Миранда Джеймс - File M For Murder

I headed for the door, and Diesel came with me. I realized belatedly that I still held the box of treats. He, ever the optimist, hoped more would be forthcoming.

“Sorry, boy, it’s got to be all business now.”

Diesel meowed as I stopped in front of the door. I opened it, ready to greet Kanesha. Instead, to my surprise, Ralph and Magda Johnston occupied the doorstep.

“Good afternoon.” Ralph smiled briefly. “Magda and I were in the neighborhood, and we wanted to find out how Laura is doing. Magda was quite upset this morning.”

Magda nodded, a bit uncertainly, I thought. “Finding poor Laura unconscious like that was, well, upsetting.”

“Yes, it was.” I stood back and motioned for them to enter with the hand that still held the box of cat treats. “Please come in, and you can say hello to Laura.”

Magda, with Ralph close on her heels, walked into the house. Upon catching sight of Diesel, hovering behind me, Magda stopped so suddenly that Ralph stumbled into her.

“What on earth is that?” Magda paled and held a hand in front of her, as if to ward off an imminent attack.

“It’s just a big pussycat, for heaven’s sake. He’s not going to attack you.”

Magda flushed at Ralph’s derisive tone. “How would I know that? I’ve never seen a house cat that large, now, have I?”

The bickering didn’t sit well with Diesel. He moved restlessly behind me, muttering. He didn’t seem to care for either Ralph or Magda, and I took note of that.

“Diesel is gentle and friendly,” I said in a neutral tone. “Don’t let his size intimidate you.” I smiled. “Laura’s in the kitchen with Frank Salisbury. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to her.”

Magda nodded, not looking at all convinced by my reassurances about Diesel. The cat ignored the two guests and scampered ahead of me into the kitchen.

“Laura, you have visitors,” I announced as we entered the kitchen. “Mr. and Mrs. Johnston dropped by to see how you’re doing.”

Diesel planted himself in front of Laura, as if to protect her from our guests, and I had to suppress a smile. He rarely took an active dislike to people, so his response to the Johnstons was all the more marked.

“Laura, my dear girl, how are you? Afternoon.” Ralph nodded in Frank’s direction. “I just can’t imagine who on earth would attack you like that.” He stepped as close to Laura as he could, but Diesel kept him a good two feet away.

Magda hovered behind her husband and peered around him at Laura. “You look much better than you did this morning.”

Laura offered them a wan smile. “Thank you for coming to check on me. I’ve got a bit of a headache, but otherwise I’m doing okay.”

“Excellent news, excellent.” Ralph beamed at her as Magda contributed, “So glad you’re okay.”

“I simply can’t imagine who on earth would attack you like that.” Ralph was nothing if not repetitive. “Do you have any clue, any clue at all, who it might have been?”

Was he merely concerned, as a caring department head should be? Or did he have a more sinister reason for asking that question? I recalled my earlier thought that Magda could have been the one to strike Laura, with me happening upon the scene not long after.

As Laura responded in the negative to the question about clues, I heard the doorbell ring. As I slipped away to answer it, I wondered whether Kanesha had finally arrived. I glanced at my watch and noted that nearly an hour and a half had passed since I last spoke to her.

My stomach knotted in anticipation of the difficult interview that would shortly take place. Kanesha was going to be so angry with Laura and, of course, with me.

When I opened the door, I was almost relieved to see Damitra Vane there instead.

TWENTY-THREE

Before I could say anything, Damitra Vane brushed past me into the entranceway. Her perfume was so overwhelming I felt like gagging. Had she bathed in it?

“Where is she? Where is the bitch?” The woman’s voice came out almost as a shriek. She was clearly agitated, her expression wild, her arms jerking, but that was no excuse for her ill-bred language.

My temper flared red-hot. “If you ever refer to my daughter in that tasteless, vulgar manner in my hearing again, Miss Vane, I will slap you six ways from Sunday. Are we clear on that?” I loomed over her, despite the ridiculously high heels she wore, and glared right down into her eyes.

I had never slapped a woman in my life, and I didn’t plan to start, but Damitra Vane didn’t have to know that. Her manner toward Laura infuriated me, and I was not going to tolerate it.

I wasn’t done. “Furthermore, unless you want to be kicked out of this house immediately, you will apologize.”

Damitra Vane stared at me and shrank back a couple of steps as I continued to radiate fury over her complete breach of manners. When she spoke, her voice came out as little more than a whisper.

“I’m sorry, I’m just very upset. I’m not thinking very good right now.” She paused to lick her lips. “Uh, who are you ?”

I doubted her ability to think well under any circumstances. I’d never seen such a vacuous expression on a person in all my life. She looked like she had to concentrate just to get her mouth to open, and after that effort, she had little mental energy left to control what came out of it. I couldn’t help but agree with Sean’s evaluation of her. My cat was far smarter than this poor woman.

“I am Laura’s father, remember?” Her retention was obviously poor, since I had mentioned my daughter moments before.

“Oh, yeah.” Ms. Vane nodded. “Mr., um, Harvey?”

“Harris.” I was rapidly losing patience with this woman. “I think you’d best be on your way, Ms. Vane. My daughter has nothing to say to you.”

“Oh, yes I do.” I turned to see Laura bearing down on us like the proverbial avenging angel. “You’ve got some nerve showing up here. I thought you’d be out of the country by now.”

Damitra frowned. “Why would I go anywhere? I went to Mexico a month ago.”

Laura rolled her eyes. “How do you get dressed by yourself? Good grief, Damitra, I’m talking about Connor. Aren’t you afraid you’re going to be arrested for his murder? If I were you I’d light out back to Mexico.”

This was a side of Laura I’d not seen before, and I couldn’t really blame her for being so acidulous. Damitra Vane was a huge irritant, and I couldn’t take much more of her myself.

“I didn’t kill Connor.” Damitra’s face had an obstinate set to it now. “If anybody killed him, you did. He was coming back to me, and you couldn’t stand it.”

Frank appeared behind Laura, and Diesel trotted around Frank to stand in front of her. If a cat could glare balefully, Diesel was doing it. He made a rumbling noise low in his throat, and I recognized that sound. He didn’t like Damitra Vane.

Laura, quick to seize again on the woman’s vacuity and fear of my large cat, said, “Attack, Diesel. Rip her leg off.”

Frank made a muffled sound I assumed was laughter, and I was hard put not to guffaw myself. Our behavior violated all rules of Southern hospitality, but with a “guest” like Damitra Vane, the rules flew out the door.

Like Damitra Vane, as it turned out. She gaped at Diesel for a couple of seconds, heard him growl and saw him take a step forward. Before I could open the door for her, she jerked it open and sprinted out of it and down the walk, narrowly missing Kanesha Berry, who moved out of the way with maybe a second to spare.