Лейганн Доббс - A Whisker In The Dark

Shutting the book wasn’t a bad idea. I didn’t need to read further. I was pretty sure I was onto something. Myron’s ancestor was the butler to Jedediah, and butlers always knew all their masters’ secrets. What if one of those secrets was the location of the treasure? And what if that location got passed down through the generations?

But if it had, wouldn’t someone have dug it up by now? Why would Myron wait so long and why was he over by the gazebo, which would be the least likely place for Jedediah to have buried it? Not to mention that Bob had been killed at the pond, which was very far from the gazebo. What if it was Myron who found the treasure and Bob who caught him and tried to take it? And did that mean there really was treasure after all?

Some of this didn’t add up, but one thing was fishy. Myron had lied about being here and if that didn’t indicate guilt about something, I didn’t know what did!

I might have to do some digging, but I knew one thing for sure—I was finally starting to understand what the cats were trying to tell me!

Nineteen

“Josie still does not quite understand what we are trying to tell her,” Marlowe said from her perch near the pantry the next morning as they watched Josie heat up the quiche in the oven.

“But at least she is open to the fact that we are trying to tell her something . She needs more work, but this is a start,” said Nero.

“Start schmart, she needs to listen to us now or she’s going to end up in trouble just like she did with the last murder.” Marlowe eyed the countertop where the dishes were drying. “We may need to do something drastic.”

Nero sighed. “I know. Unfortunately, she is going down the wrong path. She totally misinterpreted our hints about that history book. There are much more interesting suspects to pursue than Myron Remington.”

“True. Though it is interesting that his family was connected with the Biddefords. I thought I smelled something familiar on him too,” Marlowe said.

Nero glanced at the tortie as she strutted over to the countertop. Had Marlowe really developed such a keen sense of smell or was she just saying that to make herself seem smart? It was true Myron had smelled familiar, but it wasn’t because some ancestor had once worked in the house. No, Nero suspected there was an entirely different reason and he needed to clue Josie in on it.

“What are you kitties up to?” Josie stood hands on hips watching them. “Do you need a treat for all your good work last night?”

Nero gave her his most adorable head tilt.

Meow.

Josie opened the fridge and Marlowe hopped up onto the countertop and started batting at the dishes. Josie backed out of the fridge with a plate in her hand then scowled at Marlowe. “No, don’t do that. Especially not that Yale mug. Carla will have a fit.”

Josie picked Marlowe up and placed her on the floor then put down a small dish with some little bite-sized tidbits of steak inside.

“That’s very good steak, so you guys chew slowly and savor it.”

Marlowe eagerly got to work on the steak along with Nero.

“We’re going to have to push her in the right direction, somehow,” Nero said between mouthfuls. “We need to show her that Myron is not up to what she thinks he is.”

“But we don’t know for sure, do we?” Marlowe asked. “He could be the killer.”

“Perhaps. He could be involved, but remember that Juliette heard a woman in the confessional.” Nero finished off the last of the steak just as Ed O’Hara appeared in the doorway.

Nero knew the elderly gentleman had something of a crush on Josie, though their ages were mismatched. The smile on Ed’s face as he silently watched Josie work left little doubt. It was all harmless. Ed’s wife had passed a few years prior and he needed something to focus on. He would never actually try to ask Josie for a date. Besides, Josie was perfect for Millie’s nephew Mike. Everyone but Josie could see that.

“I could get to work on the ballroom again today, Ms. Waters,” Ed said.

Josie jerked and turned to look at him. “Oh, Ed! You scared me.”

“I snuck up on you like a ghost.” Ed smiled, the weathered lines around his eyes crinkling.

“Yeah, like Jedediah’s ghost.”

“I hope you’re not scared because of those rumors, they don’t mean nothing.”

“Well I certainly know that,” Josie said. “Even if half the town thinks a ghost killed Bob Biddeford.”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, Ed, if you got any work done in the conservatory, did you happen to tip over a plant?”

“No. I never got set up in there because you gave me the day off, then this morning I heard the ballroom had been cleared by the cops.” Ed’s gaze drifted to Nero and Marlowe. “Must’ve been those cats, because I certainly would have no reason to be in there.”

Josie frowned at them and Nero’s spirits sank. Though he wasn’t beholden to having the human like him, he still felt the need to be accepted by her. Though he considered Millie to be his real human, Josie was the one he had now, and her disapproval cut deeply. Besides, they weren’t the ones who made the mess. At least, not that time. Just another example of Josie misinterpreting their communications. He looked at Ed suspiciously, he was certain the old man had been in the conservatory, but why would he lie to Josie about it? He made a mental note to keep a close eye on Ed. But right now he had more important things to do.

“Bad kitties. I expect you not to do that anymore.”

Marlowe swished her tail and looked at Nero. “How do you like that? She thinks we made that mess.”

“Yeah. Well if she doesn’t know what’s good for her, we’re gonna have to show her what’s good for her.”

Nero took the opportunity to hop up on the counter while Josie was distracted by talking to Ed. He pushed gently at the dishes. He didn’t want to push too hard lest they fall off onto the floor and smash. Some of them were dishes that Millie had collected for the guesthouse and he couldn’t bear to see them in pieces on the floor. Somehow, he needed to get Josie thinking along the right lines.

“I’ve just taken a quiche out of the oven.” Josie gestured toward the steaming pie plate on the counter. “I was about to cut pieces for the serving tray if you’d like one.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” Ed came into the kitchen and Josie turned her back, not even watching Nero’s attempts at communication.

“She’s not even watching us,” Marlowe said, disgusted.

“Are those cats supposed to be on the counter?” Ed asked.

Josie turned around, pressing her lips together when she saw Nero at the dishes. “No. And luckily our building inspector is a little bit nicer than the last one and probably wouldn’t rat me out, but still I don’t relish being closed down by the Board of Health.”

She marched over to the counter and picked up Nero—not very gently, either—and plopped him down on the floor. “Now you stay down there. I don’t want to have to banish you guys from the kitchen.”

Josie went back to cutting up the quiche while Nero and Marlowe rolled their eyes at each other.

“Doesn’t Josie know that cats don’t do as they’re told?” Marlowe asked.

“No kidding. Human orders rankle us and we tend to do the exact opposite.”

“Yeah and in this case it’s for her own good. Maybe once she’s not distracted with Ed she’ll understand what we’re trying to say. But we may have to take more drastic action.”

“I’ll get her to understand.” Nero hopped up on the counter again. He pushed the Yale mug so that the edge of it hung precariously over the lip of the countertop.

Ed looked up from the slice of the quiche Josie had put on a dainty floral plate in front of him. “Hey! That cat’s gonna knock that mug to the floor.”