“How long have you been planning this?” I asked.
“For a week,” Stewart said. “I wanted to wait until as close to Christmas Eve as possible to put everything up, and I counted on you doing your last-minute shopping this year the way you usually do.”
I grinned ruefully. “I guess I’m more predictable than I realized.”
“But in a good way,” Frank said with an answering grin.
“Where is Diesel?” I asked, suddenly aware of his absence.
“He’s in the corral with the babies,” Laura said. “Once he made sure baby Charlie is thriving, he wanted in there.”
“He sure does love those little ones,” Azalea said. “He’s going to miss them.”
“I know he will,” I said, “but they’re not going anywhere yet. Until I find out who left them on the doorstep, they’re going to stay here.”
“No luck with the video?” Frank asked.
“The cameras are working fine,” I said. “But the child is one step ahead of me, if not two or three.” I heard loud, peremptory meowing, and I knew Diesel wanted out of the cage. “Let’s all go into the kitchen. I’ll fetch Diesel, and then I’ll tell you how clever this child is.”
“Sounds good,” Stewart said. “I could use some coffee.”
“It’s ready and waiting.” Azalea headed for the kitchen. Laura and Frank followed, with Stewart not far behind.
I walked into the living room to see Diesel standing at the door of the cage, pushing against it with one large paw. “I’m coming,” I said. “I’m flattered that you’re so anxious to see me.”
Diesel trilled in response. I opened the door, taking care that none of the kittens sneaked out with Diesel. “I’ll come back and spend some time with you in a little while,” I told them. Ramses meowed indignantly at being left behind.
In the kitchen we found Stewart, Laura, and Frank drinking coffee. Azalea held the baby, crooning softly to him. I caught snatches of “Away in a Manger” as she moved around the kitchen with him. Diesel followed Azalea’s progress. He wanted to make sure, I supposed, that she was taking good care of his little buddy.
I found a mug full of coffee waiting for me at my usual place, and I slipped into my chair.
“Tell us about this clever child,” Laura said. “I’m really curious.”
I stirred cream and sugar into my coffee. “The cameras have caught her on video twice. The first time she had the hood of her sweatshirt or coat pulled so closely around her face that I couldn’t see anything else. I thought I’d be clever myself and set a trap for her.” I paused for a couple of sips of coffee, then explained the so-called trap I had set. “About half an hour ago, maybe a little more, while I was at the sheriff’s department talking to Kanesha, I got another video.” I paused for effect.
“Well?” Laura said. “Don’t be a tease, Dad.”
“The child did pretty much as I hoped she would,” I replied. “I did get a clear look at her face. The only problem is, she was wearing a gremlin mask.”
“The kid must have seen me setting up the cameras,” Frank said.
“Possibly,” I said. “Or she’s simply a very smart child who is very determined to keep her identity a secret until she is ready to reveal it.”
“What did you say in the note she took?” Laura asked.
“That I would like to talk to her, basically,” I said. “Do you know, she left a note for me before that with five dollars and some change in it, to help pay for the kittens’ food?”
“How sweet,” Laura said. “She really loves those babies.”
“Yes,” I replied. “I imagine it’s hard for her, not being able to get any closer to them.”
“What are you going to do to find her, now that the cameras probably aren’t going to help you?” Frank asked. “Would you like me to take them down?”
“No, let’s leave them where they are for now,” I said. “They might yet provide a clue of some sort. I’m hoping that she will take to heart what I said in the note and come talk to me of her own accord.”
“At some point, if you can’t find out who she is,” Stewart said, “you’ll have to make a decision about the kittens. You can’t keep all five of them.”
“As much as I’d love to keep them, you’re right,” I said. “This house is more than big enough to handle six cats, but I’m sure I can find good homes for them all.” I cocked my head in the direction of Azalea, still walking around with baby Charlie.
Laura and Frank grinned, but Stewart looked doubtful.
“It might not be as easy as you think,” Stewart said in a low voice. “With certain parties, at least.” He glanced at Azalea.
“I think you might be surprised,” I said.
“You don’t think you might be tempted to keep at least one of them?” Laura asked.
“I’d be lying to you if I said no,” I replied. “Ramses has so much personality, I’ve become a little partial to him, I’ll admit.”
“You wouldn’t take him everywhere with you, like you do Diesel, would you?” Stewart asked, looking worried. “That might be a bit much, having two cats on a leash. People around here already think you’re eccentric, but that might make them think you’re loony.”
It took me a moment to realize that Stewart was ribbing me, something he always enjoyed doing. Laura and Frank were laughing, and I noticed that Azalea appeared to find it funny as well.
“Amusing,” I said. “But you do make a good point. I don’t think I could take two cats with me. It wouldn’t be fair to leave one of them home alone all the time, either.” I had to admit my heart sank a little as I spoke, because part of me really wanted to keep Ramses. You could keep two of them, then Ramses wouldn’t be lonely when you took Diesel with you, I told myself.
“Now you’re thinking about keeping two of them,” Laura said. “Aren’t you?”
“Yes.” I sighed. “If I work at it long enough, I can find arguments to keep all of them, but y’all will simply have to talk me out of it if I start saying I’ll keep them.”
“We can try,” Stewart said, “but you know what you’re like when you make up your mind to do something.” He grinned to remove any sting from the words.
“You’re saying I’m stubborn.” I grinned back at him. “I admit it. It runs in the family.” I looked pointedly at my daughter.
Laura smiled sweetly. “At least I come by it honestly.”
Frank rolled his eyes heavenward. “If y’all only knew what I have to put up with on a daily basis, you wouldn’t joke about it.” He emitted a sigh, theatrical in its intensity. Laura giggled at him, and he winked at her.
Frank rose from the table. “As much as I would love to stay and tell you all about how stubborn my beautiful wife is, we need to get going.”
“Yes, I suppose so,” Laura said. “If you’ll take the baby, I’ll grab his diaper bag.”
Azalea surrendered baby Charlie to his father. I insisted on another look at him, but then, all too soon, they departed. Stewart finished his coffee and said he had things he needed to do as well. I thanked him again for the beautiful Christmas decorations before he headed upstairs.
A few minutes later, the front doorbell rang. Diesel hurried to the door, and I followed. I was hopeful that the child had decided to come talk with me, but it was Melba who had rung the bell.
“This is a pleasant surprise,” I said. “What’s up?” I stood aside to let her in and shut the door.
Melba didn’t answer right away. She was too busy with Diesel. When she did reply, I was shocked by her expression.
“I’m so upset with Jared Carter, I don’t know what to do,” she said.
She did look miserable, I thought. “What has he done?” I took her arm and led her to the kitchen. Diesel followed anxiously, chirping at his friend.
Melba collapsed into a chair,
and Diesel planted himself next to her. Melba stroked his head.
I repeated my question.
“I’ll tell you what he’s done,” Melba said. “I think he killed Gerry Albritton.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
Startled, I sank into my chair. “Killed her? What possible motive could he have?”
“Money.” Melba practically spit out the word.
I was right about Jared’s connection with Gerry Albritton, I decided.
“He was her sleeping partner,” I said, not considering my choice of words.
“He was sleeping with her, all right,” Melba said grimly.
“That isn’t what I meant,” I said. “I meant he was financing her real estate deals.”
“Oh.” Melba looked taken aback. “Yes, he was. I think he was having an affair with her, too.”
“How do you know about the financial relationship?” I asked.
“I went to see Dr. Carter this morning,” Melba said. “It’s been bugging the heck out of me, ever since I heard what he said to her at the party the other night. So, I decided to have it out with him.”
“Did you go to his office?” The thought appalled me. Surely Melba hadn’t made a scene at his office.
“No, of course not,” she responded impatiently. “I have more class than that. I was at his house just now. I called him and told him I had to talk to him, and he asked me to come to his house. I think he knew I was out for blood.”
Braver men than Jared Carter had quailed before the wrath of Melba Gilley, I reflected. I was surprised he hadn’t tried to put her off, though.
“Oh, he tried to put me off,” Melba said, correctly discerning my thoughts. “But I told him if he didn’t talk to me, I’d show up at his office and throw such a fit that he’d never live it down.”
That made me suspicious. This wasn’t like the Melba I knew. “Why are you so riled up about him and the fact that he might have been seeing another woman?”
“Because he told me that I was the first woman he’d been interested in since his wife died,” Melba said. “I believed him, and all that time he was probably carrying on with Gerry Albritton.”
“I think you’re letting your emotions get the better of you,” I said gently. “It is possible for a man and a woman to have a business arrangement without any personal, intimate relationship to go along with it. Do you have any real proof that he was having an affair with her?” I wondered what she’d think if I could tell her what I knew about Gerry.
“No,” Melba said in a grudging tone. “I don’t.”
I suspected that she cared a lot more for Jared Carter than she herself realized or was willing to admit. Otherwise, why would she act this way?
“When I asked you why he would murder her, you said money. That doesn’t really explain it.”
“He told me that money was missing from the account he set up, and he couldn’t figure out where it went. He thought maybe Gerry had siphoned it off and put it in a personal account.”
“Did he give you any hints as to how much money he was talking about?” I asked.
Melba nodded. “Over four hundred grand. I had no idea he had that kind of money.”
I shared with her the figures that I had shared with Kanesha earlier that morning. “He has to have a pretty large amount of disposable income,” I concluded, “if he could finance deals like this and still have four hundred grand on top of it.”
“He must be rich,” Melba said, sounding bemused.
“I think he must be,” I said. “I don’t know how much dentists make, but I suspect he’s been making money from investments on top of the income from his dental practice.”
Melba didn’t respond to that.
“Do you think he would kill Gerry if he suspected her of embezzling?” I said. “Wouldn’t that make it hard for him to get the money back? She could have put the money in a secret Swiss bank account for all he knew. Then he’d never be able to get it back.”
She thought about that for a moment. “I guess you’re right. I’ve really made a mess of things this time.”
An appalling thought struck me. “You didn’t accuse him of murder, did you?”
“Yes,” she said. “Then I stormed out of his house and came right over here. By now he must be thinking he never wants to set eyes on me again.”
I couldn’t argue that point with her. If I were Jared, I’d be pretty upset with Melba right then. I wasn’t going to tell her that, however.
Diesel was doing his best to console her, and I left her to his ministrations for the moment. There was enough coffee in the pot for one last mug, and I prepared it for Melba. When I set it in front of her, she looked up at me through her tears and whispered her thanks. She fumbled for her purse and found some tissues. She started blotting the tears from her face and ended by blowing her nose. She held the crumpled tissues in one hand while she lifted the mug to sip at her coffee.
I gave her time, waiting until she indicated she was ready to talk again. After a few more sips of the coffee, Melba stood and excused herself. She grabbed her purse and headed for the half bathroom under the stairs.
When she came back several minutes later, she seemed composed and in control again.
“I stopped for a minute or two to have a look at your hallway,” she said. “It’s gorgeous. When did you do it? I guess I was too upset earlier to pay attention.”
“I didn’t do it,” I said. “Stewart came up with the idea and the design, so I’ve been told. Frank, Laura, and Azalea helped put it together while I was out running errands this morning.”
“Goodness, how long were you gone?” Melba asked. “Surely that took several hours.” She checked her watch. “It’s only a quarter to twelve now.”
“I was gone a little over two hours, I’d say. I’m amazed they could put it up so quickly myself. Stewart is a whiz at organizing, though, so I’m sure they were prepared to work fast. I am thrilled with what they did. I needed some Christmas spirit, and they provided it, bless them.”
“How is little Charlie doing?” Melba asked. “I haven’t seen him in three weeks.”
“He’s doing fine,” I said. “Thriving, in fact. Six months have flown by.”
“What about Alex? Any more word on her?”
I shook my head. “No, I’ve been waiting for Sean to call me. Between keeping tabs on Alex’s condition and trying to get work done, he’s stretched pretty thin. If I don’t hear from him in another hour, I’ll call.”
“Let me know what you find out,” Melba said. “I’ve been so worried about Alex. Breaks my heart to see her go through this.”
“Thank the Lord she’s finally getting help. I really want to go see her, but I’m waiting until Sean tells me she’s up to a visit,” I said.
“I hope that’s soon,” Melba said. “Guess I’d better get going. I’ve cried on your shoulder enough for one day.” She smiled, and the sadness of it made me want to hug her and tell her everything would be okay.
“You don’t have to rush out on my account,” I said. “If you’re not in that big a hurry, why don’t you go and visit the kittens? They’ll help cheer you up. Won’t they, Diesel?”
Diesel warbled a loud and firm agreement, or so I interpreted it. Melba smiled again, a little more brightly this time.
“I think I’ll do that,” Melba said. “I don’t have anything that can’t wait awhile longer. Come on, Diesel, let’s go play with the babies.”
I did not accompany them. I wanted to give Melba the chance to calm down even further, and without me present she could focus on the kittens and hopefully forget about Jared for a little while.
I decided to hang out in the den until Melba was ready to leave. I could check my e-mail while I waited. I was still reading through messages when Melba and Diesel came to the den in search of me.
I set the lap
top aside. “How were the kittens?” Diesel jumped onto the sofa next to me.
“Full of energy, and shedding hair,” Melba said with a rueful glance at her dark skirt. I started to apologize, but Melba said firmly, “Don’t worry. I have one of those lint brushes in the car. Won’t take me a minute to get rid of the hair.”
“If you’re sure,” I said.
“I am,” Melba said. “I’d still be in there playing with them, but I got a text message. I’ve been waiting for it for a couple of days now.”
I knew Melba and that arch tone of hers. She expected me to ask about the text.
“What’s up with the text message?” I asked obligingly. “Is it important?”
“It could be,” Melba said. “It took me a while, but I finally tracked down someone I’ve been looking for.”
“Who would that be?”
“Mrs. Ima Jean Norwood,” Melba said with an air of triumph.
“Congratulations,” I said. “Who is Ima Jean Norwood? Last living relative of the Russian royal family?”
Melba shot me a look of disdain. “You used to be so funny. No, Mrs. Norwood was good friends with Billy Albritton’s mother, and she knew his grandparents, the Albrittons, too. She’s in a nursing home here in Athena, and I’m going to talk to her.”
“Still on the trail of Gerry Albritton,” I remarked.
“Yes, I am,” Melba said. “I’m determined to find out exactly who she was.”
I really wanted to share the news about Gerry’s birth gender, but if Kanesha found out I had told Melba, she might not trust me again with sensitive information. So I kept it to myself.
Melba’s eyes narrowed while she gazed at me. “You know something, don’t you? What is it?”
“I can’t tell you,” I said. “Something Kanesha told me, and I can’t tell anyone else, not even you.”
“Since it’s Kanesha, I’m not going to press you. I know how she is,” Melba said.
Six Cats a Slayin' Page 19
