I realized she was talking about the building where I had seen the man arguing in the alley enter. One never knows, though I was fairly certain that Alyx wouldn’t bring me with her to the bank, I patiently waited by the door for Ethan to arrive. I had been looking for a way to communicate what I knew about the man in the alley, whom I suspected was the diamond thief, and it couldn’t have worked out better. My only concern was that if he did work in the bank, she wouldn’t recognize him and––for that reason––it was imperative that I go with them. Also, while waiting I sent out a special call to a friend. When Ethan stuck his head in the door, Alyx grabbed her purse and followed him. Distracted by Ethan’s haste, she didn’t see me slide out the door on her heels. I trotted along, a cat on a mission, avoiding feet and other obstacles, careful to keep my humans in sight ahead of me.
At the end of the block, I gave Alyx and Ethan some lead time before I followed them inside the bank before the door closed. I immediately hid behind a large flowerpot near the entrance, and when the opportunity presented itself, I came out from behind it and lurked behind a uniformed woman. Now and then, I nosed the carpet, my mouth open as I took in the scent of the most-recent visitors––none of them cats. I cautiously moved forward, staying close to the wall. The doors to the offices on either side of the foyer were open with no sign of Alyx or Ethan. In the main room of the building, there were three desks on one side of the room, and one desk on the other side next to a long counter, partitioned into six spaces.
I hid under an upholstered chair up against the wall in the main area and surveyed the room. My humans sat at the first desk across the room. I could see them, but they couldn’t see me. The diamond thief sat at a desk next to the counter across the room facing his computer. I noticed that he kept glancing in Alyx’s direction without moving his head.
The only way he was going to stand up so Alyx could notice him was if I scared him as I had done in the alley. Unfortunately, I couldn’t show myself with Alyx and Ethan in the room. Knowing that, I sent out another call to my special helper––one of Pooky’s outdoor friends to help me out. His name was Zipper, a black cat––chosen for drama and speed.
Zipper had slipped into the bank after me and now was hiding under another chair. On my signal, he sprinted across the room at the speed of light, and I ran to the exit. No one was in the hallway; no one saw me leap to hit the handicap door opener.
The ruse worked. Zipper said the diamond thief (his nameplate said he was called Merkley) practically jumped off his chair to get out of the way, but that’s all he could report. I didn’t know if Alyx noticed him or even recognized him; I had to wait for her to get back to the store and then hear what she had to say.
Luckily, I left the bank unseen and returned unharmed to the store. I hoped Misty was on guard at the checkout counter. She ran to find someone to let me in when she saw me.
Alyx came back from the bank a short time later, and I followed her to the workroom.
Maggie ended her phone conversation when she saw Alyx walk in and asked, “How did it go? Is he getting the loan?”
“Yes, no problem as long as I co-sign. I can’t believe my little boy is becoming a homeowner. I’m so proud of him, Maggie.”
“I know you are, and you should be.”
Maggie said she had an appointment with a man about reupholstering a chair, and mentioned my excursion. “By-the-way, I think Murfy had himself an exciting time while you were gone.”
“What did he do now?” asked Alyx.
“I think he followed you, or tried to.”
“I didn’t see him get out.”
Maggie shook her head and shrugged, “Well, maybe he followed a customer. All I know is that I heard Misty walking around meowing, and when she saw me, she bounded to the front door where Murfy was waiting outside. I didn’t even know he was gone until I saw him waiting at the door.”
Alyx looked at me suspiciously and frowned.
“Maybe this was a one-time adventure, an opportunity he couldn’t resist,” Maggie joked.
“I think my cat is an escape artist, only he knows all the places he’s been.” said Alyx, unfortunately providing me with no information about whether or not she had recognized the diamond thief at the bank.
“Cats can be cooperative when something feels good, which, to a cat, is the way everything is supposed to feel as much of the time as possible.”
––Roger Caras
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: A Predictable Plot
Alyx made a fresh pot of coffee, poured two cups, and brought one to Maggie along with a plate of muffins she’d picked up earlier from the Café.
“Take a break; I want to run something by you,” she said, setting the coffee and muffins in front of her.
Maggie took a sip of the hot coffee, reached for a muffin and leaned back in her chair.
“Okay, I’m listening.”
“Remember the nervous guy I told you about that came in the store the day Hall’s was robbed?”
Maggie answered with a blank look on her face.
Alyx continued, “The one who stepped on Misty on his way out.”
“Oh, yeah. You said you thought he was embarrassed because everyone was staring at him.” She laughed and took a bite of the muffin in her hand.
“Well, I don’t know if I mentioned it at the time but he looked familiar, and now I know why; he works at the bank, our bank. His name is Mark Merkley.”
“Who?”
“Mark Merkley. The name plate on his desk said Mark Merkley.”
The baffled look on Maggie’s face hastened an explanation. “I saw him today when I was there with Ethan. He was dressed in a shirt and tie, wearing the same brown shoes with tassels and no socks––the same as the man who stepped on Misty the day Hall’s was robbed. I didn’t recognize him at the time because when he was in the shop he was dressed casually and his face was hidden by a baseball cap and sunglasses.”
“Alyx, don’t forget; you haven’t been in the bank since Bernice started making the deposits.”
“That’s the truth.”
“So what happened that made you look at this guy’s feet?”
There was a moment of silence, and then Alyx continued. “I think he’s ailurophobic; he has an irrational fear of cats.”
“And how do you know that?”
“This is going to sound strange but hear me out …” She went on to recount what I already knew had happened. Then, they both looked down at me, frowning.
“Okay, getting back to what I was saying … here’s what I’m thinking. What if he––this Mark Merkley––stole that diamond from Hall’s and hid it in the desk in our shop, intending to get it later when the heat was off, except we delivered the desk to Althea. He could have been watching and saw where it went.”
“And he went back later to get his diamond and killed Althea in the process,” finished Maggie.
“Exactly. So you think it could have happened that way?”
“It could have, except it sounds too much like the predictable plot of a bad mystery novel.”
Alyx bit her lower lip, “Yeah, I guess it does at that.”
“Besides, how can you approach the police with just a theory? Don’t they have to have evidence before they can investigate?”
Alyx shrugged.
“Did you let on that you recognized him when you were in the bank today?”
“Not outwardly. Don’t worry I’m not going to do anything foolish. Not where that’s concerned anyway. I’m going to tell Smarts about recognizing him, and about the behavior of the man who came in the store after the robbery and who I think he is. Right now, it’s just speculation on my part that he killed Althea, and Smarts may come to that same conclusion. No question though, I do think he stole the diamond.”