“Every once in a while,” I said. “He’s like most kids. He likes toys and shiny things. Did you leave your bedroom door open this morning when you left?”
“I did.” Laura stretched a hand toward Diesel. “Here, sweet kitty, come here.” Diesel chirped and walked over to Laura, who took his large head in both hands and bent to kiss his nose. “Did you take my toy, Diesel?”
Diesel meowed, and we all had to laugh. I felt some of the tension slowly drain away. “The trick now is going to be finding it,” I said. “He likes to hide his toys and then pull them out when he wants to play with them.”
“Why don’t you just ask him where it is?” Sean laughed. “You’re always talking to him, and he sure seems to understand a lot of what you say.”
I caught Frank exchanging a skeptical glance with Laura. Neither of them had of course spent as much time around Diesel as Sean, so I couldn’t really expect them to believe it could happen.
“Might as well try.” I shrugged. “Come here, Diesel.” I squatted to put my head on a level with his. For the moment, however, Diesel didn’t appear too interested in doing what I wanted. He remained with Laura.
“Go on, Diesel, go to Daddy.” Laura gave the cat a gentle nudge on the backside to propel him toward me.
Diesel twitched his tail a couple of times, but he did what Laura told him. When he was close to me, I stroked his head. “Diesel, where’s your toy? Go find your toy.”
The cat cocked his head sideways and gazed into my eyes for a moment. I repeated the instruction to find his toy. He chirped and pulled away from me. We all watched as he trotted out of the kitchen. Sean made a move to follow him, but I called him back.
“Let him go on his own,” I said as I straightened.
“Might as well sit, then.” Sean suited actions to words. I took my usual spot at the table, and Frank sat down by Laura.
Diesel reappeared then, carrying something in his mouth. As he moved closer to me I could see that it was one of the catnip mice I buy him every so often. He stopped right in front of me, dropped the mouse at my feet, and sat back on his haunches. He warbled.
“You’re a very good boy,” I told him and scratched his head. “Thanks for bringing your toy. But I need another toy. Will you go get it?”
Diesel gazed up at me for a moment, and I could almost have sworn that he sighed before he turned and ambled away again.
“How many of those things does he have?” Frank asked.
“Over a dozen, at least,” I said. I hoped he wasn’t going to end up bringing in every single catnip toy before this was over.
That, fortunately, didn’t happen. I did, however, have a small pile of mice at my feet—with Sean and Frank ready to start ripping the house apart—before Diesel finally returned with a shining thumb drive protruding from his mouth.
I gave Diesel even more praise as I accepted this final gift. I quickly handed it over to Sean, who scurried upstairs with it. A glance at my watch showed me that Kanesha’s promised hour was almost up. I hoped Sean could copy the files on the drive before she arrived.
Next I went to one of the cabinets and found the box of special treats Diesel loved. I thought he deserved several, and he watched with great interest as I shook some out in my hand. He reared up on his hind legs in his eagerness to get one of the semi-crunchy bits, and I bent to let him take them from my hand.
After he ate the last crunchy treat, he licked my hand and meowed. I told him again what a good boy he was, and Laura and Frank echoed me.
The doorbell rang, and this time I knew it had to be Kanesha.
Laura looked straight at me and smiled. “‘But screw your courage to the sticking -place, and we’ll not fail.’”
Frank frowned. “Macbeth? Isn’t that what Lady Macbeth says about murdering Duncan?”
“You’re right,” Laura said, wrinkling her nose. “I’d forgotten the context. That’s what I get for quoting Shakespeare without stopping to think.”
I headed for the door, and Diesel came with me. I realized belatedly that I still held the box of treats. He, ever the optimist, hoped more would be forthcoming.
“Sorry, boy, it’s got to be all business now.”
Diesel meowed as I stopped in front of the door. I opened it, ready to greet Kanesha. Instead, to my surprise, Ralph and Magda Johnston occupied the doorstep.
“Good afternoon.” Ralph smiled briefly. “Magda and I were in the neighborhood, and we wanted to find out how Laura is doing. Magda was quite upset this morning.”
Magda nodded, a bit uncertainly, I thought. “Finding poor Laura unconscious like that was, well, upsetting.”
“Yes, it was.” I stood back and motioned for them to enter with the hand that still held the box of cat treats. “Please come in, and you can say hello to Laura.”
Magda, with Ralph close on her heels, walked into the house. Upon catching sight of Diesel, hovering behind me, Magda stopped so suddenly that Ralph stumbled into her.
“What on earth is that?” Magda paled and held a hand in front of her, as if to ward off an imminent attack.
“It’s just a big pussycat, for heaven’s sake. He’s not going to attack you.”
Magda flushed at Ralph’s derisive tone. “How would I know that? I’ve never seen a house cat that large, now, have I?”
The bickering didn’t sit well with Diesel. He moved restlessly behind me, muttering. He didn’t seem to care for either Ralph or Magda, and I took note of that.
“Diesel is gentle and friendly,” I said in a neutral tone. “Don’t let his size intimidate you.” I smiled. “Laura’s in the kitchen with Frank Salisbury. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to her.”
Magda nodded, not looking at all convinced by my reassurances about Diesel. The cat ignored the two guests and scampered ahead of me into the kitchen.
“Laura, you have visitors,” I announced as we entered the kitchen. “Mr. and Mrs. Johnston dropped by to see how you’re doing.”
Diesel planted himself in front of Laura, as if to protect her from our guests, and I had to suppress a smile. He rarely took an active dislike to people, so his response to the Johnstons was all the more marked.
“Laura, my dear girl, how are you? Afternoon.” Ralph nodded in Frank’s direction. “I just can’t imagine who on earth would attack you like that.” He stepped as close to Laura as he could, but Diesel kept him a good two feet away.
Magda hovered behind her husband and peered around him at Laura. “You look much better than you did this morning.”
Laura offered them a wan smile. “Thank you for coming to check on me. I’ve got a bit of a headache, but otherwise I’m doing okay.”
“Excellent news, excellent.” Ralph beamed at her as Magda contributed, “So glad you’re okay.”
“I simply can’t imagine who on earth would attack you like that.” Ralph was nothing if not repetitive. “Do you have any clue, any clue at all, who it might have been?”
Was he merely concerned, as a caring department head should be? Or did he have a more sinister reason for asking that question? I recalled my earlier thought that Magda could have been the one to strike Laura, with me happening upon the scene not long after.
As Laura responded in the negative to the question about clues, I heard the doorbell ring. As I slipped away to answer it, I wondered whether Kanesha had finally arrived. I glanced at my watch and noted that nearly an hour and a half had passed since I last spoke to her.
My stomach knotted in anticipation of the difficult interview that would shortly take place. Kanesha was going to be so angry with Laura and, of course, with me.
When I opened the door, I was almost relieved to see Damitra Vane there instead.
TWENTY-THREE
Before I could say anything, Damitra Vane brushed past me into the entranceway. Her perfume was so overwhelming I felt like gagging. Had she bathed in it?