The Cat, The Professor And The Poison

Thirty-two

Mercy didn’t have a real hospital, just an emergency clinic, and after a call to Billy Cranor, I learned that Tom had been taken to the county hospital about thirty minutes north-and very close to Lydia Monk’s office.

If the Mercy grapevine was active, I feared Lydia already knew about Tom’s accident. By the time we got to the hospital, sure enough, she was waiting in the emergency room. I thought I didn’t need protection anymore, but maybe I was wrong.

She wore bright pink skinny jeans and a matching scoop-neck T-shirt. Her bleached hair was held back with rhinestone clips, and she had on the biggest hoop earrings I’d ever seen. I introduced her to Kara, but I was surprised and happy when Kara put an arm around my shoulder and said, “Jillian’s my stepmother.”

All at once my fear that Lydia knew about Tom and me was forgotten.

“Wicked stepmother?” Lydia said, eyeing me with loathing.

Oh, she knew about the kiss, all right. Otherwise she would have pretended to be the reasonable Lydia, not the crazy one.

Kara said, “Not in the least. What’s your problem, Ms. Monk?”

“She’s my problem.” Lydia pointed at me, and I saw little rhinestones embedded in the polish on her nails. “Tom Stewart loves me and only me. But she thinks she can come between us. Showing up here is just another excuse to get close to him.”

Kara turned to look at me, staving off a smile. “Why didn’t I know about this love affair?”

Lydia said, “Because-”

But Candace’s arrival interrupted Lydia. “How’s our guy doing?” she said.

“Our guy is waiting for the surgeon,” Lydia said. “Or so I’ve been told.”

“He hasn’t been asking for you, Ms. Monk?” Kara said sarcastically.

“I’m sure he has,” she said.

“I need to talk to him before he goes under,” Candace said. “Hope he’s not too messed up on painkillers to tell me what he found out about Lieber. I want to verify Hoffman’s story.” She took me by the wrist. “Come on. Let’s go, Jillian.”

Lydia started to follow, but Candace turned and said, “Stay away.”

Lydia started to protest, but Kara came up to her and somehow managed to distract her.

Candace flashed her badge at the registration desk, told the receptionist why she was here, and then the magic double doors opened, allowing us in to see Tom.

We were directed to the last cubicle on the left. Tom looked sleepy, but thank goodness the pain so evident on his face earlier was gone.

“I did a good job on this ankle, huh?” Tom said. “They can’t fix it without surgery.”

“I am so sorry,” I said, taking his hand. “This is all my fault.”

“No,” he said, squeezing my hand. “I wasn’t careful in that ditch.”

“Tell me about what you found on the microchip,” Candace said. “I’ve heard some of it from Hoffman. Did Lieber have a big enough reason to murder two people over cat food?”

“Lieber poured several hundred thousand dollars into the research, maybe even his life savings,” Tom said. “There were notes-rambling, copious notes-on VanKleet’s site, and some of them indicated that they’d run out of money and that Lieber was ‘losing confidence.’ ”

“No wonder VanKleet was robbing food, milk and meat. Even the farm could be in foreclosure, for all we know,” I said.

“Nope,” Tom said. “VanKleet called it his ‘research facility’ and paid cash. I’m not sure Lieber was aware that’s how most of the money disappeared.” Tom sounded hoarse, like his mouth was drying up.

“Do you need water?” I asked.

“No water until after the surgery. Man, I cannot believe I did this to myself,” he said.

I wanted to apologize again, but instead I squeezed his hand.

Two young men in blue scrubs arrived, and one of them said, “We’re taking you to surgery. The doctor will speak with you upstairs about what he plans to do to repair the ankle. Your friends and family can wait in the surgical waiting area. It’s a lot nicer than down here.”

I bent and kissed Tom briefly, then said, “See you on the other side.”

“You better be there,” he said. “And do me a favor? Don’t call my mother until I’m out of the operating room?”

“She won’t like that,” I said.

“Believe me, it’s better that way.”

Candace and I left them to their hospital business and went back to the waiting area.

Lydia was gone when we went to pick up Kara for the trip upstairs.

“Where is she?” I said.

“She had to leave,” Kara said.

“Are you a magician?” I said.

“Let’s just say that public officials don’t like journalists all that much,” Kara answered. “I told her she might not appreciate what I’d write about her if she didn’t leave.”

“Way to go,” Candace said, offering her knuckles for a fist bump.

The surgical waiting room was indeed much nicer than the ER. Free coffee, vending machines and comfortable chairs made waiting and worrying a little easier.

I bought a bag of Fritos and a Coke; Candace went for chocolate, but Kara stuck with coffee. Once we’d all had enough to eat and drink for a while, I settled against the sofa cushions and said, “I need answers, and I know you guys have them.”

“What do you want to know?” Candace said.

“This alliance between Hoffman and Evan. Did Lieber arrange that?” I asked.

Kara raised her hand halfway. “I know this one. Yes. Lieber somehow figured out-probably through the professor-that Evan blew the whistle on the college lab. He was furious and afraid that Evan might have even more to say about his father if Evan stayed on campus. Patrick said that right after the professor was fired, Lieber approached him to make sure Evan made friends with Rosemary and her crowd. I guess Lieber had that group of kids eating out of his hand.”

“He took advantage of Evan’s drinking problem?” I said.

“Took advantage?” Kara said. “Lieber got Evan drunk the night he passed out in front of the dorm. It was all a total setup.”

Candace said, “I made a call to Rosemary to confirm that Lieber was behind the protest that sent Evan to jail. She said she was sorry she didn’t tell us, but that Professor Lieber was too awesome to rat out. He cared about the earth.” Candace rolled her eyes. “A murderer can’t really care about anyone or anything but himself.”

“No wonder Lieber bailed Evan out of jail,” Kara said. “Lieber didn’t want Evan to talk to his mother before he filled his head with who knows what. And Patrick? That dude was such a puppet.”

“Sounds like you almost like Patrick,” I said.

“I had to make friends with him when he caught us outside the house,” Kara said. “That’s what you’re supposed to do with a kidnapper. Make them like you. So he became my friend Patrick. And Patrick wasn’t about to take the fall for Lieber.”

I smiled. “Bet you turned on the charm.”

“I had to. Evan was so angry at how Patrick had betrayed him, I had to play it cool, keep him from getting all agitated and escalating the situation. Evan’s smart enough to figure out the game I was playing.”

I sipped on my Coke and wished for a big steak dinner. The Frito meal wasn’t very satisfying. “And exactly how did Patrick get you into that house, anyway?”

“A very large gun,” Candace replied. “Loaded, too, unlike Kara’s.”

Kara flushed. “How did you know it wasn’t loaded?”

“We can save that for another day,” I said. “Hoffman didn’t waste a minute once he got hold of you and Evan. Sarah said Lieber got a call, and that’s how he ended up on the property. Pretty stupid move for such a smart guy like Lieber to show up on the property.”

“My take on Lieber is that he’s a control freak. When Hoffman called saying you two were hanging around, Lieber must have panicked and decided he had to take care of the problem himself. Or be close enough that he could tell if Hoffman was taking care of the problem.” Candace looked at Kara. “He might have killed both of you, even taken out Hoffman and set it up to look like Hoffman was the lone bad guy. You got lucky.”

“Why did you and Evan decide to go there in the first place?” I asked.

“The notebook. We thought we could find it and solve everything,” Kara said. “But Patrick told us that Lieber took any evidence of his relationship to VanKleet with him the day he killed the professor.”

“And probably destroyed everything the minute he got the chance,” Candace said. “Guess you didn’t think we knew how to search a house, huh?”

“I was so focused on gathering evidence myself-for the book-that I put both Evan and me in danger. We made a dumb move,” Kara said.

“Do you trust me now?” Candace said.

“Absolutely,” Kara said. “I trust both of you-and, believe me, I haven’t trusted anyone in a very long time. It feels good to know that you guys had my back.”

I reached over and squeezed her hand. “I will always have your back.” I looked at Candace, who seemed more relaxed than I’d seen her in days. Bet she loved taking Hoffman in.

“I heard Hoffman shouting that he didn’t kill anyone,” I said, looking at Candace. “That’s apparently true, because Lieber told me right to my face that he killed two people. Tom probably heard him, too, though I’m not sure he remembers.”

She said, “Good. When Lieber clams up-and I’m sure he will-we’ve got you to talk about that admission. Hoffman told us he bought the strychnine from Rufus but he gave it to Lieber. He said Rufus had no idea what it was for, but Lieber offered about twice what it was worth. Rufus couldn’t refuse with business down. When Lieber went into the house to visit the so-called lab VanKleet had created in the farmhouse, he had the poison with him.”

“Lieber was the one who rang the doorbell during VanKleet’s call to Robin about getting more cow’s milk,” I said.

“That’s right. I forgot about that. Anyway, I believe that when Lieber saw that filthy place and realized what he’d feared-that it was no research lab at all-he decided to use the poison. He was mad as hell and made sure VanKleet paid a horrible price for wasting his money.”

“But Lieber seemed like such an intelligent person,” I said. “How could he have fallen for what VanKleet was selling?”

“There may have been some good research at first,” Kara said. “According to what both Brandt and Evan told me, their father was a genius until he started skipping his meds.”

I swished what little was left in my Coke can. “And that’s what brought Lieber down. He refused to give up on VanKleet until he was flat broke. I can see that. Being book smart doesn’t mean you’re people smart.”

Kara and Candace nodded their agreement.

“Poor Rufus Bowen,” I said. “I feel like I set events in motion. He got worried that the strychnine could be traced back to him, and instead of coming to you, he called Hoffman.”

“Right,” Kara said. “When you started asking questions, Patrick told me that Rufus called him immediately and they set up a meeting. Lieber was waiting for him, not Patrick. He also said that Lieber ordered him to scare you. Patrick heard talk when he visited Belle’s Beans that you and Candace were tight, so he made a phone call to Candace’s house, too.”

“He was hanging around town?” I said. “And Belle didn’t notice him?”

“Guess she missed him. He claims he got familiar with the town on Lieber’s orders,” Candace said. “Lieber had something on Hoffman, but we don’t know what that is yet. I’m betting that Hoffman shouldn’t have been hired as a campus cop. Probably had an arrest in his past. When Lieber finds out that Hoffman has spilled everything, he’ll be telling us what a bad guy Hoffman is.”

Candace said, “Lieber’s going down, but Patrick Hoffman’s not making any sweet deal where he gets off scot-free. Even if he didn’t kill anyone, he knew everything. And I saw what he did to Jillian.”

“You collected evidence,” I said. “I’m thinking of that ski-mask fiber. Will it be used to convict Hoffman?”

“I doubt it,” Candace said. “Confessions and guilty pleas are the best evidence we can get. But don’t think for one minute I’ll ever stop collecting anything I find that’s even remotely connected to a crime. You never know what might come in handy.”

“Then there’s poor Sarah,” I said. “She sure knows how to pick them.”

Kara looked at me. “Make sure I choose someone exactly like my dad, okay?”

“There will never be another John. But you can come close.” I put my hand over hers.

We sat in the waiting room for another two hours before the surgeon, Dr. Ellis, came to talk to us. She was a tall, commanding woman and told us about the screws and the bone repairs she had to make on Tom’s ankle. But as long as he was okay, that’s all that mattered. He would have to remain overnight but could go home tomorrow afternoon.

“Can I stay with him?” I asked.

“You’d do better to get some rest yourself. He’ll be well sedated and probably need your help a lot more tomorrow,” she said.

“She’s right,” Candace said.

I reluctantly agreed and was allowed to see Tom once he was brought to his hospital room. But he didn’t wake up when I kissed his cheek, and I could tell he’d never remember I was here. I tiptoed out, and Kara and I took the van while Candace drove the Prius back to Mercy.

Once we reached town, Candace called me on her cell and said she’d rather stay at my place one more night. But she was stopping off for food. A cheeseburger for her, a chicken sandwich for me, and as it turned out, even Kara was hungry. But her chicken sandwich had to be grilled, not fried.

Kara and I came in the back and were immediately met by three cats. I knelt for a petting session and praised Chablis for her help in solving the mystery. But soon she was racing down the basement stairs, no doubt to take up her vigil outside Dame Wiggins’s door.

“What will Chablis do without Dame Wiggins?” I said as I poured dry food into the nearly empty cat bowl.

Syrah and Merlot appreciated fresh kibble and began eating.

“That’s what I forgot to tell you,” Kara said, smiling.

I took a bottled water out of the pantry and tossed one to Kara. “What did you forget?”

“Dame Wiggins,” she said. “When Evan and I met at the farmhouse, he told me that his father’s cat was named Dame Wiggins and that he hoped to find her at that shelter where the cats were taken. I told him you had her, and he got so excited.”

“He wants her?” I said.

She was swigging her water but nodded yes.

“No wonder the professor chose her shoulder to implant that microchip,” I said. “I thought he just realized she was the most mellow cat on the planet. Obviously he was entrusting valuable information to a good friend.”

“Cats are like people to you, aren’t they?” Kara said.

“They’ve helped me more than I could ever tell you,” I said, glancing fondly down on Syrah and Merlot.

Candace arrived a few seconds later with the bags of fast food. I swear it was the best chicken sandwich I ever ate.