Un-Fur-tunate Events (Vanessa Abbot Cat Cozy Mystery Series Book 4)

by Nancy C. Davis

  “Could you please set the table, Pete?” Vanessa asked. “Dinner is ready.”

  Chapter 6

  Pete and Vanessa sat across from each other at the dinner table. Two candles flickered illuminating the dining room and shone in their eyes. Pete lifted his wine glass and held it aloft. “Here’s to you and the new home of the Cat Protection League. May it be a resounding success and bring you all great happiness in the years to come.”

  Vanessa beamed and raised her glass. “To Harvest Home.”

  “To Harvest Home,” he echoed.

  They drank the toast and started on the pasta.

  “This sauce is delicious,” Pete told Vanessa. “I think you missed your calling. You should have been a chef.”

  Vanessa smiled and shook her head. “I think it’s a little late in life to change careers.”

  “You wouldn’t have to change careers,” he explained. “You could just expand your ideas for the sanctuary. You could offer parties and events, and you could cater them yourself.”

  “You’re jumping a little ahead of yourself, aren’t you?” Vanessa asked. “All I did was make marinara sauce.”

  Pete twirled his noodles onto his fork. “I could never make pasta sauce from scratch.”

  “Making the sauce just takes time,” Vanessa remarked. “I am going to miss seeing you so often. The cats and I have a lot more room out here but the drive into town is a lot farther.”

  He set his fork down and studied her over the candle flames. “I don’t even think about how much farther you are from downtown. I’ll tell you what. We never had any candlelight dinners at your apartment.”

  “Things did seem to be so much more casual there,” she agreed.

  “I could just drop by the apartment anytime I wanted,” he told her. “It was cozy, but this house is so much better.”

  Vanessa raised her glass again. “To new beginnings.”

  The glasses clinked together, and they continued eating.

  At that moment, a cat meowed from the floor. Pete looked down and found Flossy sitting at his feet. “Hello.”

  She meowed again, louder this time.

  Vanessa called under the table. “Get out of here, Flossy. You know better than to beg at the table like a puppy dog.”

  “Maybe I should just give her one noodle to make her happy,” Pete suggested.

  “Don’t you dare,” Vanessa laughed. “If you give her one noodle, we’ll never get rid of her. She’ll be eating off of our plates next.”

  “Maybe she’s hungry,” Pete offered.

  “She’s not hungry,” Vanessa scoffed. “Look at her. She’s the size of a Cocker Spaniel. That cat gets plenty to eat. You can take my word on that.”

  Vanessa lifted herself up from the table. She maneuvered Amber off her lap and set her back down on the chair.

  “Look at you, you’ve got a cat on your lap at the dinner table,” Pete pointed out. “I guess you can’t blame her for wanting some of this pasta as well.”

  “Amber isn’t begging,” Vanessa told him. “Amber knows how to mind her manners. If I hadn’t stood up, you never would have known she was there. Now come on, Flossy. You had your chance, and you blew it.”

  Vanessa picked up Flossy and put her in the kitchen. She shut the door and came back to the table.

  “You could have kept her around,” Pete murmured. “The smell of this pasta is so tempting, and there’s nothing to eat for her in the kitchen.”

  “Nothing to eat?” Vanessa objected. “There’s five bowls of cat food on the floor, but she always seems to be more interested in what I’m eating.”

  Pete suppressed a grin and bent over his food. Vanessa picked up Amber off her seat and let the cat settle on her lap. Amber curled up and fell asleep.

  Chapter 7

  As Vanessa exited the Casper Crossing Police station, she glanced over and noticed Flossy jumping through the station’s hedges.

  “Hello, Vanessa.” Andrea shouted.

  Vanessa glanced over towards Andrea as she walked across the parking lot. Behind her, Frank and Sabrina stepped out of his silver Mercedes.

  “Good morning, Andrea.” Vanessa called out.

  “Detective Wheeler made you drive all the way out here too?” Andrea asked.

  Frank passed by Vanessa without a word, and stepped into the station.

  “Now that the police are investigating Jerry’s death as a murder, I had to make an official witness statement,” Vanessa explained.

  “I hope they will resolve this quickly,” Andrea remarked.

  “Me too. I still can’t believe that it happened at the sanctuary,” Vanessa lamented.

  “Please say hello to AngelPie for me,” Andrea smiled and waved goodbye.

  “I will,” Vanessa replied.

  Vanessa picked up Flossy who had been chasing a bird outside the police station. She walked to her car and noticed Sabrina still leaning against the Mercedes texting on her phone.

  “You just let them roam around without you?” Sabrina snickered as she looked up at Vanessa.

  “They are responsible, and I hate the thought of leaving them in a hot car,” Vanessa proclaimed as she approached her station wagon which had Teddy sprawled out on the roof.

  “Why don’t you just leave them at home,” Sabrina retorted.

  “Because they want to come with me. They enjoy coming out to town as much as I do. I used to live right around the corner above the Opportunity Shop. This was practically their backyard,” Vanessa explained.

  Sabrina rolled her eyes and went back to typing on her phone.

  “I’m sorry to hear about your boyfriend,” Vanessa offered.

  “What do you mean? What do you know about him?” Sabrina snapped.

  Flossy jumped out of Vanessa arms and raced around the Mercedes.

  “Andrea told me about him. I hear you take such good care of him at the hospital,” Vanessa explained. “I hope his condition isn’t too serious?”

  Sabrina looked down. “Thank you, but I don’t want to talk about it with you.”

  Flossy jumped up and pounced on Sabrina’s white purse, which had been placed on the hood. The purse’s contents spilt out across the pavement. Sabrina shrieked.

  “Oh, I am so sorry,” Vanessa cried out. “Flossy is very playful and sometimes her instincts take over.”

  Sabrina stooped down and started to collect the assortment of items. Vanessa reached down and gathered old credit card receipts together. Before Vanessa could react, Flossy batted at her hands sending the receipts into the air.

  “I guess you were right,” Sabrina smiled then started to laugh. “A cat’s instincts are well ingrained.”

  Vanessa’s faced flushed red. “Yes, she is rambunctious.”

  “I needed a laugh. It’s been stressful taking care of Peter. That’s my boyfriend’s name. The foundation has also demanded a lot more of my time since Jerry’s death,” Sabrina conceded. Vanessa handed an old tube of lip-gloss to Sabrina, which was the last of the scattered items.

  “I have heard Jerry was an important part of the foundation,” Vanessa remarked.

  “We have been working hard to fill his absence,” Sabrina asserted. “After the long days at the foundation, I visit the hospital and stay most of the night. Sometimes, I even sleep there. I used to be a head nurse before Frank and Andrea hired me. It’s difficult to hand over the responsibility of Peter’s care to the nurses I use to manage. Are you married, Vanessa?”

  Vanessa spotted Flossy’s tail sticking out from underneath the station wagon. “No. I am seeing someone but we are not that serious.”

  “They need you in here!” Frank Morton shouted from the entrance of the police station.

  “I really should be going,” Sabrina stressed as she rushed to the entrance.

  Vanessa stepped into her car and rolled down the windows. Flossy and Teddy leapt inside and settled in the backseat.

  Frank held the door open for Sabrina as she passed by him. He hovered
for a moment and furrowed his brow as he stared out at Vanessa. She waved to him but Frank turned his back and walked inside.

  Chapter 8

  “Alright, so, I need ten cans of salmon, fifteen cans of chicken and fourteen cans of whitefish,” Vanessa announced to the car. “Have I forgotten anything?”

  Vanessa pulled the station wagon into the parking lot of Casper Crossing market.

  Flossy licked her paws and dabbed at her ears. Teddy lifted his head from his curled up position in the rear seat.

  “I have plenty of dry food. Don’t worry,” Vanessa affirmed. “Please don’t wander off too far from the car.”

  Vanessa looked in her rear view mirror and noticed Flossy pounce on something in the backseat.

  “Yes Flossy, I know I haven’t cleaned the car in awhile,” Vanessa confessed.

  In the rearview mirror, a blue BMW pulled into a spot across from Vanessa. Steve Weaver stepped out and headed to the Market.

  “I can’t believe Steve shops here too. I wonder if we’ve ever passed each other shopping at the market,” Vanessa remarked.

  Teddy lifted himself from the seat and arched his back.

  “That’s a good idea, Teddy. I’ll wait for him by the checkout line. I do have a few questions for him.”

  Flossy and Teddy jumped onto the roof of the station wagon, as Vanessa entered the market. She rushed to collect the cans of cat food and headed to the checkout line. She pretended to be interested in a magazine while waiting for Steve.

  “I have been looking for you,” A woman called out to Vanessa.

  Vanessa peered up from the magazine to see a woman in a black suit approach her.

  “Vanessa, I have received a lot of interest in renting your old place,” the woman stated with a large, almost forced grin.

  Vanessa recognized the woman as Julie McLeod. Vanessa had hired the realtor to help her find the cat sanctuary.

  “Good afternoon, Julie. I still haven’t finished moving my boxes into the new house,” Vanessa remarked. “I am in no rush to rent out the Opportunity Shop or the apartment.”

  Vanessa scanned the market but didn’t see Steve Weaver shopping. She returned her attention to Julie.

  “I have this one couple who have been looking for an apartment downtown. They are sweet newlyweds. He is a teacher and she is a waitress,” Julie continued. “They both think the schools are great in this area.”

  Vanessa looked over Julie’s shoulder to see if she could spot Steve. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m not ready.”

  “I understand feeling sentimental about the old place. I have another man who is looking to start a candlestick shop. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful addition to downtown?”

  “Give me your card, and I will let you know,” Vanessa conceded.

  “Don’t wait too long, or you will end up sitting on the place for months,” Julie warned. “Bye for now.”

  Julie gave an exaggerated wave goodbye. Vanessa nodded and returned to the magazine.

  After flipping through several articles about the latest diet trends, Vanessa was relieved to see Steve approach with a full cart. Vanessa maneuvered herself behind Steve as he set his groceries on the conveyor belt.

  “Nice to see you again, Steve,” Vanessa proclaimed.

  Steve tilted his head. “Have we met before?”

  “Only briefly, you stopped by my cat sanctuary with your foundation,” Vanessa explained.

  “Yes, how could I be so forgetful?” Steve apologized.

  Vanessa looked down at the items that moved along the conveyor belt. “Do you cook your own meals? I don’t see any frozen food.”

  Steve smiled. “Yes, I’ve been cooking for years. I’m not a chef, but I do know how to make a lot of meals from scratch.”

  “Did you ever work at a restaurant?” Vanessa asked.

  “No, I wish. Before I was hired at the foundation, I was an assistant accountant at the hospital where Frank and Andrea worked,” Steve revealed. “I barely made ends meet back then. I couldn’t even afford takeout, and found I was pretty good at making my own meals. I didn’t have the ingredients I can afford now, but my dishes were palatable.”

  Vanessa started stacking her cans of cat food behind Steve’s groceries. “Most of my culinary skills involve me opening cans for my cats.”

  Steve laughed. “I only cook meals for myself.”

  “Didn’t you make the sandwiches for the foundation’s picnic?” Vanessa offered.

  “Yes, if it were up to them, we would be eating out of a vending machine.” Steve quipped.

  “Does the foundation take a lot of excursions like the picnic?”

  Steve stiffened at the question. “Not until recently.”

  “The foundation must be doing quite well to be able to take a break from the office. How does the foundation make its money?” Vanessa asked.

  Steve looked to the cashier who was taking her time scanning his items. “We are a non-profit foundation. We receive donations from supporters across the country.”

  “Are any of the supporters also patients?”

  A line of customers started to form behind Vanessa. Steve gave the cashier a sour glance and began to bag his own groceries. “Our foundation has saved thousands of lives throughout the years. We are highly respected.”

  “Jerry seemed like he wouldn’t agree with you,” Vanessa implied.

  Steve clenched his teeth as he placed his final items into a grocery bag and handed his money to the cashier. He grasped the handle of his cart of groceries and walked out without another word.

  The cashier gave Vanessa a sympathetic grin as she ran the multitude of cat food.

  As the doors of the market slid open, Vanessa was startled to find Teddy resting comfortably on top of the BMW’s roof. Steve was gently petting Teddy who was enjoying the attention.

  “Is he one of your cats?” Steve inquired as he watched Vanessa approach.

  “Yes, one of the naughty ones,” Vanessa joked. “Do you have any cats at home?”

  “No,” Steve replied. “Usually, I am pretty particular about my BMW, but this cat is really enjoying himself.”

  Teddy rolled over. Steve smiled and rubbed the cat’s exposed belly.

  “His name is Teddy,” Vanessa added.

  Steve gently picked up Teddy and walked with Vanessa as she carried her bags of groceries over to her car.

  “Jerry was not liked by everyone at the foundation. He didn’t get along with most people,” Steve acknowledged. “Jerry wouldn’t let us forget that without him the foundation wouldn’t function.”

  “Why would he be so irreplaceable?” Vanessa asked.

  Steve set the cat down onto the pavement. “Why are you so interested in Jerry?”

  “This is the first time someone was murdered at my home. I am curious to find out more about him,” Vanessa explained.

  “He was integral to our work. Jerry maintained our patient list because of his experience working with hospitals. I took him for granted sometimes. We really didn’t get along.”

  “Jerry did seem furious with you at the picnic,” Vanessa remarked. “Was he asking for more money?”

  “That is none of your business!” Steve shouted as he marched back to his BMW.

  Flossy appeared from the bushes and jumped through the backseat window. Vanessa stepped into the station wagon. She looked down at Teddy who was settled in the front seat. “Teddy, that was clever of you to keep Steve busy while I finished up at the checkout line. I wouldn’t have gotten any more information out of him without you.”

  Teddy yawned and curled up for the ride home.

  Chapter 9

  A big yellow school bus hissed to a stop in front of the Harvest Home Cat Sanctuary. Dozens of children poured through the door and set off for the woods at a dead run. Their teacher called to them to come back and get into a line to be counted off, but they paid her no attention. They ran for every cat in sight with screams of delight, and the cats headed for the basem
ent.

  Only Aurora raced around the yard as fast as the children. She never stood still long enough to engage with any of them, but their presence electrified her beyond any experience she had before. Vanessa smiled at the scene from the porch.