Six Cats A Slayin'

Right, the little voice in my head said sarcastically, but I banished it and went into the kitchen to drink coffee and read the paper. Diesel went to the utility room to eat his own breakfast. Azalea would arrive momentarily, and mine would soon be ready, too.

Later, after I dressed for my day at work, Diesel announced his intention to accompany me by standing at the door to the garage and meowing. After bidding good-bye to Azalea, I led Diesel to the car, and we headed for the library administration building, which was located in an antebellum house that had belonged to the college for nearly a century.

Melba hailed us right after we entered the building, and Diesel and I went into her office to wish her good morning. “How are you?” I asked. “Were you able to sleep last night?”

Melba, busy petting and cooing over Diesel, didn’t respond right away. Finally, she said, “I slept okay. Doesn’t look like you did, though. Bad dreams?”

I nodded. “Bad, and strange. I was restless most of the night. Gerry’s death really bothered me.”

“You got to leave before I did, though,” Melba said without rancor. “Must have been another hour before Kanesha was finally through asking me questions. When I was done, I halfway expected that Jared would have gone, and I’d have to ask the police to take me home. Or come and wake you up to do it.”

“Did he wait for you?” I asked.

“He did,” Melba said, not sounding altogether pleased by that fact. “He drove me home, but he whined about it. Not so much about seeing me home but having to hang around that house until I was able to leave. Gerry’s death really bothered him, too. I didn’t think he knew her well enough to be grief-stricken over her.”

“I don’t imagine he did,” I said. “I think you’re forgetting that it hasn’t been all that long since his wife died. When someone that close to you dies, you become more sensitive to death. I know I did. The worst of it goes away eventually. I imagine Gerry’s death brought back painful memories.”

Melba sighed. “You’re right. I should have thought of that myself. I was a little frosty to him last night, so I guess I probably should call him and apologize. I was too tired last night to think much about it.”

Diesel meowed, as if in sympathy, and Melba chuckled. “That’s right, sweet boy. I was so tired, I think I fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow.”

“I wish I could fall asleep like that,” I said. “Did Kanesha learn anything interesting from what you had to tell her?”

“Who can tell with her? That poker face she’s got.” Melba shook her head. “She wanted to know about when and where I had seen Gerry at the party and if I noticed anyone behaving oddly.” She paused to think. “Oh, and she asked about a brandy snifter and whether I had seen Gerry with it. And if she put it down anywhere.”

“Did you see her with it?”

“Once, I think,” Melba said. “I know I saw it on the sideboard in the dining room once. It was sitting beside one of those bizarre candlesticks she had. Did you see them?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t remember noticing the sideboard, actually.”

“The candlesticks were copper, pipes actually, fitted together in a crooked pattern.” She shrugged. “Not my taste. Anyway, I saw a snifter sitting next to one of them at some point. After you told me about Billy Albritton, I think.”

Hearing the councilman’s name brought back the memory of the moment I thought I saw him leaving Gerry’s house last night. It was only a fleeting glimpse, and I couldn’t be sure it was really him. I didn’t see him full-face, after all. Should I have told Kanesha about it?

“What is it?” Melba asked. “Looks like you just remembered something.”

I shrugged. “I caught a glimpse, a very brief glimpse, of a man last night leaving the house. I thought it might be Billy Albritton.”

“I wonder if anyone told Kanesha about the argument you saw him having with Gerry,” Melba said.

“I never thought about it last night,” I said. “Other neighbors might have seen it, too. Gerry and Billy were certainly loud enough. I suppose I should probably tell Kanesha, though. Surely Billy didn’t sneak into the house last night to kill Gerry.”

“I’ve never thought of him as that kind of man,” Melba said. “For a politician, he’s always been reasonably honest, but you never know what can drive someone to kill. How did she die, anyway? There must have been something suspicious about it, since Kanesha was asking all those questions.”

“Poison, I think,” I replied. “But that’s only a guess on my part. Kanesha wouldn’t say for sure that’s what she suspected. Only the usual line about waiting for the test results.”

Melba looked thoughtful. “That’s why she was so interested in the snifter. I didn’t see anyone else last night with one. Did you?”

“No, all I saw were champagne glasses, or flutes, as Helen Louise calls them.”