I grew frustrated and let out a massive groan. “What’s the point of protecting it, though, if anyone with enough money can destroy it on a whim?”
“I see what you’re saying, Angie. I do.” Charles sighed and paused for a moment. “But you have to understand, our checks and balances are put in place for a reason, and they work, too. It’s not a whim. If the pipeline is going to get approved, a majority of the senate needs to vote in its favor. And, as you know, Harlow was just one out of a hundred.”
I ran my fingers over the soft edges of the towel. My skin was quickly moving toward dry as this conversation carried on, but my hair was still a shampoo-y mess. “So then why would the murderer single out Harlow?” I asked.
Charles’s voice grew quieter, leading me to believe someone might be passing outside his door and that, for whatever his reasons, he wanted to keep this conversation private. “Let me once again remind you that we don’t know whether there was any foul play involved, but if there was, then there’d be a lot of reasons one might single out Harlow.”
Oh, this was getting good. Maybe Charles had the smoking gun after all. “Such as?” I asked, my curiosity reaching a fever pitch.
“For one, as one of the two senators representing the state where the proposed pipeline would be built, her opinions hold a little more sway,” he started, paused, then raised his voice back to its normal volume. “Add to that the fact she was a mostly conservative politician who could be pretty much guaranteed to vote with the Democrats on any issue that even touches the environment. With a split senate like we have, she could very well end up the deciding vote when the issue goes to vote. Or at least, she could have been.”
A knock sounded on the other end of the line.
“Just a sec!” Charles shouted, then said to me, “I need to go.”
“Thanks, Charles,” I said. “This has been hugely helpful and given me lots to think about.”
“Angie, wait.” He paused. When he spoke again, his voice sounded lower and far more serious than before. “Please be careful. If you’re right and there’s some huge political conspiracy underfoot, then you could find yourself next on the hitman’s list. Let it go. I’m begging you. Let the authorities deal with whatever did or didn’t happen. Okay?”
“Okay,” I said agreeably, crossing my fingers just in case. I didn’t want to worry Charles, but at the same time, I was so close to having this thing solved it just didn’t make sense to back out now. “Thanks for the call. Bye.”
I hung up before he could offer any further argument, finished my shower, got dressed, and went to find Nan.
With any luck, we’d have this case wrapped by nightfall.
And maybe for once, luck might actually be on my side.
Chapter Seventeen
For the better part of that afternoon, I thought about all the locals who might benefit from that proposed pipeline. How much did one need to get out of the situation to consider murder a viable option?
I suppose someone unemployed could want a job bad enough to take such drastic measures, especially if he had a family to provide for. But the proposal was still very new, which meant the news hadn’t stretched too far about what could be coming our way. Even though I didn’t follow current events as much as I probably should, I still learned about most major stories via my various social media accounts.
This one hadn’t made the rounds yet. At least not within my network.
Harlow’s murderer had to be somebody on the inside. Someone who paid close attention to the news, or made it even.
Pondering this further, I put a call in to my mom. Unfortunately, it went straight to voicemail. Boo.
I spent some quiet time researching on my laptop but continually came up short. I’d talk to Nan about my conversation with Charles soon, but she had a hard time keeping quiet when she got excited. Her voice would echo like crazy through this giant house, and with Cal still here working in the library, our talk would just have to wait.
After another hour passed, I tried calling Mom again. She would never give up on a story before it reached its satisfying conclusion and, seeing as she was the one who reported the news, she most definitely would know more about the pipeline and even its possible beneficiaries.
Still no luck. Grr. She must have her phone turned off, which was almost never the case with her. Maybe she and Dad had decided to catch a matinee at the new movie theater the next town over.
Agitated and unable to sit and wait any longer, I decided to go see how things were going in the library. Maybe I could find a nice way to send Cal home early so that I could talk my recent finding over with Nan.
“Knock, knock,” I called before pushing my way inside.
The room had grown chilly, and I wrapped my arms around myself as I stepped into the library. Glendale had reached that special time of year where the days were sunny and warm, but both morning and evening temperatures dipped uncomfortably low. The library’s large bay window hung open, its sheer drapery fluttering inward.
Cal wasn’t there, and neither were the two Sphynxes.
Oh no. This was not good at all.
I raced down the stairs, searching for somebody, anybody.
Cal stood outside, loading up his truck. “I’ll be back tomorrow if that’s okay,” he said before taking in my panicked expression. “Uh, is that not okay?”
“Did you leave the window open up there?” I demanded. My voice came out crazed and shrill, which I hated. “The cats are gone.”
He pushed the door on his truck bed up and gave me a pained look. “Shoot. I’m sorry. Let me help you find them.”
Not able to wait any longer, I raced around the perimeter of my yard, hoping to find our two missing house guests while Cal searched closer to the house. He must have informed Nan at some point, because she came outside to help, too.
“I didn’t leave the window open,” he said when our paths crossed again. “I did open it briefly to air out some of the dust, but I kept my eyes on the cats the whole time. When I shut it again, they were still in the room.”
“I believe you,” I said, but that didn’t lessen my worry any. What would Matt say when he found out the cats I’d begged to babysit were now runaways? Whether or not he wanted to keep them, he most definitely would not be pleased that I’d managed to lose one of the last reminders of his mother.
I peered into the forest uneasily. Would I have to brave those woods again? Would Octo-Cat be willing to help? And just where was he anyway?
I spotted a little red sports car in front of the Harlow place. It seemed Thompson was over for a visit with Matt. Hopefully that would keep him occupied long enough for me to safely recover the missing cats. We looked for another half hour, but by that time, dusk had begun to settle in.
“I’m really sorry again,” Cal said when we still hadn’t made any progress. “Is it still okay for me to come back tomorrow?”
“Of course. And seriously, don’t worry about it. I know this wasn’t your fault,” I assured him.
He nodded grimly, then ambled over to his truck and sputtered off.
“I’m going to go start on supper,” Nan announced, giving me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, dear. I’m sure they’ll show up soon.”
I worried my lip while taking another loop around the property. Why were these Sphynxes so good at hiding? And why wasn’t Octo-Cat here to help?
Giving up at last, I trudged up the stairs and went to investigate the upper floors of the house. Maybe they hadn’t gotten outside at all. It was possible they were just tucked into some other cold corner, shivering with abandon. Seriously, what was up with their desire to be cold all the time?
The house itself had dropped a few degrees since my last pass through. Much to my chagrin, I found that I’d left the bathroom window wide open following my chat with Charles. I eased it shut again, finally deciding I’d earned a break. I could search again later with fresh eyes. First, I just needed to sit a while.