by Molly Fitz
He’s given his old device to the president of his fan club, a raccoon who lives under our front porch. His name is Pringle, and he’s a pretty all right guy most of the time. Octo-Cat definitely enjoys having a fanboy to support every single decision he makes, including his regular criticism of me.
It’s true. Octo-Cat complains a lot, but I also know he loves me tons. That’s why I’m planning a special evening to celebrate our petaversary. I’m not sure he remembers, but after tonight he will.
I can’t wait to see the look on his little kitty face when he sees what I have planned for him. Let the games begin!
It wasn’t easy hiding my party preparation from Octo-Cat, but so far he hadn’t managed to catch on. Rather than cooking something myself, I asked Nan to pick up some grilled shrimp and lobster rolls from the Little Dog Diner in Misty Cove. It’s a bit of a drive, but worth every mile.
Nan would be returning any minute, which meant it was time for me to wake the guest of honor. I found him sleeping in his five o’clock sunspot on the western side of the house. “Wakey, wakey!” I cried in a sing-song voice he loathed.
“Angela,” he groaned, “haven’t you ever heard that you should let sleeping cats lie?”
“I’m pretty sure the expression is—you know what? It doesn’t matter. C’mon, I have a surprise for you.”
Whoa, close one. I almost used the word dog in a sentence. That little slipup would have ruined our whole night, but I caught myself just in time.
“A surprise?” he asked, yawning so wide that his whiskers overlapped in front of his nose. “What is it?”
“You’ll see. C’mon.” I patted my leg and motioned for him to follow.
But he sat his butt back down on the hardwood floor and flicked his tail. “Tell me, or I’m not coming,” he demanded.
“Octo-Cat, can’t you just—Ugh, fine. Today marks one year since we first met. Do you remember that day?”
“So you mean it’s been one year and one day since Ethel died?” he asked, raising his eyebrows and staring me down.
Oh, I didn’t think of that. I hoped he wouldn’t be too sad to celebrate.
“I’m just giving you a hard time,” he said with a cruel laugh, trotting over as he shook his head. “Happy anniversary, Angela. I’m glad you’re my human.”
Footsteps sounded on the porch. I hadn’t even heard Nan pull up, but now she was here, and we could officially begin our little party. I’d asked my boyfriend, Charles, to wait a couple hours before he turned up, since he and Octo-Cat didn’t get along particularly well as of late.
I secretly loved that my cat was jealous of my boyfriend but hoped that he’d eventually get over it.
“Nan?” I called when Octo-Cat and I reached the bottom of the stairs, but she still hadn’t entered. Padding over to the door, I twisted the knob and—
A wagging ball of black fur pounced into the house.
“I’m here! I’m home! Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Oh, boy!” the little dog cried, then immediately squatted and peed on the welcome mat.
I turned to Octo-Cat who stood on the last stair with his back arched and his tail at full-blown puffball status. “Angela, what is this?” he screamed, unwittingly drawing the dog’s attention over to him.
“A cat! A cat! Oh, boy! Oh, boy! Oh, boy!” The dog, who upon closer examination appeared to be a Chihuahua, bounded right up to Octo-Cat and pressed his nose to the cat’s butt.
Octo-Cat hissed, growled, swiped with his claws, and sent the little dog shrieking away.
Yipe! Yipe! Yipe!
“What’s all this commotion?” Nan asked, charging into the house, spotting the little black dog and scooping the poor, whimpering baby into her arms. “Okay, fess up. Who hurt my Paisley?”
“Nan…” I pinched the bridge of my nose to stave off the rapidly building headache. “Why is there a dog in our house?”
“This is Paisley. Yes, she is,” Nan cooed in a baby voice, and the Chihuahua licked her cheek, the horrible scary cat and the pain he’d inflicted apparently forgotten. “She lives here now.”
“Oh, heck no!” Octo-Cat shouted from his spot on the stairs. “I thought we were celebrating me tonight, not taking a visit to the ninth circle of hell!”
“Nan,” I said trying to make peace before everyone lost their cool. “We can’t have a dog here. Octo-Cat hates dogs.”
“Hatesssssss,” Octo-Cat hissed, then growled again.
“He hates me?” the shivering, little dog asked. “He doesn’t even know me. I’m Paisley, and I’m a good girl.”
Nan continued to talk in a goochie-goo voice, keeping her eyes glued to the mostly black tri-color Chihuahua in her arms. “Well, I saw this little girl at the shelter and right away she stole my heart. What was I supposed to do?”
She looked up and narrowed her eyes on me. “Was I supposed to let her stay in that cage all by herself? Or, Heaven forbid, let them put her down when the shelter got too full?” She covered Paisley’s oversized ears and frowned at me.
“No, I mean…” I sputtered. “No, of course you couldn’t do that.” Ack, I was such a softie.
“Octavius is just going to have to get used to his new housemate, because I’m not taking her back,” Nan said in a way that made it more than clear that this topic was not up for discussion. “C’mon, baby, let’s go outside and meet the forest creatures.”
Once Nan and Paisley were safely outside, I searched around for Octo-Cat so I could both explain and apologize on Nan’s behalf.
But he was nowhere to be found.
Crud, he was never going to forgive me for this one.
Pre-order to save! CHIHUAHUA CONSPIRACY is just $2.99 until it releases on August 29.
Get your copy here!
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What’s After That?
Lately my life has seemed pretty perfect—great house, great gig as my own boss, great new boyfriend, and the world’s most awesome talking cat. Turns out I shouldn’t have let my guard down…
Even though my private investigation firm is brand new, I’ve already got some not-so-friendly competition, and it’s coming from the sticky-fingered raccoon who lives under my front porch. I have no doubt he’s robbing his clients, since he’s stealing from mine, too.
Things go from irritating to downright dangerous when he swipes a little trinket from my attic, one that suggests dark secrets and spells big trouble for my beloved Nan.
I need to learn more, but that’s not going to be easy since the person of interest lives under the same roof. Can I trust this raccoon racketeer with something so dear? Unfortunately, I haven’t got any other options.
Pre-order to save! Raccoon Racketeer is just $2.99 until it releases on September 25.
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More from Blueberry Bay
Welcome to Blueberry Bay, a scenic region of Maine peppered with quaint small towns and home to a shocking number of mysteries. If you loved this book, then make sure to check out its sister series from other talented Cozy Mystery authors…
Pet Whisperer P.I.
By Molly Fitz
Glendale is home to Blueberry Bay’s first ever talking cat detective. Along with his ragtag gang of human and animal helpers, Octo-Cat is determined to save the day… so long as it doesn’t interfere with his schedule. Start with book one, Kitty Confidential, which is now available to buy or borrow! Visit www.MollyMysteries.com for more.
Little Dog Diner
By Emmie Lyn
Misty Cove boasts the best lobster rolls in all of Blueberry Bay. There’s another thing that’s always on the menu, too. Murder! Dani and her little terrier, Pip, have a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time… which often lands them smack in the middle of a fresh, new murder mystery and in the crosshairs of one cunning criminal after the next. Start with book one, Mixing Up Murder, which is now available to buy or borrow! Visit www.EmmieLynBooks.com for more
.
Shelf Indulgence
By S.E. Babin
Dewdrop Springs is home to Tattered Pages, a popular bookshop with an internet cafe, a grumpy Persian cat named Poppy, and some of the most suspicious characters you’ll ever meet. And poor Dakota Adair has just inherited it all. She’ll need to make peace with her new cat and use all her book smarts to catch a killer or she might be the next to wind up dead in the stacks. Book one, Hardback Homicide, will be coming soon. Keep an eye on www.QuirkyCozy.com for more.
Haunted Housekeeping
By R.A. Muth
Cooper's Cove is home to Blueberry Bay's premier estate cleaning service. Tori and Hazel, the ill-fated proprietors of Bubbles and Troubles, are prepared to uncover a few skeletons. But when a real one turns up, they'll have to solve the mystery quickly if they're going to save their reputations—and their lives. Book one, The Squeaky Clean Skeleton, will be coming soon. Keep an eye on www.QuirkyCozy.com for more.
The Kindergarten Coven
By F.M. Storm
Quiet, secluded, and most importantly, far away from his annoying magical family, Guy couldn’t wait to start a new life on Caraway Island. Unfortunately, he hadn’t counted on his four-year-old daughter coming into her own witchy powers early… or on her accidentally murdering one of the PTO moms. Oops! Book one, Stay-at-Home Sorcery, will be coming soon. Keep an eye on www.QuirkyCozy.com for more.
ABOUT MOLLY FITZ
While USA Today bestselling author Molly Fitz can't technically talk to animals, she and her doggie best friend, Sky Princess, have deep and very animated conversations as they navigate their days. Add to that, five more dogs, a snarky feline, comedian husband, and diva daughter, and you can pretty much imagine how life looks at the Casa de Fitz.
Molly lives in a house on a high hill in the Michigan woods and occasionally ventures out for good food, great coffee, or to meet new animal friends.
Writing her quirky, cozy animal mysteries is pretty much a dream come true, but sometimes she also goes by the name Melissa Storm (also a USA Today bestselling author, yay!) and writes a very different kind of story.
Learn more, grab the free app, or sign up for her newsletter at www.MollyMysteries.com!
MORE FROM MOLLY
If you’re ready to dive right in to more Pet Whisperer P.I., then you can even order the other books right now by clicking below:
Kitty Confidential
Terrier Transgressions
Hairless Harassment
Dog-Eared Delinquent
The Cat Caper
Chihuahua Conspiracy
Raccoon Racketeer
Pet Whisperer P.I. Books 1-3
Six Merry Little Murders
CONNECT WITH MOLLY
Sign up for Molly’s newsletter for book updates and cat pics: mollymysteries.com/subscribe
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