The Cats that Stole a Million (The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery Book 7) (13 page)

Chapter Twenty-One

A day later, and back at the mansion, Jake and Katherine sat in the kitchen at the glass-topped Parsons table with Detective Linda Martin, an investigator for the Indiana State Police.  The detective hadn’t come for a social call. Her job was to collect as much information as possible about what had transpired at the pink mansion.  She opened her laptop, keyed in her username and password, then looked up.  “Katz, I’ve read your complete transcript regarding Madison Orson.  Is there anything you wish to add?”

“Not really except Madison’s personality was radically different from when I knew her.”

“How so?”

“It was like she had been invaded by a body snatcher.”

Jake laughed nervously.  “Yeah, I saw that movie.  I liked both versions.”

“What I mean is,” Katherine began.  “Madison didn’t seem to be the same person I knew growing up. She’d changed so much.  I didn’t recognize her.”  She paused, then added, “I feel sorry I wasn’t there for her.  Maybe if I’d kept in contact, her life would have turned out differently.”

Detective Martin said, “There’s an old proverb my mom used to say, ‘Hindsight is better than foresight.’  Katz, you can’t be held accountable for another person’s behavior.  Madison made some wrong choices — the last one got her killed.”

Jake reached over and took Katherine’s hand in his.  “Sweet Pea, don’t beat yourself up over what you could have or should have done.  The past is a done deal.  Let’s move on to the future.”

Detective Martin continued, “From what I’ve gleaned from our investigation, Madison was heading to Chicago to assume a new identity.  We found several counterfeit driver’s licenses in her bag.”

Katherine asked puzzled, “How did she get them?”

“Bogus licenses are being produced overseas and sold online.  The best fakes look incredibly real. Some are blanks onto which photos can be added.  You can buy them for about a hundred fifty bucks.”

“Incredible.”

“There was a case in Illinois where fake licenses were mailed from China to a bunch of students, inside a tea set.”

“What happened to the students?” Jake asked.

“Many were kicked out of school.  Plus, their real driver’s licenses were suspended for a year.” 

“Who did Madison know in Chicago?” Katherine asked. “Was there anything in Madison’s bag — an address book, a contact list on her cell — to point to a person you can talk to?  I know she had a cell, because the first time she came to my house, and after I’d locked up the cats, she was texting someone.”

“We didn’t find a cell phone.  I combed through the items in her bag.  Nada.  Only personal items; she had over a thousand dollars in cash.  A few credit cards.  The fake driver’s licenses, of course.  This is a long shot, but did she have family in Chicago?”

“Not that I know of.  Madison’s father left her mom when Madison was a baby.  Her mom passed away a few years ago.  That’s it.  No brothers.  No sisters.”

“I’ve been dabbling in the psychology of the criminal mind. What was Madison’s mother like?” the detective asked.

“Sweet as pie,” Katherine answered.  “She worked very hard to take care of herself and Madison.  I loved her.”

The detective shrugged.  “Well, we can’t blame genetics.  I’m waiting to hear from the New York City Police.  They’re searching Madison’s apartment for clues.  Particularly, I want to know if there was a person in Chicago she was meeting.”

“If she was meeting up with someone in Chicago, why ask Vinny Bellini to go with her?”

“Katz, from the way you described her, Madison needed to be the center of attention at all times.  She needed the attention from others to help support her ego.”

“It’s probably not my place to ask this question, but did you get a hold of any of Vinny’s relatives to tell them he’s dead?”

“It’s okay for you to ask that question, but what I’m about to tell you is in the strictest confidence.”

“Of course.”

“Scout’s honor,” Jake held up his hand in the official Boy Scouts’ gesture. 

Scout heard her name and trotted in.  “Waugh,” she cried, in-between yawns.  Jake patted his lap, and Scout jumped into it.  He began stroking her back.  She crossed her eyes and stuck out her pink tongue.

Detective Martin asked, “Is this the Siamese that got outside after your wedding ceremony?”

“Yes,” Katherine said, “And, under the circumstances, and how she saved me, I’m so happy she did.”

“Smart cat, that one,” the detective offered, then returned to the topic at hand.  “Vinny’s father said his son had recently started dating Madison.  They had been friends, off and on, for years, but only in the past month, things had heated up between them.”

Katherine shook her head.  “She didn’t care for him.  She used him to get out of NYC.”

“Just a guy wantin’ an adventure,” Jake added. “Poor fool.  Didn’t have a clue what he was getting into.”

“Back to you, Katz, why do you think Madison didn’t care about Vinny?”

“Because after Vinny got shot and the shooter was out of the picture, she didn’t check to see if he was still alive.  I remember when Jake was shot, I freaked out.  Madison was a cold, callous person.”

Jake hugged Katherine.  “I know, Sweet Pea.”

Katherine looked at him adoringly. 

“Ma-waugh,” Scout interjected, purring loudly.

Jake smiled, then asked, “Just out of curiosity, did Vinny have a criminal record?”

Detective Martin shook her head.  “Clean. The NYPD couldn’t find anything on him.  Not even a traffic ticket.”

“What about Madison?”

“Several arrests for cocaine possession.  Petty theft.  Shoplifting.”

“The Madison I knew would never have done anything like that.”

“We’ve been able to trace where Madison bought her airline ticket, from LaGuardia to Chicago O’Hare, with the reroute to Indianapolis.  She ordered it online at her place of work.”

“A modeling agency, right?” Katherine asked.

“No, she was a receptionist at a jewelry store.”

“Oh, that’s right.  Colleen told me that her mother ran into Madison on the street, and she said she was temping on 47th Street.”

Detective Martin noted, “That’s something you didn’t mention in your police report.”

“I’m sorry, it just came back to me.”

“Anything significant about 47th Street?  I’ve never been to New York.”

“The area between Fifth and Sixth Avenues on Forty-Seventh Street is known as the diamond district.  It’s the world’s oldest and largest diamond exchange.  I know this, because I worked very close by, and would often go there, walk the street, and do window shopping.”

“Ouch,” Detective Martin said.  “Something just bit me.”

Katherine and Jake looked under the table.  Iris sat close to the detective.  The Siamese blinked her eyes, and assumed an innocent look.

“Iris,” Katherine scolded.  “Get over here.” She lifted up the misbehaving cat and sat the Siamese on her lap.  “I must apologize for Miss Siam’s bad behavior.  I don’t know what has gotten in to her.”

“Yowl,” Iris cried.

“A little less sass would be appreciated.”

“It was just a nip.  It wasn’t like an alligator bit me,” the detective chuckled. “Where’s the other cats?”

“Toasting their buns on the office floor register.”

Jake questioned. “What about the Russian who broke into our house?”

“No two ways about it. He broke into your house, and ended up with a broken leg.  Katz, is it really true, two of your cats pushed a heavy grandfather clock on the man?” the detective asked skeptically.  “The chief said there were paw prints in the dust on the back of it.

Katherine nodded.  “But you’ve got to understand, the clock was very dangerous.  I was in the process of hiring someone to dismantle it and take it out.”

“How did your cats know this?”

Katherine answered honestly.  “I truly don’t know.”

“Okay, back to the Russian.  Right now, he’s being held at the Erie jail.”

“What’s the charge?”

“Unlawful entry.”

“And not murder?”

“We have no evidence to suggest he was the shooter.  We bagged his hands and no gun residue was found.”

“I’m still unclear how he and Madison made their way to my house,” Katherine said.

“Somehow the driver was able to ditch the shooter, and he drove Madison back here to look for something she left behind.” 

“She said ‘give them the bag.’  I don’t know what she was talking about.  I know she wasn’t referring to her purse because she took it with her when she left the night before.”

The detective continued, “I assume the driver knew Madison was gravely injured.  He didn’t care enough about her welfare to take her to the hospital or to see her safely in your house.  When he realized you had locked the front door, he chose another way to get inside.”

“By breaking a curved glass window that will be difficult to replace,” Jake offered.

“Your uncle Cokey is a fast worker.  I noticed when I came in he already had plywood up to cover the window.”

“Jake helped too,” Katherine added. 

“Let’s back track a little,” the detective said. “First of all, the man’s name is Dimitri Godunov.  He barely speaks English, so we were lucky to find a Russian language professor at the university in the City.  Katz, do you know this man?”

Confused by the question, Katherine answered, “I don’t know either one of them.  Should I?”

“I’m referring to Mr. Godunov. I was able to interview him a few hours ago.  He seems terrified of something.  Actually, he’s scared stiff.  I requested a psychologist to check him out.”

“Terrified of what?  Of being arrested?”

“I’m thinkin’ something else.”

Katherine said knowingly, “He probably has mob connections, and he’s afraid of repercussions because he failed to do whatever he was hired to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“In New York City, the Russian mob has been around since the Soviets let them out of the old USSR.  Maybe even before that.”

“When?”

“In the 1970s.  Russian Jews were allowed to leave, and they did so by the thousands, but the government also let out of prison a lot of criminals, who ended up in the United States.”

“Interesting way to get rid of your unwanted prisoners,” Detective Martin said. 

“No, not your average criminal, but worse.  Hardened criminals.  Murderers.”

“Katz, you amaze me with your insight.  How do you know this?”

“I grew up close to Brighton Beach. It’s on the tail end of Brooklyn, close to Coney Island.  When you live in a big city like New York, your street sense develops very fast.  Everyone is said to be very afraid of the Russian mafia.”

Jake asked, “Why just the Russian mob?”

“Unlike other mob organizations who take care of business by assassinating individuals, the Russian mob targets entire families.”

“Good lead, Katz.  I’ll pursue it.”

The cats in the next room became very vocal.  One of them was batting a large marble around.  It rolled on the floor, bounced on the wall, then made its way into the kitchen.  Abby bolted in, pounced on the marble.  She pawed the toy with her left foot and with her right paw gave the toy a croquet-style whack.  It skidded off one of the cabinets, angled to the table, bounced off the leg, and came to a stop on Detective Martin’s shoe.

She laughed, “Hockey! My cats play it all the time with a ping pong ball.” She reached down to pick up the toy, then said in a shocked voice.  “Eureka moment, folks.  I’m ninety-nine percent sure why Madison told you to ‘give the bag to them.’ The pieces of the puzzle are falling into place.”  She sat back on her chair, clasping the toy in her hand.

Katherine and Jake exchanged curious glances.  “How is our cat’s marble relevant to the case?”

Detective Martin slowly opened her hand.  A large, brown gemstone gleamed in the light of the lamp near the table. 

“Is it real?” Katherine asked, shocked.

“Let’s find out.  Katz, could you please get me a glass?”

Katherine got up, walked over to the cabinet above the stove, and pulled out a small drinking glass.  She returned to Detective Martin and handed the glass to her.

The detective took the diamond and easily put a visible scratch on the glass.  “Oh, I’d say that it’s very real.  This is a brown diamond.  Most come from Australia.  You’ve probably seen TV commercials for ‘chocolate diamonds.’  Judging by the size of it, I bet it’s worth a great deal of money.”

“The cats have been playing with it for days.  I thought it was their marble,” Katherine said, astonished.

Jake added, “Usually the cats prefer the uneven floor in the living room.  I’m surprised it made its way out here.”

Detective Martin got up from her chair.  “Let’s go in there and check it out.”

“Do you think there’re more?”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but Madison said ‘bag.’ At first, I thought she was talking about drugs.”