The Catsgiving Feast

by Kathi Daley

  When I arrived at the cabin, I found Cosmo curled up with Max. Both were on Max’s dog bed, which I’d left in front of the sliding door where the sun, if there had been any, would have come in, providing warmth.

  “Hey, guys,” I said after tossing the backpack I used as a purse onto the sofa. “We have work to do, so I hope you’re all rested up.”

  Max barked once and Cosmo stretched and yawned. I supposed the first thing I should do was to take Max out for a bathroom break, which I did while Cosmo used the litter box and chowed down on the cat food I’d left for him that morning but he’d yet to eat.

  The wind had picked up as the storm neared. The sky had turned a muddy gray color, which gave an eerie feel to the atmosphere. I pulled my sweatshirt around my middle as I walked along the beach with Max. The moody sky was congruent with the completely illogical behavior Mrs. West had been exhibiting since she’d been on the island. Danny and Cody had been friends when he’d been in high school while I hadn’t been, so I hadn’t hung out at his house and gotten to know his mother. She’d attended St. Patrick’s, but she was an adult and I was a kid, so it wasn’t like we’d ever talked or anything. I remembered her as being somewhat stern. There was some ruckus about a difference of opinion with the leader of the women’s bible study group. I didn’t remember a lot about it, just my mom mentioning that it seemed Mrs. West had never learned how to play nice with others. Danny had hung out at Cody’s house when they were kids. He might have additional insight as to her behavior back then.

  Not that it really mattered now or had any relevance to what was going on today. No matter her behavior years ago, there was no doubt about the fact that she’d been a time bomb waiting to go off since she’d been on the island now. Or maybe she’d already gone off. I just hoped she didn’t have more than one explosion inside her.

  As Max and I returned to the cabin it was starting to sprinkle. I wasn’t sure exactly how to activate Cosmo, so I decided to sit down and have a chat with him. I tossed a log and some paper into the fireplace and lit a match. It was damp and chilly and the fire would take the chill out of the air.

  “Okay, kitty,” I said, curling up on the sofa with Cosmo and a quilt Maggie had made several years ago. “I know you’re here to help, and I know the kitties that come my way usually have their own timeline, but I’m getting married in just three days—well, more like ten days, but still, I’d like to have this wrapped up sooner rather than later. Can we can get started?”

  The cat started to purr, then head butted me under my chin in a show of affection. “Yes, I love you too,” I said, scratching him behind the ears. “But we need to work now. We can cuddle later.”

  Cosmo rubbed against my chest a few times, then jumped to the floor. I watched and waited to respond to whatever cue he might provide. He headed over to a newspaper Cody had left on the kitchen counter. It was today’s edition; the newspaper came out every Wednesday, which was why Cody had to go into work despite all hell breaking loose.

  “The newspaper? You want me to see something in it?”

  “Meow.”

  I picked it up. “Okay. Which page?” I pointed to the front page. “This page?”

  The cat didn’t respond.

  I turned to page two and three and pointed to each in turn. He still didn’t respond. It wasn’t until the double-page spread of six and seven that he let out a meow. I studied the pages, which featured a few small articles but mostly ads and the community announcements. On page six was an ad for the upcoming Christmas Festival, an article in the series Cody had been writing about the history of land acquisition from the time the island’s founding fathers divided things up into twelve shares through current land ownership patterns, a related article about the church that had been built more than a century ago by the founding fathers but had recently burned to the ground as the result of arson, and an ad several local merchants had gone in on about upcoming Black Friday deals: Miranda Wells’s store, Trinkets and Treasures; Banjo and Summer’s shop, Ship Wreck Art and Novelties; Bella and Tansy’s shop, Herbalities; the shop established by Maggie and Marley but currently run by Marley, Bait and Stitch; a T-shirt shop owned by our friend Valerie, Madrona Island Gifts; and Coffee Cat Books. I guess Tara must have taken care of that. She was the one in charge of ads. There was also a coupon for 20 percent off at the Driftwood Café.

  On page seven, under the headline Community Announcements, was a paragraph letting everyone know that St. Patrick’s would be closed until further notice due to the electrical fire; a reminder that the chamber of commerce wouldn’t meet next week as they did most months on the fourth Thursday because of the holiday; a call for actors for the annual Christmas play put on by the community theater; a reminder that the community would hold their annual Thanksgiving food drive on Monday of next week so the canned goods and nonperishable items could be distributed on Wednesday; and a schedule of upcoming events for the holiday season.

  Interestingly enough, also on page seven was an ad for Sally’s Bakeshop, with a photo of their annual Christmas cake and instructions on ordering it, and an ad for Madrona Island Baked Goods, announcing a huge sale to commemorate the unveiling of their design for their annual Christmas cake on the Monday following Thanksgiving, as had been their holiday tradition for more than thirty years. The rivalry between Sally and Devita Colter, the owner of Madrona Island Baked Goods, was a fierce one, culminating in the annual Christmas cake each bakery offered. Madrona Island Baked Goods had been the only full-service bakery on the island for many years, until Sally moved here and began to siphon off a significant percentage of Devita’s business. I’d always liked Devita, but the truth of the matter was, Sally offered a superior product, which was why I’d decided to go to her for my wedding cake.

  I figured half the people and businesses on the island had been referred to in one way or another between the two newspaper pages, making the clue all but worthless. Still, after taking another look, I decided the item the cat wanted me to see was either the announcement about the chamber of commerce meeting or the ads for the Christmas cakes. It’s crazy that Christmas cakes could lead to murder, but as I said, the rivalry was fierce. Of course, the number one motive when you took into account the items on the pages had to be the notice about the chamber meeting. Siobhan had said the board was a volatile group, which corresponded to bits of gossip I’d picked up lately. Maybe she’d have news that would lead to a motive by the time we met that evening.

  Chapter 4

  After we’d gathered and shared beer and pizza, we congregated around the whiteboard, which Siobhan had taken care of setting up. She started by asking Finn to share with us what he could.

  “First, I’ve confirmed that Sheriff Fowler hasn’t arrested Mrs. West for trying to leave the island. He deposited her back at the inn with a stern warning to stay put or end up in jail.”

  “Is she still the prime suspect in Sally’s murder?” Tara asked.

  “I believe so,” Finn said. “The sheriff has spoken to several merchants nearby, all of whom reported that there were sounds of a commotion coming from the bakery on the day Sally was murdered.”

  “Didn’t any of the other merchants think to head over to the bakery to check things out?” I asked.

  “Apparently not,” Finn said.

  “I spoke to the merchants on either side of the bakery today,” Cassie said. “On the north side is a novelty store specializing in souvenirs and local art. The owner, Miranda Wells, told me that she heard the noise and went out to the sidewalk and peeked in the window of the bakery. She saw a woman she later identified as Mrs. West pounding on the counter, but Sally seemed to have the situation under control, and a group from the ferry walked into her store, so she returned to help her customers."

  “I have an interesting sidenote relating to the souvenir shop before we move on,” Tara said.

  “And what’s that?” Siobhan asked.

  “When I spoke to Carla today, she informed me that Sally and Mir
anda Wells had been at war over retail space. It seems Miranda’s lease is up for renewal and Sally approached the owner of the building that houses the bakery, Miranda’s place, and two other businesses, about taking over the lease for Miranda’s shop.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Sally wanted to expand so she could offer indoor seating. She was interested in opening a tea shop and was thinking of knocking out the wall dividing the bakery from Miranda’s trinket shop.”

  “Seems like that might give Miranda a motive for murder,” Cody said.

  Cassie nodded. “Carla didn’t say that in so many words, but she admitted there was no love lost between the women. I’m not surprised Miranda didn’t help Sally even if she did suspect she was in danger.”

  Siobhan wrote the name Miranda Wells on the whiteboard. “What about the merchant south of the bakery?”

  “That’s a dry cleaner. The owner, Oliver Patton, said he didn’t hear much yesterday. It’s noisy in his shop with the machines going, so I could see why he might not have realized there was a murder taking place next door. I also spoke to the business directly across the street, but no one admitted to have heard or seen anything unusual.”

  Siobhan added the names of everyone Cassie had spoken to on the whiteboard. Then she turned to Tara. “You said you spoke to Carla. Did she say anything else we don’t already know?”

  “Actually she did,” Tara said. “When Carla arrived in the morning and saw the cash drawer hadn’t been closed out the previous day, she ran the tape so any sales recorded from that point on would be recorded to the correct date. She didn’t have time to reconcile the previous day’s receipts because she needed to see to the baking, so she put the register receipt and the money into a bank bag. She wasn’t aware at that point that Sally was dead and figured she could reconcile it when she came in.”

  “Did Carla notice anything interesting about the cash register tape or the money in the drawer?” Siobhan asked.

  “She saw that the last item to be rung up was at three fifty-five. Based on the dollar amount, she assumed the final purchase for the day was for a dozen cookies.”

  My eyes grew wide. “So if someone came in to buy cookies at three fifty-five and Cody’s mom was already gone by then, that might prove she wasn’t the last person to see her alive.”

  “Perhaps,” Tara replied. “The problem is, according to the register tape, the purchase was made with cash, which means there’s no way to know who bought the cookies unless someone saw the customer or they come forward.”

  “Maybe someone will come forward once the news of Sally’s death gets out,” I said with a hint of hope in my voice.

  Siobhan looked at Finn. “Before we move on, do you have anything to add?”

  “Just that the sheriff seems to be waiting for something from the crime lab. I have the feeling that whatever it is could either prove Mrs. West’s guilt or innocence. I’ll keep my ear to the ground.”

  Siobhan looked at me. “Cait, do you have anything?”

  I nodded. “I spoke to Willow about the women Sally was most likely to hang out with during her exercise class. She identified Connie Salisman, Eve Donner, and Lisa Kinder. I haven’t had a chance to follow up with them yet, but I will.”

  Siobhan noted the three names on the board.

  “I also had a chat with Cosmo today,” I continued. I explained about the cat who’d shown up last night, as well as the page in the newspaper he’d pointed me to. “There were a lot of businesses as well as individuals mentioned between the two pages, but it seems to me out of all the items, the announcement about the chamber of commerce meeting is probably the clue Cosmo wanted me to find.”

  “I agree the chamber is a good lead,” Siobhan said. “I spoke to several chamber members today, including Silvia Hill. It seems there’s a proposal before the board to start charging an annual fee to all chamber members that would be used to promote the island businesses to tourists who come over on the ferry. Arguments between the chamber members have become quite heated. On the pro side are the members who feel a focused advertising campaign in places like Seattle would be good for the economy of the entire island, but there are members who argue that not all businesses on the island have chosen to join the chamber, and it’s likely those businesses would prosper thanks to the campaign, even though they wouldn’t have paid anything toward it. The folks on the con side, including Sally, think the fee should be waged as a tax that would be handled by the island council, not the chamber.”

  “So that everyone who has a business on the island would be taxed, not just those who are members of the chamber,” I clarified.

  “Exactly,” Siobhan said.

  “Seems like a good idea to me. I wouldn’t want to be forced to pay a fee for advertising that would benefit the entire island but would only be assessed on those of us who belong to the chamber.”

  “Most of the members who’ve been voting against the proposal feel as you do. Those who have been voting to approve the fee argue that if the island council gets involved and creates a tax for this purpose, they’ll also control how that money is spent. Those who support the fee at the chamber level but oppose a tax want to be assured that the money earmarked for this project will go to this project.” Siobhan paused, then continued. “The chamber members who are against getting the island council involved aren’t wrong to be concerned. I’ve seen taxes levied at the local level with the intention of earmarking it for a specific purpose wind up being spent on something else.”

  “Can the council do that?” I asked.

  “They can,” Siobhan answered. “Most local tax initiatives are worded very loosely. If a tax is earmarked for promotion, it could be argued that paying for a new statue for the harbor or painting all the streetlights on Main or even repairing roads is promoting prosperity for the island, so the money collected from the tax might be used for those things, even though it was originally intended to be used for advertising. I’m not saying that would happen, but it’s possible.”

  “While this is all very interesting, why would this debate lead to Sally’s death?” Cody asked. “Identifying her killer is the purpose of this discussion and I feel we’re getting sidetracked.”

  “Sorry,” Siobhan said. “I do have a point with all this. First, it looks like the majority of the members support the fee and oppose getting the island council involved. Sally was very much opposed to the fee and had been leading a movement to found a second chamber of commerce, giving folks who want to enjoy the benefits of such a group but don’t want to be forced to pay the fee a place to go. Keep in mind, the initiative on the table involves charging a marketing fee to current chamber members, and to current chamber members only. If the initiative passes and a bunch of businesses secede and move over to a new group, they won’t be charged the fee that will be levied by a body they no longer are part of.”

  “Do you actually think someone would kill Sally over this second chamber idea?” Cody asked.

  Siobhan shrugged. “Maybe not, but it’s led to some heated debates. It sounds, from what I’ve heard, like Sally was probably killed in a fit of rage. The executive director of the chamber of commerce, Eli Alderman, has been very vocal about the danger in dividing what’s now a fairly powerful group that has been successful in promoting its members, into what would become two weak and ineffective ones. Additionally, his job is on the line. His salary is paid from chamber dues. If the chamber is divided, there’s a good chance the membership that’s left wouldn’t be able to pay that salary.”

  “Would you say that now that Sally’s dead, the idea of a second group will die as well?” I asked.

  “Actually, I do. Founding an organization such as a chamber of commerce is very labor intensive. Sally seemed to have both the vision and the desire to make it happen. If you ask me, there isn’t anyone else who cares enough to jump through all the hoops required, so now that Sally is dead, the idea will fizzle out.”

  The room fell silent. I suppose
d that there would be those, such as Eli Alderman, who would benefit from Sally’s death. Of course, if someone from the chamber of commerce, like Eli, did kill Sally, I had no idea how we’d prove it.

  Finally, Siobhan spoke again. “So, we’ve identified two new suspects. Sally was threatening to take over the lease currently held by Miranda Wells, which I imagine could very well put her out of business. Miranda was in her shop next door to Sally’s bakery at the time she died, giving her both motive and opportunity. Eli Alderman’s job was being threatened by Sally’s campaign to start a second chamber of commerce to avoid the fee the current one wants to assess on its members. I suppose there are other proponents of the fee who could benefit from Sally’s death as well.” Siobhan paused. “Do we have any other suspects to discuss?”

  “I wonder what happens to Sally’s bakery now that she’s dead.” I said. “Will it close? Will Carla continue to run it? Did someone else inherit it who might take over?”

  “Good question.” Siobhan wrote heir to bakery on the whiteboard.

  “Sally only had one competitor,” I said. “Madrona Island Baked Goods had been operating on the island for more than thirty years. When Sally arrived here four years ago, she managed to steal a lot of customers from Madrona Island Baked Goods. If Sally’s bakery ends up closing, it will benefit Madrona Island Baked Goods quite a bit.”

  “That’s a good point.” Siobhan wrote Devita Colter, the owner Madrona Island Baked Goods, on the whiteboard.

  “Of course, Devita is a tiny little thing and sixty years old if she’s a day,” Tara pointed out. “I doubt she cracked Sally’s head open with a rolling pin.”

  “True,” I admitted. “I suppose she could have had someone kill Sally on her behalf, but I doubt it. Devita seems like a nice woman who wouldn’t hurt a fly. I’m just looking to identify anyone who will benefit from Sally’s death.” I looked at Cody. “Did you ever have the chance to talk to your mother?”