1 A Paw-sible Theory (10 page)

“Please would you tell me,” said Alice, a little timidly...“why your cat grins like that.”

––
Lewis Carroll
, Alice in Wonderland

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:
 
Important Appointment

Chaos greeted my entrance. The name of the store was Ramsey’s Collectibles––what I saw when I slid through the partially-open back door was junk. The shelves along the walls of the narrow room were overflowing with assorted items that had nothing to do with each other. There were several tables and other pieces of furniture in the middle of the room piled with bulging boxes. Up against one wall, was a small, glass display case filled with small figurines, which I assumed were the collectibles the store name implied.

Hunter entered from the front entrance and scanned the room for signs of life, positioning himself by a display case, which also served as a counter. He asked a clerk to see Dan Ramsey and the un-kept, surly teenager slouching in a chair behind the display case pointed to the
ring for service
bell at the end of the display case. Hunter hit it twice, and Dan Ramsey crawled out from behind a wall in the rear of the store, to my right. Another scruffy-looking youth, older than the one behind the counter, followed him out.

Ramsey was about sixty-years old, heavyset with a full head of white hair, and dark, button eyes. He was dressed in jeans, a loud flowered-shirt, and flip-flops on his feet.

“You must be the lawyer who wanted to see me. I don’t get too many people in here dressed in a suit. It makes it too hard to dig through the junk,” he chuckled, as he slid behind the counter.

“I appreciate you seeing me so soon, Mr. Ramsey.”

“Yeah, well, I figured that someone told you that Alyx Hille and I have our differences––and I don’t deny that––but she and that partner of hers have all these hoity-toity ideas about our downtown and they’ve managed to talk other owners into making unnecessary changes. They’ve tried to change the essence of Ocean Street, the flavor of the place, and I won’t stand for it if I can help it!”

“Do you feel strongly enough about stopping her to want to kill her, maybe?”

The hands in his pockets came out and slammed on the counter. “I agreed to see you, buddy, because I couldn’t wait to tell you that on the day in question, I was out of town at a flea market. At least a dozen regular dealers can testify that they saw me there from six in the morning to late afternoon.” His eyes narrowed. “And just for the record, I don’t know anything about what happened to Ms. Hille––and I can’t say I care!” He turned abruptly and went back to the hole behind the wall.

“In a cat’s eye all things belong to cats.”

––
English Proverb

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:
 
A Business Deal

Although the outside of the building looked like Antiques & Designs, the inside of Ocean Street Café was different. The restaurant took up half of the downstairs, the rest was divided into retail stores––a candle shop, a jewelry store, and a candy store. In square footage, it was roughly twice the size.

Novie Moresby was behind the mahogany checkout counter––I was in the vicinity.

“Mrs. Moresby, I represent Ethan Hille and I have a couple of questions to ask you. I can see you’re busy, I’ll try to be brief.”

“I hope I can help you, but I don’t see how. Of course, I know Alyx and Ethan; they used to come in often when they first opened their store and Ethan still lived at home. I see Alyx all the time, but Ethan only occasionally.”

“When was the last time you saw them in here?”

“Let’s see now. I think they were in here for breakfast about a week ago.”

“What kind of relationship did they appear to have?”

“The kind every parent hopes for when they first think about having children. It was obvious they had love and respect for each other.”

“Did you ever hear them argue?”

“Not any of the times I saw them together.”

“Would you be willing to testify to that?”

“Yes, I certainly would.”

“Earlier I spoke to your husband about the real estate proposition he presented to Maggie Broeck. What do you know about it?”

“Just that the Dunne Development Company wants to buy our two buildings,” she said, with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Did your husband mention any stipulation about the developer buying both buildings?”

“No, he didn’t mention anything like that.”

“Did he mention whose idea it was?”

She looked puzzled for a second. “I don’t recall discussing it with him specifically, but I got the impression that Dunne Development approached him.”

“I understand you own this building. How do you feel about selling it?”

One of her employees walked in the door, interrupting before she could answer.

“Excuse me, Novie, there seems to be a problem with the soda order. What’s being delivered isn’t what was ordered, and Mike wants you to talk to the delivery guy.” Novie shook her head in resignation, “They never get that order right; tell Mike I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Hunter. What did you ask me?”

“I asked how you felt about selling this building.”

“I inherited this building from my parents and when my husband first mentioned it, I was against it. A few years ago, no one was interested in opening a business here. All the department stores moved to the Mall while others went out of business. In some cases, the owners died and family members weren’t interested in keeping the businesses going. There were just a few die-hard businesses that hung on: the lamp store down the street, the fruit-shipping store, and a few others. After my parents passed away, I decided this was my opportunity to fulfill my dream and theirs. It was a slow start but business has really boomed during the last three years. Anyway, my husband Rupert explained that I could still rent the space and keep the Ocean Street Café since the developer was not going to make any changes to the first floor; I told him I’d consider it. I know he wants me to sell, but I’m still thinking about it. Can you wait a few minutes while I take care of this soda problem?”

He looked at his watch for confirmation. “Actually, I have what I need for the time being, and I do have another appointment.” He reached out to shake her hand. “Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.” He gave her his business card and told her he’d be in touch.

“As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human kind.”

––
Cleveland Amory

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:
 
The
Opportune
Time
to
Act

I took a shortcut home and when I rounded the corner, I saw David Hunter’s car parked in the convenience store’s parking lot. The clerk inside the store barely glanced at the customers as she rang up their purchases, took their money, and made change. Naturally, I wanted to know why Hunter was sitting in his car, watching the clerk so intently. Hunter waited until the customers had all cleared out before he went in. I followed right behind him, unnoticed. I barely escaped having my tail clipped as the door shut automatically behind me.

Hunter asked the clerk if she was Sally Wakowycz, introduced himself, and told her why he was there. Sally was willing to answer his questions but didn’t remember seeing Ethan that particular Saturday morning. She told him if it had been busy, she probably wouldn’t have noticed him because as she got older she had to concentrate harder on what she was doing. This last statement was said
sotto voce
as she looked around to make sure no one else was within hearing range.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t much help to you. I do remember Ethan––a handsome young man, and always polite. He may have been in the store on that particular day, and I just don’t remember seeing him.”

Hunter thanked her for her time, gave her his card, picked up a pack of gum, and paid for it with a five-dollar bill. He pocketed the change, and glanced at the receipt before dropping it in the trash can by the door.

She called out to him as he was halfway out the door, “How about the sales receipt? It has a date and time on it. Would that help?”

“Only if we can find it.”

I scooted out of the automatic door which was closing slowly––again behind Hunter––being careful not to let him see me. I took off at a gallop before he left the parking lot, and arrived home at the same time as Maggie, barely making it through the front door before she did. I don’t know how long it was before I heard the doorbell. Maggie let Hunter in, making the usual small talk as she led him to the kitchen.

“Did you have any trouble finding the house?”

“No, not at all. I was early and took a short drive around the residential area. I didn’t realize how much has undergone redevelopment. This is a very attractive neighborhood.”

“The redevelopment only extends a couple of miles around downtown, but I’m sure as more people rediscover the charm of these old houses, it will spread out.”

“I see why you were being offered more than double what you paid for your property. The area definitely has potential,” he remarked.

“I agree, and I realize it seems foolish of me to even consider selling our building, but we could have bought or rented somewhere else and made a nice profit.”

Maggie pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table, inviting him to do the same. Uninvited, I jumped up and sat on the chair next to Hunter, watching every move the lawyer made.

“I spoke with Ethan and he told me that he stopped at the convenience store around the corner to buy cat treats before you arrived.” Hunter interrupted himself, looked directly at me, and asked Maggie if I was an indoor or an outdoor cat.

“Oh, they’re strictly indoor cats. Why do you ask?”

“I thought I saw him or another cat that looks just like him around town.” The lawyer scowled and gave me a puzzled look.

“Well, Murfy is full of surprises and you never know what he’s up to, but I don’t think it was him.”

Hunter didn’t look convinced.

“Getting back to what I was saying. The prosecutor, Everett Bixby has a witness who says he saw an SUV in your driveway ten minutes earlier than the time Ethan told the police he arrived. Ethan explained that he often brought cat treats and half-way up the driveway he realized he’d forgotten to buy any so he backed up and drove to the convenience store around the corner.”

“That’s true,” said Maggie. “Whenever he forgets, Misty doesn’t leave him alone, pawing at his pockets looking for her treat.”

“Ethan stated that he had the bag in his hands when he walked in the house and put it on the counter. In your statement, you said you were right behind him. Did you see him with a bag?”

“I’m sorry; I don’t remember one way or the other. No, wait. I did see the cat treats there,” Maggie said, pointing to the counter next to the stove. “One day when I was here to feed the cats, I noticed one of the cats was missing, and I grabbed the treats from the bag to entice her back into the house.”

“Did you see a receipt anywhere?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Is there anything left of the treats?”

“No, the cats didn’t like them, so I threw them in the trash. Why?”

“At the very least, it proves that Ethan didn’t lie about going to the convenience store.”

Maggie’s face was crestfallen. “I didn’t know or I wouldn’t have tossed them.”

“Not your fault,” said Hunter. “You had no way of knowing. Not much we can do about it now.”

She gave him a weak smile.

“Alyx said the pot she was hit with was right up here on the end,” Hunter stated as he stood up. “I always considered the space between cabinets and the ceiling wasted space, but I see Alyx made good use of it.”

He was referring to the baskets of different sizes and shapes, some with silk plants spilling out; several copper items, and three pieces of pottery––all made by Ethan––that lined the highest reaches of the kitchen. He reached for the copper bowl next to where the pot had been. At six feet one, Hunter was one inch shorter than Ethan, and had no problem bringing it down.

I had been sizing up the lawyer as I listened to the discussion and sensed his ambivalent feelings towards cats. I didn’t know exactly what lawyers did, but I knew this one was defending Ethan, doing the same thing I was––putting clues together to solve a puzzle.

I quickly determined that this was the opportune time to act. Although my theory as to what had happened remained unconfirmed, I wanted to get the lawyer thinking in that direction. I jumped off the chair and onto the counter, startling Hunter into reaching out for me, foiling my attempt to leap to the top of the cabinet.

Maggie literally snatched me out of his hands and unceremoniously deposited me on the floor. Naturally, I was mad and showed it by stomping out of the kitchen, definitely peeved, but I stayed close enough to hear the rest of the conversation.

“I don’t know why he did that; he’s usually very well behaved. I’m sorry I grabbed him out of your hands like that, but that hissing was so out of character, I was afraid he might bite you.”

“I probably frightened him by reaching for him the way I did.”

Hunter said he had what he needed, and Maggie walked him to the door.

“Thank you for taking the time to meet me here.”

“Alyx and Ethan are the family I never had. If it weren’t for Alyx, I wouldn’t be living my dream now. When I met her, I was going to school full time and working full time. It was harder than I had imagined and I wanted to quit many times, but she wouldn’t let me. She encouraged and sometimes browbeat me to continue. Had I not met Alyx, I would probably still be behind a cosmetics counter, waiting for the right man to come along. So please call me if there’s anything I can do, anything at all.”

“I will certainly do that.”