Read Die Again for Free Online Page B

you’re the one who got stuck with the cat, so I told him I’d drop this off. Has he torn up your furniture yet?”
    “Demolished a can of sardines, that’s about it. Come in, you can see for yourself how he’s doing.”
    “Probably a lot better than the other one.”
    “Gott’s white cat? What did you do with it?”
    “No one can catch it. It’s still hiding somewhere in that house.”
    “I hope you gave it some fresh food and water.”
    “Frost has taken charge, of course. Claims he can’t stand cats, but you should’ve seen him down on his hands and knees, begging kitty, pretty please! to come out from under the bed. He’ll go back tomorrow and change the litter box.”
    “I think he could really use a pet. He’s got to be pretty lonely these days.”
    “Is that why you took one home?”
    “Of course not. I took him home because …” Maura sighed. “I have no idea why. Because he wouldn’t leave me alone.”
    “Yeah, he knows a patsy when he sees one,” Jane said with a laugh as she followed Maura to the kitchen. “There’s the lady who’ll feed me cream and pâté.”
    In the kitchen Maura stared in dismay at the tabby, who was on top of the kitchen table, his front paws planted on her laptop keyboard. “Shoo,” she snapped. “Get off!”
    The cat yawned and rolled onto his side.
    Maura scooped him up and dropped him onto the floor. “And stay off.”
    “You know, he can’t really hurt your computer,” said Jane.
    “It’s not the computer, it’s the table. I eat at that table.” Maura grabbed a sponge, squirted it with spray cleaner, and began wiping the tabletop.
    “I think you might have missed a microbe there.”
    “Not funny. Think of where that cat’s been. What his feet have been walking through in the past four days. Would you want to eat at that table?”
    “He’s probably cleaner than my three-year-old.”
    “No disagreement there. Children are like fomites.”
    “What?”
    “Spreading infections everywhere they go.” Maura gave the table one last vigorous swipe and threw the sponge in the trash can.
    “I’ll remember that when I get home. Come to Mommy, my sweet little fomite .” Jane opened the bag of kitty litter and poured it into the plastic litter box she’d also brought. “Where do you want to put this?”
    “I was hoping I could just let him out and he’d do his business in the yard.”
    “Let him out and he might not come back.” Jane clapped litterdust from her hands and straightened. “Or maybe that’s a good thing?”
    “I don’t know what I was thinking, bringing him home. Just because he attached himself to me. It’s not as if I wanted a cat.”
    “You just said Frost needed a pet. Why not you?”
    “Frost just got divorced. He’s not used to being alone.”
    “And you are.”
    “I have been for years, and I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon.” Maura looked around at the spotless countertops, the scrubbed sink. “Unless some miracle man suddenly appears.”
    “Hey, that’s what you should call him,” said Jane, pointing to the cat. “Miracle Man.”
    “That is not going to be his name.” The kitchen timer beeped, and Maura opened the oven to check on the casserole.
    “Smells good.”
    “It’s eggplant Parmesan. I couldn’t stomach the thought of eating meat tonight. Are you hungry? There’s enough here for two of us.”
    “I’m going to my mom’s for dinner. Gabriel’s still in DC, and Mom can’t stand the thought of me and Regina by ourselves.” Jane paused. “Maybe you want to join us, just for the company?”
    “It’s nice of you to ask, but my dinner’s already heated up.”
    “Not necessarily tonight, but in general. Anytime you need a family to hang out with.”
    Maura gave her a long look. “Are you adopting me?”
    Jane pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table. “Look, I feel we still need to clear the air between us. We haven’t talked much since the Teddy Clock case,