Read Online The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare by Lilian Jackson Braun - Free Book Online Page B

have carried on the tradition, even if they printed the paper by modern methods.”
    “No,” she said. “That boy will marry his midget, and they’ll both leave Pickax and go Down Below to get jobs. Probably in a sideshow,” she added with a laughter. “Junior is the runt of the litter.”
    “Oh, Mother, don’t say such things,” Pug protested. To Qwilleran she said, “Mother is the humorist in the family.”
    “It hides my broken heart,” the widow said with a debonair shrug.
    “What will happen to the Picayune building now? Were they able to salvage anything?”
    “It’s all gone,” she said without apparent regret. “The building is gutted, but the stone walls are okay. They’re two feet thick. It would make a good minimall with six or eight shops, but we’ll have to wait and see what we collect on insurance.”
    Throughout the visit thoughts were racing through Qwilleran’s mind: Everything was being done too fast; it all seemed beautifully planned. As for the widow, either she was braving it out or she was utterly heartless. “Gritty” affected him less like a courageous woman and more like the sand in the spinach quiche.
    Returning home, he telephoned Dr. Zoller’s dental clinic and spoke with the young receptionist who had such dazzlingly capped teeth.
    “This is Jim Qwilleran, Pam. Could I get an appointment this afternoon to have my teeth cleaned?”
    “One moment. Let me find your card… You were here in July, Mr. Q. You’re not due until January.”
    “This is an a emergency. I’ve been drinking a lot of tea.”
    “Oh… Well, in that case you’re in luck. Jody just had a cancellation. Can you come right over?”
    “in three minutes and twenty seconds.” In Pickax one was never more than five minutes away from anywhere.
    The clinic occupied a lavishly renovated stone stable that had once been a tencent barn behind the old Pickax Hotel in horse-and-buggy days. Jody greeted Qwilleran eagerly. In her long white coat she looked even more diminutive.
    “I’ve been trying to reach you!” she said. “Juney wants you to know that he’s flying Down Below to see the editor who promised him job. He left at noon.”
    “Well, that’s the end of the Picayune,” Qwilleran said.
    “Fasten your seat belt. You’re going for a ride.” She adjusted the dental chair to its lowest level. “Is your head comfy?”
    “How late did Junior stay at the fire scene?”
    “He got in at five-thirty this morning, and he was beat! They had to stay and watch for hot spots, you know… Now open wide.”
    “Salvage anything?” he asked quickly before complying.
    “I don’t think so. The papers that weren’t burned were soaked. As soon as they knocked the fire down they let Juney go in with an air pack to see if he could find a fireproof box that belonged to his dad. But the smoke was too thick. He couldn’t eve see – Oops! Did I puncture you?”
    “Arrh,” Qwilleran replied with his mouth full of instruments.
    Jody’s tiny fingers had a delicate touch, but her hands were shaking after a sleepless night.
    “Juney says they don’t know what caused the fire. He didn’t let anyone smoke when they were taking pictures… Is that a sensitive spot?”
    “Arrh arrh.”
    “Poor Juney! He was crushed – absolutely crushed! He’s really not strong enough to be a nozzleman, you know, but the chief let him take the hose – with three backup men instead of two. It made Juney feel – not so helpless, you know… Now you can rinse out.”
    “Building well insured?”
    “Just a tad wider, please. That’s it!… There’s some insurance, but most of the stuff is priceless, because it’s old an irreplaceable… Now rinse.”
    “Too bad the old issues weren’t on microfilm and stored somewhere for safety.”
    “Juney said it would cost too much money.”
    “Who reported the fire?” Another quick question between rinses.
    “Some kids cruising on Main Street. They saw smoke, and when the trucks got