A Purrfect Alibi

“Of course not. Hopefully they’ll just try to communicate with him for a few days and then get bored and leave when he doesn’t show up. No harm done,” I said, ushering Myron toward the door. He could be a bit of a fussbudget and I didn’t need him messing around with any of my bookings. I wasn’t about to kick out paying customers, especially now that I really needed the money.

Mike and Ed started the inspection of the repairs Ed had done to date and I walked Myron back down the long hallway. The front door stood open, giving a nice view of the birch trees on the side of the driveway. We were almost at the front door when a loud clapping sounded from the parlor.

Myron pulled up short and looked in. Madame Zenda was standing next to the window, which had been pushed open even further. Was it stuffy in the guesthouse? I didn’t think so— even though it was late summer—we did have air conditioning. And right now, most of it was going out the window. I made a mental note to tell the guests to keep the windows shut.

Madame Zenda clapped her hands again, pulling my attention from the window.

“People! People!” she yelled, leaning toward the window. “I have exciting news! Jedediah Biddeford has contacted me from beyond and he says he’ll be giving me the answers to everything we seek tonight when the moon kisses the ocean.”

The others murmured and looked at her skeptically. I could feel the disapproval radiating from Myron.

Madame Zenda continued, “After tonight, not only will I know where the treasure is, but also what happened to him three hundred years ago!”

Three

“When the moon kisses the ocean? What’s that supposed to mean?” Marlowe asked half an hour later when she and Nero were catnapping in the conservatory. The conservatory had yet to be fully renovated, other than some replacement windows that Ed had put in as a surprise for Josie. That’s why the cats liked it so much. No one ever went in there and there was always a pool of sun to lie in. The hand-carved trim that Ed had added around the windows as a surprise for Josie didn’t hurt the ambiance any either. They could see Oyster Cove from an east-facing window and Nero enjoyed watching the lobster boats hauling in their catch, the waves crashing against the jagged rocks and the seagulls circling above. He didn’t particularly like seagulls though, because they often dive-bombed the cats, but they were fine to watch from afar. He was glad to see the population was making a resurgence after an incident a few months ago that had caused a number of gull deaths.

Marlowe trotted over to one of the large potted plants Millie had brought over a few weeks ago and raked her claws through the dirt, then looked back at Nero for an answer to her question.

Nero sighed. “I’ve noticed these guests tend to be overly dramatic. I assume it was just a fancy way of saying when the moon comes up over the ocean.”

They both glanced toward the window. The moon rose up in the east just around dusk. At this time of year, it was a glowing disk that loomed over the ocean highlighting the crests of the waves. It would be a full moon tonight. Nero wondered if Madame Zenda had chosen today to make her announcement because of that.

“They are a strange bunch,” Marlowe continued. “I liked the last batch better. At least they had some cheese morsels in their rooms we could steal.”

“These guests are sneaky, too. Though I do like Esther. She has no problem slipping us some treats under the table.”

Marlowe, who had been examining the dirt inside the pot, glanced over at Nero. “Well, I wouldn’t consider that any bonus. Some of Josie’s breakfasts leave a bit to be desired.”

“Yeah, but she can’t screw up bacon.”

“True. So, what do you make of Madame Zenda’s proclamation? I noticed she made sure to be near the window.” Marlowe finished her inspection of the plant and trotted over to the pool of sun.

“You mean the window she’d opened wider and let all the lovely cool air out of?” Nero plopped down beside her and started preening the white fur of his tuxedo. “I bet she was making sure that Anita Pendragon overheard her.”

“That reporter that’s been lurking around? Yeah, I could see her over in those gigantic overgrown rhododendrons and she looked pretty excited. I guess she doesn’t realize that Madame Zenda was lying.”

Both cats had a keen sense of the spirit world and they had sniffed the house thoroughly for signs of Jed’s ghost when the skeleton had been discovered. There were no static disturbances, no other-worldly smells, no hint of ectoplasmic moisture. If Jed’s ghost was still on the earthly plane, he wasn’t hanging around in the Oyster Cove Guesthouse. Then again, Nero had noticed that items seemed to be falling to the floor at odd times recently and his hair had even stood on end inexplicably. But if a ghost were in the house, surely it would have made its presence known to them?