My mind snapped to high alert, but Reid’s words blurred. I had zero clue what he was talking about. “What was suspicious?”
“Are you serious?” he looked flabbergasted. “That neighbor of yours.”
“Mrs. Edenbury?”
“Ms. Cat Lady herself? Yes! And she lives right acrossfrom you. Talk about opportunity. What does that letter say that she just handed you? Bet it’s something threatening.”
“You’re reaching, dude. She’s frail. Plus, the sweetest person alive.”
“Does she know you won the lottery?”
I paused. She had been one of the first people I’d told. I’d run into her the next morning, and she’d asked me about my grandmother’s funeral. I’d told her about the winning lottery ticket, and she’d rejoiced with me.
“So what if she does? That doesn’t prove anything.”
I opened the envelope to reveal exactly what we thought we’d find. A typed note that said,you only have two more weeks. Reid arched an eyebrow and gave me an “I told you so” look.
“This proves nothing.” I stuffed the note into my bag. “In fact, it’s further proof of her innocence. Why would she just hand it to me? That’s so obvious. If it was really her, she’d keep putting them at the front office, or mail them, or something. And she obviously knows my apartment number.”
“Is she really all there?”
I bit my lip. Shewasquite forgetful. There was that time a couple months ago, where I’d run to the grocery store to grab her some sugar. When I’d knocked on her door to deliver it, she’d forgotten she’d even asked me.
Could someone like that even pull off stealing a cat?
“It wasn’t her,” I insisted.
He held up his hand, raising a finger with each point. “She has means. If she has all these cats, it’s not like taking care of one more would be that hard. Opportunity. She would have been right here when you ran inside that day, making Vermont an easy grab for her. And she has motive, if she knew you won the lottery…” he trailed off.
“She might not even need the money. I don’t know her situation.”
“I mean, she lives here. She can’t be loaded.”
“Hey!” I exclaimed, swatting him in the chest with the note I still held. “Ilive here.”
“What, no offense.” He held up his hands. “I’m just saying, clearly she isn’t rolling in disposable income.”
I couldn’t be upset with him for stating the obvious. This apartment complex was one of the cheapest in the area, complete with small units, chipped paint, outdated appliances—the works.
My eyes swept back to the building. “You really think it could be her?”
“I think we’d be crazy not to look into it.” His tone was gentle. As much as I still found the idea incredibly unlikely, I relented. It couldn’t hurt to look into every possibility.
“Alright,” I said with a sigh, hating the idea that the only person in my building who’d shown me kindness could be the culprit. “You’re the sleuth. We can look into her. Any idea where to start?”
“I’ll think of something.” He walked around to his car and opened the driver’s side door before sliding into his seat in one smooth motion. He rolled the window down and added, “Whatever you do, don’t break into her apartment without me.”
A smile crept onto my face. “You have no faith in me,” I called out as he drove away.
TWELVE
Hazel
Jackson greetedme with a loud groan and a tsking sound. “You have tostyleit, Hazel.”
I tried to push past him but he was already falling into step with me, taking his round brush and attempting to fluff out my bangs.
“I told you when you were cutting it that I would never style it.”
