No Cooperation from the Cat Read Online Free

last of him. That would be too good to be true. The best we could hope for was a long respite.
    “Because it’s the weekend,” Jocasta explained.
    “What’s that got to do with anything?” Martha was as puzzled as the rest of us.
    “Don’t you see? Banquo won’t be able to reach anyone else. The publishing offices are closed. He’s come back here because Martha has taken over Melisande’s cookbook—”
    There was an explosive indignant snort from Martha.
    “I mean, I mean—” Jocasta temporised swiftly. “That’s the way he’ll see it. It’s Martha’s book now, of course. We’re hardly even using any of Melisande’s reci—”
    “I think we’ll leave it there.” It was not like Evangeline to act as peacemaker, but Martha’s expression was obviously unnerving her.
    “Darling.” It was terrifying me. “Darling, be calm. I know this has come as a shock to you. To all of us but—”
    “But Banquo doesn’t know what’s happened to his wife. He’ll be back because he thinks she ”—Martha sent a venomous look at Jocasta—“knows where Melisande is.”
    “Ridiculous!” Evangeline said. “Doesn’t the creature have any relatives or friends he can go to for information?”
    “He’s not a creature!” Jocasta flared. “He’s a brilliant inventive courageous adventurer who risks his life to—to—” She floundered for a moment, then recovered. “To bring knowledge to the world!”
    Oh, dear. Why do some of the sweetest young girls fall for the cads and poseurs?
    “I didn’t ask for a character reference!” Evangeline snapped. “I asked whether he had any family. Or friends.” She sounded insultingly doubtful about the latter.
    “Of course he has!” Jocasta was on the defensive. “Lots of them! Too many. Banquo’s Baggage, we called them around the office.”
    “The other part of the question was,” Evangeline went on relentlessly, “why can’t they break the news to him?”
    “Well…” Jocasta considered the question. “Tom and Mick, his old school friends, don’t know any more than he does. They were on the expedition with him.”
    “Really?” I could feel my eyebrows moving up to meet my hairline. “I had the distinct impression that he said he was on a solo expedition.”
    “Well, yes, of course he was.” Jocasta tried to stand her ground. “But there’s solo—and solo. I mean everyone needs a backup team. Both on-the-spot backup and … and back-at-home-base backup, here in London. Tom and Mick helped with the dog sledges with supplies and all that. And there had to be a photographer, that’s Tom, for the illustrations for the book. But Banquo was always in the lead—at least half a mile in front of them. So, you see, he was solo really.”
    “Mmm…” Evangeline was no more convinced than I was. “So they didn’t know anything had happened to Melisande. But what about those back at the London base?”
    “Oh, those are his three cousins: Edytha, Isolde, and Valeria.” Jocasta was racked by an involuntary shudder and closed her eyes briefly. “They’re very protective of him, possessive, even. Melisande used to say it was like having three mothers-in-law, all hostile. She swore they’d have found some way of stopping Banquo from marrying her, if she hadn’t had all that money.”
    “Money?” Evangeline snapped to attention. “All what money?”
    The doorbell pealed suddenly and Jocasta’s look changed to one of sheer terror.
    “I’m not here!” She bolted for the bathroom. “You don’t know where I am. You don’t even know me!”

Chapter Three
    “You can come out now,” Martha called with barely veiled exasperation. “It’s only Nigel.”
    “Oh…” The door opened slowly and Jocasta emerged. “Hello, Nigel.”
    “Hello, hello, hello,” he said affably, turning to include all of us in his greeting.
    With a happy chirrup, Cho-Cho pranced forward to hurl herself at his ankles. For some reason best known to herself, Nigel had