Only the Cat Knows (20 page)

‘Nessa! You’re here!’ I flinched and stepped back as Nina hurled herself at me. I caught her arms before she could throw them around me and held her at a distance.

‘Nessa!’ she sobbed. ‘Nessa! They don’t believe me!’ Implying that I did. We were off to a great start.

‘Sit down.’ It seemed the safest thing to say. ‘Take it easy.’ That wasn’t bad, either. ‘What’s the matter?’ I hoped would distance me a bit more.

I told you!’ She stepped back and looked at me incredulously. ‘I told you last night!’

‘You were so upset last night,’ I murmured, with a craven shrug towards the others. ‘Did you get any sleep at all?’

‘Not much.’ Answering the unexpected question, she was momentarily coherent, but it didn’t last. ‘How could I when —?’

‘She’s hysterical.’ Yvonne was also keeping her distance, eyeing Nina with distaste. ‘Again.’

‘As usual,’ Amanda agreed wearily. So that was the way they were going to play it.

‘Dr Anderson will be here soon,’ Candy said. ‘He’ll be able to give her something —’

‘I don’t want anything! I want to know where Kiki is!’ Nina’s voice began rising again. ‘We’ve got to find her! She could be lying somewhere — hurt — unconscious —’

‘Keep it down, will you!’ Shadow appeared in the doorway, glaring at us, with an especially vicious look towards me. ‘How do you expect Mr Oversall to concentrate on business when you’re screaming the place down?’

‘Tell him the situation is under control,’ Yvonne said smoothly. ‘There is nothing for him to concern himself with.’

‘Oh, yes, there is!’ Nina made a dash for the door, but Shadow blocked her way.

‘Let me through! I’ve got to tell him! He’ll help me! He
has
to!’ Eyebrows were raised and grimly amused looks exchanged. Everett Oversall didn’t
have
to do anything.

‘What’s all this about?’ Catching Nina by the shoulders, Shadow moved her across the room and into a chair with the expertise of a professional nurse — or bodyguard.

‘She is unable to find Kiki,’ Yvonne answered after a short pause. ‘She believes Kiki has … gone missing.’

‘And has she?’

‘Who’s keeping track?’ Candy shrugged. ‘We’ve all got better things to do.’

‘The last any of us heard, Kiki had retired to bed with a migraine attack,’ Amanda said. ‘We haven’t expected to see her for a while.’

‘She’s not in bed!’ Nina wailed. ‘She’s not in her rooms!’

‘Then perhaps she has moved somewhere else,’ Yvonne said. ‘Monica would know.’

Oh, yes, Monica would know. Monica, who had gone to investigate the cell after I had reported to her. Monica, who had cleared away the evidence and called Dr Anderson — not necessarily in that order. Monica would know — but would Monica tell?

Hah-bloody-hah!

‘Monica
doesn’t
know,’ Nina said. ‘I’ve already asked her.’

‘Oh?’ Again glances were exchanged over her head.

‘Perhaps if one of
us
asked her …’ Amanda suggested.

‘Why should she tell you, if she wouldn’t tell me?’

It was a fair question, from Nina’s point of view, but no one seemed disposed to answer it.

‘I want to see Mr Oversall!’ Nina’s mouth set stubbornly. ‘I want to see him now!’

It might not be a bad idea,’ I said into the ensuing silence.

‘Who asked you?’ Shadow glared at me, then at the others as they hesitated. He didn’t appear to like them any better.

‘Get her out of here!’ He threw out the order indiscriminately, jerking his thumb in Nina’s direction, and this time I was included in the exchange of glances. ‘I won’t have Oversall disturbed!’

‘Umm … why don’t you take Nina back to your place?’ Candy said to me. ‘We’ll have coffee sent over and you can …’ She trailed off and I remembered she’d sought me out because she expected me to deal with Nina.
The glance stops here
.

‘All right.’ Why not? It wouldn’t hurt to show willing
and, with Nina becoming increasingly agitated, I might even learn a bit more.

‘Come on …’ I slipped an arm around Nina’s waist and urged her towards the door. ‘Shhh … it’s all right,’ I soothed as she began to struggle. The door closed firmly behind us and it was safe to whisper. ‘We’ll go and check with Bud. He promised he’d search this morning, remember?’

‘Oh … yes …’ She relaxed and let me lead her outside. ‘But no one said anything about a search.’

‘I don’t think Bud has to report to any of them. He seems to run his own operation — in his own way.’

‘Yes …’ She relaxed even more, perhaps with relief. ‘Yes, you’re right. Bud will —’

A flurry of urgent barks sent us hurrying across the lawn in their direction.

‘Do you … think they’ve … found something?’ Nina gasped.

‘I don’t know.’ I couldn’t tell her I doubted it, that I had reason to believe that all traces of anything to be found had been cleared away by now.

‘Squirrels,’ Bud said, patting Brutus to calm him. ‘They’re good dogs, but they’re only human …’ He paused and seemed to hear what he had just said.

I mean,’ he clarified, ‘they’ve got these inbred instincts and sometimes they take over. The dogs can’t help it.’

‘Then …’ Nina relinquished hope reluctantly. ‘You haven’t … found … anything?’

‘Told you we wouldn’t.’ Bud was not without sympathy, but his expertise was in question. ‘We run a tight ship here.’

But not tight enough to know anything the higher-ups might want to keep from him.

Or did he? Was he part of the conspiracy of silence? Was he helping to cover up whatever was going on? Security could mean a lot of things.

A low persistent buzzing began and Bud reached for a
holster on his belt that I had assumed held a gun and removed a cellphone instead.

‘Security. Bud.’ He spoke into it, then spent the remainder of the call listening.

‘Right. I’ll check on them,’ he said, ending it and returning the phone to its holster. ‘They’re looking for you,’ he told me. It seems coffee is being served in your quarters and you’re not there.’

‘That was quick,’ I said. ‘We just left the main house.’

‘Things can move fast around here.’ Was there an underlying meaning in his dry tone? ‘I’ll take you back, before anyone gets upset. They like to know where everybody is.’

‘Except Kiki,’ Nina said bitterly.

I might have known the unpleasant maid would be standing by my door with a heavy tray and a forbidding expression. No prizes for guessing who had reported that we hadn’t immediately gone where we were sent like good little girls.

‘Morning, Gerta.’ Bud nodded before turning and leaving us safely delivered to what passed for home, his duty done.

‘It’s past noon!’ she snapped after him. ‘And I should be helping serve lunch in the canteen —’ She transferred her complaints to us. ‘Not wasting time waiting for someone to show up.’

‘Where’s Dilys?’ I unlocked the door and she stormed past us to slam the tray down on a table. ‘I thought she was taking care of me. I haven’t seen her for ages.’

‘Dilys has been reassigned.’ The news didn’t please me and she knew it. ‘I’ll be taking over her duties here.’ That pleased me even less — and she gave me a grim knowing smile.

‘Have
you
seen Kiki?’ Nina asked abruptly.

‘Not since her migraine started. We all have standing orders not to disturb the migraine sufferers when they’re
having an attack.’ Gerta gave a disbelieving sniff. ‘There are a lot of them around here.’

So that was why no one had missed Kiki earlier. Not that I had the impression that anyone would have been concerned if they had.

A loud complaint at floor level caught our attention. The cat had appeared and was in full outraged Dowager Duchess mood. Tail lashing, she focused on me and berated me for some misdemeanour I had or had not committed.

‘What’s the matter with her?’ Nina asked.

‘Heaven knows,’ I said. ‘She’s been in a strange mood for a long time. I don’t know what her problem is.’

‘You wouldn’t!’ Gerta sniffed, allowing her dislike and contempt to show. She stalked across the room and threw open the bathroom door. ‘Can’t you smell it?’

I exchanged a bewildered look with Nina and we both inhaled cautiously.

Now that Gerta mentioned it, there was a sharp faintly acrid odour emanating from the bathroom. No worse than I’d encountered in the dressing rooms of some of the gamier clubs I’d played, but —

‘You were told —’ Gerta eyed me sternly. ‘They said if you wanted a cat, you had to look after it yourself. But —’ again the disbelieving sniff — ‘I suppose you don’t remember that, either.’

‘No. I don’t.’ I met the cat’s accusing eyes and apologized. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘And so you should be!’ Gerta spoke but, for a moment, I thought the cat had given voice. ‘You can’t expect
us
to do your nasty messy jobs. And the poor animal can’t be expected to keep using a litter box in that condition. Cats have their self-respect, you know!’

A sharp yowl endorsed this sentiment. I should have known better. But how? I’d always moved around too much to take on any human baggage, let alone feline.

‘I’m sorry,’ I apologized again. ‘I’ll see to it just as soon as I can.’

I had to take care of Nina first. At least, I thought I did. I cast an anxious look at the cat, wondering how much longer she could keep her legs crossed.

A vaguely familiar buzzing began to make itself noticeable. Either I was developing tinnitus or — I was not altogether surprised when Gerta pulled a walkie-talkie from her apron pocket.

‘Gerta here,’ she said, then listened. ‘Yes, yes. They are both here now. Yes, I will tell them, Mr Shadow.’ She disconnected and returned the phone to her pocket.

‘You are to remain here,’ she instructed us with the officious note of delegated authority in her voice. ‘You have enough food.’ She indicated the tray filled with the ubiquitous sandwiches. ‘If you require anything more, you can inform the kitchen —’

‘Actually, I’m bored with all these sandwiches,’ I said. ‘We had enough of them yesterday. I’d rather have some fish and chips — double fish,’ I added. It was the least I could do towards making peace with the Duchess. ‘And a green salad and a decent bottle of chilled white wine.’

‘I will give the kitchen your dinner order myself,’ Gerta said pointedly. I needn’t think I was going to get what I wanted immediately. For lunch, I could eat the sandwiches or go hungry — she didn’t care which.

She gave me one final look of dumb insolence then, moving swiftly, as though fearing interception, she whisked herself through the door and was gone, not quite slamming it behind her.

‘Well, well.’ I stared after her, feeling that she had unintentionally given me a lot to think about. But right now I concentrated on the person who seemed to be my main adversary. ‘So, it’s
Mr
Shadow, is it? For a nurse — or even a bodyguard — he seems to take a lot on himself.’

‘Nurse?’ Nina looked at me blankly. ‘Bodyguard? Oh, no. Or perhaps … a little. Just to look after his father. Along with the real work he does, learning everything.’

‘His father?’ It was my turn to look blank.

‘He’s Mr Oversall’s son.’

‘His son? I never knew he had one.’

‘He’s kept it awfully quiet. I think he wants to give everyone one last shock when he dies and they find out. Kiki found out first, though, while she was doing the research for his autobiography. None of the others knew. She only told me — and maybe you.’

‘If she did, I don’t know it.’ I shrugged. ‘It’s gone — along with almost everything else I ever knew.’

‘Kiki said it was one of those business-arrangement marriages when Mr Oversall was just starting out. And it didn’t last long enough for anyone to notice it. The poor woman died soon after having Shadow. But Mr Oversall did very well out of it: a son and a large chunk of a small Asiatic kingdom.’

‘And he’s kept it secret all these years?’

‘With enough money, you can keep anything secret.’ Nina frowned, as though she might be considering the implications of what she had just said. ‘Oh, and there was another wife or two that Kiki discovered, but they’d died, too. Mr Oversall doesn’t seem to have much luck with wives. Maybe that’s why he gave up marrying.’

‘Too many leftover in-laws.’ It was another point for consideration. ‘Making claims on him …’

‘If they knew they were in-laws.’ Nina’s glance was surprisingly shrewd. ‘Maybe he had more reason than one to keep everything so quiet.’

‘And there was never a whisper of any of this in the media,’ I marvelled.

‘No, and there probably won’t be — until he dies.’ The mere thought made Nina highly uncomfortable and she rushed into denial. ‘But that won’t be for years and years yet.’

Oh, won’t it?
Had Nessa discovered something to the contrary? And was that why someone had tried to dispose of her? And why Shadow hated her so much?

And could the same hold true for Kiki who had been delving into old records? What else might she have discovered that the reclusive Everett Oversall wanted to keep secret?

A sharp remark from the still-offended Dowager Duchess reminded me that there were more immediate practical considerations to attend to.

‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘I think I’d better —’

‘That’s all right,’ Nina said. ‘I wasn’t planning to stay, anyway. Only long enough to make sure Gerta was out of the way before I left.’

She crossed to the door and opened it carefully, peeking out and shuddering. ‘It’s getting dark again. More rain. I’ve got to find Kiki. I have the most awful feeling —’

She was right
. But I couldn’t tell her so.

‘Be careful,’ I said. ‘Be very careful.’

‘Yes.’ She looked at me and, for the first time, all the artiness and pretentiousness dropped away from her. ‘Yes, I know.’

‘All right,’ I said to the Duchess as the door closed behind Nina. ‘Now let’s see about you.’

She followed me into the bathroom and led me over to the elaborate mock-cottage that housed her litter box. I’d noticed it there in the corner, but hadn’t actually connected it with any practical use. Some decoration of Nessa’s, I’d assumed, perhaps something left over from her scenery designing days.