Catch As Cat Can

                "But surely we'd have some sign, Cynthia. A deterioration of behavior. A sudden drop in weight or the reverse. He seemed so formal. Not the most brilliant man but well-normal."

                "He was." She sighed."Now, I can't prove he took cocaine, but we have Diana's word on it and she's rarely wrong." She thought a moment."Some people can take a line or two of cocaine and enjoy t just like some people can take a drink or two. One of the reasons he anti-drug campaign doesn't work is it really doesn't tell people he truth. It just demonizes drugs instead of explaining that different people have different chemistries. One person can drink and not become an alcoholic and another is lost with one drink. There's so much we don't know and it would appear we don't want to know."

                "Are you condoning drugs?" Mim was incredulous.

                "No. But aren't we hypocritical? One drug, alcohol, is legal. Either legalize them all or ban them all. That's how I see it, and it would make my job a great deal easier."

                "I'll have to think about that. In the meantime I'd better find someone to take Sean home. And I'd better release the guests from he garden. This will put a crimp in my dance tonight." She said this without rancor but more in the spirit of how life throws curveballs to everyone from time to time.

                "I'll tote Sean home," Cynthia offered.

                "Thank you."

                As Big Mim headed for the garden, Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tucker emerged, breaking their silence.

                Pewter crossly complained, "You didn't woke me up in time. Lottie Pearson's shrieking woke me up. You saw the whole thing!" Mrs. Murphy had told her what happened.

                Mrs. Murphy padded over, not focusing on the spilt raw sugar, a mall amount, mat had fallen into the cracks on the floor."How was to know he'd just died? I didn't know until he flopped on the floor. As it was I did come get you two."

                Tucker blinked."He just keeled over?"

                "Here today, gone tomorrow." Pewter giggled.

                "Diana thinks the cocaine did him in. Humans lower their voices but it's so easy for us to hear." Mrs. Murphy ignored Pewter's merriment."I never smelled cocaine on Roger, though."

                "Easy to determine. Bitter. They sweat it out." Tucker wrinkled her nose.

                "Pope Rat would know." Pewter mentioned the rat in Roger's shop "He lived with Roger ... not that Roger knew."

                "It really doesn't matter." Tucker watched Sean being helped to hi: feet by Fair Haristeen and Reverend Jones."He's done for and that's the en of it."

                But it wasn't, of course.

                11

                Bumblebees buzzed around the wisteria, their fat bodies a triumph over physics and logic. Yet there they were, a squadron of them, their black and yellow bodies purposefully darting here and there in the late afternoon sun.

                Harry and Susan sat out on the lawn. Mim's dance for charity would be in two hours. Both women were bemoaning the occasion. Mim had little choice but to go forward since it was a fund-raiser. Then, too, it wasn't a death in her family. No one expected her to cancel.

                "We have to do it," Susan said.

                "I know. We do. Everyone will be there but it's going to be leaden. And you know how Big Mim gets if a fund-

raiser doesn't take off."

                "She'll be sensible about this party. After all, no one can control these things." Susan plucked out the mint leaf from her tea and chewed it."Love mint. You have the best mint patch."

                "I grew those mint plants on the windowsill. It will be another month before my herb garden does much." She shielded her eyes to watch her three horses in the meadow. She'd turned them out in the larger pasture.

                "It was kind of awful that Little Mim pulled Roger off the chair." Susan lowered her eyes, which produced a giggle from Harry."Harry, you're horrible."

                "Well-it was funny. Who said death couldn't be funny? Not that I wished him dead," Harry hastily added."After all, he showed me how to run the wrecker's ball and he could be fun when he wasn't-you know what I mean. If he could have seen his death he'd have a sense of humor about it. Really."

                "You're terrible."

                "No, I'm not. I'm honest. Lottie Pearson screaming her silly head off just added to it, you know. And I'll give BoomBoom credit." She smiled knowingly at Susan."She hauled Lottie's silly ass out of the room. If Lottie had screamed any louder, she would have shattered the crystal."

                Susan considered this as Mrs. Murphy rolled over in the freshly cut grass."Murphy, what a lovely tummy."

                "Mine's better." Pewter rolled over, too.

                "Fatter."

                "Better." Mrs. Murphy closed her eyes.

                "Mine's whiter." Tucker rolled over as well.

                "Would you look at that. Three spoiled children. Oh, to be one of my animals." Harry smiled."What a life."

                "No bills. No taxes. No stress. No unrealistic expectations about the future. They live in the moment." Susan sighed."I'd be better off if I could be more like them."

                "Me, too." Harry shifted in her seat."Miranda and Tracy said they'd take food over to Sean and then go on to Big Mim's. Think we should take food?"