Chapter 7
Technically Deirdre was supposed to be doing anything but babysitting a kitten that morning. She had to send out the newsletter, an act that required a lot of concentration. She had finally learned to work in the template the designer had made for her. Yet testing and sending out the finished product to subscribers never failed to make her sweat. She and technology had come a long way towards understanding each other but they certainly weren’t best friends.
And Clem was making the situation even harder. He was having one of those days where there seemed no limit to his energy. He kept getting in the shelves, knocking over rows of books, walking over the computer keyboards and causing the programs to freeze up, trying to dash out the door whenever someone came in, having a wee in the potted plants and attempting to sharpen his claws on the window frames.
Deirdre was constantly rushing out of her office and trying to bat him away from destroying library property. Taylor was mostly ineffective in this regard. Then again, Clem wasn’t her responsibility. Deirdre was beginning to question her decision to allow a kitten into her life.
She could tell that Joe agreed. He snoozed in his cat bed by the window, occasionally opening a lazy eye that said I told you so.
Flipper, meanwhile, followed Clem everywhere, looking anxious. He could tell the kitten was doing bad things and making Dee upset but he wasn’t sure how to prevent the carnage. He kept looking at her with those big round yellow eyes that said: “Mama, don’t be upset at the kitten. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
Deirdre was just in the process of pulling Clem out of the self-help section when Sam burst in the door. His cheeks were ruddy from the cold and he was bundled up in a navy fleece and scarf. He inclined his head towards Dee’s office and she followed him in.
They stood apart for a moment, a bit awkward after their earlier fallout. “I came directly here after I heard,” Sam started. “They found Misty in James Park. She passed away and it looks like from foul play.”
Deirdre stood stock still for a moment, trying to absorb the news. “That’s horrible. How … how did they find her?”
“Jason White found her in the park. He called the cops.”
“Jason? What in heaven’s name? Sam, we have to go to the spot.”
He didn’t put up a fight. Dee grabbed her coat and the cats and told Tay that she was going out for an hour.
As soon as they were shut up in the car Dee’s mind starting working. “I’ve heard of Jason White before. Isn’t he infamous for his … um behavior?”
Sam cocked a bushy eyebrow in her direction. “You mean being arrested for weird stuff? Yeah. Remember the time when they found him spray painting certain, er, body parts on the side of the community center?”
“Or the time he got drunk, wore a cop Halloween costume and pretended to arrest people?”
“And then was arrested himself? Who could forget? He sure has a talent for getting himself into trouble.”
Deirdre laughed sourly. “The worst thing is that his mother and I used to be good friends in elementary school, you remember? The poor woman always looks embarrassed whenever I run into her at the supermarket. She hasn’t had an easy time of things. Her husband divorced her and she was left to raise Jason. I remember he was accused of letting chickens loose into the school one morning.”
“He’s creative in his crime,” Sam remarked.
“The question is, what was he doing in Jones Park with Misty’s body?”
“That’s the question. Doesn’t look great with his history.”
A squawk from the backseat pulled Deirdre out of the conversation. She looked into the backseat to see Clem chewing on Flipper’s ears. The poor cat just sat there, round eyed and slightly terrified-looking, letting the kitten do as he would.
“Cut it out!” Dee said, trying to swat him away.
The ginger cat was just a little bit out of reach. Joe gave her a knowing look, went over and grabbed Clem, picked him up and deposited him away from Flipper. Poor Flip sighed and curled back up into a ball, looking woebegone. Clem shook his head as if resettling his fur and swatted at Joe lazily. The tabby gave him a smart bonk on the head that made the kitten crouch down, finally forced into submission.
“You show him,” Dee said approvingly. “Someone has to teach him some manners or we’re all going to have nerves like shredded paper by the end of the week.”
Sam laughed. “Kittens sure are a handful, aren’t they? Imagine what it would have been like to have kids.”
Dee sighed. “Well, that’s what I wanted at one time.”
Sam patted her knee soothingly. “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I seem to just be foot in the mouth all the time lately.”
“It’s alright. I’m none too graceful with my choice of words either.”
Up ahead was the sheriff’s cruiser, an ambulance and a host of onlookers. Sam parked. They got out and the first thing Dee spotted was Jason White’s mother, standing outside the crowd, twisting her scarf in her hands and looking mighty anxious.
“I won’t bother the sheriff,” Dee said. “But I think it’s time we chat with Blanche White. Maybe she knows how it was her son happened to find Misty.”
They parked and headed over to Blanche, who looked happy to have someone to chat to.
“Deirdre! How are you? I haven’t spoken to you in so long.”
The women hugged. Blanche had short lank brown layered hair and a round, anxious face. She had worked since high school as a receptionist in the local elementary school and had stayed there ever since. She had two other children who were now adults and had moved away and started families in other parts of the state. She and her husband had divorced years ago and she lived in a small house in town with Jason. Jason, unlike his sisters, had never moved out and though at least he supported himself and his mother by working in construction.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Blanche said after she’d hugged Sam too. “Poor Jason, to have found a body.” She shivered visibly.
Poor Jason? thought Deirdre. What about Misty?
“What happened?” Sam asked.
“He was driving to a job and needed to take a leak. You know boys. He went in the woods and spotted her almost right away. Hard to miss. Called the cops.”
“And where’s he now?”
Blanche shook her head sadly. “The local police have taken him for questioning. They called in a crime scene unit from out of town and they’re on site now.”
Sam and Deirdre snuck a look at each other. “Well, I imagine they just want to get all the details from Jason so they can figure out who did this,” Dee said.
Blanche’s eyes went red and glassy. “I hope that’s everything. I know Jason has done some funny things in the past and that might make the cops suspicious. But he would never hurt anyone. Poor boy, he’s only been acting out because his dad left when he was so young. But that’s just it – acting out. Nothing worse.”
She sniffled sharply and then began to cry into her hands. People in the crowd were beginning to look at her.
“Come, you shouldn’t be here. It’s too hard on you,” Deirdre said, taking her around the shoulders. “Let’s get you home.”
They put Blanche in Sam’s truck and drove her back home, the three cats crawling all over her with interest. She petted them absently but she wasn’t much of a cat person, which of course made them even more affectionate. Thankfully, the ride wasn’t long and soon they were pulling in front of a little gray house.
Chapter 8
The inside of Blanche’s home was cozy and neat, the house of a woman dedicated to cleaning and collecting. There were little shelves full of thimbles, a rack of novelty spoons, tiny embroidered cushions and handmade crocheted afghans thrown over the sofa. A big flat-screen TV sat in the corner and a magazine about soap opera stars was open on the coffee table.
Sam sat Blanche on her sofa and put one of her blankets around her shoulders. Deirdre set about maki
ng chamomile tea with honey and brought out a big pot for all of them. The cats milled about, clearly fascinated by the thick brown shag carpet that covered the living room floor. They pawed and scratched at it.
Flipper quickly tired of the fun, though, and curled up on a floral-pattern armchair with a pillow that said “My Heart Lives in Maine.” Then Clem got distracted and started just batting at Joe who looked royally annoyed that he couldn’t attack the carpet in peace.
Blanche ignored the cats’ antics, busying herself instead with dotting her eyes with tissue.
“I’m sorry you two, it’s just been quite the shock,” she said finally. “Jason has been doing so well lately. He’s got a contract doing road repair on Highway 10 and he’s been drinking less, bless his heart. Trying to turn himself around. You know, it was really the drinking that was making him so all those silly things he did. His father was a drinker too.” Blanche dabbed her eyes again, looking completely forlorn.
“Did Jason know Misty?” Deirdre asked gently.
She shook her head furiously. “Absolutely not! They’ve never even met, far as I know. I mean, everyone knows who she is. But they weren’t friends.”
Deirdre paused and took a sip of the hot, soothing tea. A question came to her. “You said Jason has been working on Highway 10. The road out to Jones Park doesn’t go to Highway 10. Why do you think he was out there?”
Blanche went pale and dabbed at her eyes even harder. “I, I’m not sure,” she faltered. “I’m sure he had a good reason. Maybe he was going to pick up a friend.”
Dee thought that explanation sounded a bit off. First off, Jason should already have been at work when he found Misty. Second, there weren’t a lot of homes on the route out to Jones Park. So who could he have been visiting?
“He’s never been good at leaving on time,” Blanche added hastily. “I mean, I did get him out at a decent hour this morning. He probably stopped for coffee and breakfast, though. He’s not perfect, my Jason, but he’s a good boy at heart.”
Neither were there any restaurants on the way out to Jones Park. Still, pushing Blanche in her distraught condition wouldn’t do much good. Dee switched the conversation to idle chitchat.
A couple of cups of tea later, Deirdre excused herself to go to the washroom. It was down a long dark hall with bedrooms off to the side. Joe trotted after her, as he often did. He was a bit of a dog in that way – always following her – though his natural curiosity was probably to blame too.
He raced off ahead of Deirdre and into one of the bedrooms. Dee sighed and followed him, intent on shooing him out. She immediately saw that he had gone into what must be Jason’s bedroom. There were posters on the wall of rock groups. The room was incredibly messy, with clothes strewn everywhere but the laundry hamper. The bed was unmade and crumpled cans of soda covered the chest of drawers.
Joe sprinted around the room as if looking for something. Dee dashed forward, trying to capture him, but he was far too agile for her. He finally landed on the desk where he began to bat at something with his little striped paw. Before Dee could intervene, Clem streaked into the room, flung himself up onto the desk and crashed right into Joe.
The tabby's ears went back and he growled. Clem shook himself and put out a cheeky paw to play with whatever had occupied Joe a minute before. Joe's eyes widened and he swatted at Clem who didn't even flinch.
Deirdre moved in, eager to ward off a showdown. As she went to scoop them up the object they'd been playing with caught her eye. It was pink, which was strange. She peered at it closer. It looked to be a charm of pink beads on a string, the kind of thing you tied to old cell phones. It also had little white square beads. Dee looked even closer. The letters on them spelled “MISTY.”
Dee didn't know what to do. She couldn't just take the charm. Jason could have it for any number of reasons. And Blanche was her friend. How could she just take the thing and march off to the police, trumpeting Jason’s possible guilt? It was a tricky situation.
Dee decided to just leave the charm there and scooped up the cats, one under each arm.
Sam and Blanche were still chitchatting when Dee reappeared. Blanche looked tired so she suggested they head out and call later in the day. Joe got into the car and directed death glares at the kitten, who took the hint and stayed far away.
Clem instead directed his energies towards poor Flipper by nipping and batting his flicking tail. As soon as they drove off, Dee told Sam what she had found in Jason’s bedroom.
“What do I do? I can't just call up Sheriff Daniels. I don't want to stir up controversy for nothing.”
“But what if it's not nothing?” Sam looked over at her briefly with those sky-blue eyes of his. “Jason knew her and he found her body. What if those things are linked? And how did Jason just stumble on Misty? The woods are awfully big for that.”
Dee raised an eyebrow at him. “Now you’re the suspicious one? That's a turn of events. Usually I'm the one with the crazy theories.”
“Blanche was your friend at school. You don't want her son to be the one to kill Misty.”
He was right. “Alright well, if he did it why's he calling the cops on himself?”
“That's where my imagination falters.”
Dee reached back to shoo Clem away from Flipper again, who was mewling pitifully for help. “To deflect suspicion I guess. Or maybe he goes to check on the body and someone sees him parked there and he thinks it better to just fess up before he gets reported. Or maybe he wanted some kind of acknowledgement for what he did – I think we both know he’s a pretty strange guy. Anyway, who knows? There’s no evidence to support any of these theories. That’s the frustrating thing.”
Sam sighed. “Why don’t you go talk to Sheriff Davis? See what he knows or even suspects. Then decide if you need to say anything about the cell phone charm.”
Sam parked in front of the library. Dee threw her arms around Sam for a quick hug. “What would I do without you, Watson?”
He hugged her back. She stayed in his embrace for a moment, enjoying feeling of his arms around her – so warm and solid. He still smelled like wood chips no matter where he was. She let go reluctantly.
“Isn’t it rumored that Watson and Holmes were involved?” Sam teased.
Dee rolled her eyes though she felt a slight blush spreading over her cheeks. “You've been surfing the Internet too much. Dream on, Romeo.”
She and the cats went back in. Dee felt him waiting to make sure she got in okay, even though it wasn't even dark.
Why do I always push him away? she thought. It doesn't get any better than Sam.
Plopping the cats down in her office, she shut the door and sat down at her desk. She flipped her computer back on and tried to focus on the scores of emails that needed her attention. Still, she couldn’t focus. She sat back and stared out the window.
You know why you push him away, a voice said. Because you can lose your partners but it's so much harder to lose your friends. And losing Sam would be the worst thing in the world.
Chapter 9
Dee eventually managed to push thoughts of Sam away that afternoon. There was just way too much work to be done. She managed to wrestle with the e-newsletter and send it out while sipping a delicious Lemon Zinger tea with plenty of honey. Seeing the newsletter eventually land in her own inbox, all nicely designed and without a single spelling error, filled her with pride and did wonders for her mood.
She then set about copy and pasting some of the text into the template for the paper newsletter. No need to re-invent the wheel. She’d have to write a feature about the summer day camp they’d hosted, though. There were plenty of photos to include so she spent a pleasant half hour sifting through goofy photos of excited kids doing crafts and reading their favorite books.
Thankfully, the cats were good that afternoon and let her concentrate. They were tuckered out from the excitement at Blanche’s house and had managed to squish into the cat bed together. It melted Dee’s heart to see them all
mashed together into a sleeping furry pile, their ears twitching as they dreamed. Clem was folded into Flipper’s fluffy white belly, his little pink nose covered by a tiny paw. Joe was spooning Flipper, his tabby head tucked in neatly against the big cat’s ample back.
The light began to fade outside and long golden rays of light began to light up the red maples outside her window so that they looked like they were on fire. She became distracted and sat a moment just watching the breeze blowing through the leaves, sending them scattering over the still-green grass. Bright yellow leaves from the nearby alders mixed with the red ones on the ground.
Fall was Dee’s favorite season. She started thinking about going home and making apple pies to freeze for the winter. There was nothing better than a hot pie smelling of cinnamon and apples in the middle of a cold January day.
This idea was quickly replaced by another, less savory thought: why exactly was Jason in those woods? And why did he have that cell charm? Dee realized that if Misty was her cousin she would want to know about that charm. Just as she owed Blanche her discretion, she owed the Browns her forthrightness. She had to talk to the sheriff immediately.
She handed over the after-5 p.m. shift to Taylor, packed the cats into the car and drove off to the police station.
Davis was at his desk as usual, deep in file folders and surrounded by old cups of coffee. He frowned when he saw Dee come in but he at least made an effort after to smile.
“Deirdre, I was expecting you.”
She plunked down opposite him. The cats roamed the office freely. “I heard about Misty.”
Davis shook his head slowly. “A bad business. You heard Jason White found her?”
“I did. Ran into Blanche and took her home. She was right worried.”
Davis leaned back and sighed heavily. “As strange boy is her Jason. We’ve had him in for questioning already but we let him go for now.”
Murder in Green Harbor (Deirdre The Cat Lady Sleuth Cozy Mystery Book 2) Page 4