The Missing Cash Mystery
Page 8
Usually we don’t immediately do what we’re told, but I think we’re all curious enough to follow the lady with the cat carrier down the stairs and into the lounge. The lady sits on the couch with Doris and puts the carrier on the floor. It’s so dark, coming in from outside, that I can’t make out anything but a pair of yellow eyes.
Once we’re in the lounge, Amber sits on the stairs holding her mug of tea. Does she realize she’s blocking our only means of escape? Is she doing that on purpose?
The stranger opens the carrier, and nothing happens. No cat emerges.
She says, “Out you go, KitKat. Meet your new friends.” To Doris, the woman says, “She’s always been an only cat. It’ll be interesting to see how she does with others.”
“Interesting indeed,” Doris replies.
Finally, a cat emerges, and she’s the sleekest most beautiful cat I’ve ever seen. She has short black hair that shines like the stars. She’s bigger than Zorro but smaller than Butterball. I can’t get over how long her body is. I’m speechless.
I don’t even realize the boys have backed up until I turn to ask, “Isn’t she pretty?”
“Don’t you know anything?” Butterball snaps. “You must be very wary of her.”
“Why?”
It’s Zorro who tells me, “Black cats are said to be magical beings. I don’t know if that’s really true.”
“It isn’t,” KitKat replies from across the room. Wow, her hearing must be out of this world! “It’s a silly stereotype that’s managed to hold on for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.”
“Sorry,” Zorro says, taking a step forward so he’s standing right beside me. “I’m Zorro, this is Ginger. That’s Butterball back there. And you must be KitKat.”
“I am,” she purrs. Her voice makes me feel dizzy. It’s so beautiful. “Enchantée.”
I don’t know what that means, but it sounds so good I could faint.
“Look at that!” Doris says. “They’re chatting!”
“So they are,” the stranger replies.
Amber comes down the stairs and crosses the room. She puts her mug on the coffee table so she can pet KitKat with both hands. “Wow, she’s like silk.”
The stranger says, “Oh, be careful, she’s not—”
KitKat nips at Amber and hisses as she takes the stairs three at a time.
“—good with new people.”
Amber sucks on the finger KitKat bit while I follow the new cat up those stairs. Zorro gives me a boost partway up, which is a relief. It’s been a long day and I’m just about ready for a nap. But first I need to follow the new cat.
We find her by the food bowls, sniffing at our kibble. “Is this what passes for nourishment around here? Doesn’t smell organic to me.”
She talks a little like Butterball. I wonder if that means they’ll get along.
“Why did you bite Amber?” I ask. “She’s nice.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” KitKat replies.
Zorro says, “That was amazing, the way you leapt up those stairs.”
“I know,” she says, sounding a little braggy, if I’m honest. And then she winks at me and says, “Not all black cats have special powers—but I do.”
I wonder what kind of powers she has, but I’m too scared to ask.
“So what do you do for fun around here?” KitKat asks.
“Fun?” Butterball spits, like he finds the word personally offensive.
Zorro tells her, “We were discussing the case Ginger just solved. Someone broke into the safe next door and stole all the money inside. Ginger figured out the culprit.”
I expect KitKat to ask me who it was, or maybe ask us if this neighbourhood is some sort of crime hub. Instead, she cocks her head and considers me so sharply I feel embarrassed. I start grooming to make sure I look my best.
KitKat approaches me—and Zorro, who is by my side—and asks, “You’re interested in mysteries, are you?”
I try to say yes, but the word won’t come out, so I just nod.
“Good,” she goes on. “Because I know of a crime that needs to be solved.”
“What crime?” Zorro asks.
Standing very tall, KitKat says, “I believe someone killed my human.”
Butterball sniffs from across the kitchen. “That’s a very serious accusation.”
“I know it is,” KitKat replies. “And a serious accusation requires serious investigation.”
“Ginger’s more than willing to take on the task,” Zorro says eagerly. “She may be tiny, but the kid’s got what it takes.”
KitKat considers me seriously. “Have you ever solved a murder case?”
My head shakes side to side. It would be nice if I could learn a little discretion, but I’m like Amber. I can’t keep a secret.
“But I can try,” I say. “I’d like to try.”
I think about Doris and how I’d feel if she died suddenly. Me and Butterball and Zorro—we’d all be left homeless. That’s exactly what happened to KitKat.
So I say, “I’m really sorry for your loss. We’ll show you around the house, around the neighbourhood. Hopefully you’ll feel at home here really soon.”
Zorro and Butterball mumble similar sentiments and KitKats looks at all three of us before saying, “Thanks.”
Even though I feel sad for her, I smile and say, “I’m sure you’ll fit right in around here.”
“I’m not worried about fitting in,” KitKat replies. “I just want to find my human’s killer.”
Zorro steps up and says, “We’ll figure it out. We all love mysteries, around here.”
Quietly, almost inaudibly, KitKat says, “I do too.”
That admission fills my heart with hope and I say to her, “See? We’re all going to get along. We’ll be the best of friends in no time. I’m sure we will.”
Butterball and Zorro don’t look so certain, but they’ve been wrong before.
The End
Have you read this great mystery yet?
Murder at Meadowlark
The Lasagna Lady Mysteries
Book One
By Doris Hay
Luella Genova has never been great at speaking her mind. When community-spirited high school student Chandelle Jervais asks her to bring one of her famous lasagnas to the potluck at Meadowluck Retirement Residence, the aging widow would rather stay home and swallow a bottle of pills.
Who’d have thought lasagna could change a lady’s life?
When Luella arrives at Meadowlark, a woman has just died—not an uncommon occurrence in a home for seniors, but Luella smells a rat. Even the old woman’s family is satisfied to believe that she died of natural causes, but that only makes Luella more suspicious. The only way to prove it was murder… is to find the killer!
Book One in the Lasagna Lady Mysteries series.
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The Courtyard Clairvoyant Mysteries
Collection One
Written by J.J. Brass
Published by Rainbow Crush
When Elise Golden goes in for a cornea transplant, the last thing she expects is to come out with a psychic eye! But, as she recovers from surgery, she begins to realize that she can see things she couldn’t see before. If the eye is the window to the soul, Elise is practically a Peeping Tom! She can gain insights into people’s actions just by looking them in the eye.
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