Purrfect Roast: A Dragon Cozy Mystery

by Verena DeLuca

  Tea.

  I needed more time. I was not avoiding them per se, I just would have preferred to be the last person they spoke with so I could have a better feel for who they were suspecting. Maybe even offer up the culprit myself. Not that I was any closer to figuring out who took the trophies.

  "Excuse me, ladies," the male officer called waving us over to him and his partner.

  "Uh-oh," Aubrey said.

  "It'll be fine," I said. "It's not like we are guilty or have anything to hide."

  "Speak for yourself," Skylar said, causing us all to laugh as we walked up to the officers.

  "Oh really," I said, "And I thought we were friends! If you were going to pull off a heist, it'd be nice to at least be given the option to be involved."

  "Put me down," Azure transmitted.

  I ignored his request. Acknowledging him only seemed to make him more restless. Hopefully, the officers had something to add to our investigation that would distract Azure long enough to forget about the catnip.

  "Doubtful," Azure transmitted. "Thinking about ignoring me, while you ignore me is only going to make your punishment worse."

  "I am terrified," I transmitted in a deadpan tone. "Please don't punish me. Whatever will I do with you mad at me."

  "So rude," Aubrey whispered as I cleared my throat to control my own laughter at the situation. "I want to take part in a heist!"

  "Shh," Skylar said. She too was attempting to plaster on a straight face.

  We stopped in front of the officers, and I knew they were aware of our presence, but they took their time acknowledging it. Instead, they flipped through their notes and whispered to each other. I cleared my throat again, but it was no use.

  Thanks for making it awkward officers. We would be glad to stand here until it is convenient for you. Could have at least let us reach the cafe first.

  Based on how they were standing prior to us walking over to them, they seemed to be purposely avoiding all nonsense, and had not glanced behind us at the vendor halls, keeping a drone-like decorum. Did they think they were going to get sucked into another investigation? Maybe they were not cat people? Either way, their behavior toward this case was probably the whole reason we were still stuck in the hotel in the first place.

  "Hello ladies. I'm Officer Spencer," the male officer finally said, then he pointed to his partner. "This is my partner Officer Branson."

  He did not offer to shake hands, nor did his tone sound welcoming. I was thankful for the lack of touching but could have done without the disinterest. Did they not teach officers how to fake it in the academy?

  "What are y'all's names?" Officer Branson asked.

  They both looked to be young, and it would not have surprised me if they were fresh out of school. No wonder they drew the short stick in coming here. Why send someone experienced when all that is missing is cat show trophies. I internally rolled my eyes but tried to keep my best customer service smile plastered on my face as she stepped forward with a clipboard and highlighter.

  "Hailey Morton," I said.

  She flipped through a few pages, found my name on the list of attendees, and highlighted it.

  "Skylar Cooper."

  The officer flipped back to the front of the pages and highlighted another name.

  "Aubrey Brooks."

  After reading through the first page of names, she made eye contact with Aubrey for the first time and asked, "Were you a contestant? You're not on my list."

  "Oh, no," Aubrey said with a giggle. "I don't own a cat. I just came for the show."

  Officer Spencer stood unfazed by the response, but his partner raised her eyebrow. As if coming to a cat show for fun was the strangest thing on the planet.

  "She came here to see Azure," I said, not trying to hide my annoyance with their behavior. "She's my guest."

  "What time did you arrive?" Officer Spencer asked, ignoring my statement completely.

  "It would have been around seven thirty or eight," Aubrey said.

  "Can anyone vouch for you this morning?" Officer Branson asked.

  "My husband," Aubrey said. "Sheriff William Brooks."

  Yes! Put them in their place. Like the one person who does not own a cat would steal trophies. Are they even trying to investigate?

  "Blocking!" Azure transmitted and struggled again to get out of my arms.

  "Oh no you don't mister," I said aloud, cuddling him in closer to my body.

  The officers looked at each other, and then look back at us, and Officer Spencer said, "What county, if you don't mind me asking."

  "Burnet," Aubrey said, and crossed her arms.

  Both officers relaxed at this revelation, and Officer Spencer smiled at Aubrey, as if he was finally among friends. Apparently, she should have worn an officer's wife shirt from the word go. I tried my best to not roll my eyes as he continued talking to her.

  "If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions about this morning. I don't want to keep you, but I need to speak with everyone, you know procedure and all."

  "No problem at all," Aubrey said.

  I refrained from giving her a high-five. Her ability to keep a blank face and look down at the officer was impressive. He must have felt her indifference to his authority because he cleared his throat before continuing.

  "Where were you ladies between the hours of six and nine this morning?"

  "As soon as I arrived, I met Hailey at the elevator," Aubrey said. "Then we had coffee in the cafe, and went into the ballroom around eight thirty."

  "I woke up at about seven forty-five, dressed, and came down the elevator to meet Aubrey," I said.

  "I ate breakfast with the rest of our hill country group at around seven thirty, then we all went into the ballroom before eight thirty."

  He flipped through his notes. "Oh yes, here's your name. You're with the ladies from Marble Falls?"

  "Yes," Skylar said.

  "Everything looks to be in order," Officer Spencer said. "Thank you, ladies, for your time."

  He went to turn away, but his partner elbowed him and shot him a look. He rolled his eyes and opened his notebook back up.

  "During the time you were in the lobby and the ballroom today, did you witness anything suspicious?" Officer Branson asked.

  "No," we all chimed at various intervals.

  There was no point telling the police about our suspicions. We had no proof and would only make us look more guilty having investigated other people if we started pointing fingers now.

  "Very well," Officer Branson said. "If you see anything, let us know."

  "Totally," Skylar said. "About how much longer this will take?"

  "It will take as long as it takes," Officer Spencer said.

  "Okay," I said. "Well, thank you for your efforts."

  I shuffled Azure around again and tried to readjust myself into a better position to carry his weight, but it was no use. Looking around the room, it was clear that many cat parents were having the same issue.

  He gave me a nod, and it left me wondering if he realized how sarcastic I was being.

  "It was great to meet you, Mrs. Brookes," Officer Spencer said, reaching out to shake her hand.

  "You too," Aubrey said. "I bet this is the strangest case you've worked, huh?"

  "I had no idea cat shows were a thing," Officer Spencer said. "Nothing like what I expected from seeing a dog show, but everyone's got their kinks."

  His partner began to say something, but instead chuckled and shook her head.

  "Y'all just stay in the hotel," Officer Spencer said. "We'll have this done as soon as possible."

  They both turned and went back to their post against the windows, and we headed straight for the cafe on the far side of the hotel.

  "Well over half the names have been highlighted," Azure transmitted.

  "That's a good sign, right?" I transmitted.

  "There were notes next to a few of the people, but I wasn't able to make out what it said."

  "Yeah, cop
s and doctors," I transmitted. "Handwriting isn't really a top priority for them."

  "His notes were more illegible than hers," he transmitted with a chuckle.

  "I'm still not putting you down," I transmitted.

  He grumbled and buried his face into my side.

  "Were y'all able to read any of their notes?" I asked.

  "Nope," Skylar said. "Didn't seem like they had any leads anyway. Good thing we had Aubrey with us."

  I laughed. "Who would have thought, we would need the Sheriff's wife with us today of all days."

  "You can keep me on retainer for as little as a hundred dollars a day." Aubrey laughed.

  "I hope that's not the friend rate," I said.

  "Oh right," Aubrey said. "I'll be by your side for free coffee."

  "Perfect," I said with a wink and walked up to the counter to order. "Three large, blended lattes please."

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Sunday, May 17th, 4:15pm

  After receiving our drink order we found the table furthest away from the baristas, and other cat owners because Aubrey wanted to go over the facts of the case. Shadow and Azure both agreed to sleep under the table, and not race back to the vendor room as long as we agreed not to get the leashes.

  I watched them sleep, pondering over everything that happened, as Aubrey and Skylar discussed random contestants in the lobby, trying to work through who to talk to next. At least the people watching was entertaining. So many of the owners were still trying to wrangle their cats away from the cat's playroom with little luck. The culprit could be anyone, even hotel staff. They could be long gone by now, and the police were keeping us trapped here for no reason.

  Why, when it was clear to me that we would not be solving it? At this point, I was only interested in wasting time until either they discovered the culprit, or they let us leave the hotel. I took a long drink of my latte and relaxed into the coffee, filling my body with warmth.

  "Earth to Hailey," Aubrey said, waving her hand in front of my face.

  "Huh?" I asked.

  "Don't space out yet." Aubrey giggled. "We still have a crime to solve."

  I laughed and rolled my eyes. "We aren't catching anyone."

  "We totally are!" Skylar said.

  "Are you ready to admit it was you?" I asked, in my best deadpan tone.

  "Hardly," she said and took a long sip of her own latte as if she was guilty.

  "Come on y'all," Aubrey said. "Let's go over the clues."

  "Oh right, I forgot about all the clues we found." I rolled my eyes again.

  "We found clues," Aubrey said.

  Her voice trailed off like she was attempting to think up some, but I knew it was a lost cause. Doing the investigation had been fun, but I was ready to get out of this hotel, and on with our lives.

  "Well, we made discoveries anyway," she said. "We know where at least four groups of ladies were between six and nine this morning. That's something."

  "You mean hypothetically, we know," Skylar said. "But we don't actually know. All of these groups have so many people in them, there is no way to know that someone wasn't acting alone."

  "Good point," Aubrey said.

  Her frown was adorably tragic. I knew she ate this mystery stuff up, but she needed to come to her senses. We would not be the ones to break the case open.

  "I wonder how long they are going to keep us here." I took another drink while looking around at the other guests. "I'm starting to wonder if they can legally hold us."

  "The first people to leave will look the guiltiest." Aubrey shifted in her seat as she followed my lead in taking a long drink of coffee.

  "Totally." Skylar picked her cup up.

  Do people feel the need to touch their drink when they see someone else do it? I should test it out . . . how many times could I make them pick up their cups? Oh my tea, stop it Hailey. Focus on the conversation.

  "I'm surprised no one has thrown a fit yet," I said. "Some of these ladies traveled pretty far to get here. I'd be so mad if I had a five-hour drive ahead of me."

  "No kidding," Aubrey said.

  "Oh look," Skylar said. "The staff finally found a vacuum."

  "Took them long enough," Aubrey said.

  We all looked over to the hall that held the vendor rooms and watched as more cats raced out of the room as soon as the vacuum turned on.

  "I guess that's one way to clear out a room." I changed from my usual deadpan to an announcer voice and continued, "Come to the cat show, it will be fun and traumatizing."

  The girls laughed, and I could not help but giggle at my own joke. This weekend was getting to be too much. I would be quite all right with skipping the next show or never coming again really. All the people, cats, and socializing were just a bit more than my introverted self could tolerate.

  "So glad we made it out of there," Aubrey said.

  "Totally," Skylar said.

  We sat in silence watching the mess of cats and people disperse throughout the lobby. Most of them headed for the ballroom, as it was the only enclosed space that allowed for owners and cats to recoup from the ordeal.

  "What should we do now?" I asked.

  "Well," Aubrey said. "There is one more vendor room we could check out."

  "Brave, are we?" I giggled.

  "How bad could it be?" Aubrey asked. "The vacuum chased off most of the ruckus."

  "Good point," Skylar said.

  She bent down and scooped up Shadow, who stretched out in her arms then curled back up to continue sleeping.

  "Guess he isn't dying to discover the excitement that is cat litter," Aubrey said with a giggle.

  "He's missing out. I'm already filled with excitement," I said. "With a name like Pretty Litter, cat litter has never looked so appealing."

  The girls laughed as I reached down and scratched Azure down his back, then his belly as he stretched out.

  "Don't be alarmed," he transmitted. "But I think your friends are laughing at you."

  "Nope," I transmitted. "They're laughing at the dirt all over your fur."

  As soon as I thought it, he jumped up and had a spaz attack with his fur. Licking a small patch, then turning in a circle, and licking a bit of fur again. This overzealous cleaning routine went on for a full minute before he calmed down enough to realize I had been joking. Though, with his antics, the girls were now actually laughing at him as it was hilarious to watch him spaz about trying to get each spot clean.

  "Getting me while I'm half asleep," he transmitted. "Clever girl."

  I scooped him off the floor and cuddled my face into his fur as he tried to push me back with his paws.

  "Like you haven't taken the same opportunity."

  "Touche," he transmitted and settled into my arms.

  "Is the fluff ball ready for litter?" Aubrey asked.

  "Oh yeah," I said, leading them to the coffee display outside the ballroom. "He's thrilled."

  "Can hardly contain my excitement," Azure transmitted.

  Aubrey scratched his ears. "Don't worry bud, everyone poops."

  "Shhh," I said. "He doesn't know that yet."

  Aubrey gave me a look of shock, then laughed and said, "Sometimes I forget he's a cat with how you treat him. Such a baby."

  I set my cup under the dispenser and Aubrey flipped the lever for me, so I did not have to set Azure down. I let out a little cheer as the cup filled. "Teamwork, makes the dreams work."

  As soon as the first word came out of my mouth, Aubrey joined in with me to recite it. We fell into giggles. Having someone that could read your mind, and knew all your jokes, made life better. Skylar laughed and rolled her eyes at us as she filled up her own cup.

  "You ready for litter fun, my fluffy baby," I said aloud as I cuddled Azure in deeper as we walked away from the table.

  "You are officially on notice," he transmitted back.

  To his dismay, it only made me cuddle him harder.

  We made our way back to the vendor hall to find it mostly deserted.

/>   Thank the bean.

  "Oh," Aubrey said as we entered the room. "It's crystals."

  The room was set up like the rest, with a table spanning the back wall, and displays in the center to browse. They had a sample box set up on one display with a scoop and fake poop clumps to play with the product.

  Gross.

  This room had to be a blast when filled with cat owners. I rolled my eyes and picked up a card off the table.

  "This litter tells you if your cat is sick," I read aloud.

  "Fascinating," Aubrey said. "How does it do that?"

  "Says the crystals can detect it in the urine."

  "Sounds too good to be true," Skylar said.

  "No kidding," I said.

  "Well come on over here and let me show you ladies," a salesperson behind the table said to us.

  I looked around the room in hopes he was talking to some other ladies making fun of the cat litter, but it was pointless, we were still the only people in the room. I gave Aubrey and Skylar a look and walked over to the back table. It could not hurt to hear the guy out, since it would have been a little weird to say no while holding cats.

  He pulled a litter box out from under the table and set it down. This would not end well, but it was too late to turn back, so I let out a sigh and prepared for the inevitably awkward conversation. At least he was wearing a name tag. They should be mandatory in life. Would that be strange if everyone wore nametags? It would calm my anxiety down, anyway.

  Deep breath, Hailey.

  "You are so weird," Azure transmitted.

  "Shh," I transmitted.

  "Did you ladies try out the complimentary litter in your rooms this weekend?" Bryce asked.

  I shook myself out of my thoughts as Skylar beat me to answering, "No, Shadow is toilet trained."

  Duh.

  That was totally a cat thing. I mentally gave her a high-five and answered the same.

  "Oh," Bryce said. "So fascinating that so many cats this year are toilet trained. Must be the new thing to teach them."

  We all gave an awkward giggle, and I focused on scratching Azure's ears to not have to make eye contact with Bryce.

  He cleared his throat and tried a different pitch. "Well, a few of the toilet trained cats were able to go in the box here, so if you want to try, feel free to drop either of your babies in the box, and let's see if we can get them to go."