“The doctor said so as well, that I’d done exactly what he would have done in my shoes.”

“Absolutely. Good for you,” I said. “When do your physical therapy sessions start?”

“Tomorrow afternoon. I believe the facility is not far from here. Of course, I don’t want to be a burden, so I might take a cab. I hate to put Henry out.”

“Where’d you sleep last night? I thought both his guest rooms were stacked with items from the restaurant.”

“He offered me the couch, but I thought it best that I sleep on the floor. Once I managed to get down, which was no easy task, I kept my knees elevated so my back remained flat and properly supported. I slept as well as I could under the circumstances.”

“What’s the situation with the cat?”

“Henry caught the cat and he’s taken it to a veterinarian who has an office not too far from here. He tried everything to persuade the cat to come out of the bushes, but I’m afraid he didn’t have much success. He finally looked up the vet in the yellow pages. He was hoping she had a Havahart trap he could borrow, but hers was on loan to a group that rescues feral cats. She recommended a bit of cooked chicken and it worked like a charm. The cat even allowed itself to be tucked into the carrier for transport. I don’t know if I mentioned it, but the poor cat has no tail. Just a stump covered with a tuft of hair. I have no idea what happened to him. Henry says the cat’s pathetic—ugly, bad tempered, and uncooperative.”

“Not too uncooperative or Henry couldn’t have gotten him in the carrier.”

“You’re right. I hadn’t thought of that,” he said. “I don’t mind Henry being mad at me, but I don’t want him to take it out on the cat.”

“Henry wouldn’t do that, do you think?”

“He has no use for it and he made that plain, but I don’t know what he meant. He’s hardly speaking to me, so I didn’t have a chance to press him on the point. He wants to be rid of the poor thing for sure.”

“You don’t think he’d have the cat put down, do you?”

“The mood he’s in, he’s capable of anything. He refuses to have it here. Especially after all the pain and suffering Nell’s been through.”

“Couldn’t the vet find a home for it?”