Frankencat by Kathi Daley

Author:Kathi Daley [Daley, Kathi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-08-20T22:00:00+00:00

******

“Oh good, you’re here,” Tara greeted me. “Sarah called to say her schedule has changed a bit and she wants us to come earlier.”

“I’m ready when you are.”

“We’ll take my car,” Tara offered. “Less cat hair.”

Tara was right. She had one cat, Bandit, who occasionally went places with her but not on a regular basis, whereas I had Max as well as multiple cats in my car almost every day. I tried to keep it vacuumed, but in the end, it was a losing proposition.

Sarah had arranged for us to meet in the conference room of the accounting firm for which she worked. She was waiting there for us when the receptionist showed us in.

“I’m sorry I had to move this up, but I have a client coming in at eleven-thirty.”

“No problem. We can be quick,” I said. “I guess Tara told you that we’re speaking to everyone who was at the bookstore on the night Paula died.”

“Yes. And I want to help in any way I can.”

“We’re attempting to map everyone’s movements that night,” I added.

Sarah was silent for a moment. “You think one of us killed her?”

“I don’t want to believe that, but we were in a locked building, so it seems likely that one of the club members is the killer. I really hope a new theory will come to light.”

“Have you considered that there was already someone inside the store before the book club members arrived?”

I glanced at Tara, who had a contemplative look on her face.

“So, you’re suggesting someone came in during the store’s regular operating hours and hid out inside until the evening?”

“I guess I’m just saying that could be a possibility. All I’m trying to do is offer another explanation that would explain how Paula could have been murdered without the killer being one of us.”

“You’ve made a good point and we’ll definitely look at that option. In the meantime, can you tell us what you did and who you spoke to after we decided to take a break?”

Sarah nodded. “I can try. Let’s see. I chatted with Gwen for a few minutes and then I saw Paula heading to the office. I needed to speak to her about a customer who was transferring from the accounting firm she’d been subbing for to this one. I wrapped up my conversation with Gwen and followed Paula. When I got there I could hear Paula on the phone, so I decided to use the ladies’ room. When I came out the storm seemed to be intensifying, so I went back to the main room of the bookstore.”

I took a minute to process what she’d said. We already knew Jane, Barbara, Alice, and Stephanie had also gone to the ladies’ room. Alice had reported that she’d seen Paula going into the office as she was coming out of the restroom. If Stephanie had been quick and Sarah hadn’t immediately followed Paula, as she’d indicated she hadn’t, the ladies’ room could have been empty by the time Sarah walked down the hall.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.