Murder of the Cat's Meow: A Scumble River Mystery (5 page)

“Well…” Skye looked around, hoping to see something that Bingo would deign to play with and her mother wouldn’t mistake for a baby toy. All she needed was for May to think she was pregnant. Which reminded her, she needed to talk to Wally about children. Now that his annulment was nearly finalized, she had to find out his opinion of fatherhood.

Focusing back on the present, Skye pointed to a long stick with a feather attached to the end. But before she could ask Sandy about it, an identical little old lady joined them. This one’s badge read,
SONIA—I’M THE NICE TWIN.
She was dressed in the same powder blue knit slacks and sweater set as her sister. Even the golden cathead pin above her right breast was an exact match.

Skye glanced down and noticed that although the women wore similar shoes—pale blue Mary Janes—Sandy’s had a two-inch heel, and Sonia’s were flat.

Sonia took Skye’s elbow and said, “Forget these foolish bits and pieces. Your kitty will be happier if you give him a paper bag and a ball of yarn.” She grinned. “You know the fifth cat law, don’t you?”

Skye shook her head.

“A cat’s attention level will rise and fall in reverse proportion to the amount of effort a human expends in trying to interest him.”

Skye giggled. The older woman’s assessment of Bingo’s personality was dead-on.

Sonia guided Skye to a display of carpet-covered towers. “What you really need for your darling is a Kitty Kondo. I custom-build all of them myself, so you can mix and match the design and color scheme.”

Sandy had followed them and was tugging on Skye’s hand. “Toys are better for your cat’s health. I only stock the best brands.”

“But you can make your own playthings.” Sonia challenged her sister. “Whereas my creations are one of a kind, constructed especially for your best friend.”

Skye was beginning to feel like the last can of Fancy Feast on the pet store shelf when Alexis strolled up, waved her hand at both sides of the booth’s contents, and scoffed, “It’s all crap for pathetic people who fail to realize that we own the animals, they don’t own us. I’ve been breeding cats for years. All they need is a good diet, proper grooming, and a clean living area.”

The twins gasped, then said in unison, “What about love?”

“That’s so what old ladies would think.” Alexis snorted.

The sisters glared at her as if she were something they’d scraped off the bottom of a litter box.

“I’m sure everyone here would agree that cats need affection,” Skye said in support of the elderly women.

“Of course they would. Never underestimate the
power of stupid people in large groups.” Alexis snickered. “This crowd overindulges their pets.”

“Caring deeply is not overindulging,” Skye said, gazing steadily at Alexis.

“Their
animals
receive healthier food and more attention than most
children
in this country.” The nasty woman dared Skye to disagree.

“We all have a right to our beliefs.” Skye kept her expression impassive, then said in an even tone, “But it really is rude to verbalize that opinion in a place where most people will be hurt by what you say.”

“Only losers allow themselves to be hurt by others,” Alexis retorted, then walked away, adding over her shoulder, “And clearly you’re a loser.”

Skye shrugged off Alexis’s insults. In her years as a school psychologist, she’d grown a thick skin. However, she did feel bad for the twin vendors, who seemed crushed by the younger woman’s boorishness. Figuring a sale would cheer them up, Skye ordered a cat tree that resembled a child’s jungle gym. Beaming, Sonia assured her the tower would be ready in two days.

Then turning her attention to Sandy, Skye bought an object called Neko Flies. The woman assured her that the toy was designed to mimic the movements of the creatures cats loved to chase. Skye didn’t mention that the only object Bingo was apt to pursue was a chicken nugget.

Having done her good deed for the day, and spent more money than she’d earned by working the cat show, Skye tucked the toy into her purse and moved on to the next booth, where she was instantly entranced by the jewelry. Unable to choose among all the wonderful pieces, she fingered necklaces made of tiger’s eye, sleek silver pendants, and cute charm bracelets, debating the merits of each one.

Just as she slid a gold cat-shaped ring onto her finger,
an elegant woman with a cascade of brown curls down her back stepped forward and said, “That’s one of my best pieces, but it can’t compete with your lovely engagement ring. Tiffany’s, two carats, correct?”

“Right. Thank you.” Skye inspected the olive-skinned beauty. “Do you make all the jewelry yourself?”

“Yes.” She held out a slender hand. “I’m Lola Martinez, and you are?”

“Skye Denison.”

“I liked how you handled Alexis.” Lola’s brown eyes were full of loathing. “She’s always bitching about something, and if anyone says anything about it, she claims it’s not complaining, it’s motivational speaking.”

“Really?” Skye wasn’t surprised that Alexis considered her every word important and failed to understand that what she said affected others. The opinionated judge’s total lack of empathy had been apparent in every encounter Skye had had with her.

“Alexis is such a witch.” Lola’s mouth tightened. “And no one ever stands up to her.”

“I’m a school psychologist, so I’m used to handling mean girls.”

“Then you should do just fine with Alexis. Her maturity level is about the same as a thirteen-year-old’s, and that’s probably being unfair to the teenager.” Lola took a deep breath, shook her head, and changed the subject by holding up a pair of black-enameled cat-shaped earrings. “These would look good on you.”

Skye agreed, but once she completed her purchase, Lola hesitated before giving her the gold-foil box. Skye held her palm out, waiting, and finally the jewelry maker handed her the package.

Skye turned to go, but Lola’s voice stopped her. “Just FYI, keep your fiancé away from Alexis. Now that you’ve challenged her, she’ll make it her purpose in life to steal him away from you.”

“Thanks for the warning.” Skye tucked the jewelry box into her purse. “I’ll keep that in mind if they ever meet.”

As she walked away, she dismissed Lola’s concern. Wally would see through Alexis before the predatory woman could unsheathe her claws or fluff her fur. Besides, he’d never betray Skye. They’d gone through too much to be together for either of them to risk losing each other now. Not when they were so close to finally getting married.

While Skye made her way to the photographer’s cubicle, she noted that most competitors had packed up and left. The participants who lived within a reasonable driving distance would go home, drop off their animals, clean up, and come back for dinner at six thirty.

The ones who lived farther away had brought their RVs or were staying at the Up A Lazy River Motor Court, the local motel owned by Skye’s godfather, Charlie Patukas. He normally didn’t allow pets, but Bunny had somehow charmed him into making an exception for this weekend.

Although a few people still lingered in the vendor area, the photographer was already putting away his equipment when Skye entered his space. He was a nice-looking man in his early forties, but he reminded Skye of the Munchkin cat she had seen earlier. Sitting or lying down, the breed appeared average, but once the animal stood up, its extremely short legs were evident.

“I see you’re finished for the day,” Skye said, gesturing to the gear that was already packed up in various containers. “But if you have a minute, could you answer a couple of questions for me?”

“Sure.” He smiled pleasantly at her as she hovered at the entrance. “I’m Kyle O’Brien.”

“Skye Denison.” She shook his hand. “I’m working the event, not here as a contestant, but I’d love to have a
picture taken of my cat. Would it be possible for me to bring him in before the show officially starts tomorrow?”

“Of course.” Kyle slipped a camera into its case. “The Best of the Best judging is at ten. I could meet you at eight and do three or four setups.”

“That would be great. I don’t want anything overly elaborate. Just a nice photo for my wall.” Skye hesitated, then said, “Bingo isn’t a trained show cat, so he might be hard to manage.”

“No problem.” Kyle grinned. “They call me the cat whisperer.”

“This is so bogus,” Justin complained as he returned to the grill for another tray of plates. “Frannie was in charge of the food. My area was accounting and judging, and I didn’t ask her to help me with any of that.”

“The two servers Frannie hired never showed up,” Skye explained. “So she drafted us.”

But empathy had never been Justin’s strong suit, and he muttered something about America having an all-volunteer army, then headed back to the bar to serve the remaining eight diners. One of whom was Bunny, who had elected to eat with her guests.

Justin’s attitude made Skye sigh as she took a seat at the counter. Her feet were killing her. As soon as she finished eating and helped Frannie clean up, she was heading home. Her cell phone charge had run out without her noticing, and Wally was probably wondering where the heck she was.

Justin returned, still grumbling, and Frannie led him away for a little girlfriend-to-boyfriend chat. Skye watched the couple as she ate her dinner. The spaghetti was surprisingly tasty and the salad had a nice light dressing, but she thought the garlic bread was probably a mistake—considering that the next event was speed dating.

After Skye finished eating and Frannie returned from
her talk, the two women started to wash the dirty dishes that Justin had begun bringing into the kitchen from the bar.

As they worked Skye commented, “There seemed to be a lot of unique people at the cat show.”

“I guess unique is one way of putting it.” Frannie giggled. “I’d go with weird.”

“Especially Elijah Jacobsen.” Skye shook her head. “He seems to be the oddest of all.”

“At least he has an excuse.” Frannie’s expression turned sober. “He was in a terrible auto accident twenty years ago and suffered a really bad head injury.”

“How awful.”

“It resulted in his fiancée’s death and ended his career as a surgeon.”

“That’s awful.” Skye’s voice caught. “A traumatic brain injury can cause so much damage to cognitive functioning.”

“Yeah. It really messed him up.” Frannie handed Skye the last wet plate. “He said he has a lot of trouble with memory and concentration, and it’s hard for him to make decisions.”

“The poor man. It sounds as if he really has a lot to deal with.” Skye wiped the dish dry and slid it onto the towering stack on the shelf, then folded the towel and said, “That’s it, and I’m heading home.”

“Thanks, Ms. D.” Frannie sounded tired and her shoulders slumped. “You sure you don’t want to stick around for the bowler disco party?”

“I’m positive.” Skye felt her head start to throb at the idea of the loud music and flashing lights. “The servers Bunny has lined up for that event are coming, right?” Both Justin and Frannie were too young to serve alcohol, and there was no way Skye was moonlighting as a cocktail waitress. She didn’t have the figure or the tolerance for drunks that the job required.

“Yep.” Frannie pushed a strand of hair off her cheek. “The weekend lounge workers are covering both the speed dating and the party.”

“Are you staying?” Skye asked, wondering what Xavier thought about his daughter’s business venture. He had been a single parent for a long time, and she guessed that he would have a hard time accepting the young woman’s growing independence.

“Nah.” Frannie shook her head. “I hate disco and Justin’s off pouting somewhere.” She frowned. “It wouldn’t be any fun without him.”

“Why’s he in such a bad mood tonight?” Skye asked, giving in to her curiosity—her noninterference policy was driving her crazy. “He seemed just fine this afternoon.”

“Ms. Hightower yelled at him,” Frannie explained. “She wanted to see the scores so far, but the judges aren’t allowed to know how the cats did in the other rounds.” Frannie pursed her lips, indicating her disapproval of Alexis’s attempt to break the rules. “When Justin said no, she tried to flirt with him, and when that didn’t work, she called him incompetent.”

“Ouch!” Skye winced. Justin prided himself on his intelligence and his computer ability. Alexis’s words would have really wounded his ego.

“Yep. Major ouch.”

“Hey.” The discussion about Alexis reminded Skye of a question she’d been meaning to ask all day. “What kind of qualifications does someone need to be a cat show judge? Is there a class you have to take?”

“We looked it up online and found out that to become a legitimate judge a person needs to have been a successful breeder whose cats have won ribbons at several shows,” Frannie explained.

“Is that all?”

“No.” Frannie scrunched her face in deep thought. “If
I remember right, they also have to be on committees, work as entry clerks, and serve as show managers. Then they have to be trainees, pass tests, and apprentice with certified teachers.”

“That sounds like a lot of effort.” Skye bit her lip. “Since Alexis doesn’t seem as enamored of cats as everyone else here, I wonder why she went to so much trouble.”

“Maybe it’s the only place she can be the boss. I remember her saying she supports herself working temp jobs.”

“Ah, that might explain it.”

“Yeah. She said her last one was as some city official’s assistant, and he was a real control freak. He had a special phone she wasn’t allowed to touch, but he didn’t tell her that it was off limits until she’d already answered it. He expected her to read his mind about her duties and was always yelling at her.”

“Sounds like one of my bosses.”

Frannie giggled, then dried her hands and walked toward the bar door. “You want to take a peek at the speed daters?”

“Just for a minute.” Skye had only a vague idea of how the event worked.

When she joined Frannie in peering through the frosted-glass window, the young woman said, “See the men at all the little round tables?”

“Yes.” Skye noted that there were twenty guys ranging in age from forty to seventy seated facing the stage. One of them was Elijah, who had added a black velvet fedora to his outfit. Beneath its brim, gray-blond dreadlocks poked out in all directions.