Six Cats A Slayin'

FIFTEEN

Had she suffered a heart attack or a stroke? Or had she simply fainted? Like everyone else, I stood where I was, not moving, stunned by what I was seeing, focused on Gerry lying on the floor.

I glanced up and saw Helen Louise standing a couple of feet to the left of where Gerry had fallen. There were two women close to her, Deirdre Thompson and Betty Camden. Melba and Jared Carter stood not far away from me, but they were facing the other direction.

Suddenly Helen Louise was on her knees beside Gerry, and I pushed through the people in front of me to help her. Helen Louise was trained in CPR.

“Someone call an ambulance,” I said harshly. I knelt and helped Helen Louise turn Gerry on her back. Helen Louise quickly positioned Gerry’s head and began blowing air into her mouth. In my days as a library manager I had learned CPR, too, though it had been quite a few years since I had had to make use of my skills. I helped with the chest compressions.

Helen Louise and I worked on Gerry until an ambulance crew arrived to take over. I helped Helen Louise to her feet, and we moved out of the way.

“It’s no use,” Helen Louise said softly. “She’s gone.”

Her dress now splotched from the food scattered on the floor when Gerry fell, Helen Louise looked tired and shaken. I glanced down and saw that my knees and lower trouser legs were stained as well.

I slipped my arm around Helen Louise’s waist, and we watched as the EMTs worked on Gerry a few minutes more. Then one of them called a halt, and they stood back.

Police arrived on the scene and began clearing the room. They moved us into the dining room, and I could tell that many people had left. Only the curious had remained, it seemed. Deirdre Thompson was not one of them, I noticed. I didn’t see Betty Camden, either, although Chip was still there.

Melba and Jared came over to us. “Your beautiful dress,” Melba said in tones of sorrow.

Helen Louise looked down. I don’t think she had noticed until now. “Couldn’t be helped,” she said.

“You were terrific,” I said. “You did everything you could.”

She smiled faintly. “So did you. Thanks for helping.”

“What do you think happened?” Melba asked. “Looked like maybe she had a heart attack. I didn’t actually see her fall, though.”

“I don’t know,” Helen Louise said wearily. “She had walked by me moments before, and then I guess she stumbled and fell. I was talking to someone and didn’t pay much attention until I heard the crash. I looked down, and there she was on the floor.”

“You two were nearby,” I said to Melba and Jared. “Did you see anything?”

Jared shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

Melba frowned. “I saw her go by us. I think she had come from the hall, or at least, she seemed to be moving from that direction.”

A low buzz of conversation filled the room as those remaining no doubt discussed Gerry’s sudden and tragic collapse. I wasn’t sure whether everyone realized yet that she was dead, though I doubted it would take long for word to spread.

“How long should we stay?” Jared asked. “I don’t really see what the point is for all of us standing around here. There’s nothing we can do for her now.”

“The police will want to question anyone who saw her fall,” I said. “In cases of sudden death like this, they usually do, even if it’s from natural causes.”

“Do you think it’s not natural?” Helen Louise asked, her tone sharp.

“How do I know?” I said. “I didn’t mean that I think it isn’t, only that the police are bound to ask questions anyway.”

Helen Louise still looked troubled, and I figured she was recalling the conversation we had overheard less than half an hour ago. Not to mention that confrontation earlier in the evening with Tammy Harville. Tammy, at least, had been taken home, but Deirdre Thompson had still been present. And standing not too far from where Gerry collapsed. I couldn’t suppress that thought. It was pretty coincidental that Gerry died not long after that conversation with Deirdre.

Melba leaned toward me and spoke in a low tone. “Are you thinking she was murdered?”

Jared recoiled from her. “What are you talking about?” he asked.

Melba smiled sweetly. “I’ve known Charlie most of my life, and I can read him without even trying. He’s thinking Gerry could have been murdered.”

Helen Louise, Jared, and Melba stared at me. Melba had indeed read me all too easily. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was simply something too convenient about Gerry’s dying like that after two nasty episodes with women who loathed her.

“Well?” Jared said.

I shrugged. “It’s probably not likely, but you can’t dismiss it completely as a possibility.”

Melba looked smug. “I knew it. I’ll bet Tammy Harville sneaked away from Milton and got in here somehow and poisoned Gerry’s drink.”

“Keep your voice down.” Helen Louise shot Melba a quelling look. “That’s how ugly rumors get started.”

Melba did not take quelling at all well, and she glowered at Helen Louise. Normally they got along fine, but we were all on edge tonight. I didn’t want to make things worse by saying the wrong thing, but I couldn’t stand there mute.

“Let’s reserve any speculation for another place and time,” I said. “Until we hear the official verdict on Gerry’s cause of death, we’d only be wasting time and mental energy.”

“I guess you’re right,” Melba said grudgingly.

“I’m ready to get out of here,” Jared said. “I’m tired, and I resent having to stand around waiting. I’m going to ask someone if I can leave.” He stepped away and headed for the door.

Melba didn’t appear pleased by his petulance or his actions. Jared’s use of the first-person pronoun had been all too obvious, I thought. He wasn’t thinking about Melba, and she had picked up on it.

Helen Louise moved closer and leaned against me. I slipped an arm around her waist. “What a horrible end to a party,” she said. “I was enjoying myself, for the most part, but now I’m tired, my feet hurt, and I want to go home and get out of this dress.”

“I know, sweetheart,” I said.

Melba eyed the dress critically. “The cleaners might be able to save it. But I wouldn’t count on it.”

Jared returned. The angry set to his mouth indicated to me that he hadn’t received the answer he wanted.

“What did they say?” Melba asked, her tone none too cordial.

Jared didn’t appear to register her irritation, being evidently too wrapped up in his own. “They’re waiting for somebody from the sheriff’s department. They wouldn’t say who, but an officer told me everyone had to remain until the deputy arrived and assessed the situation.”

I felt Helen Louise stiffen beside me, and I knew why. We both reckoned that the deputy we had to wait for was none other than Chief Deputy Kanesha Berry. Kanesha, Azalea’s daughter, investigated homicides in Athena and in the county. Our police force didn’t have a homicide detective, so the county handled murders and unexplained deaths. Any that the county couldn’t handle got turned over to the MBI, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.

If the police here at the scene called in Kanesha, that meant they considered Gerry’s death suspicious. I wondered what they had discovered to make them suspect foul play.

Jared glanced from one to another of the three of us in turn before he spoke. “Obviously y’all know something I don’t. I guess calling in the sheriff’s department is significant somehow.”

Didn’t the man ever read the newspaper or watch a cop show on television?

I suppressed the spurt of irritation I felt at Jared’s naiveté. “Yes, it is significant,” I said. “There must be something suspicious about Gerry’s death.”

I could see from Jared’s expression of increasing unease that he finally understood the gravity of the situation.

Two police officers began to circulate through the room, taking down names, addresses, and phone numbers. While our foursome waited for one of the officers to reach us, we remained silent.

Our turn came about ten minutes later, though it seemed longer. The officer who took our details had moved on to the next group when a voice called for our attention. I recognized that voice. Kanesha had arrived.

Everyone turned to face the deputy. Kanesha surveyed the room, and I thought I saw her grimace slightly when she caught sight of me. Then she began to speak.

“Sorry to hold y’all up when I’m sure you’re ready to go home,” Kanesha said, “but we’ve got some questions about what happened. We also have to follow procedures, and I’m sure y’all understand that we want to do everything by the book. I need to talk to anyone who saw or spoke to Ms. Albritton in the fifteen minutes or so before she collapsed. If those of you who did would move to your left and those who did not will move to your right, that will be a big help.”

At first no one moved at all. Kanesha frowned. “Come on now, folks. Some of you saw or spoke to her, I’m sure. I will make this as quick as I can, but nobody’s leaving until I get some cooperation.”

After that, people began to move. Helen Louise sighed and began to move to the left. Melba went with her. I thought it had been more than a quarter hour since I had seen Gerry before she collapsed, but given the argument Helen Louise and I had heard, I knew I might as well go ahead and talk to Kanesha tonight. I felt her eyes on me—though I probably imagined it—as I followed Helen Louise and Melba. Jared, I noticed, went the other way.

“Thank you,” Kanesha said when the two groups were finally separated. “Those of you who moved to the right can go, unless you need to wait for someone in the other group. My deputies will be in here to answer questions and help you if you need anything.”

Haskell stepped into the room, now in uniform. Kanesha must have called him in. He was her staunchest supporter in the sheriff’s department. I wasn’t too surprised that she would want him to be part of this investigation.

Haskell spotted Melba, Helen Louise, and me and nodded to acknowledge us. He and his fellow deputy watched as a few people filed out of the room. Jared Carter made a move as if to leave, but then subsided. His resigned expression as he glanced at Melba made me wonder about their budding relationship and whether it would survive the stress of this night.

Kanesha left the room but was back in about two minutes. She held notebook pages, and she glanced through them. Then she looked up, and her eyes met mine.

“Mr. Harris and Ms. Brady, I’d appreciate it if you would come with me.” Kanesha indicated that we should follow her, and she led us to the dining room.

I felt Helen Louise stiffen beside me when we entered the room, and I knew she was thinking the same thing I was. Neither of us wanted to see poor Gerry Albritton still lying on the floor.

I was relieved to see, however, that the body had been removed. The table and the spilled food, however, had not been touched.

Helen Louise stopped and stared at the area where Gerry had lain. She wore a puzzled expression.

Kanesha drew us toward three dining room chairs arranged about ten feet away from the spot where Gerry died. Helen Louise and I occupied the two chairs that faced the one Kanesha took. The deputy took out a notebook and pen. She stared at Helen Louise and me for a moment, and then she addressed Helen Louise.

“Ms. Brady, when you stopped to look just now at the place where Ms. Albritton fell, it looked like something was bothering you. What was it?”

Helen Louise frowned. “Something is missing,” she said slowly. “The brandy snifter. What happened to her brandy snifter?”