The Purrfect Murder

him.”
    “Wise.”
    Benita’s rich-brown hair evidenced a few red highlights. Apart from being ten pounds heavier than when in college, she looked marvelous for a woman in middle age. The suffering told on her face, but that was to be expected. And the ten pounds added to the womanliness of her figure.
    “Mim, I don’t know how I can live,” she said without fanfare, a flat statement.
    “You will. You must.” A gust of fierceness invaded the older woman’s voice.
    “For the children, I know, but inside,” she touched her heart, “I feel dead.”
    “That’s natural, Benita. It passes, but slowly. You can’t give up or give in.”
    Benita’s lustrous eyes registered the challenge. “I know.”
    “It’s not what the world throws at us, it’s how we handle it. Even inflicted pain, something as terrible as this, can be borne because one must. The duty of life is to live and to give.”
    “We do let others control our emotions. If I collapse, then this hideous person wins. I see that.” She stopped, placed her cup and saucer on the table. “How dare anyone play God! Even Will, a physician, did not, and when anyone used that phrase about doctors he corrected them. He used to say, ‘I’m a skilled mechanic. I deal in the human body, not cars.’ He was right.”
    “Did he ever question abortion?”
    Benita shook her head. “Never. Not once. He believed the fetus contained the possibility of life but was not life. He always said, when he slapped the bottom and heard that first cry, that was life. And you know,” she leaned forward, “his mission was intelligent planning. When all this hoopla started about global warming, Will would throw down the paper or talk back to the TV: ‘What do you expect when people breed with no sense of responsibility to the environment?’ Oh, he could get worked up.”
    “He’s right. Was right.” A slight breeze lifted the top leaves of Will’s maple. “Benita, nature makes sense. People don’t.”
    “I tend to agree.” She was quiet for a few moments. “You know who else has been reading the Bible to me? Alicia. Another voice like liquid gold. She surprises me. We play golf when we can, but I…well, she feels for people. She reaches out, where others keep their distance. And when she and BoomBoom come, they check in with the kids and do whatever needs to be done—which is quite a lot, I’m afraid, because I haven’t lifted a finger. I feel like I can’t move.”
    “She and BoomBoom do seem to have brought out the best in each other. We seem to be surrounded by surprises of all manner.” Big Mim now placed her cup and saucer on the silver tray. “I’m sure all is secure, but if some unforeseen financial burden should…well, you know, don’t hesitate to call me, Benita. That’s what friends are for, and I hope you won’t let pride stand in the way.”
    A long pause followed as Benita searched for words. “I don’t know where I stand, Mim. I hope I would accept assistance if I needed it. I went through some of Will’s papers when I went down to the office. Georgina drove me. I don’t trust myself to drive, because I burst into tears at the most inopportune moments. Anyway, I went through the business checking account. I asked Kylie Kraft for the outstanding invoices. Actually, Margaret does that. I didn’t really know the girls’ specific jobs. Everything was in order, although I noticed there wasn’t as much money in the account as I anticipated. I asked Margaret—she sends out the bills—why it was a bit low, and she said some of the larger payments were still outstanding.”
    “Is Margaret good at the details?”
    “Yes. Each time a check comes in, she copies it along with the invoice. Everything goes on a disc. The original copy is kept in the backroom files—which are bulging, I might add. When those files overflow, they are transferred to a U-Store-It.”
    “Why?”
    “If there’s a fire or flood, no records. Without records, no money. The insurance companies will leave you in the lurch. They make life hard enough, the insurers. Do you know we carry thirteen policies? Thirteen! And only one is for the house, one for the cars. All the others are medical in one way or the other. Mim, it’s a nightmare. People have no idea what’s happened to medicine.”
    “I know.” Her curiosity aroused, Big Mim inquired, “Who had a key to the storage unit?”
    “Will, and there’s one in his desk here. Margaret keeps one on her key