Leann Sweeney - The Cat, The Professor and the Poison

“But you asked me here,” I said. “Why?”

She glanced nervously between Candace and me. “Well, I spoke with the coroner, Lydia Monk, and-”

“Deputy Coroner Monk,” Candace corrected.

“Yes. Anyway,” Sarah went on, “Deputy Coroner Monk is in charge of issuing the death certificates, correct?”

“That’s right,” Candace answered even though Sarah continued to look at me.

“She told me that you, Jillian, were her good friend,” Sarah said.

Really? What is Lydia up to now? I thought. “We know each other, yes. What else did she say?”

She cast a quick look at Candace and then focused on me. “She told me you were quite friendly with the police and perhaps you could encourage them-” She paused and turned her gaze on Candace. “I suppose since you’re here I should appeal to you directly. We need to know when the house will be released to us so we can get in there and see if Hubert left anything of value. My sons have to go to school, and that means I need money.”

“First of all, Chief Baca will decide when the crime scene will be released, not me,” Candace said. “But I’m not sure the house will be released to you. You divorced the professor.”

“Semantics,” she said tersely. “I’ve consulted an attorney, and my sons will probably be awarded that property.”

She seemed awfully impatient about that farm. Did she think it was worth a fortune? Because I sure didn’t. “But the police have to follow their timeline concerning this crime scene,” Lieber said. “Isn’t that right, Deputy Carson?”

“True,” she answered.

“Can you guess when the house might no longer be under your… what’s a good word? Your jurisdiction?” Lieber said.

“A couple days to a week,” she said. “We’ll want to get back in there for one more thorough search.”

“That long?” Sarah said.

“That long,” Candace replied.

We heard the knocker on the front door, and a few seconds later, Anita escorted Brandt into the parlor.

“What are you doing here?” he said when he spotted us.

“Your mother invited me,” I said.

He narrowed his eyes at Sarah. “She’s lying, right?” Candace stood and walked up to him. “What is it with you, Brandt? Got something to hide?”

Lieber stood and put a hand on Brandt’s shoulder. “Calm down, son. We were hoping to get a few answers about the house, that’s all.”

He craned his neck to look around Lieber and spoke to Sarah. “Didn’t I tell you that the police always suspect the family first? You shouldn’t be talking to them at all. And where the heck is Evan? Is he here?”

“No, I thought he was with you,” Sarah said.

“You need help finding Evan?” Candace said, sounding worried.

“We don’t need anything from you,” Brandt said.

“Fine. This conversation is over.” Candace looked down at Sarah. “If you want information about your ex- husband’s belongings, property or whatever else might have to do with the crime scene, you go through Chief Baca.” She gestured for me to follow her. “Come on, Jillian.”

She marched past Brandt, brushing her shoulder against his arm. I went with her, even though I was a little disappointed I wouldn’t get to taste what was for lunch at the Pink House.

Candace fumed in silence on the drive back to my house, and I was so glad I was driving. The angrier she gets, the faster she drives, so we would have made it home in record time. Or we would have found ourselves wrapped around one of the hickory or pecan trees that line my driveway.

“One of those VanKleets did those murders,” Candace said as we came in through the back door.

“You said yourself that Sarah wasn’t strong enough to kill Rufus.” After I petted our greeters, Syrah and Merlot, I opened the fridge looking for something to eat.

“Yeah, but what about poison?” Candace said. “She could do that. They do say women are usually poisoners, not men.”

“I don’t want to talk about poison when I’m hungry.” I’d skipped breakfast, anticipating a big lunch. Sadly, I was confronted with Red Bull and sushi rolls. The chicken had somehow disappeared, so I took out the container of Greek olives and the tea pitcher. I poured us both a glass. I needed to get to the grocery store soon. Heck, I was even out of bread. Kara’s disdain for carbs was a definite problem. We’d have to work on that.

Candace picked up her tea and gulped down half the glass. “Sarah looked strong enough today to smash anyone’s head in, so maybe I was wrong. She is such a manipulator. Fake tears, fake nice. She thought she could get you over there and sweet-talk you. Then you’d do her bidding and get the crime scene released so she could raid the house for buried treasure.”

I popped an olive and ate it before I answered. “She does seem a little desperate. Maybe her new boyfriend is refusing to come up with the tuition for Evan. Did you notice how she attempted to play on our sympathies there?”

“Oh, I noticed. Little does she know, we’re aware that Brandt doesn’t have to pay a penny for his schooling.” Candace opened the pantry door and stepped in.

Merlot joined her immediately. One door that always stayed closed was the pantry door, and he wasn’t about to miss a chance to explore in there.

Candace emerged with potato chips. “I am starving, and olives aren’t my favorite.” She tore open the bag.

Meanwhile, Syrah had joined Merlot in the pantry, and before I could shoo them out, Syrah emerged carrying a bag of catnip. He took off before I could catch him, Merlot on his tail.

I laughed. “I guess they deserve a treat. It’s been tense around here the last week, and I know they feel it,” I said.

“Can I have some of that catnip, too?” Candace said. “Doesn’t it make cats all happy and playful?”

“Some cats,” I said, grabbing a handful of chips from the bag Candace held. “Some are completely unaffected. Scientists believe it’s genetic whether a cat gets a tiny high off catnip.”

“You had to say the word scientist,” Candace said. “I’ve decided I don’t like experiments or labs or even scientist’s kids.”

“Or their friends or their ex-wives,” I added.

“Them, too,” she said and popped a chip into her mouth.

“Do any of those people have an alibi for the evening of the murder?” I said.

“Brandt refused to answer, saying he didn’t have to-are you surprised?” she answered. “Sarah said she couldn’t remember.”

“How convenient,” I said.

“Lieber said he was at home, but he didn’t supply an alibi for his live-in friend, Sarah,” she said. “He said he thought she was playing bridge.”

“Maybe he didn’t want to get caught in a lie,” I said.

“That’s the feeling I got,” she said. “He may act like he adores Sarah, but if she’s involved in a crime, I’ll bet he runs as fast as he can in the other direction. Anyway, Evan said he was driving around that night. I love the ‘driving around’ alibis. So helpful.”

I was done with the potato-chip-and-olive lunch and grabbed a paper towel for my messy hands. Candace took one, too. Good timing, because my cell phone rang and I wouldn’t have wanted to get oil all over the new phone.

It was Shawn, and he said he and Doc Howard would like to come over if it was convenient. I told him yes, and he said to expect them in about fifteen minutes.

“One mystery will be solved today. The mystery of the enormous microchip,” I said.

“Enormous?” Candace said.

“I’m being silly. This has been a bad week, and if we can find Dame Wiggins’s family through that microchip, that will be a sign things are turning around.”