ôIÆm not,ö Harriet snapped. ôAnd now could we please take it from the top!ö
ôHe looks yummy,ö said Kingman, whoÆs one of our larger members. He was licking his lips at the sight of Jack tweeting up a storm now, doing his utmost to let his love be known to all the world. ôNot much flesh to his bones, maybe, but a nice dessert nonetheless.ö
ôPlease donÆt eat him, Kingman,ö I said. ôCanÆt you see the bird is in love?ö
ôSo? It might add to his aroma.ö
Harriet, absolutely mortified now, as the entire cat congregation of Hampton Cove was all atwitter and loudly chuckling and cracking off-color jokes at her expense, now hissed,ôJack! Go away! Before one of these cats gets it into their nut to come up there and eat you!ö
ôSee!ö Jack twittered. ôYou do love me. Otherwise you wouldnÆt try to save me!ö
ôNobody try to eat HarrietÆs new boyfriend!ö Shanille called out, a smirk on her face.
ôHow many times?! HeÆs not my boyfriend!ö Harriet snapped.
Some cats were making kissy noises now, and it was obvious the thing was quickly getting out of paw. Jack, oblivious to the turmoil he was causing in the heart of cat choir, simply kept on tweeting loudly, and declaring his undying love for our Persian friend.
Finally Kingman couldnÆt control himself any longer, and started to climb the tree Jack was perched in. He got as far as the first branch, then got stuck. ôHeeeeelp! Someone save me!ö he bleated.
ôJust jump, Kingman,ö I said. ôYouÆre not that high up.ö
ôIÆm afraid to, Max! Please do something!ö
To add insult to injury, Jack had now tiptoed down the branch until he was almost within reach of Kingman, who was holding onto the branch for dear life, and eyed the cat with beady eyes.ôAre you a friend of Harriet, sir?ö the tiny sparrow asked, cocking his head just so.
Kingman nodded staunchly.ôI am. One of her best friends.ö
ôThatÆs all right, then. Any friend of my one true love is a friend of mine,ö said Jack.
Kingman glanced down, then swallowed with difficulty.ôGood to know.ö
ôAnd if you want, I can show you how to get down from this tree.ö
ôOh, would you? ThatÆs so very kind of you, Mr. Bird.ö
ôThe name is Jack,ö said Jack. ôJack the sparrow.ö
ôOdd,ö said Kingman, frowning. ôThat name rings a bell for some reason. So how do I get down from here, Jack?ö
ôYou simply spread your wings and fly!ö Jack cried, and to show us how it was done, he did just that. He spread his wings, fluttered up to Kingman, who started violently, uttered a sort of high cry of shockà and dropped down from the tree.
Luckily he landed on all fours, and after checking himself for any sign of injuries, gave Jack a very frosty look.ôThanks for nothing, buddy!ö he yelled, shaking an irate fist.
ôYouÆre welcome, friend of Harriet,ö said Jack, fully oblivious of the catÆs ire. ôAnd remember: love is always the way!ö
And then, much to HarrietÆs elation, he flew off.
ôI donÆt like your new boyfriend, Harriet,ö Kingman grumbled, starting to lick himself.
ôHe is not my boyfriend!ö Harriet screamed.
Next to me, Brutus had silently materialized. He now gave me a nudge.ôCheck that tablet, Max. Somehow I have a feeling the lady doth protest too much!ö
And so it was that I suddenly realized IÆd landed myself in the middle of a scene that could have featured inCats! So maybe this Andrew Lloyd Webber fellow had indeed taken the measure of a cat: drama, more dramaà and yet even more drama.
Chapter 17
The next morning, the investigation continued, and we found ourselves back in the offices of Valina Fawn. ValinaÆs office was still off limits, with yellow crime scene tape attached to the door, and the person we were there to see this time was Meghan Fray, ValinaÆs personal assistant.
After going through both membership lists of the Brookwell Archery Club and the dating site, an eagle-eyed member of ChaseÆs team had discovered another overlap between the two lists: Valina Fawn herself.
ôOh, absolutely,ö said Meghan when questioned about her deceased bossÆs fondness for the sport of archery. ôShe went there all the time. Though if you ask me, she wasnÆt into the sport itself but more into one of the club members.ö She arched a meaningful and finely penciled eyebrow at this.
ôYou mean Valina was having an affair with one of BrookwellÆs members?ö asked Odelia, immediately interested.
ôOh, yes, and a pretty torrid one from the looks of things. I caught them at it, you see. Right here in her office. I was working late one night and IÆd gone to the bathroom. When I came back I heard sounds of a coupleà well, going at it, to put it bluntly. I think he must have come in and figured IÆd already left and they were alone in the building.ö
ôSo you discreetly left and made sure you gave your boss the privacy you felt she deserved,ö said Chase dryly.
Meghan shot him anæare you kidding meÆ look and said, ôI went into the adjacent office and quietly opened the door to take a peek. I mean what else do you expect me to do? Valina had just told me that after running a dating site for years she didnÆt believe in love anymore, and how sheÆd decided she was going to remain single for the rest of her life. And now here she was, moaning down the whole building!ö
ôAnd so what did you see?ö asked Odelia eagerly.
ôNorwell Kulhanek.ö
ôYou gotta be kidding!ö
ôNo, I swear to God! They were on her desk doingùö
ôYes, yes, we donÆt need to hear all the sordid details,ö said Chase. ôSo Valina and Norwell were an item? Are you sure?ö
ôAbsolutely. Though for what itÆs worth, it didnÆt last long. This was about a month ago, and a week later they fell out. Huge fight.ö
ôWhat about?ö
ôIÆm not sure, but IÆm guessing she probably dumped him and he didnÆt take it well.ö She gave Odelia a knowing look. ôWe all know that men have a very fragile ego, and NorwellÆs ego is as fragile as a birdÆs egg. So if she dumped him, he probably blew up.ö
ôI see,ö said Chase, nodding.
ôBut what did he expect? The guy is married, after all. With two kids, no less. He probably wanted more than just a casual fling and she told him she wasnÆt interested. Valina may have been a lot of things, but she wasnÆt a homewrecker, whatever people say.ö
ôIs he in, Norwell?ö asked Chase.
ôNah, heÆs in New York today. Meeting with investors. HeÆs trying to salvage whatÆs left of the site now that ValinaÆs gone.ö She sighed. ôFat lot of good thatÆll do. This place is a goner, from what I can tell. Valina was the heart and soul of this place. With her dead itÆs just an empty shell. If IÆm smart IÆll pack my bags and quit while I still can. Pretty soon the last of the money will run out and I can say goodbye to any severance pay.ö
ôThank you for telling us, Meghan,ö said Odelia. ôBut why didnÆt you mention this yesterday?ö
Meghan shrugged.ôI didnÆt think it was important. But then I spent all last night thinking things through, and finally I figured that maybe heÆs the one that did her in, you know. If he took her breaking things off badly, he might have decided that if he couldnÆt have her, no one would.ö
ôItÆs a thought,ö Odelia admitted, ôthough the man has a solid alibi. His wife claims he was home all night.ö
ôMh,ö said Meghan, giving Odelia a skeptical look.
ôYou think she might be lying?ö
ôWouldnÆt be the first wife caught in a lie, would she? I know women like Emma Kulhanek. They know full well that their husband is a liar and a cheat but still they stand by him whatever happens. Some twisted idea of loyalty. Hoping heÆll reward them for their lies by staying with them. Whichof course they never do. Oh, by the way, I found this on my desk this morning.ö She produced a key card and handed it to Chase.
ôThis is NorwellÆs key card,ö the cop said with a frown.
ôYeah, you told me yesterday it had gone missing, remember?ö
ôWhere did you find it, exactly?ö