Deadly Diamond

“If you want to know the character of a man, find out what his cat thinks of him.”

––Anonymous

CHAPTER TEN: Simon’s Nocturnal Visit

David Hunter rang the doorbell and stepped back. Alyx hurried to the foyer, peered in the mirror, fluffed her hair, and added color to her lips before she opened the door.

“Hi, David, come in. I wasn’t expecting you for another twenty minutes.”

“I can leave and come back later, if you’d like.”

“No––it’s fine. I’m ready to go, if you are.”

“Good. The restaurant is well known for fresh seafood and is usually crowded. I’m sure tonight will be no exception. They don’t take reservations, so I came a little early if you’d like to have a drink on the deck while we wait for a table.”

“Sitting outside on the deck with a glass of wine sounds wonderful, even if it’s too dark for an ocean view.”

“I’m glad to see you look much better than you sounded when I spoke to you the other day.”

“It was a shock finding Althea like that. She was murdered you know.”

“No, I didn’t know. How did you find that out?”

“Detective Smarts came to ask me more questions, and he told me.”

The lawyer in David prompted him to ask several questions of his own, I surmised from my perch on top of the sofa.

“I’ll be glad to go to the funeral with you, if you like.”

“There won’t be one. Her niece came to see me today and said Shady Rest will simply bury her at their convenience when her body is released.”

“That’s not very common, is it?”

Alyx shrugged, “No, not really. Carole––that’s her niece––told me some interesting things about Althea. I’ll tell you on the way. I’m ready for that glass of wine.”

On their way out, Hunter looked at me and asked what the girls and I had been up to, and Alyx told him about all of us cats accompanying her to the store every day.

“Maybe they know something about this case that no one else knows,” he said with what I thought was a serious face. Was that an invitation for us to get involved?

Alyx hesitated before she responded, “You may be right. Nothing Murfy does is a surprise to me anymore.”

Was she thinking the same thing?

Keeping track of all the goings-on at the store, plus dodging the reaching hands of those who wanted to hold, and in a few cases, pull our tails, made the day an exhausting one. It had been especially trying one for Pooky, who was still sprawled on her back in the middle of the living room where she’d tossed herself on our arrival home.

As tired as I was, I waited for Alyx to come home. And as tired as I was, I thought I’d sleep all night; but I didn’t. In the quiet hours of the morning, after the night owls had gone to bed, and the day workers hadn’t yet arrived, I decided to sit out on the screened porch for a while. Alyx kept the pet door locked at night and when she wasn’t home during the day––I knew how to unlock the pet door and was out on the lanai within seconds.

I heard a sound, and my ears swiveled to identify the location of the sound. I stood on my hind legs at the screen door for a better view, and the fur on my back stood up when I saw a rustling of the tall ferns surrounding the small brick patio outside the door. A low growl, deep in my throat warned the intruder. Suddenly, the ferns parted, and Simon landed directly in front of me. I had no idea how he knew where we lived and when I asked, he smiled a secret smile and let me know that I had a lot to learn about our kind. He beckoned me to follow him where we could talk. He understood my reluctance to disobey my human, and at the same time, I saw the wisdom in distancing ourselves from the house next door when Smoochie, the Pomeranian, decided to reveal his presence with several loud successive barks.

The locked screen door that posed a problem for me was not a problem for Simon. He slyly unsheathed his front claws ready to slit the screen. Naturally, I was shocked at his destructive suggestion. Simon arched his back and rubbed his side against the doorjamb. He reiterated what he’d said before about learning what our kind could do for our humans. He convinced me it was necessary, and I suggested he do it in the corner, behind the larger potted plants, where it was a less noticeable. I winced as he sliced a clean straight line down the screen, all the while unable to resist watching his efforts.

Soon, I heard scampering behind me, and looked over my shoulder to see Misty and Pooky lurking in the shadows of the potted plants in the lanai. The half-moon in the clear sky lit up the yard giving the two ladies a clear view of Simon and me.

Among the three of us at home, Misty slept the least amount of time. Keeping everyone––humans and cats––company, kept her too busy to nap during the day. She usually made up for lost sleep at night. That night, she was still awake in the lanai when I returned. I deliberately ignored her as I sauntered past, and she meekly followed me inside.

Simon had given me a lot to think about––and a big decision to make.

The next morning, Alyx tried to roll out of bed, and couldn’t move. Pooky and Misty had her trapped under the covers. She reached out to the closest cat, which happened to be Pooky stretched along her hip, and tried to push her aside. Pooky didn’t budge.

Alyx squinted at the bedside clock, yawned, and went back to sleep until we decided it really was time for her to get up. I followed her to the kitchen where the other two felines waited for their breakfast. She refilled their food and water bowls, made coffee, and sat at the kitchen table watching us while she waited for the coffee drip cycle to finish.

“Pooky, there’s no question about it; you’re getting too fat, and we have to fix that; it’s not healthy for you, kitty-cat.”

The gurgle of the coffee maker told her the coffee was ready. She filled her travel mug, took it to the living room, and watched the local news.

Breakfast nibbling over, the felines ran to the living room, playing hopscotch on the way, and draped themselves on the back of the couch and chair. An hour later, Alyx was ready for work and so were we. She refilled her travel mug, and we filed out to the truck, all set for another day at the store.

Alyx, who was the first to arrive and busy setting up, didn’t hear Nelda noiselessly walk up behind her.

“Good morning,” Nelda said rather loudly.

Alyx jumped, and my housemates scattered. “Nelda, you startled me. I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Sorry; next time I’ll be sure to slam the door,” she kidded. “I see all your kitty-cats are with you, or I should say they were until I scared them away.”

“I don’t know what got into them; they all insisted on coming––and here they are,” she said, stepping aside as Nelda rearranged a couple of chairs that were deliberately blocking the entrance.

“Well, judging from the treats the customers bring them, they sure like having them around. These cats have enough to keep them fat and happy for a year.”

Alyx reached for a plastic bag under the counter. “Thanks for reminding me. My cats don’t need all this food, especially Pooky, and I can’t give the other two a treat and not her. What I’m going to do is bag what’s here and bring it to the animal shelter around the block.”

It was a noble gesture on her part, yet so disappointing for us to see the basket empty.