Depawsit Slip (Vanessa Abbot Cat Protection League Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) (7 page)

“Do you know a guilty person when you meet one, too?” she asked.

He laughed. “I wish. If I did, I would know who to look at for this murder.”

“Do you have any clues at all?” she asked.

Pete shook his head and gazed down at Ambrosia. “What about you?”

Vanessa shrugged. “All of your suspects have come and talked to me since I saw you last. I had a feeling they would. People need someone to talk to, even if it’s just to say they didn’t kill Alfred. All three of them have just as much of a motive to kill him as I do—all except....” Vanessa stopped.

“What?” he asked. “All except who?”

Vanessa’s mind raced through the events of the previous few days. Then she shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m saying. Something about this doesn’t make sense.”

“Talk to me,” he urged. “Tell me what’s on your mind. Anything you can tell me will help.”

“Do you remember what you just said about Henry helping you solve this case?” Vanessa asked. “Well, you aren’t far off. You might not believe it, but these cats know things people can never know.

This afternoon, Walter came into the shop. He was looking for a cake stand for a wedding lunch he’s giving. He started going through the glassware, and Flossy was sitting there, just like she usually does. He smiled and reached out to pet her. I don’t know what got into her, but she hissed at him and scratched at him. She ripped open his hand.”

Pete’s eyes widened again. “That wasn’t very nice.”

“The thing is,” Vanessa explained, “Flossy’s always the most sedate, friendly cat in the world. She never scratched anyone in her life.”

“So what does that have to do with a murder case?” he asked.

“If I didn’t know better,” she replied, “I would think Flossy suspected Walter of the murder. Cats can sense when a person isn’t good or nice, or when they’re pretending to be something different than what they really are.”

“So,” he concluded, “you think—or Flossy thinks—that Walter is the murderer.”

“But he has the least reason to do it,” Vanessa went on. “The other two have much more motive to kill Alfred. At least, I know about their motives. I don’t know about Walter having any motive.”

“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have one,” Pete replied.

“Tell me what the other two had against him.”

“Penny came here, to my apartment, as soon as you finished interviewing her at the bank,” Vanessa told him. “She started telling me about a wedding she was doing. She’s a wedding planner, you know.”

“I know,” he replied.

“Well, she started telling me about all the nightmare weddings she has to deal with,” Vanessa went on. “It was really funny. Then she started telling me about this Mafioso who was the bride’s brother. He insisted everything be done his way, and no one could do anything without his approval.”

Pete nodded. “I see. So you think Botchweather was the Mafioso.”

“That’s what I thought at first,” Vanessa explained. “I mean, who else could she be talking about? But then Walter came in looking for his cake stand. He wanted it because he was giving a lunch for his sister, who was getting married. He started complaining about no one taking his suggestions and the wedding planner messing things up.”

“So you think Walter is the Mafioso,” Pete added.

“I just don’t know anymore,” Vanessa replied. “I’m confused. If Walter is the Mafioso, then Penny has no reason to kill Alfred. But Walter isn’t a Mafioso. He doesn’t have any criminal dealings.”

Pete knit his brows. “All right. I see what you’re saying. So tell me about the plumber, that Fleetwood character.”

“He’s got the same story as my boy Tom,” Vanessa replied. “He made the mistake of placing some bets with Alfred, and when the time came to pay, he didn’t have the money. He was going to ask Alfred for an extension, but....” Vanessa jumped up in her chair. Tapioca caught hold of her pant legs with his claws to stabilize himself, and she winced in pain. “Oh, goodness! I just remembered. How silly of me.”

“What?” Pete asked.

“Ollie told me the whole story,” she told him. “He was going to ask Alfred for an extension, but he met up with someone else who advised him against it. The person he met was Alan Braithwaite. Alan told him he should do everything he could to avoid getting more into debt with Alfred than he already was. He told Ollie that Alfred would compound the debt until it was so big Ollie would never be able to pay it off.”

Pete shrugged. “Same old story.”

“That’s not the whole story, though,” Vanessa told him. “Alan Braithwaite is Penny’s brother. She was married, and Cartwright is her married name. Ollie says that Alan must have had some dealings with Alfred himself. That’s how he knows what sort of businessman Alfred was.”

“So you think Penny killed Alfred out of revenge for something he did to her brother,” Pete concluded.

Vanessa raised her hands. “I’m just telling you what I heard. I’m not saying anybody did anything to anybody else.”

Pete nodded. “I appreciate you telling me all this. And I really appreciate you telling me about your own dealings with Alfred. I knew you were an honest person.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before,” she murmured.

“Never mind,” he replied. “Now let’s talk about something else.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“Let’s talk about you and me,” he told her.

“You and me?” she repeated. “Is there a you and me?”

He leaned forward in his chair, and Ambrosia grumbled to herself. Pete took Vanessa’s hand from the arm of her chair and rolled her fingers in his hand. “I’d like there to be a you and me.”

Vanessa blushed. “I’m old enough to be your mother.”

He snorted. “How old are you? You can’t be older than I am.”

Vanessa tugged at her hand, but he held onto her. “A lady never tells her age.”

“Not even a cat lady?” he asked.

She laughed. “All right. I’m forty-eight.”

“I’m forty-nine,” he told her.

Vanessa lowered her eyes. Was she really batting her eyelashes at this man like a blushing schoolgirl? Was her heart really pounding with excitement at the thought that something could happen between them? And what could happen between them after all these years of living alone with her cats? They would never forgive her for betraying them.

“Listen, Pete,” she began.

“Don’t say anything.” He caressed her hand. “It’s all right.”

“No, I have to say it,” she replied. “You’re a police officer, and you’re investigating a murder that I’m involved in. Let’s agree to keep things platonic between us, at least until the case is resolved.”

He let go of her hand and leaned back. “All right. If it will make you more comfortable, we can agree to that. I just want you to understand how I feel about you. I want something more between us than just platonic friendship. You deserve better than to live here alone with a bunch of cats.”

Vanessa bristled. “What’s wrong with living with cats?”

He looked around. If he could only hear their thoughts the way she did. “Don’t you get lonely sometimes?”

“Lonely? Never,” she replied. “I have all the company I need.”

He frowned. “Then I guess you don’t really need me.”

“I don’t need you,” she replied. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want your company.”

“Do you want my company?” he asked.

“I always enjoy the time we spend together,” she told him. “Let’s leave it at that.”

“I enjoy the time I spend with you, too,” he replied. “I haven’t felt that way about anybody in a long, long time. That’s why I don’t want to let it go.”

“You don’t have to let it go,” she told him. “Just keep things the way they are right now. Don’t try to change it.”

“All right.” He stood up.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“I thought you wanted me to leave,” he replied.

“No way!” she exclaimed “Sit down. We’re only just getting started.”

Pete smiled and sat down again. “All right. Where were we?”

Vanessa rolled over in bed, but she made sure not to disturb the cats. AngelPie peeped on her pillow, and Foxle squirmed under the blankets down near her feet.

“Another day, my lovelies. Time to get up.”

She snuck out of bed and took a shower. When she came out of the bathroom with a towel around her head, she found the cats waiting for her. They cried for breakfast.

“I’m coming,” she told them. “Just wait until I get dressed.”

They didn’t wait. They screamed and crowded around her, sitting on her feet so she could hardly walk. She didn’t have the heart to push them away. She waded through them to her closet and got dressed.

She spotted Teddy in the mirror while she ran a brush through her hair. “You don’t have to worry. I would never give you up for anything, not even that nice detective.”

She put on her sweater and went to the kitchen. AngelPie jumped up on the counter to watch her open the cans.

“You know better than to get on the counter, AngelPie,” she scolded.

The cat didn’t move, and Vanessa put down her can opener. She hooked her hand under AngelPie’s stomach and set her on her feet on the floor.

“Stay down, now. Don’t make me tell you again. You know the rules. You don’t see anyone else doing that.”

She fed the cats in the kitchen. Then she took another dish of food to Aurora in her nest by the fire. The kitten crawled out of the blankets and came toward her.

“That’s a good girl,” Vanessa murmured. “I knew you’d be all right. Yes, you’re right. He’s a very nice man, and he seems to like cats. That’s what I like about him.”

The kitten bent her head into the bowl and started to eat.

Vanessa burst out laughing. “That’s funny. You’re such a clown, Aurora, and it’s so nice to see you getting your sense of humor back. You’re going to make a wonderful addition to the Cat Protection League family.”

The kitten licked her lips and glanced up at Vanessa.

“No, I would never give you away,” she told the cat. “Not even to a nice family.”

The kitten started licking her paw and cleaning her face.

“Well, if you really want me to, I will,” Vanessa told her. “If you want to live with children, I’ll find a suitable family. This is the first time any of my cats has expressed any desire to live anywhere else. I’m stunned.”

The kitten sneezed and blinked.

“Yes, yes,” said Vanessa. “I can find a family for you. I’m not sure how to go about it, but if that’s what you want, I’ll do it. No, you haven’t hurt my feelings. I suppose it’s different for a young kitten like you. I’m used to surly old buggers like Henry and Ambrosia who don’t want to do anything but eat and sleep all day. I understand perfectly how it would be a different story for a young cat who wants someone to play with.”

Aurora settled into her nest again. Vanessa regarded her. Then she sniffed and sighed.

“I was just getting to enjoy having you in our family, Aurora,” she murmured. “I’ll miss you, and I know the others will, too. Oh, I know. It will be much nicer for you to be the only cat in the house to get all the attention and all the treats and all the affection. It wouldn’t be very nice for you here, where I have twelve others to care for.”

Aurora put her head on her paws and closed her eyes. Vanessa sighed again and walked back to the kitchen.

“I suppose it had to happen some time,” she muttered. “I just wasn’t expecting it. I never thought a cat would want to leave me.” She touched a tear at the corner of her eye.

Henry strutted into the kitchen from the living room. He glanced at the row of cats with their heads in their food dishes. Then he looked up at Vanessa. He blinked once and jumped up onto the counter in front of her.

“Oh, Henry.” She choked on her sobs. “Thank you so much. You don’t know what that means to me right now. I’m so grateful to have a friend like you.” She picked him up and hugged him under her chin. He rubbed his head into her neck and purred.

Vanessa sniffed back her tears and set Henry down on the floor.

“All right,” she declared. “No more blubbering. We have a big day today. We have a murder case to solve, and our good friend Pete Wheeler is closing in on the killer. It’s our job to help him any way we can.”

Henry strolled back to the doorway and sat down.

“Well, I don’t really know how we can help him,” she went on. “All I know is that we will help him. We’ve found some valuable information about this case, and we’ll do everything we can to get more. We know there’s a connection between Penny and Alfred through her brother Alan. We also know that she was probably working as the wedding planner for his sister, and that he was probably the Mafioso she complained about. That only makes sense.”

Henry twitched his nose toward Aurora’s bed, but he didn’t join her there. She didn't need his comforting presence anymore.

“I know Walter could have been the Mafioso,” she told him. “But that doesn’t really make sense, does it? Walter’s a doctor. I know, I know. I know what you’re going to say. You’re going to say that Alfred was a barber, not a Mafioso. But he was a sort of on that side, wasn’t he? Maybe Walter could have been a Mafioso on the side, too.”