“What are you talking about, Charlie?” Teresa sounded puzzled.

I sighed heavily. I heard warbling and looked down to see Diesel staring up at me. If a cat could look concerned, he sure did right then. I rubbed his head as I replied to Teresa. “The news hasn’t spread yet, but Carrie Taylor was found dead in her home this morning. She was murdered.”

Teresa gasped. “How horrible. The poor woman. Who would do such a thing?”

“Yes, it’s hard to imagine why anybody would want to kill such a nice person.”

“Does she have any family?” Teresa asked. “I know she was a widow, and I never heard her mention any children.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Right now I’m at Melba Gilley’s house, and Melba was apparently Mrs. Taylor’s best friend. She’ll know if there’s anyone. Actually, Kanesha is here talking to Melba. I can’t say anything more at the moment.”

“Of course. Let me know if there’s anything I can do. Poor Melba.” Teresa still sounded shocked. “I’m beginning to think this exhibit is cursed. Should we cancel it?”

I understood Teresa’s concerns. I had wondered the same thing myself, but I finally concluded we should go ahead with our plans. I had a hunch that the murder was connected to Mrs. Cartwright somehow, and if we canceled everything, the investigation might stall. I didn’t know how Kanesha might feel about that, but I certainly wasn’t going to ask her.

I realized Teresa was waiting for a response. “No, I don’t think so. I considered that, too, but I believe we should go ahead. For one thing, we can dedicate the events to Mrs. Taylor’s memory. It’s not much, but it’s something we can do for her sake.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Teresa didn’t sound completely convinced. “In the meantime, what about Mr. Eagleton? Surely he won’t want to hold a dinner party when he finds out about Mrs. Taylor.”

“That’ll be up to him, I guess.” I was curious to speak to the man, but before I did, I wanted to check with Kanesha. Eagleton could be a suspect, unlike Teresa, and I didn’t want to step on official toes. “If he calls you back, don’t say anything to him about Mrs. Taylor. You can give him my cell number, but in the meantime, if you have his, will you forward it to me? I’ll probably call him.”

“Sure, I can do that. I won’t tell anyone else about Mrs. Taylor’s death, either.”

We said good-bye, and I stuck my phone back in my pocket. Diesel had stopped talking to me, but he still looked a little anxious. I rubbed his head a few times and told him I was fine and not to worry. He padded after me as I rejoined Kanesha and Melba in the kitchen.