Chapter 3
Chapter three
Cosmo stared at me and held my arm with his paws, as if to claim me as a prize. Or, considering my sorry state of affairs, the kind of consolation trophy they gave me at the Christmas fair when I’d sucked so badly at the ring toss, the stall holder couldn’t bear it any longer.
“Clever cat,” Brian said. “He made the right choice, given your situation.”
I didn’t know whether to wince at his bluntness or be thankful for his acceptance of the situation. To his credit he added, “You always deserved better, if you ask me. Cosmo’ll appreciate you.”
His sister chimed in. “It’s a relief, really. Now we don’t have to go through all the hassle of figuring out how to fulfill Aunt Violet’s wishes without rearranging our lives. Like Brian said, Bex, in your situation …”
“Just to make it clear, I do have options,” I said.
“It’s not as if I’m homeless or unemployable.
I have an excellent reputation as a furniture restorer.
” Cosmo gave a weird noise. In a human I’d have interpreted it as a snicker.
I hastened to add, “Although I’m more than happy to do whatever Aunt Violet wanted. ”
“None of you have any objections then?” Louisa unscrewed her Montblanc pen.
We all shook our heads.
“If you’d sign here?” She handed the pen to Brenda, as the oldest. My cousin signed with a flourish and passed the document and pen on to her brother.
“What about the funeral?” he asked. “You said it was all arranged?”
“Your aunt left clear instructions. I’ll send you a copy. Now, Bex, is there anything you want to ask?”
“Could I interrupt for a sec?” Brenda tapped her foot. “I have a long drive home, and I’d rather not hit the rush hour.”
“Sure,” I conceded. It gave me a chance to think of any questions. Cat toys. The thought popped into my mind.
“When can we expect our money? Is there anything we need to do to receive our share?”
“I’m the executor, so I’ll try to speed things up. Both of you have agreed to accept the will as it stands, with Bex as the principal heiress. That means, probate should be a mere formality. A week or two, maybe?” Louisa said.
“Great, thanks.” My cousin hugged me again, no mean feat considering I held a ten-pound cat on my lap. Her musky perfume reached our nostrils and Cosmo sneezed.
“Later gator.” Brian gave me two thumbs up. I hadn’t heard him say that since my teens, when he’d started rehearsing his DJ spiel.
“In a while, crocodile,” I replied.
When the door had closed behind them, Louisa addressed me again. “Ready to proceed?” She unlocked a cabinet and took out a bunch of keys, with a metal cat holding a book dangling from the chain. Aunt Violet’s keys.
Cosmo purred.
“I think he wants to go home,” she said.
“But can we? Before the probate clears and all that?”
“Not move in as such, you’ll have to stay at the Blue Moon. What we can do is go to the house and pick up anything you need, under my supervision.”
Cosmo climbed into his carrier as if he understood every word.
Louisa followed me in her car, saving me the return trip to her office.
Aunt Violet’s house lay in darkness, with half of the windows shuttered and the curtains drawn.
She did that every evening, after her meal.
Then she’d settle with a book in front of the fireplace.
The only window she didn’t bother with was Cosmo’s favorite, looking out over now nearly denuded trees and onto Jake’s house.
He headbutted the plastic bubble. “Can I let him out?” I asked Louisa as we went up the staircase to her living quarters. The downstairs was almost completely taken up by the lending library.
“Of course. If you can catch him again. I hope he’s not waiting for her return.”
I opened the carrier. Cosmo dashed past Aunt Violet’s bedroom and the kitchen, into the den with his precious windowsill. He jumped onto it, growling as loud as I’d ever heard him.
“What’s up?” I stroked his head.
“That’s a good question.” Louisa had joined me at the window. Together, we gazed at a couple of people in plastic Tyvek suits entering Jake’s house. The taller one carried a large black suitcase, and behind him followed a policeman.
“What did he die of?” I asked, with a sinking heart. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.
“A heart attack, from what I heard. Natural causes. Except –”
“Then why send the police and crime scene investigators?” I shivered. “But why only now, several days later?”
She shook her head. “No idea. I only hope it’s nothing. Because otherwise …”
I finished the sentence for her. “They might be looking at murder.”
Under Louisa’s watch, I grabbed a wicker basket my aunt had stored magazines in, emptied it, and refilled it with Cosmo’s blanket, spare blanket, blanket in case the other two were in the wash, balls, sticks with and without feathers, and his set of brushes. Meanwhile, he prowled around the room.
To my relief, he returned to the carrier as soon as I was done.
Lifting it and the basket turned out to be more of a workout than I’d anticipated.
Or the stupid hormones went out of whack again.
Whatever the reason, when I left the house in full view of the police car, I needed to mop sweat of my brow.
Louisa locked the door behind us. “Give me a call if you need anything,” she said. She peeked at Cosmo, who pressed his nose against the bubble. “He’s such a sweet boy.”
Apart from a loud hiss as we passed Jake’s house, the sweet boy stayed silent all the way back to our room at the Blue Moon.
I let him out while I filled his bowl with chicken. He’d only had a tiny breakfast in case he suffered from car sickness or nerves while we were at the law office.
The basket was the next item on my list to unpack. I shook out the blanket, the spare blanket and the other one, when I heard words behind me.
“I was hoping it’d be you.”
I spun around, to stare directly at the cat who’d jumped onto the headboard of the bed. My head swiveled as I scanned the room. Where was the person I’d heard?
I was looking back at Cosmo when he opened his mouth. “Listen up, buttercup, we need to talk.”
I did the only sensible thing and fainted.