The Glass Cat: A Detective Kevin Fowler Mystery Read Online Free Page A

shook their heads, both chuckling.  
    Fowler drilled them with his eyes.   “I’m not kidding. Did you see any animals running around the house?”
    Eddie and Jill both broke into laughter, causing a frown to ripple across Fowler’s face.  
    “What’s so blasted funny?” he asked, his blue eyes going glacier.
    “Well, that woman had more than two dozen china cats sitting around everywhere, most of them over by a big window, but I don’t think they had anything to do with this accident.”  
    “Did you look all over the house?” Fowler asked, feeling foolish. “In the cellar and all upstairs?” Again he knew the answer, but . . .
    “Of course,” Eddie said. “You taught us to do that yourself.”
    Jill nodded in agreement.
    They had searched the house thoroughly.  
    “Did you see a china cat sitting by the body?”
    They looked at each other and then at him in surprise.  
    “Nope. I didn’t. No evidence of anything alive. Did you, Ed?”
    Ed shook his head no.
    “Sorry, guess we missed that one,” Jill said. “But I can tell you for sure we’d have spotted anything close to the body,” she added with confidence.
    Fowler had had enough.
    “Okay, that about wraps it up. I’ll see you two tomorrow.” He left the room after they did and wandered down the hall to Chief John McCall’s office. He poked his head inside the door, seeing his boss with a phone pressed to his ear. The chief waved him in.
    “What do you have?” he asked after he hung up the phone.  
    “A dead thief, an injured elderly lady in the hospital, a kooky visiting writer, and a worried next-door neighbor. A few puzzles to boot, but I think I about have them solved.”
    “Yes?”
    “Miss Harper. Do you remember her? Retired English teacher taught most of the kids in town?”
    The chief indicated he did know.  
    “Nephew of hers has been bugging her, trying to get custodial care. Tried to have her declared incompetent to take care of herself. Failed. Judge threw it out. But Harper didn’t give up, it seems.”
    The chief punched an intercom and asked for two cups of coffee.
    “Neighbors found him dead at the foot of the stairs. We found both pockets stuffed full of a wad of money and several pieces of the old lady’s jewelry. Must have taken it by force. She was pretty banged up, but doc says she’ll pull through.
    “Neighbors heard the ruckus, came in, and called the medics. Wilson, the kooky writer, had heard a male voice yelling at Miss Harper earlier so he went and got Miss Michelin from next door to come and check on her.
    “That’s a wrap, then? Accidental death from a fall down the stairs? Sounds like he deserved it.” The chief got up, walked to the window, and back again.
    “I remember Miss Harper myself. Gentle lady, never hurt a fly.” He poured sugar in his coffee from a packet on his desk.
    “Well, he did deserve it, but that kooky writer says that house was full of cats and it’s his theory that a cat tripped the thief up.”
    “So? What kind of cat did she have?”  
    “None, at least not a live one. Eddie and Jill say the house was full of cats, but they were china—porcelain ones. The writer swears he’s allergic to cats and saw a live one. Says it bothered his allergies even though he’d had a shot earlier.”
    “He seem like a stable individual to you?” his boss asked skeptically.  
    Kevin nodded slowly. Man seemed quite normal if a bit stuffed up.  
    “What was the cause of death?”
    “Broken neck.”  
    “I say let’s leave it right there.” The chief sipped his coffee and glanced out the window.  
    “Only one peculiar thing that doesn’t add up, not that it particularly changes anything,” Fowler said, rubbing his chin.  
    The chief, well aware Fowler hated loose ends, asked, “What’s that?”  
    “Coroner’s report ruled the death accidental. He also said Neal Harper’s pants at the ankles were covered with animal hair—probably cat.” He paused, looked out the