Un-Fur-tunate Events (Vanessa Abbot Cat Cozy Mystery Series Book 4)

by Nancy C. Davis

  “At the park?” Vanessa nodded. “I know, or any number of places around town that don’t require a long drive. But they came here. And do you want to know the strangest part of their argument? When Jerry lost his temper and threatened to leave, he said he wouldn’t be their patsy any more.”

  Pete scribbled in his notebook. “What business did they say they were in?”

  “They never said.” Vanessa answered. “We didn’t discuss that when they arrived. They only introduced themselves and their job titles. That’s all they told me before they went off by themselves.”

  Pete’s focus never waivered from the line of people next to the van. “It sounds like Jerry knows something about them that we don’t. Why would he be so upset at a picnic that he needed to leave? Frankly, what kind of business needs to sneak off to a remote location outside of town to conduct a meeting?”

  “If I had to guess,” Vanessa replied, “I would say a crooked one. When Jerry lost his temper, Steve cautioned Jerry that he couldn’t claim to be innocent because he knew upfront what they were getting into. I definitely wouldn’t be involved with a business like that.”

  Pete nodded. “Do you remember what Steve’s role is in the company?”

  “He is the treasurer. They don’t seem like the type of people who are going to just tell you where the money is hidden.”

  Pete scoffed. “I see what you mean. If they’re that dirty, they probably won’t want to tell me about it.”

  “I have an idea,” Vanessa suggested. “Why don’t I invite them into the house for a cup of tea. I can offer it as a way to comfort them after the death of their friend. You can come with us, just as a comforting influence, you understand. They might start talking.”

  Pete smiled at her. “I’m always glad to work with you. You’re twice the detective I am.”

  “You don’t have to say that,” Vanessa replied. “Although, I’ll tell you one more thing.”

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “When they first showed up, I thought it was strange that they wanted to go off by themselves,” Vanessa remarked. “The cats were with me on the porch, and they thought it was strange, too. Flossy and Aurora decided to follow them, and listened to their conversation.”

  Pete frowned. “Are you telling me your cats know what they were arguing about?”

  “Flossy was pretty vague when she came back,” Vanessa told him. “Maybe later, Aurora can give me a clue to what made those people start fighting the way they did.”

  Pete turned away. “Let’s go with your comforting idea.”

  Vanessa hooked her arm through his elbow, and they started back toward the house. “It’s nice to have you here.”

  “I’ve missed you, too,” he murmured. “I can no longer drop in on you at the shop whenever I want to. Now I have to wait for a murder case to drive out here to talk to you.”

  “You don’t have to wait for a murder case,” she laughs. “You’re welcome any time. Why don’t you come over for dinner sometime? How about tonight?”

  His face broke into a smile. “You’re not too busy, are you?”

  “You know how I am. I’m never busy doing anything except feeding and caring for my cats.”

  She dropped his arm when they stepped around the minivan into the presence of the four suspects. Andrea kept her hands behind her back and pushed herself up off the van’s side panel. She fell back onto her hands and did the same thing again. She looked around and fidgeted whenever she noticed one of the cats staring at her. Steve uttered to Sabrina about how long it took to make those sandwiches that are now being bagged as evidence.

  Frank hooked his thumbs into his pockets and smiled at Pete and Vanessa. “Can we go now, Detective? We have a long drive back to town.”

  Vanessa stepped in. “Why don’t you all come up to the house for a cup of tea? You’ve been through a terrible ordeal with the loss of your friend. Give yourselves a few minutes to recover before you race off.”

  The visitors exchanged glances. Sabrina checked her watch. “I really must get back to my boyfriend.”

  Frank returned his affable gaze to Vanessa. “We really have to get going, but okay. Just for a moment.”

  Vanessa led the way up onto the porch and into the main sitting room. “Do you have an appointment in town?”

  “It’s not that,” Frank replied. “We only came out here for a picnic lunch and a quiet walk through the trees. We had to wait for the ambulance crew to take Jerry away, and now we’ve been talking to that other detective all this time. It’s been almost four hours since we got here.”

  “I will be right back with some tea. It will be just a moment.” Vanessa hurried to the kitchen. Pete and the others sat silently across from each other in the sitting room. AngelPie weaved herself through the legs of the guests and hopped onto Andrea’s lap. Andrea was a bit taken aback, but didn’t stop the cat from curling up on top of her legs. Andrea couldn’t repress a smile as she stroked the back of the cat.

  “If you don’t mind me asking,” Vanessa asked as she arrived with a kettle of tea and a tray of cups for all the guests. “What sort of business are you in? You didn’t say when you introduced yourselves earlier.”

  The group looked at each other.

  Frank finally answered. “We run a foundation that connects people across the country with viable organ donation. We work directly with hospitals to create a network of necessity. It quickly connects patients to the hospitals that can save their lives. It’s all about public service.”

  “It sounds like a very charitable organization,” Vanessa remarked. “I hope the Cat Sanctuary was able to inspire a productive business meeting.”

  Frank nodded. “We take our employees well-being into account. People shouldn’t be stuck at a desk day in and day out. They need the open air to be as productive as possible. We help others, but we can’t forget about the health of the people working for us.”

  Andrea spoke up. “We only recently started holding these meetings outdoors.”

  Frank turned to her with a foul look, and she shrank into silence.

  “What else can you tell me about your foundation?” Vanessa asked. “Did you start this network yourselves?”

  Frank said, “Yes,” and Andrea said, “No,” at the same time. But after another intense look from Frank, Andrea took a sip of tea and stared down at AngelPie resting in her lap. She didn’t say another word.

  Frank turned to Vanessa. “I didn’t start this network, but I was the one who created the foundation. A mentor of mine back in Pennsylvania was the one who inspired me. He was a colleague of mine and he struggled to find a donor match to save his life. Even though I was a hospital administrator at the time, I could do nothing to help him. I swore after that experience to find a solution. I was the one who made the first contact with the individuals that could offer help.”

  Vanessa nodded. “I would be very interested to learn more, and maybe I have something to offer your foundation.”

  “At the moment, we have all the help we need.” Frank stood up, and the others followed. “I’m delighted that you are interested, but we are a private foundation. If you do want to help, you could register as a organ donor.”

  Vanessa agreed.

  “Thank you for the tea, but we really should be headed back now.” Frank motioned for the others to leave.

  Pete and Vanessa escorted the visitors to their van and waved goodbye to them.

  “What do you make of that?” Pete asked after the van rolled away.

  “If you ask me,” Vanessa replied, “People that use words like ‘network of necessity’ are not just about public service. It sounds like they have the opportunity to profit from people in need. They had to shut Jerry up before he broke the whole thing wide open.”

  Pete cocked his head to one side. “What makes you say that?”

  “Frank talks about bringing people together who are in need,” Vanessa stated. “But when he was out there arguing with Jerry, he sa
id Jerry would calm down after his next pay-out. I don’t know how they are profiting from their foundation, but I do know there is a lot of money involved. How else do you explain it?”

  Pete nodded. “I wasn’t here for that exchange, but now that you mention it, it make sense.”

  “How are you going to handle Jerry’s case?” she asked. “How are you going to figure out who killed him?”

  He peeked at her out of the corner of his eye. “Any ideas?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know how I can be much help to you. I’m way out here now.”

  “You’re already a big help to me,” Pete said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “You saw the victim fall, and you were there when he died. You can help me sort this out the same way you helped me with the other cases.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” she replied.

  “See if you can get anything out of Flossy and Aurora.” He started to walk towards his car but turned back to Vanessa. “I will let you know if I’ll be late for our dinner.”

  “Please do.” Vanessa smiled and wave goodbye.

  Chapter 3

  Vanessa put the big stew pot on the stove and turned on the gas. “Tell us Flossy, what were those people talking about during their picnic?”

  Flossy sat on a chair at the kitchen table and licked her paw.

  “I only wish you could tell me word for word what they said,” Vanessa went on. “It might have sounded like a bunch of business nonsense to you, but it could answer a lot of questions about this case.”

  Flossy finished washing herself and tucked her paws under her body on the chair. She blinked a few times and then closed her eyes.

  “Help me out, Flossy,” Vanessa said. “I haven’t seen Aurora since the police left the sanctuary.”

  At those words, the kitten appeared in the doorway. Aurora glanced around and then scampered toward the pantry.

  Vanessa spun around and called after her. “Please come back here, Aurora. If you know what those people said, please come and tell me. Flossy had been more concerned with the squirrels than listening to the group’s discussion.”

  Aurora stuck her head out of the pantry and pulled it back in again.

  Vanessa stared at the empty door. “What do you mean, Aurora? You had nothing to do with Jerry’s death.”

  She waited, but Aurora didn’t show her face again.

  Vanessa reassured Aurora. “His fall was an accident, but you might help with solving his murder. Please come out of the pantry.”

  The stew pot trembled slightly as the water boiled on the stove. Vanessa glared at the door until a floorboard creaked in the hall and Henry entered the kitchen. He looked around and then crossed to the water dish near the back door.

  “Of course, she would ask you what the word ‘investigation’ meant. She’s just a kitten.” Vanessa remarked.

  Henry lapped at the water and sneezed.

  Vanessa went back to chopping onions and garlic on the kitchen counter.

  “What else did she ask about? An investigation would explain why they were meeting in a secluded spot.”

  Henry licked his whiskers and studied her.

  Vanessa held her knife suspended over the cutting board. “Thank you, Henry, that was very helpful for you to bring up. Aurora, why was the group talking about an investigation?”

  Vanessa walked over to the pantry and scooped up the kitten. Aurora blinked and turned away. Vanessa found an empty chair at the table and placed her onto it.

  Aurora placed her head between her paws.

  “It involved a list?” Vanessa asked. “That must be referring to the network of donor recipients.”

  Aurora turned around on the chair and then changed her mind. She jumped down to the floor and walked over to the cat door. She glanced at Vanessa over her shoulder.

  “If the mention of the donor list is what upset Jerry, I heard the rest of what happened.” Vanessa told her. “I could hear his shouts from the porch.”

  Aurora darted through the cat door and vanished into the grass outside.

  The noise of a car engine entered through the open window, and Vanessa dropped her knife. “More visitors. I never expected so many people on the first day.”

  She dried her hands on a towel, but when she got to the front porch, she stopped.

  “Oh, hello again.”

  Andrea Morton climbed out of a bright red Volkswagen Bug and hitched her handbag over her shoulder. She glanced around. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

  Vanessa shook her head. “I was just preparing dinner. What can I do for you?”

  “I have misplaced my medication,” Andrea told her. “I was going to look for it where we had lunch this afternoon.”

  “The police might have logged it in as evidence,” Vanessa replied.

  Andrea sighed. “That was the last of my prescription. Do you mind if I just take a look?”

  Vanessa nodded her head. “Of course you can. You’ll have a better chance of finding it if I come with you.”

  Andrea narrowed her eyes at Vanessa. “How nice of you.”

  Henry and AngelPie followed behind them as they made their way across the lawn.

  “Frank never told me the name of your foundation?” Vanessa asked.

  “It’s called the Frank Morton Foundation.” Andrea burst out laughing. “Frank isn’t known for his modesty.”

  Vanessa shrugged. “It’s not that bad.”

  “It’s Frank’s foundation,” Andrea told her. “But the people who work for him are doing important work.”

  Vanessa and Andrea reached the edge of the woods where the group had the picnic earlier that afternoon.

  “Were you the one who prepared the picnic lunch?” Vanessa asked.

  “No, if it had been up to me, I would have picked up deli sandwiches.” Andrea replied.

  “Oh, someone made the lunch?” Vanessa inquired. “That was quite a picnic. Who would have gone to that much trouble? Sabrina?”

  “She couldn’t boil an egg if her life depended on it.” Andrea snapped.

  AngelPie brushed against Andrea’s legs. Andrea stooped down and stroked the back of AngelPie.

  “Steve is a great cook. He wouldn’t stop complaining that we didn’t finish the sandwiches he made for the picnic. I joked that the police took his sandwiches into evidence just so they could eat them. Sometimes I think he takes his meals too seriously. For a holiday party, I brought in a tray of cupcakes. He wouldn’t touch them when he found out they were store bought.”

  “I would prefer a homemade sandwich over a store bought one any day,” Vanessa pointed out.

  “Jerry was the same way…” Andrea trailed off before quietly searching the grass in

  front of her. “I suspect that you are probably right. The police must have picked up the bottle. I’ll just stop by the police station on my way home.”

  “They won’t release it to you. It’s now part of the investigation of Jerry’s death.” Vanessa informed her.

  Andrea’s eyes widen. “Why wouldn’t they release it? Jerry died of a seizure.”

  “The police suspect that he was murdered.” Vanessa replied.

  “Who would want to kill Jerry? He worked so well with everyone.” Andrea gasped.

  “What was Jerry’s role in the foundation?” Vanessa asked.

  “He was the CEO. Jerry had been part of the foundation since the beginning.” Andrea turned to walk back to her car.

  “Did Jerry and Frank work together before the foundation was created?” Vanessa asked.

  “No, Jerry was hired by Frank because he worked at an organ donation center. Jerry had years of experience working directly with hospitals. He had made connections with hospitals all over the country.”

  “Can I ask you a question, Andrea?” Vanessa asked. “How does the foundation actual work?”

  “We help connect the hospitals who have potential donors to the patient candidates who have been waiting sometimes months for a viable organ repl
acement.” Andrea said.

  “So, you have a list of patients?” Vanessa asked. “Who is the one responsible for that?”

  Andrea stopped in front of her Volkswagen Bug and turned to Vanessa. “Jerry organized the list for the foundation. He and Frank would work out the logistics of linking transplant recipients with hospitals.”

  “Do you assist them with talking to patients or hospitals?” Vanessa asked.

  “No, I just take care of our public relations.”