Six Cats A Slayin'

“You also remember I went over to them when I got tired of waiting for her to get done talking,” Melba said. “I heard him give a little laugh and say, Sure thing, honey. Do you think that’s her real name? Or was he just getting friendly? If it is her real name, he surely knows more about her.”

“Are you sure honey was what he called her?” I asked.

“I thought it was,” Melba said, “but it could have been Lonnie or Ronnie, maybe. Why do you ask? What do you know?”

“I found the name Ronni Halliburton in the county property tax records as the owner of Gerry’s house. Ronni Halliburton also owns three other houses in town.”

Melba appeared dumbstruck by this information, and that—all humor aside—rarely ever happened.

“Look,” I said, “if Jared knew the name Ronni, then he obviously does know something about Gerry’s business, if nothing else. He knows that Gerry was Ronni. I know you like him, but if he’s in any way connected to Gerry’s death, you don’t want to get involved with him. You have to tell Kanesha what you heard.”

“You’re right,” Melba said. “I know that. It’s just that I’m sure he’ll know I’m the one who told Kanesha.”

I understood how she felt, but she hadn’t known this man very long at all. I thought she was being overly scrupulous. I told her that.

Melba heaved a large sigh. “I’ll tell Kanesha what I heard. I can’t believe Jared killed her, but you’re right, I don’t know him well enough yet.”

“Are you going to see him again while the investigation is going on?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Melba replied. “I’ll have to think about that.” She stood. “I’d better get downstairs. I have a few things to take care of before I go over to the sheriff’s department. I’ll text you when I leave.”

“Okay, good luck.” I watched her go. She was walking slowly and not with her usual energy. I hated that this was weighing so heavily on her, and I was concerned that the man she was so evidently interested in could be somehow involved in Gerry’s death.

Melba’s recounting of what she had heard prompted memories of the night of the party. Jared had seemed particularly unhappy about remaining in the house after the arrival of the sheriff’s department. At the time I hadn’t thought too much about the source of his unease. Simply figured that he was antsy staying in the same house with a dead woman, still deeply affected by the death of his own wife.

Now, however, I considered his behavior in the light of this fresh knowledge. Could he have killed Gerry and thus was uneasy about having to deal with the police and sheriff’s deputies? I found it hard to reconcile this, however, with the cold calculation it took for someone to slip poison in Gerry’s brandy and later steal the snifter to get rid of it.

That snifter was the sticking point. If Jared had taken it, what had he done with it? Unless he had slipped out of the house to stow it and then came back, I didn’t see how he could have hidden the thing. He couldn’t put it under his jacket. There would be no way to disguise the bulge the snifter would make. Ditto with his pants pockets. I should have thought to ask Melba whether he was gone from her side for any length of time after the murder occurred. Now was not the time to ask her that, I thought, when she was obviously so worried. I would wait.

I went back to my work and also back to doing my best to suppress any thoughts of the murder. I had Alex and Sean to worry about instead. As the minutes and hours passed, I wondered why I hadn’t heard from Sean. At two o’clock I picked up my phone to call but, after a moment, put it down again. No, I didn’t want to take the chance of waking him up. During his teenage years he could sleep twelve hours, sometimes more. He probably needed that much rest now.

I worked a little later than usual today, and thus it was a quarter after four when I locked my office and headed down the stairs. My phone rang as I was unlocking the car. I checked the caller ID. Sean. Hurriedly I slid into the car and shut the door against the chill wind.

“Hello, Dad.” Sean sounded more himself. “Sorry I’m so late in calling, but I slept until about thirty minutes ago. I came home to have a shower and change clothes before heading back to the hospital. Caroline’s gone home for now.”

“I don’t know what we would have done without her,” I said. “You’re feeling better?”

“Everyone is doing better. Cherelle is doing great with Rosie. She’s agreed to move into the guest bedroom until Alex is back on her feet. We’re hoping Alex will be home from the hospital sometime early this evening. In the meantime, Cherelle can be here for Rosie around the clock.”

“That’s great,” I said. “A huge worry off my mind. Now, how is Alex?”