Murder of the Cat's Meow: A Scumble River Mystery (9 page)

“Hey, sugar.” Wally’s warm voice greeted her. “I hear you all had some excitement while I was gone. Are you and Bingo okay?”

“We’re fine.” Skye knew that Quirk had been trying to reach Wally, but cell phones weren’t allowed in the testing room. “Although Mr. Cat was extremely upset with me over the indignities he had to suffer. At least until I gave him a few treats.”

“Bingo has his priorities straight. His stomach always wins over his pride.” Wally chuckled, then turned serious. “Quirk tells me you and the three masterminds behind the weekend extravaganza were going to come up with the names of individuals who attended the bowler disco party and suspects. Are you finished with that?”

“Sort of. We couldn’t think of anyone who might have persuaded Alexis to meet them in the basement or stay behind after the party.” Skye touched the pages sticking out of her tote bag. “But I do have the list of people with motives right here. Do you want me to bring it to the PD?” She assumed that was either where he already was or where he was headed.

“That would be best. I just crossed into the city limits—” Wally’s voice cut out; cell phone reception in Scumble River was unreliable at best. Finally, she heard him say, “—in five minutes.”

Frannie lived only a couple of streets over from the police station, so Skye arrived before Wally did. The redbrick building housing the PD, the city hall, and the library took up the entire corner of Maryland and Kinsman. Usually on a late Sunday afternoon the parking lot would be nearly empty, but because of the murder, several vehicles were huddled together. Skye parked her Bel
Air between a rusted-out pickup truck and a bright blue Prius, then went inside.

Through the bulletproof glass, she could see Zelda Martinez sitting at the dispatcher’s desk drumming her fingers on her thigh and frowning. When she spotted Skye, her expression brightened and she jumped to her feet. Holding her index finger to her lips, Zelda motioned Skye to the locked entry separating the waiting area from the rest of the station.

She disappeared for a second, then opened the door for Skye, and as Skye stepped over the threshold Zelda said, “Can I speak to you in private?”

“Of course.” Skye wondered what the young woman wanted. “Where?”

Zelda gestured for Skye to follow her down the narrow hallway that went past the interrogation/coffee room. As always, the female officer’s dark brown hair was drawn tightly back and fastened in a bun at the nape of her neck, and her face was bare of makeup. However, her usually perfectly manicured nails were bitten to the quick, and Skye could see tiny specks of the bright red polish on Zelda’s teeth. Clearly, she was extremely upset.

When they reached the door of the women’s bathroom, Zelda looked over her shoulder and whispered, “In here.” Once they were inside, she leaned against the wall and bit at her thumbnail before finally saying, “I think I might be in trouble. I lied to Sarge.”

“About what?” Skye tried not to imagine Quirk’s reaction to one of his rookies being dishonest with him. Even though he hadn’t been entirely candid about his own involvement in a case a couple of years ago, he didn’t tolerate deceit.

“He asked me if I was related to one of the people at the cat show—Lola Martinez—and I said no.” Zelda worried a button on her uniform shirt. “But she’s my second
cousin. Her grandfather is my uncle. We’re not close and I haven’t talked to her in ages.”

“So, why didn’t you tell Quirk that?” Skye asked, glancing discreetly at her watch. Wally would be wondering where she was.

“I didn’t want him to take me off the case.” Zelda’s dark eyes glowed with fervid sincerity. “Several of the more senior officers are on vacation, so this is my chance to do something on a murder investigation other than crowd control and background checks.” A crease formed between her brows. “If I can’t work the investigation, Zuchowski will get a leg up on me. He already lords it over me because he started a week before I did.”

“I see.” Skye couldn’t remember ever seeing the other rookie, although she’d heard Wally mention him from time to time. He’d been hired last summer when she’d been preoccupied planning her cousin’s wedding, and he had flown under her radar since then.

Skye waited for Zelda to continue, and when she didn’t, Skye finally asked, “I assume you’re telling me this because you’d like me to intervene in some way?” She knew she sounded overly formal, but being engaged to the chief put her in an awkward position. “What are you hoping I can do?”

“I hate to ask.” The young woman frowned. “But I don’t know who else to turn to.”

Zelda’s expression reminded Skye of a puppy who had made a puddle in the middle of the living room carpet—remorseful, but with no idea how to solve the problem.

“I could speak with Quirk,” Skye offered, then cautioned, “But I think he’d respect you more if you went to him yourself and told him exactly what you just told me. Maybe explain he caught you off guard.”

“But he’ll be mad.”

“Probably.” Skye nodded. “At least at first. But I think
he’ll understand your motives.” She resolved that if the sergeant gave Zelda too hard a time, she’d remind him of his own indiscretion. “Do you want me to come with you when you tell him?”

“No.” Zelda took a deep breath. “I see now that I need to do this on my own.”

The women parted, Zelda in search of Quirk and Skye seeking Wally. She found him upstairs in his office. The decor never changed, although Skye did notice he had a new photograph of the two of them on his desktop. The previous picture had been a formal portrait of Skye taken when she was the maid of honor at her cousin’s over-the-top wedding. She was glad he had replaced it, since in that photo she was wearing a Pepto-Bismol pink dress that did nothing for either her complexion or her figure.

After a quick hug, Wally cupped her chin and examined the injury to her cheek. Frowning, he shook his head and threatened, “I should arrest Bunny Reid for assaulting you with a deadly grooming tool.”

“It wasn’t her fault,” Skye explained. “I should have known better than to leap into the situation without considering the consequences.”

“Well…” Wally’s tone was grudging. “They do look as if they’re healing pretty quickly.”

“See.” Skye smiled. “I told you I didn’t have to see a doctor.”

“Hmm.” Wally made a noncommittal noise before gently kissing Skye’s wounded cheek and returning to the chair behind his desk.

As he settled into his seat, Skye took a moment to appreciate her good fortune in being engaged to someone as wonderful and handsome as Wally. He had turned forty-three a couple of weeks ago, but the silver in his black hair and the slight lines around his mouth did nothing to mar his rugged good looks.

Silently, she thanked God that they had finally ended up together. She’d had a crush on him since she was a teenager and he was a twenty-two-year-old rookie on the Scumble River police force, but up until a couple of years ago, something had always kept them apart.

Wally interrupted her reverie. “I’ve got Quirk’s report here.” He flipped open the manila file in front of him and scanned the contents. “There’s not much to go on. According to his notes you found the body, called nine-one-one, and when the police arrived, the only people present in the bowling alley were you and Bunny.”

“That about sums it up.” Skye tried to think if she had anything to add. “The front door was unlocked, although Bunny swears she locked it.”

“I see that.” Wally lifted a brow. “But how reliable is Bunny?”

“On this matter, I would say ninety-nine percent. She’s a surprisingly good businesswoman.”

“According to the crime scene techs, there were no fingerprints on the weapon.” Wally made a wry face. “They’ll get back to us with anything else, although since it’s a public place, I’m not holding out much hope.”

“And I probably messed up any prints on the utility closet door.” Skye shook her head regretfully. “If only I hadn’t been juggling a smelly cat, I might have been more observant and not disturbed the scene.”

“Or the body might not have been discovered until it started to decompose,” Wally said in an attempt to reassure her. “If the weapon was wiped clean, you can bet that the knob and everything else was, too.”

“That’s true.” Skye brightened, then said, “Oh, before I forget, here’s the list of people with motives for killing Alexis. And there’s one more possibility. Ivan Quigley, the guy she was matched with during the speed-dating event.” Skye explained what she had learned from Frannie and Justin at the café.

“Let me take a look at the others.” Wally flipped through the paper-clipped pages. “Geez! The vic was sure disliked by a lot of people.” He added, “This confirms Quirk’s impression from what everyone was saying at the brunch. No one had a kind word for Alexis.”

“Ah.” Skye crossed her legs. “I was sort of wondering why Quirk allowed Bunny to continue with the awards ceremony.” She swung her foot. “Now, I’m guessing he had his officers mingle to overhear the gossip.”

“That, and to see if anyone who was supposed to be there didn’t show up.”

“Right.” Skye let her loafer dangle from her toe. “Anyone AWOL?”

“Elijah Jacobsen.”

“Shoot. Considering his altercation with Alexis yesterday, his absence doesn’t look good.” Skye was strangely fond of Elijah, but she had been afraid the odd man might turn out to be the killer. “Maybe his cat didn’t make it into the final round and that’s why he didn’t bother to come to the brunch.”

A knock on the door distracted Wally before he could respond to Skye’s suggestion, and he shouted, “Come in.”

Quirk flung the door open and announced, “I sent a couple of officers to the address Bunny gave me for Jacobsen. The ex-doc has flown the coop.”

“H
ow do you know Jacobsen’s gone?” Wally stood up and strode over to the sergeant. “Is it possible he’s just not home?”

“His sister lives with him,” Quirk reported. “She said he wasn’t there when she got up this morning, but he left her a message.”

Shoot!
Skye held her breath. Elijah’s disappearance made him a prime suspect. Could there be any other explanation, except the obvious one, for his abrupt departure? She stared at Quirk, waiting for him to reveal the contents of the note.

Finally, after handing a piece of paper sealed in an evidence bag to Wally, the sergeant summarized what it said. “He tells his sister to take care of Princess and the other cats. God told him that in order to cleanse his soul, he should go into the wilderness for forty days. If he survives, he’ll be back then.”

“Son of a—” Wally glanced at Skye and cut himself off, then turned to Quirk. “Put an all-points bulletin out on Jacobsen, get a warrant to search his house, and bring his sister in for questioning.”

“Yes, sir.” Quirk touched his forehead in a half salute.
“I’m on it.” He spun on his heel and hurried out of the office.

Once the sergeant was gone, Skye asked, “Does Elijah live in Scumble River?”

“No. He lives within the Brooklyn city limits.” Wally handed Skye the evidence-bagged note, then sat back down behind his desk. “Why?”

“I was wondering about jurisdictional issues,” Skye explained as she examined the letter.

“As long as the judge who issues a warrant presides over the county in which it’s executed, we can conduct the search.” Wally laced his fingers behind his neck. “As a matter of courtesy we’ll notify the local authorities and we usually request that a county deputy accompany our officers.”

“I see.” Skye nodded, then said, “Although Elijah’s message sounds damning, I can’t see Alexis ever being willing to go somewhere alone with him. Or meet him in the basement and hide out with him until the bowling alley closed.”

Wally rubbed a hand across his eyes. “But you and the others couldn’t come up with
anyone
she
would
agree to meet in the basement.” He pursed his lips. “And the medical examiner said that the body wasn’t moved. She was killed where you found her. Using liver temp, the ME puts the time of death between eleven thirty and twelve thirty last night.”

“Great.” Skye tucked an escaped curl back behind her headband. “People won’t be able to remember if a particular person was present when everyone was getting their coats on and leaving. That means a lot of our suspects won’t have verifiable alibis.”

“True,” Wally agreed. “But right now I’m more interested in Jacobsen. From what I’ve read, he sounds Looney Tunes. What’s your impression of the guy?”

“He’s a damaged soul who seems to have found a
refuge in his cats. Bunny said he told her that he applied to her dating site to find a woman who was like him.” Skye shifted in her seat.

“Like him in what way?” Wally dragged a legal pad toward him.

“My guess is he meant someone who finds it hard to cope with everyday life.” Skye struggled to express her thoughts. “Someone who loves cats for their serenity.”

“That makes sense.” Wally nodded. “Nothing like petting a cat to lower your blood pressure and calm you down.”

“Exactly.” Skye leaned forward. “So when Alexis both dissed his favorite cat and let Princess escape, it was as if she was attacking his best friend.” Skye considered all she had witnessed and overheard. “Then, to top it off, Alexis taunted Elijah about his past. She really seemed to enjoy making people squirm.”