Deadly Diamond: A Murfy the Cat Mystery

by Anna Kern

  “It’s both. I had a small shop in Vermont where I built furniture pieces by special order; now I do it as a hobby.”

  “From what I’ve seen in the store, you do beautiful work. You’re too young for retirement, what made you decide to quit?”

  George crossed and uncrossed his legs. “It’s a long story, so let’s just say mostly because of divorce and all the financial problems that come with it.”

  Alyx then steered the conversation back to small talk and when he left, I finally got to met Simon.

  “Okay, Althea,” said Alyx, “let’s introduce our fur-babies and see how that goes.”

  “All right, dear; should I go get Simon?”

  Alyx hooked the leash to my collar. “No, not yet. I’m going to bring Murfy to him. You don’t think he’ll attack, do you?”

  I knew her concern was more for the other cat getting hurt than for me. Regardless, I was glad to hear Althea say that she didn’t think so.

  “He’s always acted quite the gentleman around other animals in the vet’s waiting room.”

  I couldn’t help the shiver that ruffled my fur at the mention of that word. Surely, there’s no domestic animal alive, no matter how tough, that doesn’t fear the dreaded V word.

  “Well, he’s not tied up, so he has the option to run away if he wants to.”

  Althea opened the laundry room door, and Simon sauntered out. Detecting neither fear nor aggression, Simon, a pleasant enough fellow, moved away to hunch down on all fours, studying me, while I sat politely, studying him.

  Both Alyx and Althea were smiling at the successful encounter. “I think they need to get acquainted.”

  Althea asked Alyx if she wanted another cup of tea. Alyx said yes, went down on one knee, and unhooked my leash.

  Simon bounded away, looking behind his left shoulder, inviting me to follow him, which I did, but stayed close enough to hear the conversation between the two women.

  “Alyx, I’d like to hire you to help me redecorate this room; I know I have far too many things in here. I saw it on your face that you agree.”

  “I can see why you kept them. They are truly outstanding pieces. If you’d like, I can take what you don’t want to keep and sell them for you,” she suggested.

  “You mean on consignment?”

  “Yes, exactly.”

  The ever-present vulnerability on Althea’s face momentarily disappeared. “What would your percentage be?”

  Alyx stammered a reply, “We don’t … as a rule … take consignments… I’d have to talk it over with Maggie. I’m sure we can agree on a small percentage.”

  Sounding more like herself then, Althea said, “All right, dear, whatever you decide will be fine with me.”

  “I have some free-time tomorrow morning. Do you want me to come over and mark the pieces you least mind parting with?”

  “Yes, all right.” Althea’s gaze traveled over us, now resting side by side under the dining room table.

  “Will you bring Murfy?”

  “Sure, they seem to get along fine.”

  Simon and I looked at each other, pleased with their decision, looking forward to some playtime.

  “And there’d no charge for the decorating advice,” Alyx added.

  “Oh, no; I can’t let you do that. I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of our friendship.”

  “I don’t think that, Althea. Besides, the room has good bones,” and to assess it better, she stood and looked around. “All it needs is some re-arranging. The only other suggestion I have is to remove the heavy drapery and leave the plantation shutters in place.”

  That appeared to be acceptable to Althea, so they agreed on a time for Alyx to come over the next day.

  I was pensive on the ride back to the store. Simon was about my age, and ever so worldly. His previous human had been a diplomat and Simon had accompanied him all over the world, whereas, born only two blocks from my current residence, I’d lived in Beachside my whole life.

  Simon said there was more to our kind than I knew of or had ever imagined. He said that we were not the same, but we were the same kind because we were both cats. What did he mean? I looked forward to our next meeting to learn the secrets to which he’d alluded.

  Alyx pulled up at the rear of the store, and I focused on my job. The probable diamond thief had looked unsure of himself, nervous and scared. I figured he’d hidden the diamond in one of those little drawers in the desk and planned to return during the store’s business hours to retrieve it rather than after hours––he didn’t strike me as the breaking and entering type. I was confident that my housemates and I could take care of him. The girls had had some experience with that sort of thing already.

  After a busy hour of alertness in the store, I took time out for a nap and was running a stationary marathon when I jerked awake, perplexed by my dream, which usually involved chasing someone or something. Periodically, I dream about fighting that scruffy cat that hangs out in the yard.

  Since time isn’t something cats are necessarily aware of or care about, I didn’t know how long I’d been sleeping. I did want to know if we were going home soon, so I set off to get a sense of what was going on. Bernice was on the sales floor, Alyx was in the workroom sitting behind the desk working on something, and Maggie was at the worktable comparing fabric samples. I effortlessly jumped up on the desk and rubbed my head under Alyx’s chin.

  “Where have you been?”

  I answered with a meow, pleased when she looked at her watch.

  “I guess you’ve had enough for the day, huh?”

  I’d always taken our communication for granted; now I wondered. Was this what Simon meant when he asked how my human knew what I wanted? How was it possible that we could communicate?

  Alyx put away the rest of the things she was working on. “Murfy, go get Misty and we’ll go home.”

  I trotted off to find Misty and heard Maggie say, “He’s something else, you know. I think he understood what you said.”

  “Sometimes it makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”

  “To some blind souls all cats are much alike. To a cat lover every cat from the beginning of time has been utterly and amazingly unique.”

  ––Jenny de Vries

  CHAPTER FOUR: More Than Somewhat Involved

  Alyx had met David Hunter eight months earlier, and had not been aware of her attraction for him during an awful ordeal that had brought them together. Afterwards, he’d kept in touch by visiting Antiques & Designs once or twice a month, purchasing several items along the way, such as a painting for his home and a scale of justice sculpture for his office.

  When he mentioned to Alyx that he collected first edition books, she offered to help him locate one he said he’d had no success finding. Although books weren’t her specialty, Alyx knew a dealer in rare books. It took months to find it and when she presented the book to David a week later, he invited her to dinner to celebrate.

  Alyx denied being nervous about seeing Hunter––but I knew she was––she only made chamomile tea when she was nervous. While the tea steeped, she took off her beige linen skirt and striped green blouse that she was wearing, and slipped on her yellow terry bathrobe that was hanging from a hook behind the bathroom door. She carried her tea and the mail to the screened porch, also called the lanai. She passed through the living room, her favorite room in the house after she’d repainted the walls antique white and added colorful Oriental rugs over the original wood floor. The new patio door was flanked by two tall windows that provided much-needed light and a great view of the tropical landscaped backyard.

  Her mail was the usual assortment of bills, credit card offers, advertisements, and more credit card offers. The only item of seeming interest was a short letter and a photo of a little girl, probably from her sister in Lansing, Michigan, where Alyx grew up and most of her family still lived.

  She finished her tea, set the mail aside, and said to no one in particular, “I wonder when I’ll get to be
a grandmother.”

  Misty and Pooky followed her to the bedroom to watch her get ready, and informed me that she looked perfect, wearing an antique white silk blouse, brown slacks, and brown platform sandals.

  The doorbell chimed Hunter’s arrival. She opened the door, and he presented her with a pink rose in full bloom. “For a beautiful lady,” he said.

  She breathed in its fragrant scent and her cheeks turned the color of the rose. Hunter smiled sheepishly and stepped inside at her invitation. “It’s from my garden, personally cultivated.”

  “I would never have guessed that you like to play in the dirt. Do you do general gardening or do you specialize in growing roses?”

  “I do a little gardening for relaxation regrettably, not as much as I’d like.”

  “Let me put this in water, and I’m ready to go. Would you like to sit for a minute?”

  “I’ll wait here. Your cats will keep me company,” he said, bending over to scratch my ear.

  Alyx appeared calm. Any apprehension she might have felt on her first official date with Hunter appeared to be gone, and as much as I wanted to accompany her on her date, there was no way she was going to take me with her. I trusted Hunter to keep her safe, and I was sure I’d eventually hear all about it anyway.

  As everybody knows, cats don’t talk. However, we have other ways of communicating and often do, although never in the presence of humans. So following Alyx’s departure, I had something to discuss with my housemates and we all gathered in the living room.

  Even though Pooky wasn’t interested in coming to the store with Misty and me every day, she still liked the treats that Alyx brought home from the store, and she loved hearing the stories Misty and I had to tell about our day at work. Misty bounced ahead, jumped on the couch, via the coffee table, and unable to wait any longer, relayed what had happened, embellishing the part about being stepped on, taking her time describing in detail what the man did to her. Pooky rolled her eyes and suggested that it would be better if I told the story, unless we wanted to be there all night.

  Pooky, a long hair black cat with different colored eyes (one blue and one green) had put on a lot of weight since Alyx took her in as a stray. Totally out of character to Pooky’s snide remark, Misty responded with an unkind comment about Pooky’s weight problem.

  Tired of the antagonism, I flicked my tail impatiently and demanded quiet. I didn’t get their full attention until they heard me say that Alyx might be in danger. Pooky questioned what the robbery had to do with Alyx. I explained that I expected the thief to return to the store to get his diamond out of the desk. Pooky still didn’t see how he was a threat to Alyx. I reminded them once again that the man was going to be angry with someone when he came back and didn’t find the desk in the store. As an aside, Misty added that the man was a brute.

  I said that we all needed to go with Alyx in the morning, to be on the lookout for the thief and be ready to protect her, Maggie or anyone else he might threaten. I don’t know if Pooky understood or not, but all the same, she did agree to go. That settled, I waited for Hunter to bring Alyx back from the upscale Italian restaurant where he said he was taking her for dinner, one of two in the area with valet service.

  Around nine o’clock, I heard Hunter’s car engine and trotted to the front door. Hunter had his arm loosely around Alyx’s waist as they walked up to the door laughing. Alyx said it was still early and asked him if he would like a cup of espresso coffee.

  I knew that Alyx was very busy as a part owner of the antique store and design business, and she didn’t have much of a social life, especially since Maggie had started seeing her friend, George. At the same time, Alyx’s son Ethan had met someone who kept him occupied. Although Alyx never said, I knew there were times she was lonely. The felines and I did our best to keep her happy. Hunter seemed to be doing a better job of it, however, than we did, and I was pleased to see my human smiling and flirting.

  “Do you have an espresso maker?” Hunter wanted to know.

  “No, I have the old-fashioned espresso coffee pot that the general Italian population uses. I found it at a garage sale several years ago, and have used it ever since. The woman who sold it to me had no idea what it was. Funny how the whole world knows all about us and how we live, yet we are so ignorant of other countries and their cultures. You wouldn’t expect that since we have so many different cultures within this country.”

  “To be honest, I never thought about it; you make a good point.”

  She gestured toward the couch, which was at that moment, free of cats. “Have a seat. I’ll only be a minute.”

  He nodded and remained standing. “I love espresso coffee and since I’m one of those people ignorant of other cultures, can I see the kind of coffeepot you use?”

  “Sure, I happen to have a collection of them.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” he said, following her. “Have you traveled to Italy?”

  “No, I haven’t, maybe one day I will. I had a friend in high school who was Italian, and she and her parents used to visit every year or two. Nina always came back with lots of pictures to share. I guess her love of her ancestral town built on the side of a mountain rubbed off on me.”

  “So, that’s why you know all about espresso coffee pots,” he said with a grin.

  “Yes, I confess,” she said, taking down two demitasse cups from a cabinet and setting them on a tray. She added two small spoons along with a bowl of sugar. She poured the dark, aromatic liquid, and Hunter carried the tray to the living room.

  The conversation flowed smoothly. They talked of their work and their passions. He made her laugh when he told her about the first case he’d argued. After a while, Hunter put his coffee down and took her hand. “I’ve really enjoyed our time together tonight. I’m sorry it didn’t happen sooner,” he cleared his throat, “I… was somewhat involved with someone when I met you, and it’s taken this long to settle it.”

  Her first reaction was confusion followed by disappointment. “I don’t understand. When I invited you to my house before, for the celebration dinner, you said there was no wife or girlfriend. You’ve never mentioned anyone during any of the times we’ve spoken.”

  He nodded and tried to explain. “I was separated at the time…had been for six months. Joann had a hard time with it even though it was her idea. She kept me on a string for a long-time… until I forced the decision. The divorce was final two weeks ago.”

  “David, I’d say you were more than somewhat involved. I understand why you didn’t tell me before––we never really discussed anything personal those few times you came in or we had coffee; I just assumed you were free,” she said, pulling her hand away and reaching for the coffee.

  “Do you have any children?”

  “No, Joann didn’t want any children.”

  “How long were you married?”

  “Twenty years.”

  “Were you happy most of that time?”

  “Yes and no. For a long time I loved her more than she loved me.”

  “How about you, were you happy most of the time you were married?”

  “Yes, I was until the day Bob told me he didn’t love me anymore.”

  She didn’t have to tell him a whole lot more as he had learned everything about her while working on her son Ethan’s case earlier that year.

  “The evening has gone by too quickly,” he said as she walked him to the door, and Alyx agreed.

  “Thank you for a lovely evening, Alyx.” He turned and kissed her lightly, his lips barely touching hers, the same way cats touch noses without actually making contact in greeting one another. I didn’t need to see any more of that and trotted away.

  I heard Alyx say, “Good night, David. I think you had better go. I’m not ready for anything more.”

  I didn’t understand what that meant, but I didn’t miss the disappointment in his sigh when he said, “Okay, Alyx… I’ll be in touch.”

  The door closed and I sauntered back to the f
oyer. Alyx had her back pressed against the door. The look on her face when she went down on one knee to stroke my head wasn’t one I expected. I liked Hunter, and I thought she liked him too––but now, even I––a stranger to romance––knew something was amiss.

  “Some cats is blind. And stone-deaf some. But ain’t no cat wuz ever dumb.”

  ––Anthony Ewer

  CHAPTER FIVE: Something Wrong

  The day began as it usually did; our routine the same as the day before, except that when Alyx was ready to leave, all three of us followed her to the truck.

  “Okay, I get it. You all want to go today, right?”

  The cottage-style bungalow where we live is located in the historic district of Beachside, about two blocks from the store. The neighborhood, still in the process of redevelopment, is a mix of architectural styles as the people living there are a mix of ages, young couples with children, middle-aged and retired folks who have lived there many years, and a handful of Florida natives.

  Pooky took the ride better than I expected––she was only slightly hyperventilating when we arrived at the store a few minutes later. Bernice, a thirty-something, flamboyant dresser, and middle-aged Nelda, her opposite and equally competent employee, were already there. Bernice helped with the carriers; no small feat since I alone weigh sixteen pounds more or less, and I think it’s probably more rather than less.

  Nelda made the mistake of reaching for Pooky and got her hand smacked as a gentle warning not to touch.

  “Don’t mind her, Nelda, she’s like that with everybody; she’s not as sociable as the other two cats,” said Alyx. “You’d think she’d want to stay home––she was the first one out.”

  “Thanks for the warning. I’ll make sure the customers leave her alone too.”

  It had been a while since Pooky was in the store last, and she took off sniffing and touching, investigating her surroundings.

  “You know that you and Bernice will be here by yourselves for most of the day, right? I promised Althea I’d help her redecorate her living room, and I expect to be there all morning and maybe through lunch.”