Hidden Motive is a horror story written by Sandie May Joyce for Halloween. Read about how Mimi the Cat helped solve a crime and the horror that she faced when fighting off the criminals with her life.
Hidden Motive
Chapter 1
“Susan! Susan! Where are you, Susan?” My auntie called me again.
“Yes!” Auntie Shelly, “Do you need me for something?”
“Come here, Susan! I need to tell you something, and it is very important,” she was still hollering from upstairs of the house.
“Okay, Auntie Shelly! I shall be up there in another few minutes! I'm just in the kitchen putting the dishes away! I'll be there after I've finished feeding Co-co and Mimi. They are both bugging me now for their meals,” I responded.
For the longest time, I have been looking after Auntie Shelly's well being. She is a single woman, and she's getting old. I guess “being single” must run in the family as I'm the same, not married yet at the age of 35. I feel left out by my married siblings and friends. Last year when I met Auntie Shelly when she came to spend Christmas with us, she suggested that I come to visit her in this big house. I accepted the invitation. I came and I never left.
This big Victorian home has class. It is so spacious and has so many bedrooms. It is situated in an upscale suburban area. There is a forest behind it, and sometimes you can see deers roaming around the neighbourhood! Sometimes, they would come to the door for food. Squirrels are pleasant visitors, they come daily and look you in the eye as if to say, “Where's the food?” Auntie Shelly has probably spoiled them all. She told me she used to sit on the front porch most of the day to feed them as they come by. Occasionally, there are dangerous animals that lurk a little too close to home, like the mountain lions, and bears, but they seem to know Aunt Shelly well, and she has done a great job in taming them.
A few miles down Tom and Mary, a happily married couple, own a large home. It is not Victorian like Auntie Shelly's, but pleasant enough. Auntie Shelly and Mary seem to get along very well. Mary used to come by everyday to check on her. They were like two best friends. Auntie Shelly told me the couple used to take her to town fairs and special concerts and events. I was happy that Aunt Shelly and Mary were good friends.
However, something was very strange with Mary. Since I came to stay with Aunt Shelly, Mary seemed to have taken on another personality. She no longer came by everyday, but only to call Auntie on the phone to ask about me. She frequently inquired as to what I had been doing the whole day and if we were out, she would need to know where we were the whole time.
We were quite acceptable of her and Tom, and sometimes we would ask them to join us, but they both would refuse. Mary seemed to think I was an enemy to her rather than a friend. I suspect it's because my Auntie is rich. Mary must think I am after her money and her house. I had no use for either. Being single, I had no family burden and I could easily adapt myself to any place under any circumstance.
The house was large and beautiful, but much too large for a single person like me or auntie to be living in. She would be much better off selling this place and moving closer to the city to be near us and all her other siblings. There would always be one of us to look in on her daily, but when pressed, Auntie Shelly refuses always!
She wanted to stay in this old Victorian house. She had spent her childhood here, and then her younger years. After her mom and dad (my grandma and grandpa) passed away, her other siblings felt that this house was costing too much money and requiring too much manpower to maintain and that it was too far away for them to travel back and forth to the city to get to work. They gave up any claims to the house and let Auntie Shelly live in it.
Auntie Shelly was the only one who has been holding on to this house and preserving its memories, but now I feel I have to attempt to convince auntie once again that it is time to sell this house.
Co-co the parrot was also very old. Grandpa had bought her while she was really young. I remember the time when he had just brought Co-co home, he held a party and every one of us was invited to come to see Co-co the Parrot. Co-co could talk. She greeted everyone by saying “Hello,” and if you said something to her, she was smart enough to repeat it. We were all fascinated by Co-co. Grandpa told us at that time Co-co was about 30 years old, and that was about 25 years ago, so by now, this old bird must be around 55 or older.
Before I left the kitchen I also fed Mimi, the ginger cat. She was one of a kind kitty. She talked to me as if I could understand her, and sometimes I wish she would just shut up, but you don't want to make her mad though, for when she's mad she would growl and hiss at you like a tigress. She would arch her back, ready to put up a big fight! I would not go near her when she's mad. When she wants to be petted she would act like an angel. She would headbutt me on my legs and let out those sweet “meows” - that's when she would say “Feed me!” as if I could understand her cat language.
I gave Mimi some cat food and water, adjusted her collar, and made sure all tags were there, then I went upstairs to see auntie.
Chapter 2
Inside the room I found Auntie Shelly propped herself halfway up her bed. She was happy to see me and motioned for me to sit on the chair next to her.
“Susan! Listen, this is very important,” she warned me.
I sat down on the chair next to her bed. Auntie looked tired and drawn this evening. She had not been feeling well for the past few weeks, so I stayed longer in order to look after her. The daytime helper had come early at 8:30 in the morning and left for the day at 5:00 in the evening. She was treating this job as if she was working in an office.
“Yes, Auntie! How are you feeling today?”
“I'm afraid I won't be too long for this world, Susan,” she said. “One thing I have to worry about is this old house and my dear Co-co and Mimi. I have spoken with my lawyer this afternoon on the phone and I want him to make out a new Will for me. I want to leave everything to you. He will come by tomorrow morning and then me and you can sign the Will, and he will sign on the part of the Witness.”
I was shocked! This was just happening too fast for me and I had not expected this. I would not know if I wanted the responsibility of maintaining a big old house and continue to look after Co-co and Mimi. Well, I really don't mind Co-co and Mimi, but to me, the responsibility of feeding the animals that roam by the house daily, and also feeding the squirrels too would seem like a lot of chores for me. I was not used to this kind of lifestyle. I was still pretty much a city girl!
“Will you accept the Will, Susan?” She looked at me with those big round eyes – aged, filled with so much emotion and expectations. What could I say?
“But Auntie, you shouldn't worry yourself with these things. You're not dying yet. Doctor Martins thinks you'll live to be 100!” I lied. The last time the doctor told me was that my auntie's body was now riddled with cancer cells, and she may not have long to live.
“Will you, Susan?” She asked me again. Perhaps she can see through my hesitation. I'm such bad a girl to be giving responsibility to. I just want my carefree single bar-hopping lifestyle. I want to go wherever I want to go. I don't want to be tied down with a house plus a bird and a cat to care for. I don't know if I'm up to such a burden, although I know auntie may have a lot of cash too in the bank for me.
“We will talk about this when the lawyer comes tomorrow,” I squeezed her hand gently. I didn't want to disappoint her by refusing her offer. At this stage of her life, she needed reassurance. She valued this old house with her life. It would be cruel of me to turn her down flatly.
“Now, you just don't think about anything yet. Get some rest, and I will see you in the morning. I'm just going to go down to the kitchen for a glass of milk and I'll be off to bed too,” I reassured her. She closed her eyes and began to fall asleep. She was really tired.
Chapter 3
I went downstairs to the kitchen and passed by Co-co. Poor little bird! Do you think she knows that Auntie is about to die?
“Hello?” she said. I looked at Co-co, suddenly, my heart hurt for her.
“Hey, Co-co! Whatcha doing kiddo?”
“Whatcha doing kiddo?” she repeated after me.
“Whatcha doing? Whatcha doing?”
“Hey, well, I'm going to have a glass of milk. Co-co,” I suddenly realized how lonely it must have been for Co-Co for all these years after Grandpa had died, and then now Auntie Shelly being sick. She probably has no one to talk with her.
“Good milk, Susan!” she says. I am almost certain some tears were being welled up in my eyes.
I stuck my finger into the cage. Co-co tilted her head over to let me pet her. Poor thing, she could be lonely just like Auntie Shelly and me.
“Hey! Want some milk too?” I asked Co-co. “Now, just a little bit, 'cause milk isn't the ideal diet for you.”
“Okie-Dokie! Co-co wants milk too!” I was surprised by Co-co's vocabulary. She seemed to be communicating so well.
The telephone rang, and Co-co said, “Watch out! Watch out!”
I did not know what she meant by that. I cautiously went to get the phone. It was Mary, our next-door neighbour on the other end of the line.
“Hello, Susan!” her voice was loud and demanding.
“Is your aunt home?”
“Oh hi, Mary! Yes, she is! But she is resting now in bed. Is there anything I can do for you?” I asked her politely.
“Will you get her on the phone for me, please? I have to ask her something.”
Wow! What kind of a friend does she think she is? It's 10:00 o'clock in the evening and I've just told her auntie is in bed, yet she demands I wake her up to talk with her on the phone?
"I'd rather not, Mary, she has not been feeling well and has just gone to bed. I'd rather not wake her up. Anything you can talk with her tomorrow."
She hesitated.
“Okay, then. I'll call early in the morning,” I sensed that she wasn't too pleased. I suspected that before I came to stay, Auntie Shelly must have been catering to Tom's and Mary's needs. They both might have been bossing my auntie around rather than helping her. This was just my suspicion and no more than that. I had no proof, but Mary sure didn't seem too pleased to have me around my auntie.
I've caught her a couple of times whispering to my daytime helper, Mrs. Ryerson. At the time I just thought they were both just discussing how displeased they were for having me around, so I had decided to stay just to spite them.
Auntie and I had been having a great time. I took her to the zoo to see the animals. She acted like she had not been there for eons, marvelling at everything she saw. We took some beautiful photos in the zoo, and Auntie was smiling from ear to ear.
Later I took her to the beach, stayed late to watch the sunset. The most beautiful colours emerged in the sky and reflected onto the ocean.
“Watch out! Watch out!” Co-co cried again, as I hung up the phone.
Suddenly, I seemed to smell danger. It was said that animals, especially our pets can sense danger for their owners. Am I the one who may be in danger? Or is it that my Auntie Shelly who is in danger? I looked out into darkness through the kitchen window, my heart just froze and kept skipping beats as these thoughts ran through my mind. I tried not to let fear show on my face as I didn't want to upset Co-co.
Now, where is Mimi? I looked around the house, Mimi was nowhere to be seen. She must have gone out on her daily excursion and has not come back yet. I thought.
Auntie Shelly was always curious where Mimi would roam during the night, so she had equipped Mimi with a cat camera around her neck so that she could check it everyday when she comes back. I figured Mimi was still out there somewhere having a good time.
I began switching off the lights. I took Co-co with me into my bedroom and set her on the small table so we could keep each other company.
“Goodnight Co-co, let's go to sleep now.” Co-co seemed to understand, and she said goodnight as well.
I watched her, and she seemed rather peaceful when she was with me.
Chapter 4
The following morning I woke up bright and early, and Mimi was already downstairs in the kitchen waiting for her breakfast. Mrs. Ryerson came early before 8:30 and Auntie Shelly and I came to the dining room for our breakfast.
Auntie Shelly was dolled up today. She wore makeup and lipstick, and it made her look at least 10 years younger. However, she had been losing a lot of weight due to cancer. Her skin was not as radiant as it used to be.
Shortly, the home care nurse came to check on Auntie Shelly, took her blood pressure, and change the IV unit on her arm for the day. It just now struck me that my auntie may not be long for this world. I decided to stay for as long as possible to watch over her. I do not trust Mrs. Ryerson and our neighbour Mary!
Speaking of the devil, the phone rang again. I got hold of it, and sure enough, it was Mary on the other end!
“Hello! Is your auntie in?” She didn't even have the decency to greet me by my name or say good morning to me.
“Auntie, it's Mary on the phone, do you want to speak with her?” I asked loudly so she would hear me.
“Ask her what she wants. I'm not feeling well.” Auntie answered loudly from the dining room table.
“My auntie asks....” she hung up before I could finish off the sentence.
How rude! Well, I declare war with this woman! I don't like her, and her husband Tom is just plain weird! Oh, perhaps they want Auntie Shelly to leave a share of her estate to them. Is that the reason why they have been sucking up to my auntie? Fat chance! Listen, you fools! You are just neighbours, and I'm her niece! I'm her rightful heir! I told them off inside my head.
The lawyer came early this morning. He arrived around 10:00, and Auntie Shelly and I invited him into the library to go through the Will. I signed and accepted it, and auntie was happy that I did. There is a clause, however, that I am supposed to adopt Co-co and Mimi and continue caring for them both until their demise. I didn't mind that at all. Co-co was a sweet little bird, and Mimi - well, she could be sweet too if she wants to be.
I called up my mother to let her know what was going on with Auntie. Mom told me it was nice for Auntie to will her estate to me, and told me to continue to stay but to beware of neighbour Mary because she had always been a jealous woman.
Jealous! What right has she got to be jealous of me? I'm the niece, and she's just the neighbour!
After the Will was signed, Auntie locked up a copy of it in her safe, and she only told me the combination. No one else had access to the codes.
Several days later while Auntie and I were taking in some sun in the backyard we saw Tom and Mary drive by. Mary waved at us, and shouted out at Auntie, asking her how she was.
Auntie told her she was feeling better already. Mary invited her to her house for afternoon tea. I was skeptical as Auntie has just been away from the IV Unit for two days, and I do not want her to go anywhere yet. I said to Auntie, “Why not ask her to come here for tea instead? I will ask Mrs. Ryerson to bake some biscuits.” Auntie agreed, so I called Mary to invite her and Tom to come over. Mary didn't sound too pleased on the phone but accepted the invitation.
Tom and Mary came in the afternoon. Mary, all dolled up with a sleek dress, hugging her body as if she was a goddess, and Tom wore a suit and a tie. I was glad they did respect my auntie enough to have dressed well for the occasion.
Mrs. Ryerson prepared a table in the backyard garden, followed by some tea and biscuits. The four of us sat in the garden. Mary was admiring the flowers and the herbs and vegetables that my auntie has grown in the garden. I noticed Tom seemed uneasy sitting there. He did not know me well and didn't know what to discuss with me. I excused myself into the kitchen to fetch more napkins and the sugar. Just as I was about to go back into the yard, I overheard the most shocking conversation between my auntie and Mary. I could not believe my ears!
They were both standing just below the kitchen window looking at some flowers and herbs that Auntie had planted.
“Mary, does Tom know?” Auntie was almost whispering.
“No, he doesn't. He hasn't suspected anything,” Mary replied.
“But Mary, I'm having second thoughts about all this. I feel like I should not be a homewrecker at my age. Mary, you must know something. I have cancer all over my body, and I'm about to die soon. I know. I eavesdropped on Dr. Martin as he was talking with my niece. They think I don't know, but I know.”
“Mary, I'm going to leave this world soon,” Auntie said. “Forget about what we had, we were both foolish, that's about all that was.”
“But Shelly!” They were both whispering, and I just tilted my ears to listen. They did not think there was anyone around the kitchen as Mrs. Ryerson was also outside pouring tea for everyone. “How can you say that? You have been avoiding me, it hurts me badly.”
OMG!!!! What's going on? Is my auntie Shelly carrying on a lesbian relationship with Mary? I can't believe what I'm hearing! No wonder she is so upset all the time when my auntie wouldn't come to the phone!
“Mary, you know I loved you since we were young, but you hurt me too when you decided to marry Tom. How did you think that would make me feel for all these years?”
“I've told you it has been a mistake, and I've told you I will divorce him. Isn't it enough to show how much I love you? Shelly, we've been friends for a long time, although you are 12 years my senior it has not made a difference to me. I have always looked up to you.”
I was flabbergasted! I didn't know Auntie Shelly had a lesbian affair. Now I know why she had not gotten married for all these years and decided to live alone. I have nothing against lesbians, but in my frame of mind, Auntie Shelly was the most beautiful auntie when she was young. I remember there was a guy named Danny, who was very handsome, would often come to the house to look for Auntie Shelly. I can never in my mind picture Auntie Shelly being a lesbian! This comes as a big surprise to me!
I turned around to go back to the garden.
“Oh, here is the sugar and some more napkins! Aunt Shelly and Mary! I called out to them loudly to break their chain of conversation. Tea is ready! Won't you both join us?
They both came back, and Tom and I were relieved. Now I understand why Tom appeared so uneasy earlier. I don't blame him at all.
Over the tea and the biscuits, Tom talked about some overseas investments which would give Auntie some big bonus in return. Auntie just nodded her head as if she was listening, but her mind was somewhere else, of course.
I've had enough of this woman, Mary! She was up to no good! I was now afraid that she might want Auntie to change her mind about leaving everything to me. I would not let her do that. She was not even part of the family.
When they got up to leave, I whispered into Tom's ear, “Watch your wife.” He looked into my eyes and I knew he knew what I meant. Poor guy! He was like an outsider in his own marriage. He just exists in her world, not as an object for her love and affection, but only as an object of "mere existence" - that was all he was to Mary. Nothing more than that!
Chapter 5
I continued to tend to my Auntie Shelly, taking care of her needs, and making sure she receives her round-the-clock medications and care. She seemed to be doing much better these days. However, every time after a chemotherapy session or radiation treatment, she seemed to have grown much weaker, and her body seemed to ache worse.
Mary drove by today, but I did not see Tom in the car. I asked her how everything was and asked her where Tom was. She said Tom had gone to visit his brother in England and maybe there for a few weeks, as they were trying to work out differences in their marriage. I was quite skeptical of what she told me. I wondered if it was true .
My mother had warned me about Mary's “jealousy”. Oh well, now I know what my mom meant when she said that! That was why Co-co kept telling me to “Watch out!” That little thing knew exactly what was going on with my auntie! She's such a smart little bird!
One month had gone by and I still had not seen Tom. I noticed our day helper, Mrs. Ryerson, kept having private conversations with Mary. They normally whispered to each other. I wondered what they could be talking about.
Auntie was in very bad shape now. She almost couldn't eat anything. She was not supposed to eat oranges, but she got me to buy some for her from the store. I brought them home and she just placed them up to her nose and inhale their scent. I have a feeling that Auntie will leave us soon.
Mary came by to see Auntie and told her Tom has left her and gone back to England to live with his brother. I doubt that was true . Auntie was very upset and she wept. I told Mary to leave Auntie alone. I told her that Auntie does not need that kind of stress placed on her. Mary got up to leave but appeared very angry.
As she passed by Co-co, I heard Co-co say, “Watch out! Watch out! Whatcha doing? Whatcha doing?”
Mary froze and stood there and looked at Co-co and yelled “Shut up you stupid bird! Shut up or I'll kill you!”
“Wow! What's up with you, Mary? She's only a bird! She just says things that others have taught her to say.” I responded quickly to her unjust outburst at Co-co which was uncalled for.
“She's nothing but a stupid bird! It should have been sold back to the pet store when your grandfather died. Very noisy and always talking nonsense!” Mary screamed at me.
“Well, I like her! She's a good bird. She keeps me and my auntie company,” I continued explaining to her what effect Co-co had on us. “This parrot keeps us entertained with its daily outburst of words. Sometimes we have a good laugh at what it says.” I softened my voice at her outburst so Auntie would not have to feel bad about it.
“Well, suit yourselves then! She's nothing but a stupid wicked bird.”
“Stupid Mary! Wicked Mary!” Co-co blurted out again, and this time it was hilarious! She picked up the words “Stupid” and “Wicked”. I couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Mary looked angry and disgusted and stormed out the front door, slamming it behind her.
I went upstairs to see Auntie. She cried like an emotional wreck. I comforted her and told her everything is going to be alright. Co-co and I will be fine. I hugged Auntie Shelly for a long time until she stopped crying. I knew I needed to do that as she was under tremendous stress.
She stopped crying after a while, and I said I would let Co-co sleep with her in her room that night, and she seemed to like the idea. She needed Co-co to comfort her too.
I brought Co-co upstairs to Auntie, and Co-co was jumping around in her cage, obviously happy that she could sleep with Auntie once again in her room.
For some unknown reason, Co-co kept chanting “Watch out! Watch out!” and “Whatcha doing! Whatcha doing?” We have no idea why, as I have not said these to her during the day. I wonder where had that come from.
Chapter 6
It was now 7:00 o'clock in the evening and today was Halloween day. I could see the neighburhood kids dressing up as Superman, Batman, Witches and Vampires, each out there knocking on everyone's door. I was happy I was well prepared for them.
I bought a bunch of candy this afternoon. I knew if I didn't have any candy and would not open the door, those kids would get mad and turn into little monsters and kick my pumpkins out there to pieces.
I passed out the candy for the next two hours to these little monsters and some little angels and princesses. Some of the kids came with a large pillowcase so they would hold more candy.
One of the kids came by without any costume, he just wore a jacket as if he was just going to school. I said to him, “Hey, not fair! What are you? You're not even anything. Do you think I should give you some candy too?”
That little quick-witted rascal said to me, “I'm a coat-hanger! That's what I am!”
“Oh, a coat-hanger, eh? Okay, you'll get some candy too!” I gave him a whole bunch for his quick wit. The smart little fellow sure deserved a reward!
By 9:00 o'clock, all of my candy was about to run out and I was more than ready to turn in for bed. I went up to check on auntie and found she was sound asleep. This is usually because of the medications that she took before her bedtime.
Later, as I sat in the kitchen drinking my last glass of milk for the day, Mimi walked in through the cat door. She wobbled across the kitchen floor as if she was dizzy. It gave me a heart attack. Since it was Halloween, I wondered if she had been hit by a car, or some kids had played some pranks on her. I noticed she had a big bump on the top of her head and a cut wound from her neck down to her right shoulder. It looked as if she had been slashed by a sharp object. She was bleeding from the wound.
“Hey, girl! What's up? Did you have a fight out there? Oh my, you've got a big wound here! We need to take you to the vet.”
I immediately placed her inside the cat carrier and drove to the 24 hr. animal hospital. The vet told me someone may have kicked poor Mimi on her head and the wound on the neck was made by a cut with a sharp object like a knife.
Mimi was fine after the doctor checked for broken bones and found none, except she would need between 20-30 stitches to close off that big wound from her neck down to her shoulder. She would also need to stay in the animal hospital overnight for observation.
I agreed to come back the following day to bring her back home. I wondered who would do this to our Mimi. I cannot even tell Auntie about this, otherwise, she would think I am not taking good care of Co-co and Mimi.
Suddenly, I remembered that Mimi was put on a cat camera daily which I had not checked yet, I think it is about time I check it to find out what happened this evening. Perhaps the camera will shed a light on where Mimi has been and who had done this to her. I need to find the cruel person who had done this.
I took the camera off Mimi's collar and came home to check on it. I loaded up the video, it was about 5.5 hours long as it has been pre-programmed to start recording in the evening, mostly showing her roaming around the neighbourhood. At one point she came to our neighbour, Mary's house. She had probably snuck through some holes or windows to get inside!
Now, I was interested! I had been wanting to see what was inside Mary's house as I had not been there before. What followed was a total shock to me and you can say that my cat Mimi had solved a crime that would later shock this whole neighbourhood!
Once inside the house, Mimi crouched quietly at a place where she could not be seen from the living room, where I could make out Mary and Mrs. Ryerson having a conversation, and it was serious! Their conversation was even recorded in the video.
In the video, Mrs. Ryerson was demanding a payment of $50,000 that was promised to her for her help in getting rid of Tom's body after Mary had killed him by bashing him on the head, and Mary told her that she did not have the money yet until Tom is declared dead and she would collect five hundred thousand from his life insurance.
Mrs. Ryerson would not have it. She said if Tom's body was found both of them would be in trouble. She suggested Mary to go to borrow $50,000 from the bank by using her house as collateral.
Through their back-and-forth conversation, it was revealed that Tom and Mary had a big fight one night and it got physical. Mary wanted a divorce and Tom refused. He slapped her on the face, and she got hold of one of the small stone statues in the living room and bashed him over the head until Tom stopped breathing. Later, she did not know what to do with the body, so she called up Mrs. Ryerson for help.
Mrs. Ryerson, who had been scheming with Mary all along for a share of my auntie's estate, was a willing partner to help out. For $50,000 she would help Mary wrap up Tom's body with a heavy plastic bag and place him inside a wooden trunk. Then she went around the neighbourhood to steal a van large enough to transport it to a nearby lake and drive the van, with Tom inside, into the water. The van sunk to the bottom of the lake!
This totally blew my mind! I could not believe what I was seeing and hearing.
Later on in the video, they both found out Mimi was eavesdropping and knew she had the cat camera with her.
They chased her through the house, trying to cut off her collar, but Mimi outran them. She jumped up high on the cupboards looking down at them, hissing and growling. Mary got hold of a frying pan and threw it at Mimi. Luckily, Mimi dodged and her head was saved, except for a big bump. Then they each got hold of a large kitchen knife and tried to cut off Mimi's collar.
Mimi growled and hissed and put up a big fight. The camera recorded close-up images of Mary's and Mrs. Ryerson's faces which later would be used as strong evidence to identify them both. It only took a few hours after I had seen the video for the police to arrest both Mary and Mrs. Ryerson.
As we now awaited sentencing today, the lawyer told Auntie Shelly and me that Mary would likely be receiving 25 years to life without parole for murder in the first degree, and 30 years for Mrs. Ryerson for being an accomplice and failing to report a crime.
This ends everything between Mary and Auntie Shelly. Auntie Shelly would not forgive Mary for the way she had treated both Co-co and Mimi. She was happy that she had made the decision to end the affair. Of course, I did not even let on that I knew about it, but I knew she was relieved that it was finally over.
Auntie Shelly was happy that, finally, she has found a caring person to care for both Co-co and Mimi! I promised her I will guard them with my life. One thing really odd is that after the arrest of Mary and Mrs. Ryerson, Co-co has never said “Watch out! Watch out!” again, although occasionally, she would still ask me “Whatcha doing?” when I worked in the kitchen with our new helper. Mrs. Wilson is a happy woman, she would often talk to Co-co and Mimi to cheer them up. I can see they both liked Mrs. Wilson a lot!
Thanks to Mimi the cat, a murder mystery has been solved and the murderers were promptly arrested and brought before justice. A very interesting and creative story!
What an interesting story. Mimi was a cat spy. Keep writing. The world needs more storytellers.
Beautiful presentation.
Reviewed by Danny Underwood
10/23/2018
Very interesting story, Sandie! I like this a lot! It was Mary's own fault for being dropped by Auntie Shelly. She is not an animal lover and cannot be trusted. Auntie Shelly has made the right decision about her will.
You have outdone yourself with this story. I think this is one of your best!
This story held my interest, Sweet Sandie! Very good.......the camera........."Watch out!", and overhearing the odd conversation all wrapped into one great story!!!
This story wasn't a coathanger, but perhaps, a cliffhanger. Except for the lesbian twist, taking advantage of the elderly seems to be something that is quite common. I didn't sense any real horror in your story but it certainly was a good crime story, especially with the use of high technology and Mimi's camera to reveal the truth that lies can't hide from. At one point you said that Co-co was wearing the camera. And, editing could have made the story shorter and more action instead of description. I like how all of the characters played their parts so well.
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