Six Cats A Slayin'

“Oh.” Melba looked taken aback. “Yes, he was. I think he was having an affair with her, too.”

“How do you know about the financial relationship?” I asked.

“I went to see Dr. Carter this morning,” Melba said. “It’s been bugging the heck out of me, ever since I heard what he said to her at the party the other night. So, I decided to have it out with him.”

“Did you go to his office?” The thought appalled me. Surely Melba hadn’t made a scene at his office.

“No, of course not,” she responded impatiently. “I have more class than that. I was at his house just now. I called him and told him I had to talk to him, and he asked me to come to his house. I think he knew I was out for blood.”

Braver men than Jared Carter had quailed before the wrath of Melba Gilley, I reflected. I was surprised he hadn’t tried to put her off, though.

“Oh, he tried to put me off,” Melba said, correctly discerning my thoughts. “But I told him if he didn’t talk to me, I’d show up at his office and throw such a fit that he’d never live it down.”

That made me suspicious. This wasn’t like the Melba I knew. “Why are you so riled up about him and the fact that he might have been seeing another woman?”

“Because he told me that I was the first woman he’d been interested in since his wife died,” Melba said. “I believed him, and all that time he was probably carrying on with Gerry Albritton.”

“I think you’re letting your emotions get the better of you,” I said gently. “It is possible for a man and a woman to have a business arrangement without any personal, intimate relationship to go along with it. Do you have any real proof that he was having an affair with her?” I wondered what she’d think if I could tell her what I knew about Gerry.

“No,” Melba said in a grudging tone. “I don’t.”

I suspected that she cared a lot more for Jared Carter than she herself realized or was willing to admit. Otherwise, why would she act this way?

“When I asked you why he would murder her, you said money. That doesn’t really explain it.”

“He told me that money was missing from the account he set up, and he couldn’t figure out where it went. He thought maybe Gerry had siphoned it off and put it in a personal account.”

“Did he give you any hints as to how much money he was talking about?” I asked.

Melba nodded. “Over four hundred grand. I had no idea he had that kind of money.”

I shared with her the figures that I had shared with Kanesha earlier that morning. “He has to have a pretty large amount of disposable income,” I concluded, “if he could finance deals like this and still have four hundred grand on top of it.”

“He must be rich,” Melba said, sounding bemused.

“I think he must be,” I said. “I don’t know how much dentists make, but I suspect he’s been making money from investments on top of the income from his dental practice.”

Melba didn’t respond to that.

“Do you think he would kill Gerry if he suspected her of embezzling?” I said. “Wouldn’t that make it hard for him to get the money back? She could have put the money in a secret Swiss bank account for all he knew. Then he’d never be able to get it back.”

She thought about that for a moment. “I guess you’re right. I’ve really made a mess of things this time.”

An appalling thought struck me. “You didn’t accuse him of murder, did you?”

“Yes,” she said. “Then I stormed out of his house and came right over here. By now he must be thinking he never wants to set eyes on me again.”

I couldn’t argue that point with her. If I were Jared, I’d be pretty upset with Melba right then. I wasn’t going to tell her that, however.

Diesel was doing his best to console her, and I left her to his ministrations for the moment. There was enough coffee in the pot for one last mug, and I prepared it for Melba. When I set it in front of her, she looked up at me through her tears and whispered her thanks. She fumbled for her purse and found some tissues. She started blotting the tears from her face and ended by blowing her nose. She held the crumpled tissues in one hand while she lifted the mug to sip at her coffee.

I gave her time, waiting until she indicated she was ready to talk again. After a few more sips of the coffee, Melba stood and excused herself. She grabbed her purse and headed for the half bathroom under the stairs.

When she came back several minutes later, she seemed composed and in control again.

“I stopped for a minute or two to have a look at your hallway,” she said. “It’s gorgeous. When did you do it? I guess I was too upset earlier to pay attention.”

“I didn’t do it,” I said. “Stewart came up with the idea and the design, so I’ve been told. Frank, Laura, and Azalea helped put it together while I was out running errands this morning.”

“Goodness, how long were you gone?” Melba asked. “Surely that took several hours.” She checked her watch. “It’s only a quarter to twelve now.”