She should have been elated. Her biggest enemy, vanquished! Why did her heart feel so heavy?
Felicity’s sobs were getting louder. Judging by the way she was overreacting, you'd think Fluff had only one life. But of course, there was only one he could spend with Felicity.
And looking at the limp body in Felicity’s arms, Pandora knew that life was over.
Fluff had given his life to protect his mistress and Mystic Notch. Pandora didn't know how much of that was about the town, but giving up his life to protect Felicity was worth something, wasn't it? He had been an admirable foe, and the truth was, she actually kind of missed him.
But he was already halfway to his new life, and there was only one way to bring him back.
Pandora would have to give him the breath of life.
Once she did, they’d be bonded for all nine of their lives. The thought of that was repugnant, but she also couldn't stand the wailing coming from Felicity, and she felt a certain obligation to help them because in the end they had helped Pandora and Willa. If Felicity had never mentioned the way to reverse a potion gone bad, Pandora would not have had this chance. Of course, she didn't know if it had really worked. She’d have to wait until she could try to talk to the Mystic Notch cats, but judging by the way Felicity was looking pretty much like her old self, she was hopeful her communication with the cats would be restored.
Pandora let out a big sigh and crept over to Fluff’s lolling head.
I might live to regret this, but what the heck.
She took a deep breath, bent toward Fluff’s pink nose, and breathed out.
“What are we going to do now?” Sarah stared down at Josie. She appeared to be out cold, but for how long?
I clutched the box to my chest, still afraid it would fly open on its own.
At least Felicity had stopped wailing. I was a little concerned about her cat but didn’t have time to think about it right now. Instead, I was thinking about Gus and the murder investigation. Josie was the real killer, as she’d confessed to us, but would Gus be able to figure that out without knowing the paranormal motive?
I didn’t think that Sarah had heard Josie’s admission that she’d left fingernails at Mary’s to throw the police off track. If Gus started to suspect Sarah, I would have to tell Gus that Josie had done that. It wasn’t fair to Sarah to let her fall under suspicion. Though she actually had been there that day, and it might not bode well for her if Gus’s radar started pointing in her direction.
But how could I make Gus see that Josie was the killer? She certainly would never take my word for it. There would have to be enough corroborating evidence to make her think she thought of it herself.
“Merooo!”
“Meowsa!”
“Mpuurup!”
Outside on the sidewalk, a gaggle of cats had accumulated. I recognize them as the cats from Elspeth’s barn. What were they doing here? As I was looking out, Gus’s police car screeched to a stop at the curb.
She stormed toward the bookstore, shooing cats out of her way. She burst through the door, scowling over her shoulder at the cats. “Darn cats are following me everywhere…” Her voice trailed off as she turned and took in the scene.
It must’ve looked a little strange. Felicity holding a limp Fluff, Pandora doing something I wasn’t quite sure of near Fluff’s head, and me clutching a box while Sarah stood over an unconscious Josie.
“What in the world?” The way Gus’s gaze was flicking from Josie to me and the suspicious look on her face had me thinking she suspected that I was up to something.
“She attacked us!” I pointed toward Josie. “She confessed to killing Mary, and she hurt Felicity’s cat.”
Gus spun around to look in the direction I was pointing. My mouth flew open in shock as I saw Fluff moving. He clawed his way out of Felicity’s grasp and struggled to a sitting position then started preening himself, casting angry glares around as if warding off our sympathy.
“Oh, Fluff, you’re okay!” Felicity grabbed the cat and crushed him to her bosom. He did not look pleased.
“I knew it! I had just finished putting the evidence together against Josie. She lied to me about the time she was at Mary Ashworth’s. At first, I thought it was Danielle lying about the time. She’d mixed that up before. But when I looked at the article on Mary in the Gazette, I saw that Josie had made a fatal mistake.”
“What was that?” Sarah asked.
“The photo in the article had Mary’s grandfather clock in the background, which happened to show the time was ten minutes before Mary’s death. Josie had said she’d left an hour before.” Gus turned and frowned out the window at the cats. “I was just putting it all together in my office when right out of the blue, I had the overwhelming thought that I should come here.”
Could the cats have been communicating with her, putting thoughts in her head to come here? Given everything that had happened this week, I wouldn’t be surprised.
Gus stood over Josie, who was just starting to stir. She took out her cuffs and slapped them on her wrists. “Josie Martin, you’re under arrest for the murder of Mary Ashford.”
She hauled Josie to her feet and marched her toward the door. When she got to the door, she turned back, a frown on her face. Her gaze skipped from me to Sarah to Felicity. “Just what are you all doing in here at this time of night anyway? I thought you guys didn’t even like each other.”
Felicity, Sarah, and I all exchanged a glance, and then at the same time we all blurted out, “Weekly book club.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“And then what happened?” The cats sat in a circle in Elspeth’s barn, their attention riveted on Pandora as she regaled them with the account of the capture.
Pandora hadn’t wanted to leave Willa, but Striker had rushed over and the two of them got all mushy, so Pandora was glad to escape. Besides, she wanted to know if breathing the portal air had worked.
“Then, Felicity was gushing and crying and holding Fluff.”
“Are you quite sure he was dead?” Sasha asked.
Pandora nodded solemnly.
“Good riddance,” Hope said. Pandora couldn’t blame her. The small chimera was usually very generous hearted, but Fluff had tried to kill her.
“And then what happened?” Otis asked.
Pandora paused and surveyed the audience for effect. “I had to give him the breath of life.”
The cats gasped. “Fluff? Why would you?”
“I don’t know what came over me. Felicity was crying, Josie was collapsed on the floor, and Sarah had appeared out of nowhere. There were a lot of things going on, and to tell you the truth, it seemed like Fluff had mellowed. If it wasn’t for Felicity and Fluff, I never would’ve regained the ability to talk to you guys.”
“Still, it seems like with Fluff out of the picture, things would be a lot easier for us,” Kelley, the Maine Coon, said as she groomed her fluffy tail.
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Pandora said. “Fluff seems to be truly changed. And now he owes me. Perhaps we can work this to our advantage.”
The other cats murmured their disagreement, but Inkspot cut in. “Now, now. Let’s not be hasty. With Fluff on our side, we could finally figure out some of the items that need to be collected in order to keep Mystic Notch out of danger. After all, he does have part of that list.”
“I wouldn’t trust him. It’s probably a trick,” Hope said.
“Be that as it may,” Otis said, “the deed is done. Pandora has given him back his life, and now we must deal with whatever ramifications come our way.”
Pandora had told her story, but now she had questions for the cats. “I saw all of you outside the shop window. How did you know something was going on?”
“When we saw you at Sarah Delaney’s, we knew something was afoot,” Tigger said. “Of course we followed you to see if we could help out.”
“But not all of us,” Inkspot said. “Some of us went to the police station to try to make
sure Gus would show up just in case.”
That explained why Gus had had the sudden urge to go to Last Chance Books. Even though she had figured out Josie was the killer, she wouldn’t have known where to locate her. “It was good you did that. You might have just helped save the town.”
Inkspot shrugged. “All in a day’s work. And now that the box and key are safe, we can take a little bit of a catnap.”
“Meow! Meow!”
“I have dibs on the comfy cat bed!” Sasha raced to the back of the barn.
“Don’t get too comfortable,” Inkspot called out as he curled up atop a bale of hay. “I have a feeling it won’t be long before our services are needed again.”
Striker had rushed over to my house as soon as he had heard about the incident with Josie. It felt good that he was so concerned about me.
I’d just been putting together a snack of Triscuits, jalapeños, and cream cheese for us when Gus pulled in. She’d warned me that she would swing by my place to take a statement after she’d booked Josie.
Pandora slipped in the door along with Gus, and I shot her an anxious look. She’d gone to Elspeth’s barn, and I was anxious to find out if she could talk to the cats. She nodded, and I smiled. All was getting back to normal. Well, except for the fact that I could now have conversations with my cat.
“So, you’re in a book club with Felicity Bates and Sarah Delaney?” Gus grabbed a Triscuit and popped the whole thing in her mouth. “I thought you guys didn’t like each other.”
“We all like books, so I guess that trumps our dislike of each other.” It was a lame excuse, and judging by the skeptical look on my sister’s face, she wasn’t quite buying it. I didn’t really like lying to Gus, but it was best for all.
“Uh-huh. And Josie was in the book club too?”
“Oh no. She wasn’t in the club.”
“So, what was she doing there?”
“She just came walking in. Apparently, she saw us all in there seated on the sofa discussing our book. She got all angry. I don’t know what’s wrong with her, but if she killed Mary over a cookbook, maybe she has issues.” Felicity, Sarah, and I had discussed our story so that when Gus questioned us, we would all say the same thing about the book club.
Gus’s eyes narrowed. “What book were you discussing?”
“A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.”
“Hm. Good book.”
“It is.” I was curious about what Josie had told Gus. It went unsaid that magical folks didn’t let on about their abilities to non-magical folks. “So, what happened with Josie? Did she say why she killed Mary?”
Gus frowned. “I think you’re right about her having issues. Apparently, she was mad about the recipes on Mary’s blog. Said Mary had cheated or something. She even ripped up the recipe book Mary was using. We found it in tatters at the scene of the crime,” Gus said. “She said it was a crime of passion.”
She glanced at Striker, who was seated at the kitchen table. “Did you know about this book club?”
“I don’t know everything Willa does, but if she says she’s in a book club, it must be true.” Striker winked at me. Of course, I’d never mentioned anything about a book club to him because it didn’t exist. It felt good that he was on my side and automatically stuck up for me with Gus. Then it felt bad that I had to let that little white lie exist between us.
Gus rolled her eyes. “Okay, well, Felicity and Sarah say the same thing, so as weird as it seems, I guess you guys have a book club and Josie just busted in. She’s still a little vague about why she attacked you though.”
I shrugged. “Like I said. She has issues.”
Gus studied me while she crunched down another Triscuit. “Okay, well then, I guess that’s that. See you two later.”
Gus left, and I turned my attention to Striker. “Thanks for sticking up for me. What’s in the bag?” I pointed to the shopping bag he’d brought in with him. Hopefully it was some sort of desert, maybe a chocolate cake or peanut butter cookies.
He came to stand next to me at the counter and opened the bag and started rummaging around in it. My mouth watered.
“Tile samples.” He lined up some samples on the counter.
“Oh.” There was quite an assortment. One was a nice white subway tile, one was aqua iridescent, and another was a limestone in earthy tones. Chocolate cake would have been nice, too, though.
“If you’re getting your bathroom done, I thought maybe we could pick them out together. After all, I do spend a lot of time here.” He pulled me close and stole a kiss.
“Gross,” Pandora piped in from her cat bed, where she’d curled up as soon as she’d come in.
Striker only heard meows. “Are you hungry?” he asked. “I thought maybe we could go out to that steak place.”
“Sure!” With all the activity, I hadn’t eaten dinner and was starving. I loved steak, and they had a great triple-layer chocolate cake.
“Good. Let’s head out, and then later on we can look at these tile samples in the bathroom. Of course, it’s up to you what you want, but if you want someone to bounce ideas off of, I’m all yours.” I loved how Striker was offering to help but not being pushy with ideas. If I did renovate the bathroom, would that mean he would come over more? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. More time with Striker wasn’t a bad thing, but moving in? I wasn’t quite ready for that.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Pandora and I opened up the shop as usual the next morning.
The regulars were waiting in front of the door, shuffling from foot to foot with excitement. Josiah shoved the coffee into my hands. “Willa, you are quite the hero.”
“Indeed,” Hattie tittered. “So dangerous, so brave.”
“Sheesh, give me a break.” Pandora rolled her eyes. “You didn’t have to deal with Fluff.”
I ignored the cat. “I really didn’t do much.”
Cordelia waved her hand as they made their way to the sofa and chairs. “It’s all over town how you captured Josie by hitting her on the head with The Joy of Cooking.”
“Actually, it was Sarah that hit her with the book,” I said.
“But it happened right here in your shop.” Bing glanced around as if expecting to see a reenactment.
“Honestly, it really wasn’t anything. It all kind of just happened. I didn’t really do anything brave.” I flushed, remembering how I’d actually tripped over Felicity in my attempts to stop Josie. If the regulars only knew what had really happened, Hattie and Cordelia’s hair would turn whiter than it already was. The real hero had been Fluff, and I was glad he had only been momentarily knocked out and not really dead. Though he had looked quite dead when Felicity was holding him. I glanced at Pandora. Had she done something to bring him back? If she had, she didn’t mention it to me.
“What about me?” Pandora sat at Bing’s feet, staring up at him. He didn’t answer because all he heard were meows. “I was the mastermind behind this.”
I frowned down at her, and she smiled smugly. “Okay, I’ll give you some of the credit too. I’m just glad it’s all over with, and things are back to normal with my cat communication, and that I can still talk to my favorite human.”
My heart melted at the compliment, and I smiled and made a note not to get so angry the next time she spooled the toilet paper off the roll or coughed up a hairball. Maybe I’d even spring for that expensive cat food.
“Did I read that Felicity Bates was here last night too?” Bing asked. “I didn’t realize you two were friends.”
Bing was staring at me intently. Did his words have some sort of double meaning? Bing had been involved in discovering that Felicity’s son was a murderer. I got the impression he knew more than he let on about the secrets in Mystic Notch, but the other regulars seemed oblivious, so I didn’t ask him. Maybe someday Bing and I would talk privately.
“I guess the article about Last Chance Books won’t be printed in the Gazette now,” Hattie said regrettably.
“Darn. I wanted to read all about it and possibly your mention of us regulars,” Cordelia added.
“That is a shame,” I said. “I said the loveliest things about you guys.”
Dodged a bullet there.
“But did you hear about the new recipe contest in honor of Mary Ashford?” Hattie asked.
“No, I didn’t. What’s that about?”
“There’s going to be an event in the town common next month,” Hattie said.
“And there’s a theme,” Cordelia added.
“The post office has several notices about it pinned up already,” Josiah said. “Of course, I won’t be making anything, but I’d sure like to go and try out some samples.”
Everyone laughed. “What is the theme?” I asked.
“Everyone needs to bake a dish related to a famous person from New Hampshire,” Cordelia said.
“I’m doing Robert Frost.” Hattie beamed with pride. “I can’t tell you exactly what the dish is. It’s a secret, and I don’t want anyone to copy me.”
Robert would be excited about that, but I didn’t know how Franklin would feel about it. Probably jealous. Kind of odd that she picked Robert Frost out of all the potential people.
“What made you decide to do Robert Frost?” I asked.
“I’m not really sure. I just suddenly had an urge to do something in his name. I’ve gotten one of his biographies from your store here, and I happened to find something about one of his favorite dishes. That’s what I’m making, and I’m going to name it after him.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a ghostly swirl over near the bookcase. It was Robert, beaming from ear to ear. Beside him, Franklin was frowning and staring intently at Cordelia.
“I’m going to do one too,” Cordelia blurted out.
Hattie looked at her surprise. “I thought you said you didn’t want to do any baking.”
“I’ve suddenly changed my mind. I’m doing Franklin Pierce’s presidential pizzelles.”
Claw And Order (Mystic Notch Cozy Mystery Series Book 8) Page 12