“Let me know what you find out,” Melba said. “I’ve been so worried about Alex. Breaks my heart to see her go through this.”
“Thank the Lord she’s finally getting help. I really want to go see her, but I’m waiting until Sean tells me she’s up to a visit,” I said.
“I hope that’s soon,” Melba said. “Guess I’d better get going. I’ve cried on your shoulder enough for one day.” She smiled, and the sadness of it made me want to hug her and tell her everything would be okay.
“You don’t have to rush out on my account,” I said. “If you’re not in that big a hurry, why don’t you go and visit the kittens? They’ll help cheer you up. Won’t they, Diesel?”
Diesel warbled a loud and firm agreement, or so I interpreted it. Melba smiled again, a little more brightly this time.
“I think I’ll do that,” Melba said. “I don’t have anything that can’t wait awhile longer. Come on, Diesel, let’s go play with the babies.”
I did not accompany them. I wanted to give Melba the chance to calm down even further, and without me present she could focus on the kittens and hopefully forget about Jared for a little while.
I decided to hang out in the den until Melba was ready to leave. I could check my e-mail while I waited. I was still reading through messages when Melba and Diesel came to the den in search of me.
I set the laptop aside. “How were the kittens?” Diesel jumped onto the sofa next to me.
“Full of energy, and shedding hair,” Melba said with a rueful glance at her dark skirt. I started to apologize, but Melba said firmly, “Don’t worry. I have one of those lint brushes in the car. Won’t take me a minute to get rid of the hair.”
“If you’re sure,” I said.
“I am,” Melba said. “I’d still be in there playing with them, but I got a text message. I’ve been waiting for it for a couple of days now.”
I knew Melba and that arch tone of hers. She expected me to ask about the text.
“What’s up with the text message?” I asked obligingly. “Is it important?”
“It could be,” Melba said. “It took me a while, but I finally tracked down someone I’ve been looking for.”
“Who would that be?”
“Mrs. Ima Jean Norwood,” Melba said with an air of triumph.
“Congratulations,” I said. “Who is Ima Jean Norwood? Last living relative of the Russian royal family?”
Melba shot me a look of disdain. “You used to be so funny. No, Mrs. Norwood was good friends with Billy Albritton’s mother, and she knew his grandparents, the Albrittons, too. She’s in a nursing home here in Athena, and I’m going to talk to her.”
“Still on the trail of Gerry Albritton,” I remarked.
“Yes, I am,” Melba said. “I’m determined to find out exactly who she was.”
I really wanted to share the news about Gerry’s birth gender, but if Kanesha found out I had told Melba, she might not trust me again with sensitive information. So I kept it to myself.
Melba’s eyes narrowed while she gazed at me. “You know something, don’t you? What is it?”
“I can’t tell you,” I said. “Something Kanesha told me, and I can’t tell anyone else, not even you.”
“Since it’s Kanesha, I’m not going to press you. I know how she is,” Melba said.
“You think Mrs. Norwood may actually know something?” I asked.
“If she’s not gaga, I think she might,” Melba said. “I figure she’s in her late eighties, at least. I’m praying that she’s still mentally all there.”
“Good luck,” I said. “I hope she can help us.”
“I’ll let you know,” Melba said.
“We’ll see you out,” I told her.
“No need, I know the way.” Melba gave a little wave. “Talk to you later.”
“Bye,” I said. Diesel added a couple of meows to my farewell.
“Okay, buddy,” I said to Diesel. “It’s time to wrap some presents. I know you’ll help me, but don’t help too much, okay?” Diesel was like a kitten around ribbon and boxes. He couldn’t resist them. Other than locking him in another room while I wrapped gifts, however, I didn’t know how to stop him. The trick was to distract him with a box and some ribbon, and I could wrap while he played.
I needed a large flat surface. I could use my bed, because I knew by now Azalea would have stripped it, remade it with clean linens, and put the bedspread on. The kitchen table would be better, however, and unless Azalea needed it for the next half an hour or so, that would be the best place to work.
Azalea was working at the stove when I entered the kitchen toting my two bags of books. I had left them in the hall, thanks to the wonderful surprise I’d had earlier. I needed to find the wrapping paper, bows, and tape, and then retrieve the other items from the car.
“Azalea, are you going to need the table for the next thirty minutes or so?” I asked.
“No, you go right ahead with whatever you want to do,” she said.
“Thanks. I need to wrap some presents. Shouldn’t take too long.” I set the bags on the table. The wrapping paper and other gift paraphernalia resided year-round in the hall closet. Once I’d retrieved what I needed, I went to the car and brought in the toys I’d bought for the kittens and Diesel, as well as Helen Louise’s bottles of perfume.
I didn’t need to wrap the toys for the kittens, and they certainly didn’t need ribbons to chew on and potentially eat, so I set those aside. I found a suitable box in the utility room and put it down near the table. Diesel immediately crawled into it for an inspection. I tossed him a couple of old bows that had seen better days, and he batted them aside. While he had fun getting in and out of the box and batting the bows around—out of Azalea’s way, because he was smart enough to realize he had to stay clear—I started wrapping.
The perfume bottles in their lovely packaging provided little challenge. I knew the books would be a little hard to wrap neatly, at least for me. First I had to sort the books by recipient, but that didn’t take long. I wrapped and labeled as I went and soon had a tidy pile of gifts. There was one stack of seven books left over, but those didn’t need wrapping, as they were for me. Somehow I always managed to buy books for myself when I went Christmas shopping.
I began to clear the table, but my cell phone sounded. I had a new text message.
From Kanesha. It read: New information. Call me when available.
TWENTY-NINE
I finished the task at hand and found room for the gifts I’d wrapped in the hall closet. Then I went to the den and called Kanesha’s cell phone. I perched on the corner of my desk. Diesel chose the sofa and stretched out to relax.
Kanesha answered right away. “Had an interesting talk with Jared Carter a few minutes ago.”
“In your office?” I asked. How long had it been since Melba stormed out of his house? I glanced at my watch. Close to ninety minutes.
“Yes, why do you ask?” Kanesha said.
“Oh, no reason,” I replied lamely. “Just wondered. I thought he’d be busy pulling teeth, I guess.”
“He made the time to show up here and asked to see me,” Kanesha said. “I asked him if he was Gerry Albritton’s silent partner, and he admitted it right away. Surprised him, I believe, that I had figured it out. I didn’t mention you.”
“Good.” I didn’t want Jared Carter to know I played any role in this. “Was he coming to you to tell you this himself?”
“Yes,” Kanesha replied. “He also told me he thought Gerry had been embezzling from the account he set up to fund her real estate purchases.”
“That’s serious,” I said, hoping I sounded surprised enough to fool her.
“The amount he mentioned is serious,” Kanesha said. “I asked him how certain he was that Gerry was the culprit. Was there anyone else who could have done it? Also asked that.”
“Was there?” I asked.