Софи Райан: The Whole Cat Аnd Caboodle

“I will,” I said. I felt as though a dozen tap dancers were hoofing it up in my stomach.

Daisy Fenety walked through the door exactly at four thirty. Charlotte had made tea and I had the pot, covered in a quilted cozy on a tray, along with cups and cream and sugar, sitting on a small folding table beside the tub chair.

“Hello, Sarah,” Daisy said. She was elegant, dressed in a caramel-colored sweater over a robin’s-egg blue shirt and chocolate brown trousers.

“Hello,” I said, walking across the floor to meet her. “That’s the gravy boat.” I pointed to the piece of china sitting next to the cash register. Her eyes lit up. We walked over to the counter.

“May I?” she asked.

I nodded. “Of course.”

She picked up the gravy boat and turned it over in her hands, examining it from every angle.

“As you can see it’s in excellent condition,” I said.

“The daisy centers have faded somewhat,” she pointed out.

“Which is typical for china of this vintage,” I countered.

“You know something about this pattern,” she said, her eyes meeting mine.

“I try to learn about the things I sell.” I’d spent an hour online Sunday afternoon researching the china.

Daisy set the gravy boat down on the counter. “How much are you asking for it?” she said.

I gave her my best professional smile. “As I told you on the phone this is a consignment piece.” I named a price that I knew from my research was about fifty percent more than the piece of china was worth.

“Is there any flexibility?” she asked.

I nodded. “I think a little. Would you like to make an offer?”

The price she named was a good twenty percent less than the average selling price of a piece of the vintage pattern.

“I think the owner is asking way too much,” she said, reaching out to trace the curve of the gravy boat’s handle with one finger. “People tend to put a dollar value on sentimentality.”

“Yes, they do,” I said. I pointed at the teapot. “I was going to have a cup of tea. Why don’t you join me?”

“Thank you,” she said.

I poured a cup for each of us. Daisy took the tub chair and I carried over one of the hotel chairs with its bright-banded cushion.

“How did you first get interested in the Daisy May china?” I asked.

“My mother had a tea set in that pattern,” Daisy said. “She used to call it my china because of the daisies. She left it to me when she died. And I started collecting. Arthur used to tease me about it. I was a tomboy. The china was the only girly thing I was interested in. Never dolls or frilly dresses.”

“You must miss him very much,” I said. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I know that you want to believe Madeline’s innocent.”

“I do,” I said. “It’s hard to believe she’d hurt anyone.”

Elvis wandered in from the storage room and came over to us. He sat down in front of Daisy and looked up at her.

“Oh, my goodness,” she said. “You poor thing. What happened to you?”

Elvis hammed it up for all he was worth, dropping his head and giving her a sorrowful look.

“This is Elvis,” I said. “I don’t know how he got the scar. The vet thinks he was in a fight with a much bigger animal.”

He jumped up beside Daisy on the tub chair.

“Get down,” I said.

Daisy smiled. “It’s all right. I don’t mind.” She reached over to pet his fur. I was wondering how I could get the conversation back to her brother when she looked at me and said, “It seems clear to me that Madeline must have had some kind of mental breakdown. I can’t help feeling I should have been there. I could have done something.”

“It’s not your fault,” I said, taking another sip of my tea.

She looked at me, still stroking Elvis’s fur. “Are you familiar with the proverb ‘For want of a nail the shoe was lost’?”

I nodded.

“If it weren’t for my cracked tooth, Arthur would be alive.”

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Elvis, sitting so well behaved next to Daisy on the tub chair, with that look on his face.

I could suddenly hear my heartbeat thudding in my ears, and at the same time tiny pieces began to fall into place. I took a sip of my tea, hoping nothing showed on my face. “I cracked a tooth once biting down on a pit in a date square,” I said. “I remember it was really painful.”

Daisy nodded and put a hand to her cheek. “So was mine. Arthur insisted I call the dentist and take the car.”

The cat’s expression hadn’t changed. I needed to keep her talking. “How far away did you have to park?” I asked. “I had an appointment in the building the next day and I had to park on the street almost two blocks away because they were working on the parking lot.” It was a lie, but at least I wasn’t petting the cat, so hopefully Daisy couldn’t tell.

“It certainly was poorly planned, wasn’t it?’ she said. “Doing that work on a Monday morning. I found a parking spot in the Legacy Place lot next door.” A look flashed across her face like she’d just bitten into an apple and discovered half a worm.

“Did something happen to your car while it was parked there?” I asked.

She shook her head and stopped petting Elvis long enough to pick up her cup and drink a little of her tea. He gave her his most adorable gaze and she started stroking his fur again. “I had a bit of a distasteful experience but it’s not important.”

I shot a quick look at the cat. Nothing on his face suggested she was lying. I tried not to focus on the fact that I was relying on a cat to tell if Daisy Fenety was lying.

“I don’t want to pry,” I began a little hesitantly. “But my grandmother is thinking about taking an apartment in that building. If there’s a problem”—I held up a hand—“I don’t want her to live there.”

Daisy’s lips were pressed together in a thin, tight line. “I think you’d be wise to encourage your grandmother to look for somewhere else to live.” She leaned toward me. “I saw a naked man walk by the windows.”

I put a hand to my chest. “That’s awful,” I said. “Thank you for telling me. I don’t want Gram to live in a place like that. Did you call the police?”

She gave me a cool, gracious smile and touched her free hand to the side of her head. “Some people when they get old go a little . . . funny. I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble just because they’re old.”

“You’re kinder than I am,” I said, hoping my face looked appropriately judgmental.

Daisy looked at the delicate gold watch on her arm. “I have an appointment,” she said. “I need to get going.” She got to her feet and smiled at me. “Thank you for calling me about the gravy boat. And thank you for the tea.”

My heart was pounding so loudly it seemed to me that she should have been able to hear it. “You’re very welcome,” I said. “I’ll speak to the owner of the china tonight and give him your offer.”

“I’ll talk to you soon, then,” she said.

I walked her to the door and stood there until I saw her car drive away. Elvis wandered over and rubbed against my leg. I bent down and picked him up. He looked at me with his wide green eyes and meowed once. “Good job,” I said. “There’ll be a little something extra in your bowl tonight.”

That got me another, way more enthusiastic meow.

I turned around to see Avery peeking around the side of the storage room door. “Is she gone?” she hissed in a stage whisper.

I nodded and set Elvis down. “She’s gone.”

“The coast is clear,” she called over her shoulder. She bounded over to me, followed a lot more sedately by Charlotte and Mac.

“Did you find out anything that could help Maddie?” Charlotte asked.