Bone-a-fied Trouble

by Carolyn Haines

  “I studied martial arts.”

  That statement made him step back. “Really?”

  “Yes. I’ve studied for years. I practice with some musician friends who are also in law enforcement.”

  He sat down at the table to study her more closely. “So what do you think happened to your sister?”

  “I don’t really know. She came to Sunflower County to date some man she met on a dating website. He said he owned ‘a vast tract of property’ that he planted in cotton and other crops. Or at least that’s the story she gave me. I should have been suspicious, but Trudy sometimes gets herself into scrapes where it’s better for me to handle it than call the law.”

  “She never told you his name?”

  Tabitha bit her lip. “No. She knew I’d get my cop friends to check him out. I raised Trudy, and I made her toe the line. She still acts like I’m her mother and she’s trying to escape me.”

  “She’s how old? Twenty-four?”

  Tabitha nodded. “Yes, twenty-four going on fourteen when it comes to her rebellious streak.”

  “Did she send a photo of this guy, the name of his farm, anything? I know all the farmers who run large tracts of land. There are two who are single, but this guy may have lied about his marital status.”

  “I’ve thought of all of that too. I could wring Trudy’s neck. Being so secretive and determined to make her own decisions—now look what’s happened. Can you tell me about her last day at work?”

  “You think her disappearance is linked to Long Agricultural?”

  “Trudy had fallen in with a group of people in New Orleans. They were young, radical looking, and reeked of secrets. Trudy always stopped talking on the phone when I walked up, but I did overhear Trudy say something about finances and farming.”

  “So she came to the Delta with an interest in farming?” Roger had to think back. As far as he could remember, it had been a normal early spring day. “We’d planted some of the fields with a new type of cotton.” His eyebrows lifted. “Trudy had helped with the research on the new plants. She’d been skeptical about the crop. She said it looked like trouble down the road.”

  “Meaning what?”

  “The company that produced the strain of cotton could come back and demand a lot more money for seeds in future years. The claims that the cotton was resistant to certain pests might result in an overgrowth of fungus or root rot or a lot of other complications. Trudy had done her research. These new crops—they sound great in the beginning—can develop a long list of issues. Trudy was very astute at pinpointing problems with certain seeds and companies. She could see through the lies and P.R. She was very smart.”

  “She has a great bullshit detector,” Tabitha said, and Roger was surprised again at her willingness to speak the truth.

  “Surely if this man she was dating was full of it, she’d have figured it out.” Roger pointed out the obvious.

  “Which could be the very thing that got her in a pinch.”

  Roger hadn’t thought of it that way. “Okay, so how do you want to approach this?”

  Tabitha took a deep breath.

  * * *

  It went against Tabitha’s nature to trust a man, but sitting across the kitchen table from Roger Long, she realized she needed help and Roger was offering it. She didn’t have to trust him a hundred percent, but she had to let him help her. Time was slipping away, and it wasn’t like she had a choice. He’d busted her red-handed. The only thing she could do was come clean and hope he was the employer he seemed to be—and not some sicko.

  “I broke into your offices last night and found Trudy’s calendar. She was meeting a woman named Lisa East on the day she disappeared.”

  “Lisa East?” Roger stood abruptly.

  “Do you know her?”

  Now it was his turn to look away, clearly deciding how much he should reveal. He faced her. “I dated her for a while. We broke it off about two months ago. I didn’t realize she and Trudy had become friendly.”

  “Maybe they weren’t friends. Could there be another reason they were meeting?”

  Roger swallowed. “Yes. It could be the strain of cotton. Lisa works for a chemical company that created the new cotton I planted. As I said, Trudy wasn’t a fan of that particular strain. She thought I’d regret trying it.”

  “What about this Lisa? Is she…dangerous?” Tabitha felt the pressure squeezing her lungs, a sure sign that her worries had grounding in reality.

  “She’s a beautiful woman, but…”

  “But what?”

  “She’s volatile. And she’s really devoted to DayZ Seed and Chemicals. She was furious with me when I didn’t instantly agree to plant all of my fields with their newly developed strain of cotton. That’s one of the reasons we broke up. She was just too pushy about it.”

  “How volatile?” Tabitha tried to keep her voice from shaking.

  “Enough that I stopped seeing her. She was terribly angry with me. When she finally calmed down, I’d had enough of the drama.”

  “Did she do anything…dangerous?”

  Roger didn’t look away. “Someone slashed my truck tires while I was in a local blues club. I can’t prove it was her.”

  “But you think she did it.”

  “I do.”

  “Did you report it to the police?”

  “No, I didn’t.” He shrugged. “I’ve known the sheriff, Coleman Peters, my whole life. I didn’t want to go tattling to the sheriff like a school boy who got pushed down on the playground. I realize now, I should have reported it, just so there was a record of it. If Lisa did this thing, people should be aware of it. If she didn’t, I shouldn’t feel that she did.”

  “Okay, I think we need to talk to Lisa. Or I do. This may be something I should do on my own.”

  “I agree.” He found a pen and paper and wrote down an address. “That’s her home address and the address of DayZ Seed. She’s one of their top salespeople so she travels around Mississippi and Arkansas selling their products.”

  “Do you have any idea who my sister was dating?”

  “She never said in front of me, but we can ask around the office. Trudy was friendly. People liked her. It’s possible she mentioned her beau to some of the other employees. There are several young women working there she might have palled up with. We can go there now.”

  “Thank you, Roger.”

  “I’ve been worried about Trudy. I should have reported her missing, but you know, she’d only been with me a few months. I was planning on promoting her, but she disappeared. I was disappointed and I suppose a little angry.”

  “Oh, you and me both,” Tabitha said. “I’d like to skin her hide, and I may when I get my hands on her.”

  Roger finally smiled, and Tabitha realized it changed his entire demeanor. He was a handsome man when he wasn’t scowling. He’d proven to be unexpectedly helpful. She could only hope she wasn’t making a bone-headed mistake, a la Trudy, by allowing him to help her.

  * * *

  Getting outside the Prince Albert is a snap. The staff doesn’t even seem to notice me, and if they do, they smile. No one is interested in reporting a black cat on the loose. And that revolving door. It’s a death trap, but convenient! Now I’m on the street and just in time for my rendezvous with my mirror image, Pluto. I must be accurate and admit that Pluto has about four pounds on me because he is “the beloved pet” at the local café. In fact, that’s where we’re meeting. He swears the owner of the café will provide delicacies fit for a king.

  In my regular work day I accompany Tammy to the Book Basket in Wetumpka and indulge in a few yum-yums her customers bring to tempt my appetite. I also find myself involved in cases all around the country. My skills as a detective are growing, and I do like to stay busy. Mental acuity comes from use of the brain. Or as Tammy’s romantic other, Aiden Waters, would say—use it or lose it. Rather catchy, don’t you think?

  Millie’s Café is not far from the Sweetheart Drive-thru and I spy a fine black
kitty hanging around the back of the café. It’s Pluto, and he yowls a greeting. We have much to catch up on.

  He is true to his word, and the attractive Millie, lover of movie gossip and scandal as Pluto describes her, takes us into the office of her business and gives us two plates of tempting tuna in a delicate broth. She is quite the cook. I need this recipe for Tammy. The whole time she is stroking our fur and running on about how Sarah Booth would be very upset to see Pluto so far from Dahlia House and gamboling around town by himself. She asks about the dog—who I hope is not lurking about. Millie warns Pluto that she will drive him home herself and make sure he stays there. Really? Humans always underestimate us. Pluto stays at Dahlia House because it makes Sarah Booth happy and because he wants to. Otherwise, he’d be on the lam. Cats have certain expectations…and they are met, or else.

  Now that Millie has returned to her duties in the café, Pluto and I can catch up. I fill him in on Vesta’s appearance at Long Hall and he is greatly relieved the little marmalade feline has been taken in and is okay. I assure him she is living large while we find her human.

  I also bring him up to speed on the arrival of Trudy’s sister who is also investigating her disappearance. Lisa East is our best lead. Pluto is not familiar with her, but he suggests a trip to the local courthouse where he claims a law officer will assist us. Really? I’m not holding my breath, and if I end up in some pound because of this, I will exact revenge. But we do need biped help to find Lisa East’s address. That much I agree with, so it’s off to the courthouse we go.

  We both hate to upset Millie, who will be worried, but there’s no help for it. When the door to the office opens, we shoot out and through the dining area to the front door. A helpful human holds it open just as Millie comes after us crying for us to stop. There will be hell to pay for Pluto when his humans return. I am a stranger in this burg, and today, that’s a good thing. I must admit that if Tammy were calling my name I would think twice before ignoring her. There are some things that really set a human’s hair on fire!

  As Pluto promised, we’re welcomed into the sheriff’s office by a deputy with the name Budgie. Pluto has told me how the two deputies help Sarah Booth and her partner Tinkie solve their cases. And how accommodating the law officers are to cats. They have been made aware of our superior skills. This is a promising beginning. He treats Pluto as his equal and he seems willing to pay attention when we play charades with him. He has guessed the East part of her name. Now for the Lisa. This is a bit harder. Pluto’s approach is…unique. He is rolling on the desk moaning. Then tapping the computer keyboard. I’m fascinated. I know what he’s trying to say, but will this Budgie creature? Yes, he’s getting it…

  Budgie has made it to moaning and Mona—now to get to Lisa. This truly is an exercise in teaching humans to communicate on a higher level.

  “Mona!” Budgie shouts! And Pluto and I jump about and praise him with our antics.

  “Mona East?” Budgie guesses.

  The door opens and a tall, lanky deputy comes into the room and questions our behavior. The minute Budgie tells him Mona East, Deputy DeWayne Dattilo corrects him.

  “You’re thinking Lisa East. She’s a sales rep for DayZ Seed and Chemicals.”

  Pluto and I dance around DeWayne’s shins, giving him rubs and lots of purring trills. When he asks what we want with Lisa, we know we have him hooked. When he suggests to Budgie that he drive us out to Lisa’s house, we are beside ourselves with glee. If only all bipeds were as eager to learn as these two, my work would be greatly simplified.

  Budgie is amused at the suggestion, but willing to take us, and we are off.

  One advantage to working with the local law is that they have access to addresses, criminal histories, cell phones, and best of all, sirens. Pluto flips the switch for the siren and Budgie gives him a roll of his eyes, but lets it sing.

  Lisa East lives at a small cottage on a side street of Zinnia. It’s a lovely little place, shaded by a huge magnolia. I sense danger. The front door is ajar. It could be Lisa forgot to shut it firmly on her way to work, but this doesn’t bode well.

  Budgie lets us out of the car while he walks to the porch and raps on the door. No answer. And something is smelling a lot like decomp. Terrible for humans but even worse for the keen olfactory senses of a cat.

  Budgie asks us to stay back and we oblige. We are savvy detectives, but we are also furry and we could contaminate a crime scene. We don’t have long to wait. Budgie puts in a call to the sheriff’s office and the coroner. Someone is dead, and I’m pretty sure it’s Lisa East. This puts a dire spin on the whole disappearance of Trudy.

  And here comes a big dually pickup driven by that officious human male Roger Long with Tabitha as a passenger. Strange that they would end up here. Tabitha spots me right off and does a double take at Pluto. I’ll never be able to convey Pluto’s name to her. Thank goodness Budgie steps in and takes care of such things—and holds Tabitha and Roger back from the crime scene. Tabitha is very upset. Pluto goes to comfort her, and that’s a good thing. I want to snoop around the back of the cottage. See what’s what.

  Chapter Five

  Roger was at a total loss what to say to Tabitha when it was clear that Lisa East was dead, and not from natural causes. He didn’t try to exclude Tabitha from the conversation he had with Budgie, a man he’d known for most of his life, but he found he wanted to soften the details—a strange feeling for him.

  “How was she killed?” Roger asked the deputy.

  “Pretty sure she was shot, but Doc Sawyer will tell me more.”

  “Can you tell how long she’s been dead? I have an employee who’s missing. Trudy Wells. She hasn’t shown up for work in two weeks. She was meeting Lisa the day she disappeared.”

  Budgie shook his head. “You might have said something before now, Roger.”

  “Yeah, I should have.” Roger didn’t even want to defend his lack of action. “She was new. I just thought…young people today move around a lot.”

  “They do,” Budgie conceded.

  “This is Trudy’s sister, Tabitha. She’s worried about her.”

  Budgie studied the tall, slender redhead and nodded. “I’ve heard talk around town that you communicate with the dead.”

  “It’s a gift,” Tabitha said, but Roger was aware of the slight flush that touched the delicate skin of her slender throat.

  Budgie looked skeptical. “Look, unless you two have something to add to this scene, why don’t you go over to the courthouse and wait for us?”

  “What are those cats doing here?” Tabitha asked. “That black one, the thinner one, was out at Long Hall last night. He’s…not a normal cat. He jumped out of my car at the Prince Albert.”

  “This one here is Pluto, and he’s a pretty special cat. He belongs to Sarah Booth Delaney, a local private investigator. She sets a store by him and claims he helps solve cases, but she’s out of town at the moment.” He pointed to Trouble. “I have no idea who this black devil is, but he’s smart.”

  “His name is Trouble,” Tabitha offered. “Don’t ask how I know.”

  Roger turned to Budgie. “Do you have any idea who might have…harmed Lisa? I knew her. She was in the Long offices not so long ago talking up a new strain of cotton she wanted me to try.”

  “Is that where she met Trudy?” Budgie asked.

  “I think so.” Roger thought about it. “I have four or five young women in that age range working for me and they seemed to socialize together. They talk about going to Playin’ the Bones to dance or driving up to Memphis for fun.” He held up his hands. “I never thought about how they knew each other.”

  “My sister was dating a man who farmed a lot of acreage,” Tabitha said. “In the week before she disappeared, things weren’t great with them.”

  “Do you have a name?” Budgie asked.

  “I’m sorry, no. Trudy is my younger sister. She was so headstrong about her independence.”

  “I taught teens for a while,
” Budgie said. “I’d rather deal with convicted killers than teenagers. Some never outgrow it.”

  “Amen,” Tabitha said softly. “My sister is smart but willful. She’s always poking her nose where it doesn’t belong.”

  “Trudy is smart,” Roger agreed. “And the more I think about it, the more I agree with Tabitha. She was too interested in this new strain of cotton. She and Lisa--”

  “Let’s not jump the gun and assume the worst,” Budgie said. “Here’s DeWayne and Doc Sawyer. How about you leave and take those two cats with you? We’ve got some forensic work to do and I don’t need cats or humans tromping through it. When I have some answers, I’ll be in touch.”

  “Thanks,” Roger said. He put a hand on Tabitha’s shoulder for support as he turned her away from the cottage. She didn’t need to see what was inside. Her imagination was probably already working overtime.

  “Hey, can you really communicate with the dead?” Budgie asked. “If we run short on leads, maybe you could get in touch with Lisa East.”

  Tabitha turned and inhaled. “The spirit has to want to communicate, and just so you know, I haven’t charged anyone for my services.”

  Budgie only grinned. “I’ll let you know if we need your help.”

  “Yes, that would be a logical move,” Tabitha said before she started toward the truck. Roger had to admire the way she held her shoulders back and didn’t give anything away. He hadn’t found his missing employee, but he had learned something valuable about Tabitha Kingsley. She had come into his aunt’s home under false pretenses. He’d initially thought she was a con artist trying to fleece his relatives out of hefty fees for “psychic” contact with his grandmother, but that didn’t appear to be the case. No, it was a lot more serious than just a con. A woman was dead and Trudy was missing. Even more worrisome, Trudy appeared to be caught up in serious business—serious enough for murder. He’d wanted to believe that Trudy was simply footloose and fancy free, a young woman who’d moved on to greener pastures. But with each passing hour, he had to consider that Trudy Wells might be the victim of a kidnapping. Or worse. But since no body had been found he was going to hope for abduction. He’d worry about how Tabitha’s betrayal affected his aunt and uncle later. Right now something far more dangerous was going on around the Long family.