Millie found it easy to place the small devices in hidden corners. They merely stuck to the wall or ceiling and were small enough to not be noticeable. With gloves on, she placed two in the living room in opposite corners, did the same in the bedroom, and used one in each of the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room. Supposedly, all she had to do was go back to her apartment now and turn on the remote device that beamed the frequency, and she could have the video feed through a secure website, where it would be recorded as well as viewable live.
This wasn’t invasion of privacy, either, since technically, Mr. Williams was the only one with that right and he didn’t even live there now. In fact, right now, the poor man likely resided in a cold drawer space in the morgue. She fussed with the website for a while before she finally found a way to view all the angles at once, as well as to set up a ‘slide show’ that rotated through the different cameras. The picture was black and white and a little fuzzy, but it was clear enough for her purposes. She needed to test the audio, though.
She glanced at Coraline, forever trying to get out of the apartment. “That’s say you and I take a little vacation? I’ll let you spend five minutes next door if you promise not to break anything, not to mark any territory, and to make enough noise for me to adjust the sound on this thing.”
Coraline hopped into her lap, a rare action, obviously excited to take a trip. Putting her gloves back on, she quickly carried Coraline into the other apartment, slammed the door before the wanderer could escape, and hurried back to her own place to watch on her screen.
Instantly, she heard Coraline scratching at the door and mewling, not happy to be in an unfamiliar indoor space, and Millie winced. She should have thought about the demolition a cat was capable of in just a few seconds. She hurried to retrieve her cat, who was greeted with great welcome by her brothers and sister, like she’d returned from a very long journey.
Millie shook her head, imagining what silent conversations they were having as she checked her feed one more time. She frowned, seeing that the refrigerator partially blocked the view in the kitchen and grumbled as she made her way back over to move the camera for a more open sight. It didn’t want to stick at first, and she grew a bit short-tempered as she removed one glove so she could use her nail and scrape off the paint that had stuck to it. “I need to remember to complain about the shoddy paint job to the landlord. This is ridiculous.”
She finally got it to stay in place and started toward the front door, but she heard voices in the hall outside and froze. What was worse, a key clicked in the lock, and Millie had no way to escape. She cursed herself for not paying the extra $30 a month for a ground floor apartment; she could have slipped out a back window. You can figure this out. You’ve got resources. Think fast!
The bed wasn’t raised enough for her to slide under it, and she tended to be claustrophobic so couldn’t hide in the closet. Out of time and with no other course of action to be taken, she sat down on the couch, tore off her gloves, shoved them in her pocket, and lowered her head into her hands.
The door swung open, and Millie peered through her fingers to find Mr. Williams’ daughters staring at her in complete shock. The tallest one, who Millie believed was Delia, stepped forward, her eyes rimmed with red and her face contorted into an expression of disapproval. “Who are you, and what are you doing in my father’s apartment?” she demanded, hands on her hips.
Millie made sobbing noises. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I just…” She wailed. “I can’t believe he’s gone, and I came to drop off his key, but I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye!” She shook her head and forced tears to form in her eyes as she looked up with a farce of misery at the woman. “I miss him so much already!” She let her bottom lip quiver for effect. It wasn’t difficult; after all, Mr. Williams was one of the few people she considered a friend, and she hadn’t cried over him yet.
The three women exchanged looks of shock and confusion. The redhead – an obvious dye job – that Millie thought was Stella stepped forward, pushing the angry sister aside. She sniffled and walked over, sitting on the couch beside Millie. “I’m sorry, but we have no idea who you are or how you knew my father. I’m Stella, and these are my sisters, Delia and Avery.” She pointed, and Millie’s conclusions were confirmed.
“I’m Millie Holland. I live next door, and your father…” She halted, putting a hand to her chest as if she was having chest pains. “He was such a sweet man. Vince always talked about you girls.” She stood suddenly. “I shouldn’t be here. If he didn’t tell you…well, I’m sure he was afraid you might be upset.”
Stella’s eyes grew wide. “Wait, are you saying you and my father were seeing each other?”
Millie hesitated. She refused to lie outright. “Not officially, of course, but we had become quite friendly. His loss…” She pretended to have another breakdown. “I’m so sorry to bother any of you.” She handed them her key to the apartment. “This is why I came. I’m so sorry for your loss. If you happen to come across the key to my apartment, it’s on a ring with a yellow tag. Could you return it, please?”
Before they could respond, she was out the door and back in her place, closing the door and locking it as she leaned back against it, her heart pounding. Her cats were on her immediately, and she scowled down at them. “Fine warning any of you gave! You should be louder about unexpected guests, especially when I’m snooping around someplace I don’t belong!”
Unsteady on her feet, she stumbled through the mess of fur toward her computer to find the three girls arguing.
“I don’t believe it,” Delia said adamantly, shaking her head.
Avery rolled her eyes. “Come on, Delia, Mom died years ago, and Dad was probably lonely. She seems like a nice lady, and she’s obviously upset.”
But Delia countered, “Dad wouldn’t have kept something like that from us.”
“Why not?” Stella asked, throwing up her arms. “He didn’t tell us about all of those lucrative investments he made. Besides, you made it perfectly clear that you’d see any relationship he had as an attempt to replace Mom and wouldn’t want anything to do with him or whoever he fell in love with.”
Avery stepped forward and added, “Which is why he didn’t tell us about the money. You always made him feel like he owed us more than he gave us. And because of that, I bet he left all that money to charity and wrote us completely out of his will.”
“Are you hearing this, kiddos?” Millie whispered, thoroughly engrossed. “It’s like General Hospital over there, back in the days where people schemed and died and didn’t suddenly come back to life.” As if wanting to join in the fun, her cats gathered around her and fixed their eyes on the screen.
Delia crossed her arms and glared back and forth at her sisters. “You know, all of this is your fault. Dad’s not supposed to be dead right now. He was only supposed to do a lot of talking over some wine so we knew where to find that money.”
Stella started crying. “They were only going to talk to him and maybe scare him a little! I don’t know what happened.”
Avery stared at the two of them with a gaping mouth. “Am I hearing what I think I’m hearing? That the two of you are responsible for this mess?”
“She is,” Delia pointed at Stella. “What did your little friends do, scare him into a heart attack or something?”
Stella shook her head in denial. “No, it’s not possible. It has to be a coincidence. I talked to them, and they said he was fine when they left!”
Millie couldn’t believe her ears! She hadn’t expected it to be so easy. She’d thought maybe she’d get lucky and overhear something that suggested a murder plot, or maybe see something that incriminated someone. She hadn’t for a moment thought she’d practically hear a confession, with motive, especially from Mr. Williams’ supposedly angelic, adoring daughters.
She shook her head and muttered to her little family, “You know, felines get a bad reputation for being territorial, selfish, and conniving. I don’t think you hold
a candle to humans, in any of those aspects. Which is exactly why I prefer your company.”
Chapter 5
“Ms. Holland, please stop.” Officer Marx stood and held up his hand as he saw Millie striding toward him with confidence. “I just received a file from the ME on your neighbor, and there are a couple of red flags, but I haven’t even had a chance to look at it yet.”
Millie nodded and continued her approach, the disc she intended to hand over tucked into the small purse on her shoulder. “That’s alright, Officer Marx. I am quite aware you’re now certain this must be investigated as a homicide. I’m only disappointed that the branch of law enforcement to which I entrust my own safety and the serving of justice hasn’t yet made an arrest, with everything I’ve provided. Of course, I’m sure that, with what I have for you today, you’ll have the proper individuals in custody before the end of the day.”
He dropped into his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger. “If you’re still on this trip about the two women at the door, I followed up on your information, and I can’t find two women to fit your very detailed descriptions at any plastic surgeon’s office anywhere in the Ft. Lauderdale metro area. So, unless you somehow managed to track them down and get names and addresses, I can’t even bring anyone in as persons of interest.”
“Why, Officer Marx, you sound infinitely frustrated with your case. It must be very stressful to come up empty handed at every turn, simply because you’ve failed to take the case seriously. I don’t blame you at all. I’m sure you exaggerated about having the manpower you needed, and your plate is overloaded. You were likely prioritizing your time the best you could and setting this one aside because you wanted to believe it was as simple as it looked before I told you otherwise.”
She smiled sympathetically. “I’m sure the public at large could be of much greater assistance in a number of cases, but you’ve likely been trained during powwows in conference rooms over coffee and donuts that we’re all just looking for our moment in the spotlight, or that we all watch too many crime shows and think we know everything.”
He sniggered, and his mood seemed to change, as if he was truly amused by her statements. With a good-natured smile, he said, “I guess you’re not too far off the mark, Ms. Holland. But you seem a lot happier today. Do you have more clues for me? Maybe another detail you missed in your descriptions, like an identifying tattoo?”
Millie laughed. If she didn’t know any better, she would think he bantered with her flirtatiously. It was more likely a desperate attempt at getting a break in the case, and she held her head high as she pulled the disc in the clear case from her purse and held it out to him. “In fact, I do have something that could be of assistance.”
He frowned and took it, his brows knitting as he considered the unlabeled disc. “Okay, you’ve got me. What is it, the surveillance video from the gate the night before Vince Williams died, showing these two girls?”
“That’s quite a good guess, actually, Officer Marx, and close to the truth, but it’s actually something much better than that.” She nodded toward the disc. “Mr. Williams had security cameras in his apartment, which fed into a website that recorded the footage.”
She didn’t exactly want to explain they were her devices, since she wasn’t quite sure how the law would view her infiltration of her neighbor’s apartment without invitation. “That disc is a recording from last night, when his daughters arrived. I’m sure you’ll find their conversation warrants bringing them in as persons of interest, and they’ll be more than willing to assist you in capturing the real crooks, in exchange for leniency.”
Marx stared at her with wide eyes for a moment, then narrowed his gaze at her, shaking the case. “Ms. Holland, how did you come by this recording?”
She smiled innocently. She’d only copied the portion with the argument between the sisters, as well as the call Stella made to follow up with her friends, in which she’d said their names in the message she left for them. She’d even managed to remove entirely the portion of the footage in which she’d been filmed. She’d found a motion activation setting on the website for recording, and that would explain the time lapse, should the authorities want to pull the rest of the footage. Mildred, you’re a genius!
“Well, now, we were friends and neighbors, and Mr. Williams had a great many investments to protect. He wanted to be sure that anything out of the ordinary was documented, in case someone tried to blackmail him or steal from him. He let me know how to access the footage, should anything happen to him. I never expected to have to resort to that, but I’m glad it was available.”
Marx sighed. “How far back do the logs go?”
Millie frowned. “I’m not sure. It seems as though Mr. Williams left it inactive for a long time, and I believe he told me it only retains recordings for a certain period of time. But those women must have made him nervous, because this is the first of the available recorded footage.” Covering your tracks on the fly! Nice show!
“I’m going to watch this, and if I find anything suspicious about it suddenly coming into your hands, I’m coming back for you, Ms. Holland. You’re lucky you aren’t a person of interest, as much as you’ve inserted yourself into the case,” he warned.
She put a hand to her chest as she laughed at the incredulousness of his words. “Officer Marx, with all the shows I watch and books I read, I’m aware that I’m too close to the case. And it is dangerous to continue to hound you with new evidence. At the same time, I’m the concerned neighbor, and I want these people brought to justice for having taken my friend’s life before he was done with it. They stole it from him and should pay with years of their own lives.”
She smugly added, “In order for someone like me, who as you put it, inserts herself into the case, to be a person of interest, I would need motive and opportunity. You’ll find that all of my neighbors know that Mr. Williams and I spoke often, and that we were on good terms. I had no motive to murder him, since he had nothing I wanted and never did anything to hurt me. And while I might have had opportunity, I’m much to attached to my cats to risk spending years in prison for anything trivial like hurt feelings.”
“Touché, Ms. Holland. Still, I’ll be considering the possibility.”
Millie stood and nodded. “As well you should. I would expect nothing less in a thorough investigation.” She left, knowing that her efforts would bring peace to her neighbor’s soul, and to her own mind.
Chapter 6
The newscaster gave a sufficiently horrified expression as she read the story, and Millie sat forward on the couch, anxious to hear the summation and see the flashed images she knew would be involved in the media frenzy. She’d even settled the cats around her and made a special exception, eating her own dinner here on the couch and serving their dishes in the living room floor. “You know, Coraline, perhaps you should be acknowledged for your contribution to the case. After all, you made sure I had the audio set properly.”
Coraline gazed at her with a weary expression and then turned back to her food, her tail straight in the air in a feline version of, Talk to the hand!
Millie only smiled and returned her rapt attention to her bowl of chili and the television. “Five arrests were made today after the shocking discovery that what appeared to be a natural death was actually premeditated murder. The three daughters of Ft. Lauderdale resident Vince Williams, found dead in his apartment at the age of 62 several days ago based on an anonymous tip, confessed to plotting to usurp control of their father’s assets and hiring two other women, Jenna Pierce and Morgan Whitmore, to blackmail and threaten Williams.
Upon questioning, Pierce and Whitmore admitted to being intoxicated when visiting Williams the night before his death, as well as planning to poison him. They claim the intention was for the victim to become ill so his daughters, Stella Goodson, Delia Platt, and Avery Williams, could force his hand. The medical examiner determined Williams died of botulism, the dose applied evidently much higher t
han found in spoiled food. All five women are being charged with various counts of murder and conspiracy.”
Millie threw her hands up in celebration, her cats scattering at the sudden movement and squeal of triumph she emitted. “I win!” Viggo hissed, and Coraline flew toward the laundry room. Newman yawned, and Millie could have sworn he rolled those blue eyes of his. Harlow and Grant, however, rubbed against her calves, as if to praise her for her victorious efforts. “I don’t care what any of you think. I’m an absolute genius. Why, I bet the Ft. Lauderdale police will want to contract me as a consultant on cases like these.”
Viggo growled, long and loud, and Millie laughed. “That’s right, my boy. I can hear it now, too. ‘Ms. Holland, you are a vital part of our team, and while we’d like to believe this was a cut and dry case of natural death, we were wondering if you might suspect foul play.’” She put on a deep voice in a bad imitation of Officer Marx.
And Millie wouldn’t mind having a little something extra to do. It wasn’t that she was discontent or didn’t have enough on her plate already. But she was a good and proper sleuth, and she was tired of simply reading and watching fictional accounts. She had greatly enjoyed her investigative efforts over the last few days, and that was not meant as any disrespect to her dear friend, Mr. Williams. In fact, she would always honor him and be grateful to him, for in his early departure, Millie had found something far more useful to do than write an advice column.
“Perhaps I’ll start another column,” she mused, and Grant’s ears perked up in interest. “I’ll have people write to me about relatives who were ruled to have died from natural causes but whom they suspect were murdered. And I can help them snoop out the possibilities so that the police have to follow up on the cold cases.”
Crosswords and Puzzles: An Amateur Sleuth Cozy mystery (A Millie Holland Cat Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) Page 3