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Mitch wasn’t thrilled about the idea.
“Just be careful,” he told her. “You and Zoe.”
“We will,” she promised.
He’d stopped by the café that afternoon. Zoe manned the counter while Lauren sat with him at a rear table, Annie joining them.
“Any leads?” she asked him.
“No.” He shook his head. “We’re looking at everyone connected to Kathleen. She didn’t seem to have much to do with people apart from the show world.”
“What did she do for a living?” Lauren asked.
“She was a full-time cat breeder. She was divorced and seems to have supplemented her alimony with the money she made as a breeder.”
“She must have been successful if she could afford to bribe the judges,” Lauren mused.
“She got a big settlement in her divorce. That was years ago. Irreconcilable differences. We’ve spoken to her ex and he said he hadn’t heard from her in a while. Everyone else we’ve talked to seems to confirm that.”
“Did she have more than one cat?” Lauren asked. She’d read recently that it was possible for cats to have five litters per year, although surely Kathleen wouldn’t have bred Mrs. Snuggle so frequently?
She wasn’t sure how much pedigree Persian kittens sold for, but it would have to be a lot to make even a part-time living from it, surely? Especially if Kathleen spent money on cat show fees and bribes.
“No.” Mitch shook his head. “There weren’t any other cats when we checked her house and the neighbors said they were only aware of Mrs. Snuggle being the only cat there at the moment. Apparently, Kathleen used to let them know when she had a new litter of kittens, in case they wanted to buy one – at full price, of course,” he finished wryly.
“Did anyone take her up on her offer?” Lauren asked curiously.
“No – not that they admitted to, anyway,” Mitch replied. “And I didn’t see any evidence of cats in the neighbors’ houses either. Or in their yards.”
Lauren mulled over that information for the rest of the day. She shared it with Zoe later on, but they couldn’t draw any conclusions.
That evening, Lauren pulled out her knitting in readiness for craft club tomorrow. It was a bit of a mess. She thought she’d be able to manage lavender and yellow stripes, but it was her first attempt at changing colors and it looked like it.
“Maybe I’ll never be an expert knitter,” she said to Zoe as they both sat on the sofa, Annie between them.
“Brrt?” Annie batted the dangling tea cozy as Lauren held it in the air.
“I’m sure Mrs. Finch can help you,” Zoe told her. “She’s helped me in the past with my projects.” She squinted as she looked at Lauren’s project. “Maybe you should have chosen an easier pattern.”
“This is supposed to be an easy pattern. It said it was for beginners!”
“Oops – sorry.” Zoe folded her top lip over her bottom one.
Lauren drew in a breath. “It’s okay. Maybe I’m just not born to be a knitter. I have been doing it for over a year and I think I’m still a beginner.”
“You made Mitch a hat and scarf set, and one for yourself,” Zoe reminded her. “You’ve really committed yourself to knitting.”
“I guess I have,” Lauren replied. Zoe had flitted – or perhaps flirted – from one hobby to another, but at the moment seemed to have settled on pottery.
Lauren put away the tea cozy and settled down to watch another crime drama on TV. She couldn’t help wondering if all these crime shows were giving Zoe too many sleuthing ideas.
***
“I THINK I’VE DONE SOMETHING wrong, Mrs. Finch.” Lauren held out her lavender and yellow attempt at a tea cozy the following evening.
After dinner, they’d driven the short distance to the senior’s house for their weekly craft club meeting.
“Oh.” Mrs. Finch peered at the scrunched work. “I think you’ve got a hole here, dear.”
“I didn’t notice that,” Lauren admitted. Holes were one of the problems she’d had when she’d first started knitting. She’d thought she’d improved and they were hopefully a thing of the past.
“Your color change here is a bit wonky.” Mrs. Finch pulled at loose strand. “But I don’t think it will fall apart.”
“That’s good.” Lauren felt even more demoralized.
“But I’m sure it will turn out to be lovely, dear,” Mrs. Finch encouraged her. “It might take a little time, that’s all.”
All her knitting projects seemed to take a long time to finish.
“Maybe knitting’s not for me,” Lauren repeated her thought from the previous night – and sighed.
“But you enjoy doing it, don’t you?” Zoe asked.
“I guess so.” She’d enjoyed making a hat and scarf for Mitch – her only worry had been that they wouldn’t be good enough. But he’d told her he’d loved them, and had worn both items regularly during winter.
“So finish this tea cozy and then decide if you want to keep knitting or try something different,” Zoe encouraged.
“What about you, Zoe?” Mrs. Finch asked.
“Brrt!” Annie added. She sat on the arm of Mrs. Finch’s armchair.
Zoe explained she was waiting for her new pottery mugs to harden before she could fire them in the kiln, and then paint them.
“That’s wonderful,” Mrs. Finch praised. “You must sell me one when they’re ready.”
“I will.” Zoe grinned. “Hey! I could start a whole collection of Annie mugs – a portrait of her when she’s happy, when she’s playing, when she’s contemplative, when she’s—”
“Brrt!” Annie sat up straight, her green eyes sparkling.
“I think Annie approves.” Lauren smiled at her fur baby.
“And then tons of people will have Annie’s mug and each mug will have the name of the café on it.” Zoe’s face lit up. “Ooh!” She looked even more excited. “If Father Mike organizes another cat show next year, we could sell Annie mugs there and pay him a big commission. Just think of all the new customers we might get, because they’ll see the café name every time they use their mug – and of course, they’ll see Annie’s picture, too.”
“Cat mugs at a cat show could work,” Lauren replied thoughtfully.
“That’s a wonderful idea, Zoe.” Mrs. Finch beamed.
“Brrt!” Yes!