DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS by Mallory Kane Page A

shoes, and peered under the car. “I don’t see anything.”
    “I’m afraid she could be up under the hood,” Carolyn wailed.
    “Maybe I should start the engine,” Laney said drily, knowing that if the cat were in the engine compartment, cranking the car could be the end of kitty.
    “Do you think that would work?” Carolyn asked, wide-eyed.
    “No.”
    “Oh.”
    Laney thought she saw a hint of anger cross Carolyn’s plump face. The expression twisted her bland, wide-eyed countenance into a face that seemed oddly familiar. But it was dark out, and Laney was still in that drowsy waking-up-from-a-deep-sleep haze, so she wasn’t completely sure.
    Then Carolyn brightened. “I know,” she said excitedly. “I’ll go on the other side and you stay on this side and shine the flashlight under the car. I’ll call her. Maybe the light plus the sound of my voice will make her come to me.”
    “Maybe,” Laney muttered. “Are you sure the cat didn’t run while you were at my door?”
    “I don’t think so,” Carolyn said as she walked back around the car. “Bend down again and shine the light,” she said.
    Laney did as she was told, doing her best not to wish evil plagues on Carolyn and her cat.
    “Oh, look!” Carolyn cried.
    Laney stood. “What?”
    “It’s Binkie!” She pointed behind Laney. “She’s running back toward our house.” Carolyn squealed and clapped her hands delightedly.
    Laney looked at her askance, then turned, but saw nothing resembling a white cat. “You saw her?”
    Carolyn nodded eagerly. “I’ll bet she’ll be waiting at the door when I get there,” she said, scurrying up the street.
    “Do you want to borrow my flashlight?” Laney called after her.
    “No. We’re fine.”
    Laney shrugged and headed inside, closing and locking the door. She opened the refrigerator to take out the makings for spinach pasta. But just as she’d stacked the container of cheese on top of the spinach and was reaching for the butter, the doorbell rang again.
    “Oh, no you don’t,” she whispered. “I am not going after that cat again.” She walked to the foyer and called out, “Who is it?”
    “Uh—hi. It’s Carolyn again. I forgot something.”
    “What?” Laney snapped.
    “Your phone.”
    “My—” Laney wasn’t sure she’d heard right. “My phone? What are you talking about?”
    “I found it on the ground,” Carolyn said. “I meant to hand it to you but I forgot.”
    Laney glanced down at her purse. “I wasn’t carrying my phone. It must be somebody else’s.”
    “It was right beside your car—on the driver’s side.”
    “That’s imposs—” She stopped herself. Maybe when she climbed out of the car? “Hang on a minute.” She felt around inside her purse, but she didn’t feel the familiar cool rectangular shape of her smartphone. She emptied her purse onto the foyer table. No. Her phone wasn’t there. Baffled, she felt the pockets of her slacks. Not there either.
    Shaking her head, she stood and unlocked the door. “What color is it?”
    Carolyn stood there, holding a phone in a white case. “Here you go,” she said with a smile. “This is yours, isn’t it?”
    Laney took the phone. “It’s mine,” she said, puzzled. She felt as if she’d just been pranked.
    “Thanks again for helping me,” Carolyn said, waggling her fingers. “Bye.” She whirled and sashayed down the steps.
    After closing the door and locking it with a determined twist, Laney stood there in the foyer, looking at her phone. It had a few specks of dirt on it. Lying beside the car on the driver’s side. It must have dropped out of her purse, although she wasn’t sure how it could have.
    Oh, well. It was lucky that Carolyn found it. Otherwise it would have lain outside all night, and there was a prediction of heavy showers.
    * * *
    E THAN WAS ON his way to Laney’s house when his phone rang. He’d decided to take her statement to her and get it signed tonight, telling himself that if she