Bipeds come in all shapes, sizes, and mental acuity. With Tabitha Kingsley I hit the top tier. She has an intuitive way of catching my drift, to use a quaint American turn of phrase. And she’s no quitter, a real pisser. She’s holding herself together by sheer will power alone. And yet she is taking a moment to stroke me and thank me for helping her. She accepts what I did and doesn’t try to rationalize it as a coincidence or something of that foolish nature.
A few figure eights around her ankles and she is at least smiling at me, though it’s a somewhat tremulous smile. I can feel her anxiety. She has the complexion of a fair, English rose, but now she’s a bit pallid. Finding her sister will resolve all of that. The car will give us and the authorities some leads. I know it. Whoever thought I would convey a message through a painting. I have to admit that this episode is a fine example of the positive role art can play in our lives. I went to the third floor to see the vista painted nearly two hundred years ago by Asa Redmond. I was admiring the power of the landscape when I saw the flash of light on the car in the field. I knew then it was a vehicle hidden in the high growth, and it’s a logical deduction that it is likely Trudy’s car. Thank you, Master Redmond, for the clue.
Now it’s time for me to kick into action. I must be on board the truck when Roger and Tabitha go to the car in the field. If there’s anything gruesome to be discovered, I can’t let Tabitha see it. There are things you simply shouldn’t see, and a decomposing loved one falls into that category. While I didn’t come to Zinnia to protect and serve our red-haired soothsayer, I’ve taken on the responsibility and will fulfill it with a stiff upper lip. I won’t be a wanker about it either, though I’m not at all fond of viewing dead things. I think back to my bucolic days as a kitling growing up in Wetumpka, Alabama where my biggest concern was slipping around the hedges to spy on the neighbors and flirt with the local feline femme fatales. Now, I’m building a thriving business of solving cases wherever I go, following in dad’s enormous pawprints.
And here comes Roger, roaring down the driveway. Tabitha all but leaps off the porch and into the crushed shells of the path. And we are off. Whew! Roger-Dodger hardly slowed enough for me to jump in. Thank goodness Tabitha is as agile and strong as I am. We’re aboard the truck, which is something of a land yacht with this huge cab, a long truck bed, dual wheels in the rear, and an engine that sounds like it might be able to fly. And we’re off.
Roger knew the road where Trudy’s car—if it was her car—had to be parked. It was a little used farm road that wound around the edges of the New Slope field and then dead ended in a thick brake of tupelo gum trees, cypress, and saw-tooth oaks. It was possible Tabitha had merely seen the sun strike an abandoned piece of metal, but his gut told him otherwise. He believed it was Trudy’s car, and he was worried about preventing Tabitha from seeing something that would scar her for the rest of her life. Somehow he had to protect her.
Without thinking, he reached across the black cat and put a comforting hand on her arm. “It’s going to be okay,” he said softly.
“I want to believe that.” Her voice was strained with emotion.
“What would you and Trudy be doing if you were in New Orleans?” He sought a conversation where she could find solace. “Tell me about your lives together.”
Tabitha shook her head. “I was always the rule follower, the dreamer who wrote poetry and songs. Trudy was the rule breaker. She’s been in and out of trouble all of her life, but only one patch of what I consider serious misadventure. In the last five years, she’s really grown up and become an…activist. She gets involved in things and she fights for what she believes in. School curriculum, jail reform, prison rehabilitation, animal causes. I admire that about her, because I’ve always played it safer. I’ll write letters, but Trudy will march in the streets. She’ll get in people’s faces. What’s the thing on the news all the time now, ‘speak truth to power?’ She’s courageous.”
“I saw some of that with her at the business.” He pressed harder on the gas pedal when they were on the open road. As they came to an intersection, he saw Budgie and DeWayne in the patrol car. They pulled in behind him, following. He felt some relief that they were already on the scene.
“Tell me about your writing,” he prompted Tabitha, trying to keep her mind occupied.
“I’ve always loved music. My favorite past time is writing song lyrics, but that’s a hard way to pay the bills unless you have a big star who wants your work. Anyway, it was kind of a fluke that I got a job writing a music column for one of the local entertainment magazines. And then the column got picked up by another magazine. Then the local entertainment paper asked me to interview musicians and review new bands. Then a couple of jazz magazines wanted me to work for them.” She shrugged. “I love music and musicians and writing. It’s the perfect job.”
Roger at last came to the rutted field road that disappeared over a slight rise. Beyond that would be the brake and the car. He checked to be sure the deputies were still behind him.
“And Trudy? What is her passion?” He wanted to keep her talking. That way she couldn’t think about what they might find.
“Trudy has always been good at science and math, which I’m terrible at. I can’t believe we had the same mother because we’re different as night and day.”
Except in the looks department, Roger wanted to add, but he didn’t. Both women were lovely in their differences. Tabitha was fair and red haired. Trudy was dark and mysterious. It was odd because he’d noticed Trudy’s physical attributes but never been attracted. Tabitha was a whole different story. He’d been angry at her the first time he laid eyes on her, but beneath the heat of his temper was another sizzle. He could no longer deny that.
As they turned down the rutted road, Tabitha’s voice trembled, but she kept talking, forcing herself to stay calm. The black cat crawled into her lap and rubbed his head against her chin, offering his own form of comfort.
“Trudy was always in trouble in school,” Tabitha said. The tiniest smile touched the corners of her mouth. “She hated authority. She refused to obey rules unless they made sense to her. She was a challenge. But she is the most loyal friend a person could have. And she has a passion for all living animals and the planet. That was why science interested her. Back in the day, a pet drug company was offering a twenty-five million dollar reward to anyone who could invent an oral contraceptive for cats and dogs that would work and not harm the pets. I honestly thought Trudy might be the person to figure that out.”
“I have to agree, she’s very smart and has an intuitive ability to understand science.” Roger could see the brake in the distance. The car wasn’t visible yet, and he didn’t know whether to hope it would be there or not. “I was going to promote her into the research department. Lots more money. She was…is that good.”
Trouble sat up and put his paws on the truck dash. He was eagerly watching the road as they pulled into the shade of the first trees. It took Roger a moment for his eyes to adjust, but then he saw the car pulled down a small incline toward where a creek flowed. It was Trudy’s little Honda.
“Oh, no!” Tabitha barely breathed the words. She opened the door but Roger caught her wrist. The cat was out the door and on the ground running toward the car.
“No.” He shook his head. “Let me look first. Please.”
She swallowed a sob and nodded.
Roger heard the doors on the cruiser slam and DeWayne and Budgie joined him as he walked toward the car.
“There aren’t any flies,” Budgie said. “That’s a good sign.”
“You’re a comforting devil, aren’t you?” DeWayne asked. “The sheriff would be proud of you.”
The black cat jumped to the hood of the little car that had obviously been hidden where no one would likely find it. It was a miracle Tabitha had seen the sun striking the metal.
“Me-ow!” The cat clawed at the front glass as if he wanted to get inside the car. Roger noted that the windows were all rolled up, no cracked glass, and there didn’t appear to be any damage to the body of the car.
“Please stay back,” DeWayne said as he and Budgie took the lead. But Roger didn’t need to get any closer. The car was empty. Trudy’s body wasn’t there. He turned back to face Tabitha with a wide grin and signaled her to join them.