The Cats that Broke the Spell (The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery Book 8)

by Karen Anne Golden

  The sheriff quickly went into law enforcement mode. He said to the nearest deputy. “Get the yellow crime scene tape out of my trunk. Rope this area off,” then he addressed the group. “I want statements from each and every one of you, including you, over there dressed up like a scarecrow.”

  Nicholas said, “Sheriff, don’t you know me?”

  The sheriff studied Nicholas’ face. His mouth dropped. “Mr. Howe, my cold case just warmed up. Welcome back to the world.”

  “I need to tell you the criminal things Sam Sanders has been up to.”

  “Yes, we will get to that.” The sheriff scanned the group and asked, “Which one of you is Katherine?”

  “I am, Sir,” Katherine said, limping over.

  “You stated in your 911 call that someone broke into your home. Was it Sam Sanders?”

  “Ah, actually not. I opened the door for him because he was holding a gun on Lizzie. But a scarecrow came in first.”

  The sheriff did not look amused. “That gentleman over there is dressed like a scarecrow. Did he break into your house?”

  “I don’t know if it was Nicholas or not.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because the scarecrow didn’t break into the house. He used a key. I found him in my kitchen.”

  “What was he doing in your kitchen,” the sheriff asked, getting impatient.

  “I think he’d been eating a blueberry pound cake Lizzie had brought by earlier.”

  The sheriff wrinkled his forehead in confused wonder and changed his line of questioning, “Why are you limping?”

  “It’s nothing. I’m sure I’ll have an ugly bruise. I don’t want to press charges against Nicholas. The scarecrow who was in my kitchen wore a mask. I’m not convinced it was Nicholas.”

  “So there’s more than one scarecrow running around in this neck of the woods?”

  “I don’t know,” Katherine answered innocently. She left out the part about Nicholas taking her Glock, but that revelation would have landed him in jail, and she thought he’d been away from Lizzie long enough. Besides, there wasn’t any evidence of Nicholas handling the Glock because any residual prints were now removed by the rain water in the mud puddle.

  The sheriff said irritably, “That’s okay by me. I’ve got enough on my plate right now.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Early October

  Jake leaned against the zinc-topped Hoosier cabinet, drinking a mug of caramel-flavored coffee. Iris was hunched over her bowl, sending subliminal messages that she wanted a second helping. Dewey and Crowie joined her and licked the bowl just to make sure Iris hadn’t missed anything. Lilac and Abby were perched on top of the Hoosier and sat with their backs together like a 1950s Siamese TV lamp. Scout and Abra sat in the dumbwaiter like relaxed grasshoppers and waited for their people to leave so they could take a ride to the second floor. Katherine scooted her cane bottom chair up to the farmer’s table and opened her iPad. She began reading the online version of the Erie Herald.

  Since the death of Sam Sanders, the paper had been full of accounts of his life, his exploits, and his crimes. Upon his death, he owned a thousand acres of land, one tract belonging to his father and his father before him. Traditionally, the Sanders homestead was handed down to the oldest son. If there was a daughter in the family, she received nothing. Of the four sons, Dave was the oldest. He and his wife planned to build a house where the old Sanders farmhouse used to be. Dave also acquired the Dew Drop Inn tavern on the outskirts of Erie. He said he was thrilled to manage it. Stevie inherited the windmill operation and the land on which the meth lab had operated in an abandoned farmhouse. He was in the process of having the house bulldozed after the authorities had finished combing through it for evidence and the area was declared safe for human entry. Salina received a college trust fund set up by her grandfather before he had turned into a hardened criminal. Bobby and Jerry both agreed that they didn’t want the remaining portion of the land, which amounted to three hundred and fifty acres of prime Indiana farmland. The estate attorney planned to put it on the market as soon as the estate closed. As a condition for the sale, Delores Culpepper (AKA Big Mama) could not buy it.

  Learning that Sam was dead, Delores and Mike approached Stevie to buy the meth lab property. Stevie met them in their room at the Erie Hotel. Unknown to the mother and son, Chief London was standing outside the door, ready to come in and execute a warrant for their arrest. Earlier Stevie had met with the chief and showed him the fraudulent custody court order. The chief was eager to arrest them, but Stevie declined. He said it would be too much of an emotional toll on Salina to have her grandmother put in jail, especially since she had just lost her grandfather. Chief London reluctantly agreed, but did enter the room and read Delores the riot act. Soon after the chief and Stevie left, Delores and Mike quickly packed up their bags and fled to Kentucky. Stevie was relieved, and sure that he’d never hear from them again.

  Sam’s only daughter, Barbie, showed up for the funeral. Of all the children, she was the most upset, and was so distraught by the sight of the coffin, she had to be led away by her French boyfriend. She loved her father and tried to believe he wasn’t a sociopath. In return for her devotion, her father left her two hundred thousand dollars, which she gladly accepted. Before the funeral and at the visitation, she was happy to see her old Erie friends. She was cordial to Jake and Katherine but had not asked once about Dewey and Crowie — the kittens she had given to them because her landlord threatened to evict her. Stevie stood stoically at the end of the receiving line, clutching Salina’s hand. He choked up when he saw Katherine, then quickly recovered.

  “Anything of interest?” Jake asked, finally breaking Katherine’s reverie. He set his mug down, reached up and patted Abby on the paw.

  “Chirp,” Abby cried. Lilac me-yowled loudly, requesting the same.

  “Okay, you too,” he said, patting Lilac’s paw also.

  Katherine smiled. “The usual stuff. I don’t know what this town is going to do for news once the Sam Sanders coverage dies down, but here’s something of interest. Melinda Hudson posted an apology to Lizzie. It’s short and sweet. Do you want to read it?”

  “Not really. She should have never started the rumors in the first place.”

  “She blames it on an overactive imagination and the stress of everyday life.”

  “That’s a pretty lame apology considering the fact she had the town up in arms to burn Lizzie at the stake. If I was Professor Howe, I’d sue her for slander.”

  “I guess it’s better than nothing. As long as people read it, and realize the whole witch thing was a hoax.”

  “They’ve had a month to let it soak in. I wonder what Melinda is going to do now? I heard she quit the diner.”

  “She also quit volunteering at the Rescue Center. It seems she’s taken up a new profession.”

  “What’s that?” Jake walked over and put his hand on Katherine’s shoulder.

  “She’s writing books. She’s launched a digital novel, and Margie said it’s selling like hotcakes.”

  “What’s the name of it?”

  “Book One of ‘The Romantic Adventures of a Country Witch.’”

  “You’re kidding me, right? How do you know this information?”

  “It states it right here in her apology. I’ll read it to you. ‘I wish to apologize to the town of Erie for my false accusations that Elizabeth Howe is a witch, cat hoarder, and murderer. I’m sorry I mislead so many people. Everything I said was the product of my overactive imagination. If you wish to read my new book . . . blah, blah, blah . . . you can order it online.”

  “She’ll never change.”

  “You think?” Katherine said facetiously.

  Jake shook his head. “She wrote off what she did to Lizzie like it was nothing, and then turned the apology into a sales pitch.”

  “She’s a budding entrepreneur,” Katherine said with a touch of sarcasm, then asked, “Something has been bugging me. It’s about
Nicholas. Why did he dress up like a scarecrow?”

  “So he could move about the area without being recognized.”

  “But why a scarecrow?”

  “Maybe the camouflage store was out of clothes that would fit him.”

  “Yes, he’s so thin.”

  “That’s because he had hardly anything to eat after the Baxters moved to the city. Well, Sweet Pea, that’s all the news that fits. I have a class to teach. What are you doing today?”

  “Oh, I thought I’d kick back my heels and do absolutely nothing but hang out with the cats.”

  “Sounds wonderful,” he said, reaching down and kissing her on the cheek.

  “Maybe I’ll do this for part of the day because later this afternoon Colleen and Daryl are stopping by, and after five, Stevie is dropping off Salina for the weekend.”

  “Glad to see my cousin and Colleen back together. Is Salina bringing Wolfy Joe?”

  “Of course,” Katherine laughed. “They’re joined at the hip.”

  “I’ll bring pizza. Text me later with the number of pies.”

  “Deal!”

  “Waugh,” Scout seconded.

  Jake belted out a loud Cokenberger laugh. “Scout, I won’t forget the anchovies.”

  “Raw,” Abra added with a yawn. Scout crossed her eyes and yawned too. Abra stretched over and pressed the UP arrow button on the dumbwaiter. The dumbwaiter rose slowly to the second floor. The Siamese sisters had earned a nap.

  Dear Reader . . .

  I love it when my readers write to me. If you’d like to email me about what you’d like to see in the next book, or just talk about your favorite scenes and characters, email me at: karenannegolden@gmail.com

  Thank you so much for reading my book. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. If you liked “The Cats that Broke the Spell,” I would be so thankful if you’d help others enjoy this book, too, by recommending it to your friends, family, and book clubs, and/or by writing a positive review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.

  I love to post pictures of my cats on my Facebook pages, and would enjoy learning about your pets, as well.

  Follow me @ https://www.facebook.com/karenannegolden

  Binge reading adds zero calories. The following pages describe my other books in the series. If you love mysteries with cats, don’t miss these action-packed page turners.

  Thanks again.

  Karen

  The Cats that Surfed the Web

  Book One in The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery series

  If you haven’t read the first book, The Cats that Surfed the Web, you can download the Kindle or paperback version on Amazon.

  With over five-hundred Amazon positive reviews, “The Cats that Surfed the Web,” is an action-packed, exhilarating read. When Katherine “Katz” Kendall, a career woman with cats, discovers she’s the sole heir of a huge inheritance, she can’t believe her good luck. She’s okay with the conditions in the will: Move from New York City to the small town of Erie, Indiana, live in her great aunt’s pink Victorian mansion, and take care of an Abyssinian cat. With her three Siamese cats and best friend Colleen riding shotgun, Katz leaves Manhattan to find a former housekeeper dead in the basement. There are people in the town who are furious that they didn’t get the money. But who would be greedy enough to get rid of the rightful heir to take the money and run?

  Four adventurous felines help Katz solve the crimes by mysteriously “searching” the Internet for clues. If you love cats, especially cozy cat mysteries, you’ll enjoy this series.

  The Cats that Chased the Storm

  Book Two in The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery series

  It’s early May in Erie, Indiana, and the weather has turned most foul. We find Katherine “Katz” Kendall, heiress to the Colfax fortune, living in a pink mansion, caring for her three Siamese and Abby the Abyssinian. Severe thunderstorms frighten the cats, but Scout is better than any weather app. A different storm is brewing, however, with a discovery that connects great-uncle William Colfax to the notorious gangster John Dillinger. Why is the Erie Historical Society so eager to get William’s personal papers? Is the new man in Katherine’s life a fortune hunter? Will Abra mysteriously reappear, and is Abby a magnet for danger?

  A fast-paced whodunit, the second book in “The Cats that” series involves four extraordinary felines that help Katz unravel the mysteries in her life.

  The Cats that Told a Fortune

  Book Three in The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery series

  In the land of corn mazes and covered bridge festivals, a serial killer is on the loose. Autumn in Erie, Indiana means cool days of intrigue and subterfuge. Katherine “Katz” Kendall settles into her late great aunt’s Victorian mansion with her five cats. A Halloween party at the mansion turns out to be more than Katz planned for. Meanwhile, she’s teaching her first computer training class, and a serial killer is murdering young women. Along the way, Katz and her cats uncover important clues to the identity of the killer, and find out about Erie’s local crime family . . . the hard way.

  The Cats that Played the Market

  Book Four in The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery series

  A blizzard blows into Indiana, bringing gifts, gala events, and a ghastly murder to heiress Katherine "Katz" Kendall. It's Katherine's birthday, and she gets more than she bargains for when someone evil from her past comes back to haunt her. After all hell breaks loose at the Erie Museum's opening, Katherine and her five cats unwittingly stumble upon clues that help solve a mystery. But has Scout lost her special abilities? Or will Katz find that another one of her amazing felines is a super-sleuth?

  With the cats providing clues, it's up to Katherine and her friends to piece together the murderous puzzle . . . before the town goes bust!

  The Cats that Watched the Woods

  Book Five in The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery series

  What have the extraordinary cats of millionaire Katherine “Katz” Kendall surfed up now? “Idyllic vacation cabin by a pond stocked with catfish.” It’s July in Erie, Indiana, and steamy weather fuels the tension between Katz and her fiancé, Jake. Katz rents the cabin for a private getaway, though Siamese cats, Scout and Abra, demand to go along. How does a peaceful, serene setting go south in such a hurry? Is the terrifying man in the woods real, or is he the legendary ghost of Peace Lake? It’s up to Katz and her cats to piece together the mysterious puzzle. The fifth book in the popular “The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery” series is a suspenseful, thrilling ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

  The Cats that Stalked a Ghost

  Book Six in The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery series

  If you love mysteries with cats, get ready for a thrilling, action-packed read that will keep you guessing until the very end. While Katherine and Jake are tying the knot at her pink mansion, a teen ghost has other plans, which shake their Erie, Indiana town to its core. How does a beautiful September wedding end in mistaken identity . . . and murder? What does an abandoned insane asylum have to do with a spirit that is haunting Katz? Colleen, a paranormal investigator at night and student by day, shows Katz how to communicate with ghosts. An arsonist is torching historic properties. Will the mansion be his next target? Ex-con Stevie Sanders and the Siamese play their own stalking games, but for different reasons. It’s up to Katz and her extraordinary felines to solve two mysteries: one hot, one cold. Seal-point Scout wants a new adventure fix, and litter-mate Abra fetches a major clue that puts an arsonist behind bars.

  The Cats that Stole a Million

  Book Seven in The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery series

  Millionaire Katherine, aka Katz, husband Jake and their seven cats return to the pink mansion after the explosion wreaked havoc several months earlier. Now the house has been restored, will it continue to be a murder magnet? Erie, Indiana is crime-free for the first time since heiress Katherine, aka Katz, and her cats moved into town. Everyone is at peace until domestic harmony is disrupted by an uninvited visito
r from Brooklyn. Why is Katz’s friend being tracked by a NYC mob? Meanwhile, ex-con Stevie Sanders wants to go clean, but ties to dear old Dad (Erie’s notorious crime boss) keep pulling him back. Murder, lies, and a million-dollar theft have Katz and her seven extraordinary cats working on borrowed time to unravel a mystery.

  Acknowledgements

  I wish to thank my husband, Jeff Dible, who took time out from his busy law practice to painstakingly edit the first draft of this book.

  Thank you so much, Rob. You did an incredible cover.

  Hugs to Ramona Kekstadt (and her dog Louie) for beta reading my book. Ramona has been my beta reader since “The Cats that Told a Fortune.”

  Thanks to my loyal readers, my family, and friends.

  The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery series would never be without the input from my furry friends. My husband and I have many cats, ranging in ages from four to thirteen-years-old.

  The year 2016 was a tough one for me. My sister, Linda Golden, also known as author Alexa Grace, died from a rare form of thymus cancer. She fought a courageous battle. She was truly amazing. Rest in peace, my beautiful sister. You inspired me to become a writer and you lovingly pushed me to self-publish.