“After his death got in the papers, Michael's mother was at a loss as to what to make of this. Jennifer feels the woman doesn't need any more nasty shocks, so she'll probably marry quietly, six months from now, when all this quiets down. She figures by then, whatever Jake is going through because of the company, will be resolved and they can go back to their daily lives..
“Jill and myself have been trying to help Lucy get ahead, by helping her get a high school equivalency diploma and expanding her education. Trying to make her aware there is a greater world out there. At the news of her inheritance, she's going to use the money to go to business school. She said she never wants to do any of the things she did in the past nor does she want to depend on anybody again. She wants to turn her whole life around. She's doing it for herself and to give her son a better life.”
“That's great to hear. I'm glad a person's life has been changed for the better by this event. And Mandy, I wanted to thank you for your help with this investigation. Although not in a million years did I think your life would be in danger, it's just a fluke that in speaking to these people, you were put in danger. I'm sorry for that.”
“Well, I enjoyed doing the work and nobody could have seen it coming, that talking to these people would put the killer in defense mode.”
*****
Roger, Lana and Colin were on the sidelines, sitting on their favorite counter chairs. Colin stood nearby.
“So Roger, you solved the mystery of the murderer. Your detective skills are shining as brightly as ever.”
“Well, I actually got a tip from Fred that gave me something to look for. He had mentioned the coroner wasn't sure if Michael hadn't been tied up before going in the closet. When we went to the office the first night, I went in the closet. It was clean in there, but I found this one little fiber, like the one you'd find on a rope. Most humans would have missed this, but I have better vision in dark spaces as a cat.”
“So, this is one time where being a cat paid off?” Colin asked.
“You could say that. That's what I discovered on the first visit. After I visited there again with Mandy during the day, I got a better idea of who sat where. When we visited the investment firm on our second trip, I searched the office to see if anybody had the rope that used the same kind of fiber I found on my first visit. Eventually, I found Tim had a reel of rope with the fibers like the one I found. I knew he was the killer, but I didn't know why he would kill Michael.
“Just before I got a chance to explore the office, Tim and Cathy were there discussing new employees and their jobs. That's when he said to Cathy they should go over and surprise Mandy. After finding the rope in his drawer, I knew no good could come from this. His whole plan stunk to high heaven. When I woke up the next morning, I knew I had to do something or Tim would kill Mandy as well.”
“You prevented another needless death.” Colin replied.
“Well, we all worked together as a team. You helped greatly by predicting and telling me when Tim and Cathy were coming. Lana did a great job of fending off the woman even though she was innocent. But at the time, we didn't know this. Fred likes Mandy and is concerned about her welfare enough to come over to check out her talking through the tablet cat. That helped a lot. I would have taken the guy down either way, but we needed human law enforcement to take over right away.”
“My voice is still hoarse from hissing at the woman.” Lana said.
“Yes, but you helped save the day, and that's the important part.
At that moment, Mandy called Roger over. “Roger honey, come here, Fred and I are talking about you and how courageous you were.”
“Well, I better go over there and play the cat again.”
Colin held back a laugh. Roger sauntered over to where Fred and Mandy were sitting and sat next to Mandy. Fred started to speak to Roger.
“Roger, I don't know if you can understand me or not, but I wanted to thank you for helping out and preventing Mandy from getting hurt. I don't know how you knew, but you prevented a major crime. I guess I'm going to have to make you an honorary cop.” Fred said joking.
“What do you mean a cop? I'm a detective.” Roger said.
“Whoa, apparently he has something to say on the matter, from the sound of his meows. Do you have your tablet with you? Let's see what he's trying to say.” Fred asked.
“Let's see, I have it in my bag.” Mandy took out the tablet and laid it on the table with the messaging app so he could type. “Go ahead honey, what are you trying to say to Fred?”
Roger started to type on the tablet and he spelled DETECTIVE.
“That's amazing. It's the last thing I would have believed. Not only is he saying he doesn't want to be a cop, he wants to be a detective.” Fred said laughing and amazed at the same time.
“I'm a detective buddy and don't you forget it.” Roger said exasperated. All Mandy and Fred heard were strange meows that sounded like a frustrated cat.
“Well, I guess he just told you off.” Mandy said amazed Roger continued to act this way.
Mandy and Fred looked at each other and both burst out laughing. “I'm being told off by a cat who wants to be a detective. I don't know, does Joanie have anything stronger than tea or coffee here, cause I'm going to need it.”
“It's possible he understands human speech. I think getting hit by the truck gave him the ability to understand human speech. He knows how to write human words. He may be the first cat to engage in inter-species communication!” Mandy said amazed.
“I'm a man Mandy, I just look like a cat.” Roger replied. All they heard were strange meows.
“See, he's saying something.” Mandy said.
“Definitely mind blowing. I'm still trying to process all of this. He asked you to call the police because he knew something bad would happen otherwise. He even fooled the killer. He made believe he was asleep. I mean, he had a strategy. How does a cat strategize? He actually thinks like a cop.”
“I don't know, but he saved my life. No matter what happened to him, he's still my hero.” Mandy gave Roger a quick hug.
“He certainly is, I welcome Roger's help in future cases.” Fred said.
“You got a deal Fred.” Roger said.
“See, he's saying something again. You want to type out what you said to Fred honey?” Mandy put out the tablet for Roger to type. On the tablet, he typed DEAL.
Mandy and Fred looked at Roger and then at each other, open-mouthed.
Thank you for reading this book
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Other Books by Eleanor Kittering
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The second book in this series where Mandy and Roger go on their next set of adventures.
The third book in this series where Mandy and Roger go to a pet spa to meet uncertain danger.
Mystery at the Hedge Fund Page 14
