Raining Cats and Killers: Cozy Mystery (Country Cottage Mysteries Book 17)

by Addison Moore

  “So you don’t have any idea who could have done this?”

  She cringes. “Not really. But I wouldn’t be too surprised if the sheriff’s department came knocking at my door. I know for a fact Aunt Bea freely told people that my sister, my cousin Ryan, and I were terrible to her. And maybe we were, but we didn’t kill her. I certainly wouldn’t have done it. And Mags?” She shakes her head. “Like I said, she’s too wrapped up in herself to even think about doing something so violent. She wouldn’t want to break a nail.” Come to think of it, Mags did have a broken nail later that afternoon. And, oh wow, I saw Mags coming from the back room. Huh. I’d better keep that tidbit to myself. She clears her throat. “And Ryan? He’s a lover, not a fighter. He loved Aunt Bea.” Okay, so he said he couldn’t stand her while we were at the party. He said if she dropped dead one day he’d have a hard time shedding a tear, and Mags and I agreed with him.

  “Wow,” I mutter to myself, and Kadence lifts her chin my way as if she were coming to.

  “If the sheriff’s department does come knocking, I’m pointing them right at that woman that worked with Aunt Bea.”

  “Arlene?”

  “Yup.” She nods. “I’ve never trusted her. She comes off as too sweet and innocent. Anyway, Ryan texted this morning and said the reading of the will is tomorrow at noon at the shop. That is, if he can get everyone there.”

  “Other than your sister and Ryan, who else needs to be there?”

  She makes a face. “Probably Arlene. It wouldn’t surprise me if she bamboozled my aunt into giving her the lion’s share of her estate.” She shrugs. “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

  “I guess you will.”

  We wrap things up. I collect my furry feline friends and purchase six jumbo hydrangeas to have delivered to the inn to the tune of far more money than I was looking to spend. Macy meets me by the register with Candy looking as adorable as can be with her bonnet slightly askew.

  “How did the master fare?” I ask my go-getter of a sister.

  She holds up a business card. “The master parlayed that little impromptu meet-cute into a date. He’s coming over to lay some pipe tomorrow morning.”

  “What?” I take the card from her in haste and examine it. “Macy, he’s a plumber. Ten bucks says he’s coming over to fix a leaky pipe in your bathroom.”

  “Kitchen,” she snips. “But I already let him know I’ll have breakfast ready and waiting. And I plan on wearing my best silk nighty. It’s going to be spectacular.”

  I glance to Candy. “I’d stay on alert if I were you. Your fangs might be needed.”

  Macy snatches the card back. “The only one biting will be me. And if I’m lucky, maybe him.” She waves past me. “Hurry up, Georgie. You’re about to miss your ride.”

  The clip-clop of frantic steps increase in volume and I turn to see Georgie, Sherlock Bones, and—

  “Gah!” I jump back a little at the sight next to me. Standing next to Georgie is a tall man in a red and white checkered shirt and a cowboy hat planted on his head.

  “Oh my word,” Macy muses as she uses me like a human shield. “Georgie made the scarecrow come to life. We really should find a way to bottle her powers.”

  Georgie slaps her thigh and belts out a hearty guffaw, and Sherlock barks and leaps in a circle as if he were laughing, too.

  “Didn’t I tell you they’d freak out at the sight of you?” she honks.

  The man joins her with a deep chuckle. “I can assure you, girls, I’m no scarecrow. I was just pretending to be one to frighten the birds. It’s just a little thing I do around here for fun. I’m Burty Thomas. My sister is the one selling this place.”

  “I didn’t realize it was for sale,” I say, glancing past him in the direction where Kadence and I had that conversation. She said she was financially stable. It sounds as if that stability is about to be tested if she loses her job. “It was nice meeting you, Burty.”

  We finish up and pile into my car when my phone pings. I glance at the screen, and it’s a number I don’t recognize.

  Hello, Bizzy. My name is Ralf Morris. I stopped by your inn, but since you weren’t there, your employees gave me this number. I’m Beatrice Crabtree’s attorney. Your presence is requested at Second Time’s a Charm Thrift Shop tomorrow at eleven a.m. I apologize for the short notice. If you’re unable to attend, please let me know and we’ll reschedule the event. If I don’t hear from you in the next few hours, I’ll do so anyhow.

  “How do you like that?” I whisper.

  I’ll be there, I text right back.

  Why would Bea want me at the reading of her will?

  The last time my presence was requested at one of those events, I gained an entire inn. Here’s hoping she didn’t leave the thrift store to me. I wouldn’t have any idea of what to do with it.

  Snuggles and Bingo mewl from the back as they converse with Fish and Sherlock, and suddenly I think I have an inkling of why Bea might want me there.

  A part of me wonders if the killer will be there, too.

  Chapter 6

  It turns out, Emmie is too swamped to go pick up her haunted dress—or cursed as it were—from the thrift shop, so I had her box me up a couple dozen of her butterscotch cookies, and I took my ever-growing menagerie and headed south for Seaview to pay my handsome hubby a visit at the office.

  The Seaview Sheriff’s Department is a no frills building inside and outside. It’s a rectangular white structure with nothing but cold steel furniture and cold faces from the deputies milling around.

  Sherlock leads the way as he prances us right to the homicide division where we find Jasper’s ex-fiancée Camila Ryder sitting at her desk brushing her hair while looking in a small round mirror she’s set strategically in front of her.

  Camila and I are friends for the most part. In an effort to keep herself embedded in Jasper’s life, she’s procured the position as the secretary of the homicide department and gets to spend more waking hours with him than I do on most days. For a conniving manipulator, she’s not half bad at what she does.

  “What’s in the little pink box?” She raises a brow as she appraises the goodies.

  Camila is unfairly gorgeous with long chestnut tresses, glowing eyes, and skin that holds a strong cinnamon hue year-round. Aside from her gig here at the sheriff’s department, she’s recently forayed into the gossip game. She has her own show called Gossip Gal that runs weekly on YouTube.

  “Butterscotch cookies,” I say. “Want one?”

  Sherlock gives a soft bark. You are way too nice to that woman, Bizzy. You know how she feels about Jasper and me.

  Fish mewls from the carrier strapped to my chest, One she loves and one she hates. Care to guess which is which?

  Snuggles gasps. An animal hater? Well then, I hate her right back.

  Bingo mewls, We don’t hate anybody. Remember? Bea always said we should feel sorry for people instead. He cranes his little neck so he can get a better look at the animal hater in question. I feel sorry for her.

  I open the box and Camila snatches up a handful of butterscotch cookies while glowering at the cats who are blinking her way.

  “Three cats, Bizzy? Really? I am not amused by your growing brood of brutes.”

  “You may not be, but I have a feeling Jasper might.” I shoot him a quick text and let him know I’m here.

  Lord knows Camila would allow my visit to remain top secret if it were left to her discretion.

  “Mmm,” she moans hard as she indulges in a bite. “These are really good.”

  Jasper appears and wraps his arms around my waist before landing a kiss to my cheek and I spin in his arms, sandwiching the cats between us.

  “Kiss me on the lips,” I demand playfully and he does his best to execute the maneuver as the cats give a series of mewls.

  I can’t breathe! Snuggles chirps.

  I can’t see, Bingo says. What are they doing, anyway?

  Kissing. Fish sticks her tongue out as if the thought
made her sick. And before you ask, no, they don’t know how to lick. Apparently, humans think they’re above it.

  No, they aren’t! Sherlock barks. I heard Bizzy tell Jasper she’s licked him, he belongs to her. That’s how they mark one another.

  Snuggles’ whiskers twitch. Makes sense. Bea would have hated kissing. She didn’t like being touched by humans.

  I make a face because I have a feeling Snuggles is right.

  Jasper’s eyes gloss over with that bedroom look to them as a sly smile glides up his face.

  “To what pleasure do I owe this visit?” Let there be pleasure involved. He gives a sly wink.

  I bite down on a smile as we back up an inch. “I just paid a visit to Kadence Crabtree over in Rose Glen. And before you say a word, I had a very good reason for being there. I picked up some hydrangeas for Emmie and Leo’s wedding. Jasper, they are glorious. I can’t wait until you see them. I can’t wait until Emmie sees them. But more on her in a second. You’ll never believe what happened.”

  The smile glides right off his face. “Kadence confessed?” he says it flat as if it were the last thing in the world he’d believe.

  “Funny. Not really. She said she didn’t do it, and neither did her sister or cousin Ryan. She thought I should look into Arlene. However”—I shoot a side glance to Camila—“what Kadence really said was that she saw her sister leaving the stockroom. And that the three of them were saying some pretty horrible things about Bea, especially her sister.”

  Camila clucks her tongue. “Oh, come on, Bizzy. By what she really said”—she says those last two words in air quotes while dragging out the words—“you mean what you heard her thinking about. I’m not an idiot. I know all about your little supernatural snooping skills.”

  It’s true. Even though I’ve never outright told Camila about my telesensual abilities, she was once hot and heavy with Leo Granger, Emmie’s soon-to-be plus one, and he confessed his skills to her. And after she witnessed Leo and me having a very unusual chat without moving our lips, she’s accused me of having the same supernatural talent ever since.

  “Anyway”—I shrug up at Jasper—“she said the reading of the will is tomorrow at the thrift store and they’re all anxious to be there. I tried to see if she had a motive, so I asked her about money and she said she was getting by just fine. But what she really said”—I shoot Camila a dirty look before continuing—“was that her aunt wouldn’t give her a loan. And then I found out from the scarecrow that came to life that the nursery is up for sale.”

  “The scarecrow that came to life?” Jasper’s brows hike with concern. “Did Georgie feed you any of her funny brownies?”

  “No. But guess who got an invite to the reading of the will tomorrow at eleven, at the thrift shop no less?”

  “The scarecrow?” Camila chirps.

  “Me.” I nod to Jasper.

  He takes a deep breath as he casts a glance past my shoulder. “I’m coming with you.”

  “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

  Camila’s phone chirps from her desk and she picks it up.

  “Ha!” she balks as she wags it my way. “Guess who just got a text from Ree Baker?”

  “Ree Baker?” A mild sense of panic sets in me. “As in my mother?”

  “That’s right,” Camila purrs as she continues to stare at her screen. “Well, how about that. Your mama and that brownie peddler she works with want me to feature one of their new products on my show. Passion Potion. Sounds intriguing. I think I can fit it in bright and early in tomorrow’s show.”

  “Passion Potion.” I make a face at Jasper. “Sounds as if they found an alternative name to the Flask o’ Fun.”

  He nods. “How about you and I put what’s left in the flask to good use when I get home?”

  “Bring Thai, and we’ll negotiate.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  We nosh on cookies while Sherlock gives Snuggles and Bingo a tour of the facility.

  Jasper holds me close sans the sack of kitties strapped to me. “You do realize this is a violent killer. I don’t want you questioning any more suspects, and yet I know there’s no stopping you.”

  “Sad but true on both counts. But as far as the killer goes, they used a nearby object to commit the crime. That shows this was spontaneous, an act of passion.”

  He nods. “You really are good, Detective Baker Wilder. But I wouldn’t be quick to discount whoever did this. If I’ve learned anything in all my years as a homicide detective, just when I think I have things figured out, they can very well surprise me.”

  “A killer surprise?”

  He nods. “And that’s one surprise I hope you never have. I love you, Bizzy Baker Wilder.” He bores those pale gray eyes over mine. “Let me do this with you.”

  I nod. “Let’s do it together for Bea.”

  With Jasper and me working in tandem, the killer is in for one heck of a surprise themselves.

  Their days of freedom are counting down to zero.

  Surprise.

  Chapter 7

  Second Time’s a Charm Thrift Shop has a fair amount of foot traffic funneling into it, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the masses streaming into Mom and Georgie’s shop across the street. Two Old Broads has just as many customers leaving as they do entering. And each one of those customers stepping out of its doors is happily carrying a bag of purchases with them.

  “Would you look at that?” I say to Jasper as we hustle along the cobblestone path to the thrift shop. “It looks as if those two old broads cracked the code on how to hit their sales goals and blow them out of the water. I wonder if Camila had a chance to feature their new products yet?”

  “Product,” Jasper corrects with a waggle of his brows. “And considering how magical it is, I’m not shocked to see it flying off the shelves.” He winces a moment as he looks at the throngs of older women. “Okay, I’m a little surprised.”

  Sherlock barks as he hits the entry to the thrift shop and Jasper opens the door for the cats and me. The scent of coffee and old paperbacks is the first to greet us as we take a look at the people scattered throughout the cavernous space.

  Jasper surveys the vicinity. “Bea really has some amazing stuff here. And a tool section?”

  “Careful,” I tease. “If you buy tools, I might make you use them.”

  “Thanks for the warning.”

  “Hey”—I point to the left—“look at those fancy mixers. Brand new they’re super expensive. I bet they work just fine. And she’s even got them in cute pastel colors.”

  Jasper sighs. “I’d say, careful—if you buy a mixer, I might make you use it, but I’ve seen the carnage you can cause in the kitchen.”

  I give him a playful swat on the chest because it’s basically true and we both know it.

  “I was thinking about the inn,” I say. “Emmie might be able to use them. Especially lately with the way she’s been baking like mad. Soon she’ll need to clone herself to keep up with her cookie obsession.”

  He moans hard. “I think I dreamed about those butterscotch cookies last night.”

  “That’s probably because I had a few as my official midnight snack and then proceeded to kiss you.”

  “You have my full approval to do that again.”

  Snuggles and Bingo rise up out of the carrier strapped to me and take a peek around at their old stomping grounds.

  It doesn’t look the same, Snuggles mewls.

  Bingo taps his paw over hers. Not without our Bea. It’ll never be the same ever again.

  Fish rubs her head over the two gray cuties. Do you think Bea will mention you in her will?

  Sherlock barks. Maybe she left you the store.

  Maybe she left you a lifetime supply of catnip. Fish gives a dreamy sigh, no doubt reminiscing about yesterday’s adventure.

  These three kitties were high as a kite when I brought them home.

  Sherlock was so jealous he sulked for the better part of the afternoon, so I gav
e him a few strips of that cooked bacon Jasper and I keep in the fridge. It’s a little more expensive to purchase at the market, but Jasper and I thought it was worth it seeing that my track record of burning the stuff was pretty high and steady. Suffice it to say, Sherlock perked right up.

  Bingo climbs partially out of the carrier. We’ll see you around, Bizzy.

  Snuggles hikes up and gives my cheek a quick lick. I licked you, you’re mine! she trills with a melodic meow.

  Bingo sighs. I’m sure that’s not how it works.

  “That’s sort of how it works.” I laugh, giving them both a quick pat.

  Bingo leans over and gives Fish a quick lick on the cheek before bolting to the floor and out of sight.

  Good grief, Snuggles says as she looks to Fish. I told you, my brother has a crush on you.

  Sherlock gives a soft bark. I called it a year ago. And guess what, Snuggles? She has a crush on him right back.

  Do not! Fish yowls.

  Do too! Sherlock teases as he prances in front of her.

  Okay, fine, a little. She jumps from the carrier to the floor. Come on, Snuggles. Let’s go have some fun.

  Snuggles hops out and the cats take off.

  You mean let’s go find your new boyfriend, Sherlock brays as if he were laughing as he takes off after them.

  “Do I want to know what that was about?” Jasper asks as he wraps an arm around my waist as I take the carrier off and cinch it over my shoulder like a purse.

  “Turns out, Bingo has a crush on Fish. And Sherlock is positive Fish has a crush right back—and well, she just confirmed the rumors.”

  “Looks like we’ve got a couple of smitten kittens on our hands. Sherlock seems to be taking it well.”

  I wrinkle my nose up at my handsome hubby. “I think he knows he has a place in her heart no one could ever replace. Sort of the way you have in mine.”

  “Thankfully, you don’t have anyone trying to steal you away and lick you.”