The Cats that Stopped the Magic

by Karen Anne Golden

  The PI corrected. “He didn’t know all the facts until he called Harry.”

  Katherine said, “I’m trying to put all the pieces together. There’s more to the story, right?”

  “Yes, there is. Roland was thrilled that Duchess was okay. When he asked the magician if he could come and see her, Harry declined and said he didn’t have the cat, someone else did.”

  “Is this why Roland hired you? To find me?” Katherine asked.

  “Well, yes and no. Roland hired me to find out where Duchess was.”

  “Okay, I’m sorry I interrupted, please go on.”

  “Getting back to this phone conversation, Harry told Roland that he was being charged with insurance fraud because when Abra was stolen, he’d filed a claim for a large sum of money. But, four years later, when he got the Siamese back, he failed to notify the insurance company.”

  Jake piped in. “Oh, I get it. The nurse’s letter would help the magician prove his innocence.”

  “Roland agreed to testify in court, if Harry would give him Duchess’s new owner’s name and address. Harry said he’d do better than that, he’d get the cat back.”

  “Unbelievable,” Katherine said, disgusted. “Harry doesn’t stand a chance. I’ll hire the best attorney money can buy. I’ll fight this.”

  “Let me continue,” the PI said. “Harry said he’d get the cat back and sell it to Roland for thirty-thousand dollars.”

  Jake said, disgusted, “What a worthless jerk!”

  “When my client refused, Harry reluctantly gave Roland your name and address. And, this is how I found you.”

  “But Harry doesn’t know my address here. This is my guest house. How did you know to find me here?”

  “When I checked in at the Erie Hotel and casually inquired about you, the front desk person told me.”

  “Small town,” Jake said, not amused.

  Katherine asked, “You found me. Now what? Does Roland want Abra?”

  “Although as much as he loves Duchess, he said it would be difficult for him to take her to his home in France. Roland wants to be assured that Abra’s owners are fit to keep her.”

  “Fit to keep her,” Jake mocked. “Abra lives the life of Riley.”

  “My client doesn’t know this.”

  “If he wants to know about us, he can Google our names on the Internet,” Katherine said. “He’ll find out that we’re good people and not cat thieves.”

  “My wife has been the benefactor of dozens of charities in this town, including the new Erie Animal Rescue Center. I think that Roland would find that we are ‘fit’ cat parents,” Jake said strongly.

  “Yes, from what you’ve told me, it sounds like you are,” the PI said, getting up. “There is one thing he asked me to do, if it’s okay with you. He wants a picture of Abra in her new home.”

  “Give me your client’s email address,” Katherine said. “I’ll send him one.”

  “Actually, he wanted me to take the pic and text it to him today.”

  Katherine thought fast on her feet. She didn’t want the PI to know Abra was at the vet, in case he wanted to go there and try and take her. She didn’t trust him. “Not possible,” she answered. “I don’t allow strangers in my home, especially around my cats.”

  “Understood,” he said, reaching into his breast pocket. He removed a business card. “This is Roland’s home address and his email address. Also, here’s his cell phone number. He’d be so appreciative if you would send him a photo. He loved Duchess, I mean Abra, very much. Thank you for your time,” the PI said, stepping off the front porch and heading to his car.

  Once the PI pulled away, Katherine asked Jake, “Why were you so abrupt with that man?”

  “What do you mean?” he said, getting up.

  “I mean, in the beginning, I thought you were going to come unglued and throw the man off the porch.”

  Jake held his hand out and helped Katherine out of the swing. “Sweet Pea, I’m an old-fashioned kind of a guy. As your husband, it’s my job to protect you.”

  “Protect me? I’m perfectly able to protect myself,” Katherine countered.

  “Katz, since I’ve known you, and I hesitate to say this, you’ve been a magnet for criminals.”

  “Unfortunately, this is true,” she agreed.

  “Besides, ever since we brought Abra home from Chicago, my gut instinct told me we hadn’t heard the last from Harry DeSutter. Either he was going to show up and want Abra back, or he’d take us to court to get her back.”

  “I’ve always thought that, too,” she sighed. “Later, I’m going to call my attorney and set up a time to talk to him about this.”

  “Good idea.”

  “In the meantime, I bet our kids wonder why we sat on the porch so long.” She walked over to the front door, turned the key in the lock, and opened it. Five hungry felines were on the other side, and demanded to be fed ASAP.

  “Back! Back!” she said, pushing her shoe through the door’s opening. “Get back from the door.”

  Katherine walked in with Jake right behind her.

  “I’ll feed them,” he said, walking toward the kitchen.

  Lilac, Abby, Iris, Dewey and Crowie flew after him. A very sad Scout stayed behind. Katherine picked her up. “Abra is okay. We’re going to go get her later. Do you want to come with us when we pick her up?”

  Scout leaped from Katherine’s arms, dashed to the front door, and cried a loud yowl.

  Katherine’s phone rang. She reached in her purse and brought out her cell. She was surprised to see the vet’s name on top of the screen. She answered, “Dr. Sonny, is everything okay?”

  “Everything is fine. I’m ruling out epilepsy, but I now think Abra had an anxiety attack. I’ve given her a mild sedative, and would like to send her home with a prescription of the same.”

  “A prescription?” Katherine asked.

  “I’ve prescribed just enough pills for the rest of this week. Then, I want to see her again.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ve given Abra fluids, so she’s good to go.”

  Katherine could hear Abra shrieking in the background. “I don’t think your sedative is working. She’s having a royal cat fit, right?”

  “That sums it up completely,” he agreed.

  “Thanks so much. We’ll be right there,” she said, hanging up.

  Jake came back into the room. “Who was that?”

  “Dr. Sonny. He said we can pick up Abra now.”

  “So much for observation. Let me guess. Abra is screaming her head off.”

  Katherine giggled.

  “Okay, I’ll get the carrier.”

  Katherine said to Scout, “Abra needs you to calm her down.”

  Scout, still positioned in front of the door, stood up on her hind legs and jiggled the door handle with her front paws. “Waugh,” which sounded like ‘hurry up.’”

  “I take that as a yes.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  A Week Later

  Katherine sat down cross-legged on the wood floor in the living room of the guest house. She extracted items from her purse and lined them up on the floor. Seven inquisitive felines gathered around her to check out what she was doing. The collective yowls of the cats were deafening. “Inside voices, please,” she said over the din.

  “I give up,” she said, turning the purse upside-down and dumping the rest of the contents out. Not finding what she wanted, she accused, “Okay, which one of you stole my keys?”

  “Waugh,” Scout cried, nuzzling Katherine with her jaw, exposing one fang.

  “Magic cat, you look innocent enough. I can scratch you off the suspect list.”

  Abra, with her pencil-thin tail held straight up in the air, trotted over and head-butted Scout. She looked at Katherine with crossed eyes.

  “Glad to see you’re feeling better. You look innocent enough, too.”

  “Raw,” Abra answered.

  “But, what about you other scoundrels? Which one of y
ou stole my keys?”

  “Yowl,” Iris demurred.

  “Was it you, Miss Siam? What about you, Queen of the Nile?” she asked the Abyssinian.

  Abby darted out of the room, and returned with a shiny object dangling from her mouth. She straddled the key ring like a spider, dropped it, then picked it up in her jaws. She headed to her favorite wingback chair to add the latest prize to her stash.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” Katherine said, intercepting the thief. She picked Abby up, but the cat refused to let go of the keys.

  “Drop it.”

  Abby clamped down harder.

  “Now.” Katherine massaged Abby’s lower jaw. Finally, the Abyssinian acquiesced and dropped the keys. They fell to the floor with a loud clink.

  “Chirp,” Abby cried, disappointed.

  Iris pounced on them and swiftly batted them under the television console.

  Katherine put Abby down, and chased after Iris. “I’ll fix you, my pretty.” She caught the Siamese, picked her up and gave her a kiss on top of her head. Setting the cat down, she kneeled down on her hands and knees and fished underneath the console. Finding the keys, she got up.

  Jake walked into the room. “What’s going on in here?”

  “Just another feline theft bust,” Katherine laughed.

  “Wish I’d had my camera.”

  “To take a picture of Abby?”

  “No, of Scout and Abra. When I walked in, they looked like gorgeous show cats.”

  “Let’s not mention the word ‘show,’” Katherine reminded.

  The mail carrier stepped on the front porch and pushed several letters through the mail slot. The cats ran to the pile. Dewey and Crowie pounced on an envelope while Iris bit it with her fangs. Scout and Abra padded over and wrestled the envelope away from the trio.

  Abra grasped the letter in her jaw and brought it over to Katherine. She dropped it, then blinked an eye kiss.

  “Good girl,” Katherine praised.

  “Must be important,” Jake said. “Who’s it from?”

  “There’s no return address.”

  “Open it. The suspense is killing me.”

  Katherine opened the envelope and removed a single, folded sheet of paper. A check fell out and twirled to the floor. Scout sprang over and stepped on it to keep the other cats from running off with it.

  “What do you have there?” Jake asked Scout.

  Scout pushed the check in Jake’s direction. Jake picked it up. His eyes widened in shocked disbelief.

  Katherine moved next to him and looked over his shoulder. “Oh, my. It’s a check from Roland Lincoln.”

  Abra cried a raw that sounded happy.

  Jake asked, “Did you see the amount?”

  “Wow, thirty-thousand dollars.”

  “Is it a bribe?” Jake asked suspiciously.

  “A bribe? What are you talking about?”

  “Money to induce you to give Abra back.”

  Katherine scanned the letter. “Heavens no, he’s donating the money to our rescue center. How kind of him. He said that we don’t need to thank him, but he’d be pleased if we put a plaque on the wall with his deceased wife’s name on it.”

  “I’ve forgotten her name,” Jake said guiltily.

  “Her name was Olivia.”

  “Raw,” Abra agreed.

  “I’ve got a super idea,” Katherine said with a broad smile. “Lizzie and Nicholas want to add a room at their Cat Sanctuary for intakes. I’m giving them this money, so they can do that.”

  “You’re precious,” Jake said affectionately. “You can put Olivia’s plaque there.”

  “Exactly, but I was thinking we could have Roland send us a really good picture of Olivia and Duchess. I’ll have it framed, and hang it in that room.”

  “And, maybe a sign at the front door: Duchess welcomes you.”

  “I love it!”

  Jake pulled out his cell phone from his back pocket. “Speaking of Roland, let’s send him another picture of Abra. This time with Scout in it.”

  Katherine sat back down on the floor. “Scout. Abra. Come to mommy.” She patted the floor. The sisters walked over with their tails intertwined. Katherine pulled them into a hug.

  Jake took the picture. “Perfect,” he said.

  The other cats joined Katherine on the floor. Jake snapped a second picture and laughed. “Let’s send that one too.”

  “There’s something else he mentioned in the letter. He said we never have to worry about ‘you know who,’” she said, talking in code, so Abra wouldn’t hear Harry DeSutter’s name again.

  “Are you referring to the magician? Personally, I’d like to make him disappear.”

  Katherine laughed. “Apparently, Mr. Jerk signed some kind of legal release that he would not pursue getting Abra back. In a few days, we’ll be getting a copy from Roland’s attorney.”

  “Katz, that’s a good name for him. Are you relieved that it’s over?”

  Katherine sighed. “I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.”

  “In that case, you’ll have room for dinner,” Jake joked.

  “I said my shoulders, not my stomach, but I’m likin’ your idea.”

  “Erie Hotel? Prime rib? Say about six o’clock?”

  “My mouth is watering.”

  The cats began to yowl loudly.

  Jake asked the cats, “Who wants lunch?”

  The cats yowled even louder.

  “Last cat to the kitchen is a rotten egg,” Jake kidded. The cats thundered out of the room.

  Katherine jumped up and joined them. “Looks like you’re the rotten egg,” she called to Jake.

  Jake ran in, grabbed her in a hug. “I love you, Sweet Pea.”

  Katherine took Jake’s face in her hands and kissed him on the nose. “I love you, too.”

  The End

  Coming later this year . . .

  The Cats that Walked the Haunted Beach

  Book Ten in The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery series is in the process of being written.

  Katherine’s best friend Colleen and Jake’s cousin Daryl are finally tying the knot. Daryl wants a large wedding in Erie; Colleen prefers a small one in Manhattan. The couple can’t agree on which kind it’s going to be. Katz and Jake are caught in the middle. Meanwhile, Stevie’s big news is out of left field and has everyone at the diner talking. Katz votes for a time-out and proposes a girls’ retreat to a bed & breakfast close to the Indiana Dunes. Back in NYC, Colleen’s mum is in a tizzy because she’s found a vacation cabin with shoreline access to Lake Michigan. Against Katz’s better judgment, she agrees with Mum’s plan — only on one condition: she’s bringing Scout and Abra, who become very upset when she’s away from them. With the Siamese in tow, Katherine and Colleen head to the Dunes to find that Mum’s weekend retreat is far from ideal. Mysterious events start happening from the beginning, culminating with a murder on the beach. It’s up to Katz and her extraordinary Siamese to solve the case.

  Dear Reader . . .

  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 Stopped the Magic,” I would be so thankful if you’d help others enjoy this book, by writing a positive review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Please recommend it to your friends, family, and book clubs.

  I love it when my readers write to me. I try to answer all emails within twenty-four hours. If you’d like to talk to me about what you’d like to see in the next book, or comment about your favorite scenes and characters, email me at: karenannegolden@gmail.com

  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.