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least she used to take care of them, but lately I heard she didn’t even take them to the vet when they were sick. They either got better on their own or they didn’t. If you ask me, the subject of her obsession had changed in recent months. I think she was beginning to lose interest in the cats, which was why she stopped taking care of them. I’m not a psychiatrist, but I’d be willing to bet Edna had a personality disorder that could probably be labeled. After I began to hear rumors that she wasn’t caring for the cats anymore I decided I would join Aspen and do what I could. The thought of sick cats left to die simply because Edna had tired of them was almost more than I could take.”
    Boy, did I understand that. “Do you think it’s possible someone from your group could have killed Edna over the way she treated the cats?”
    Silvia shrugged. “Well, I don’t know for sure, but I’d be surprised if that were true. Still, there are members of our group who are very passionate about the ethical treatment of animals. Tempers do flare at times, and I know Edna had altercations with at least two of our protestors outside of their time with the group.”
    “Who?”
    “Ben Wild and Donald Jacobs. I heard Ben ran into Edna at the post office, and Donald claims Edna has been stalking him, which in my mind totally fits.”
    “Stalking him?”
    “I told you she can become obsessed with both things and people. I can totally imagine that if she became obsessed with a person she would stalk them. I don’t know all the details, but he told me that when she showed up at the construction site where he’d been working he made it clear he was going to take action if she didn’t stop following him.”
    I frowned. “Why would Edna be obsessed with Donald? I seem to remember he was recently engaged.”
    “I don’t know why Edna set her sights on Donald. As far as I can tell, he didn’t know either. What he said was that every time he turned around, there was Edna, watching him. It was driving him crazy. I had to stop him from becoming physically violent with her when she showed up at our protest a few days ago.”
    I wasn’t close to Donald, but based on what I knew of him, he didn’t seem like a violent man. If he’d reacted to Edna’s presence in the manner Silvia had just described, the woman must really have pushed his buttons. I made a mental note to follow up with both Ben and Donald. I also wanted to have another chat with Nona.
    “You know who else you might talk to?” Silvia added. “Wanda Ferguson. She isn’t a member of our group, but I heard a rumor that Wanda slapped Edna at the grocery store a while back."
    “Wanda slapped Edna?”
    “That’s what I heard. In fact, people are saying that if Ernie hadn’t stepped in, their altercation would have turned into a full-on cat fight.”
    Okay, I guess that was interesting news. I couldn’t imagine Wanda slapping anyone. She worked at the local dry cleaner, and in all the years I’d known her, she’d been nothing but pleasant. I thanked Silvia for the leads and Ellie and I said our good-byes.
    If Edna had been following Donald around others must have seen her. At this point I was going to keep an open mind as I tracked down any clues there were to find.

Chapter 4
     
     
    We were greeted by a young girl who looked to be around ten years old when we arrived on Edna’s property. She was tall and thin, with long braids draped over her shoulders and a nose covered with freckles I couldn’t help but find endearing.
    “Are you here to see Edna?” the girl asked as soon as we got out of the car.
    I hesitated, unsure what my response should be. “Do you live around here?”
    “Just down the way.” The girl pointed down the road. “I come by to play with the kittens sometimes, but when I got here today I found them all gone. Did Edna move?”
    “I’m afraid Edna passed away.”
    “She’s dead?” The girl looked to be surprised but not necessarily