Free A Tale of Two Tabbies by Kathi Daley

church ready for the weekend services, so there was a very good chance I’d find him there.
    Luckily, my assumption was correct and Cliff was happily mowing the lawn.
    “Why, if it isn’t Caitlin Hart. What a nice surprise on this beautiful spring morning. Something I can do for you?”
    “Actually, I wanted to speak to you about something. Can you take a break for a few minutes?”
    “Just let me finish this row and then we can sit on the bench near the pond and chat.”
    I headed over to the pond to wait for him.
    Father Kilian loved to garden and he seemed to have a green thumb; the church grounds were absolutely breathtaking. I can remember hanging out at this pond when I was a kid, feeding the koi and trying to catch one of the many frogs that lived among the foliage around the crystal blue water. I sat down on one of the wooden benches that lined the water’s edge and waited for Cliff to join me.
    The fact that he and Theresa had been arguing seemed to give credence to the fact that whatever had happened centered at the church. Cliff was about as mild-mannered a person as you were likely to meet, so if he was yelling at the top of his lungs, as Francine had described the tone of the conversation when we spoke, it was likely he knew that Theresa had been bugging the confessional.
    “Flowers are coming in right nice, don’t you think?” Cliff said as he sat down next to me.
    “They really are. It seems spring has been a long time in coming this year.”
    “Seems that way most years.”
    It was true. Winter did seem to hang on longer than most people liked.
    I jumped right on. “I wanted to ask you about a conversation you had last Wednesday afternoon with Theresa Lively.”
    “Figured. Guess it can’t hurt to tell what I know.”
    I waited while Cliff gathered his thoughts.
    “I discovered on Wednesday that Theresa was responsible for what can only be described as a complete and total invasion of one of our most closely held sacraments.”
    “You found out she was bugging the confessional?”
    Cliff looked surprised that I knew it, but he confirmed that indeed that was what he had discovered. He’d threatened to go to Father Kilian to tell him about it, which was when the argument began.
    “Did you go to Father Kilian?” I asked.
    “No. He’d already left and I knew he wasn’t expected back until Sunday. It didn’t seem right to tell anyone other than him, so I decided to keep what I knew to myself until he returned.”
    “Theresa was killed on church grounds not long after you spoke to her. Did you notice anyone else in the area?”
    “No, not a soul. The women from the guild were there prior to my confronting Theresa, but I knew she was planning to stay after to practice her music, so I waited to speak to her until everyone else had gone.”
    “And what time was that?”
    “I guess around four.”
    “Do you know if anyone else knew what Theresa was doing?”
    “To the best of my knowledge, at least one other person knew.”
    “Really? Who?”
    “I don’t know. I got a note earlier in the afternoon on Wednesday, telling me that Theresa had planted a bug in the confessional and I should look for it, so I did.”
    “And what time did you find the note?”
    Cliff paused. He appeared to be considering my question. “It must have been around two-thirty. I know the other women from the guild had already arrived by the time I discovered it sitting on my desk and they began showing up at two.”
    “Do you know who left you the note?”
    “No. It wasn’t signed.”
    “Do you still have it?”
    “It’s in my truck.”
    I looked toward the parking lot where Cliff’s old Ford was parked. “Can I see it?”
    He agreed and we walked across the freshly cut lawn to the parked vehicle. He opened the glove box and pulled out a generic piece of white paper. with the message printed in black ink that appeared as though it could have come from pretty much any printer. I doubted it could help us, but I