The Pawful Truth

by Miranda James

  I took Charlie out of the crib, and he started wriggling for me to put him down. I did so, wondering what he would do. Diesel watched him, alert for any sign of trouble. Charlie began crawling toward the door. Diesel and I followed him out into the hall, across it, and into the kitchen. Charlie made a beeline for his mother.

  Laura scooped up her son, and he made known what he wanted by rooting around on her chest. “Excuse me,” she said. “He’s hungry.” She resumed her seat, pulled up her blouse, and Charlie began to nurse. The first time this happened in my presence, I had been somewhat shocked by my daughter’s apparent unconcern that others might be watching. Then I took myself to task. This was the most natural thing in the world. A beautiful thing, in fact, and I made no protest from then on when it occurred in front of me.

  My cell phone rang, and I pulled it from my shirt pocket. “Kanesha,” I said in some surprise to Helen Louise. What on earth did Kanesha want? I greeted her by name before saying, “What can I do for you?”

  “If it’s convenient,” she said in her usual brisk tone, “I’d like to drop by for a few minutes to go over again what you told me about Dr. Warriner and Ms. Compton. Is this a convenient time?”

  “Sure, come on by,” I said.

  “Right, be there in less than ten.” She ended the call.

  “What does she want?” Helen Louise asked.

  Laura looked at me with a frown after I answered Helen Louise’s question.

  “Okay, Frankie Joe, what’s up? Not another murder, surely?” she said.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “A woman I met briefly has died under suspicious circumstances—those are Kanesha’s words, not mine—and I happened to overhear something odd that someone said to her. It might have some bearing on her death, or it might not. That’s all.”

  “Honestly, Dad,” Laura said, “how do you do it? You end up being in the wrong place at the right time somehow.”

  “I’m sure Kanesha would agree with you,” Helen Louise said. “It’s a knack Charlie has.”

  “Or a jinx,” I said gloomily. “Now, listen here, both of you, I don’t want to hear either of you call me Frankie Joe in front of Kanesha, understand?”

  They both nodded. “Good,” I said. “I don’t think she’d see the humor in it anyway.”

  “She might surprise you,” Helen Louise said.

  “I’d rather not take the risk,” I replied.

  We continued in this vein while Laura fed Charlie. The doorbell rang to signal Kanesha’s arrival. I rose to answer it. “I think we’ll go in the den. I don’t want to disturb Rosie.”

  “I’ll check on her,” Helen Louise said and followed me out of the kitchen.

  I opened the door to Kanesha and invited her in.

  “Come on back to the den, if you don’t mind,” I said. “Laura’s in the kitchen feeding Charlie, and Helen Louise is in the living room checking on Rosie.”

  “That’s fine,” Kanesha said as I closed the door. “How are the grandchildren? Mama gives me reports on them from time to time.”

  I figured the question was mostly her being polite so I didn’t go into detail. “They’re both thriving,” I said. “Growing fast.” We walked down the hall, and I turned on the light in the den. “Have a seat wherever you like.”

  Kanesha chose a straight-backed chair, and I took the sofa.

  “Thanks for talking to me on short notice like this,” she said. “I won’t keep you too long from your family.”

  “It’s not a problem. You have an investigation to run, and that’s important,” I replied.

  She nodded as she pulled out her notebook. She flipped the pages until she found whatever she wanted to consult. After a brief glance at her notes, she looked at me. “You overheard angry remarks directed at Ms. Compton by Dr. Warriner.”

  I nodded.

  “Would you please tell me again what you heard and the circumstances in which you heard it?” Kanesha said.

  I launched into my story after a brief pause to marshal my thoughts. “Class had ended, and Warriner said he would like to talk to me. I approached him at the front of the room, and he said he wanted me to consider taking the course for credit, instead of auditing it. I said I would consider it, and he appeared satisfied with my answer. I headed for the door, and I almost collided with Dixie Compton. I thought she had been waiting there until I left. She brushed past me into the room, and before I had stepped away from the doorway, I heard Warriner ask her what the hell she was doing in his class.”

  “Those were his exact words?” Kanesha asked.

  “He said, What the hell are you doing in my class?” I replied.

  Kanesha nodded as she checked her notebook. “That tallies with what you said before. Now, how would you describe the tone of this question?”

  “Nasty, savage,” I said. “Shocked me, because it was completely unlike the persona he presented in class. He sounded furiously angry over it.”

  “Did you hear anything else? Her response, for example?”

  I shook my head. “No, I got away from the door then. It wasn’t any of my business, and I didn’t want to hear any more of their confrontation.”

  “Are you certain about the tone of Warriner’s voice when he asked her the question? Would you swear to it in court?”

  Her questions and the harsh tone in which she delivered them took me aback. “Yes, to both. What’s going on here?”

  Kanesha snapped her notebook shut and regarded me with her trademark enigmatic expression. “I questioned Dr. Warriner about this incident without identifying the witness. He readily admitted that he talked to Ms. Compton after class. According to him, however, he said, in a friendly tone, I wasn’t expecting to see you in my class. This is a pleasant surprise.”

  “He’s lying,” I said flatly, suddenly angry.

  “I agree,” Kanesha said. “The question is, why.”

  THIRTEEN

  “I’d say he doesn’t want anyone to know he was angry with her,” I said. “At least he didn’t deny outright that he knew her.”

  “Too clever for that,” Kanesha said. “He knew we’d find evidence that they were acquainted.”

  “And have you?” I asked, despite the fact that I knew she might decline to answer.

  “We have,” she replied, but didn’t supply any further details.

  “Why did you think he was lying when he denied the tone and the words he used speaking to Ms. Compton?”

  “I know you,” Kanesha said. “You don’t lie, so I figured he had to be.”

  I felt like I’d just won an Olympic gold medal. Kanesha rarely complimented me, and this one was definitely golden.

  “Thank you,” I managed to say. “I appreciate your trust in me.”

  “You’ve earned it,” Kanesha replied coolly. “Which is why I’m going to ask you something, although you know it goes against the grain for me to do it.”

  I nodded and waited for her to continue.

  “You know people on campus at the college,” Kanesha said. “You hear things.” For a moment a smile flashed, then was gone. “Particularly given your best friend on campus, who seems to know everything about everybody.”

  “I can’t disagree,” I said, trying not to grin. “People talk to Melba and tell her things, and sometimes she tells me.”

  “That’s what I’m counting on,” Kanesha replied. “I need to know if there has been any talk about Dr. Warriner, anything that would suggest he’s been having an affair, for example.”

  “You must consider him a prime suspect in Ms. Compton’s death,” I said. Time to bargain for information, I decided. “Does this mean you believe she was murdered?”

  Kanesha’s gaze narrowed as she regarded me. “Yes, I do. There are indications that she was struck by someone before she died. She fell against the brick hearth, on a sharp edge, and
died from the impact to the back of her head.”

  I tried not to picture the scene, but my imagination was too creative. I winced. “How horrible.”

  “Back to Dr. Warriner,” Kanesha said. “What can you tell me?”

  “You need to talk to Melba,” I said. “She told me what she heard from two of the department administrators she knows. One in the history department, the other in the English department. I’d rather you get the details from her.”

  “I will,” Kanesha said. “Is there anything else?”

  I nodded unhappily. “Yes, there is, but I think Helen Louise needs to tell you herself. It happened at the bistro yesterday evening.” I rose. “I’ll send her in to talk to you.”

  “Thank you,” Kanesha said.

  I found Helen Louise in the living room, holding Rosie and rocking her in the rocking chair I had placed in the room for exactly that purpose. I paused to watch them for a moment. Helen Louise had never had children of her own, but Sean and Laura had accepted her readily as their potential stepmother. They already considered her a grandmother to their children, even though she and I hadn’t married yet. Helen Louise had embraced the role happily and lovingly.

  I knew Kanesha was waiting for Helen Louise, but I was reluctant to disturb the peaceful scene. Knowing that if I didn’t, however, the chief deputy would, I forced myself forward into the room.

  “Kanesha wants to talk to you,” I said, keeping my voice low.

  “It’s okay,” Helen Louise said. “Rosie’s awake, so you don’t have to whisper. I think she’s ready to be fed.”

  I held out my arms for Rosie, and Helen Louise gave her to me. “She has a couple of bottles in the fridge. I’ll get one ready for her while you talk to Kanesha.”

  Helen Louise rose from the chair. “Why does she want to talk to me?”

  “You need to tell her about what happened at the bistro last night,” I said as we walked to the door. Helen Louise preceded us into the hallway. I realized that Diesel wasn’t with us. “Where’s Diesel?”

  “He went to check on Laura and Charlie.” Helen Louise sighed. “I wonder what Kanesha will make of it all.”

  “I don’t know, but it could be pertinent to Ms. Compton’s murder,” I said.

  Helen Louise stopped short. “Murder?”

  I nodded. “Kanesha told me.”

  Helen Louise shook her head and muttered something, but she walked off down the hall before I could ask her what she said. I had a good notion that I was probably better off not knowing.

  Laura had finished feeding Charlie and was burping him while Diesel supervised anxiously. Laura reassured the cat that the baby was fine, and almost on cue, Charlie burped. She wiped his mouth before she rose from the chair with him.

  “I’m going to put him down for another quick nap,” she said. “He usually likes to doze a little while when he’s finished a meal. I’ll be back in a minute.” She left the room. Diesel looked at her retreating back, then at me. He appeared torn. Should he go with Laura and Charlie, or should he stay and supervise me with Rosie? After a moment, he trotted after Laura. I think he knew she would put Charlie down for a nap, and he would be needed as guardian there. Between us, Laura and I ought to be able to take care of Rosie. Or so I imagined his reasoning went.

  I retrieved one of Rosie’s bottles from the fridge and put it in the bottle warmer. By the time it was ready, Laura had returned. I made myself comfortable in my usual spot at the table and began to feed my granddaughter. Laura watched, smiling.

  “You make such a wonderful picture,” she said. “I wish Mom could be here to see it.”

  I glanced at her and saw tears glistening on her lashes. “I know, sweetheart, but I always feel she’s near when Charlie and Rosie are here. Aunt Dottie, too. They’re both watching over us. All of us.”

  Laura nodded. “I hope so.” She pulled a tissue from Charlie’s diaper bag and dabbed at her eyes.

  “I know she is,” I said simply. “Nothing would keep her from seeing her grandchildren and being their guardian angel.”

  “You’re going to make me cry again,” Laura said, using the tissue once more.

  I shook my head. “Don’t. She wants you to be as happy as she is.” People outside the family might think I needed a psychiatric evaluation, but I didn’t think much about that. I knew what I felt, not to mention the occasional whiffs of their separate perfumes I smelled in the house from time to time. Jackie’s and Aunt Dottie’s presences hadn’t disappeared with their deaths, and I took great comfort in that. Nothing to do with haunting whatsoever. Simply love, strong and enduring.

  Rosie sucked noisily at her bottle, and by the time she finished draining it, Helen Louise reappeared in the kitchen.

  “Where’s Kanesha?” I asked.

  “I told her about Diesel keeping an eye on the babies, and she wanted to see for herself,” Helen Louise replied. “But don’t let her know I told you that.” She glanced first at me, then at Laura. We both shook our heads.

  “Thank you again, both of you,” Kanesha said from the kitchen doorway. “I appreciate your information. I’ve got to go now, more people to talk to. I’ll see myself out.” She turned and disappeared into the hall, and moments later I heard the door open and shut.

  “What did Kanesha think of the incident?” I asked Helen Louise.

  She glanced at Laura, who correctly interpreted the look. Laura stood. “I’m going to recuse myself—isn’t that the legal term?—from this discussion. If you don’t mind me leaving Charlie with you for half an hour or so, I need to run to the store for a few things. It’s a lot easier without him trying to grab at everything and squirming to get down so he can crawl.”

  “Sure,” I said. “We’ll be glad to keep him. No point in waking him up.”

  “Thanks.” Laura grabbed her purse and headed out the back door. “See you in a bit.”

  Helen Louise asked, “How about some coffee or a glass of sweet tea?”

  “Sweet tea is fine with me,” I replied, “but if you’d rather have coffee, I’ll have some, too.”

  “Coffee it is.” She began to prepare the coffeemaker, and I waited until she had finished with that before I repeated my question. Helen Louise resumed her seat at the table before she answered. “She found it interesting. We both knew she would. I get the feeling that she’s zeroing in on Warriner as her chief suspect. I’m sure she knows more about him and his relationship with the dead woman than she’s willing to let on, at least with us.”

  “I think you’re probably right,” I said. “She told us only what she thinks is appropriate.” I chuckled. “At least it’s something.”

  “Things aren’t looking good for your class this semester,” Helen Louise said. “If the professor is charged with murder, that will be the end of it.”

  “Unless there’s someone else on the faculty who can teach it,” I said. “Or a graduate student, maybe. He could be completely innocent, though. I certainly hope he is, and not only because I want to take this class.”

  “Me, too, I suppose,” Helen Louise said. “Although someone has to be guilty, if Kanesha is sure it’s murder.”

  “She is,” I said.

  “Warriner seems to have a problem controlling his anger,” Helen Louise said.

  “He lashed out pretty quickly at d’Arcy, from what you told us,” I said. “He might have lashed out just like that at Dixie Compton without meaning to kill her.”

  “If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be manslaughter?”

  I shrugged. “I think so, but I’d have to ask Sean to be sure.”

  “You’d probably better not,” Helen Louise said. “Once he gets wind of your connection to this case, he’ll be unhappy about it.”

  “He’ll have to be,” I said. “I can’t ignore what I heard, and you can’t ignore what happened at the bistro. Both incidents
may have direct bearing on a woman’s death. Sean is reasonable, and he’s not going to fuss at me over this.”

  “He’ll have to fuss at both of us,” Helen Louise said. “He’s never actually fussed at me.”

  “You haven’t given him cause,” I said. “Whereas I, on the other hand, have given him plenty. Sometimes I feel like our roles have reversed, and now he’s the father and I’m the child.”

  “He’s probably exactly like you were at his age.” She got up from the table. “Coffee’s about ready.” She went to the cabinet and pulled out two mugs, both emblazoned with the bistro’s logo. She added two spoons of sugar to one mug, none to the other. She liked her coffee with a bit of cream, nothing more. I couldn’t stand the taste without sugar and cream.

  “He is a lot like me at that age,” I said. “I don’t remember fussing at my father much, though. I wouldn’t have dared. Perhaps I might have later, if he’d lived long enough.” My father passed away when I was thirty-one, and Sean was almost that now. My mother had outlived Dad by three years.

  Helen Louise set a mug on the table in front of me. Rosie had fallen asleep in my arms. I rose. “I’m going to put her down again before Charlie wakes up.”

  Diesel looked up when I entered the living room. He meowed softly when I laid my granddaughter in her crib and covered her with a blanket.

  “You keep watch,” I said softly, and he meowed again. I was thankful Ramses had gone home with Azalea for the weekend. He liked to jump into the cribs with the babies and lick their faces at every opportunity.

  I resumed my seat and lifted my mug to my lips. My cell phone rang, and I set down the mug. A glance at the screen informed me that Melba was on the line. I mentioned this to Helen Louise before I answered.

  I barely had time to greet her before Melba rushed into her speech. “I have a big bone to pick with you, Charlie Harris.” She sounded peeved with me. “I swear I’m going to stop telling you anything.”