Rita Brown - Cat of the Century

I think not. Wheres my money?

Tucker edged over right behind Liz, sensing the younger woman tensing up.

Ill get it put in before two-thirty. Lizs voice rose another notch.

You did a lot of business with Flo and sometimes with Mariah. Whats going on?

I know nothing. Lizs voice was angry now.

Its occurring to me even as I stand here that if others could work a Ponzi scheme, so could you.

Liz stuttered, then rage took over. She shoved Inez, who fell backward, fortunately onto a chair.

Erno bit Lizs calf as Tucker bit her ankle. She shook the dogs off.

Bite deeper,

Tucker commanded the vizsla.

Liz pulled a snub-nosed .38 from inside her jacket. She hit Erno over the head, stunning him, then took aim at Tucker, who sank her fangs deep into Lizs ankle.

She struck down at the dog, missed. Tucker let go but circled to get her again.

Doodles, on Lizs left, grabbed her forearm. Liz clubbed the Gordon setter with the butt of her gun. As she was harried by Tucker she couldnt focus on Doodles, but she managed to hit the dog hard enough to stun the beautiful animal.

As Inez stood up, Aunt Tally moved toward Liz. The cats flew off the sofa to help Tucker, but Liz fired, hitting Inez in the leg. The old lady fell down on one knee.

Ill kill you! Aunt Tally screamed.

You old bitch. You arent killing anybody.

Liz aimed at Aunt Tally, who didnt flinch. Mrs. Murphy leapt straight at Liz, deflecting her aim just enough that the bullet lodged in the wall.

Inez, in pain but a fighter, crawled toward Liz.

Aunt Tally pulled her sword out of the cane. Before Liz could take another shot at Tally, Tucker sank her teeth deep into Lizs calf, throwing her off again.

The centenarian struck in that split second. Old but strong enough, she ran the sword right through Lizs throat.

Blood spurted straight out, showering Aunt Tally.

Perfect! Inez said through gritted teeth.

As another gusher shot forth, Lizs knees buckled, but she got off one more shot. The bullet narrowly missed Aunt Tally, who was preparing to ram the bloody sword through Lizs belly.

Liz dropped the gun and grabbed her throat, as blood flowed between her fingers. She died choking on her own blood.

Aunt Tally calmly placed her sword on the coffee table, then bent down to lift up Inez as best she could.

Doodles shook her head and took a few wobbly steps to help Aunt Tally, but had to sit back down to recover.

Let me get you on the sofa.

Im all right, Blossom. Let me see to my dog.

You cant be all right with a bullet in your leg.

Its a long way from my heart. Inez dragged her one leg as she reached Erno, then knelt down. Concussion. Get me some ice. It will take the swelling down.

Aunt Tally put the sword back in the sheath and used her cane to hurry toward the kitchen.

Tucker licked Erno. The cats sat by the dog.

No one gave a thought to Liz or the blood staining the carpet.

The front door burst open. Harry and Little Mim, whod heard the shots, ran in, froze for a second, then flew to Inez.

Little Mim stared in horror at Liz. My God, what happened?

Well explain later. Erno needs help. Inez, in her element as a vet, took charge.

Noticing the thin but steady stream of blood from Inezs calf, Harry said, Inez, youre hit.

Came through the other side. Itll heal up fast enough. Help me with my dog, will you?

Is Liz dead? Little Mims teeth chattered from fear.

If she isnt, Ill finish her off. Aunt Tally came back with a bag of ice in one hand, her cane in the other.

Harry hurried toward Tally, took the ice, and came back to Inez, who placed the ice on the dog. She lifted up Ernos eyelids, noticed some pupil movement. She checked his gums.

Here, I can hold the ice, Harry volunteered.

Well, dont just stand there as useless as tits on a boar hog. Call the sheriff! Aunt Tally directed her shaken grandniece.

Little Mim pulled out her cell phone and did just that.

Pewter walked over to sniff Liz.

Notice the scratch on her right leg? I did that.

Mighty puss.

Mrs. Murphy, half in jest, meant it.

She must have been crazy. Having made the brief call, Little Mim knelt next to Harry by Erno.

Greedy. Inez then turned again to her dog. Erno, Erno, come on, sweet boy.

His eyelids fluttered and he opened his eyes.

Tucker licked the side of his face.

Whats that cold stuff on my head?

He staggered up, shook his head, and seemed none the worse for wear.

Harry, go out and check her car, will you? Aunt Tally, mind always clicking along, commanded.

Harry returned within minutes, carrying a jar. Theyre in the trunk. Obviously the meeting with Merrill Lynch was a ruse, or if it wasnt, she came back for them.

Lets just see what this is all about, Aunt Tally ordered. Into the kitchen.

They walked into the kitchen. Inez limped in, keeping an eye on Erno.

Harry plucked a paring knife out of the drawer, ran it around the wax, then carefully lifted out the large cork.

Oh, boy!

The three other women peered in as Harry plucked out bag after bag of cocaine.

Smells awful. Little Mim crinkled up her nose.

Sooner or later well figure this out. Inez leaned against the kitchen counter, because her calf stung.

Lets get you to the ER, Harry said.

Wait for the sheriff, Inez commanded.

Little Mim, not wanting to face the truth, said wishfully, Could be sugar.

Sharply, Aunt Tally said, Dont be a ninny. Who smuggles sugar in jars?

A siren in the distance told them they wouldnt have to wait long.

W

hen Tim Filmore disembarked from his transatlantic flight, the authorities were waiting for him. He remained silent until he was taken to the downtown Richmond police station, where he was informed that his wife was dead as well as the circumstances leading to her death. He collapsed, then spilled everything they needed to know. He and Liz had created a fairly sophisticated Ponzi scheme, which ran like a top for four years. Liz took special pride in fooling Flo Langston. Then again, when the profits roll in, folks tend not to be suspicious or ask too many questions.

As with so many things in life, a small event had begun the fall of the carefully constructed house of cards. Mariah DAngelo became nervous when a steady customer told her she had been contacted by a representative of Patek Philippe doing a survey. Mariah, in the business for years, had never heard of an elite chronography company doing satisfaction research. It was a grand watch, not a Frigidaire, was Mariahs response. Of course, in a sense, it was a Frigidaire.

Mariah sensed that Flo was behind this, but she didnt panic yet. Given that she had followed Flos investments as best she could through gossip with Liz, she then checked her own investment portfolio against each stocks buy-and-sell amount with

The Wall Street Journal.

Every day, the stocks highs and lows were recorded. She could see the exact time one of her stocks was traded.

She was the first to recognize that her portfolio had been falsified by Liz using accurate information. But when Mariah contacted the company, the trade had never been made. She found out that her bank, SunTrust, had no record of the purchase. Painstakingly, Mariah checked each of her trades without tipping off Liz. This took two weeks. Still, she couldnt quite accept the horror of it.

Her first mistake was withdrawing money from the alumnae account. Her second was in loudly accusing Flo of setting her up for losses. The third and fatal mistake was confronting Liz after the classroom meeting. Flo had left. Mariah dogged Liz, who denied everything but recognized she had to silence Mariah.