The others were laughing and cheering them on and Judd said he'd make a few bids for it himself. "Is this what they call shill bidding? Is it ethical?"
"In this case, it's just a stunt," Qwilleran said, "and the proceeds go to a good cause. We'll get Foxy Fred to make it the first item on the block. It'll wake up the audience. Get them in the spirit of the occasion. . . . The trick will be, Joe, to decide how high to go. To make it a sensation, it should be an outrageous figure, which the K Fund will cover, of course."
During the evening there was plenty of conversation about cats. Jet Stream swaggered among the guests and accepted compliments and crumbs of cheese. Clarissa showed her snapshot of Jerome, the only British Shorthair in the county, she thought. Dr. Connie, newly divorced, had acquired a marmalade, related to Dundee, the bibliocat at the bookstore.
Polly said that Brutus and Catta had made friends with a wild rabbit, who came out of the woods daily to commune with them through the window wall.
Qwilleran told them that Koko and Yum Yum were studying crows aiming for a degree in corvidology. He refrained from reporting Koko's death howl in the case of the missing rabbit hunter.
Before the evening was over, Wetherby played Mendelssohn's
Polly said, "Joe, why aren't you on the concert stage?"
"I'm not good enough," he said. "And I believe if you can't be good, be fast."
The party broke up early. Before leaving with Judd, Clarissa whispered to Qwilleran that she wanted to talk with him about the Ledfields. "Anytime!" he said. Wetherby took her streetcar poster and promised to have it framed overnight.
Back at the barn, Qwilleran phoned the police chief at home. "Andy, are you interested in talking about rabbit hunters over a thimbleful of Scotch?"
"I'll talk about anything over a wee dram!"
Andrew Brodie lived in the neighbourhood and drove into the barnyard within minutes. The Siamese rushed to the kitchen window, either recognizing the sound of the chief's motor or reading Qwilleran's mind. They knew the burly Scotsman with the loud voice. Over the years he had progressed from suspicious stranger to admiring friend, calling them "that smart Koko" and "my little sweetheart." Yum Yum was not only allowed to untie his shoelaces but was expected to do so.
Brodie made himself at home, sitting at the snack bar, pouring a large "thimbleful" of Scotch and cutting a slice of cheese.
He said, "M' wife and some ladies from the church saw your show this afternoon. She said they all had a good cry. It's not the first time they've seen it. How does it feel to give it in the opera house?"
"Better than church basements, school gyms, and county parks."
Brodie commented on the tastiness of the cheese, a Manchego from Spain. He said he'd never heard of it but it was good!
Finally Qwilleran said, "I hear there was a disturbance in North Middle Hummock yesterday."
"What do you know about it?"
"I was there to cover the Ogilvie-Fugtree family reunion, but by the time I got home, there was a message on my phone, canceling the story. I phoned the paper and learned someone from the party had been killed while hunting rabbits."
The chief took a swig of his drink before saying, "Off the record, it looks like homicide. A member of the party was arrested on suspicions. That's all I'm tellin'."
Qwilleran said, "That smart Koko, who's gobbling crumbs of cheese that you ?accidentally' drop, probably knows more than the sheriff does." He referred to the cat's death howl at five-fifteen, the day the hunter was reported missing.
"What else does that smart cat know?"
"That's all I'm tellin', Andy."
Chapter 11
On Monday morning, while feeding the cats, Qwilleran received a phone call from Mitch Ogilvie. "Qwill, I owe you an apology!" "About what?"
"You wasted a whole afternoon of your valuable time."
"My time is never wasted, Mitch. Everything is fodder for the ?Qwill Pen' or even for a future novel! Who knows? However, I'm curious to know what actually happened Saturday afternoon."
Mitch said, "I'm going to town for supplies. Could you meet me somewhere?"
"How about coming to the barn? You know where it is."
In half an hour the goat farmer's van pulled into the barnyard, and Qwilleran went out to welcome his longtime friend.
Mitch handed him a foil-wrapped package. "Some goat cheese. They say it's good for allergies and digestion."
Indoors, coffee was served in the living area, where two sumptuously cushioned sofas right-angled around a large square coffee table, facing the fireplace cube.
