The Cat Who Turned On and Off by Lilian Jackson Braun

Author:Lilian Jackson Braun [Braun, Lilian Jackson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Qwilleran; Jim (Fictitious Character), Moose County (Imaginary Place), Detective and Mystery Stories, Journalists, Mystery & Detective, Cat Detectives, Political, Fiction, Cat Owners, Cats, Mystery Fiction, Journalists - United States, Antique Dealers, Siamese Cat, Yum Yum (Fictitious Character : Braun), Koko (Fictitious Character), General, City and Town Life
ISBN: 9780515087949
Google: 9ICdvbDf1DgC
Amazon: 0515087947
Publisher: Jove
Published: 1986-12-01T08:00:00+00:00

11

COBB SNORED AGAIN that night. Qwilleran, waked at three o'clock by the pain in his knee, took some aspirin and then listened to the muffled snorts coming through the wall. He wished he had an ice pack. He wished he had never moved to Junktown. The whole community was accident prone, and it seemed to be contagious. Why had he paid a month's rent in advance? No matter; he could stay long enough to complete the Junktown series and then move out, chalking it up to experience: Beware of prospective landladies who give you homemade apple pie. Yes, that was the smart thing to do- concentrate on writing a good series and quit snooping into the activities of a deceased junk dealer.

Then Qwilleran felt a familiar tingling sensation in the roots of his moustache, and he began to argue with himself.

-But you've got to admit there's something dubious about the setup in Andy's workroom.

-So he was murdered. So it was a prowler. Attempted robbery.

-A prowler would whack him on the head and then run. No, the whole incident looked staged. Staged, I said. Did you hear that?

-If you're thinking about the retired actor, forget it. He's a harmless old codger who likes animals. Koko took to him right away.

-Don't forget how that avalanche slid off the roof at the appropriate moment. One of those icicles could have brained you. As for Koko, he can be remarkably subjective. He rejected Mrs. Cobb simply because she squeaked at him.

-Still, it would be interesting to know how she wrenched her back two months ago.

-Now you're grabbing at straws. She doesn't have the temperament for murder. It takes someone like Mary Duckworth-ice cold, single-minded, extremely capable.

- You're wrong about her. She can be warm and com- passionate. Besides, she would have no motive.

-Oh, no? She had quarreled with Andy. Who knows how serious it might have been?

Undoubtedly they quarreled about the other woman in his life-still no motive for murder, if she loved him.

-Perhaps he was threatening to do something that would hurt her more deeply than that.

-But Mary insists he was kind and thoughtful.

-He was also dogmatic and intolerant. He might be "doing his duty" again. That kind of person is a classic heel.

-I wish you'd shut up and let me go to sleep.

Eventually Qwilleran slept, and in the morning he was waked by two hungry cats, playing hopscotch on his bed and miraculously missing his sore knee. Cats had a sixth sense, he noted, that prevented them from hurting the people they liked. He gave them a good breakfast of canned crabmeat.

Later he was applying cold wet towels to his knee when he heard a knock. He took a deep breath of exasperation and moved painfully to open the door.

Iris Cobb was standing there, wearing her hat and coat and holding a plate of coffeecake. "I'm on my way to church," she said. "Would you like some cranberry twists? I got up early and made them. I couldn't sleep."

"Thanks," said Qwilleran, "but I'm afraid you're trying to fatten me up.

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