Free Count Catula (Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery Book 9) by Kathi Daley Page B

her mother.
    “This isn’t telling me anything important.”
    “Meow.”
    I looked at Renfield. It was frustrating that I couldn’t understand what he was trying to tell me. “Okay, meow once for yes and twice for no. Did you want me to look at the obituaries?”
    “Meow.”
    “Is the information you want me to find in either Bronwyn or Ruby’s obituary?”
    “Meow, meow.”
    “So you want me to look at someone else’s obituary?”
    “Meow.”
    I sat back in my chair. “I’m sorry; I’m stumped.”
    Renfield swatted the piece of paper I’d been using to take notes as I spoke to Rayleen onto the floor.
    “You want me to look up additional information about the killings in Kansas?”
    “Meow.”
    It took a few minutes, but I was able to find an article written by the local Kansas paper at the time of the murders in that state. The two victims were named Samantha Oberman and Loretta O’Malley. I looked up the obituaries for each of the victims. I was halfway through Loretta’s when I gasped. I read the passage out loud. “Loretta O’Malley was survived by her mother, Gayle O’Malley, and her half sister, Amanda Lowman. Oh my God. Amanda was Loretta’s half sister.”
    I looked at Renfield, who I swear had a grin on his face.
    “I’m not sure how this can help us track down the killer, but thank you for the information. Now, I really do need to get to work. Are we done for the morning?”
    “Meow.”
    “Good.” I shut down my computer, made sure Max and Renfield had plenty of food and water, and then headed into town to help Tara with what was left of the day.
     
    “I’m so sorry,” I said to her as I hurried into the bookstore halfway through my shift.
    “Don’t worry about it. It’s been slow. Did you find out what Renfield wanted?”
    I filled Tara in.
    “Wow. That’s huge. I wonder why Amanda Lowman didn’t mention the fact that her sister was killed in a similar murder at the book club meeting.”
    “Maybe she didn’t want anyone on the island to know about the killings in Kansas. What seems odd to me is why she chose to investigate her sister’s murder now. She’s written seven books based on real events. You would think she would have wanted to do this one first.”
    “Maybe she couldn’t,” Tara suggested.
    “What do you mean, she couldn’t?”
    “I don’t have any specifics, but maybe Lowman’s mother died recently, and she knew the book would have upset her when she was alive, or maybe she needed to wait until she was psychologically ready to tackle such a personal subject. There could be any number of reasons why she waited.”
    I began assembling the ingredients to make myself a mocha while Tara and I chatted.
    “I wonder if the fact that Amanda Lowman was related to Loretta O’Malley is a significant factor in her death.”
    “I don’t know,” Tara mused, “but this case keeps getting more and more interesting. It’s like the more we know, the stranger it becomes.”
    I poured the steamed milk into my cup. “I’m really looking forward to our sleuthing meeting tonight. Hopefully we’ll have enough facts to start pulling this mystery together.”
    “Speaking of facts, Toby Willis returned your call. He said he’ll be at the Driftwood between one and two if you want to stop by to speak with him.” The Driftwood was a local café.
    I glanced at Tara. It was already ten to one and I’d just arrived.
    “Go ahead,” she said persuasively. “It’s a slow day. I’ll be fine.”
     
    It was ten minutes after one by the time I arrived. Toby was sitting in a booth in the back, sipping a soda. I hadn’t eaten yet that day, so I picked a sandwich I figured would be a quick thing to order and something I could take with me if need be.
    “So what do you want to know?” Toby asked. I’d already told him a bit about why I wanted to meet with him in the body of the message I’d left for him.
    “I understand you knew both Bronwyn and Ruby.”
    “Yeah, I knew