Cat-Eye Witness (A Klepto Cat Mystery) Read Online Free PDF

day.” She took in a deep breath. “I put the box with the money in the bedroom across the hall from…where the body was found. When I went to get it, it was gone.”
    “The box was still there?”
    “Yes. And the window was open. And, oh, the door was locked.”
    “How much money are we talking about?” Sledge asked.
    “Maybe fifteen hundred dollars. We hadn’t counted it, yet.”
    “Do you have any idea who took it?”
    “Certainly not. Did you look in this guy’s pockets?” she asked with a hint of sarcasm. “Maybe he took it.”
    “Well, if he did, someone took it from him.” He pushed a pencil around on the table for a few moments before asking, “Ms. Clampton, you’re not planning to go anywhere in the next few days, are you?”
    There was that stare again. Iris looked down at her hands. That’s when she noticed a snippet of lace beginning to show through a small gap in her blouse. She quickly fastened the button, then said, “No. I’ll be working every day. Can’t afford to go anywhere. Why?”
    “We may need to talk to you again.”
    Iris felt her stomach tighten and her heart race. The detective’s words bounced around inside her mind— Do not leave town. Anyone else with red hair? Suddenly, she realized he was speaking to her.
    “Ms. Clampton… Ms. Clampton…”
    “Oh, yes?”
    “Will you bring in one of the boys now?”
    ***
    It was past 9:30 p.m. Everyone had been questioned and the body had been removed. Margaret and Max were the only guests remaining. They stood just inside the front door with Michael and Savannah, preparing to leave.
    “I guess the investigator will be back tomorrow to look around outside in the daylight, huh?” Max asked.
    Michael responded. “Yeah, I think so. Hey, that Sledge guy must have given Iris a hard time. She was pretty shook up by the time he finished questioning her and the boys. I was almost afraid to let her drive home.”
    “I’ll spend some time with her tomorrow,” Margaret said. “…see if I can settle her down.” She looked up at her niece. “Vannie, will you be able to sleep here tonight after…what happened? You and Rags can come home with us, if you’d like or you could stay with Michael, couldn’t you?”
    “Yeah, I think I’ll be okay. Thanks, anyway. How are you holding up? You were pretty upset there for a while.”
    Tears welled up in her eyes. “It was an awful shock.”
    “Aw Auntie. You poor thing.” Savannah reached her arms out to invite a hug.
    Margaret was ready for a hug. She rushed toward her niece, slipped her arms around her waist and laid her head against her shoulder.
    Savannah hugged her tightly. After a few seconds, she stepped back, cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. “Auntie, are you shrinking?”
    “Hell no!” she spat. “You’re wearing high-heeled cowboy boots. I’m still five-five and a quarter.” She looked up at her niece. “You must be seven feet tall in those stilts you’re wearing.”
    “Am not!”
    “Are too! And you’re skinny, besides,” she said with a pout.
    “Well you’re…”
    “I’m what?” Margaret challenged. “Fat?”
    “No,” Savannah said emphatically. She softened her tone. “But you are curvy.” Patting her aunt’s sides just below the waist, she said, “Love those curves, don’t you Max?”
    “Oh yes,” he said. He then cleared his throat and coughed a little before saying, “Okay girls, I think you’re getting a little punchy. So tell me, do we have a pretty good list of those who left before all the…excitement?”
    Savannah stretched and yawned. “I think so.” She rolled her head back and forth, trying to work a kink out of her neck. “Whew, it’s been a long day.”
    “That list is bound to show up,” Michael reasoned. “Who would keep it? They might spend the money, but they’ll toss the list. Maybe they already have and we’ll find it around here someplace.”
    Max nodded. “Yeah, it’s possible, Michael, that’s for