Six Cats A Slayin'

I thought about it briefly before I answered. “In some ways, frankly, I don’t really care which of them did it. I don’t know any of them, really, except for Betty Camden. I don’t know her well at all. But if I had to pick one of them, I’d say Deirdre Thompson. From everything I’ve heard, she’s the most unpleasant of them all. There’s the financial motive as well, if Gerry could have been successful in getting what Mr. Halbert left her in his will.”

“I think Betty Camden did it,” Melba said. “And not because I don’t like her to begin with. She likes to pretend she’s so classy because she married Chip Camden. He’s from an old Athena family, one with class and money, unlike her. She barely managed to get through college. She had to work and get scholarships, and then she married a bum named Wally Jones.”

“What’s the point in this?” I asked, tired of waiting for her to get to the crux.

“The point is,” Melba said, glaring at me, “she’s so status-conscious it’s ridiculous. Do you think she’d want people in this town to know about the brother that her father sold to Mr. Halbert? The brother who turned himself into a sister? No siree Bob, she wouldn’t. She’s not exactly the enlightened type. I think she’d do anything to keep that news from getting out.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” I said. “I’m hoping Kanesha finds the evidence soon.”

“If it’s there, she will.” Melba rose, giving Diesel a last rub on the head. “I’d better get going. You’re probably ready for a little peace and quiet.”

“I’m fine,” I said. “Before you go, would you like to look in on the kittens?”

She hesitated. “Oh, why not?”

Diesel trotted ahead of us to the living room. He sat by the cage and watched the kittens, all asleep at the moment.

“They’re so precious,” Melba said.

“One or more of them could be yours soon,” I said.

“Have you found out where they came from?” she asked.

“Yes, earlier today.” I told her about the note I had left. “Turned out to be Tommy Russum, the solo boy soprano in the choir at Helen Louise’s church.”

“Did he give you the full story behind his bringing them to you?”

“Yes, the case of the mean old stepfather, according to Tommy,” I said. “His stepfather is a cardiologist, Henry McGillivray. I often see him and Tommy’s mother, Ellen, when I go to church with Helen Louise.”

“I’ve heard the name,” Melba said. “He’s supposed to be top-notch, but that’s all I know about him.”

“He can be a little gruff, in my experience,” I said. “Never downright rude, but he always gives the impression that he doesn’t have much time.”

“Those people are always irritating,” Melba said. “Usually think they’re way more important than you.”

“That might be the case with Dr. McGillivray, though Ellen McGillivray is a genuinely warm and friendly person,” I said. “I know nothing about Tommy’s father, though I think he passed away when Tommy was small.”

“So the good doctor doesn’t want cats around the house?” Melba asked.

“According to Tommy,” I said. “I’m trying to make up my mind whether I should try to talk to the man and Mrs. McGillivray about the situation. I don’t want to cause trouble for Tommy, but it really burns me up that Mr. McGillivray seems to be ignoring how important those kittens are to the boy.”

“I hope you do talk to him,” Melba said. “The man needs to learn a little compassion, seems to me.”

“We’ll see,” I told her. “I expect we’ll see them at the church on Christmas morning. I’m not in the mood to tackle him right now.”

“Good luck,” Melba said. “See you Sunday.”

Diesel stared after her forlornly as she headed out the door. I felt curiously flat myself, now that the murder investigation was so close to an end—provided, as always, that there was reliable evidence for Kanesha to make an arrest.

“How about we go play with the kittens?” I said to Diesel, and he warbled and darted toward the living room. I followed slowly, continuing to think about the investigation.

Odd how it seemed to happen like this pretty much every time. Insert one previously unknown piece to the puzzle, and things shifted around and gave you a much more complete picture. Putting together Gerry Albritton’s background and finding the connections with the two siblings and her adoptive sister had been the key.

Jincy Bruce was an outlier. There was still the matter of the embezzlement. She and Gerry appeared to me to be the only suspects. Surely Jared Carter wouldn’t embezzle from himself. Jared was even more of an outlier than Jincy. Unless his relationship with Gerry was more than simply a business arrangement? Things could have turned ugly if Jared hadn’t known Gerry’s full story. He might not have understood the true significance of her use of the name Ronni Halliburton. Did he know anything about Ronnie Halbert? That would be for Kanesha to figure out.