The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell
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| The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell | |
 U.S.A. edition, 2006 |
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| Author | Lilian Jackson Braun |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Cat Who series |
| Genre(s) | Mystery, Novel |
| Publisher | Putnam Adult |
| Publication date | 2006 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 208 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-399-15307-1 |
| Preceded by | The Cat Who Went Bananas |
| Followed by | The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers |
The Cat Who Dropped A Bombshell is the twenty-eighth book in the Cat Who series by Lilian Jackson Braun. This book contains a fictional interview (with true facts) between Ms. Braun and Jim Qwilleran, a main character in the story.
[edit] Plot Summary
This story occurs during Pickax’s 150th anniversary, called Pickax Now, over the course of one year. Qwilleran’s barn is going to be sketched by an architectural student as part of an entry portfolio for architectural college. The young architect is Harvey Ledfield, nephew of Nathan and Doris Ledfield. The Ledfields are one of the rich old families who live in the community of Purple Point. Harvey brings along his fiancée Clarissa Moore, who is in Journalism School. When they arrive, Harvey begins sketching but then Koko drops on his head, something he had never done before.
After the sketching, Qwilleran learns that Clarissa broke up with Harvey, but she returns to Pickax looking for a job at The Moose County Something, and she informs Qwilleran she never was really engaged to Harvey, he just wanted it to look like it so he would get the inheritance when the Nathan and Doris died. They would be more likely to invest in a ski lodge he wanted to finance if it seemed likely he would get married and continue the Ledfield blood line.
During the Pickax Now celebrations, Qwilleran visits Ogilvie-Fugtree reunion, because he knows the hosts. But two cousins go out rabbit hunting, and only one returns. Both were set to receive a large sum of money from a rich uncle, so it would seem one killed the other for the money. The other rabbit hunter is indeed found dead, so the first is arrested. However, he is later released because of a lack of evidence. It is never said whether the shooting was murder or accidental death.
In the meantime, the Ledfields have come down with allergies, but this seems unimportant until Clarissa brings something to Qwill’s attention. Harvey had never got Clarissa a ring so Doris gave her one before she knew the engagement was a ruse. Clarissa wanted to give it back, but she could not get the Ledfields on the phone nor was she allowed to go in their house. Qwilleran calls the Ledfields’ doctor, who says she too was considering calling in an allergy specialist. Before any more can be done however, both the Ledfields die because of respiratory complications. Elizabeth Hart, the owner of the grist mill fine restaurant, is also killed in a car accident on the Bloody Creek Bridge, which is infamous for fatal accidents. This was merely an accident, but it seems as though the county will finally replace the bridge in favor of a safer one.
Little progress is made on the case, until Clarissa brings her friend Vicky to Pickax to participate in a kitten auction for charity and to watch the Labor Day Pickax Now parade. She leaves before she has a chance to speak to Qwilleran, but he soon gets a letter from her. Apparently Harvey had come up to Moose County not to long ago, looking for money to finance a ski lodge. But the Ledfields are unwilling to give money to such a venture, only to put Harvey through college. Clarissa informs Harvey, Vicky and Vicky’s boyfriend about deadly mold, which she wrote a report on for journalism school, and Vicky’s boyfriend, a construction specialists, said that it could be found in the closets of old houses. Clarissa informed Vicky on how Harvey became furious when the Ledfields would not fund the ski lodge even though it seemed he would be entering college and he had a fiancée. He even refused to go to church that morning, and Vicky suspected he had put mold in the ventilation shafts of the Ledfield’s bedroom.
Qwilleran shared this with the police, and Harvey is arrested. In the meantime, the Ledfield will is opened, and the Ledfields left their collection of stuffed animals to the city (if they provided a building) and the creation of a music center in Pickax. They also gave funds for a massive music building that would make the Ledfield name famous world wide. But it could only be in a city with a population of one-million or more. Shortly after the mystery is solved, a tragic accident at the ill-fated Black Creek bridge takes the life of Qwill's long time eccentric friend, Elizabeth Hart. In honor of her, the Black Creek Bridge is set to be repaired so that no more deaths occur
