Meow or Never (Vanessa Abbot Cat Protection League Cat Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) by Nancy C. Davis Page B
Authors: Nancy C. Davis
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told him.
“I’m sure the plant employment records will tell us if anyone got fired
recently.”
“There could also be employees with behavior
problems still working at the plant,” Pete replied. “We could see if any of the
current employees are under disciplinary review or have been given warnings.
There’s no one who would have a better opportunity to sabotage the plant than
the current employees.”
The sound of voices interrupted their
conversation, and four men in yellow hard hats crossed the floor. The man in
the lead waved his hand. “You can’t be in here. This is an accident scene. The
place could blow up again at any moment. You’ll have to leave.”
Detective Wheeler pulled himself up and
faced the man. “I’m a homicide detective, and I’m investigating this accident.
The fire crew told me the place was secure.”
The other man bristled. “I don’t care
if you’re the President of the United States. I’m Douglas Middleton. I’m the
manager of this plant, and I’ll be the one to decide who comes and who goes.
Now get out of here before.....”
Pete cut him off. “Before what? Before
you call the police? Go ahead. I am the police, and I’m investigating a
homicide here. Now, you get out and stop obstructing justice or I’ll
arrest you.”
The plant manager frowned. “This was
not a homicide. It was an accident.”
Pete shook his head. “No, it wasn’t.
Someone must have tampered with the gas line.”
“You’re an idiot and we have work to
do. We don’t have time to stand around arguing with you about it.” The plant
manager waved to his men. “You men get to work to restart the forge. We have a
dozen orders waiting, and every hour the plant stands idle is money lost.”
Pete raised his hand and his voice
thundered through the plant. “Stop right there. Any man who lays a finger on
any piece of equipment in this foundry is contaminating the scene of a crime.
Middleton, get your men out of here before I have all of you hauled away in a
paddy wagon.”
Middleton glared at Pete, but his men
backed away and disappeared out the door. Middleton growled in disgust. “You
won’t get away with this.” He followed his men outside.
“Wow,” Vanessa murmured. “He didn’t
want you investigating this crime, did he?”
Pete shrugged. “He’s probably just
anxious about getting the plant up and running again. That’s only natural.”
“I don’t know,” Vanessa countered.
“He’s the plant manager. He should be as concerned about safety as he is about
production. Besides, he should have known as well as you did that the gas line
didn’t just fail by itself. Maybe he has something to hide.”
Pete elbowed her with a playful grin.
“You let me know if you spot any other potential suspects.” He pulled out his
phone. “I better call Captain Jameson and tell him what we found. We should get
the crime lab over here to go over the building.”
“What can they hope to find?” she
asked. “Everything will have been destroyed in the blast.”
“They have protocols for reconstructing
explosions,” he told her. “They can piece a whole building back together from
twisted scraps of metal.”
Chapter 2
Pete Wheeler sat down at Vanessa’s
kitchen table and sighed. “What a day I’ve had!”
Vanessa set down a cup of tea at his
elbow. “It wasn’t the department meeting, was it?”
“That wasn’t as bad as I thought it
would be,” he replied. “No, I just had a long meeting with the crime scene
investigator assigned to the aluminum plant case. He gave me this.” He held up
a narrow, paper-sized box.
“What’s in it?” she asked.
“It’s all the evidence they took from
the blast site,” he told her. “I was hoping you could go over it with me.”
“I’d love to,” she replied. “You know
how much I like helping you with your cases.”
Pete set the box down on the table and
looked around. “Where’s Henry? Maybe he’d like to
“I’m sure the plant employment records will tell us if anyone got fired
recently.”
“There could also be employees with behavior
problems still working at the plant,” Pete replied. “We could see if any of the
current employees are under disciplinary review or have been given warnings.
There’s no one who would have a better opportunity to sabotage the plant than
the current employees.”
The sound of voices interrupted their
conversation, and four men in yellow hard hats crossed the floor. The man in
the lead waved his hand. “You can’t be in here. This is an accident scene. The
place could blow up again at any moment. You’ll have to leave.”
Detective Wheeler pulled himself up and
faced the man. “I’m a homicide detective, and I’m investigating this accident.
The fire crew told me the place was secure.”
The other man bristled. “I don’t care
if you’re the President of the United States. I’m Douglas Middleton. I’m the
manager of this plant, and I’ll be the one to decide who comes and who goes.
Now get out of here before.....”
Pete cut him off. “Before what? Before
you call the police? Go ahead. I am the police, and I’m investigating a
homicide here. Now, you get out and stop obstructing justice or I’ll
arrest you.”
The plant manager frowned. “This was
not a homicide. It was an accident.”
Pete shook his head. “No, it wasn’t.
Someone must have tampered with the gas line.”
“You’re an idiot and we have work to
do. We don’t have time to stand around arguing with you about it.” The plant
manager waved to his men. “You men get to work to restart the forge. We have a
dozen orders waiting, and every hour the plant stands idle is money lost.”
Pete raised his hand and his voice
thundered through the plant. “Stop right there. Any man who lays a finger on
any piece of equipment in this foundry is contaminating the scene of a crime.
Middleton, get your men out of here before I have all of you hauled away in a
paddy wagon.”
Middleton glared at Pete, but his men
backed away and disappeared out the door. Middleton growled in disgust. “You
won’t get away with this.” He followed his men outside.
“Wow,” Vanessa murmured. “He didn’t
want you investigating this crime, did he?”
Pete shrugged. “He’s probably just
anxious about getting the plant up and running again. That’s only natural.”
“I don’t know,” Vanessa countered.
“He’s the plant manager. He should be as concerned about safety as he is about
production. Besides, he should have known as well as you did that the gas line
didn’t just fail by itself. Maybe he has something to hide.”
Pete elbowed her with a playful grin.
“You let me know if you spot any other potential suspects.” He pulled out his
phone. “I better call Captain Jameson and tell him what we found. We should get
the crime lab over here to go over the building.”
“What can they hope to find?” she
asked. “Everything will have been destroyed in the blast.”
“They have protocols for reconstructing
explosions,” he told her. “They can piece a whole building back together from
twisted scraps of metal.”
Chapter 2
Pete Wheeler sat down at Vanessa’s
kitchen table and sighed. “What a day I’ve had!”
Vanessa set down a cup of tea at his
elbow. “It wasn’t the department meeting, was it?”
“That wasn’t as bad as I thought it
would be,” he replied. “No, I just had a long meeting with the crime scene
investigator assigned to the aluminum plant case. He gave me this.” He held up
a narrow, paper-sized box.
“What’s in it?” she asked.
“It’s all the evidence they took from
the blast site,” he told her. “I was hoping you could go over it with me.”
“I’d love to,” she replied. “You know
how much I like helping you with your cases.”
Pete set the box down on the table and
looked around. “Where’s Henry? Maybe he’d like to
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