The Cat Collector

by Lori Herter

  “Shoulda married you,” Hal said. “Wrong sister. Shoulda married you.”

  Chapter six

  Eleanor

  As Steve drove his unmarked police car to Wheaton, Claudia told him what the parrot said when she recited Eleanor’s name.

  “‘Shoulda married you,’” Steve repeated. “Hmm. You suppose there was a love triangle going on between Tom and Ethel and Eleanor?”

  “I never would have guessed it.” Claudia thought a moment. “Though when I heard Tom say he wanted to help Eleanor, Ethel remarked in a snarky tone that Eleanor was clever at coming up with stuff for him to do.” Claudia sighed. “But I don’t know if we should read too much into that. Tom and Ethel have been bringing Jasmine to the clinic for years. Ethel’s a little high-strung and emotional. She’d get annoyed that Tom didn’t always listen to her. She talks so much, I couldn’t blame him for tuning her out. But they seemed to get along. At the funeral the priest said they’d been married for forty-four years.”

  “How long ago did Tom acquire Hal?” Steve asked.

  Claudia contemplated. “Not sure. A couple of years ago? That’s about when Tom started coming in with the parrot.”

  “So where would Hal have picked up those phrases?’”

  “When he visited Eleanor.” Claudia felt troubled at the thought.

  “If we’re lucky, we’ll soon find out.” Steve pulled up in front of a small, wood-frame house painted a pale avocado green. The house stood on a street lined with similar modest homes.

  Hardened snow crunched under their feet as Steve and Claudia walked up the unshoveled sidewalk that led to the front door. Steve rang the bell.

  In half-a-minute or so, a woman who looked very much like Ethel, except that she was leaning on a walker which prevented her from fully opening the door, peered out at them. “I don’t make donations, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

  Steve quickly pulled out his badge. “Detective Steve O’Rourke, Briarwood police. You’re Eleanor Mason, correct?”

  Her hazel eyes widened. “Have I done something wrong? I know I didn’t come to a full stop at that stop sign the other day. My car was sliding on the ice.”

  “No, no, you’re not in trouble,” Steve assured her. “I’m investigating Tom Radek’s death. This is Claudia Bailey. She knew Tom. Just need to ask you a few questions.”

  “Oh.” Eleanor bowed her head and leaned forward, putting all her weight on the walker. “Poor Tom. What an awful thing to happen. He was such a good man.”

  “Would you mind if we come in for a few minutes?” Steve asked politely.

  The grey-haired lady looked up. “Of course. Of course. I’m sorry. Come in, please.” She backed up her walker to let them enter.

  Stamping snow off her boots on the doormat before going in, Claudia was struck by the difference in Eleanor’s self-effacing manner and soft-spoken voice compared to her sister’s. Perhaps Eleanor’s bad car accident years ago had humbled her nature. Or maybe, though look-alikes, the twins had always been different in personality. The old nature or nurture question.

  Eleanor invited them to sit on her living room couch, upholstered in a rust brown color. Sunlight streamed in through the lace-trimmed curtains pulled back from the front window. Pushing aside her walker, she sat in an easy chair facing them. A low, round coffee table with crossword puzzle books stood between the sofa and chair.

  “How did you first meet Tom?” Steve asked.

  The lady smiled. “Why, in high school. I had a big crush on him. We went steady for about six months. But then Ethel started to like him, too. She set her cap for him, and after high school he married her.”

  Claudia glanced at Steve. His eyes met hers indicating they were both remembering what the parrot said.

  “Did you mind that he married your sister?” Claudia asked in a between-us-girls manner.

  “Well, at the time I thought that if he preferred Ethel, I should give way. I wanted him to be happy. Ethel was more outgoing than me, so I knew it was natural for him to be drawn to her.”

  Steve gave Claudia a slight nod to urge her to continue.

  “I know Tom used to come over to help you around the house,” Claudia said.

  “Oh, yes, he was the kindest man.” Eleanor’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m going to miss him terribly.” She took a handkerchief out of the sleeve of her pink cardigan sweater and dabbed away the wetness.

  “Did you ever wish he hadn’t married your sister?” Claudia carefully asked. “Did he ever say he wished he’d married you?”

  Eleanor stared at Claudia. “But . . . how did you know? Did Tom confide in you?”

  “No. This will sound odd. His parrot, which I’m taking care of at the moment, said, ‘Shoulda married you,’ and ‘Wrong sister.’ Did he bring Hal with him when he came here to help out?”

  Eleanor blinked hard and looked wistful. “He started bringing Hal along a couple of years ago. You’re right. Before he would leave after a visit, he’d kiss me on the forehead and say, ‘I should of married you, Eleanor.’ Or he’d say, ‘I married the wrong sister.’ The parrot started imitating him.”

  “That must have been difficult for you to hear,” Claudia said, feeling sad for the woman.

  Eleanor tilted her head. “What could we do after all these years? Ethel wouldn’t let him go without a fight, and I didn’t want to take him away from her. I’m an invalid. He was better off with her. But it was sad the day he and I figured out what a misunderstanding there had been, all those years ago.”

  “A misunderstanding?” Steve said.

  “Tom confided something to me a few weeks ago,” Eleanor told them. She chewed her lip a moment, then continued. “He said that, back in high school, my sister had told him I only went out with him because I felt sorry for him. You see, in those days Tom was a math whiz, not especially handsome and maybe a little awkward. Some called him a nerd.” Eleanor shook her head and sighed. “Well, I assured Tom that was never true at all. Tom was my first and only love. But I honestly thought Tom preferred my sister. So I let him go, wanting him to have what I thought he wanted. Tom said he wished he hadn’t believed what Ethel told him years ago, because he did like me better.”

  “Your sister stole him away,” Claudia said with astonishment.

  “Yes, she did.” Eleanor pressed her lips together, as if suppressing a spark of anger. She took in another long breath and slowly let it out. “After we realized Ethel had broken us up long ago, Tom started saying he’d married the wrong sister. Ethel can be overbearing and demanding. I guess she got on his nerves. Sometimes I wondered if he visited me to have a respite from her.”

  “What’s your relationship with Ethel like?” Claudia asked out of curiosity.

  “Oh . . . on again, off again,” Eleanor replied in an uneasy way. “We have that twin bond, you know. It’s a real thing. I love her. But sometimes . . . . And she did tell Tom that lie.” She threw up her hands. “Well, what’s past is past. I had to forgive her. She loved Tom, too. She even worked to put him through college.”

  Steve paused and then looked directly at Eleanor. “I need to ask you something. Just a routine question for our investigation.”

  Eleanor looked back at him expectantly. “Okay.”

  “Do you play bingo at the Wheaton senior center on Mondays twice a month?”

  “Yes, I do. Wouldn’t miss it. Why?”

  “Does your sister know you play bingo there regularly?” Steve asked.

  “I think I’ve mentioned it to her. Been going there for years. Why?”

  Steve seemed to ignore her why questions. “Were you there the day Tom was murdered?”

  “Well . . . ,” Eleanor paused, lifting her hand to her cheek. “Oh, yes, it was that evening after bingo that I heard about it on the radio. I tried to call Ethel, but she wasn’t home. She’s like me, won’t be bothered with those stupid smart phones. The answering machine came on, but I was in such shock I couldn’t think what message to leave.
I hung up.”

  “Have you been in contact with Ethel since?” Steve asked.

  “Late that night she called from the hotel,” Eleanor said. “She was very upset. Finding him dead, stabbed like that, who wouldn’t be? I went to the funeral of course, but didn’t have much chance to talk to her. I’m kind of waiting until she’s ready to have a heart-to-heart. I’m still recovering myself, so I understand. Who could have done such a thing? Do you know who murdered Tom?”

  “We’re still investigating,” Steve said. “Haven’t found the murder weapon yet.”

  “I hope you do,” Eleanor said. “It might have fingerprints, right?”

  “Right.” Steve smiled. “Thank you. What you’ve told us may be helpful.”

  A look of guilt crossed Eleanor’s face. “Please don’t let my sister know that I told you about her fib years ago. She can fly into a fury sometimes, and I don’t want her mad at me. We were all so young then. With Tom gone, I don’t want that to come between us.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Steve said.

  After bidding Eleanor goodbye, Steve and Claudia got back into the unmarked Charger.

  Claudia asked, “You think Hal repeated ‘Shoulda married you’ at home, and Ethel heard him? But I can’t believe she’d kill her husband over something a parrot said.”

  “We know Ethel’s alibi about playing bingo was a lie,” Steve replied. “She probably remembered Eleanor would be at the Wheaton senior center at that time, and she could claim it was her. Apparently it wasn’t well-known that Ethel had a twin.”

  “But I just can’t believe Ethel could be capable of murder. Maybe she only said she was at bingo because she knew that, being the spouse, she’d be the prime suspect.” Claudia looked at Steve. “What about Greg Owen, Tom’s business partner? Mia thought he had a motive and a fiery temper, too.”

  “Owen was arrested today for embezzlement,” Steve informed her. “We’re still looking into his whereabouts at the time of the murder.”

  “It must have been him,” Claudia said with confidence. “Would a woman who sewed her own clothes and loved her cat so dearly murder her husband of forty-four years?”

  Steve glanced at her, his eyes full of caring patience. “You’d be surprised. We need to talk to Ethel again.”

  “Now?”

  “No time like the present,” Steve said. “By the way, your hair looks very nice.”

  “Think so? The hairstylist braided it.”

  “Looks poetic. You could be the graceful, sweet heroine in a Jane Austen movie.”

  “Thank you,” Claudia replied, surprised and pleased at such a romantic compliment. How many men would say something so charming?

  She realized she had to face an undeniable truth: Steve was a keeper.

  CHAPTER seven

  Somebody at the Door

  They drove to the Briarwood Arms, but unfortunately Steve and Claudia found that Ethel was not there. The woman behind the reception desk said she saw Ethel leave about an hour before.

  “I’ll take you home then,” Steve told Claudia. “I’ve got some things to catch up on at the station.”

  He dropped her off, saying he’d see her later. Claudia unlocked her front door to find Knickerbocker sitting just inside the threshold looking up at her with his emerald eyes, as if to say, Where have you been?

  “Hi, sweetie.” She picked up the big, fluffy Maine Coon to give him a cuddle. He seemed perfectly at home now, as if he no longer remembered his former house. Claudia reminded herself to write to Sue Ember and tell her Knickerbocker was doing well.

  After taking off her wool overcoat, she played with the cat, dangling his favorite ribbon in front of him. But he soon got bored in his feline way and jumped up on the couch, no doubt for another snooze. Somehow reluctant to check on Jasmine and Hal in the guest room, Claudia reached for her jump rope coiled by the bookcase, telling herself some exercise might calm her apprehensive feelings about Ethel.

  She was just breaking into a sweat when her phone rang. Tossing the jump rope onto an easy chair, she picked up her cell phone. “Hello.”

  “Claudia? It’s Steve.”

  “Hi.” At that moment, her bell rang. “Oh, somebody’s at the door. Can you wait?”

  “Sure.”

  “Hold on, I’ll be quick.”

  She opened the door to find Ethel standing there. Claudia instantly made an effort to disguise her shock. “Ethel,” she said in a robust voice, still holding the cell phone, hoping Steve could overhear. She forced a smile. “I tried to visit you at the hotel a little while ago.”

  “I went shopping to buy some clothes,” Ethel began in her talkative manner. “Didn’t have a chance to take much out of my closets, and I don’t want to go to the house. I was nearby and thought I’d stop and ask if I could visit Jasmine. Just for a few minutes, that’s all. Today is your afternoon off, isn’t it? The clinic closes early?”

  “Yes,” Claudia said, deeply uneasy about letting her in. “Jasmine is fine. I’m afraid it’s not a good time.” She held up the phone. “I’m on an important call.”

  “Oh, you just go ahead and talk,” Ethel said, stepping in front of Claudia into the living room as Knickerbocker ran into the dining room. “I’ll only be a minute. Just want to see my baby. Where is she?” Ethel unbuttoned her faux-fur collared overcoat and draped it over an easy chair.

  “I’ve got her in my guest room.” Claudia was at a loss as to how to get rid of the woman.

  Ethel chuckled, straightening her red sweater over her wool pants. “Of course. She is your guest. I knew you would take excellent care of her until I’m settled somewhere. You’re very kind, and I so appreciate it.”

  As Ethel crossed the living room, looking around, Claudia held the cell phone to her ear with trembling fingers and softly said, “Did you hear?”

  “On my way. Don’t go near her!” She heard the click as Steve ended the call.

  “Where did you say?” Ethel asked, looking confused.

  “The guest room’s this way.” Claudia started heading in that direction, trying to sound friendly, yet keeping several feet of distance between them. Her heart was beating fast with anxiety. “Have you started looking at apartments or condos?”

  “I looked at a couple of condos, but they didn’t suit me.”

  Claudia carefully opened the door of the guest room and peeked in. She saw Jasmine curled up on the bed, but couldn’t spot where Hal was. She’d been leaving his cage open and he wasn’t in it.

  “She’s on the bed. Go on in.” She opened the door fully so Ethel could enter. Claudia stayed near the door.

  Jasmine sat up and walked across the bed toward Ethel, who was saying, “There’s my Jasmine. There’s my pretty girl.”

  Claudia watched them, relaxing a little, until all at once she saw a movement from the corner of her eye. She looked up, and at the top of a bookcase, Hal was flapping his wings in agitation.

  “Wrong Sister. Wrong Sister. No don’t!” The parrot suddenly took off and hurled itself at Ethel. It dive bombed her hair, digging its claws into her scalp, screeching.

  “Stop! Get away!” Ethel waved her hands around her head trying to fend the bird off.

  Claudia watched in horror. “You did it, didn’t you?” she said, her voice breathless.

  “Let me out of here!” Ethel screamed. She turned and ran into the living room, but the bird came after her.

  “No don’t!” the bird screeched, landing on her shoulder, then biting her earlobe, drawing blood.

  As Ethel headed to the front door, Claudia caught up to her, extended her foot and tripped the older woman. Ethel fell to the floor face down, the bird still biting and sinking its claws into her neck and head. Though Claudia wanted to get the angry parrot away from her, she knew it was more important to keep Ethel from escaping. Or from trying to murder her. She grabbed her jump rope off the nearby chair and tied Ethel’s hands behind her back with one end of the rope.

  “I’m callin
g the police,” Claudia told her as she pulled her cell phone from her pants pocket.

  “No!” Ethel continued to turn her head this way and that to dodge the enraged parrot.

  “You killed Tom!” Claudia exclaimed as she dialed 911.

  “He deserved it!” Ethel screamed, lifting her head off the carpet. “Get this bird off of me, for pity’s sake!”

  All at once the front door opened and Steve walked in. He took one look at Ethel tied up and struggling against the parrot. “Good work, Claudia.”

  “I called 911,” Claudia told him, showing him her phone.

  “I’ll take it.”

  As he spoke to the emergency operator, Claudia hurried to her linen cupboard in the hall and grabbed a pillow case. She opened it up and took the crazed parrot by surprise, closing him up inside. Hal grew quiet, suddenly encased in darkness. Taking the captured bird to the guest room, she left him on the bed, still in the pillow case, figuring it would take a minute before he found his way out of it. Meanwhile, Jasmine hopped off the bed and ran out into the living room before Claudia could close the door on Hal. She followed as the Himalayan moved toward Ethel on the floor, sniffing at her and meowing.

  Ethel turned her head to the cat. “Oh, Jasmine.” She looked up at Steve. “I’m going to jail, aren’t I?”

  “Yes.” He gave Claudia her phone, then crouched behind Ethel to handcuff her and remove the rope. “Squad car is on the way. We have evidence. Security cameras at an intersection in downtown Briarwood show your car and your license plate there at the time you claimed you were in Wheaton playing bingo. We know that was your twin sister. You murdered your husband, left, maybe changed out of bloody clothes, then came back later and called 911, pretending you’d discovered him dead.”

  “Security cameras?” Claudia said. “You didn’t mention that.”

  “Got the report at the station a little while ago,” he explained. “That’s what I was calling to tell you.”

  “Why did you kill Tom?” Claudia asked Ethel.