by Harper Lin
It made me furious. I swept faster, determined to get all the invisible dust pookies off the floor before they could develop into a real dust pookie. This wasn’t right. I stepped into a dress and heels and all of a sudden I was worth taking a longer look at? Who did Detective Samberg think he was? So it was true that if I were more high maintenance, I would be more to his liking? What kind of a sick puppy liked women like that?
The truth was that I was a jeans-and-T-shirt kind of gal. I liked my hair pulled back, and sure, I loved to be pampered and wear lipstick and smell good all the time, but life had a way of preventing me from getting those things sometimes. Plus, who could throw away more than thirty dollars every two weeks on fake nails? I sure couldn’t.
“I’ll be right back,” I heard Darla say as she stood up from the counter, thrust her chest out, and sucked her stomach in, making her backside curve. If she’d tried to shake it any more as she walked to the ladies’ room, there would have been damage to our furniture.
Before she had the door closed, Blake was up and at my side.
“Hi, Cath,” he said in his no-nonsense, just-the-facts-ma’am kind of way.
I looked up at him and folded my arms, not uttering a word.
“You look really nice. Do you have plans tonight?”
“No. I’m going home to do the laundry. What do you wear when you clean?” Okay, childish, yes, I knew. But his date was in the bathroom, and here he was only willing to talk to me when it was safe. Was he really that much of a wimp?
My thoughts kept spinning like a wheel, and not a match, not a lucky number, nothing was coming up that I could grab hold of and form into a coherent thought to speak.
Plus, as much as I wanted to just tell him off, he looked really nice too. He was wearing one of my favorite gray suits with spit-polished dark-brown wingtips. Something about the gray and brown colors together really looked classy.
He smelled really good, too, like he had just stepped out of the shower after using a nice, clean-smelling soap. Nothing fancy. His hair was slightly mussed from the little bit of breeze that kicked up every so often outside.
Without provocation, I imagined him in a flannel shirt and blue jeans with a day’s worth of stubble on his face and thought I might just faint at the sight of such a rugged, handsome man. Then I remembered what he’d said, and it felt like my heart had been pierced.
“Why would you get dressed up to do your laundry?” he asked. I couldn’t tell if he was just baiting me or if he really was that dumb.
Shaking my head, I just went back to sweeping.
“Can I talk to you for just a minute, Cath?”
“I don’t really think that is a good idea.”
He stood there for a second. The words were obviously taking a little longer to sink in.
“It’s important.”
“Your date is going to come out of the bathroom any minute,” I said seriously. “I’m not sure if she’s told you anything about me, but I’ll give you fair warning she isn’t going to be happy seeing you chatting me up. You may not want Darla Castellano on your bad side.”
“I really need to talk to you. Can we meet somewhere, or maybe I could stop by your house?”
“Are you serious?” The words came out like laughter, but my expression held no joy. “After all the things you said to me in my hotel room?”
“What?”
“After making it very clear that you not only think I’m crazy but my whole family is crazy, now you actually think I’d let you into my home? Why would I ever do that?”
“Hotel room?”
“Yes, hotel room. At the spa? Don’t play stupid with me.” I took a deep breath and felt my eyes begin to sting with tears of anger. “If you want to forget everything, that is up to you. But one day you’re going to remember what happened in that Prestwick house, and then you’re going to wish you had been nicer to me.”
“I do remember what happened there. That is what I’d like to talk to you about.”
“Since when?” My voice was raised but not enough to cause anyone to look at us.
“Since right after it happened.”
“You are full of it, because you told me in my hotel room that…”
“What are you talking about, Cath? I was never in your hotel room.”
Someone Like You
I stopped my arms from flailing and lowered my own voice as my eyes scrutinized every syllable that came out of Blake’s mouth.
“You were. You came in and said…people who believed in witchcraft or anything like that should be locked up.”
Blake stood there looking dopey and confused.
“You said that even Jake would back you up on this. That nothing happened at the Prestwick house.”
“Cath, I’m telling you the truth that I don’t even know what room you were staying in. I didn’t see you anytime except when we were all standing outside and the fire trucks and ambulances had showed up and one time when you were talking with Jake.”
I swallowed and stared into his eyes.
“I was never in your room, Cath. Never once.”
I wanted to tell him I must have had a horrible dream. But it had been so real. He was there. He flipped through that little booklet of his. He had the same condescending way about him. I talked to him and told him to get out of my room when he insulted my family and me.
Was I losing my mind?
“If you weren’t in my room, then who was? Someone was there, someone who looked and talked and acted just like you. No. You’re trying to fool me now. Is this something you and Darla cooked up between the two of you? Wow. Mensa should be chasing you two geniuses down.”
“Darla? She’s got nothing to do with this.”
“Sure.” I nodded, feeling my blood boil and pound in my ears. Two weeks ago, I probably would have collapsed under the weight of the depressing situation of Blake and Darla. But even if it was tearing me up inside, I was not going to let him know it.
“Look, I don’t know what you experienced at that place other than getting your nails done, but it wasn’t just your normal spa.”
“That’s right. You don’t know what I experienced there.” The image of the astral spider clinging to my back pushed tears to my eyes. I bit my tongue. I didn’t want to risk ruining the makeup I had so carefully applied.
“Cath, I had to investigate the suicide of two sisters. That was bad enough. But other things happened there, and all I kept thinking about was where you were.”
“I had nothing to do with those sisters or anything else that happened.”
“Of course you didn’t. But you are the only one who might understand.”
I stood there pursing my eyebrows, so I looked mad. All I really wanted to do was take his hand and hold it in mine. Wasn’t that silly? With all of the mysteries and creepy-crawlies and monsters under the bed, all I wanted to do was hold Blake’s hand.
He looked toward the back where Darla had walked to the restroom then took a small step closer to me. He was so handsome and strong that my head was swirling like a kid told to pick one while they stand in front of a counter loaded with dozens of different candies.
“I wanted to tell you thank you.”
I heard what Blake said but again couldn’t look at him.
“For what?” I swallowed, but my mouth was dry. What could he possibly have to say to me now?
“For saving my life.”
I wanted to cry.
“I can’t explain anything that I saw there that night in Prestwick. I don’t have the words. But I remember what you did. I saw it and…I felt it.”
What was he getting at? Did he want to say something else? I felt myself leaning closer to him, but I couldn’t look up from the floor. I didn’t trust that I wouldn’t make a fool of myself right there in front of everybody.
“Thank you, Cath. I would have died if you hadn’t been there.”
Why couldn’t he have stayed a jerk? Why couldn’t he have actually said those mean
things in the hotel room and made this easier on me?
“Cath, I need someone to talk…”
The bells over the door caught my attention, making me peek around Blake’s broad shoulders. I wasn’t sure if my heart leapt or collapsed inside my chest.
“Hi!” I said, sounding more excited than I really was.
Officer Tom Warner stood in the door wearing a brown blazer, a clean, crisp button-down shirt, blue jeans, and cowboy boots. He was holding a bouquet. He looked amazing.
Like a real gentleman, he walked up to Bea and Aunt Astrid and shook their hands before turning to me.
“You look beautiful,” he said, shaking his head and offering me the flowers.
I smiled and inhaled deeply. They were red roses with little bits of baby’s breath and lovely green ferns.
“Wow. These are beautiful. I don’t think I’ve gotten flowers since my high school prom,” I joked nervously. I sounded like a dork. This was worse than awkward.
“Here, let me put those in water. We’ll keep them at the café if that’s okay?” Bea offered, and I nodded, handing her the pretty flowers.
“I’m ready to go,” came the shrill, condescending voice of Darla, back from powdering her nose or sharpening her claws or whatever she had been doing. She stopped, and without looking, I could feel her sizing up Officer Warner. Blake wouldn’t be enough now that she saw I was with Tom. However, I didn’t hear Blake answer her or make a move.
“Officer, I almost didn’t recognize you out of your uniform. You clean up real nice,” Aunt Astrid said, trying to keep the levity up in the room.
“Well, thank you, ma’am,” Tom replied politely. “I wanted to make a good impression.” His eyes twinkled and his dimples made their appearance, making me blush all over the place. I had to be as red as the dress I was wearing.
“I think you’ve accomplished that,” Aunt Astrid continued, unashamed that she was embarrassing me.
“We better get going,” I said, in a hurry to get out of the café for a whole host of reasons. “Heaven only knows what my aunt will say next. She’s been drinking all afternoon. Don’t listen to her.”
Tom laughed out loud, said good evening to Bea and Aunt Astrid, and offered me his arm as he escorted me out the door. I looked back to see Blake was still just standing there. What was I doing? Did I want to go out on this date? Should I apologize and just run back and tell Blake he could talk to me? He could talk to me as long as he wanted to about anything he wanted to.
“So, do you have any place in mind you’d like to go, or can I surprise you?” Tom asked.
“Oh, you know, I’m not sure,” I hemmed and hawed. “I’ve not been on a date in a long while, and well, I’m just not sure what to do.”
I sounded utterly flabbergasted and let out a sigh, shrugging.
“Well, neither have I. How about we just play it by ear.”
That sounded nice.
We walked a few more steps down the sidewalk.
“How about a couple of burgers?”
My stomach grumbled happily. I hadn’t eaten all day due to my nervous knots, and a couple of burgers sounded fantastic. I nodded.
“I know a great place just on the edge of town.”
“Okay.”
Again we were quiet until we got to his car. I should have known from the boots that it would be a pickup truck, a red one.
“This is nice,” I said, envying the huge monster of a truck compared to my beat-up old Dodge Neon.
“You like it? I’m glad. Hey, there is something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
Oh no, here it comes. The question that was going to make me hop back out of this truck, slam the door, and head back to the café. I braced myself.
“When you said you were kind of a ghost hunter, were you being serious?”
My back straightened, and my claws began to come out.
“Yes.”
“That is amazing.” His face seemed to light up. “I don’t want to make you talk shop or anything, but ghosts and paranormal, well, that’s sort of a hobby of mine.”
“Really?”
“Really. I’m just fascinated by it. I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything that I could definitely say was a ghost or spooky-spook, but as a police officer, I’ve seen some things that made me leave all the lights on when I went to bed.”
“A big, strong guy like you afraid of the dark?” I teased.
“Yeah, if it wasn’t for my cat, I think I’d be wearing one of those jackets with the sleeves that tie around the back.”
“Right?” I smiled. “I have a cat, too. Treacle. He is a black cat with green eyes.”
“You don’t let him out on Halloween, I hope.”
“Of course not. People always want to get a black cat…”
“…to use for pretend rituals and stuff, yeah. We advise everyone during the fall to keep their pets close to home.”
As much as I tried not to, I was starting to enjoy myself. We climbed into the truck, and some old-time country music was playing softly. A man with a sweet voice singing about heroes always being cowboys filled the cab, and Tom seemed to ask all the right questions and have all the right answers.
He wasn’t hard to talk to. He didn’t pick arguments. He laughed at my jokes, and I couldn’t help but laugh at his.
I had forgotten what I had been so nervous about. I had forgotten everything. Almost everything.
As you wait for Book 6 of The Wonder Cats mysteries, read Sweets and a Stabbing, the first book in a new dessert cozy series called The Pink Cupcake Mysteries. Read an excerpt at the end of this book.
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All Books By Harper Lin
The Wonder Cats Mysteries
A Hiss-tory of Magic: Book 1
Pawsitively Dead: Book 2
Cat-astrophic Spells: Book 3
The Scariest Tail: Book 4
Purr-fect Getaway: Book 5
Box Set Volume I: Books 1-3
The Cape Bay Cafe Mysteries
Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse: Book 1
Tea, Tiramisu, and Tough Guys: Book 2
Margaritas, Marzipan, and Murder: Book 3
Lattes, Ladyfingers, and Lies: Book 4
The Emma Wild 4-book Holiday Series
4-Book Holiday Series
Killer Christmas: Book 1
New Year’s Slay: Book 2
Death of a Snowman: Book 3
Valentine’s Victim: Book 4
Complete 4-Book Box Set
The Patisserie Mysteries
Macaron Murder: Book 1
Éclair Murder: Book 2
Baguette Murder: Book 3
Crêpe Murder: Book 4
Croissant Murder: Book 5
Crème Brûlée Murder: Book 6
Madeleine Murder: Book 7
Opera Cake Murder: Book 8
Chocolat Chaud Murder: Book 9
Box Set Volume I: Books 1-4
Box Set Volume II: Books 5-8
The Pink Cupcake Mysteries
Sweets and a Stabbing: Book 1
A Note From Harper
Thank you so much for reading Purr-fect Getaway. If you were entertained by the book, please recommend it to friends and family who would enjoy it too. I would also really appreciate it if you could write a book review to help spread the word.
If you like this series, you might also enjoy my other series:
• The Emma Wild Mysteries: a 4-Book holiday cozy series about a famous singer returning to her small Canadian town.
• The Cape Bay Cafe Mysteries: about an amateur sleuth/ owner of an Italian family cafe in a charming beach town.
• The Patisserie Mysteries: a culinary cozy series set in Paris featuring French dessert recipes.
•The Pink Cupcake Mysteries: about the baker of a cupcake food truck solving mysteries in a quirky town in Oregon.
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ries are FREE at the moment so be sure to try them out while they still are.
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About the Author
Harper Lin is the USA TODAY bestselling author of 5 cozy mystery series including The Patisserie Mysteries and The Cape Bay Cafe Mysteries.
When she's not reading or writing mysteries, she loves going to yoga classes, hiking, and hanging out with her family and friends.
www.HarperLin.com
Excerpt from Sweets and a Stabbing
The truck to Amelia’s right was the Turkey Club. They served huge, Henry VIII turkey drumsticks that made the area around their truck smell like Thanksgiving. To the right of the Turkey Club was the Burrito Wagon.
As Amelia strained her neck to look past the Turkey Club to the Burrito Wagon, she saw a very large man wearing cowboy boots that came to fine points that curved slightly upward. Tattoos were common in Oregon, but that man’s seemed a bit overwhelming, as they covered his arms and crept up his neck, almost all the way up his bald head.
