Лилиан Браун - The Cat Who Knew A Cardinal

Polly frowned. "Stableboy?"

Qwilleran helped himself to another brownie and described the principal's curious relationship with his housekeeper and her son. "It was Steve's idea to eliminate VanBrook before he could change his will, but it was too late. When I saw those two wills, I had a hunch that the gun used to kill Koko's cardinal had also killed Cardinal Wolsey." He patted his moustache.

"Look!" cried Polly. "I believe that's a female black-throated green warbler!"

"If you say so, I believe it... Would you like to come up and see my tapestries?" he asked as they started packing the picnic things.

Polly said she would be delighted. "Just don't sit under the apple tree," he warned her. On the way to the apple barn he apologized for his bad humor before lunch. "I'd had a hair-raising experience with Yum Yum," he explained. "She won't walk on a leash, the way Koko does. The first time I buckled her harness, she played dead. The second time, she froze. This morning she galloped up the ramp and disappeared. We found her on one of the radiating beams that meet in the center of the barn. She'd been up there before, but this time her harness snagged on a bolt. She couldn't get loose. I had to go after her."

"Heavens, Qwill! It's forty feet above the floor!"

"Yes, Polly, that thought occurred to me. And the beam was only twelve inches wide. I had to crawl out there and dislodge her and then back up all the way to the catwalk, clutching her in one hand. It seemed like half a city block! She enjoyed it! She was purring her head off all the way."

"And what was Koko doing?"

"Trying to help - by crouching on my back. He thought it was a steeplechase!... Why did I ever get involved with cats?"

They had a seven o'clock reservation at the Old Stone Mill, and Qwilleran took Polly home to feed Bootsie, take a nap, and dress for dinner. Back at the apple barn Koko was on the desk, sitting on Watership Down.

"Okay, we have time for one chapter," Qwilleran said, sinking into his favorite leather chair. Yum Yum settled down on his lap slowly and softly like a hot-air balloon debating, ending in a Bat mound of virtually weightless fur. Koko perched on the arm of the chair, sitting tall with ears alert, whiskers bristling with anticipation, and eyes bright with intelligence.

Qwilleran shook his head in wonder. "I never know what's going on in that transistorized brain of yours. Did you know VanBrook was going to get it in the back of the head? Did you know Redbeard was the murderer? Did you know something vital was hidden behind the books in VanBrook's office?"

Koko shifted his feet impatiently and waited for the reading to begin. Qwilleran had to answer his own questions. No, he thought; it's all coincidence, plus my imagination. He's only a cat... But why did he keep twisting his tail like a horseshoe? Why did he twice tear up Stablechat? Why did he sink his fangs in every one of the red jelly beans?

"Don't just sit there; say something!" he said to Koko. "Read my mind!"

"Yow!" Koko said, a yowl that ended in a cavernous yawn.

Qwilleran opened the book to page eight. "Chapter two. This is about the Chief Rabbit..." He closed the book again. "One more question: Was your sudden interest in rabbits supposed to put the finger on Mr. O'Hare?"

Koko stiffened, turned his head, swiveled his ears, leaped impulsively from the arm of the chair, and bounded to the front windows. And from the berry bushes came a whistle, loud and clear: who-it? who-it? who-it?

The End