Un-Fur-tunate Events (Vanessa Abbot Cat Cozy Mystery Series Book 4) (2 page)

Vanessa laid her hand on his shoulder.
“I’m so sorry for my cat's behavior. She wasn’t watching where she was going.
She’s only a kitten, you know, and they need a lot of room to run around.”

He didn’t answer. He jerked over on his
back, and violent convulsions racked his body. His arms and legs kicked and
thrashed in the throes of a massive seizure, and pink foam worked its way
through his clenched teeth. His eyes rolled back into his head, and a horrible
grunting noise came out of his throat.

Frank bent over the stricken man and
peered into his face.

“What’s wrong with him?”

Vanessa tried to restrain Jerry, but he
struggled out of her grasp. She glanced up at Frank. “Do you have a cell phone?
Call an ambulance.”

Detective Pete Wheeler zipped the
plastic coroner’s bag closed and nodded to the ambulance driver. The crew
loaded the bag into their ambulance and drove away.

Pete turned to Vanessa.

“Are you all right?”

Vanessa nodded. “I thought moving out
here would shelter us from these types of despicable crimes. I guess I was
wrong.”

Pete patted her on the shoulder. “This
sanctuary will get a lot of visitors. You’ll be having a lot more to do with
people than you ever did in that lonely old Opportunity Shop. Are you ready for
that?”

Vanessa smiled. “That could be the best
thing for me. I could use more social interaction with people and not just with
cats.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that,” he
told her. “And I’m sorry this happened on your property, but now I know I can
count on you to help me solve this case.”

“How do you know he was murdered?”
Vanessa asked. “Are you sure he didn’t die of his convulsions?”

Pete shook his head. “People don’t die
from convulsions. A healthy man in the prime of his life doesn’t just drop down
onto the ground and start foaming at the mouth. Most people who have
convulsions have a long history of it, and they know when they’re about to have
one. Besides, you told me yourself he just got into an argument with these
people.”

Vanessa glanced at the other visitors.
They leaned against their minivan and spoke with one of Pete’s fellow
detectives.

“Jerry did. I could hear him from the
porch. He said he was going to leave them for.... whatever it was they were
arguing about.”

“There you go,” Pete exclaimed. “It
sounds like the perfect set-up for murder. But before we get into that, I want
to ask you a few more questions about what he looked like when you first ran
over to him. Did you notice him foaming at the mouth, or did it start later,
after he’d been on the ground for a while.”

“As soon as I reached him, he was
foaming at the mouth,” she replied. “But he didn’t fall down because of
convulsions. I want you to understand that. He tripped over Aurora. She was
racing around in circles. She was moving too fast for him to avoid her.”

“But don’t you see?” Pete pointed out.
“That only proves what I’m saying. Whatever substance caused him to foam at the
mouth; it must have been working in his body before he fell down. It must have
started working earlier. Let’s see, I would say it had been coursing through
his body for at least a few minutes. That’s the only way it could have been
coming out of his mouth by the time you got to him.”

“What substance do you think it was?”
Vanessa asked.

“I don’t know,” Pete replied. “I’m sure
it will be revealed within the toxicology report.”

“What could make the foam turn pink
like that?” she asked. “It must have been something specific.”

“Not necessarily,” he replied. “That
pink comes from blood mixing with air in his lungs. I can’t think of anything
specific that would induce that, any number of pharmaceuticals could cause it
to happen.”

Pete’s gaze surveyed the small group
hovering around the minivan. “Now tell me what you know about these people. What
are they doing out here besides visiting the cats?”

“They didn’t take a trip out here to
visit the cats,” Vanessa told him. “That’s what’s so odd about the whole thing.
They didn’t come to adopt one of the cats, to get a tour of the facility, or to
learn anything about our work. They said they came to have a picnic and have a
quiet conversation by themselves. That’s all.”

Pete raised an eyebrow. “It doesn’t
make sense to drive all the way out here for a picnic? They could have met at
the....”

“At the park?” Vanessa nodded. “I know,
or any number of places around town that don’t require a long drive. But they
came here. And do you want to know the strangest part of their argument? When
Jerry lost his temper and threatened to leave, he said he wouldn’t be their
patsy any more.”

Pete scribbled in his notebook. “What
business did they say they were in?”

“They never said.” Vanessa answered.
“We didn’t discuss that when they arrived. They only introduced themselves and
their job titles. That’s all they told me before they went off by themselves.”

Pete’s focus never waivered from the
line of people next to the van. “It sounds like Jerry knows something about
them that we don’t. Why would he be so upset at a picnic that he needed to leave?
Frankly, what kind of business needs to sneak off to a remote location outside
of town to conduct a meeting?”

“If I had to guess,” Vanessa replied,
“I would say a crooked one. When Jerry lost his temper, Steve cautioned Jerry
that he couldn’t claim to be innocent because he knew upfront what they were
getting into. I definitely wouldn’t be involved with a business like that.”

Pete nodded. “Do you remember what
Steve’s role is in the company?”

“He is the treasurer. They don’t seem
like the type of people who are going to just tell you where the money is
hidden.”

Pete scoffed. “I see what you mean. If
they’re that dirty, they probably won’t want to tell me about it.”

“I have an idea,” Vanessa suggested.
“Why don’t I invite them into the house for a cup of tea. I can offer it as a
way to comfort them after the death of their friend. You can come with us, just
as a comforting influence, you understand. They might start talking.”

Pete smiled at her. “I’m always glad to
work with you. You’re twice the detective I am.”

“You don’t have to say that,” Vanessa
replied. “Although, I’ll tell you one more thing.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“When they first showed up, I thought
it was strange that they wanted to go off by themselves,” Vanessa remarked.
“The cats were with me on the porch, and they thought it was strange, too.
Flossy and Aurora decided to follow them, and listened to their conversation.”

Pete frowned. “Are you telling me your
cats know what they were arguing about?”

“Flossy was pretty vague when she came
back,” Vanessa told him. “Maybe later, Aurora can give me a clue to what made
those people start fighting the way they did.”

Pete turned away. “Let’s go with your
comforting idea.”

Vanessa hooked her arm through his
elbow, and they started back toward the house. “It’s nice to have you here.”

“I’ve missed you, too,” he murmured. “I
can no longer drop in on you at the shop whenever I want to. Now I have to wait
for a murder case to drive out here to talk to you.”

“You don’t have to wait for a murder
case,” she laughs. “You’re welcome any time. Why don’t you come over for dinner
sometime? How about tonight?”

His face broke into a smile. “You’re
not too busy, are you?”

“You know how I am. I’m never busy
doing anything except feeding and caring for my cats.”

She dropped his arm when they stepped
around the minivan into the presence of the four suspects. Andrea kept her
hands behind her back and pushed herself up off the van’s side panel. She fell
back onto her hands and did the same thing again. She looked around and
fidgeted whenever she noticed one of the cats staring at her. Steve uttered to
Sabrina about how long it took to make those sandwiches that are now being
bagged as evidence.

Frank hooked his thumbs into his
pockets and smiled at Pete and Vanessa. “Can we go now, Detective? We have a
long drive back to town.”

Vanessa stepped in. “Why don’t you all
come up to the house for a cup of tea? You’ve been through a terrible ordeal
with the loss of your friend. Give yourselves a few minutes to recover before
you race off.”

The visitors exchanged glances. Sabrina
checked her watch. “I really must get back to my boyfriend.”

Frank returned his affable gaze to
Vanessa. “We really have to get going, but okay. Just for a moment.”

Vanessa led the way up onto the porch
and into the main sitting room. “Do you have an appointment in town?”

“It’s not that,” Frank replied. “We
only came out here for a picnic lunch and a quiet walk through the trees. We
had to wait for the ambulance crew to take Jerry away, and now we’ve been
talking to that other detective all this time. It’s been almost four hours
since we got here.”

“I will be right back with some tea. It
will be just a moment.” Vanessa hurried to the kitchen. Pete and the others sat
silently across from each other in the sitting room. AngelPie weaved herself
through the legs of the guests and hopped onto Andrea’s lap. Andrea was a bit taken
aback, but didn’t stop the cat from curling up on top of her legs. Andrea
couldn’t repress a smile as she stroked the back of the cat.  

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Vanessa
asked as she arrived with a kettle of tea and a tray of cups for all the guests.
“What sort of business are you in? You didn’t say when you introduced
yourselves earlier.”

The group looked at each other.

Frank finally answered. “We run a
foundation that connects people across the country with viable organ donation. We
work directly with hospitals to create a network of necessity. It quickly connects
patients to the hospitals that can save their lives. It’s all about public
service.”

 “It
sounds like a very charitable organization,” Vanessa remarked. “I hope the Cat
Sanctuary was able to inspire a productive business meeting.”

Frank nodded. “We take our employees
well-being into account. People shouldn’t be stuck at a desk day in and day out.
They need the open air to be as productive as possible. We help others, but we
can’t forget about the health of the people working for us.”

Andrea spoke up. “We only recently
started holding these meetings outdoors.”

Frank turned to her with a foul look,
and she shrank into silence.

“What else can you tell me about your foundation?”
Vanessa asked. “Did you start this network yourselves?”

Frank said, “Yes,” and Andrea said, “No,”
at the same time. But after another intense look from Frank, Andrea took a sip
of tea and stared down at AngelPie resting in her lap. She didn’t say another
word.

Frank turned to Vanessa. “I didn’t
start this network, but I was the one who created the foundation. A mentor of
mine back in Pennsylvania was the one who inspired me.  He was a colleague of mine and he struggled to
find a donor match to save his life. Even though I was a hospital administrator
at the time, I could do nothing to help him. I swore after that experience to
find a solution. I was the one who made the first contact with the individuals
that could offer help.”

Vanessa nodded. “I would be very
interested to learn more, and maybe I have something to offer your foundation.”

“At the moment, we have all the help we
need.” Frank stood up, and the others followed. “I’m delighted that you are
interested, but we are a private foundation. If you do want to help, you could
register as a organ donor.”

Vanessa agreed.

“Thank you for the tea, but we really should
be headed back now.” Frank motioned for the others to leave.

Pete and Vanessa escorted the visitors
to their van and waved goodbye to them.

“What do you make of that?” Pete asked
after the van rolled away.

“If you ask me,” Vanessa replied, “People
that use words like ‘network of necessity’ are not just about public service. It
sounds like they have the opportunity to profit from people in need. They had
to shut Jerry up before he broke the whole thing wide open.”

Pete cocked his head to one side. “What
makes you say that?”

 “Frank talks about bringing people together who
are in need,” Vanessa stated. “But when he was out there arguing with Jerry, he
said Jerry would calm down after his next pay-out. I don’t know how they are profiting
from their foundation, but I do know there is a lot of money involved. How else
do you explain it?”

Pete nodded. “I wasn’t here for that
exchange, but now that you mention it, it make sense.”

“How are you going to handle Jerry’s
case?” she asked. “How are you going to figure out who killed him?”

He peeked at her out of the corner of
his eye. “Any ideas?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know how I
can be much help to you. I’m way out here now.”