“Pierre was supposed to send for you?”
“No. My husband. I asked Pierre about Roland. He didn’t know who I was. He told me Roland was engaged to a laundress. Louise.” Roland’s wife seemed to spit out her name.
“I came to America to find them.”
“I’m sorry,” Grace said.
Tatania brushed passed Clara’s legs in sympathy. Maybe she wasn’t a completely bad human. Just another human in despair. She probably needed a cat to improve her life.
“You wanted to steal the portrait and frame Roland and Louise.”
“I wanted him to know he wasn’t going to get away with just leaving me while he lives happily ever after in a mansion in Coronado.”
“We thought you were dead.”
“Only to my husband.” She looked at Grace suspiciously.
“You wanted to steal the portraits and frame him.”
“Yes, isn’t that a great pun? Framing?”
“We need to get these portraits back to Mr. Danbury,” Jack said.
“I’m here,” Henry’s voice echoed through the room.
“I’m an impatient man. Annie called,” he explained.
“Bees knees. I won’t need to figure out how to get them in the plane.”
“I’ll deal with her. Come by tomorrow. I have something for you and Grace.”
Grace suddenly felt exhausted and wanted only to be home. She put Tatania’s goggles on before her own and climbed in the passenger’s seat with the cat. She would have felt complete except one part of their family was missing.
He was there when they landed, running to them like a puppy. Tatania sighed. It was unseemly to run towards a human. But it was good to live with another cat. She nuzzled his ear when he came to a stop before Grace, putting his paws up like a baby for her to pick up.
In the entryway, they saw the portrait Pierre had left for them. Tatania paused briefly to admire herself in it. Then, she and Zeus went to the kitchen to check the cupboards for snacks.
Jack looked admiringly at the portrait.
Then he whispered in Grace’s ear, “You’re right, you’re not always going to look this beautiful to me.”
She turned away from him like a cat indicating displeasure.
“You will become more beautiful to me. Every year,” he said.
Jack was her sunlight and her stars. He popped a bottle of Moet and Chandon champagne and poured it into a Crystal Baccarat glass. The beads of her dress sparkled in the crystal.
When the cat’s away, her humans play.
Read an Excerpt from Splendid Summer
Chapter 1
When Grace saw her parents’ dead bodies, she knew the rest of her life would be a performance. That was the first truth. Before the grief, the anguish, and the crushing pain of separation, came the knowledge, her mere existence would never be enough for anyone again. She might feel happy again. But to live life, in the company of someone for whom her mere existence meant joy, wouldn’t happen. Everyone else would require a performance of beauty, intellect or wit.
Without siblings, her parents’ will provided for guardianship to pass to her Uncle Charles and Aunt Alice. Aunt Alice hated Grace’s mother. Uncle Charles acquiesced to his hostile wife’s commands that he avoid those who loved him. Estrangement ran in Grace’s family. It ran marathons.
Still, Uncle Charles had warmly welcomed Grace, and kept her in the finest boarding schools before sending her on to Finishing School in London. She’d adored London. On the ship home from England to New York, Grace dreaded parting with her best friends, Ruth and Emily.
“She’s a few dances short of a full card.” Grace mocked Aunt Alice to Ruth and Emily. At Grand Central Terminal, people slowed to look at them, a brunette, a blonde, and a redhead. They could even make men pause on their way into the Stock Exchange.
“I don’t think your Aunt Alice knows it’s the 1920s,” Emily said.
“I don’t think she even knows it’s the 20th century.” Ruth replied.
“Thanks for coming with me to the station.” Grace said.
“Bees Knees. I wouldn’t have missed it. Adored the attendant leaping to open the taxi and take your luggage. And you’re coming back to New York for my Debutante Ball,” Ruth said.
“You two couldn’t lose me if you tried. You’re like my only family.” Grace replied.
“That’s all wet. You know your Uncle Charles loves you.” Ruth reminded her.
The train whistle blew and attendants rolled out the red carpet with its proud logo, “20th CENTURY LIMITED.”
“I want to go too. I’ve heard Rudolph Valentino takes the 20th Century Limited,” Ruth said.
“You’ll be at my own Ball in California soon. And we’ll write, won’t we?”
“Yes. We’ll make a pact. We’ll write Round Robin letters.” Ruth said.
Emily nodded in agreement.
Grace, feeling very regal, strolled along the red carpet and entered the train.
She stopped at the train’s lending library and reached up for a copy of Letters of Thomas Jefferson, tripping slightly. Another hand covered her own.
“Are you alright?” A deep masculine voice asked.
She looked up and saw green eyes that mirrored her own.
“Sure. Just practicing a little gymnastics.” Like a cat, she pretended she meant to do that.
“Falling for me already?” He asked.
He smiled and she noticed the dark mustache that matched his dark hair. He looked about six foot two. The hand that still held her felt strong.
“I’m Grace,” she said shyly.
“Really? I’m Jack Brewster.”
She would have slapped him but his hand caught her wrist. And she wanted to take Letters of Thomas Jefferson with her.
“Thank you,” she said certain that everyone was staring at them, and suddenly grateful that he didn’t look like anyone who’d be at a Debutante Ball. He wore a black leather jacket over a white shirt.
“Anytime. I’m a Pinkerton Detective. I never sleep. And you’re taking the book I want.”
“Surely there’s a bedtime story for you here, Jack.”
“Miss Wentworth? Shall I show you to your suite?” The Pullman porter bowed slightly.
“Of course.” She felt grateful for the opportunity to slip away.
Her suite included a drawing room and a sleeping berth where the porter busied himself plumping pillows. Magazines filled with advertisements lay on the drawing room’s table. She picked one up. Your Face is Your Future, proclaimed the Pearl Facial Cream advertisement that promised she’d lead a wrinkle free life if she applied it nightly. And to think she’d been wasting time on French, Piano and Etiquette lessons.
She checked her appearance in the floor length mirror. Brunette bobbed hair, alabaster skin, a nose she’d been told was adorable all her life, and red lips that didn’t require lipstick. She changed into a red dress for dinner. She brushed her hair quickly, and slipped on new Mary Jane pumps hoping to get to the Dining Car and never see Jack Brewster again.
In the compartment across from her, she saw him, standing by a berth. A white cat sat against his pillows, grooming a paw.
“Do you sleep with her?’
“No, we’re just good friends.” he replied.
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Read an Excerpt from Emeralds, Diamonds, and Amethysts
Chapter 1
“You will be the most beautiful woman at the party.” Jack whispered in her ear.
Grace Wentworth looked at their reflections in the full length oak mirror. She wore a black beaded dress with matching headband and wrist purse. Jack’s hands encircled her waist.
He had a ready smile that belied his years in the Great War’s trenches. He stood behind her, six feet two inches to her five foot four, dark hair, tanned, and with green eyes you’d expect to see on a magnificent tomcat.
“Any regrets?” She asked.
“No, I’m confident you still respect me.”
“I meant about quitting your job at the Pinkerton Detective Agency,” she said. She turned around and looked at the tousled sheets.
“Never. We’re brilliant detectives.”
“If only we had a case,” Grace said.
Jack’s green eyes sparkled. The same shade as her own, it always gave her the feeling she’d known him forever when their eyes met. Through time, as if being with him had been ordained centuries ago.
“We’ll talk to the idle rich,” Grace said.
“The only ones who can take everything and turn it into nothing,” Jack said.
“It’s such a lovely event to benefit the Lishner Sanitorium. Look, here’s an ad for it in the Coronado Tent City News.” Grace read to Jack from the newspaper: “The Lischner Sanatorium for Children — homelike establishment with exclusive features for the care of the ailing, the nervous or the convalescent child. It also affords ideal accommodations for children whose parents may be in need of relief from care of strain.” She threw down the paper.
“Tatania hasn’t been eating.” Grace thought of the beautiful white cat and she appeared immediately, leaping effortlessly through the window. A beautiful white Persian, with a fluffy tail she displayed to advantage, she had a beguiling way about her coupled with a fierce loyalty to Jack.
Jack rescued her from drowning when she was a kitten. A breeder tried to drown Tatania in the ocean because she thought the deafness marred her Persian pedigree bloodline.
“It was the closest I’ve ever come to punching a woman,” Jack explained, “I haven’t seen her eating lately either. She hasn’t lost weight. Odd,” Jack noted, as the glorious cat wound her way through his legs.
Grace pulled the ostrich feather out of her headband and offered it to Tatania. The cat grabbed it with one paw, batting it around, like a proud huntress, claiming her prey.
“Lets stop at Bentley’s and get another ostrich feather.”
“She seems pretty happy with this one,” Jack said. They watched Tatania playfully leaping on it.
“I meant for me,” Grace said.
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Read an Excerpt from A Christmas Feral
“Maximum Sentence for you.” Judge Scrooge bellowed. He motioned from the bench for his bailiff to come forward and take the haggard man into custody.
The defendant flinched. His attorney didn’t look surprised but spoke quickly.
“Your Honor, it’s Christmas Eve,” the criminal defense attorney said.
“He’s getting a free Christmas dinner in custody. What’s your point?”
“We were hoping for a continuance.”
“When he’s sitting in jail, he can ask Santa Claus for a continuance.” Judge Scrooge chortled.
The haggard man tried to brush away the bailiff.
“Admonish your client to be careful. My bailiff is already trigger happy. Don’t encourage him.”
“Could you reconsider?” The attorney asked again.
“No. Keep talking and I’ll sentence you.”
The attorney waved goodbye to his client and left.
Judge Scrooge got down from the bench and walked into his chambers. His clerk followed and obsequiously waited for the Judge to speak.
“No, I don’t need your help taking my robe off.”
“I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas.”
Judge Scrooge shook his head. “Merry for the people who sponge off everyone else. It’s the most profitable time of the year. I dispense justice. Don’t ask for anything more. I don’t give presents. Nor do I care to accept any.” He explained when the clerk tried to hand him a basket.
“My wife wanted me to give you a basket of her biscuits.”
“Thank you. As you can see, I don’t miss any meals.” He patted his belly. He was neither fat nor thin. If it wasn’t for his commanding voice, manner, and position, he would probably never have been noticed in life.
“I don’t believe in coddling people. You get a salary. You get a day off for Christmas.”
“I wasn’t expecting a present. We just wanted to share this with you.”
“I don’t think sharing is healthy.” Judge Scrooge picked up his overcoat and walked past the clerk.
“Lock up behind me. And keep your biscuits. Come in early the day after Christmas. I’ll have some work for you.”
“Your Honor, we have one more case on calendar. It’s a dispute over killing stray cats in Coronado.”
“What’s there to dispute? Go ahead and kill the cats. They show up, strays, asking for a hand out. What do you think the world would come to if we could all just meow for a free meal?”
“The cats’ lawyer says that there’s an inherent right to feed cats. It’s not illegal. She wants an injunction against shooting cats. “
“I’ll set her straight.”
Judge Scrooge put his robe on again, strolled into his Courtroom, and spied the woman forever known to him as Her.
She spoke first, announcing her appearance for the record. It seemed odd to see Her again, and know that she looked the same, if not more beautiful, with a sharpness of wit that matched his own.
He decided to rule against Her.
He pointedly ignored Her and looked at the male attorney on the other side of Her.
“Your Honor, Attorney Minter’s client has brought an ill advised request for injunction against my client for properly euthanizing stray cats that wander onto his property.”
“And how are they euthanized?” Judge Scrooge asked, rubbing his beard.
“By gunshot. Counsel Minter will argue that cats have a right to stroll across any property. That cats don’t have to follow the law like the rest of us—”
“—Your Honor—”
“—Don’t interrupt.” Judge Scrooge snapped at Her.
“—Then I request an opportunity to be heard. I’d like to make my own arguments. With all due respect, my opponent doesn’t look like Clarence Darrow. While I might let Clarence Darrow make my arguments, here, I’ll make my own. This is not an euthanasia case. Healthy cats were shot in Spreckels Park. Neither the cats nor my opponent’s client own Spreckels Park. He had no more right to kill the cats than the cats to kill him.”
“They were threatening to go on my client’s property.”
“How does a cat threaten?” Attorney Minter asked.
“They were close enough to his property. The cats could have sauntered onto his property, killed a bird he wanted for dinner, and left. Without paying a thing.”
“I take it this is a Coronado property? Does your client keep birds on his property?”
“I don’t know if I’d say he keeps the birds.”
“Your Honor, I’d like to inquire if he feeds birds on his property. If he ever purchased birds for his property.”
“Counsel, if I want to know what you would inquire, I’ll probably ask.” He looked at Her like they’d never met before.
And she knew. With a sinking sensation she’d been trying to stave off since she’d entered his courtroom, she knew he’d make the wrong decision. She glanced down at her notes. She tried to rationalize away her intuition that he wouldn’t do the right thing.
“He doesn’t purchase birds. Or feed them. But if birds fly near his property, he shoots them for dinner,” Attorney Minter said.
“Cat’s pajamas. I’m going to have my servants kill birds for me. Save on my food budget. Counsel, I want to thank you for appearing here today. I’ll take it on submission.”
“Will there be a temporary injunction until the Court rules?” Attorney Minter asked, hoping for even a glimmer of judicious thought.
“No. Expect my ruling the day after Christmas. After the lazy state employees come back from their paid day off.” Judge Scrooge looked at his clerks and bailiff.
“Thank you, Your Honor.”
“May I submit my Supplemental Brief?” Attorney Minter asked.
“Of course, my bailiff will take it.”
Judge Scrooge watched the attorneys ex
it. Her hips still beckoned in a way he didn’t want to remember. He imagined her sitting at home and pining for him at night.
The bailiff handed him Attorney Minter’s brief. Judge Scrooge threw it in the trash.
“That was a most excellent idea. I’m going to start shooting birds for supper. And eliminate any cats around. They just catch birds for themselves. Self serving creatures.”
“Ugh,” Judge Scrooge said to no one in particular, leaving the courthouse, looking at Broadway Street and its derelict inhabitants. Shame we can’t just put them all in a trash can and just haul it away. He pinched his aristocratic nose between his fingers at the sight of the people he called the unwashed masses. He stumbled slightly.
“Are you ill sir?” A little boy asked.
“I will be if I’m asked to endure much more of this exorbitantly priced Christmas season. Just another excuse for emptying pockets. Get your hand away from me.” He barked at the boy.
“I was afraid you might fall. I wanted to help you.”
“Get away from me! Why do you look familiar? Are you one of the delinquents who appear in my courtroom?”
“No. I’m your cook’s son. I’m Tiny Tim. My Mama sent me downtown to shop because she’s not feeling well.”
“Hurry along then. And remind your Mama I don’t offer sick pay.” Judge Scrooge ambled by a bucket marked Salvation Army.
“Do you want to give to the poor?” The Salvation Army man asked, ringing his bell.
“I can’t stand the poor,” Judge Scrooge said.
“Do you want to help crippled and starving children?”
“I hate crippled and starving children. My mother died of small pox. My father disappeared one night after a saloon fight. My little sister didn’t have money for food for weeks at a time—”
“—I’m sorry, Sir,” The Salvation Army man said gently, placing a hand on Judge Scrooge’s shoulder.
“And I didn’t do anything for them. So why would I help crippled and starving children? Pests. If only there was an easy way to eradicate them.” Judge Scrooge said, stepping past the homeless on Broadway.
Magical Cool Cats Mysteries Boxed Set Vol 2(Books 4,5,6 & 7) Page 14