Six Cats A Slayin'

TWENTY-ONE

I overslept the next morning by nearly three hours. Having been up until about two a.m., I couldn’t drag myself out of bed at the usual time.

During my conversation with Sean last night I had suggested he call Alex’s best friend, Caroline, right away and ask her to come to the house to talk to Alex. They had known each other since the fifth grade and had been like sisters ever since. I went over as well. Stewart was in the kitchen when I left, and I hurriedly explained where I was going and why.

At the last minute I decided to take Diesel with me. He was fond of Alex, and she of him. I thought his presence might help somehow.

Caroline was there when I arrived. She already had the situation in hand, as I expected she would. She was deeply shocked by Alex’s condition. Alex hadn’t said anything to her about her struggles. Caroline’s husband’s sister-in-law, Anne Marie, was a therapist. Caroline had called Anne Marie to assist, and she arrived not long after I did. While I looked after Sean and baby Rosie, the two women took care of Alex. Diesel stayed with them for half an hour or so; then he came to find me and baby Rosie.

Much of the time I spent with my son was spent listening to his self-recriminations. Sean insisted on blaming himself for not having asked Caroline for help sooner. I didn’t try to argue with him. Once he’d had a chance to rest and could see things more clearly, I would talk to him.

Anne Marie turned out to be a godsend. As Caroline told us later, the therapist dealt kindly but firmly with Alex and got her to agree to go to the hospital. Alex was badly run down and at the point of complete collapse. Around one thirty Sean and Anne Marie took Alex to the emergency room, and Caroline stayed with Rosie. She insisted that I go home, and knowing how capable Caroline was, I didn’t argue.

The hospital planned to keep Alex overnight for observation and to also get her rehydrated; then they would let her go home. In the meantime there was stored breast milk at home for Rosie, along with formula if needed.

I felt depressed when I got up late the next morning. Christmas would be upon us soon, and Alex might not feel up to being with a large group of people. To celebrate without her seemed wrong somehow, but I knew she would feel guilty if she found out that we didn’t because of her. I would figure something out. We could hardly all crowd into her bedroom to have a party.

I had completely forgotten that Frank was due this morning to install the video camera to monitor the front door. By the time I remembered and hurried downstairs to see if he was there, he was finishing the setup. I found him in the living room. The kittens were playing noisily, and Diesel lay beside the cage watching them. I rubbed his head briefly before addressing my son-in-law.

“Frank, I’m so sorry, I completely forgot you were coming,” I said. “I didn’t get to bed until two this morning.”

He held up his hand. “It’s okay, Charlie, you don’t have to explain. Sean called Laura this morning to let her know what was going on.” He shook his head. “Alex has been needing help, and it sounds like she’s getting it. I feel bad for her and Sean. I feel incredibly lucky that Laura didn’t go through this.”

“Yes, it’s been such a difficult time for everyone concerned,” I said. “I hope Sean didn’t stay all night at the hospital and then try to go to work.”

“He came home for a while this morning. He told Laura that he didn’t care if the office burned to the ground. He was going back to the hospital as soon as Azalea’s cousin’s daughter could get there to start looking after Rosie. Caroline has gone home but is planning to come back later.”

“Then I won’t call him. I’ll wait until he calls me,” I said. “He looked like he was at the point of collapse himself last night. I was afraid he might end up in the hospital with Alex.”

“Now that Alex is getting the help she needs,” Frank said, “I’m sure he’ll bounce back pretty quickly. One thing I’ve learned about him and Laura is how resilient they both are.” He smiled. “I think they take after you in that regard.”

“Yes, they are resilient,” I said. “Whether they take after me is another matter.” I decided to change the subject. “Everything is set with the video camera now?”

“Almost,” Frank said. “We need to download an app to your phone and install it on your laptop, or the desktop if you prefer.”

“Phone and laptop will be sufficient, I think.” I gave him my phone.

While he downloaded the app, I retrieved my laptop from the den. Once he finished with the laptop, he showed me how to access any video from both devices.

“Pretty simple,” I said. “At least this part is, anyway.”

“It was an easy job,” Frank said. “The camera is motion-activated, so it won’t record unless movement triggers it. It will keep recording as long as there is some activity. There are actually two cameras. One is hidden in the wreath on the door. The other one is sitting in one of the shrubs, aimed at the living room windows.”

“That’s great,” I said. “I hope the object of all this didn’t see what you were doing.”

“I don’t think so,” Frank replied. “I never saw anyone, and it took me only about three minutes to place the cameras outside.”

“What about wires?” I said. “Are they visible?”

Frank grinned. “No, I used invisible wire.”

If I hadn’t still been so tired, I would have picked up on his meaning right away. As it was, I think I stared blankly at him until he said, “They’re wireless, Charlie.”

“Right,” I said. “Sorry, I’m slow on the uptake this morning.”

“Understood.” Frank grabbed his tool bag and another bag that I presumed had contained the equipment he brought. “If you have any problems or questions, let me know. I need to get to my office at school to pick up something, and then I’m heading home to take care of Number One Son while Laura goes to the grocery store.”

I thanked him again and let him out the front door. Diesel meowed at me, rather insistently, and I wondered what he was trying to tell me. Then I realized what it was. The kittens were overdue to be fed. I checked the time: nearly nine forty-five.

Azalea greeted me when the cat and I entered the kitchen. I apologized for being late, but she shook her head. “No need. I know what’s going on.”

Of course she did, I realized. Her cousin’s daughter, whose name I couldn’t recall at the moment, was now taking care of my granddaughter.

“You sit right down there and have some breakfast,” Azalea said in her no-nonsense tone. “It’s ready, and I know if you don’t have your coffee soon, you won’t be fit to talk to.”

“I have to feed the kittens first,” I said.

“I did that already,” Azalea replied. “Didn’t clean out those boxes, but you can do that after breakfast. Won’t hurt them to wait a little longer.”

Diesel meowed loudly at that, and I supposed he was seconding Azalea. I wondered why he had meowed so insistently a few minutes ago then. Perhaps he’d wanted me to get to the table because he knew he might receive a few bites of bacon, one of his favorite treats.

“All right, no arguing with that,” I said. “Besides, I need coffee. I’ve got a good start on a caffeine-withdrawal headache.”

Azalea set a full mug on the table in front of me, and I quickly added cream and sugar. That first sip went down like nectar—hot, reviving nectar. Next came a plate of scrambled eggs, grits, bacon, and toast. I ate like I hadn’t eaten in three days, occasionally pausing only to dole out a little bacon to the cat.

When Azalea refilled my coffee, she said, “I called your work and told them you might not be in. Seems to me you could stand to take the day off and rest.”

“Work.” I groaned. “Thank you, Azalea, I completely forgot I was supposed to be at work today.” I thought about staying home. Sean might need me for something—to talk, if nothing else. Until he called me, though, I wasn’t going to risk calling him and disturbing his rest.

I might as well go to work, I decided. Even though I no longer worked full-time, I did stay busy enough that on days when I didn’t work I sometimes felt at loose ends. Now that Helen Louise had cut back her work schedule, at least she was sometimes available and we could do things together. Today, however, she was working so that one of her full-time staff could take care of medical appointments for her child.

Accordingly, after I cleaned the litter boxes, I hurried up to the shower and got ready for work. Diesel wanted to stay home, and I let him in with the kittens. Azalea promised to let him out when he was ready. During the drive to work, I left a message on Helen Louise’s cell phone, giving her a quick update on what I knew.

I made it to my office a few minutes after eleven. Melba was not at her desk when I entered the building. I would text her to let her know I had arrived, and I knew she would appear in my office sometime soon after that. I wondered if Kanesha had questioned her yet. I would take my cue from Melba. If she didn’t mention that she had an interview with the chief deputy, I wouldn’t talk about mine, either.

Text message sent, I settled down to work, firmly resolved to keep my mind focused on the tasks at hand and not to let it wander over anything else.

Melba appeared in my office a few minutes after noon, when her lunch hour began, and made herself comfortable in the chair across the desk from me. She held up a paper bag and a bottle of water, saying, “Mind if I eat while we talk?” Without waiting for a response, she pulled a sandwich from the bag and unwrapped it.

“No, go right ahead,” I said a bit dryly. “How are you today?”

“Just peachy,” Melba replied after swallowing a bite of her sandwich. “How about you? How come you’re so late today?”

Azalea obviously hadn’t shared the news about the late-night vigil and Alex’s condition, although I had little doubt that Melba had tried to prize it out of her.

I gave her a brief summary of the situation, and her eyes filled with tears. “Poor Alex,” she said. “I can’t imagine what she’s going through. This has to be tearing her apart. Sean, too.” She dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.”

“Thank you. I know they’ll both appreciate your concern. For now, I think we have to wait and let the doctors and nurses do what they can to help her get her physical strength back, and Anne Marie, I have no doubt, will be able to help her with her state of mind.”

“Who did you say this Anne Marie is?” Melba asked. “I don’t think I know her.”

“She is the sister-in-law of Alex’s best friend’s husband. His brother’s wife, I believe. You know Caroline Pitcairn, right?”

Melba nodded and took a bite of her sandwich. When she swallowed, she said, “Used to be Caroline Jamison. I know the family.”

“I was sure you would.” I smiled. “I may leave early today, I don’t know yet. Depends on when I hear from Sean.”

“Heaven knows there’s nothing urgent here,” Melba said. “Andrea”—the library director and our boss—“left this morning for Texas. She’s spending Christmas with her family.”

“Safe travels to her,” I said. “Are you still planning to join us for Christmas dinner?”

“Around one o’clock, right?”

I nodded.

“I’ll be there, but if you change your plans because of what’s going on with Alex, I’ll understand,” Melba said.

“At the moment we’re not changing anything,” I said. “That reminds me, though. I want to call Caroline in a little while to find out how things are going.”

Melba, having finished her sandwich, delved into her lunch bag and brought out a slim tube of cheese encased in plastic. She swore it tasted good, but I remained dubious of processed cheese. Helen Louise, with her gourmet’s tastes and knowledge, had weaned me off it.

“If Andrea is gone for the holidays,” I said, “what are you going to do? Are you taking any time off?”

“Yes, the week between Christmas and New Year’s,” Melba replied. “By the way, this afternoon I have to be at the sheriff’s department at one thirty. Kanesha wants to ask me more questions. To tell the truth, I’m not real anxious to talk to her and answer any more questions.”

“Why not?” I asked. “You certainly don’t have anything to hide.”

Melba looked uncomfortable. “That’s the whole point. I do have something to hide.”

I couldn’t believe I’d heard Melba correctly. What on earth was she afraid to tell Kanesha?