CHAPTER

twenty-seven

I PREPARED FOR MY confrontation, scheduling it on a teacher in-service day, so students wouldn’t be around. Well before the appointed time with Edgar, I leaned against the elm tree in front of Roosevelt Elementary. Nimbus lay cuddled in my arms, and a brown grocery bag lay at my feet.

Edgar came fumbling around the corner, but at least he’d arrived on time. I saw the edge of a cloth sack peeking out from the tailcoat pocket of his massive black frock coat. Nimbus stiffened in my arms, although Marshmallow had already explained the plan to her multiple times.

A whiff of stale cigar smoke carried on the wind as Edgar came closer and extended his hand to me. I refused to shake it.

Up close, he had a face with a prominent forehead, dark beady eyes, and a neat square mustache. “You found my precious,” he said.

I startled at the nickname. (One cat to rule them all.) “How do I know this is your kitten?”

He spoke to Nimbus. “Come here, EFV2.” The kitten snuggled deeper in my arms.

I blinked at Edgar. “That’s what you call your pet?”

“I don’t know why she’s not responding,” he said. “She’s the spitting image of my cat.”

“Well, let me give her a snack. Maybe she’s not cooperating because she’s hungry.”

I put Nimbus down and extracted a can of sardines from the grocery bag.

Nimbus riveted her eyes on the treat. “Fish,” I heard her say in a clear, sweet voice.

Edgar’s dark eyes glittered. He blurted out, “Yes, that’s my cat. I heard her speak.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t quite understand.”

He looked at me with wide-eyed wonder. “My cat used to say ‘fish’ every time I gave her sardines. And this kitten talks, too.”

I waited a beat and then gave a slow nod. “Oh, I get it. It’s a Pavlovian response. Studied it in psych class. The dog salivates in response to the bell. Maybe your cat made a hissing noise that you misinterpreted as speaking.”

His mustache quivered. “No, I clearly heard her. Like I did just now.”

I shrugged. “So tell me why I didn’t see a collar with your info on it when I first found this kitty.”

He coughed. “She, uh, got loose from my house. Must have tangled the collar in a bush.”

“I looked for a microchip. There was some sort of device, but it didn’t get picked up by the scanner correctly.”

“It’s a high-frequency emitter meant to—never mind.”

I tilted my head at him. “You actually look very familiar. Did I see you around the school the day before Valentine’s?”

“What? No.” He edged away from me. “I didn’t set one foot on the campus.”

At least he hadn’t during the Family and Friends event. I stared him down.

He tugged at the collar of his coat. “Really, I didn’t have anything to do with that ambulance showing up.”

I raised my eyebrows at him.

“I swear.” He lifted his chin up. “All I did was find my cat’s collar on a bush outside of the school. I didn’t touch that woman.”

“Fine. I believe you. Now let me feed this kitten.” I opened the can of sardines. No sooner had I popped open the tab than a hearty flapping noise sounded. A dark shadow swirled overhead.

Edgar watched as a raven landed in the branches of the elm tree. His jaw dropped.

The sleek bird opened its beak. “Nevermore,” it croaked.

Edgar whispered, “That bird can talk.”

“Right,” I said slowly as if talking to a child. “It’s cawing at us.”

I could see his Adam’s apple bob up and down.

The raven spoke again. “Nevermore.”

“This is impossible,” Edgar said, but he rubbed his hands with glee. “I’ve discovered more talking animals.”

The bird’s beak opened. This time, it quoted an entire passage from “The Raven” by Poe.

Edgar’s eyes glittered with greed, and he lunged for the bird.

Too quick for him, the raven flew off, landing on the blacktop expanse behind the locked school fence. Nimbus let out a startled purr of delight.

She slipped under the gate and followed the bird on silent paws. Then the animals stood frozen on the blacktop, staring at each other.

“This is my chance to get them both,” Edgar mumbled. He tiptoed toward the fence and started climbing it. The animals appeared oblivious to his movements.

In the meantime, I distanced myself from the situation and slipped into the shadow of the tree. Soon, I saw the patrol car rolling down the street. This officer was prompt about following the three o’clock schedule Detective Brown had told me.

The police car flashed its sirens, and the officer spoke into his bull horn. “Stop right there, mister.”

Edgar paused halfway up the fence. With his great frock coat billowing in the wind, he looked extremely suspicious.

The policeman got out of his car and called out, “I’m going to take you into custody.”

Edgar climbed down, and I watched the officer manhandle him into the police car. The policeman shoved the door shut hard.

I hoped it meant double trouble for Edgar. After all, he’d been found in the act of trespassing. And not just at any elementary school, but one where complaints of a lurker had previously been reported.

Once I couldn’t see the police vehicle anymore, I said, “You can come out now.”

Marshmallow emerged from behind the tree. “Told you I could do it. Convincing, right?”

“You’d make a great ventriloquist.”

I patted him and gave him a sardine. Meanwhile, the raven flew over to a branch of the tree, and Nimbus also returned. I tossed a sardine to the raven, who gobbled it up.

Kneeling before Nimbus, I offered her a fish. She didn’t eat it but trembled by the base of the tree.

Too much shock maybe. “Don’t worry, Nimbus,” I said. “That man will be too busy dealing with the police to bother us. And he won’t be able to step anywhere near here.”

With a smile on my face, I dialed up Detective Brown to let him know Roosevelt Elementary wouldn’t need a security detail anymore.

Once he picked up, I shared the good news with him. The detective didn’t congratulate me. Instead, his voice rumbled over the phone. “How do you know the situation got resolved, Miss Lee?”

I kept the laughter out of my voice as I looked up at the sky. “Let’s just say a little birdie told me.”

He let out a loud exhale on his end. “You shouldn’t try to fix things on your own so much. And the patrol will stay put since there is an active murder case going on.”

“Speaking of solutions, I’ve got two great suspects for you to follow up on, janitor Richard and teacher Donna.”

“Why those people specifically?”

“Because the autopsy report mentioned mercury—”

“Don’t tell me you caught a glimpse of the report that day you came by. How could you have possibly read it so quickly?”

I winked at Marshmallow. “What can I say? I have sharp cat eyes.” He preened himself at my praise.

I continued to share my intel with Detective Brown. “The lamp that broke in Helen’s classroom was given to her by Donna and cleaned up poorly by Richard.”

“Are you implying something?”

“The broken bulb released dangerous mercury and poisoned Helen.”

“I’m afraid your allegations are incorrect,” the detective said.

“Excuse me?”

“There isn’t enough mercury in a small light bulb to be fatal.”

“Oh.” I kicked the trunk of the tree with my sneaker. “Well, shouldn’t it be easier to narrow the list then? Who would have access to mercury? Certainly not my sister.”

Detective Brown’s voice hardened. “Investigations don’t get solved by snap decisions. I will do my due diligence to get to the bottom of this case and bring justice to Miss Reed. I’ll catch the killer.” He paused. “Whoever he—or she—may be.”

After the detective clicked off the phone, I stared at it. My big sis alert went into overdrive.