Lilian Jackson Braun - Cat 11 Who Lived High

When Mrs. Jasper returned with her laundry basket, he flagged her down at the library door, saying, "When did you first come to work at the Casablanca, Mrs. Jasper?" "Just afore the 1929 Crash. That's when folks was jumpin' off the roof. It were terrible." "Come in and sit down. Do you remember the names of any people you worked for?" She sat on the edge of a chair with the basket on her lap, her rosy cheeks glowing. "I only worked for one family, and they was just two of 'em - father and daughter. He were a nice man with a little moustache. Mr. Plumb were his name." "His daughter still lives here!" "Aye, on Twelve. Miss Adelaide. Her and me was the same age." "Here, let me take that basket. Make yourself comfortable," he said with a sudden surge of hospitality. "Would you like a cup of coffee?" "I just had a nice cup o' tea downstairs, thankee just the same." "What kind of work did you do for the Plumbs?" "I were backstairs maid. I had a room of my own - imagine!-and me just a young girl from Chipmunk. They hired a lot of help in them days. We had a good time." "What was Adelaide like when she was young?" "Oh, she were a sassy girl, that one! Mr. Plumb spoiled her somethin' terrible. Bought her an automobile for her birthday, and the houseman used to drive her up and down Zwinger Boulevard like a princess. I remember her comin'-out party and the dress she wore - all beads and feathers and way up above her knees. That were the style then. After that the young men came callin' and bring-in' chocolates and flowers. First thing we knowed, she were engaged to the handsomest of the lot." Mrs. Jasper shook her head sadly. "But it were too bad the way it worked out." "What happened?" "Well, now, the weddin' were all set, invitations and all, weddin' dress ordered special from Paris. Then somethin' happened suddenlike. Mr. Plumb were upset, and Miss Adelaide were poutin', and the help was tiptoein' around, afraid to open their mouth. I asked Housekeeper and she said Mr. Plumb were short of money. Next thing, he sold the automobile and let some of the help go, and Miss Adelaide stayed in her room and wouldn't come out, no matter what. Housekeeper said Mr. Plumb made her break her engagement. After that he got sickly and died." Mrs. Jasper leaned forward, wide- eyed. "It be my notion that Miss Adelaide poisoned him!" Qwilleran, who had been lulled into a reverie by the singsong quality of the woman's voice, fairly jumped out of his chair. "What makes you think so?" "She talked to me chummylike, us bein' the same age." "What did she tell you?" "Oh, she hated him for what he did! That were what she told me, stampin' her feet and throwin' things and screamin'. She were spoiled. Always got what she wanted and did what she wanted. I wouldn't put it past her to poison her own father." "How would she get her hands on poison?" "There were rat poison in the basement. The janitor had it in his cupboard with a big skull and crossbones on it." "Come on, Mrs. Jasper," Qwilleran chided. "Can you picture the belle of the Casablanca prowling around the basement to steal rat poison?" "Not her. It were the houseman, to my way o' thinkin'. He were a young man what looked like a movie star, and she smiled at him a lot. Housekeeper said no good would come of it." "Very interesting," said Qwilleran, huffing into his moustache. He had a sympathetic attitude that encouraged confidences, true or false, and persons in all walks of life had poured out their secrets, but servants' gossip hardly qualified for the Casablanca history.

"Aye, it were interesting," Mrs. Jasper went on. "After Mr. Plumb died and she got the insurance money, the houseman bought hisself an automobile! Where would a young whippersnapper get money for an automobile in them days?" "How many times have you told this story, Mrs. Jasper?" "Only to my Andrew after we was married, and he said not to talk about it, but the Countess be old now, and it don't matter, and I always wanted to tell somebody." "Well, thank you," he said. "It's after three o' clock now, and I must take the cats to the doctor." "I'll water the trees and then I be through," said Mrs. Jasper.

Qwilleran paid her and said he would see her the following Monday - another promise he would be unable to keep.

Both of the Siamese were on the waterbed. "Everyone up!" he called out cheerfully. "Get your tickets for a ride in the Purple Plum!" He made no mention of the clinic, and yet they knew! No amount of coaxing would convince them to enter the carrier.