Murder at the Art Gallery Read online

  *****

  Colin stood by Roger's cage. The transition had been complete. Roger had no clue about his past life and now he was at the cat shelter. He knew that Mandy would be great for Roger and vice versa. He watched Mandy in the distance. walking closer to Roger's cage. She had her back to Roger and as she was looking at another sleeping cat in the cage across from Roger's. Colin sent a mental command for Roger to meow. Roger performed his first meow.

  *****

  I viewed the sleeping cats. How could I choose just one? At that moment, I wanted them all.

  A low, plaintive meow came from my right. I turned to see the source, and before me was a lovely grey tabby.

  “Hey baby. Are you calling out to me? Wow, you're a big cat.”

  At the sound of my voice, the tabby stood and arched his grey back against the cage so that I could pet him. He purred when I touched him, and I thought of how clearly this creature needed love.

  “Hey Jill, you know anything about this cat? The big grey tabby?”

  Jill ran to me.

  “Which one? Which one?” she yelled. She seemed to catch herself, and by the time I had pointed the cat out to her, she at least appeared to be relaxed.

  “You know, he must be new. Huh. Haven’t seen this little guy before,” Jill said, “I’ll check the office for his information.”

  Jill returned with a blue, laminated card that read ‘Roger’ in a light, cursive font. Jill turned the card over and read the information printed on the back.

  “It says here that he came yesterday. He belonged to an old lady that could longer take care of him, and no other family members who would take him. It also says he's a year old. Wow, he's a big cat for a year old.”

  I looked at the Roger closely and Roger looked back at me. Our eyes locked for what seemed like a whole minute. I knew in my gut that this cat was special. I could have gone to a whole bunch of other shelters and looked at dozens of cats. But I had just seen ten other cats. and none of them did anything for me. There was something different about Roger. As the words came out of my mouth I couldn't believe that I was saying them.

  “You know what Jill, I'm taking Roger home.”

  Jill said, “Ok, let me go get the papers so that we can make this copasetic.”

  Jill calmly walked towards the office, but I knew that inside, she was thrilled. I was certain that the moment she closed that office door, she did a happy dance.

  I, too, was tempted to dance. I’d gotten a companion. I wouldn’t be alone anymore.

  Chapter Two

  I filled out the paperwork necessary for adoption, still in disbelief that I was a cat owner once again.

  Roger, I thought. It would take a while before I would be used to calling him that. I hoped that I would never call him ‘Fluffy’. The differences between them were obvious enough. I was sure I wouldn’t slip.

  I knew I would take Roger everywhere. I used to walk Fluffy around the neighborhood on a leash, and he adored walking the streets with me. Roger would learn to be a constant companion, too. No stay-at-home cat for me. He’d be with me always.

  First things first though. I needed to buy supplies for Roger. I didn't have any cat supplies at home, and it hurt too much to keep around Fluffy's old stuff. So I was going to buy Roger all new stuff. I wanted Roger to feel right at home from the very first day.

  Jill had always thought it strange that I would walk Fluffy on a leash, and she could see I was going to start doing the same thing with Roger. I put the collar on Roger, and he didn't flinch. I walked him around the animal shelter and he was fine, like he had been doing this all his life. He was a good cat. It was hard to believe he was a year old, but the papers didn't lie. He was also very muscular for a cat, certainly a strange tabby. I took him outside and he liked being in the sun.

  I was pleasantly surprised that Roger took to the leash without a fight. He walked about and explored the parking lot. The leash gave him space to observe-and adjust to- his surroundings.

  I turned to Jill.

  “I was so nervous about getting a cat. You should have seen me this morning. I was a wreck. But, I’m glad I came. Roger is a real treasure, and if it weren’t for you prodding me, I wouldn’t have done this,” I said.

  She gave me a hug. “I'm so happy for you, I knew for years you deserved a nice kitty, someone to keep you company and that you could take with you wherever you went.”

  Jill was always trying to help, even if sometimes she ended up making matters worse. But that day, she’d done well for me. I let Jill go back to work, and Roger and I headed to my car.

  He was a healthy cat, and while he was attached to the leash he had a strong pull-almost like that of a dog. I made a note to be vigilant that he wouldn’t pull my arm from its socket if he got excited over a bird.

  Roger sat in the backseat. He explored the upholstery, sniffed around the corners of the door, and eventually settled down enough to peer through the closed window at the grounds outside.

  The drive to the mall was relaxed and easy. It was early enough that traffic was slow.

  I’d decided to visit my friend, Wendy, at her store: Wendy’s Pet Cutie Supplies. Wendy had been a fixture in that mall for years. Many folks visited Wendy’s for their pet’s needs, and also because Wendy was known for having unique merchandise. The big chain stores had nothing on the personal touch Wendy afforded her customers, and being an animal lover herself, she was great at anticipating her customer’s needs.

  I found a spot close enough to the store and parked my car.

  “Roger honey, we're here, we're going to get you nice stuff so that you can feel at home.”

  I was excited to see Wendy again. It had been years, and I was sure she would be thrilled to see that I’d adopted a cat. At that point, I was still adjusting to that fact myself.

  I opened the car door, expecting Roger to be fearful of the world. But he immediately hopped out of the car, his nose stuck up and his little nostrils flared, as if to appreciate the freshness of the outside air.

  I grasped the leash, prepared to attach it if Roger attempted to flee. He didn’t He didn’t wander far, and mostly sniffed at the new space he found himself in. What a wonderful cat he was. I counted myself lucky to have snapped him up.

  I made sure the doors were all locked, and as I turned around to enter the store, a disheveled man in filthy clothes approached me. My heartbeat quickened, but I tried to maintain the appearance of stoicism.

  “Hey lady, can you spare some change, I really need to get something to eat.”

  A pan-handler. That’s all he was. Still, I didn’t quite feel at ease. I dug through my purse, knowing full well I wouldn’t find cash. I paid for everything with my phone, or credit cards.

  “Sorry” I said, “I really don't have any change on me.”

  “Ah c'mon you gotta have something, I need to get some change just to get some breakfast, I'm not asking for much just some change.”

  He had raised his voice and I realized he was crazy. He was bigger than me and I wasn't sure I could run away fast enough. Luckily there were other people around who had heard the man yell, and they watched my interactions with him.

  He continued to harass me for money, and once he figured out that he was getting nowhere with that, he changed his tune:

  “Hey you know what, you look sexy.”

  He reached out touched one of my breasts. I gasped and then screamed.

  “Don't you dare touch me again, or I'm calling the police.”

  The other parking lot occupants began to defend me as well. Several of them warned him to leave me alone, while others taunted him by recording the ordeal on their phones. The man took no notice, obviously so engrossed in his own world, he couldn’t perceive them.

  “Yeah, you look hot, come here.”

  He reached out to grab me again. All of a sudden Roger jumped onto the guy's arm and started to scratch and bite him. He did it with so much force that he knocked the guy over and continued
his attack.. The only sound in that parking lot was the growl of an angered beast. Roger was that beast. I pulled on the leash and said:

  “Roger, honey, leave him alone.”

  The guy was screaming

  “Get him off me, I'm allergic to cats!”

  He was coughing and sneezing. I tried to pull Roger off as much as I could, but he was still clinging on to the bum’s t-shirt. In the distance I could see mall guards coming to help, apparently someone had reported this to them.

  More and more people gathered round.

  One woman told me, “Don't worry, I got the whole thing on my phone if you're going to press charges.”

  I could hear police sirens in the distance, apparently someone had called the police as well. Incidents like these didn't happen often in Pleasant Falls, so people got involved.

  Some of the witnesses were stunned at how courageous Roger had been. They’d never seen a cat attack a person who harmed their owner. I was still in shock that I’d been assaulted in the mall parking lot. The fact that a cat-my new cat- had leapt out to save me...it was too much to process at the time.

  The police arrived, slapped handcuffs on the pan-handler, and took him away. An officer remained on the scene to question me, but I was much too shaken to answer. I told him that I would come by the station and make an official statement once I’d gathered myself.

  Roger sat on the ground, calm as could be, licking a paw as if nothing at all had happened.

  On my way into the mall, I recognized one of my friends-Jimmy-who was standing by a door, waiting. Jimmy was a local police officer who I knew since high school.

  “Mandy, you need to go to the station and make a statement,” he said.

  “You know Jimmy, I'm still pretty freaked out about this guy touching me out in the parking lot, let me calm down for a while and I'll make a statement at the mall and then go down to the station.”

  Then he saw the cat and said, “Did you get a new cat? After all these years? Wow !

  “Yes, he protected me from that creep.”

  The pan-handler sat in the back seat of the cop car. Even through the window of the cruiser I could see the scratches Roger had left on his arms. The sound of the pan-handler’s sneezes could be heard where I was standing on the parking lot.

  “Jimmy, you're going to have to get your car disinfected afterwards, that guy is sneezing up a storm in there.”

  “Yeah, he's pretty disgusting. We already got a read out on him - he was in jail before. I don't know what he's doing out. Come over the station later, ok?”

  “Sure thing Jimmy. I just need to relax for a while and buy some new things for my new cat.”

  I finally made it into Wendy's place and she could see that I was still shaken up. She also saw the cat.

  “Mandy, are you ok? I heard about what happened out there. Wow, you managed to get a new cat after all these years! How wonderful. What's her or his name?”

  “His name is Roger.”

  “What happened out there? I heard you had some kind of altercation.”

  I told Wendy everything that had happened. I finished my story with Roger’s heroics.

  Wendy said, “Some cats are very protective of their owners, but I have never heard of a newly adopted cat doing this. He must know people well. He looks like a tabby, but he's so big, there's some other breed in there, maybe a Maine Coon, that might give him these qualities. In any event, it's great that you got a new cat, he's really a cutie.”

  Wendy, I need everything for a new cat, I'm going to put my faith in you in knowing exactly what to get. I know I haven't been here for a while, but the place looks great and I'm sure you'll get some great things for Roger.”

  “Oh Mandy, it will be my pleasure. One of my favorite things is getting all the necessary supplies for new pets. It's so important to get just the right things so that they feel at home in their new environment. Follow me.”

  As she was saying she took me around the store so I could pick out different shades and which styles I liked better. After what had just happened I was truly getting the best for Roger, he deserved it. He just proved his loyalty to me, not 15 minutes out of an animal shelter. Stuff like this just doesn't happen every day.

  *****

  After buying supplies, I stopped at the security station at the mall to make my statement and speak well of the guards at the mall. They had responded right away. Who knows what may have happened if they hadn't come in time? . I minimized Roger's role in the situation, I didn't want him to get too much attention. You just never know with these cop types if all of a sudden they suspect that Roger created the situation in the first place. But no, nobody asked about Roger and I made it out of there right away. Next stop would be the police station.

  The station wasn't far from the mall. I parked in the parking lot of the municipal building and went to the station. I was very friendly with everyone there. Pleasant Falls was a small town and I had grown up with many of the cops. When in high school, I had dated the captain, Fred Jones for about a year. . We went our separate ways, but stayed friends.

  I met Daniel in college, and around the time that I’d found Daniel, Fred had found himself a woman. They married shortly after they’d met, and divorced shortly after they’d married. Daniel and I heard many sordid tales of how Fred’s ex-wife had gone behind his back with other men.

  But I wasn’t sure that was why Fred divorced her. I think it was because she simply wasn’t the woman he had hoped she would be. She disappeared after their divorce, and Fred has been single ever since.

  I figured that since I was at the station, I would drop by and say hello to Fred-after I’d made my statement to Jimmy.

  There was a reception desk directly inside the police station. I approached the receptionist who merely pointed down a hall and said:

  “Jimmy’s in his office. He’s been waiting for you.”

  She was right. Jimmy was at his desk, doing paperwork that I assumed was for the caper at the mall that day.

  “Hi Jimmy, I came by to make my statement.”

  He said, “Oh you're here. Just take a chair. I'm still filling out the papers on the derelict of the day.”

  He gave me some papers regarding the event and I filled them out. When I finished I gave him the papers and he looked them over

  “What time do you think this whole incident happened Mandy?”

  “I figure about eleven A.M.”

  “Are you ok, head-wise? I know it's pretty heavy, having some guy attack you like that.”

  “I was freaked out for a while, but I've calmed down. It’s just hard to believe that a man would grab my breasts, uninvited, and then return for seconds. Luckily, my cat intervened”

  “So, your new cat is an attack cat, huh?” and he let out a chuckle “He looks like a real Tomcat - strong and sure of himself.”

  Jimmy understood my attachment to Roger right away because he’d seen me and Fluffy together a lot, so he thought nothing of it. He was also a cat person, himself, so he didn’t find my situation peculiar.

  “Jimmy, is Fred around? Thought I’d poke my head in to say hi,” I asked.

  He said “Fred's out investigating a suicide.”

  “A suicide? In these parts? That's so strange.”

  “Yeah, don't know much about it, I had to answer the call at the mall. Fred left before me”

  “Well I'll catch up with him the next time. How's your cat doing by the way?”

  “She's doing okay. She's getting up in the years though. I hope she sticks around for a long time, but you never know. I was thinking of getting her a young playmate so that if she passed away I would still have a cat and there wouldn't be much of an adjustment phase.”

  I knew Jimmy was practical and although he loved his cat, he didn't have the same relationship with his that I had with Fluffy. Still, I was glad that his cat was still alive and well.

  Roger and I left the police station and strolled the area around the municipal building. Peop
le kind of looked at us as we walked by, seeing a cat being walked on a leash, but I didn't mind. I was used to it from so many years with Fluffy.

  I was overcome by a pang of guilt. But it passed quickly as I reminded myself that Fluffy had been gone for seven years at that point. Roger was a very special cat, and with him, I was gifted a new beginning- just like the tarot cards had said.

  It was time I headed home and introduced Roger to his new environment.

  I looked forward to playing with Roger for the first time. I had even bought a toy bird for him that could be attached to a string so that Roger could try to catch it. I found laser-pointers to be mean- the cat would chase the thing all over and never really catch anything.

  It would be just the two of us. A new beginning.. Things were looking up, the job, a new cat.I'd been getting more calls for my astrology charts and I had one day at week at a restaurant doing tarot cards. Things were going my way for a change.

  The place where I was working now was an art gallery. It was a cool place to work at, with nice people. and I had managed to get my artist friend David Towsky a showing there. When I first got the idea for an art show for David, I talked to the owner, Bernard Jakovsky, at length and told him about David and how he had been a painter for years, could he look at his paintings, and they had hit it off. Bernard really liked David's art and saw that his paintings had a lot commercial potential. Bernard agreed that this was definitely show material, and that show was going to happen next week. I felt that the world was going to get to see more of David's art and hopefully he would sell some works and it would open new doors for him. I was really excited about that.

  Finally home, I set up Roger's things and let him explore the house so that he could get acquainted on his own terms.

  I was putting stuff away and my phone rang. I saw that it was Jill calling.

  “I have some good news and some bad news.”