A Purrfect Alibi

Three

“When the moon kisses the ocean? What’s that supposed to mean?” Marlowe asked half an hour later when she and Nero were catnapping in the conservatory. The conservatory had yet to be fully renovated, other than some replacement windows that Ed had put in as a surprise for Josie. That’s why the cats liked it so much. No one ever went in there and there was always a pool of sun to lie in. The hand-carved trim that Ed had added around the windows as a surprise for Josie didn’t hurt the ambiance any either. They could see Oyster Cove from an east-facing window and Nero enjoyed watching the lobster boats hauling in their catch, the waves crashing against the jagged rocks and the seagulls circling above. He didn’t particularly like seagulls though, because they often dive-bombed the cats, but they were fine to watch from afar. He was glad to see the population was making a resurgence after an incident a few months ago that had caused a number of gull deaths.

Marlowe trotted over to one of the large potted plants Millie had brought over a few weeks ago and raked her claws through the dirt, then looked back at Nero for an answer to her question.

Nero sighed. “I’ve noticed these guests tend to be overly dramatic. I assume it was just a fancy way of saying when the moon comes up over the ocean.”

They both glanced toward the window. The moon rose up in the east just around dusk. At this time of year, it was a glowing disk that loomed over the ocean highlighting the crests of the waves. It would be a full moon tonight. Nero wondered if Madame Zenda had chosen today to make her announcement because of that.

“They are a strange bunch,” Marlowe continued. “I liked the last batch better. At least they had some cheese morsels in their rooms we could steal.”

“These guests are sneaky, too. Though I do like Esther. She has no problem slipping us some treats under the table.”

Marlowe, who had been examining the dirt inside the pot, glanced over at Nero. “Well, I wouldn’t consider that any bonus. Some of Josie’s breakfasts leave a bit to be desired.”

“Yeah, but she can’t screw up bacon.”

“True. So, what do you make of Madame Zenda’s proclamation? I noticed she made sure to be near the window.” Marlowe finished her inspection of the plant and trotted over to the pool of sun.

“You mean the window she’d opened wider and let all the lovely cool air out of?” Nero plopped down beside her and started preening the white fur of his tuxedo. “I bet she was making sure that Anita Pendragon overheard her.”

“That reporter that’s been lurking around? Yeah, I could see her over in those gigantic overgrown rhododendrons and she looked pretty excited. I guess she doesn’t realize that Madame Zenda was lying.”

Both cats had a keen sense of the spirit world and they had sniffed the house thoroughly for signs of Jed’s ghost when the skeleton had been discovered. There were no static disturbances, no other-worldly smells, no hint of ectoplasmic moisture. If Jed’s ghost was still on the earthly plane, he wasn’t hanging around in the Oyster Cove Guesthouse. Then again, Nero had noticed that items seemed to be falling to the floor at odd times recently and his hair had even stood on end inexplicably. But if a ghost were in the house, surely it would have made its presence known to them?

“Too bad she’s going to end up being disappointed. As you know, there are no ghosts here for the humans to talk to. Had Jedediah’s ghost been haunting this house we certainly would’ve heard from him by now.”

“Boo!”

Nero nearly jumped out of his fur. He whirled around, back humped, fur standing on end.

A ghostly apparition floated next to the wall.

“Talk about being careful what you wish for.” Marlowe seemed to take the specter all in her stride, calmly licking her front paw and rubbing it behind her ear.

“Jed?” Nero asked. In fact, he didn’t really have to ask because he recognized the clothing from the skeleton they’d pulled out of the wall.

“One and the same,” the ghost replied.

“So you really are here,” Marlowe said. “I guess Madame Zenda wasn’t lying.”

“No. She was,” Jed said. “I haven’t talked to any of these kooks you have running around in here. She’s making it up.”

“Why would she do that?” Marlowe asked.

“Beats me.” Jed swirled over to the window. “Nice view. I guess this room was added on after my time.”

“There’s been a lot of changes since then.” Nero knew that the mansion had been much smaller in Jed’s time. Over the years it had been expanded by his own descendants, as well as Millie’s ancestors who had bought the house over a hundred years ago.

Jed nodded. “But it’s not in very good shape.” He looked kind of sad about that.

“So, where have you been?” Marlowe asked. “I mean, you’ve been dead for three hundred years, right?”

“I guess so.”

“Then why pop up now? You weren’t here a few weeks ago.”

“I’ve been inside a wall, in case you didn’t know. My spirit was just kind of hanging there in limbo. Only once my skeleton was freed was I able to roam about. It’s taken me a while to get my bearings, though. I’ve been trying to communicate with you two but haven’t been successful until now.”

Nero nodded and watched as Jed floated about the room taking in the flooring, moldings, windows. Could Jed have communicated with Madame Zenda and not remembered? Perhaps she’d seen him floating around and was overly optimistic about their communication tonight. Or was she actually making that up, not knowing Jed’s ghost really was around?

“So, you haven’t communicated with anyone but us?”

“Nope. You’re actually the first creatures that can see me. Guess my manifesting skills need work. I’ve been having fun messing with people though.”

“Messing with them?” Marlowe asked.

“Yeah, I figured out how to push things off tables and such. I can’t actually pick anything up, but the pushing off has been fun. Makes everyone jump.”

Nero raised a brow at him. “Did you push the salt shaker off the counter the other day?”

Nero had thought he’d sensed something a couple of days ago when they’d been helping Josie prepare breakfast. He’d been up on the counter looking out the window, where he wasn’t supposed to be, when his hair stood on end and suddenly the salt shaker slipped off the counter and smashed on the floor. Josie hadn’t been happy about that and had scolded him.

“Yep,” Jed said proudly.

“Thanks a lot. I got blamed for that.” Nero was more upset that he hadn’t known a ghost was present than getting in trouble with Josie. Then again, ghosts could be cagey and if their manifestation skills were lacking, it would be hard to sense them.

“Sorry about that.” Jed really did look repentant. “Anyway, I’ve been spending most of my time in the attic. There’s an area way in the back with a trunk that has some of my stuff in it. Feels kind of comforting and familiar, though I’m a little offended that it was shoved way in the back.”

“A lot of people have lived here since your day,” Marlowe said.

“I guess you’re right.” Jed looked around the room again. “Lots of changes. I’d like to see the old place get fixed up again. But on the other hand, I feel like I should move on to the nether regions. Wherever that is.”

Nero nodded sagely. “The spiritual plane. It’s where you will be most fulfilled.”

“Whatever you say. Any idea how I get there?”

“Something must be holding you here,” Nero said. “Say, do you know how you ended up inside the wall?”

“Nope. No idea. I just remember bringing my treasure back from Europe and next thing I knew it was darkness for three centuries.”

“Wait! There really is treasure?” Marlowe’s eyes glowed with excitement.

Jed nodded. “At least there was. Though it could be gone by now. As you said, a lot of time has gone by.”

“And you were murdered,” Nero said. That much had been obvious when they’d found the skeleton. If it hadn’t been the crack in the skull that gave it away, it was the fact that a person couldn’t very well wall themselves up from the inside. “The treasure could have been the reason, in which case you’re right that it’s long gone. But that could be your unresolved issue.”

“You mean I can’t move on until I figure out who killed me?”

Nero wasn’t exactly sure about that. It seemed like that’s what most ghosts who were stuck on this plane wanted, but he supposed each case was different. “It can’t hurt.”

“Too bad Madame Zenda really couldn’t solve the murder, but even if she could talk to me, I wouldn’t be able to tell her who killed me,” Jed said.

“That’s too bad. We’ll have to figure out another way to find out who killed you.” Nero loved a good investigation, even if the killer was long dead, but he had another motive for helping Jed. He didn’t want the old ghost hanging around any longer than necessary. Lingering ghosts could be a nuisance and he liked things the way they were. He knew that as time went on and Jed got bored, his antics might not be as innocent as pushing things off tables. Best to help him move on to where he belonged.

“Yeah, but there’s one good thing about Madame Zenda being a kook. It means that death card she pulled up is meaningless. That had me worried,” Marlowe said. “But now that we know she’s a fake, we won’t have to worry about another death at the guesthouse.”