Blaize Clement - Curiosity Killed The Cat Sitter

“So Marilee’s baby was adopted?”

“Bought is more like it. The Fraziers came up with the idea of their daughter taking the baby, and Harrison talked Marilee into it. His sister had been married a good while and I guess she couldn’t have one of her own. You know how that goes. Them that wants them can’t get pregnant, and them that can’t handle them get pregnant if a man so much as looks at them. Anyway, Harrison told Marilee if she let his sister have the baby, they would always know she was being taken care of, and that after they married, they could get her back.”

“He said they’d get married?”

“That’s what he claimed. He said they’d finish school and then they’d get married. His family probably told him to say that, and Marilee believed him. She was just fifteen years old, she didn’t know how men lie to you.”

“You don’t think he ever planned to marry her?”

“Not for a minute. They had Marilee sign a bunch of papers. She had to promise to stay away from the baby and never let on she was hers. They paid her to do that. If you’re rich enough, you can pay somebody to do just about anything.”

I poured her a cup of tea and waited while she took a shaky sip. I said, “The photograph on the refrigerator—”

“That’s Lily. That’s what they named her. She’s nineteen now, and she got in touch with one of them places that find your real mother for you. I don’t know for sure how it works, but they called Marilee and then she and Lily talked on the phone. Marilee thought since Lily had found her, it wasn’t like she was breaking her promise to the Fraziers. They’ve been writing, and Lily sent her that picture. She looks exactly like Marilee. Marilee was so excited about meeting Lily. Now she never will.”

“How old was Lily when Harrison’s sister took her?”

“Oh, just hours. When the baby came, the Fraziers were right there with a lawyer and she signed papers and they took her.”

“And Marilee thought one day she would get her back?”

“That’s what Harrison told her. And he said it didn’t make any difference what his folks said, he wasn’t going to let Marilee go.”

“But he did.”

“Well, he did and he didn’t. He didn’t marry her, if that’s what you mean, but he never let her alone, neither. He was a fool for her, was what he was. Went crazy mean if she got mixed up with any other man. He told her one time he would kill her if he ever caught her with another man, and that’s what he’s done. Killed her.”

“Wasn’t he married?”

“Married and with kids. Marilee was just the woman he had on the side. He thought it was enough that he paid her. How do you think that made her feel? I tell you, all the money in the world won’t make up for a man treating you like a whore. He ruined her life, and then he killed her.”

“Did Harrison Frazier know that Marilee and Lily had found each other?”

“Oh my, no. She had promised, you know, and they’d paid her all that money. No, she couldn’t let Harrison know.”

Cora looked up at me and gave me a wry smile. “If I keep talking, this won’t be true, you know? It’ll all turn out to be just a bad dream.”

“I know. Talking helps to let bad news settle in slowly instead of all at once.”

“Well, I’ll just tell you this, and you can pass it on to whoever it is that’s looking into this. Harrison Frazier was the one who killed Marilee. Now I think I’d like you to leave me alone.”

I understood. I had been like that, too, wanting to burrow into a hole and suffer by myself. I thought briefly about alerting somebody, but then decided to honor Cora’s request to be left alone.

“Do you mind if I come by tomorrow?”

“That would be nice of you, Dixie. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like it if you’d stop by.”

“Just one more thing, Cora. When the investigators are finished at Marilee’s house, it will have to be cleaned. I need your permission to call the special cleaning people.” I couldn’t think of any other way to describe the professionals who clean and sterilize a house where blood and body fluids have been spilled.

She flinched a bit and then rallied. “You do whatever you need to do, hon.”

I made fresh tea for Cora and left her sitting at the table warming her hands on a steaming cup.

Before I drove away, I called Guidry on my cell phone. He answered on the second ring with a clipped “Guidry here.”

“Marilee had a baby when she was fifteen. Harrison Frazier was the father. His older sister adopted the baby, and his family paid Marilee to stay away and keep it a secret. But Frazier kept seeing her on the sly, and he told her he would kill her if she ever had another man. Her grandmother thinks he murdered her.”

For a moment, the line was silent, and then he took a deep breath. “Does the grandmother have any ideas about who killed Frazier?”

“No, but there’s something else. The daughter is nineteen now, and she found Marilee. They’ve been corresponding and they were going to meet.”

Okay, now I’d told him everything I knew. Well, almost everything.

Twenty-One

I said, “If Frazier was insanely jealous like Cora says he was, maybe he killed Marilee when he caught her with another man.”

“And what was the other man doing while Frazier was killing Marilee, standing by watching?”

“Frazier could have knocked him out first.”

“And who took Marilee’s body to the woods? Do you think Frazier did that while the second guy was unconscious and then went back to get himself killed? Damned cooperative of him if he did.”

“Well, I don’t know, Guidry. I’m just passing on what Cora told me, so don’t give me attitude.”

“I appreciate the information, Dixie. Like I said, you get around.”

“Yeah. Now, when can I get a haz-mat crew in Marilee’s house so I can bring Ghost home?”

“Who?”

“Marilee Doerring’s cat. We talked about him, remember?”

“Dixie, the Doerring woman is dead. You can’t bring a cat back to her house.”

“What’s the difference in her being dead and off on a trip?”

“A pulse, for starters.”

“No, I mean what’s the difference to a cat? The contract I had with Marilee Doerring gives me temporary custody of her cat, with the obligation to do whatever is necessary for his welfare in an emergency. This is an emergency. There’s no reason why he can’t stay in familiar surroundings while I look for a new home for him. He’d be a lot happier.”

“That’s what I live for, Dixie, to make a cat happy.”

I batted away a floating cat hair and said, “Okay, that was snide, because I really do live to make a cat happy.”

“Crime-scene tape should come down some time tomorrow. It’s all yours after that.”

“Just until I can find a home for Ghost. Would you and your wife like a nice cat? Absyssinians are usually good with kids. If you have some, that is.”

There was another pause while my face got hot. I couldn’t believe I’d just said what I’d said. He was going to think I was trying to find out if he was single, which was ridiculous. When he spoke, I could hear the grin in his voice. “I don’t happen to have any kids, Dixie, never have. Don’t have a wife, either, although I did once.”

My lips were tingling like I’d had a shot of niacin. It was really stupid. I didn’t care whether he was married or not. I said, “A cat would be good company for you, Guidry. Cats don’t have to be taken for walks, and they don’t bark and disturb the neighbors. They’re really ideal pets. Research shows that people who have pets are healthier than people who don’t. Did you know that?”

This time, he outright laughed. “I’ll think about it, Dixie, but don’t get your hopes up.”