A.W. was all of these. Questions will buzz around like flies, and answers will be given with lifted eyebrows and wise smirks. What was behind the brief marriage of Violet and A.W.? Why did his first wife marry him so soon after her husband's suicide? Was it really suicide? Did Ronnie Dickson take uppers of his own accord, or did A.W. suggest them? And why . . . ?
What would Polly say if she knew about Alden and the stolen book? She would probably quote her father: There's a little good in the worst of us, and a little bad in the best of us.
Makes one wonder if he's guilty of the other crimes pinned on him by the gossips. Makes one wonder if Koko sensed something wrong about the guy.
How about Koko's sudden interest in certain Shakespeare plays: Hamlet's mother married too soon after her husband's death; Othello killed his wife.
And how about Koko's interest in Fables in Slang by George Ade? Alden's real name was George Wade! That would be an amusing coincidence if you took it seriously. I know Koko's track record, and, frankly, all of this makes my hair stand on end.
Enough of this! I'm getting punchy!
`Yow!' came a howl too close to Qwilleran's ear for comfort. Koko had opened his bedroom door, crept stealthily downstairs, and leapt noiselessly to the back of Qwilleran's chair, where he was now teetering.
`What are you doing down here?' Qwilleran demanded.
Koko sprang to the table and sat on a stack of papers in a ready-for-business pose.
His presence brought back many a recollection. Koko had shown a pointed dislike of Alden by avoiding him. And he had gone one slippery step further - one slippery step, on a banana peel!
Qwilleran closed his journal.
`Okay,' he said to Koko. 'Let's see what we can find in the kitchen.'
He poured some Kabbibbles into the cats' plates and had a large dish of ice cream for himself.
The End