"Guess you've never had the pleasure of coming between him and his food before," I said.
"Making a note to never do it again, that's for sure. Where is your purse food? You're a cat mom now, you should have snacks."
"Purse snacks?" Azure transmitted.
"Hey, you shh," I said to Aubrey. "You're going to give him bad ideas."
"Oh my gosh," Aubrey said. "That would be hilarious. Too bad he's a cat. No worries of understanding my words."
Skylar and I laughed hard enough for Aubrey to give us a strange look, and I quickly cleared my throat glancing at Skylar. We needed a topic change quick.
"I meant to tell you sooner," Skylar said. "I finished a metal sculpture for your wall. It's got the Aconite Cafe logo worked into it, and everything."
"Aww," I said. "That's so sweet of you. You didn't have to do that."
"No, but I wanted to," Skylar said. "You've been so great to me, it's like we're family."
I stopped and gave her a quick hug. Normally I would not want to be all touchy feely. Maybe it was the lack of sleep from the weekend?
"Ever since I found out that Jason made space-scapes, I decided I want to turn the walls into a makeshift gallery," I explained. "If I can help the local artists sell more artwork to the tourists that come flocking into town, then I would feel accomplished. I don't know why Aunt Tona never did it. She loved the local artists."
"Artists are drama," Aubrey pointed out.
I thought back to Ben. She was right, but it was still worth it. Just look at Jason wanting to go to art school, and not being able to afford it. If I could help one person a year go to school, it was worth dealing with the drama from the likes of Ben.
"I think it's worth it," I said.
"Totally. It's a great way to help the community."
"It will add a touch of spice to the walls," Aubrey said. "Seeing the art change out over the months would be awesome."
"Great," I said. "It's settled then."
As we turned the corner, Aubrey groaned.
The cat food vendor's room was at the end of a hall with three doors on the right wall, and one door in the middle of the left wall. I assumed the door on the left went into the room behind the stage. There were so many people with cats that the line to get samples was backed up out the door and looping toward us on the left wall. When we joined the line, we leaned against the door to the ballroom.
"Your salmon better be worth the wait," I transmitted to Azure.
"If you hadn't taken so much time at the coffee bar, we wouldn't be waiting so long."
"Or the line would have been even longer."
We each transmitted our laughter to the other. Neither of us were known for patience, and lines were the worst kind of wait!
CHAPTER SIX
Sunday, May 17th, 11:00 AM
After waiting ten minutes we were inside the room and only a few spots away from free samples. The efficiency of the sales team was impressive. They knew full well the line was only interested in treats and set the room up to flow accordingly. People came in the door of the square room and hugged the left wall until it reached a table that spanned the back of the room.
Once there, they had a ramp set up for the cats to access a carpeted platform across the front of the table. Each cat could get hand-fed and be a part of the conversation with the salespeople.
After receiving goodies, owners could travel down the table to talk to salespeople about purchases or turn and leave with ease. On the right side of the room, they had a wall display set up with the various flavors and styles of food available. Along with a feeding guide to keeping any fluff ball fed, healthy, and happy.
On our first day at the show, Skylar and I giggled at the stats we calculated from the charts. Our cats topped the charts on calories eaten per day, but sat right in the perfect section when it came to weight and size. Benefits of being a cat-dragon.
Azure was practically giddy at the prospect of receiving his salmon treat. He kept rubbing his body against my legs in a figure-eight pattern. As were most of the unleashed cats in line.
Having never owned a cat before, it delighted me to see that Azure's weird cat quirks were common amongst the species. The glamour each dragon used fully embodied the breed they were displaying including temperament.
Aubrey rattled on, while surveying the room for new cat breeds to admire. Now that she was in much closer proximity to them, she could make out differences in characteristics—though she did not know many breed names yet. She was like a kid in a candy store.
I took a drink of my coffee and shuffled forward with the line.
It would weird me out if she became a cat lady and ended up wanting to join our tribe. How would I let her down softly? Hopefully Azure already developed contingency plans for that sort of thing. This could not be the first time a protector had a best friend that was not one.
"And what is his name?" John asked from behind the food table.
"Azure," I said. "Azure can you say please may I have a salmon treat?"
"I'll end you, woman," he transmitted.
"You're the one that wants the treats."
"Meow," Azure said. "Meow, meow."
He sat up straight as if being judged for gold. I giggled at how adorable he became when presented with food. From his sleek black coat and fluffy tail wrapping around his feet, to his eyes dilating into large black discs, and an adorable pout, it was too much to take in.
"What a well-trained boy." John handed me the small plastic cup of treats.
"Thank you."
As I turned to step away from the table, tribe Borama caught my attention. One of the eight members was speaking with a salesperson at the end of the table while the rest mingled behind her. Azure mentioned they were from the southwest region of Texas. With them being the group of ladies laughing about the missing trophies, they were on the top of my list of suspects, with big bold letters: ARROGANT.
"Stop spacing out!" Azure transmitted.
Instead of leaving the table, I moved forward in line to speak to a salesperson. Now would be as good of time as any to fake interest in purchasing, if it meant getting a lead. Could it be as easy as talking to one tribe? Never happened that way in the books, but it was at least worth a shot.
"Those are the ladies that were laughing," I whispered as the girls came up behind me.
I set the cup down on the platform for Azure to help himself to his treats. Skylar followed my lead for Shadow. I hoped it would keep him busy long enough for me to think of how best to approach Isabel.
"Oh yeah," Skylar said. "Isabel is great fun. Walks around like she owns the place and has a bit of a mean side. You think they did it?"
"Why else would they have laughed?" Aubrey asked.
"My thoughts exactly! How should we approach them?"
We tried not to be obvious as we watched their tribe mingle between the sales table and the closest of two circular displays in the middle of the room. A few of the ladies examined the variety of food trays and containers.
The display closer to the treat line held a big box to submit contact information for a shot at winning a complete set of bowls and storage containers, along with a year's supply of food. Azure had already insisted on me entering to win him all the salmon he could eat.
Aubrey headed over to the supplies without a word. Hopefully, she had a plan, because she stood out like an unroasted bean. Not only did she not have a cat with her, but she was also approaching women with bat pinned nametags, without one herself.
She walked right up to the table without a hint of caution, snuggled in next to Isabel, and picked up the closest dish to examine it.
We giggled at the startled look on Isabel's face. She was clearly not used to people stepping into her bubble.
"Are you here for the competition?" Isabel asked, with an air of snobbery. She might as well of said, "Who the tea do you think you are?"
"My friend has a cat in the show." Aubrey continued to show no signs of c
are regarding Isabel's tone and demeanor.
"Who's your friend?"
"I am," I said, stepping over to flank Aubrey.
So much for flying under the radar and letting her handle it. But staying back and watching the interaction gave me too much anxiety. Someone needed to bring Isabel down a peg. Did she have the trophy room to match the attitude? I doubted it.
Isabel looked at me, and then to Azure, and her demeanor instantly changed. "How do you think you'll do?" she asked with a smile.
Must be her dragon that gives her the ego boost. I internally rolled my eyes, like there was anything to be boasting about with dragon ownership. It was not like we could fly them or anything. Just moody cats with wings.
"I heard that," Azure transmitted.
"Good," I transmitted back. He was the epitome of mood.
I pretended to be interested in the products on the table to help my next line feel more nonchalant. It might fail, but it was better than looking Isabel in the eye. My only tones were deadpan and sarcastic.
"Well enough," I said. "Real shame about the trophies going missing though."
"Eh," Isabel said. "I'm not too concerned."
"It's not like they are valuable," Carmen said over Isabel's shoulder. "Just aluminum vases. Nothing to lose sleep over."
"Guess that's true," Aubrey said.
"Anything like this ever happened before?" I asked. "It's my first year."
"Nah," she said. "If stuff like this happened more often, we would bring our families. It was hilarious. Did you see the look on Linda's face?"
A few of the surrounding ladies giggled. They lost interest in the table and instead focused on our conversation.
Were they playing dumb, or did she really think it was funny? Either way, I had news for them. It was not funny at all, just childish and extremely annoying. Some of us had better things to do with our Sunday afternoon.
"No," I said. "I was focused on the fact the trophies had just been stolen."
"I've been coming for three years, and I've known nothing like this to happen," Skylar said, coming over to stand next to us. "There's been a few cat fights, but that's the worst of it."
"They'll turn up," Isabel said. "Who's going to keep cat trophies?"
"Someone mad about not winning," I pointed out.
"It could really be them," Azure transmitted. "They're always coming in last. Probably jealous of the rest of us and wanted to 'teach' us a lesson."
"Oh yeah," I transmitted. "Steal a trophy, that'll show everyone who is better than the rest."
If it ended up that someone stole them just to make a point of cat shows being lame, I would be so tea-ing mad. They had better get more than a slap on the wrist for keeping us here with their ridiculous antics.
"If it involves a dragon, it won't go unnoticed with the council," Azure transmitted. "This weekend I have learned that the more coffee you have, the less likely you are to broadcast your thoughts."
"Har, har," I transmitted. "I could say the same for you regarding your mood and your salmon."
He went silent after that revelation. Thank the bean. Sometimes having a voice outside of my own in my head—while trying to hold a conversation—was taxing to say the least.
"We've got no paw in this competition," Isabel said, and Aubrey chuckled at the pun. "It's a cheap vacation for us, and we love to watch the show drama unfold. But with the theft of the trophies, this year takes the fish for being the best show yet."
"Better than the soap operas we watch during the week," one of the other ladies behind Isabel said. I could not make out her nametag.
"I'll buy that excuse. It would also explain why they've never won," Azure transmitted. "I've never seen them try. Always assumed it was because they knew they were so bad, but I guess it could be that they don't care. Their dragons are usually playing around throughout the competition and are often flagged with minor penalties like not being still. Disappointing that they don't even try."
"Is it really that surprising that someone wouldn't care about the cat show?" I transmitted.
Azure went silent again.
Honestly.
He was about to get on my last nerve with this mood of his.
"We all carpooled here together from Sonora." Isabel gave Aubrey a side look while talking directly to me.
At least I was not alone in finding it hard to hide our dragon protector activities from Aubrey.
"That's a long drive," Skylar said.
"Not too bad since we can take turns driving. It's an all-day trip to get here," Isabel said. "Are you coming back next year?"
"I think so. Azure is really into the show. Plus, it will be fun to keep my great aunt's legacy alive."
"I guess I'll see you again then," Isabel said.
I realized their tribe mate from the sales table had finished up her conversation and joined ours. They started filing out of the Pure Balance room and Isabel gave me one last smile before joining her tribe.
"Excuse me," Aubrey said. "But what breed is your cat?"
"Korat."
"Darn. I've already got that one," Aubrey said, tapping on her phone. "Guess I am not getting the characteristics down as well as I thought."
"She's trying to discover as many breeds as possible while she's here today," I explained as Isabel gave Aubrey a looked that said, "Get away from me crazy woman."
I turned to gather up Azure from the cat platform only to discover he learned that if he continued to look adorable, the salespeople would feed him as many treats as he could stomach. In the time it had taken to wrap up our goodbyes, he had snacked his way through an entire platter.
"He's got a real affinity for these," Kara said, showing me the bag that displayed Shrimp.
"Just what I need, my cat, to develop a more refined palate," I laughed. "He's obsessed with salmon. I can't imagine what it'll cost to fill his shrimp cravings."
Kara laughed, unaware of just how much Azure could eat, which caused me to laugh harder.
It surprised me that no dragon had invented their own brand of cat food yet.
"Or have we?" Azure transmitted as he nuzzled his head into my stomach while purring obnoxiously loud. No doubt in an effort to get me to order him a year's supply of shrimp treats.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Sunday, May 17th, 11:30 AM
"Please enter your name and address in the fields." Kara turned the tablet around for me.
"You are worse than William's mom with the kids," Aubrey laughed.
"Oh, he's going to earn this," I said. "Azure is going to be a good boy and not claw at the furniture. Otherwise, he is getting liver."
"Not funny in the slightest," Azure transmitted, while bumping his head against my leg and meowing. "As Rune's Leader, I think I deserve fresh salmon. You're lucky I will settle for canned."
Aubrey leaned down to pet behind his ear and said, "Aw, you are going to be a good fluff ball, aren't you?"
"You're making the right choice in subscribing," Skylar said. "Shadow goes through a box a month plus has to switch to other flavors, though he slows down his consumption when it's not salmon. Saves me having to stock up when I am in town."
Kara's eyes widened at the amount Shadow ate, but did not verbalize her shock. I was thankful she let it go. How would we explain the logistics of the amount eaten, versus his current weight, to a cat food expert?
"No kidding, not that going to the store is a hassle for us," I said. "But at this price, it's a great deal."
"Absolutely," Kara said. "We also offer larger single or second deliveries each month if you are interested?"
"No," I said. "Maybe next year if he really enjoys eating nothing but salmon. Something tells me his obsession will diminish once he can eat it all the time."
"No problem," Kara said. "You can adjust your subscription at any time. Buying the year package only locks in the price. Just log into your account and you'll be able to change flavors and adjust deliveries."
"Even better," I sai
d.
"If he's anything like my children, he'll eat it every day with no request for variety," Aubrey said.
"Totally," Skylar said. "They're little better than children."
We all laughed together as I entered my credit card info. No truer words had ever been spoken.
"All done," Kara said. "You'll get your first box in seven to ten days, and the order of treats will come around the same time."
"Thank you," I said and led the way out of the Pure Balance vendor room before I spent more money.
"Now that he's taken care of, I need to eat," I said.
"Yes, please," Aubrey said.
I picked my coffee cup up off the table. "All this waiting is making me hungry."
"What about the cats though?" Aubrey asked.
"Oh, they prepared for the cats at the hotel," I explained. "They provide little bowls for them while we eat."
"That's so cute," Aubrey said. "It's like they're people."
"Keeps them from being naughty kitties anyway," Skylar said. "I can only imagine the dining room with hangry cats knocking cups off tables."
We giggled at the thought, even though I knew dragons were more civilized than the average house cat.
"Lunch at the buffet?" I asked.
"Sure," Skylar said. "The food has been better than last year."
"That's fine with me," Aubrey said.
"I'll say," I said, "I was expecting way less quality when you guys told me the hotel was providing a buffet throughout the weekend. Glad you're okay with it since we can't leave to a restaurant as we'd planned."
"Such a shame this has turned into an all-day event," Aubrey said. "I haven't seen either of those officers around since leaving the ballroom."
"Yeah, they weren't in the lobby either time we've been through here," I said, trying to look around for them. "I'd love to know what their plan is."
"For real," Skylar said. "Speaking of, I guess we need to make a suspect list of our own."
"Yup, guess so," I said.
The dining room entrance was on the right side of the lobby, past the restrooms, through a small hall. We walked past the other two vendor rooms toward the hallway. Usually, they offered a full restaurant with waiters, but for the conference, they brought in a buffet bar for the attendees. The show reserved the entire hotel, so there was no one here aside from competitors and spectators—apparently, people come to the cat show as fans year after year. They were getting their show this year!
Purrfect Roast: A Dragon Cozy Mystery Page 5
