Лилиан Браун - The Cat Who Tailed A Thief

"How are you feeling?" he asked kindly.

She replied wearily, like one who has survived a crying jag. "I feel more in control now. Is there something I should be doing? I'm no longer next of kin, am I? Diane phoned me. None of Lynette' s last wishes have been respected. Perhaps he didn't know."

"There is something you could do, Polly, that would be very useful. Help me write a column about the Lynette that everyone remembers: dancing the Highland fling, visiting patients at the hospital, winning bridge tournaments, hostessing at the church bazaar, making her winter pilgrimage to Hilltop, tracing her ancestors back to the eleventh century."

"I could do that," she said. "I'd have to think about it, though."

"Think fast. I'm on deadline. I'll be over with my tape recorder at one o'clock."

He knew it would do her good to participate in something constructive. For him it was an easy way to grind out a column in a hurry. As it evolved, her reminiscences were so interesting, and Polly was so well-spoken, that he had nothing to do but transcribe them on his typewriter. All interviews, he thought, should be such a cinch!

While he was transcribing, there was action on the hutch cabinet, Yum Yum scratching at the toy drawer, Koko pawing the other. It was the first time he had taken an interest in that particular part of the cabinet, and Qwilleran felt a twinge on his upper lip that led him to investigate. The Procrastination File contained all kinds of clutter, but on top of the pile was the manila envelope from the attorneys. Taking time out from his typing to examine the contents, he found what he expected: papers to be signed and mailed in the enclosed envelope. Bart always made it easy for him, but it could be done later, and he tossed everything back into the drawer.

"Yow-ow-ow!" came a scolding command from Koko, who was sitting on the cabinet and punishing it with his tail. It signified urgency.

Qwilleran was prompted to take a closer look at the documents and Bart's hand-scribbled instructions.

Qwill - Don't neglect to initial paragraphs G, K, and M. Mail soon as possible... Leaving for St. Paul while airport still open. Back Wednesday to discuss CU's credentials. K Fund investigators find no connection whatever with preservation/restoration field. May have to swim home. - Bart

Qwilleran phoned the Pickax police station and asked the chief, "When do you quit today?"

"Four o'clock."

"Don't leave! I'll be there. It's important."

When Qwilleran went to the newspaper office to hand in his copy, he picked up the Monday edition with the front page news story, illustrated with file photos.

The young managing editor was gloating. "For once we broke the news before WPKX. I don't know how we kept it from leaking."

"My column's a follow-up," Qwilleran said. "Polly gets all the credit." He took a few extra copies of the Monday paper for her. It was the lead story:

LAST DUNCAN DIES AT 40 Lynette Duncan of Pickax, the county's last of 40, less than a week after her marriage to Carter Lee James. The couple were honeymooning in New Orleans when she succumbed to "gastrointestinal complications," according to the death certificate. She is survived by her husband, who was at her bedside in her last hours, and by her sister-in-law, Polly Duncan, widow of William Wallace Duncan. Following Scottish custom, Ms. Duncan retained her maiden name when she married out of her clan. She was intensely proud of her heritage, representing the fourth generation of a family who migrated to Moose County in the 1850s and prospered as merchants. Their gravesites in the Hilltop Cemetery adjoin the meditation garden originated by the Duncan family as a place of solace for all mourners of the community. After being graduated from Pickax High School, Ms. Duncan attended the Lockmaster Business Academy and embarked on a career in accounting. For the last five years she has been employed by the Goodwinter Medical Clinic, handling patients' health insurance claims. Upon the death of her brother, Cameron, a year ago, she inherited the Duncan homestead on Pleasant Street and was the first homeowner to enlist in the Pleasant Street restoration project. Community service was a way of life for Ms. Duncan, who was honored last year after serving a total of ten thousand hours of volunteer work at the hospital, public library, historical museum, and other facilities. She was an active member of the Old Stone Church. "She was a selfless, compassionate woman," said the Rev. Wesley Forbush, "always willing to help, and never stinting of her time." Mayor Gregory Blythe said, "She was a role model for the community and will be missed even by those who never met her." At the time of her death Ms. Duncan was president of the Pickax Bridge Club, which she helped to found, and treasurer of the Moose County Genealogy Society. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

As Qwilleran finished reading the news account, two thoughts occurred to him: Lynette would be appalled to have her age printed in the headline... and Mayor Blythe was one of the few persons she totally disliked. Then he wondered: How will Ernie Kemple's daughter react when she finds Carter Lee is back in the running as a bachelor? Will she still come forward in Lenny Inchpot's defense? Is it too late not to come forward? She has confessed her complicity to her mother, but she cannot have confessed to G. Allen Barter; he left for St. Paul Friday. There was still time to retract her confession; she could tell her mother she lied in an insane fit of revenge... All of this was brainstorming on Qwilleran's part. To be continued, he told himself, as he sloshed through the puddles to city hall.

Brodie was waiting for him, with the Moose County Something on his desk. "Terrible news!" he said, tapping the front page. In the Pickax hierarchy, the Brodies had always been respecters of the Duncans, and he had piped at Lynette's wedding. "How must her new husband~ feel?"

"We'll soon find out," Qwilleran said. "He'll be here when the shuttle splashes down at five o'clock."

"I'll pipe at the funeral if he wants me to. I piped at Cameron's funeral. More than fifty cars went to the cemetery. Is the body being shipped in today? The airport's closing down."

"Her husband opted for cremation."

"What! Did I hear you right? When Cameron died, Lynette told me there was one more gravesite waiting for her. She said she'd be proud to join her ancestors on the hill. She was sentimental where her clan was concerned... Nice lady!"

"She can still have her funeral," Qwilleran said,~ "starting with a memorial service at the church, a procession of cars to the cemetery, and interment of her ashes on the hill with the traditional ceremony." He could tell by the chiefs silence that he was not quite sold on the idea.

Finally Brodie said, "You must know the James fellow pretty well; you were his best man. Why wouldn't he comply with her wishes?"

"Do you think it's something that's discussed in the first week of marriage?" So far, Qwilleran had been going with the flow; now he changed course. "I don't know Carter Lee James at all! I was pressed into service at Lynette's request. Willard Carmichael first invited him up here for the holidays because his wife was homesick; they claimed to be cousins. The three of them met Lynette at the bridge club, and she invited them to see her house. That was the beginning of the Pleasant Street project, as it's called."

"I've heard about it," Brodie said, "but there hasn't been anything in the paper."

"It's been growing by word of mouth, which Carter Lee says is the healthy way to go. Property owners pay him twenty thousand up front for consulting services, supervision of the actual work, and the possibility of being nominated for the National Register of Historic Places. Everyone who signs up is enthusiastic - and those who don't are virtually blackballed by their neighbors. The guy has a winning personality and a manner that inspires confidence."