“Maybe we’ll move to Paris.” Prudence smiled.
“ We’re going to have to tell Betty. She’s our client.” Grace blinked.
“We know. No regrets.” Edward put his arm around Prudence’s shoulders.
“I want to photograph the tunnel before I leave. I’ve got to get dressed and get my camera.” Prudence pulled the towel more tightly around her.
Grace stared at one of the battlefield scenes depicted on the speakeasy’s walls.
“They say people used to complain to President Lincoln about how much General Grant drank. So Lincoln told them, ‘Grant wins more than anyone. Find out what he’s drinking and I’ll give it to my other generals.’”
They waited for Edward and Prudence, fully clothed this time, to appear again and then they walked through the tunnel together. Edward and Prudence held hands.
They emerged from the tunnel and saw the Smith and Wesson in Betty’s hand on the other side. Her head was looking down at Tatania.
“You’re not going any place, Edward. You don’t get to walk away with some tramp and leave me here.” Betty looked over her shoulder at the bay and back at Tatania.
“I thought you said, ‘anyone interested in that philanderer deserves him,’ to Jack and me.”
“Grace, you’re a little naive. He’s staying married to the wicked witch in this fairy tale. Why is that cat still alive? How many lives does it have?” The magical cat swivelled her ears three times and became invisible. A calico kitten jumped out of the tunnel and hissed at Betty.
“I hate cats.” Betty aimed her gun at the kitten.
“Not this time, you vile creature,” Edward yelled and reached for the kitten.
Tatania, still invisible, reached up and clawed Betty’s legs. “Ouch,” Betty yelled, reached towards her legs, and stumbled, falling on her gun, and shooting herself in the face.
Jack felt Tatania land on his shoulder. He couldn’t see her. Reaching up, he felt the fur that could have been cashmere it was so soft. He still couldn’t see her. Grace looked at Jack and they both knew. They didn’t discuss their cat’s penchant for becoming invisible with anyone except themselves because it sounded too crazy.
“She’s bleeding all over the place. Edward, does she have a pulse?” Jack asked
“She never has,” Edward said.
“I’m calling an ambulance.” Prudence ran to the pay phone that was at the dock.
“It’s too late.” Jack lifted the hand that hadn’t held a gun. Betty didn’t have a pulse.
“What happened to the kitten?” Grace looked around for the calico kitten. When she pulled the lobster canapes from the yacht party out of her purse, the kitten bounded up to her.
Prudence knelt next to Grace and the kitten.
“I want this kitten,” Prudence said.
“He might already have a human. And aren’t you leaving for an olive ranch in Fallbrook?”
“Fallbrook can wait. I’m going to be here for awhile.” Prudence picked up the kitten and walked over to Edward. He stroked the kitten under his chin like he used to stroke Tatania so many years ago.
“Fallbrook can wait. I have to be at work soon,” Edward agreed.
Tatania swivelled her ears three times, became visible, and went to Edward, lightly moving around his legs in a circle, not shedding fur, but marking him as one of her own humans again. She forgave him for the stray cat remark. When the horrible human tried to attack a kitten in this life, he protected the kitten. He was cat worthy.
Bootleggers carried boxes from a ship and walked past Betty’s dead body like it wasn’t anything they hadn’t seen before.
“I’m missing Zeus.” Grace rubbed Jack’s shoulder.
“Let me talk to the ambulance driver and then we’ll leave.” Jack waited for the ambulance drivers to unlock the back doors and pull out the gurney.
“It looks like she won’t be going to the hospital,” he said.
The ambulance drivers took one look at Betty and agreed. They loaded her on to the gurney and pulled the sheet over her head.
“Tell the sheriff to give me a call if you have any problems, Edward,” Jack said.
Edward nodded gratefully. “I’ll take care of her burial,” he said. Prudence kept kissing the calico kitten.
“Poor Betty. She hated cats and cat people. And she couldn’t beat us or join us.”
Grace climbed into their plane. Tatania jumped on her lap and Grace put on Tatania’s goggles and then her own matching ones.
Jack got in the plane and looked back at Tatania and Grace behind him.
“Karma is a sweet, sweet bitch,” he said and started the plane.
Over the bay, Jack dipped a wing to a Navy ship. Another cat might have been scared. But Tatania leaned against Grace and purred. This would be the sweetest of her nine lives. She knew the humans were a long way from solving mysteries on their own. She wouldn’t leave them until she was sure they had learned to figure things out for themselves.
When they could see the Point Loma lighthouse, Jack dipped a wing to the old Army buddy of his who was a Lighthouse keeper in a Navy town. Tatania leaned against Grace for warmth. Grace thought Jack seemed to coax the biplane to infinity. Tatania relaxed on Grace’s lap like she was born to fly.
Jack dipped a wing over the Hotel del Coronado and Coronado Tent City and landed their plane next to home. Zeus ran like a puppy towards them. Tatamia sighed and allowed Grace to take off her goggles. She wished Zeus could learn aloof dignity and quit acting like a puppy around the humans. But no tomcat is perfect.
“You’re right, Jack. Karma is a sweet, sweet bitch.”
“And we are lucky, Grace. We are leading the life we want.”
“Well, the cats are leading us –
“—but that is the life we want.”
They followed Zeus and Tatania to their house by the bay. Grace watched Jack open the door and blinked her eyes once like she was taking a mental snapshot in case she needed to retrieve it later. She breathed deeply, wanting to stay in the moment, with the man she’d always love more than any other.
A Note from the Author
Thank you for reading Magical Cool Cat Mysteries Volume 3. I love writing about the 1920s and I’m grateful for readers who enjoy it too. Tatania and Zeus have captured a few hearts. If you liked Magical Cool Cat Mysteries Volume 3, it would be awesome if you would write a review on Amazon and share it with other readers. I appreciate every reader.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Cat Dance
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
9 Lives to Live
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
MEWOW
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
; Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
The Fur Will Fly
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Right Meow
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
A Note from the Author
Magical Cool Cat Mysteries Boxed Set Volume 3 (Magical Cool Cats Mysteries) Page 21