Kent Conwell - Tony Boudreaux 14 - Murder in a Casbah of Cats by Kent Conwell Read Free Book Online

I—” Edna looked around at Karla in surprise.
    The young woman’s eyes grew wide. She interrupted me. “You what? That’s crazy. I was in my room. Besides, Kevin’s been out of town for a week. He’s not due back until tomorrow.”
    Edna laid her hand on my head and gently pushed it back. “Now, just you be still while I doctor and bandage this, you hear?”
    It was awkward talking to Karla with my head back and my eyes staring at the ceiling. “If it wasn’t you, who was it? Whoever it was, they were arguing.”
    “How should I know?” she demanded. “All I know is it wasn’t me. And I don’t like being accused of something I didn’t do, especially by hired help. You apologize.”
    Holding on to my temper, I gently pushed Edna’s hands aside and stared at Karla. “Look, lady. I saw something out there. I don’t know who it was, but I’m not apologizing to you and anyone else. You might be a spoiled brat, but next time you come on to me with that attitude, I’ll turn you over my knee and wale the daylights out of you.”
    Aghast at my words, her face paled.
    Beside me, I heard Edna chuckle.
    Karla stammered for words. “You—You can’t…I mean…”
    I glared at her. “You better be careful what you say. My head is killing me, and I’ll probably end up with two black eyes. Paddling your derriere would probably make me feel a heck of a lot better.”
    She clamped her mouth shut, pushed back from the table, and stared at me with a look that could kill. “Well! I never…”
    I pushed back from the table, and she scurried from the kitchen.
    Edna roared. “Good for you, Tony. It’s about time someone told her off. Now lean back and let me bandage that head while you tell me what happened.”
    “That was it. I spotted someone on the grounds from the balcony and went down to see who it was.” I filled in the rest of the details and added, “They were arguing. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but their voices were loud enough. I’m surprised you didn’t hear them.”
    She shook her head. “My room is behind the kitchen. Henry’s and Gadrate’s are on the second floor, the back side of the house. With the air-conditioning on, we couldn’t hear a bomb.”
    “I see. Tell me. You believe what Karla said, that it wasn’t her?”
    She gave the bandage one last pat and stepped back. She knit her brow. “Normally, I’d say no. The woman lies. You can’t trust her. But maybe this time, she’s telling the truth. That worthless boyfriend of hers, Kevin Stotts, he’s been out of town for the last few days. She’s always slipping him into her bedroom. Drives Skylar crazy.”
    “Why does she put up with it?”
    Edna shrugged. “The girls’ mama was Skylar’s older sister. When she and her husband got killed in a car wreck, Skylar took the girls in. She spoils them something terrible.”
    After a light breakfast, if such is possible with Edna, I went to my room and sprawled across the bed, waiting for the naproxen to kick in. As I lay staring at the ceiling, I thought back over the last less than thirty-six hours. The mansion housed twenty catsof every imaginable breed; the owner saw ghosts on the grounds; killers vanished from the library; a spoiled young lady shamelessly brought her boyfriend in at night; and the maid would snap your head off if you tried to be a good Joe and offer her a hand. Oh yeah, and there was a hairless butler.
    What a circus!
    I closed my eyes and tried to relax, grateful my only job was to be here for the cats.
    My eyes popped open about noon. I lay motionless, waiting for the throbbing pain to return. To my delight, the naproxen had worked. Oh, the throbbing was still there, but the intensity had diminished considerably. At least my toes didn’t curl with each spasm.
    As I stepped into the hall, I glanced up and did a double take. Hercules was crouched on the top of the armoire next to my door. I hoped he hadn’t decided to stalk me.
    Henry was in the kitchen