by Donna Doyle
A Case Full of Cats
Curly Bay Animal Rescue Cozy Mystery Book 3
Donna Doyle
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
© 2021 PureRead Ltd
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Also by Donna Doyle
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Chapter One
It was a dark and stormy night, but Courtney Cain was sleeping soundly through it. She heard a few rumbles of thunder as they shook her apartment, but they simply soothed her back to dreamland.
“Good morning!” she chirped to Dora several hours later when she arrived at the Curly Bay Pet Hotel and Rescue for work. Courtney had been hired on as the manager after she’d lost her bigtime marketing job in the city, fired by her very own fiancé. It’d been a devastating blow at the time, but moving off to a small town and taking up a job she’d never have envisioned herself doing had been exceedingly good for her. “I just love sleeping during a storm, don’t you?”
They were still in the front parking lot, but Dora wasn’t paying any attention to Courtney. As the groomer who took care of all the purebred pets that came to visit the hotel and spa side of the business, she was a very serious woman. This morning, she fisted her hands on her hips as she marched over to the corner of the building. “Look at that!”
“What?” Courtney jogged over, shocked to find that the roof was entirely covered with greenery. Giant branches stuck out at all angles. “The storm knocked over a tree!”
“Let’s get inside and make sure everyone is okay!” Dora ushered her toward the front door.
“I’m trying.” Courtney’s hands shook as she fiddled with her key ring to find the right one, horrible visions of the poor cats and dogs trapped inside running through her mind. Finally, she twisted the right key in the lock and flung the door open.
The two women immediately turned left into the rescue side. Courtney’s foot shot out from under her as she stepped in a large puddle, and she grabbed Dora’s arm for support. “Aah!”
“Careful.” Dora’s strong grip closed over Courtney’s arm until she was sure her manager was safely on her feet again. “Looks like everything in the cat room is okay. Let’s check out the dogs.” They moved further on and opened the door to the room that housed the canines.
“Oh, you poor babies!” The ceiling had cracked open, a dark branch coming straight through it. Insulation hung down around the branch like a raggedy skirt, and Courtney could see daylight through the hole. “That certainly explains all the water. We got a lot of rain with that storm. We’re lucky, though. All the damage is over the supply area and not the kennels.”
Even so, the dogs were terrified. Dora opened the cage of the one closest to the damage, squatting down to comfort the lab mix. “It’s okay, Francine. You’re all right, sugar.”
“Do you think we have room for them over on the hotel side?” Courtney opened the next cage, where a little terrier mix named Edgar was cowering in the corner. As soon as he saw her, he came bolting forward and jumped in her lap.
“We’ll just have to make room, and the hotel clients who were supposed to come today will have to find something else to do,” Dora said firmly, stroking Francine’s head and clipping a leash to her collar. “I think the kennels furthest away from the damage are all right, though, so we can get away with leaving some of the bigger dogs in here.”
Courtney smiled. That was exactly how she felt about the situation, but she knew Dora usually preferred the pampered purebreds over the strays. Courtney was the manager, and when it came down to brass tacks, she was the one who called the shots. Still, she liked to give her employees a chance to feel as though they had a say as well. “Perfect. We’ll get these guys moved, and then I’ll start calling the customers.”
“They’re not going to like it,” Dora said with a slight roll of her eyes as they brought the first two dogs to the other side of the building completely untouched by the storm. A Yorkshire terrier with its topknot in a little pink bow gazed at them sleepily from her kennel. “Most of these folks take their dogs with them as many places as they can go, but they’ve gotten into a habit of never leaving them home alone.”
“I’m sure they’ll understand.” But Courtney quickly found that Dora was right. While the customers were horrified to hear the news of the storm damage, they were equally horrified to find that they didn’t have a trusted place to drop off their precious babies for the day.
“But you said the damage was on the shelter side,” Mrs. Atkinson argued over the phone. “Can’t Peaches still come and spend the day while we’re out on the water?”
Courtney rolled her eyes up to the ceiling, having had far too many conversations like this just in the last few minutes. “I’m afraid not. We’ve had to move all the rescue dogs over to the hotel side, and there simply isn’t enough room. I’ll be glad to give you a call as soon as we’re fully open again, and I really appreciate your patience with us. Perhaps you could just put a little bikini on Peaches and take her with you?”
The long pause on the other end of the line made Courtney cringe. She knew they needed the spa and hotel patrons to help fund the shelter, and that was the whole reason the business had been split in two in the first place. If she irritated too many of their regular clients, the animals could really lose out.
“You know, that’s not a bad idea!” Mrs. Atkinson exclaimed. “She does like the warm weather, and she could sit with me out on the deck. We are just going for a day trip, after all.”
“You two have a wonderful time!” Courtney hung up, smiling to herself. People were so funny, and she wouldn’t be surprised if Mrs. Atkinson really did put a bikini on her dog. Peaches had already been in the spa for a nail trim and polish, a mud mask, and a massage last week.
When she’d finally hung up and was about to call someone to get the tree off the roof, Mrs. Throgmorton strolled in. She was dressed in a leopard print wrap dress that looked like it belonged on someone half her age, but her recent divorce from her husband was probably the reason for that. He’d arranged for their dog to be stolen, and Mrs. Throgmorton wasn’t about to forgive him for that. Fortunately, Sir Glitter had been recovered and was happily tucked under his owner’s arm.
Courtney couldn’t find it in herself to be happy to see them, though, considering the condition of the hotel. “Mrs. Throgmorton! It’s nice to see you this morning, but I didn’t think we were expecting Sir Glitter today. Otherwise, I’d have called you. You see, that storm brought a tree down right on top of the building, and we’ve had to move all the rescues to the hotel side.”
“Oh, dear!” Mrs. Throgmorton fanned her fingers over her chest, just under a thick strand of pearls. “That’s terrible news! But I might be able to help with it, actually. I didn’t come to drop my baby off. I came to talk to you about organizing a fundraiser. I told you before I was going to do that, and I admit I got a little busy with some other projects I had going on, but I don’t want you to think I forgot about you.”
Courtney’s shoulders sagged with relief. “That would be great. I have no idea how much it’s going to cost to get everything fixed, but I highly doubt we have the money for it. Just tell
me what you need from me.”
Mrs. Throgmorton grinned and snuggled her dog close to her face. “Oh, this’ll be so much fun! I love doing events like these. There’s nothing better than throwing a big party for a good cause. We just need some time to sit down and figure it all out together. I’d love for you to be involved, since this is really just a big thank-you from me to you for everything you did for Sir Glitter.”
Courtney affectionately reached across the counter to scratch the Pomeranian’s ears. “I’m happy to help. I used to be in the marketing sector, so I might have some input. It definitely can’t be today, though. I’ve got too much to take care of here. I still have to call someone to get this tree off the building, and then I need a contractor.”
Mrs. Throgmorton nodded wisely. “There’s a young man who brings us wood for the fireplace. I’ll give him a call for you. He’d probably be more than happy to come take it down, and charge next to nothing as long as he gets to keep the wood.”
“That would be wonderful! I can’t thank you enough!”
“Of course, darling! I owe you big time, after all. How does Wednesday look for you? Could we get some planning done then?”
Courtney didn’t even bother looking at the calendar. The repairs to the shelter were likely to be incredibly expensive, and the sooner they could get this fundraiser rolling, the better. “Sounds great.”
“Perfect. I’ll pick you up here. See you Wednesday!” Mrs. Throgmorton used Sir Glitter’s paw to wave goodbye as they backed out of the building.
A uniformed officer opened the door for her and let her out before coming in. Courtney recognized him as Brian Jacobs from Animal Control, and he carried a battered plastic carrier in one hand. “Good morning, Courtney. Looks like you’ve had an eventful day already.” He pointed to the roof to indicate the fallen tree outside.
“Unfortunately, yes. Who do you have there?” She bent her head to peer through the front of the carrier, expecting to see a pitiful creature shivering in the back corner. Instead, a tuxedo cat purred loudly as he rubbed his cheek on the bars of the door.
“This is Ritz, or at least that’s what we decided to call him since he looks like he’s wearing a little tux. Animal Control is full right now, so I thought I’d see if you have any room for him.”
“You’re in luck. Our dog room is the one that’s damaged, but we do have a free cage for a kitty. What’s his story?”
Brian set the carrier on the counter and opened the door. Ritz marched out, taking in his surroundings while still purring like a boat motor. “It’s kind of strange, actually. I’m sure you’ve heard about the break-ins that’ve been happening all over town?”
“Yes, but I’ve been trying to ignore it. I know nobody has any reason to break into my little place, but news like that isn’t very comforting when you live alone.” She shuddered. Courtney thought of Curly Bay as a pretty safe little town, and she’d worried far less here than when she’d lived in the city. That is, until those reports started coming in on the news.
“Well, an incident that we believe was tied to the perpetrator of all these burglaries was called in over in the Majestic Oak district. The lights and sirens scared away the crook, but this cat was found outside by one of the officers. He was wearing a harness and leash, and the handle was caught in a bush.”
“Poor little guy. And nobody claimed him?” Courtney stroked Ritz’s head. The cat rewarded her for the attention by headbutting her gently in the stomach. “He’s certainly tame enough.”
“I thought he must belong to someone in the neighborhood, but nobody’s claimed him yet. This would be a good place for him to stay until someone comes forward.”
“Not a problem. I’ll go put him up and we’ll get the paperwork started.” Courtney scooped up Ritz, who didn’t seem to mind at all, and carried him into the cat room. She scratched his chin and let him nuzzle her neck, glad for some distraction from the rest of the morning chaos.
Chapter Two
Courtney didn’t sleep well that night. She was too worried about the shelter, and she’d made the mistake of turning on the news just before she went to bed. The only thing anyone wanted to talk about was the break-ins. Some of them happened in nice neighborhoods like Majestic Oaks, where the targets were jewelry and cash, but others happened in typical suburban areas like where she lived. Courtney knew she didn’t have much that would be worth a prison sentence to someone, but she still didn’t like the idea of anyone prowling around her apartment.
She had a few minutes before it was time to leave for work, so she did a quick online search and made a call.
It rang so long that Courtney nearly hung up before someone finally answered. “Hinkle’s Security Systems. How may I help you?”
“Hi, I was thinking about getting a security system for my apartment.” She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear nervously. Somehow, actually getting an alarm made the burglaries seem that much more real.
“Certainly. I’m afraid we’re a little shorthanded right now considering the high demand, but I can take your name and number and give you a call back.”
“Yeah, that’d be fine.” She frowned, wishing they’d given her a different answer. Now that she was thinking about an alarm, she wanted one right away.
She was still thinking about it when she headed to work and unlocked the door, but she soon had her mind pulled away from the safety of her own home. As soon as Courtney walked in the foyer, she saw a familiar tuxedo cat watching her from the counter. Courtney turned around and looked out into the parking lot. Nobody else had gotten to work yet.
“How did you get out , you little rascal?” Courtney picked up Ritz, who nuzzled his head happily against her cheek and purred loudly. “I see. You’re very proud of yourself, aren’t you? Got a little freedom, and now you’re going to tease everyone else with it.”
But as soon as she stepped behind the counter and into the office, Courtney realized that Ritz wasn’t the only one out. A fat marmalade cat sat square in the center of Courtney’s desk, loudly licking himself clean for the moment. A gray tail disappeared down the hall. Opening the door to the shelter side, Courtney found that every single cat had been let out of its cage.
“Holy smoke!” Jessi said from behind her, having just arrived for work herself. “What happened?”
“I’m trying to figure that out, myself.” Courtney put Ritz in his cage before turning around and scooping up a little white kitten. “I just got here, and they’re all over the place. I saw some in the office, too. There’s no telling where they’ve all gotten to.”
“I just hope we can find them all. At least Madeleine is easy.” She pointed to an older tortoiseshell, who was curled up asleep in her cage even though the door was wide open. Jessi closed and latched it.
“It’s going to be an interesting day.” Courtney and Jessi moved throughout the shelter, glad to see that at least the door to the hotel side had been shut, so they wouldn’t need to look for any of the cats in there.
Courtney retrieved the marmalade, who was now curled up on her desk and trying to nap. He let out a disgruntled trill as she picked him up, clearly pleased with his new bed. She found a calico in the supply room, batting at the duster. Jessi rounded up two kittens who’d ventured into the office and were chasing around the electrical cords as though they were snakes. She picked up one in each hand and scolded them in a sweet sing-song voice as she carried them back to their cage.
When the phone rang, Courtney went to answer it begrudgingly. She already had enough to worry about with the roof issues, and now she had to worry about the cats as well. They had work to do no matter what was going on, though. “Good morning, Curly Bay Pet Hotel and Rescue. This is Courtney. How can I help you?”
The other end of the line was silent.
“Hello?” When she still didn’t get an answer, she hung up and lifted a solid black cat down from the top of the filing cabinet.
“I clearly missed something,” Dora commented when s
he came in to work and saw their faces.
Courtney explained it as best she could. “They were just all out. I’ve checked the latches on their cages, and everything seems to be in working order. It makes me wonder if someone came in and let them out.”
Jessi shrugged. “I already checked the outside security cameras, and there wasn’t anything on them. I suppose someone might’ve snuck past it and I didn’t see it.”
“I can call Detective Fletcher and ask him if he can take a look at the footage, just in case there’s something we’re missing. In the meanwhile, it looks like we’re missing a kitten still.” Courtney pointed to the cage where four kittens were supposed to be housed, and yet only three little faces were peeking out at them.
Dora, Courtney, and Jessi all began the search, checking behind furniture, under the desks, and even inside drawers. Courtney pulled out all the cleaning supplies to check for a little furball behind the spray bottles, but she found nothing. Dora headed into the hotel side to look around, just in case. Jessi began worrying that the missing baby had somehow slipped out the door when they’d come in.
The phone rang again, and Courtney was the closest to the office. Silence greeted her on the other end of the line, and she hung up with more force than was necessary. “I don’t have time for this,” she grumbled.
That’s when she noticed the door to the dog room was open a crack. Her heart jumped up in her throat, knowing there was still a big hole in the roof. They’d been fortunate enough that it hadn’t rained again since the big storm, and it wasn’t likely that a small kitten could get all the way up to the ceiling, but things had been strange enough for the day that there was no telling what else might happen.