A MEOWvelous Witness (Klepto Cat Mystery Book 17)

by Patricia Fry

  “Uh-huh,” Iris said, trying to control her emotions. She caught her breath and continued, “Audrey wouldn’t let me speak with her. They live together now, I guess. I didn’t even get to find out anything about Ellen’s health. She must be in her late eighties now.”

  After a brief silence, Savannah asked, “Is there anything I can do, Iris?”

  “I don’t know what it would be. Just pray for us, that’s all.”

  “Sure will. Stay in touch, will you?”

  “Uh-huh. ’Bye, Savannah.”

  ****

  “Where’s the newspaper?” Michael asked that evening after dinner.

  “Um, I guess in that basket next to the front door. That’s as far as I got with it this afternoon. It’s been a busy day. I helped Helena do some heavy cleaning around here while Lily napped. It’s been a while since we’ve done that and I’m exhausted. Lily and I fertilized the orchard and we let Peaches run in the round corral. I got pictures of Peaches nuzzling Lily through the fence. Auntie came over for a visit. And I must have talked to everyone I know on the phone today.” Her eyes brightened. “Including Brianna. It’s been a while since we’ve had sistah time, as she calls it. We’re planning lunch soon—just us gals. And maybe a spa day. She says she’s been really busy in her practice.”

  “That’s good. That means she’s getting a lot of patients. How does she like doctoring the elderly generation?”

  Savannah smiled. “She seems to enjoy the seniors. She’s one of those with a heart for the aging soul.”

  “Oh no!” Michael shouted after opening the daily news to the front page.

  “What?” Savannah asked, fearfully.

  “I don’t believe this,” he said, open-mouthed.

  “What, Michael?” she asked, moving toward him and peering over his shoulder.

  “Iris has confessed.”

  “To what?” she shrieked.

  “To the murder of her ex-husband.”

  She eased down onto the ottoman near where Lily played with a musical toy. “Oh my gosh! Why?” she asked, looking stunned. “Why in God’s name would she do that?”

  “Well, the article just says she walked into the station and confessed to the murder of Eugene Jackson.”

  “Do they have her in jail?”

  “She’s out on bail. I’m sure Craig arranged that.”

  “Oh, he must be absolutely furious with her. What does she think she’s doing, anyway?”

  Savannah stood, reached for her cell phone, and placed a call. “Iris, what in the blazes did you do?” When Iris didn’t respond, Savannah said, “Why did you do it?”

  “To protect my family,” she said quietly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Um, why put everyone else through all of this, when I’m the one to blame?”

  “That’s ludicrous. What are you thinking, Iris? You did not kill that man. You don’t have it in you to kill anyone.”

  “Oh, you just don’t know, Savannah. There’s a side to me that you didn’t know about. We all have a dark side. Now, I’d better go. I have things to do.”

  “Iris!” Savannah said loudly, but her friend had hung up. Feeling helpless, she made another call. “Colbi, What’s she doing?”

  “Who?”

  Savannah hesitated before saying, “Haven’t you seen today’s paper? I mean, you work at the newspaper office…Damon works there. It’s on the front page.”

  Colbi spoke almost mechanically. “Oh, you mean Iris? Yeah, I guess she has confessed.”

  “She didn’t kill that man!” Savannah insisted.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Colbi paused. “Damon thinks she’s doing this to protect him. She must believe he did it.”

  “Did he?”

  “No!” came the immediate response. “No, he did not. Why would you even ask such a thing, Savannah?”

  “I’m sorry, Colbi. I’m just so upset and confused by what’s happened.” She pulled her phone from her ear for a moment and then said into it, “Hey, Craig’s trying to call me. Can I call you back?”

  “Well, if you want to, I guess,” Colbi said, her tone flat.

  Savannah frowned. “Colbi?” She looked at Michael and complained, “She hung up on me.” She then touched the screen and put the phone up to her ear. “Hi Craig. I heard the awful news. What is going on? Has everyone gone mad?”

  “Oh, you saw the paper, huh? Yeah, that wife of mine, she’s a little out of control right now. Not thinking straight.”

  “Can you talk her out of this?”

  “Hmph. You’re kidding, right?” He took a breath and quickly changed the subject. “Michael called me last night and told me you two saw Damon talking to Jackson and the attorney. When was that? Do you remember what time?”

  “Yeah, around six thirty.”

  “And he said the other man—the tall one—was with them?”

  “No.” She hesitated. “Well, I’m not sure. I saw him there, Craig. But it didn’t actually look like he was with them. He was parked across the street and he took off in his old-model car after Mr. Jackson and the attorney drove away. Why? Are you thinking he might have killed the man?” When Craig didn’t respond, she said, “Well, it doesn’t make sense, does it? I mean, whether the tall man was participating in the scam or not, why would he kill Mr. Jackson before he got any money? Don’t you think that’s what he was after?”

  “Most certainly, I do.”

  “But he didn’t have the money, yet. It sure didn’t look to me like Damon gave him anything.”

  Craig remained quiet, then said, “Well, what I’m calling about is the cats. Didn’t you girls tell me Dolly and Rags saw something last night before you found the body?”

  “Yeah, they seemed to know it was out there. Why?”

  He cleared his throat. “Why was Rags there with you so late at night?”

  “Well, he was going to spend the night with Dolly. She’s been missing him, and Colbi invited him over to keep her company. They alerted Colbi to something going on outside that dining room window.”

  “Do you think they saw more than just what you found?”

  “Huh?”

  “Maybe they saw someone kill Jackson or they saw the person or people who dumped the body there. Do you think that’s possible?”

  “Oh my gosh!” Savannah shouted, causing Michael to glance up at her for a few moments. “Craig, are you saying the cats may know who killed him? Heck, I didn’t think about that. But sure, it’s possible they witnessed the whole thing. Yes,” she said, her tone accelerated. “That makes sense. Why else would they be so upset? So what are you thinking, Craig? Do you want to interrogate the cats?”

  “Maybe so.” He cleared his throat again and coughed. “Remember when your cat helped solve the murder he witnessed a few years ago?”

  “I sure do.”

  “Do you think he could do that again?”

  “You mean, paw the killer by picking him out of a lineup or something?”

  “Yeah, what do you think?”

  “Well, I guess if they saw someone causing a commotion that upset them, they might react upon seeing that person again.” She chuckled. “Cats don’t soon forget something or someone that frightens them. To this day, Buffy cowers and hides from Helena, whether she’s here to clean house or just to visit. She seems to associate Helena with the vacuum cleaner and she’s deathly afraid of the noise that thing makes.” She paused, then said, “Yeah, it wouldn’t hurt to try it. But Craig, keep in mind that cats are also forgiving. As you know, if you step on your cat’s tail, he may yowl and skitter off. But minutes later he’s in your lap begging to be petted.”

  Craig chuckled. “That’s true. I’ve seen that with Tommy-cat a couple of times.”

  He became more serious, then asked, “But if someone Dolly or Rags doesn’t know managed to frighten them, they wouldn’t be eager to forgive that person, right?”

  “I wouldn’t think so, unle
ss that person later began feeding the cat regularly, for example. Cats can be bribed, depending on the depth of their fear and, of course, the cat’s personality.”

  “In other words, it’s a crapshoot,” Craig said with a sigh.

  “Sure, but one worth pursuing, for Damon’s and Iris’s sake, don’t you think?” She then asked, “So who will be in the lineup, Craig?”

  He paused, then said, “I’d like to put that phony-baloney attorney up there. As far as we know—according to both Damon and Colbi—Dolly has never seen that woman. And I assume neither has Rags. We’re taking a risk here, but I think it’s worth pursuing.”

  “I think so, too. So you think she might have done this?”

  “Well, it’s a trick of the trade, Savannah. After considering the foes of a murder victim, you look at those closest to him. When we did that, we made a few possibly incriminating discoveries that we’d like to see if the cats can verify for us.”

  “Craig,” she said, “what about that other guy—the tall one?”

  “Yeah, tell me more about him.”

  “I texted a photo to Iris. I’d say he’s in his late fifties or early sixties, he has a slightly dark complexion and dark hair, and he’s about Michael’s height or a little taller.”

  “So, six foot or six one?”

  “Yeah, but thinner. I saw the woman with him that day, too—the floozy-ish one.”

  “You sure have funny words to describe people.”

  “Well, the word fits…bleached blond, too-short-of-a-skirt for her age and build. She wore a low-cut top and a jacket that didn’t quite make it around her bosom. Does that describe the attorney you mentioned, Craig?”

  He chuckled. “Pretty much.”

  “Seems strange that she would show up with the tall guy and, when Jackson came back on the scene, she’s now hanging out with him.”

  “Yeah, we’re still trying to figure out how the other guy fits into all this. Is he part of the plan or a predator waiting to take down another predator? Damon says he hasn’t seen him since that one encounter and the guy never did approach Iris.” Craig continued, “Maybe the attorney turned on Jackson with this other dude while Jackson was incarcerated, and they hoped to coerce Damon into settling out of court for a lesser amount, then skip town before Jackson was released.”

  “Wow! It never ceases to amaze me how the criminal mind works.”

  Craig chuckled. “Me too.”

  She let out a sigh. “Okay, so how do you want to work it with the cats?”

  “Can you and Colbi bring them to the station this evening—say, by seven?”

  “Sure, probably. So, Craig, do you have the attorney in custody?”

  “No, but she’s under surveillance. We’re not letting her out of our sight until she’s cleared.”

  “Okay, see you in…” she looked at her watch, “…forty-five minutes.”

  ****

  It was a few minutes before seven when Colbi and Savannah arrived at the sheriff’s office toting Rags and Dolly in their carriers. “Oh, here you are,” Craig said. “Thanks for coming. Let’s take the cats into the conference room and let them get accustomed to the environment before we bring in the others.”

  “Okay,” Savannah said, following him into the room and promptly opening Rags’s carrier. “Go ahead and release her, Colbi,” she instructed. “Let her get familiar with the scents in here.” They watched as the two cats wandered around the room, sniffing at spots on the floor and examining some of the chairs lined up along the walls. After a few minutes, Savannah saw Rags lie down next to Colbi. In the meantime, Dolly rubbed against Craig’s pants leg. “I think they’re ready, don’t you, Colbi?”

  She nodded. “They seem pretty relaxed.”

  Craig motioned to the officer who had accompanied them into the room and he walked out, eventually returning with a group of four women. Craig instructed the women to sit wherever they liked and each seemed to stake out her own territory. Savannah noticed that the women all had similar coloring and features—they were of medium height, rather full-figured, and had bleached-blond hair. But their attire differed dramatically. She watched as a woman dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt sat across from her and Colbi and one wearing slacks and a blue sweater took a seat to their left at the far end of the room. A woman in layers of black eased into a chair near the entrance, and the last one, wearing capris and a fitted tangerine jacket, sat along the south wall, several seats away from Colbi.

  Craig addressed Savannah. “Why don’t you put Rags in his cage there and block his view, if you can. I want to work with Dolly first.”

  “Work with a cat?” the woman in the tangerine jacket snarled. She promptly stood and looked around at everyone. “What the hell’s going on anyway?”

  “Please sit down and be quiet, will you?” Craig said.

  When she started to move toward the door, the deputy gestured for her to return to her chair, which she did.

  Craig pointed at the woman in blue. “Number one, see that cat over there? I want you to entice her. See if she’ll come to you.”

  “Why?” she asked. “I don’t even like cats.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Just put your hand out toward her and call to her. Say ‘kitty, kitty’ or whatever you want,” Craig suggested.

  “Here kitty,” the woman said with no enthusiasm whatsoever.

  In the meantime, Dolly lay next to Colbi, staring out into the room.

  “Treats,” Craig said. “Did you bring treats?”

  Savannah dug a bag of kitty treats out of her purse. “Oh yes. Here they are.”

  Craig took some and put them in the woman’s hand. “Show her the treats,” he said. When Dolly didn’t budge, he shook the treat bag near the woman and that got the cat’s attention. She stood and walked cautiously toward the woman in blue, took the treats offered, then sat down and stared up at her.

  “Pet her,” Craig said.

  As instructed, the woman reached her hand out and Dolly rubbed on it and sniffed for more treats.

  “Okay,” Craig said, handing a few treats to the woman in black, “see if the cat will come to you.”

  When Dolly seemed disinterested, Craig asked Colbi, “Would you come get her and take her to woman number two, please?”

  Colbi complied and Dolly eagerly took a few treats from the woman.

  “Okay, number three, your turn,” he said, handing the woman in the tangerine jacket some treats. “Call the cat, will you?”

  “This is ridiculous,” the woman complained. “If my attorney was here he’d…”

  “Well he’s not here and this is a lineup, so cooperate, will you?”

  Number three clenched her teeth and lowered her hand toward the floor. In the meantime, Dolly had returned to where Colbi and Savannah sat and was sniffing the area around Rags’s carrier.

  Addressing Colbi, Craig pointed and said, “Would you bring the cat to this woman, please?”

  As instructed, Colbi picked up Dolly and placed her on the floor in front of potential suspect number three. What happened next startled everyone.

  Dolly moved toward the woman and sniffed her hand. She picked up a kitty treat the woman had dropped, ate it, then sniffed her hand again. Suddenly, the tabby stepped back, her head down and her ears pinned back. She looked up at the woman and took a few more steps backward, then she began to growl. Without warning, she darted toward her carrier, only to find the door closed. So she ran behind it and peered out into the room, her eyes wide with fright.

  “Okay, put her away,” Craig said, a rather satisfied expression on his face. As Colbi opened the carrier door and allowed Dolly to enter, Craig nodded toward Savannah, “Let’s go through that with your cat, please.”

  However, when Savannah released Rags from his carrier, he expressed more interest in Dolly than anything or anyone else in the room. Despite Savannah’s attempt to entice him out into the room, he remained close to Dolly, sniffing her carrier and pawing at it.


  Craig let out a sigh. “Can you bring him out where he can see everyone? We might have to remove Dolly from the room, if he won’t cooperate.”

  “Sure,” Savannah said, picking up Rags and placing him in the center of the room.

  “Okay, number four,” Craig said to the woman in the jeans and sweatshirt, “how about taking some of those treats. I want you to lure the cat to you.”

  “Kitty, kitty?” woman number four called cheerfully while holding her hand out toward him. “Here, kitty.”

  Just curious enough and always in the mood for a treat, Rags glanced up at the woman before trotting over to her. He ate a couple of treats, then sat down and stared up at her for a moment.

  “Pet him,” Craig instructed.

  When the woman reached out to him, he stood and rubbed against her hand, sniffing it, then rubbing on it again.

  “Okay,” Craig said, sighing as if he were tiring of the exercise, “number one, would you call the cat?”

  The woman leaned over and clucked, trying to get Rags’s attention. When he saw her drop a few treats, he rushed to her, ate them, and looked up as if hoping for more. She reached out and stroked his head a couple of times before Craig asked the women in the orange jacket to engage the cat.

  “It must be my perfume,” the woman said, when Rags refused to take a treat from her hand. In fact, he seemed to be glaring at her. “Or the fish I ate for supper.” She grinned nervously. “Cats don’t like me—never have.”

  When she shifted her position in the chair, Rags quickly stood and darted toward Savannah, stopping once to look at the woman again. Emitting a low growl, he trotted to his carrier, which sat open behind Savannah’s chair, and he crawled back inside.

  “You’re all excused,” Craig said. He pointed at woman number three. “Except for you.” Turning toward the deputy, he instructed, “Take her to the interrogation room. I have a few questions for her.” He pulled a chair in front of Colbi and Savannah. “I’d like to ask you a few questions, too.”

  “Who is that?” Colbi asked, watching the deputy lead the irate and very vocal woman out of the room.