The Tell-Tail Heart: A Cat Cozy (Cattarina Mysteries) Read Free

fabric. It didn't help that I'd begun to drip at the
mouth. Carrying the object these last few blocks had provoked a salivary response
that soaked my chin.
    "I assure you, I bathed last week!" he
called out. Visibly perplexed by their behavior, he watched them depart. "Strange,
Catters. I usually scare"—he hiccupped—"frighten women
with my tales, not my appearance. Sissy says I'm quite handsome."
    We voyaged on, Eddie's sideways gait growing
increasingly slanted, until we bumped into husband and wife just this side of
the railroad crossing. The man shook his fist and instructed Eddie to "steer
clear of the missus." I thought the misstep might lead to a row, but the
wife's piggish squealing put an end to my concern.
    "Your cat!" she cried.
    "Yes, my cat," Eddie said. "What
of her? One tail, two ears, four feet."
    The woman wiggled a fat finger at me. "And
three…three…" She melted into her husband's arms in a dead faint, her
bonnet fluttering to the sidewalk.
    I needed no enticement to leave. I bolted, the
eyeball still between my teeth, and dashed along the railroad tracks. North of Coates
Street, cobblestone boulevards gave way to the dirt roads of Fairmount, our
neighborhood. Split-rail fences divided the land into boxes, some of which had
been filled with dozing sheep and the odd cow. Unlike Eddie, I could cut through
whichever I liked and did so to reach home well ahead of him. Lamplight spilled
from the bottom-floor windows of our brick row house—a lackluster dwelling
set apart by green shutters—cheering me immeasurably. My companion arrived
shortly after, his cloak flapping about his shoulders. Out of breath, we tumbled
through the front door and into the warm kitchen, heated through by a wood
stove. The smell of mutton and of brown bread welcomed us.
    Old Muddy stood by the stove, stirring a pot of stew,
the fringe of her white cap wilted by the steam. "And where have you been?"
she asked.
    "Frightening the public, as is my duty."
Eddie cast off his cloak and draped it over a dining chair.
    I hopped on the woolen fabric and ignored the
ache in my jaw while I decided where to hide my treasure. The closet beneath
the stairs?
    "Have you been drinking?" she asked
him.
    Eddie held onto the chair back for support. "I
am as straight as judges."
    "Humph. Sissy and I expected you an hour
ago," Muddy said to us. "The stew's nearly boiled dry and—"
She pointed her spoon at me, broth dripping to the floor, and shrank against
the wall. "Ahhhh! The cat! The cat!"
    Sobered by his mother-in-law's reaction, Eddie
knelt and examined me for the first time since we left Shakey House. "Oh,
Jupiter!" He fell back in shock, one hand on his chest.
    Sissy, an embodiment of feline grace, glided
into the room. Her complexion had grown whiter in recent days, giving her the
pallor of a corpse. While I feared for her health, I hadn't yet revealed my
concern to Eddie. He wasn't ready. "What have we here, Miss Cattarina?"
She bent down, plucked the object from my mouth, and examined it with eyes
large and dark. A kitten's eyes.
    Eddie and Muddy joined her. The three huddled
around the shiny half-orb that lay on her palm. Sissy leaned closer for examination,
swaying the lampblack curls that hung on either side of her ears.
    "It's an eye," Muddy said. She
squinted one of her own, deepening her wrinkles.
    "Of course it's an eye, Mother," Sissy
said. "The bigger question is, 'where did it come from?'"
    "Astute as ever, my darling," Eddie
said to Sissy. "But the even bigger conundrum is ' whom did it come
from?'"
    "Quite right," Sissy said. "Quite
right."
    Eddie stroked his mustache. "It has to be
from the poor woman found…deceased this afternoon, Eudora Tottham."
    Muddy gasped. "The one in the paper? You
don't think—"
    "I do," Eddie said.
    Sissy blinked, her confusion evident. I blinked,
too.
    "You've got to turn it in to the police,"
Muddy said.
    "And cast suspicion on myself?" Eddie
said. "I think not."
    "What are you two talking