“Roger, guess what? Lana is going to live with us for a while. You can play with your friend every day.” Mandy said as she prepared to leave.
Mandy showed up. As she arrived, Vance was outside, doing his security guard job. He asked Mandy about Roger.
“Hi Mandy. You're not taking Roger with you today, are you?”
“No Vance, today I'm picking up a cat to babysit while they work on fixing the spa.”
“That's very nice of you Mandy. I can see that you're a real cat lover. I can't wait to play with Roger on Saturday. I bought a Frisbee, I hope he likes it.”
Mandy remembered that she had to go by Vance's house. “Yes, I'm sure he will love chasing after it. I have to go Vance, Cynthia is waiting for me.”
“Ok, it was nice speaking to you.”
“Same here Vance.”
Mandy entered the spa. It was a noisy bustle of activity. The contractors were there and Jeffrey was having a conversation as to what needed to be done. He waved to Mandy as she came in, knowing that she was there to pick up Lana. Mandy went to the back where Lana's was waiting for her.
“Wow, you're just in time. Lana is ready for you.” Cynthia said.
“Great. I'm glad that she's in a comfortable carrier so that she doesn't feel cramped on the way home. I'm sure that she and Roger will get along. You should see them when I bring Roger over here.” Mandy said.
“I got a glimpse the other day, and they're definitely two mellow cats.” Cynthia said.
“Well, I'm sure they'll be the same at my house.” Mandy said.
“I've put a list together of what kind of diet she has, what are her favorite foods. She doesn't have any allergies, and she's a very clean cat.” Cynthia said.
“Well, I'm going to stop by the pet store in the mall and get a kitty litter exclusively for her. I'm sure they don't want to share the same kitty litter, and Roger may be get territorial.” Mandy said.
“Oh yes, I know that store, it's a great place.” Cynthia said.
“It sure is.” Mandy replied.
Mandy took the carrier with Lana and headed out. On the way out, Jeffrey saw her and he said:
“Mandy, I wanted to say, thank you for taking care of Lana. We were at a loss as to what to do with her, and now with this activity going on, it's not healthy for her to stay here. So, you're a big help, I truly appreciate it.”
“It's my pleasure Jeffrey. Roger, my cat, and her get along amazingly well, which is why I volunteered. If there was trouble, I never would take her, as much as I'd want to. But this is going to work out well.” Mandy replied.
“Great. Well, Cynthia will contact you, in the next couple of days, depending upon if we contact her owners, or if we get this place done sooner than later.” Jeffrey said.
Mandy left the spa with Lana and the excitement of knowing that Lana and Roger would be living under the same roof. It's possible Roger needed a friend all along. Whatever happened, she was sure that it would be a good experience for Roger.
Mandy finally arrived home. As she walked through the door with Lana in the carrier, she said for Roger's benefit:
“Roger, look who's here.”
Meows came from the cat carrier and Roger knew right away who they belonged to. Mandy opened it and Lana stepped out, like an astronaut stepping out of a capsule and looking at the alien environment.
“Roger, is this where you live? I can't believe I'm at your house. How did this happen, did you talk to Mandy?” Lana said to Roger.
“I'm not sure what happened. I heard your name being mentioned a couple of times, but I didn't know that Mandy was in the process of bringing you here. I'm really glad you came.” Roger said.
“It's as much a mystery to me. This morning, I recognized that this was your person, Mandy but I couldn't understand why she was picking me up. I figured she would bring me to my people. But my people are still not found.” Lana said.
“Whatever the reason, I'm glad you're here. C'mon, let's go on the sofa, it's a real comfortable place.” Roger said.
Mandy was watching the two of them as they headed to the sofa. She heard them mewing and figured that they were talking to each other. Then they jumped on the sofa.
“Well, it didn't take you both long to find the comfortable spot in the house.” Mandy said looking at how cute both of them looked on the couch.
Mandy called Jill so she could see this.
“Jill, you have to come over. They allowed me babysit Lana and you should see how cute they look. And they're getting along great. They're already sitting at the couch together.”
“I definitely want to see them. I also want to look at this notebook. I was doing research last night and this notebook could be a number of things, and none of them are good.” Jill said.
“Oh yes, definitely check out the notebook. Well, come on over and I'll make coffee and pastries.” Mandy said.
“Sounds good to me, I'll be right over.”
Ten minutes later Jill had arrived at Mandy's house.
“Well, there was no traffic, and I managed to get over here right away. Wow, look at those two.”
Roger and Lana were sitting on the sofa and Jill went over to pet them.
“Aren't you two a couple of gorgeous cats?” Jill stuck out her hand to see if Lana was uncomfortable, but no, she accepted being petted and moved her head so that Jill could access different parts of her neck.
“From my experience at the animal shelter, Lana is one friendly cat. She doesn't show signs of being spooked by strangers. And she appears to be very mellow as well. Well, I look forward to meeting the owners at some point.”
“Yep, I expected at least a mild standoff between Roger and Lana for a while, but she got out of the carrier and made herself quite at home.” Mandy said.
“So, let's see this notebook that you've been talking about, I've been dying to look through its contents ever since last night.” Jill said.
“Let me take it out of its hiding place.”
Mandy laid the notebook out on the table, and Jill started to turn the pages. Even though it was a collection of figures spanning the last five years, she still pored through it as though this was the most interesting book she had seen in her life.
“With the research I did last night, I bet this is some kind of money laundering operation. So, somehow that spa is involved with money laundering and it's possible that Karen was helping out. We don't know if the book belonged to her. We know it's not Cynthia, she's made no mention of it, so she's not a suspect.. But Jeffrey has to be in it, and possibly Karen was involved as well. It's not clear to me if this is the reason she was murdered, but this is certainly a motivation for that act. I wonder if Allen knew that Karen had a hand in the spa money laundering?” Jill said.
“It could be. What if she promised him a cut of the funds and when he didn't get paid, he got angry and killed her? It's possible that getting gypped out of the money and the jealousy of her flirting with these other men drove him to his breaking point and he snapped.” Mandy said.
“Yes, this notebook does give another dimension to Karen's murder. It may no longer be a domestic situation. It may go much deeper than that. The question is, do we give it to Fred now, or later?” Jill said.
“Well, I still want to study the latest entries. I figured when I let Fred have the notebook, I'll be in a position to translate for him what possibly happened and what it means.” Mandy said.
Jill eyed her suspiciously “For somebody that doesn't want to get involved in crimes, you sure have a funny way of going about it.” And then she laughed.
“Well, I can't help it. Look, who found the book? Me. It's not like I set out to find it, I saw some towels were out of place and decided to make them nice and neat and this thing popped out. And another coincidence, we meet Karen the day before she gets murdered. We haven't seen her for years and suddenly she appears in our lives. Again, we didn't seek that out, and yet, we met. I know we're not exactly the crime fighter type, but you g
otta admit, it's as though the universe is making this information available to us, so we can bring some kind of justice to the whole proceedings.” Mandy said, defensively and nervous.
“Well, don't keep it for too long, otherwise, Fred is will be mad at you.” Jill said.
“I'm sure he'll understand. I'll tell him I found this, I forgot about it and it may help with the investigation. Then if he has any questions, I'll say that it's a bookkeeping notebook and somebody had reason to keep a second set of books because they're engaging in something shady. And I'll say I found it in the spa. And let him go from there.” Mandy explained.
“Yeah, that should go over well. At the present time, he doesn't have any leads, except Allen, and he hasn't turned up yet. Jeffrey and Cynthia are going along as though nothing has happened and business has to continue marching on. Jeffrey is cleaning the spa and getting it ready for future business.” Jill said.
“Is it possible that Jeffrey killed her?” Mandy asked.
“I don't believe so. If Karen was doing the books, she was more valuable to him alive than dead. Plus he's been pretty non-chalant regarding the situation. Yes, he's upset and wants things to be as they were, but he's doing his best to keep things going. It's kind of dicey, it could go either way.” Jill said.
“We still can't rule out Allen. He's still missing in action. Considering the number of messages from the police and Cynthia, he should have responded by now, but no, he's nowhere to be found.” Mandy said.
“In the end, it may turn out to be him after all.” Jill said.
Chapter Fourteen
Cynthia called Mandy to get an update on Lana.
“Hi Mandy, just checking on how the cats are getting along.”
“They're doing fine. The moment I let Lana out of the pet carrier, she and Roger got together and now they're sitting together, as through they've been friends for years.” Mandy said.
“That's reassuring. I was hoping for the best and least something is working out. Listen Mandy, could I ask you for a big favor?” Cynthia said.
“What is it?” Mandy replied.
“Well, you're going to think I'm a coward, but I need to go to Karen's place to pick up some things that are mine and I didn't want to go there by myself. Since you've never been to Karen's place, I figured, you may want to check out where she lived and I get somebody to accompany me there so that I don't freak out going by myself.” Cynthia said.
“Oh, I totally understand. When do you want to do this?” Mandy asked.
“If you're not busy now, why don't you meet me in front of the spa in 20 minutes?” Cynthia said.
“Well, Jill is here too, let me ask if she wants to come along.”
“You want to go Karen's house? Cynthia has to pick up some of her things there and she's afraid to go alone.”
“I really want to come along and take a closer look at what kind of life Karen was living. However, I'm committed to going to the animal shelter and helping them out. I told them I'd there at two, and it's going on five to two. So, I'm late as it is.” Jill responded.
“Well, Jill can't go, but sure, I'll meet you there and we'll go together.” Mandy said.
“Oh, thank you so much Mandy. I know I sound like a two-year-old, but it gives me the willies going there by myself considering Karen's been murdered.” Cynthia said.
“Cynthia, it's ok to feel afraid, after what you went through, it's an experience to un-nerve any person. I don't think you're two years old. It's an understandable reaction.” Mandy said.
“Thanks Mandy. If Karen were still alive, I know we all would have made great friends.” Cynthia said.
“I totally agree with you.” Mandy replied.
They both hung up and Mandy checked some things before meeting Cynthia.
“Now Roger and Lana, behave. I have to get together with Cynthia for a little while. Roger honey, it's your job to keep Lana company while I'm gone. I won't be gone long.” Mandy said.
Mandy proceeded to leave the house. In ten minutes or so, she was at the spa. Cynthia was waiting out in front.
“Hi Mandy. It's probably best if we both take our cars, that way when it's time to go home, our cars will be waiting for us, ready to take us home individually.” Cynthia said.
“That makes sense. I'll follow you.” Mandy said.
“Well, in case we lose each other, here's the address.” Cynthia gave Mandy a piece of paper.
They headed out, and it was easy to keep following Cynthia. Cynthia finally stopped at a big apartment building. It wasn't completely modern, but had been built in the last ten years or so. Definitely a nice place. They got in the lobby and took the elevator. The elevator climbed to Karen's apartment floor. As they exited the elevator, Mandy followed Cynthia, not ever having been there. However, as they got closer to the apartment, Mandy noticed something was wrong.
“Why is the door open?” Cynthia said, alarmed.
“This definitely does not look good.” Mandy agreed.
As they walked around the apartment, it looked as though the place had been trashed. Books and things overturned, drawers opened and emptied. The place was a complete mess. Mandy followed Cynthia into Karen's bedroom. Closets were opened and clothing thrown on the floor, drawers emptied. As they looked around, they heard somebody running out the door.
“Someone is out there!” Cynthia said and started to run in the direction of the sound.
She caught a glimpse of the back of a guy who was strongly built as he ran out of the apartment. Cynthia ran out the door and she saw him run to the service stairs and escaped. Cynthia was going to follow him and Mandy stopped her.
“No Cynthia, we don't know how dangerous this guy may be. Look how he trashed Karen's apartment. Delicacy is obviously not his forte. Did you manage to see who it was?” Mandy asked.
“I just saw him from the back all the time. I hate to say it, but from his build, height and hair color, it sure looked as though it was Allen. But I can't be one hundred percent sure.” Cynthia replied.
“Well, what are the chances that somebody that looks like Allen would be hanging around Karen's apartment two days after her murder? Allen is kind of hard to miss. It makes sense it would be Allen, not somebody that resembles him.” Mandy said.
“I just didn't see his face. Oh Mandy, what do we do now?” Cynthia asked, getting panicky.
“We need help from the professionals, I'm calling Fred.” Mandy said determined.
Mandy dialed Fred at the station.
“Fred this is Mandy.”
“Mandy are you okay, you sound kind of upset?” Fred asked.
“I just accompanied Cynthia to Karen's apartment and somebody trashed the place completely. He was still here when we got here, but he ran away when we were in her bedroom.” Mandy said nervously.
“I'll be right there. Don't touch anything and wait outside, in case he has friends.” Fred said.
“We're definitely waiting outside.” Mandy said, still scared.
Fred and Jimmy arrived as well two lab guys. They were accompanied by the building manager.
“What happened here?” Asked the manager.
“We came by to pick up some of my things, and the door was open. While were inside, somebody ran out like a bat out of hell and ran down the stairs.” Cynthia said.
“Did you see what he looked like?” Fred asked.
“I caught a glimpse of him as he was running away. I'm sorry to say Captain Stone, it looked a lot like Allen.” Cynthia said nervously.
“Why do you say sorry to say?” Fred asked.
“Well, all along, I keep hoping that Allen will show up with a plausible explanation of where he was when Karen was murdered, that he really didn't kill her. He's been so nice to me ever since I first met him, I've had a hard time believing that he would kill Karen. But now, possibly seeing him here, it kind of makes it more certain that he might have killed her. And that makes me sad to know that two people I loved will never be the same again.” Cynth
ia was crying by now.
“It's okay Cynthia, I understand, it's hard when friends are involved. Mandy were you able to see who it was?” Fred said.
“I was trailing behind, I just saw the back of a well built guy. Didn't get much a look at him.” Mandy replied.
“Well, we have our work cut out for us here. The only good thing from all this is that we may start discovering why somebody, possibly Allen, killed Karen.
“Mandy and Cynthia, you can go home, come by the station later and make a statement. And don't speak to anybody about this incident, we don't want to tip anybody off that we may be onto who killed Karen.” Fred said.
“I'll escort them downstairs, since I'm going down myself.” The manager said.
Once downstairs, they couldn't believe what had happened.
“That was the last thing I expected, me visiting Karen's apartment and finding it totally trashed. Could this be vandalism, or do you think that he was looking for something?” Cynthia asked.
“Oh, he was definitely looking for something. He wasn't a vandal. Nobody trashes a place belonging to a murder victim, with the possibility of getting caught, unless there's something of value. It's possible Karen had hidden valuables, jewelry or intangibles, like stocks and bonds that we're in both of Allen's and Karen's name. Maybe this whole thing was about money that Karen owed Allen. It's getting weirder and weirder that's for sure.” Mandy said.
“You're telling me. I thought that this would be simple, go by Karen's place, show you the apartment, pick up my stuff and go home. Now it turned into another nightmare. And I was just beginning to feel better and hope that Allen would come along and make everything right, or at least show that he was innocent. But now, I'm not so sure.” Cynthia said.
“Well, eventually the truth will come out and we may not like it.” Mandy said.
“That seems to be more and more the way things are going. I'm going to take your advice earlier and start thinking of taking another job, because no matter what new changes are made, it will be difficult for me to put all this behind me, if I'm reminded of it every day by working where Karen got killed.” Cynthia said.
Murder at the Pet Spa Page 9