Death Pays a Visit : Myrtle Clover #7

Chapter Thirteen

"Let's go find her," said Miles grimly.

One thing Myrtle liked about Miles. He was never one to say 'I told you so'.

They stepped out into the hall and looked both ways. No Pasha.

"Everyone's door is closed," said Myrtle impatiently. "She's got to be either in Ruby's room or in the commons area or the hall kitchen. She's not in Mickey's room or else we'd have seen her and hers is the only other door besides Ruby's that's open."

Natalie said, "And I'm closing the door now. It's a cat that's loose? I don't need that kind of trouble right now. Plus, I'm allergic, to boot." And Natalie shut the door tightly behind them.

They hurried down to the commons area. Myrtle swished through the window curtains with her cane, Miles squatted down to look under the tables. Ruby peered into the tiny hall kitchen that was near the commons room. "Oh dear, oh dear," Ruby kept murmuring, wringing her hands.

There was no sign of Pasha. Miles even looked under the low sofa in the commons room, just to make sure.

"We're going to have to assume she somehow got upstairs," said Miles grimly. "She honestly could be anywhere if she's up there. This is a big place."

"But a wide-open place," said Myrtle. "It's not cluttered with a lot of furniture in the hallways. We should be able to spot her."

Miles's face was doubtful. "With all those commons areas? With all those curtains and sofas? What about the dining hall? Every table is covered with a tablecloth and each one could easily conceal a cat underneath. There must be...oh, fifty tables? Something like that?"

"Well, don't sound so down about it! We'll just be methodical," said Myrtle.

"I think we should admit our folly to the Greener Pastures staff and enlist their help in finding the cat." Miles's voice was resigned. "And then they'll put my name on some sort of blacklist and I will never be allowed admittance here."

A minor blessing during a difficult day, decided Myrtle. She said, "I disagree. We don't have to tell Greener Pastures anything. I don't want to have them decide to throw us out, right when we're making progress with our investigation."

"Are we making progress with our investigation?" Miles made a face.

"We certainly are. And we don't need to jeopardize that. If the staff asks you what you're doing, just tell them you're doing an especially thorough job of touring the facility," said Myrtle. "They'll think you're just a very savvy senior."

"They'll think I'm a very senile senior," said Miles glumly, "if they spot me halfway underneath a table in the dining hall."

Myrtle ignored him. It was always irritating when Miles was in a dispirited mood. It was best to just overlook his deflated statements. "Let's split up, then. Miles, you're better at looking underneath things than I am. Why don't you take the dining hall? I'll look through the commons areas upstairs—more than once, just in case Pasha is playing hide and seek with us. And Ruby?"

Ruby, who had been sitting on the commons area sofa while they formed a plan, had fallen into a deep sleep.

"Let's just leave Ruby out of it," said Myrtle to Miles. "She's likely to forget what she's looking for halfway through the process, anyway."

Five minutes later, Myrtle was calling, "Kitty, kitty, kitty?" softly in an empty commons area upstairs when almost on cue, Darla entered the area. Darla's features were grim. "Mrs. Clover? Could you have a word with me in my office, please?"