The street was quiet as Tinkie worked her magic while I kept an eye out for passing motorists or kids on bicycles. It was that kind of neighborhood—where someone would be looking out for Kathleen’s house if they noticed any strange activity.
When we were safely inside with the door closed again, I stopped at the sound of a kitty crying. “She has a pet,” I said. “Damn. We have to do something.”
“Maybe we can take it to Darla’s. Maybe she’ll keep the cat until Kathleen is found.”
“And after that?” I wasn’t going to leave town until I was certain the cat had a home. Darla was the best shot at a permanent residence, but if that didn’t pan out, Pluto would have a sibling.
“Kitty, kitty, kitty,” I called to the cat, who turned out to be a friendly little calico. She came up and purred as I petted her. I knew she was missing her mom. When I went in the kitchen, I found water and food on the floor. Kathleen must have prepared to be gone for the evening. “At least she isn’t hungry.” I found the litter box and gave it a cleaning. I’d have to ask Darla before I brought the cat to her. And I didn’t want to move the baby until I knew she had a permanent place. Cats were very territorial. She would be happier in her home alone than being carted all over the place.
“Let’s look for a wig,” I said to Tinkie.
The logical place was Kathleen’s bedroom, so we headed that way. The cat followed, rubbing against my legs whenever I stopped walking.
In contrast to the neatness of the front rooms of the house, the bedroom looked like a tornado had struck.
“Someone went through here like a crazy person.” Tinkie picked up sweaters that were thrown onto the floor. She folded them and put them on the bed.
I picked up a jewelry box that had been overturned and the contents scattered around the carpet. “Do you think she was robbed?”
Tinkie stopped. “Maybe we should call Jerry Goode.”
“We’re trespassing. Remember that. Let’s just look around and get out. We can call anonymously when we’re safely down the road.”
Tinkie stuck her hands in her pockets. “Then we need to leave everything alone just where it is. And wipe your fingerprints off that jewelry box.”
I followed her direction and we used the edge of our sleeves to open drawers and look for the wig.
“Got it!” Tinkie said from inside the closet. “This is it.” She came out with a blob of dark hair hanging off a pencil she’d found on the floor.
We both stared at each other. There was no doubt Kathleen was the one who ordered the destruction of Bricey’s convertible. But what to do with the information? If we called the police, I wasn’t certain that Kathleen would get a fair shake in absentia.
“Throw it back in the closet,” I said.
“Are you sure?” Tinkie held it up like it was a dead animal.
I nodded. “Look, if the police do the same legwork we did, they can come to this conclusion. But right now we need to give Kathleen a chance. If, that is, she’s guilty of destroying Bricey’s car—and just remember we have nothing more than Colton’s word for that, since there is no contract—then maybe she did try to take Clarissa out by knocking her off the boat.”
Tinkie looked glum. “If that’s the truth about Kathleen, then I totally misread her.”
“Me, too. I thought she was just kind of lonely, you know. She seemed so devoted to Darla and the B and B. But she did seem to have a crush on Bart Crenshaw. And both Bricey and Clarissa were allegedly former lovers of his.”
“That’s a point.” Tinkie tossed the wig back onto the floor of the closet. “We should leave. What about the cat?”
I bent down to pet the friendly little calico. “I’ll ask Darla if Kathleen had a pet. That way maybe she’ll bring it up and we can come back to get the cat. If Kathleen doesn’t show up soon.”
“You think there’s still a chance?”
“No.” I didn’t want to mislead Tinkie. “I’m afraid she drowned, Tink.”
“Yeah, me too. Even if she did play Colton Horn for a fool, I still kind of liked her.”
“Me too.”
“Let’s get out of here. This case has put a real shroud over my holiday fun.”
“Hey, we have our friends and loved ones. We’re lucky, and this evening, we need to celebrate that. We don’t have much longer in Columbus before it’s time to go home. We can’t let this mess up our vacation.” I was talking a good game, even though Kathleen’s apparent drowning had also depressed me.
I changed the kitty’s water, found the dry cat food, and filled the bowl to the brim. We started to leave through the front door, as we’d come, but just as I was about to turn the knob, a car pulled into the driveway.
“Oh, crap. We can’t go out this way.”
19
“The back door!” Tinkie grabbed my arm.
I was looking through a lace curtain on the side of the door when I recognized the woman heading toward the front door. She was stalking across the yard and had almost reached the front steps.
“It’s Tulla Tarbutton!”
“Get away from that door!” Tinkie dragged me into a den and we ducked behind a sofa. The little kitty came to join us, purring and making biscuits on my thighs as we hid.
“What’s Tulla doing here?” I asked. “She’s no friend of Kathleen’s.”
“She doesn’t have a key,” Tinkie said. “She’s breaking in, too.”
And indeed she was. In a moment the door swung open and Tulla hurried through
