Free Never Tease a Siamese: A Leigh Koslow Mystery by Edie Claire

had to see the house where Lilah Murchison lived."
    Leigh nodded.
    Nikki snorted. "Her and half of the North Boros."
    "Look, I'm really sorry—"
    "Save it. I don't care. As long as she doesn't mess with the cats or steal anything."
    Surprised by the gruff woman’s unexpected generosity, Leigh faltered a moment. "Oh! I'm sure she would never—"
    "You've got to see this, honey!" Adith popped gleefully down out of the stairwell, her arms extending an onyx statuette of two humans in an indisputably compromising position. "It's Mexican!"
    Leigh's face drained of color as she shifted her gaze toward Nikki. Adith's eyes followed, then widened. "I've always appreciated fine art, you know," the older woman said smoothly, pulling the piece back and cradling it protectively with an arm. "I'll just put this right back…"
    Adith did a jerky about-face and popped out of sight, and Leigh apologized for a third time. "I'm sorry. We'll be going now. I'll give my dad the news as soon as he gets back. It was—um, very generous of Mrs. Murchison to think of him."
    Nikki looked back at her strangely. "Whatever. I just work for the woman."
    An awkward moment passed as they waited for Adith to reappear. Not one to endure nervous silences, Leigh decided to press her luck. Nikki had been about to say something before the lawyer had arrived—something about a person who had been in the house before Number One Son discovered lunch.
    "You know," she began as evenly as possible, "I can't help wondering if the incident with Number One Son—and maybe even that rock being thrown—has something to do with Mrs. Murchison's will."
    The smaller woman stared hard at her for a moment, her pale eyes difficult to read.
    Leigh continued. "When I asked you earlier if you remembered anyone who might have been in the house—"
    "Dean," she answered flatly. "Dean and Rochelle were here yesterday morning, hassling me." Her expression darkened. "Dean thinks he's God's gift to the human race—always has. Ms. Lilah spoiled him rotten when he was a kid. Anyway, they were over here with some lame story about how Ms. Lilah had called and told them she wanted to see them at the house right away—that she was coming home from New York early. I let them in and Rochelle slipped off—said she had to use the bathroom. I tried to follow her, but Dean hung me up. God only knows what she was doing."
    "Ten bucks says dropping something the cat found," Leigh answered quickly. "Something Rochelle might have wanted back?"
    Nikki looked thoughtful. "Maybe," she admitted reluctantly. "Dean and Ms. Lilah had a huge blow-up a few days ago. I'm thinking maybe she told him he was out of her will."
    Leigh's pulse quickened. "Had she done that before?"
    "Threatened, sure. They were always at each other's throats about something." Nikki hesitated, as if she wasn't sure whether to say more. Then she looked at Leigh purposefully. "I've got no clue what Number One Son could have swallowed that was so important, but if Dean really wanted it back, I guess I wouldn't put it past him to try to steal the cat out of the clinic. He could have been watching me when I dropped the two cats off over there Friday afternoon—maybe he was afraid Number One Son would throw it up. Either way, if he didn't want Ms. Lilah to find out what the cat had eaten, he'd have to do something fast."
    "Do you know if Dean or Rochelle were friends with Ricky Rhodis?" Leigh asked eagerly.
    Nikki scoffed. "Girl, the less I know about Dean Murchison's personal life, the better. That guy comes closer to getting my fist in his face every time I see him."
    "Thank you, anyway," Leigh said with a smile. "I think you've just helped get Mrs. Rhodis' gullible grandson out of jail." Now, the message on that rock . "Do you have any idea who this mysterious heir might be?"
    To her surprise, Nikki rolled her eyes. "Oh, forget about that."
    Leigh's brow wrinkled. "Forget about it?"
    Nikki gave her head a shake and waved one hand