. We crossed at the corner, and as we got
     closer to the boardwalk, I caught sight of Burtis Chapman and Mike Glazer.
    Burtis was built like an offensive lineman, with wide shoulders and huge, muscled
     arms. His skin was weathered from working outdoors and his hair was snow-white in
     a Marine Corps brush cut. He was extremely well-read, I knew, but was happy to play
     the uneducated hick if it suited him.
    Mike was about the same height, only leaner, with sandy blond hair cropped close and
     a couple days’ stubble. In his black wool commando sweater and gray trousers, he looked
     like a city boy.
    “I just think we’d be better served with something from this century,” he was saying,
     pointing at the tent. He didn’t look happy. “And a lighter fabric—a polyester or nylon.”
    I remembered Maggie rolling her eyes in exasperation as she’d described Mike as a
     festering boil on the backside of life. It was about as close to swearing as Mags
     got.
    For all that Mike seemed to be arrogant and condescending, I knew he could be kind
     of personable as well. He’d spent some time in the library the previous morning, walking
     around looking at the large collage panels that told the history of the building.
    “Could I help you?” I’d asked, walking over to the magazine section, where he’d stood.
    He’d smiled and shaken his head. “Thanks, no. I was just taking a trip down memory
     lane. These photos are incredible.”
    “Take your time,” I’d said. “There are more panels hanging in the computer room.”
    He’d checked his watch and frowned. “I wish I could, but I have to get going.” He
     shrugged and looked around. He seemed a little sad. “Maybe Thomas Wolfe was right;
     you can’t go home again.”
    “I prefer
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
,” I’d said.
    Mike had frowned, not getting the reference.
    “There’s no place like home.”
    He’d nodded his head with just a hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. “I’ll
     try to remember that.”
    Burtis was standing silently, holding a sledgehammer in both of his large hands. His
     expression was unreadable, until I got close enough to see his eyes. There was a hint
     of menace in them. If the rumors I’d heard about Burtis were even partly true, I knew
     he wasn’t a man to get on the bad side of.
    “Well?” Mike said impatiently.
    “My turn to talk now, is it?” Burtis said, looking at the younger man as though he
     were something Burtis had just scraped off his shoe. “First of all, boy, both these
     tents here are just a couple of years old. That canvas is water-repellent, mildew-resistant
     and flame-retardant. My tents don’t sag when they’re wet and they don’t blow over.
     When my boys put a tent up, it stays up.” There was a challenge in his body language
     and his tone.
    Mike Glazer shook his head and made a dismissive gesture with one hand. “Forget it.
     I’ll talk to Liam.”
    He walked away, heading for a group of people standing over by the retaining wall
     between the river and the boardwalk. Burtis caught sight of us. He nodded to Marcus
     and smiled at me. Whatever anger had been there just the moment before was gone.
    “Hello, Kathleen,” he said. “When are you comin’ to have breakfast with me again?
     I don’t have to wait for you to fall over another body, do I?”
    We’d had a lot of rain early in the spring, and all that water had caused an embankment
     to let go out at Wisteria Hill while I was standing on top of it.