He hopped up on the old cast iron steam radiator under the window. Luckily it was summer and the heat wasn’t on, otherwise he would surely have burned his paws. As it was, the radiator, with its fancy accordion of scrolled pipes, was not very comfortable. It was all part of the sacrifices cats to make for their humans. ‘The humans are asking the same question we asked ourselves earlier. Maybe this time Josie will listen and come to the same conclusion.’
Meroo!
‘Oh shush now, you’ve had more than your share of clams.’ Iona waved a dismissive hand at him without even looking in his direction.
‘I think I’m going to need help,’ Nero said to Marlowe.
Marlowe joined him on the dresser. She sat and curled her tail around him, then looked out toward the cove, her whiskers twitching. The moon was out and the last gull had gone wherever gulls go at night. But hopefully Josie would get their drift.
Merooo!
Mewo!
Merowl!
‘What’s going on? Is something out there?’ Josie came to join them at the window, petting the top of Nero’s head. He had to admit it felt good. He let down his guard and purred a few times.
Mew!Marlowe signaled that she wanted attention too, but she kept her eyes on the cove.
‘Something sure must be interesting out there.’ Josie petted Marlowe, giving her equal attention. ‘What do you see?’ Josie stared out the window. ‘Oh, I think I’ve got it!’
‘What’s that?’ Ron asked.
Josie whirled around.‘Stella Dumont runs the Smugglers Bay Inn over there. The gulls have been hanging around her deck and pooping all over it.’
‘Really?’ Iona and Ron joined Josie, squinting out in to the night.
‘Not only that, but Stella has been seen lurking around here,’ Josie said.
‘And Charles was killed here,’ Ron added.
‘Do you think Charles caught Stella doing something to harm the gulls?’ Iona asked.
‘I wouldn’t put it past her to do that. Or to kill Charles,’ Josie said.
Nero and Marlowe hopped down from the radiator, they tails held high proudly. Finally, Josie had gotten their hint and now it was up to the humans to catch the killer.
[Êàðòèíêà: img_2]
‘Iknew it was Stella,’ I said. ‘I should have trusted my first instincts, but I thought it had something to do with Charles’ cookbook. When I found out that it was Tina who took it, I ruled Stella out.’
‘But what proof do we have?’ Iona peered out the window as if the answer was out there somewhere.
‘Well, she does have a problem with the gulls,’ Ron said. ‘Remember when we went there for lunch and gull pooped in your clam chowder?’
Iona made face.‘Yeah. Nasty.’
‘And my maid saw her skulking around here.’ Josie pressed her lips together. ‘I don’t remember if she said it was the night Charles died. I’ll have to ask.’
‘That does seem like a start. But it’s not enough to call the sheriff on.’ Ron’s words dashed my hopes.
‘But we have to dosomething,’ I said.
‘Indeed.’ Ron tapped his lips with his finger. ‘What we need is to set a trap and let her walk right into it and prove her guilt.’
‘Like what?’ Iona asked.
‘Something that would be irresistible to the killer. Something that would make them expose themselves somehow.’
I snapped my fingers.‘Got it! What if we say we found a clue in the room Charles was killed and when the police run forensics on it, it will leave no doubt who killed Charles.’
‘Like what? DNA? A fingerprint?’ Ron asked.
‘Maybe.’
‘We might not have to be too specific,’ Iona said. ‘We can avoid the details, just a hint is better.’
‘But how do we get this information to the killer?’
‘This is a small town and unless I am out of touch, if there is something juicy to talk about, there are certain circles where you can let the secret out and it will be around town in no time.’ Iona glanced at me and I nodded.
‘Good,’ Ron said. ‘Here’s what we need to do. We’ll start a rumor that you’ve found a clue to the killer’s identity. It’s in the West wing where Charles was killed.’
‘And the killer will come to find it before the police!’ Iona said.
I frowned.‘That won’t work, the killer isn’t just going to waltz into a guesthouse full of people.
Ron’s eyes gleamed. ‘Not with a guesthouse full of people. But everyone knows that you don’t serve dinner. Can you arrange something in town where your guests get a discount somewhere tomorrow night? We’ll help make sure everyone goes out to take advantage of it.’ Ron pointed to the clam bag. ‘You know, like you made it so obvious that there was a special at Salty’s.’
My cheeks prickled with heat. Had I been that obvious? Is that why Ron and Iona had gotten takeout? Oh well, it all worked out in the end.‘I think I can arrange something. Tony down at the Marinara Mariner owes me one.’
I could maybe get him to make a special twenty percent off coupon for the guests in exchange for making sure no one ever found out about him and Tina. Blackmail? Sure. But it was for a good cause.
‘And one more thing to make it irresistible,’ Ron said. ‘When you are spreading the rumor, make sure it is known that you will be out of town until the next morning, but the guesthouse will remain unlocked so that your guests can come and go after dinner.’
‘Okay,’ I said.
‘Good, maybe if you can get that rumor started tomorrow morning, we can have our killer in handcuffs by tomorrow night.’
‘Sounds good,’ I said. ‘I know exactly where to start.’
Twenty
The next morning I was up with the gulls. Looking at them through the kitchen window, I wondered if they would stop dying off once Stella was in jail. There were only two over her deck now and I swear a month ago there would be six or seven in the morning.
Now what for breakfast? I wished I hadn’t spent so much time trying to come up with the best way to spread the rumor and sweet-talking Tony into getting me coupons last night. Mom and Millie had picked them up and were supposed to deliver them here any minute.
I was rummaging through the recipe file—still no sour cream coffee cake —when I heard a tap on the kitchen door.
Mom and Millie were outside with sneaky looks on their faces, glancing back behind them and whispering. I motioned for them to come in and the door squeaked as Millie opened it. I made a mental note to oil the hinges later on, or whatever one did for squeaky doors. I had enough going on right now.
Millie presented the special coupons from The Marinara Mariner.‘Tony made these up special, just like you asked him to.’
‘He was very nice to us.’ Mom leaned in and whispered. ‘Didn’t want us to tell his little secret.’
The cats trotted over and purred at Millie’s feet while she fed them some sort of fishy smelling treats. I didn’t have those types of treats here for them and I wondered if she’d been holding out on me and keeping the most savory treats for herself so she would still be their favorite.
Millie scowled at the stove, peeked in the oven and then turned her frown on me.‘You haven’t started breakfast yet?’
‘I was just trying to figure out what to cook.’
Millie glanced at her watch.‘It’s almost seven thirty, not much time to make something.’ She pressed her lips together and glanced at the pantry. ‘Hmm… I know. Do you have any breakfast ham?’
I glanced in the fridge. Two ham patties sat wrapped in their plastic covering.‘Yep.’
‘Good, then we’ll make Ham and Cheese Muffin Puffs. It will only take twenty minutes and the guests love them.’ Millie rushed into the pantry and grabbed the Bisquick. ‘Get out the ham and some eggs, milk, cheese and olive oil.’
I did as I was told and twenty minutes later the kitchen was filled with the smell of homemade biscuits. Millie pulled golden biscuits with pink dots of ham and gooey cheese out of the oven. I added a fruit bowl and milk and cereal and we headed to the dining room where the guests had already gathered.