Six Cats A Slayin'

“Tammy made a nasty scene tonight when Gerry came downstairs to the party,” I said. “In front of many witnesses, so I’m sure you’ll hear about it from other people.” I paused briefly. “She called Gerry a whore and told her to say away from Milton. Otherwise she wouldn’t live to regret it.”

“I see. How did Ms. Albritton react?” Kanesha asked.

“Completely cool and collected,” Helen Louise said. “She asked Milton to remove Tammy from her house. Actually, Milton got really angry first and told Tammy she had to stop this kind of behavior. He threatened her with Whitfield.”

“Did either Mr. or Mrs. Harville return, to your knowledge?” Kanesha looked from Helen Louise to me.

“No,” I said, and Helen Louise answered the same.

Kanesha wrote in her notebook, but whatever she noted didn’t take long. She looked up when she finished. “You said some incidents occurred. How many?”

“Two,” Helen Louise replied. “There is a den at the back of the house on the right side of the hall where guests left their coats. There is also a bathroom attached to the den. I went back there—sometime after the incident with Tammy and Gerry—but as I neared the door I could hear two voices from inside the room. The door was open about a foot, maybe a little more.”

“I had been trying to find her in the crowd,” I said, nodding toward Helen Louise. “I saw her heading down the hall and followed her. We both stood in the hall and listened. We shouldn’t have eavesdropped, but I think we were both so surprised by the conversation we simply stood there and didn’t move.”

“Did you see who was talking in the den?” Kanesha asked.

“Gerry and Deirdre Thompson.” Helen Louise paused, looking uncomfortable.

Kanesha prompted her. “And what were they saying that could have a bearing on Ms. Albritton’s death?”

Helen Louise looked at me. I nodded, and she continued. “Deirdre Thompson was complaining to Gerry about the flyers that Gerry had put—or had someone put—on every front door in the neighborhood. Gerry was advertising that she was looking to buy houses in the neighborhood.”

“She was a real estate agent?” Kanesha asked.

“Yes, had her own agency, I think. Though I’d never heard of her or her agency until she moved into the neighborhood a couple of months ago after coming back to Athena after some time away. I’ve seen two or three for-sale signs in the neighborhood with her name on them.”

“So apparently she was looking for houses to sell, as well as to buy,” Kanesha said. “Go on—Mrs. Thompson was complaining, you said.”

“Yes, she was pretty unpleasant about it,” I said, taking over from Helen Louise, “but Gerry gave back as good as she got. Gerry didn’t seem at all intimidated by Deirdre Thompson. In fact, toward the end of what we heard, it sounded to me like Gerry was threatening Deirdre.”

“Yes, Gerry made it sound as if she knew things about Deirdre’s past that Deirdre wouldn’t want getting around,” Helen Louise said.

“Right after that is when we walked away,” I said. “So if Gerry told Deirdre what she knew about her, we didn’t hear it.”

“We met Stewart, who was looking for Gerry, to thank her for the invitation to the party. He and Haskell were heading home because Haskell had to be up early tomorrow,” Helen Louise said.

“While we were talking to him,” I said, “Deirdre came down the hall behind us and ordered us out of her way.”

Kanesha made more notes while Helen Louise and I waited. I clasped Helen Louise’s hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. We were both tired and ready to be out of this house. I hoped Kanesha didn’t have many more questions for us.

“Did you speak to Ms. Albritton at any point after that incident?” Kanesha asked.

“Yes,” I said. “She came down the hall not long after Deirdre did. Stewart had left, and Gerry came up to us and asked if we were enjoying the party. She encouraged us to have more champagne.”

“She didn’t appear upset or anything by the scene with Deirdre,” Helen Louise said. “Cool as cool could be.”

“Did she have the brandy snifter with her then?” Kanesha asked.

Helen Louise and I exchanged glances of inquiry. I shook my head. “I don’t think so, but I really can’t say for sure. She might have.”

“I don’t think she did, either,” Helen Louise said.

“She must have left it somewhere while she was in the den,” I said.

“Or she could have had it with her in the den, left it, and then went back for it,” Helen Louise said.

“If she left it unattended in the living room or the dining room,” I said, “anyone could have slipped poison into it.”

“Yes, I had already figured that out.” Kanesha’s tart tone reminded me that I didn’t need to state the obvious around her. She resumed questioning us. “Did you at any time see any other person tonight drinking anything from a snifter?”

“No, all I saw was champagne flutes,” Helen Louise said.

“I asked for a bottle of water at one point,” I said. “I think I saw a few more of those, but no glasses besides the champagne glasses.”

“The catering staff would know more about that anyway,” Helen Louise said.