veins – no wonder she’s so bossy.’
Hettie thought for a moment as Tilly set about rolling up the charts and putting them back into their tubes. The case was complicated, offering several lines of enquiry and a substantial number of suspects. She added some thinking coal to the fire and slumped down in her armchair, tired and confused. So much had happened in such a short spell of time, but as far as she could see the only real breakthrough was the Milky Myers connection to Mavis Spitforce, and she had no idea where that got them.
Tilly could see the frustration in Hettie’s face and knew that the time had come for what she liked to call a ‘case review’. Putting the last of the charts in the staff sideboard, she snatched up her notepad and perched on the arm of Hettie’s chair. ‘Shall we write down a list of suspects?’ she asked encouragingly, doing her best to stop Hettie from dozing off.
Hettie sat up, knowing that the job had to bedone. ‘Well, I wouldn’t trust her family as far as I could throw them, so put Lavinia Spitforce at the top. Mildred can go on the list, too, although I doubt she was involved. We’ll have to pay a visit to Bugs Anderton in Much-Purring – she seems to have been close to Mavis and maybe she can shed some light on Lavinia and the change of will. We’ll put Bugs on the list for now. Marmite Sprat is a contender, especially as bits of her latest effort were stuffed in Mavis Spitforce’s mouth. I’m not sure about Delirium Treemints; I doubt she could aim straight enough to stab anyone in the back, but we could put her down as an outsider along with Balti Dosh and Teezle Makepeace.’
Tilly had dutifully noted down the names until she got to Teezle’s. ‘Surely you don’t think she was involved?’
Hettie looked at the growing list, ‘Well, she had the opportunity: she’s in and out of those old cats’ houses every day and she’s the sort that no one notices. She’s hooked off work for the day as well, so she could be miles away by now.’
Tilly added Teezle to the list. ‘What about Milky Myers? Should I put him down? He’d be about a hundred and fifty by now.’
Hettie laughed. ‘There’s no harm in sticking him down. A lot of cats on that list seem to think he’s done it. Don’t forget Irene Peggledrip – she got Mavis’shouse before dear Lavinia burnt the latest will. I’m looking forward to seeing her on Friday, and if the story of Milky Myers has anything to do with this case at all it will be helpful to have a look round the old house and grounds.’
‘What’s next?’ asked Tilly, eyeing up the clock on the staff sideboard. ‘It’s ten past two. We could go to Much-Purring for a run out in Scarlet.’
Hettie wondered whether she could handle another conversation with Bugs Anderton so soon after the Methodist Hall gathering, but she knew that time was running out and their list of suspects had to be eliminated one by one. ‘OK, that’s a good idea – but you can go down the shed and convince Bruiser to forsake his nap and get his leathers on.’
Tilly had quite forgotten her tumble down Mavis Spitforce’s stairs and skipped round the room choosing a warm cardigan from the filing cabinet and searching out the woolly hat that she reserved for outings in Scarlet’s sidecar. Dressed for the cold November day, she scampered down the garden path in search of Bruiser. Hettie put her business mac back on, banked up the fire and picked up Scarlet’s keys. She had a feeling that it was going to be a very long afternoon.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The post office had just reopened after lunch, and Lavender Stamp’s queue had begun to form outside. Lavender herself had had no time for lunch, which put her in a particularly bad frame of mind. It was some years since she had relinquished her domain behind the counter to deliver the post on foot, but doing both jobs was almost beyond her. There had been no word from Teezle Makepeace, not even the hint of an
Hettie thought for a moment as Tilly set about rolling up the charts and putting them back into their tubes. The case was complicated, offering several lines of enquiry and a substantial number of suspects. She added some thinking coal to the fire and slumped down in her armchair, tired and confused. So much had happened in such a short spell of time, but as far as she could see the only real breakthrough was the Milky Myers connection to Mavis Spitforce, and she had no idea where that got them.
Tilly could see the frustration in Hettie’s face and knew that the time had come for what she liked to call a ‘case review’. Putting the last of the charts in the staff sideboard, she snatched up her notepad and perched on the arm of Hettie’s chair. ‘Shall we write down a list of suspects?’ she asked encouragingly, doing her best to stop Hettie from dozing off.
Hettie sat up, knowing that the job had to bedone. ‘Well, I wouldn’t trust her family as far as I could throw them, so put Lavinia Spitforce at the top. Mildred can go on the list, too, although I doubt she was involved. We’ll have to pay a visit to Bugs Anderton in Much-Purring – she seems to have been close to Mavis and maybe she can shed some light on Lavinia and the change of will. We’ll put Bugs on the list for now. Marmite Sprat is a contender, especially as bits of her latest effort were stuffed in Mavis Spitforce’s mouth. I’m not sure about Delirium Treemints; I doubt she could aim straight enough to stab anyone in the back, but we could put her down as an outsider along with Balti Dosh and Teezle Makepeace.’
Tilly had dutifully noted down the names until she got to Teezle’s. ‘Surely you don’t think she was involved?’
Hettie looked at the growing list, ‘Well, she had the opportunity: she’s in and out of those old cats’ houses every day and she’s the sort that no one notices. She’s hooked off work for the day as well, so she could be miles away by now.’
Tilly added Teezle to the list. ‘What about Milky Myers? Should I put him down? He’d be about a hundred and fifty by now.’
Hettie laughed. ‘There’s no harm in sticking him down. A lot of cats on that list seem to think he’s done it. Don’t forget Irene Peggledrip – she got Mavis’shouse before dear Lavinia burnt the latest will. I’m looking forward to seeing her on Friday, and if the story of Milky Myers has anything to do with this case at all it will be helpful to have a look round the old house and grounds.’
‘What’s next?’ asked Tilly, eyeing up the clock on the staff sideboard. ‘It’s ten past two. We could go to Much-Purring for a run out in Scarlet.’
Hettie wondered whether she could handle another conversation with Bugs Anderton so soon after the Methodist Hall gathering, but she knew that time was running out and their list of suspects had to be eliminated one by one. ‘OK, that’s a good idea – but you can go down the shed and convince Bruiser to forsake his nap and get his leathers on.’
Tilly had quite forgotten her tumble down Mavis Spitforce’s stairs and skipped round the room choosing a warm cardigan from the filing cabinet and searching out the woolly hat that she reserved for outings in Scarlet’s sidecar. Dressed for the cold November day, she scampered down the garden path in search of Bruiser. Hettie put her business mac back on, banked up the fire and picked up Scarlet’s keys. She had a feeling that it was going to be a very long afternoon.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The post office had just reopened after lunch, and Lavender Stamp’s queue had begun to form outside. Lavender herself had had no time for lunch, which put her in a particularly bad frame of mind. It was some years since she had relinquished her domain behind the counter to deliver the post on foot, but doing both jobs was almost beyond her. There had been no word from Teezle Makepeace, not even the hint of an
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