Meow for the Money (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 14) (17 page)

Megan smiled demurely. “How astute of you, Detective.”

“And since you don’t want to disturb that sweet deal, I’m pretty sure you’ll be willing to keep it honest—was it someone the boy knew?”

“Yes,” she said. “It was a set-up, you know. I didn’t find it out until it was all over that they planned it in order to extort money from Junie.” She shook her head. “As if they don’t have enough.”

“Who, Megan?”

She stared at Craig for a moment, watching as he reached down and stroked the expensive shoe. Finally, she said, “Petra and Jody.”

“And were they the ones messing with the cats—poisoning one of them and taking the other one?”

Megan sat wide-eyed, stunned, seemingly unable to speak.

“Or was it you?” Craig asked point blank. When he noticed her indecisiveness, he played his trump card. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone, balancing it in the palm of his hand for Megan to see.

“Oh!” she yelped, reaching for the phone. “You found it. Thank you.”

“Not so fast,” Craig said, pulling it back. “Truth first.”

Megan wilted against the back of the loveseat. “Okay. I put a little antifreeze in the cat’s food and I drove Mazie Mae out to the rural area east of here, but I had to,” she said, bursting into tears. “I love Junie and I’ve even come to love her cats.” She shrugged. “Well, some of them.”

“So why’d you do it?” Craig asked. “Why would you want to hurt her and the poor cats? For her money? Did you think that with the cats out of the picture you’d get more money, is that it?”

“No,” she insisted, shaking her head vigorously, “that’s not it. I was promised that the cats wouldn’t be harmed. Petra told me he wanted to be the hero in front of Junie. He was supposed to bring Mazie Mae back. I told him where I dropped her off. He was going to rescue her and bring her back—he wanted to be the big hero.”

“When did you figure out he didn’t have the cats’ best interest at heart? After what’s her name—Mazie—nearly died?”

“Oh no,” Megan said, confidently. “When he found out she was being taken care of by the veterinarian…” she glanced at Savannah, “…your husband, he knew everything was okay. If you hadn’t found her, he would have picked her up and returned her. He wasn’t going to hurt the cat. He just wanted to scare Junie and show her the possibilities of what could happen if she didn’t change her will. Know what I mean?”

Craig looked squarely at Megan, a scowl on his face. “Are you naïve or just…”

“Craig,” Savannah said, a warning frown on her face.

He cleared his throat and rubbed his chin. “Megan, were you taken advantage of by Petra?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” She hesitated, then grinned sheepishly. “He can be charming.”

“Yeah, so I hear,” he said, rather deadpan. He then asked, “Were you having an affair with him?”

“No. What do you mean? Me? No.”

Craig let out a sigh. “Megan, we have video of you all dolled up walking into his home on the evening of January fifteenth, and you didn’t leave until late the next morning.”

At that, she stood. “Don’t you cops have anything better to do than snoop on people and harass them all damn day and night?”

He smirked. “No, it’s our job.”

“Well, I think you’d better leave. We’re done here.”

“Settle down, Megan. You said it yourself; he can be charming. Was he bribing you, too?”

She dropped back into the loveseat and Craig continued, “Megan, it appears that your part in the crimes against June Balcomb is minimal, with no malice intended. I’m fairly certain you can get off with a slap on the wrist. But it’s important that you level with us. We’re going to need the whole truth. What do you know about the murder of Andrew Pritchard?”

“Nothing, I…”

“Think about it, Megan. Can we count on you to be a witness against Petra Salvo? Remember, he’s in jail. If we can get a conviction, he’ll stay there for a very long time and he won’t be able to manipulate you…ever again.”

Megan stared down at her hands, finally raising her tear-filled eyes and saying, “He’s like an addiction, you know. I couldn’t stay away from him. He knew I’d carry his secret to the grave as long as I was getting what I wanted.” She spoke through sobs. “What I wanted was him.” Containing herself a bit, she continued, “When the reality of what he had done started to sink in, I wanted out.” She set her jaw. “But with Petra there’s no way out except suicide.” More quietly, she said, “I even considered that.” She took a deep breath. “Yes, he killed Drew. He didn’t plan to. It just happened when Drew tried to play an action-hero figure. Petra didn’t mean to.”

“And he was remorseful, right, Megan? Generally, when someone harms someone accidentally, there’s sincere remorse.”

She suddenly froze. Frown lines began to form on her forehead. Her eyes turned dark. “No,” she said, as if just realizing it. She shook her head slowly. “No, there was no remorse. According to Petra, it was all Drew’s fault. I…I don’t think he has it in him to be remorseful.”

“Megan, did he stab Sterling Goss?” When she hesitated, Craig picked up her phone and started tapping on the screen. “Or was it you, Megan? You were in the kitchen with him—where the knives are kept.”

“No, it wasn’t me. I didn’t do it. Petra might have stabbed him. I’m not sure.” She waved her hand in front of her face. “I really didn’t want to know.” She began to cry. “I put it out of my mind. How could I sleep with a cold-blooded killer? No, I couldn’t believe that he’d do it.”

When Savannah noticed Megan struggling to regain her composure, she handed her a tissue. Savannah glanced at Craig and said softly to the distraught woman, “You let your mind play tricks on you, didn’t you, Megan? As women, sometimes we’re taken in. It happens to many women.” She hesitated, then said, “It happened to me once. I got all mixed up in my head.”

Megan stopped crying for a moment and sat quietly as Savannah continued, “Yes, I was taken in. I couldn’t get him out of my system. I didn’t want to believe he was a drug addict and a thief. He lied to me—even stole from me, and I let it happen. I made excuses for him. It’s how we women sometimes handle our emotions, isn’t it, Megan? We go into denial.”

Megan blew her nose and looked up at Savannah. “Yes, denial—I’m the queen of denial.”

“Well, it’s over, Megan.” Savannah looked around the room. “It looks like you have something going for you. It’s time to unlock those memories you’ve hidden away. It’s important now for you and for June that you remember. It’s time, Megan. Do it for June. Do it for yourself and your future.”

Megan took a deep breath and looked at the detective. “I saw him take the knife and walk outside with it. He was really mad about something the attorney had said to him or accused him of. I had told Petra when the attorney would be at the estate and he waited for him.” She began to cry.

Craig thinned his lips, then asked, “Megan, who had access to your storage unit other than yourself?”

She looked at him. “I guess anyone who went into the laundry room. The master keys to each unit hang in there.” Suddenly, her eyes darted from corner to corner in the room and she said, “Petra had a key. He said he needed a place to store things and I had room in there, so I gave him my key and I used the master key. I didn’t open that thing very often.”

“So Petra had access to your storage unit, did he?”

“Yes, why?”

“Megan, when’s the last time you were in there?”

She furrowed her brow in thought. “Oh, maybe a month or more, I guess. I didn’t have much reason to go in there.”

“Interesting,” Craig said, shaking his head and smirking. “Let’s hope a jury believes you.”

“What?”

Craig leaned forward. “We found that chef’s knife in your storage unit, Megan.”

Suddenly, her face twisted into a scowl. “Well, that…” she started.

“Yes, Megan, he claims that you stabbed Goss in the back and told him you hid the knife in your storage unit. We found it right where he said you told him it was.”

Megan sat still, staring in disbelief. She then panicked. “You don’t believe him, do you? He had a key, I tell you. He must have put the knife in there…or someone else did. Everyone at the estate had access to my storage shed because the master keys were in plain sight.”

“Yeah, we found the key in his possession.”

“Oh, thank heavens,” she said, relief washing over her briefly before she sat rigid again. “But it’s still my word against his, isn’t it?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. Tell me, Megan, does Petra have any habits—say a tobacco habit or a sweet tooth?”

She laughed. “Well, he does take prescription drugs. He claimed an injury years ago and got hooked. He has many sources.” She sneered, saying, “That little orderly was just one of them.” She paused before saying, “He vapes.”

“He what?” Craig asked.

“He smokes those fake vaper cigars.”

Craig nodded. “Yeah, we found one of those in your storage unit, too. It appears he may have spent some time in there recently, as if he was…hiding, perhaps.”

Megan looked surprised. “Yeah, I guess he could have used it to hide in—while he was waiting for Mr. Goss that day.”

“Yeah, and after killing Andrew Pritchard,” Craig said, as if thinking out loud. He suddenly stood. “Perfect!” he said, grinning. He turned to Megan. “Thank you. I think you’ve helped to clear up a lot of things. Thank you for telling us what happened.”

She took a deep breath. “I actually feel lighter. Wow! I didn’t know I was carrying such a burden.” When Craig turned to leave, she asked, “Now can I have my phone back?”

“Nope,” Craig said. “Not quite yet.”

“Hey, there’s personal stuff on there,” she protested.

“Yeah, I know,” Craig said smiling. “It’s going into evidence and I’m going to give a nice old lady some news—good news and bad news. The good part being that she can stop fearing for her life and that of her cats.” He looked Megan in the eyes. “And if I hear of any…I mean
any
—attempts to harm June Balcomb or a hair on any of those cats, I will come looking for you.” Craig started to turn again, then spun back and peered at Megan. “I have one more question.”

“What?” she asked, dread evident in her eyes.

“Who took the poisoned fish to the estate?” He squinted in her direction. “That wasn’t you, was it?”

“No,” she responded, looking confused. “Why?”

“Who was it? I’m curious.”

She chuckled. “I heard about that, actually. Petra hired some hotshot gymnast from the college.”

“Ahhh,” Craig said. “Man, he was one fast, slippery dude.” He then said more seriously, “The college, huh?”

“Yes, I understand he was Asian, here on a gymnastics scholarship. Petra bragged about finding him at his vape store.”

“Thanks, Megan,” he said as he turned to leave.

Craig and Savannah were silent as they rode the elevator down to the lobby of the swank hotel, until Craig said, “I didn’t know that about you.”

“What?” she asked, looking puzzled.

“That you got tangled up with a druggie.”

She laughed, waving one hand in front of her face. “Oh, I made that up. No, it didn’t really happen. I was just trying to establish a little affinity with Megan. You know—a woman-to-woman moment, so she’d spill her beans.”

“Oh,” he said, his eyes wide. “So that’s how it works, huh? Well, good job.”

****

A few evenings later, June stood with a little help from Nola. “I’ve called you together for one last time in the capacity of my staff.” She glanced around the room, making eye contact with each person. Her voice cracked. “But I sincerely hope to see each of you again in friendship. Please know that you are all welcome here anytime. I can’t thank you enough for helping out an old lady and for…” she paused while gaining her composure “…protecting my precious kitties. I will miss you all.”

“Do we have to leave?” Edie asked.

“Yeah, we’ll miss you, too, Ms. June,” Dora said quietly, dabbing at her eyes with her apron.

“Hear! Hear!” Iris said, walking up to the woman and hugging her. “I’m so glad you’re safe. It’s been a pure pleasure being here with you.”

“You, too, dear Iris. I will miss your culinary creations.” She leaned closer. “Especially that peach pie.”

When June saw Max and Margaret moving toward her, she reached out to them. “Max, thank you…” she peered into the group, saying, “…and Damon for driving Miss Daisy. You make mighty dapper chauffeurs,” she said as Max hugged her.

“It was my pleasure entirely,” he said. He pulled back and winked at her. “You are a delightful passenger.”

“Margaret,” June said, reaching out her hand, “I appreciated you and Max helping with the ferals. Nola and I learned a lot from you. Thank you for cluing us in about the best way to help them.”

“Yes,” Nola said, “I think we know what sort of safety enclosure to provide for them now. Your knowledge has been priceless.”

“You’ll do just fine,” Margaret said. “Your heart’s in the right place and you’re eager to learn.” She leaned in so both women could hear. “Just try not to spread yourself too thin. Take on only what you can handle successfully. Otherwise, some might suffer.”

“Got it,” Nola said. “Makes sense. Rather than trying to be a hero to all, we must give our all to those cats who rely on us.”

“Perfect,” Margaret said, smiling at June and Nola.

Max nodded and winked.

“Dora and Edie, you two have been marvelous,” June said as the two women walked toward her. “I don’t know how I’m going to get along without your amazing desserts, Dora, and your wonderful gourmet meals, Edie.”

Colbi approached her next. “Colbi dear, I wonder who will miss you most—me or the kitties. You sure have a sweet way with them. I don’t recall them ever being so eager for their grooming routine.”

“Yes, what is your secret?” Nola asked sweetly.

Colbi shrugged. “Love, I guess.” She choked up. “They’re wonderful…each and every one of them. It’s been such a delight.”

“Please visit often, will you?” June said.

Colbi nodded.

“Now all of you go get some bubbly and enjoy the evening,” June invited.

“Can I bring you something, Ms. June?” Colbi asked.

June put her hand up. “Not right now. Thank you.”