Classified As Murder

“I know that none of this is hard-and-fast evidence. But don’t you find it plausible, at least?”

“Yes, it’s plausible,” Kanesha said. “I will check things out. If you’re correct in saying that Truesdale knew about the change in the will before the murder, that does make a difference. I can’t ignore the possibilities, but I have to have something more concrete to go on.”

As much as it pained me to admit, I knew she was right. I was convinced Truesdale was the killer, but my conviction wasn’t enough. I glanced at Sean, who had been trying to get my attention. He held his hand out for the papers, and I gave them to him. He began reading.

“Tell me what happened when you found Ms. Milhaus with the missing Tamerlane.” Kanesha sounded more impatient than usual. “I need to get on with this.”

“Certainly,” I said. I gave her the details of my interactions with Anita this morning. I emphasized Anita’s attempts to cajole Truesdale, and why I believed she was the one who told him about the change in Mr. Delacorte’s will.

“Very good,” Kanesha said. She hadn’t bothered to make any notes. “I’ll need you to make a formal statement later, Mr. Harris. If you could come down to the department later today or tomorrow, I’d appreciate it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some suspects to question.”

I didn’t do anything but nod as she turned to go. Further argument seemed pointless.

When the door closed behind her, Sean said, “I think you’re right, Dad, about the butler being the killer. But she’s also right. There’s nothing here solid enough to make an airtight case.” He handed the pages back to me.

I felt considerably deflated now. I was so excited that I had figured it all out, but harsh reality—in the form of Kanesha Berry—intruded. I knew both she and my son were right.

All I had to do now was prove that the butler did it.

THIRTY-FOUR

Diesel chirped at me. I patted him, but he kept chirping. Then he started butting my thigh with his head. When I looked down at him, I suddenly realized what he wanted.

“I’ve got to take Diesel outside right now,” I said as I stood. “Come on, boy.” Diesel loped ahead of me to the door.

“What’s going on?” Sean followed me. “Is he telling you he needs to use the litter box?”

“Something like that,” I said as we walked into the hall and headed for the front door. “I forgot about the cheese he got from Anita’s bag, and I don’t know how much he ate or what kind of cheese it was. It may have upset his stomach a bit, and he needs to get outside to do his business.”

I opened the front door, and Diesel bolted out of it. I hurried after him, and Sean brought up the rear.

By the time I made it down the steps into the front yard, all I saw was a bushy tail disappearing into one of the flower beds behind some azaleas to my right. I moved closer to wait for Diesel to finish while Sean remained on the verandah. I was aggravated with myself, because if I had taken the cheese away from him sooner, Diesel wouldn’t be dealing with an upset stomach right now.

“Are we going home now?” Sean asked. “The library is locked now, and we can’t get in to work on the inventory.”

“We might as well,” I said. “There’s nothing more we can do here.”

Diesel popped out of the azaleas and meowed. I rubbed his head. “I’m sorry, boy; I shouldn’t have let you eat enough cheese to make you sick. You were naughty to do it, but it wasn’t really your fault.”

Sean laughed as the cat and I met him at the foot of the steps. “The way you talk to that cat, I swear you think he’s human sometimes.”

I replied in a wry tone. “If you ever need evidence I’ve gone completely potty, you can always use it to get me committed.”

The sound of a vehicle coming up the driveway caused me to turn. A cruiser from the sheriff’s department pulled in and parked in front of my car. Deputy Bates exited from the driver’s side and approached us.

“Morning again, Mr. Harris.” Bates held out his hand and offered me a key. “Ms. Berry sent me over with this, so you can get into the library and work on that inventory. Said to tell you she’d appreciate it if you could get back to it.”

“You arrived just in time, Deputy,” I said as I accepted the key. “We were about to head home.”

Bates nodded. “She said to tell you also that she took Mr. Truesdale to the sheriff’s department with her to get his statement on what happened this morning.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I’m glad to hear that. You can tell her we’ll work on the inventory and get as much done today as we can.”

“Yes, sir,” Bates said. With a tip of his hat, he turned and went back to his cruiser.

“Back at it, then,” I said to Sean as we mounted the steps to the verandah.

“I don’t know about you, Dad, but I could use something to drink.” Sean turned to me with a frown as he shut the front door behind us.

“Sounds good to me. I’m sure Diesel could use some water by now, too.” I headed for the kitchen, with Diesel trotting right beside me.