Un-Fur-tunate Events (Vanessa Abbot Cat Cozy Mystery Series Book 4) Read online

  Un-Fur-tunate Events

  Nancy C. Davis

  ©2015 Nancy C. Davis

  Copyright © 2015

  No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known, hereinafter invented, without express written permission from the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Thank you

  Your Gifts

  Chapter 1

  Vanessa Abbott gazed out at the vast countryside through the kitchen window of her new house at the Harvest Home Cat Sanctuary. Foxle strode across the windowsill. Vanessa dried her hands on the wash towel and stroked Foxle’s back.

  “Yes Foxle, there isn’t the hustle and bustle of downtown anymore,” Vanessa affirmed. “Once I finish unpacking, it will feel like home again.”

  At that moment, Vanessa noticed unexpected guests pull their minivan into the driveway. Vanessa finished drying the last dish and put it away.

  “The first visitors are here. Come on, everyone. Let’s go make them feel welcome.”

  Felicity took off running in the opposite direction, but Amber, Flossy and Aurora followed behind Vanessa out to the front porch. The minivan’s doors swung open, and people tumbled out. They all slowly stretched their legs from the long ride. Vanessa approached the van. A tall man walked towards her and extended his hand.

  “Good morning,” he greeted her. “I’m Frank Morton, and this is my wife Andrea.”

  Vanessa shook his hand, and then the hand of his equally tall wife. Frank took a look around. Cats lined the porch behind Vanessa and eyed him and his group. Two other men stood behind Frank. One tall and red-haired and the other short and muscular. A curvy woman with brunette hair milled around the van’s side door. “The woman standing behind us is our secretary, Sabrina O’Malley. This here is our treasurer, Steven Weaver, and our executive officer, Jerry Spacick.”

  Vanessa nodded to them. “Welcome to Harvest Home. It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I assume you’re here for the ten o’clock tour.”

  “We were not expecting a tour,” Frank told her. “We had planned to just walk around the grounds and enjoy a nice picnic. Lovely weather we’re having today, isn’t it?”

  Vanessa paused. “It certainly is a lovely day for a picnic, but we do offer guided tours free of charge. I also have free literature on the Cat Protection League's work and educational material on animal welfare. Are you interested in that?”

  Frank exchanged glances with his friends and shrugged. “I don’t think so. I think we’ll just entertain ourselves, if you don’t mind.”

  Vanessa hesitated. “It’s fine with me, but would it have been easier to find a park or a nature reserve closer to town? You are my first visitors to the Cat Sanctuary. I didn’t expect people to come all the way out here who weren’t interested in my work of giving the cats a home.”

  Frank held up his hand. “We really appreciate all that you do here. We have a few business matters to discuss. The office has been hectic, so we were looking for a nice quiet place to spend the day. I discovered your Cat Sanctuary online and thought it would be perfect. We’ll just walk around these beautiful grounds—if you don’t mind, that is.”

  “I don’t mind,” Vanessa replied. “It isn’t what I expected, but you’re more than welcome. Make yourselves at home.”

  AngelPie jumped up onto the hood of the van and strutted over next to Frank. He scratched her behind the ears. “Thank you. We will.”

  “You will let me know if there is anything I can do to make your stay more enjoyable, won’t you?” Vanessa asked.

  “Of course,” he replied. “I guess I didn’t expect this warm welcome. We have everything we need in a picnic hamper”

  Vanessa waved her hand toward the woods at the edge of the property. “All right. You’re more than welcome.”

  Frank turned toward the van, where Jerry Spacick unloaded the picnic hamper from the back door. The group strolled away into the trees with many smiles, waves and well wishes.

  Vanessa waved back as the group made their way across the open field. Then she glanced around and found Henry sitting on the corner of the porch. His gaze followed hers to the people disappearing into the woods. “What do you think that’s all about?”

  Henry closed his eyes into the sunshine and turned his head away.

  “I’ll say it’s odd,” Vanessa went on. “Who would drive all the way out here just for a picnic? There is a park in the middle of town. That would have been so much easier than driving out to a Cat Sanctuary?”

  Henry got up and walked away, and Aurora jumped up onto the steps next to Vanessa.

  “I know,” Vanessa told her. “I was hoping perhaps a school group would come by for you. But I’m sure that will come in time. We had to get our first visitors out of the way, and they were not what we expected, but they’re here.”

  Flossy let out a loud meow from her chair beneath the front window.

  “I don’t know about that,” Vanessa replied. “That man seemed to like cats just fine. Still, maybe you cats should give them some room to have their picnic.”

  Flossy stretched and walked around in a circle on her cushion.

  “I know, I know,” Vanessa went on. “It makes no sense to come to a Cat Sanctuary if you don’t want a lot of cats around. I’m just saying they don’t seem to have arrived here for the cats. They want to have a peaceful picnic. Let them have it.”

  Flossy jumped down and walked to Aurora’s side.

  Vanessa laughed. “If you insist, Flossy. You and Aurora could follow them and make yourselves agreeable. Perhaps you could listen in on their conversation and find out more about why they needed to be so far from town. They would never suspect a thing. But do you really think that’s a good idea? What if they did become suspicious?”

  Flossy and Aurora hopped off the porch. Flossy set off at a dignified walk after the visitors. Aurora went with her in bursts of speed interrupted by stopping, looking around, and shaking her tail. Vanessa chuckled and shook her head. “Be careful out there.” She turned back to the house. “I must be losing my mind. Of course, the visitors wouldn’t suspect a thing from a couple of cats making themselves friendly.”

  Vanessa went back to her work tidying up the house and the grounds. Foxle shadowed her from room to room while she dusted. He batted the leaves of a potted rubber tree in the passageway while she cleaned the bathroom. Vanessa unpacked the last of the moving boxes from their old apartment above the Opportunity Shop. Foxle saw this as his chance to jump into an empty box that had been left opened.

  Vanessa smiled at him. “You’re finally coming out of your shell, Foxle. We should have made this move a long time ago. You�
�ve been out exploring in the woods with Porcupine. Before the move, I thought you were too frightened to leave the apartment.”

  He cocked his head and looked up at her.

  Vanessa laughed out loud. “Would you like to help me with the visitors? I never would have expected that from you.”

  He glanced toward the door and went back to batting at the flaps of the empty box.

  “No,” Vanessa told him. “I don’t think you should start with those people, either.”

  The sound of voices drew her attention to the front yard, and she peered through the bathroom window. The visitors emerged from the woods with Flossy and Aurora trotting at their feet. They talked in subdued tones and stopped just inside the line of trees. Jerry set the hamper down in the shade.

  They settled on the grass. Steve and Sabrina started unpacking the hamper and hand out freshly made sandwiches. The rest of the group continued with their conversation. Flossy sat down next to Sabrina and eyed the food with a practiced eye. Aurora ran laps around the scene to the amusement of Steven Weaver, who couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  Vanessa went back to her work, and quickly found her way back out to the porch. She swept the porch, and beat out the cat’s cushions. The group glanced at her while they talked and ate. Jerry and Andrea gave the cats bites of their food. Flossy stood at Sabrina’s elbow and begged without shame.

  When any of the visitors looked in Vanessa’s direction, she smiled at them but made no attempt to engage them. They wanted privacy. She understood that better than anyone, which is what brought her out to the countryside in the first place.

  She turned to go back inside. There was a mountain of paperwork waiting for her after the purchase of the property. She set her broom in the corner of the porch and cast one last glance toward the visitors. At that moment, Flossy stood up and strode toward her. She tripped up the porch steps and stopped next to Vanessa.

  Vanessa lowered her voice to an undertone. “Back so soon. Did you find out anything?”

  Before Flossy could respond, Jerry Spacick jumped up with a wild flail of his arms. His voice reached Vanessa’s ears for the first time.

  “I won’t stand for this!” he shouted. “I am putting an end to this foundation. I’ve been your patsy for five years, and I won’t put up with it a moment longer. I’m leaving.”

  Frank Morton stood up as well. He brushed the grass clippings off the seat of his pants and faced Jerry. “You can’t go back to town by yourself. We all have to go back in the same car.”

  Vanessa didn’t pretend to mind her own business anymore. She watched and listened to every word. Jerry shook his fist at Frank. “I am not going to be driven home by the likes of you. You can’t do this to me. Do you hear me?”

  Frank smiled to himself and wiped sandwich crumbs from his lips. “I hear you.”

  Steve stood up. “Don’t leave in a huff, Jerry. We all knew what we were getting into when we started. You can’t claim to be innocent now. You are as much part of this as I am.”

  Jerry turned on Steve. “You did this. This is all your fault, Steve. This isn’t what I expected to be doing when I was hired.”

  Sabrina hissed. “Why don’t you just leave?”

  “We are still doing good work. Don’t leave now, Jerry.” Andrea implored.

  Frank laid his hand on his wife’s arm. “Don’t pay any attention to him. He’ll settle down in a minute, and then we can get back to business.”

  “I’ll never get back to business,” Jerry thundered. “I’ll never have anything to do with you or your organization again as long as I live.”

  Frank laughed. “That’s what you say now. Just wait until we issue the next payout check. You’ll be happy about it then.”

  “I’ve heard enough from you. I’m leaving.” Jerry whirled away.

  From her place on the porch, Vanessa hoped that Jerry didn’t have the keys to the minivan. Jerry would leave, and Vanessa would be left with his four companions stranded out here at the Harvest Home Cat Sanctuary. Then what would she do with them?

  Jerry stormed off. The group looked to Frank to see what they should do next. At exactly the wrong moment, Aurora streaked past Jerry. His foot came down on her tail, but she didn’t stop running. Jerry lost his balance and fell onto his seat. Aurora disappeared into the trees. Vanessa let out a cry and hurried forward to help Jerry, but he tumbled over the rest of the way onto his side.

  Vanessa laid her hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry for my cat's behavior. She wasn’t watching where she was going. She’s only a kitten, you know, and they need a lot of room to run around.”

  He didn’t answer. He jerked over on his back, and violent convulsions racked his body. His arms and legs kicked and thrashed in the throes of a massive seizure, and pink foam worked its way through his clenched teeth. His eyes rolled back into his head, and a horrible grunting noise came out of his throat.

  Frank bent over the stricken man and peered into his face.

  “What’s wrong with him?”

  Vanessa tried to restrain Jerry, but he struggled out of her grasp. She glanced up at Frank. “Do you have a cell phone? Call an ambulance.”

  Chapter 2

  Detective Pete Wheeler zipped the plastic coroner’s bag closed and nodded to the ambulance driver. The crew loaded the bag into their ambulance and drove away.

  Pete turned to Vanessa.

  “Are you all right?”

  Vanessa nodded. “I thought moving out here would shelter us from these types of despicable crimes. I guess I was wrong.”

  Pete patted her on the shoulder. “This sanctuary will get a lot of visitors. You’ll be having a lot more to do with people than you ever did in that lonely old Opportunity Shop. Are you ready for that?”

  Vanessa smiled. “That could be the best thing for me. I could use more social interaction with people and not just with cats.”

  “I’m glad to hear you say that,” he told her. “And I’m sorry this happened on your property, but now I know I can count on you to help me solve this case.”

  “How do you know he was murdered?” Vanessa asked. “Are you sure he didn’t die of his convulsions?”

  Pete shook his head. “People don’t die from convulsions. A healthy man in the prime of his life doesn’t just drop down onto the ground and start foaming at the mouth. Most people who have convulsions have a long history of it, and they know when they’re about to have one. Besides, you told me yourself he just got into an argument with these people.”

  Vanessa glanced at the other visitors. They leaned against their minivan and spoke with one of Pete’s fellow detectives.

  “Jerry did. I could hear him from the porch. He said he was going to leave them for.... whatever it was they were arguing about.”

  “There you go,” Pete exclaimed. “It sounds like the perfect set-up for murder. But before we get into that, I want to ask you a few more questions about what he looked like when you first ran over to him. Did you notice him foaming at the mouth, or did it start later, after he’d been on the ground for a while.”

  “As soon as I reached him, he was foaming at the mouth,” she replied. “But he didn’t fall down because of convulsions. I want you to understand that. He tripped over Aurora. She was racing around in circles. She was moving too fast for him to avoid her.”

  “But don’t you see?” Pete pointed out. “That only proves what I’m saying. Whatever substance caused him to foam at the mouth; it must have been working in his body before he fell down. It must have started working earlier. Let’s see, I would say it had been coursing through his body for at least a few minutes. That’s the only way it could have been coming out of his mouth by the time you got to him.”

  “What substance do you think it was?” Vanessa asked.

  “I don’t know,” Pete replied. “I’m sure it will be revealed within the toxicology report.”

  “What could make the foam turn pink like that?” she asked. “It must have been something s
pecific.”

  “Not necessarily,” he replied. “That pink comes from blood mixing with air in his lungs. I can’t think of anything specific that would induce that, any number of pharmaceuticals could cause it to happen.”

  Pete’s gaze surveyed the small group hovering around the minivan. “Now tell me what you know about these people. What are they doing out here besides visiting the cats?”

  “They didn’t take a trip out here to visit the cats,” Vanessa told him. “That’s what’s so odd about the whole thing. They didn’t come to adopt one of the cats, to get a tour of the facility, or to learn anything about our work. They said they came to have a picnic and have a quiet conversation by themselves. That’s all.”

  Pete raised an eyebrow. “It doesn’t make sense to drive all the way out here for a picnic? They could have met at the....”