Depawsit Slip (Vanessa Abbot Cat Protection League Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) by Nancy C. Davis Page A

should be working harder to keep them healthy.”
    “Me, work harder to keep them healthy?” Walter snorted. “Believe me, Vanessa. No one in this town works harder than I do to keep people healthy. I work a lot harder to keep them healthy than they do for themselves. You can take my word on that.”
    “Still,” Vanessa replied. “You don’t have to gloat over the fact that you make the most money during the season when people get sick the most. I swear, you’re like a walking Angel of Death.”
    Walter drew himself up and opened his mouth to reply, but he never got the chance. A deafening crash shook the granite edifice of the bank. Vanessa cried out in fright, and Penny jumped a foot in the air. When she landed on her feet again, she clutched her heart and panted in shock.
    “What was that?” Walter bellowed.
    “Look!” Ollie pointed toward the front window of the bank. “That truck crashed into the power pole.”
    “It’s not a truck,” Alfred remarked. “It’s a bus. It looks like about fifteen people are inside, not counting the driver.”
    They all crowded around the window to have a closer look. “What’s the matter with you, Walter?” Vanessa demanded. “Why don’t you get out there and help those poor people?”
    Walter stiffened. “I’m a general practitioner. I’m not qualified to intervene in an emergency situation.”
    “You're supposed to help people,” Vanessa argued. “You can't just leave them there in distress.”
    “Look.” Walter pointed. “There’s a power line down, and it’s crossing the accident scene. It just wouldn’t be safe to go out there right now. Oh, look. Here comes the ambulance and fire truck. They’ll handle this.”
    “You clod,” Penny muttered. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
    “You should talk,” Walter shot back. “You don’t have to deal with sick and injured people every day. I know my place in society. The emergency people handle this. I deal with earaches and diabetes, not car crashes.”
    They watched the fire personnel and paramedics scurrying around the accident. They pulled people out of the bus and shuttled them to waiting ambulances. Vanessa sighed and leaned back from the window. Her hand went to her bag for the envelope. The cats would be waiting for their dinner. She couldn’t hang around the bank much longer.
    She took one step to turn around when another sound made the whole group jump back around the other way. This wasn’t the ear-splitting crash of broken glass and twisted metal, though. This was a hollow thump, and when they turned around, they found Alfred stretched out at their feet. He lay on his stomach with his head turned to one side as if he’d fallen asleep on the floor of the bank. Only one thing gave any evidence that he wasn’t asleep. A knife stuck out of his back, and a dark wet stain spread into the fabric of his shirt from the corners of the wound.
    Vanessa gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.
    Ollie set his fists on his hips. “Well, this is a fine kettle of fish!”
    A sob came from Penny’s throat. “Oh, my gosh! Now what are we going to do?”
    Walter stiffened again. “Well, don’t look at me. This is definitely not my specialty.”
    Ollie glared at him. “Don’t worry, Walter. None of us standing here expects you to do anything.”
    Walter frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Will you two stop that?” Vanessa snapped. “We’ve got a serious situation here. There’s a man lying dead in front of us, and one of us is his killer.”
    They glanced at each other. “How do you know he’s dead?” Ollie asked. “Shouldn’t one of us check his pulse or start CPR or something?”
    “Well, don’t look at me,” Walter thundered.
    “Will you shut up, Walter?” Penny screeched. “No one expects you to do anything. We all know you’re useless in a crisis.”
    Walter opened his mouth, but then he shut it again.
    “He couldn’t have died, just like that,” Ollie