“I was hoping you could help me out with the purse-snatchers,” said Hunter. “It’s a real long shot, I know, but you never know where it might lead. It’s possible they tried to rob Alyx. If they’re professionals, they probably wore gloves, and there wouldn’t be any other fingerprints around the house or on the pot. And then again, if they’re professionals, they wouldn’t have tried to rob her in daylight.”
“Right. And if they were watching her, they would have known her work schedule. She said Saturday is always her day off.”
”And since they ignored all that, why didn’t they take anything?”
“That’s a good question, and I don’t have an answer. Maybe Ethan and Maggie’s arrival scared them away.”
“That means that whoever attacked her meant to do just that.”
Hunter lightly hit the corner of the desk with his fist. “I have successfully defended some who were no doubt guilty and here’s an innocent young man who will probably have to serve time if I can’t defend him against the evidence gathered by the State Attorney’s Office.”
Hunter rose from his chair and paced the length of the room. “A review of the scene revealed no sign of a break-in or struggle, nothing taken or disturbed. The only prints on the pot belong to Ethan and Alyx. The witness reports confirm that Ethan’s car and Maggie’s were the only cars seen in the driveway. The police learned that Alyx’s half of the business was in both their names. The interview with Maggie also revealed Ethan’s bout of depression over the break-up with his long-time girlfriend just four months earlier. The police also know that Alyx had expressed her concern over Ethan’s spending habits, had quarreled with him on several occasions, most recently, about his twenty-five thousand dollar purchase of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
“The next-door neighbor, Mrs. Leary, told the police about the day Ethan showed up on his Harley. She was out on the porch, heard the motorcycle drive up, and the ensuing argument when Alyx came out, adding at the end, that it really sounded more like a disagreement than an argument. Unfortunately, that last part didn’t make it into the report.”
Tim leaned forward. “I see why you’re concerned. It doesn’t look good for the kid.”
“Notwithstanding all that, Ethan refuses to plead guilty or make any deals; says he abhors even the thought of being associated with such a heinous crime, let alone plead guilty. He insists he’s innocent––that he would rather take his chances. That hope is dashed now that she’s regained consciousness and doesn’t know who tried to kill her.”
“She can testify in his defense, though, can’t she?”
“She wants to. I haven’t made a decision on that.”
Both men were silent long enough for me to think they’d left the room, when Hunter came to stand in front of the window. I quickly moved out of his line of vision, pulling out some fur as I backed deeper in the thorny bushes.
Tim said, “I think we should talk to Mr. Moresby again. If it turns out that he was involved in the attack, it might prompt him to make a move. And what about this guy…George Lucas? You want me to talk to him?”
Hunter said, “I already have. I recorded the interview. I don’t have any notes because he didn’t have anything to add, but if you want to take it on, see if you can dig up anything on his business dealings, past and present.”
“Okay; so I’m to look into both the purse-snatching and Mr. Moresby…and check George Lucas’ business dealings. Right?”
“Right.”
“How quickly do you want me to get on it?”
“Quick.”
Their voices sounded farther away now and I took one quick look into the room.
Tim was looking at his phone. “I just happen to have some time in the next couple of days, is that quick enough?” Hunter sat behind his desk. Tim finished off the last of his coffee and got up to leave.
“Got to go. I have a lunch date in ten minutes and this lady doesn’t cut me any slack,” he said, grinning. How are things with you and Joann?”
“Still unsettled. Still a mess.”
“I guess dinner with me and my lady is out of the question?”
“I’m afraid so,” Hunter sighed audibly. “She filed the divorce papers; we’ve agreed to a settlement––she can’t decide to let me go or hang on, but that’s another story.”
So there was a Mrs. Hunter, after all. I made my way home, dodging bikes, kids and dogs, devastated to hear Hunter admit that Ethan didn’t have a chance. When I arrived home, I was exhausted, but I wasn’t finished yet. I asked Pooky if she still wanted to help and she said she did. I asked her to arrange for one of her outdoor cat friends to stake out Hunter’s office, on the lookout for Tim and report what he uncovered in his investigation.
“We have a theory that cats are planning to take over the world, just try to look them straight in the eye...yup, they’re hiding something!”
––Dog Fancy Magazine
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: Dead-End Leads
As promised, Hunter’s friend Tim delivered the information two days later, and Pooky’s friend was there to observe and report back to Pooky. Tim told Hunter that Moresby didn’t want to talk at first. He told Tim that Hunter knew everything he knew and he had nothing else to say. Then, when Tim told Moresby that somebody had seen his car in front of Alyx’s home, he became more talkative. He admitted to going to see her. He said that since he hadn’t yet heard back from Maggie, he couldn’t be sure that she had mentioned the deal to Alyx, so he decided to go speak to Alyx himself, but changed his mind when he got to Alyx’s house and drove off without stopping. Hunter didn’t think that was much to go on, but Tim thought it could motivate Moresby to make another move if he was involved.
Apparently, Tim had also spoken to the store manager regarding Alyx’s purse snatching and the manager said that a long-time employee had dropped off the purse at the Customer Service counter. He spoke to the woman and she said she had found the purse on the floor, in the produce aisle on her way to the break-room. She said she didn’t give an explanation to the Customer Service clerk because the girl was busy and she didn’t want to use her break time waiting for her. She meant to tell her later but just forgot. The woman who had found the purse was seventy-years-old and had worked at that store for ten years in food demonstration.
According to Pooky’s informant, Tim requested and received a copy of the video from the store’s security office. The first time Tim and Hunter viewed the video, the surveillance camera panned the parking lot and store entrances and focused on the grocery store entrance. They saw Alyx enter the store with her purse, and leave empty-handed a short time later, but didn’t see anyone suspicious or known to them. The two men viewed the video a second time and saw a man with a walrus mustache––Moresby’s trademark––enter the coffee shop minutes after Alyx entered the grocery store. Since the coffee shop is part of the grocery store and the two places open to each other, Hunter said he would discuss it Moresby.
Tim said he had spoken to several sources and did some record-checking on George Lucas. It turned out that he had been sort of involved in a scandal a few years back. That is, Lucas wasn’t personally involved, but the antique dealer he did business with was indicted for fraud and sentenced to prison. The police report said they were on an anonymous call, so George could have been the whistle blower on the case.
I commended Pooky’s friend Jemma for a job well done. Pooky reported that Jemma said she liked being a snitch and had offered to stay on the case for as long as it took. I didn’t particularly like the role I had been thrust into (that of inducing young felines into a life of espionage), but I was honor bound to do whatever needed to be done to keep my human safe.