Kitten Kaboodle (Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 20) (7 page)

It was late by the time we got home from dinner. I had just crawled into bed after making sure all the household animals were safely tucked away in my bedroom when my cell phone rang. My initial thought was to hope it was Nona, who I still hadn’t heard from, but I was just as happy when I saw my late-night caller was Zak.

“Hey,” I said tiredly as I snuggled down under the covers. “It’s late. Even later where you are. I didn’t think you’d call.”

“I’m sorry.” Zak yawned. “I wanted to call earlier, but I was in the middle of coding the program and didn’t want to stop. I’m really trying to get finished in time to get home by Friday.”

“I appreciate that. I’m all snuggled up with the three dogs and three cats, but I miss not having you to snuggle up with at the end of the day.”

“Yeah.” Zak sighed. “Me too. Every time I have to travel lately I find myself vowing to either sell the company or turn things over to a full-time manager.”

“You’d probably get bored after a while,” I said.

“Maybe not. Once the main campus of Zimmerman Academy opens I’m going to have plenty of things right there in Ashton Falls to keep me busy.”

“That’s true. I guess we can talk about it some more after you get home and your mother is relocated so that we have the house to ourselves.”

Zak yawned again. I could tell he was fighting to stay awake. He was probably lying in bed like I was. How sad that we weren’t together.

“How did things go today?”

“Okay. Salinger let Nona out of jail, but I’m pretty sure she’s still the main suspect. I’ve been working on a few theories of my own that could take her out of the limelight altogether if they pan out.”

“You aren’t doing anything dangerous, are you?”

“No,” I assured my worrywart husband. “Not dangerous. I’m just talking to people in public places in the middle of the day.”

“Maybe you should just let Salinger handle this one. Even when you don’t mean to put yourself in danger you seem to end up in the middle of it, and it worries me that I’m not home to rescue you.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not doing anything that might lead to anyone needing to rescue me.” I decided it was best to change the subject. I really didn’t want him to worry about my getting into trouble, so I decided to give him something else to worry about. “I had dinner with your mother and cousins tonight.”

“You did? I figured you would be hiding out at the boathouse with Ellie.”

“Trust me, I thought of doing just that, but I didn’t want to be completely rude. I did manage to avoid them for the bulk of the day, though.”

“So how did it go?”

“Actually,” I turned slightly to make room for Spade on the pillow next to me, “it wasn’t too bad. At first. Darlene went out of her way to act as a buffer between your mother and me, and Twyla managed to control her kids so they didn’t disturb the other diners.”

“And then?” I could hear the sound of dread in Zak’s voice. “You said
at first
.”

“And then your mother informed me that she’d hired a contractor to remodel the guest bedroom next to ours. It seems she thinks it’s time we turned the room into a nursery.”

“A nursery? We aren’t even pregnant.”

I could tell by the irritation in Zak’s voice that I had successfully distracted him from my participation in Edna’s murder investigation. “I know that and you know that, but according to your mother we’re behind schedule.”

“There’s a schedule?”

“Apparently. According to your mother, now that our one-year anniversary has come and gone, it’s time to begin working on popping out Baby Zimmerman number one. According to her, if we don’t start immediately we’ll be much too old to raise a child once we get to baby number four.”

“
Four
?”

“Yup. She has it all planned out. She even has a chart that shows the number of months it takes for the average couple to conceive once they begin trying, the gestation period of the average fetus, and the ideal length of time between each pregnancy.”

Zak actually laughed.

When I’d decided to distract him with the story of the ridiculous conversation I’d had with his mother I’d thought I was past my own irritation. Apparently, I was wrong. “Why are you laughing? Not only am I furious that your mother has arranged for a nursery to be built in our house without even asking either one of us first but when she started asking whether my cycle was regular and if I’d discussed the ideal sexual position for conception with my doctor right in the middle of the restaurant I thought I would die.”

“I’m so sorry,” Zak said in a somewhat more serious tone. “Really. If I could be there this minute I would. It’s Wednesday night; I’ll be home Friday. Please just try to avoid my mother as much as possible until I get there.”

“Trust me, after tonight’s dinner I plan to.” I was tempted to hang up, but the last thing I wanted to do was hang up mad, and I had after all been the one to bring up the subject of the nursery in the first place. “Did you talk to Alex today?”

Alex, who was in South America with her archeologist parents, was due to return to Ashton Falls within the next couple of weeks, and Zak had informed me during a previous conversation that he’d arranged to speak to her about her plans the next time she was in cell phone range.

“Yes.”

“How did she seem?”

“She said she’d had a nice visit, but she missed us and was ready to come home. I spoke to her mother, who agreed the visit had run its course, so I sent Coop to get her.” Coop was the private pilot Zak used. “After he picks her up he’s going to come get me, so we both should be home on Friday.”

“Really?” I grinned. I’d missed all the kids, but especially Alex. Suddenly my irritation with Zak’s mother and my fear over Nona’s part in Edna’s murder was replaced with pure, unadulterated joy. “That’s wonderful news.”

“I thought that might bring a smile to your face. I really need to get a few hours’ sleep so I can finish this project tomorrow. I’ll call you in the morning if I get the chance.”

“Okay. I can’t wait to see you. I miss you.”

“Yeah,” Zak said in a tired-sounding voice. “Me too.”

When I woke up on Thursday morning I decided to take the dogs out for a run. A glance at my bedside clock confirmed it was early yet, so I quickly dressed in a warm pair of sweats and shepherded the dogs outside before anyone else awoke and waylaid me.

I headed down the beach toward the boathouse. Even in the summer mornings tended to be cool in Ashton Falls, but it was actually quite pleasant in the sun today. Maybe if Ellie was awake I could talk her into breakfast on the deck overlooking the lake. When I lived in the boathouse Charlie and I enjoyed many breakfasts looking out over the crystal-clear blue water. We had a great deck off the back of the house Zak and I now owned, but the little deck behind the boathouse faced the east, providing the earliest sun along this particular stretch of beach.

Luckily for Charlie and me, Ellie was both awake and dressed when we arrived. She was sitting in the sun with a blanket wrapped around her, staring blankly into space.

“It looks like I’m not the only early bird on the beach this morning,” I greeted her as my dogs greeted Shep.

“Couldn’t sleep, so I decided to come out for some fresh air. Can I get you some coffee?”

“I’ll get it,” I offered. “There’s no reason for you to get up. Do you need a refill?”

“No. I’m fine.”

When I went in through the side door of the boathouse I noticed Ellie had created a play area for the kittens where they had room to wander and yet were contained so as not to toddle off into trouble. I knew she was the perfect person to take care of them while the cousins invaded my house. Ellie was the sweetest and most nurturing person I knew.

I poured my coffee and returned to the deck, where Ellie was still staring into space. It was early and she might just be tired, but I had a feeling it was something more.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“I’ve just been feeling funky lately. I thought I had the flu, but my symptoms come and go, yet it doesn’t seem to be going away.”

“Maybe you should go to the doctor.”

Ellie yawned. “Yeah, maybe. I looked my symptoms up on the Internet, and according to what I found, there are all kinds of horrible diseases that fit the profile.”

“I think those medical sites are dangerous in the hands of nonmedical professional. Call your doctor. Maybe you’re just anemic.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Ellie repeated. “How’s the murder investigation going?”

I sat back in my chair and tucked my feet up under my legs. The early morning sun was shining brightly, creating tiny sparkles of light on the perfectly glassy water. “I’m not sure. I’m coming up with a lot of leads I didn’t expect. Edna was an interesting person. And I don’t mean that in a good way. It seems she had a toxic personality that rubbed pretty much everyone the wrong way. Do you know she actually stalked Pete Ferguson until he slept with her and then blackmailed him with photos she’d taken of the two of them in bed?”

“I don’t know how much stalking Edna had to do to get Pete into bed. She was an attractive woman and Pete has a wandering eye. Still, the blackmail thing is somewhat surprising and a classic motive for murder. I wonder if she’d done that before with other men.”

“I don’t know if Edna had stalked and blackmailed men prior to Pete, but when I spoke to him he said she turned her sights to Donald Jacobs.”

“You think Edna was blackmailing Donald?”

“As far as I know she wasn’t. Pete said Donald wasn’t falling for her seduction. Still, you make a good point about other men prior to Pete.”

“I guess you could mention it to Salinger. It might be worth looking in to.”

“Maybe I will, although to be honest, at this point I’m pretty much avoiding him. I’m afraid he’s going to ask me questions about Nona I don’t want to answer, and I really hate to lie to him.”

“And you shouldn’t. Lie to him, I mean. He’s helped you out a lot in the past and you have no reason not to trust him.”

Ellie made another good point, but until I figured out exactly how Nona fit in to all this I really didn’t want to have a conversation with Salinger. Given Ellie’s contemplative mood this morning, it occurred to me it might be best to change the subject. I wondered if she’d heard about Jeremy. Probably not or she would have brought it up. It was really too bad I’d promised Jeremy I wouldn’t talk about the engagement. It would make a perfect topic of conversation to lighten the mood.

“Did I tell you Mother Zimmerman is having a nursery built in our house?”

Ellie looked surprised. “Is there something you haven’t told me?”

“I’m not pregnant. Zak and I haven’t even begun to discuss that situation with any real seriousness, but Zak’s mom has decided that now that we’re past the honeymoon phase of our relationship it’s time to get on to the baby-making one.”

Ellie laughed. “She really told you that?”

“She really did. She even took the time to design graphs and charts with gestation periods and time averages to achieve conception. When she asked me about the regularity of my monthly cycle in the middle of the restaurant I thought I was going to die.”

“Oh, that’s funny.” Ellie chuckled. “What did Zak say?”

“He said he’d handle it when he got home.”

“And he will, I’m sure. Thanks for the laugh. I needed one.”

“Any time my embarrassment can brighten your day I’m happy to share it.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

“Oh, no, it was. You know how that woman’s voice carries. She had everyone in the restaurant staring at us. She even went so far as to suggest Zak and I become more deliberate in our lovemaking.”

“Deliberate?”

“More mindful of the timing and positions we choose.”

“She brought that up in the restaurant?”

“Twice.”

Ellie got up and gave me a hug. “You were quite the brave woman to have married Zak even after meeting his mother. Though I guess it could be worse. Mrs. Zimmerman is a busybody who can be downright rude at times, but she isn’t really mean and she does love her son.”

“Yeah, I guess. I’ll still be glad when her visit comes to an end.”

“I don’t blame you one bit.” Ellie gathered up the blanket she’d been using. “I guess I should go inside and feed the babies you’ve left in my care.”

“I’ll help you. I’m not in a hurry. I noticed the play area you set up for them.”

I got up and followed Ellie inside after calling all the dogs onto the deck.

“I figured it would make sense for them to have a place to play where they were contained so I didn’t have to worry about them. I’m really enjoying the little buggers. That one little orange one is so sweet. And such a cuddler.”

“Yeah, he’s a sweetie. Maybe if we get the approval to adopt them out you can keep him.”

Ellie got a faraway look on her face. “Maybe. Shep seems to get along okay with the kittens, and I do love to listen to a good purr. This is going to sound crazy, but there are times when I wake up in the middle of the night and miss the sound of Levi snoring.”

I picked up the first kitten and began the process of dropping the medicine Scott had given me into his mouth. “It was fun with the three of us hanging out the other night. It’s been a long time since it’s just been you, me, and Levi.”

“I guess. I did have fun, but it still feels odd to hang out with him as just friends.”

“You seemed to be getting along okay when you worked together on that murder case while Zak and I were in Ireland. Did something happen?”

“No,” Ellie denied. “Nothing happened. I’m starting to feel funky again. Could you finish this? I’m thinking about going back to bed.”

“That’s a good idea and I’m more than happy to finish, but when you wake up you be sure to call the doctor.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Ellie went upstairs, I finished feeding the kittens and giving them their meds, and then the dogs and I headed home. I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with Mother Zimmerman and the cousins, and happily, they were all still asleep. I fed all the animals, showered, and changed into a comfortable shirt and shorts and was just heading down the stairs with Charlie when Nona came in from the kitchen.

“Where have you been?” I scolded her.

“Avoiding the wicked witch and her trained monkeys.”

I tried not to smile; that was so mean but so funny. “I was worried about you. Why didn’t you at least call to tell me what you were doing?”

Nona frowned. “You were worried?”

“Of course I was worried. Didn’t you even listen to the million phone messages I left?”

Nona smiled. And not in the evil, I’ve-got-something-up-my-sleeve way I was used to but an actual smile. “I guess I’m not used to having anyone to worry about me. I’ve been alone a long time.”

“Well, you aren’t alone anymore. At least not as long as you’re here with us, so if you’re going to take off for hours on end please let me know where you’re going.”

Nona did something she had never done before. She reached out and hugged me. She almost broke a rib, but I could tell it was genuine.

“So where are you off to?” she asked.

“I was going to follow up on a few leads I picked up yesterday in Edna’s murder case.”

“Then I guess that’s where I’m off to as well. I’ll drive.”

“I was going to bring Charlie.”

“Okay, you can drive, but I’ve got shotgun.”

“I’m sure Charlie will be fine with that.”

I still wanted to speak to Donald Jacobs; Ben Wild, who had been seen arguing with Edna at the post office; Fritz, who’d been fired by her, and Jethro Willits, the next-door neighbor. I figured a mere argument wasn’t much of a motive, so I decided to interview Ben only if the other leads didn’t pan out.

I knew Donald was working on the new office building in town, so he seemed the easiest of the three remaining suspects to track down. When I arrived at the construction site I made Nona agree to wait with Charlie in the car. I parked in the shade and rolled down all the windows before promising not to be too long.

There was a fairly large crew working on the office building so it took me a few minutes to locate Donald. I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to take a break to speak to me, but when I offered him a paper cup filled with frosty iced tea, he indicated that he was well overdue for a fifteen-minute cool down.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you didn’t just stop by to bring me a cold drink,” Donald said after drinking half the tea in one long gulp.

“No, I didn’t stop by just to bring you a drink. The truth is, the tea is just a bribe I hope will persuade you to talk to me about Edna Leech.”

Donald made a face that indicated the sweet tea had suddenly taken on a sour taste. “What do you want to know?”

“I heard that prior to her death Edna had been following you.”

“Stalking is more like it. The woman was seriously disturbed. I made it quite clear from the very beginning that I wasn’t interested in what she was peddling, but she refused to take no for an answer.”

“Did you think about getting a restraining order against her?” I wondered.

“Thought about it a time or two, but Edna was real careful about where she’d show up. The fact that she popped up so often seemed to me to be a clear indication that she was following me, but she was careful only to show up in public places where she could claim she had reason to be. Besides, I hate to say it, but I was embarrassed to tell the sheriff that I needed him to protect me from a teeny, tiny woman like Edna.”

“Yeah, I guess I can see that. Do you know who might have killed her?”

“No. Should I?”

“There are those who are suggesting maybe you got tired of her harassing you and decided to handle things in a permanent sort of way.”

Donald shook his head. “When I heard what happened to Edna I knew there would be folks who would think I did it. I certainly did threaten her in public on a number of occasions. But I didn’t follow through on my threats to kill her. And if I had, I wouldn’t have taken a shovel to her head and then left the murder weapon lying around for someone to find. If I’d killed Edna it would have been a methodically planned assault that wouldn’t have left any evidence. A shovel is a weapon of opportunity that suggests the attack wasn’t planned to me,” Donald continued. “A premeditated murder would more likely have involved a standard weapon like a gun or a knife, or poison. Seems to me you’re looking for someone who would have cause to be on her property for a reason other than a planned murder, who got mad and hit her with the shovel in a spontaneous act of passion.”

Donald made a good point. The way Edna had died, and the fact that the murder weapon was abandoned close by, didn’t speak of someone who had come to the property with the intention of killing a woman so many people loved to hate. Why use a shovel as a murder weapon for any other reason than proximity?

I chatted with Donald for a few more minutes and then returned to the car where Nona and Charlie were waiting.

“What now?” Nona asked after I started the car and turned on the air conditioning. It wasn’t a particularly hot day, but I didn’t want the interior of the vehicle to have a chance to heat up.