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

by Addison Moore

  They take off, and Leo gasps for breath.

  “Are you okay?” I ask while Jasper nudges a glass of water in Leo’s direction.

  “I’m fine.” Leo gives a hard blink. “I’m just going to have to slow it down when it comes to polishing off these seafood towers.”

  “You don’t have to finish them,” I tell him. “I’ll box up what’s left and the cats will thank me.”

  “No way,” Leo says as he moves one of the towers between Emmie and him. “I’m no quitter. I come from a long line of people who finish what they start.”

  Emmie bites down on her lip, and her mind goes straight to white noise. It’s clear what she’s anxious to get started.

  “I guess it’s true what they say about oysters.” I shove another seafood tower their way. “You may as well make a party out of it.”

  “Speaking of parties.” I look to Jasper. “Did you find out anything about Kristen? That’s one surprise guest we didn’t see coming to the suspect shindig we’re inadvertently hosting.”

  “Actually, I do have something that could help with her,” he says as his eyes float above me just as Ryan Wallace appears by my side. His dark hair is loaded with twice as many blond tips as it was the day of the murder, his face looks sun-kissed, and I swear I can see his biceps bulging from under his suit. It looks as if Macy exited the scene a little too early. If she was still here, I bet she would have pulled him into the seat next to her and both Jasper and I would have been able to quiz him. Not that I’m going to let a little detail like my sister’s absence slow me down.

  Sorry, Macy, you snooze, you lose the hot guy in a suit.

  “Well, if it isn’t the beautiful Bizzy Baker,” Ryan says, taking up my hand and kissing the back of it.

  “Bizzy Baker Wilder.” Jasper gives him a stern look. If he kisses you again, he’s going to die. “And I’m Jasper Wilder, her husband.”

  Ryan clearly isn’t fazed by this bit of news because he’s right back to picking up my hand while gazing deep into my eyes.

  “You must dance with me. Just once, for Aunt Bea.”

  “Well, if it’s for Aunt Bea.” I float right out of my seat without giving Jasper so much as a glance, mostly because I can’t stand to see the death lasers he’s shooting at Ryan right now.

  We drift toward the bevy of spinning couples, and Ryan pulls me close and leads us in a slow dance despite the face the music is sizzling like hot oil on a greased iron skillet.

  “How are you doing, Ryan? It must be hard to know someone was so cruel to your poor aunt on her birthday no less.”

  His cheeks flex as a mournful look crosses his face. “It is terrible. How are the cats?”

  Ah-ha! So that’s all he cares about. I guess he’s just as greedy as the rest of them.

  “They’re great. I’ve got a nanny cam pointed right at them as we speak, so I can check up on them whenever I want.”

  “Good thinking. I wouldn’t put it past my cousins to break in and steal them in hopes of a ransom. They’re so desperate for money, I actually thought I should hire a security guard to keep those kittens safe.”

  A laugh bubbles from me, and I happen to glance back at the table, only to see Jasper’s eyes widen with horror.

  It’s one thing to shake him down for answers, he says. It’s another thing to look as if you’re enjoying it. You’re not enjoying it, are you?

  I give a thumbs-down behind Ryan’s back. It’s the least I can do to keep my suspect safe, and my husband sane.

  “No need to call in reinforcements,” I tell him. “The cats are safe with me. How about you? Don’t you need the money?”

  He winces. “Yes and no. I’ve got a couple of assets that my mother left me that are in need of an overhaul, but I went to the bank on Monday and it looks as if I’ll be getting a loan for the repairs. I had initially asked my aunt for a loan, but she turned me down flat.”

  “Sorry to hear it.”

  How about that? At least he’s admitting it. I’m kind of liking Ryan more and more.

  He shakes his head. “It’s for the best. Bea truly wanted us to make our own way in the world. I would have paid her back with interest, and when I pointed that out, it occurred to me I may as well have gone to a bank. My real estate gig isn’t doing so bad either. I sold two houses this week out of the blue. Now that summer is here, it seems every young family wants to move to a bigger home before the school year begins.”

  “Just two houses in a week? It looks to me, you’re a slacker,” I tease.

  Ryan knocks his head back and laughs, and I happen to glance over at Jasper once again.

  Charming him, are we?

  Judging by the way Jasper’s leg looks as if it’s about to bounce right off his body, I’d say I’ve got less than two minutes to get the goods from Ryan before a fistfight breaks out.

  Leo nods my way. Honey, Jasper brought bullets to the party. He didn’t come to play.

  He’s not kidding.

  “Seriously, though.” Ryan hones his hazel eyes over mine. “Who do you think you’re going to give the cats to?”

  “Who do you think I should give the cats to?” And don’t think I’m not aware that cats is code for millions here.

  “Kadence.”

  “Kadence?” I cock my ear his way. “Let me guess, you and Cousin Kady worked out a fifty-fifty split?”

  He’s right back to laughing. “Nope. I haven’t spoken to her since the reading of the will. But Kadence is grounded. And I happen to know that she likes cats. Mags would sooner spit out a hairball of her own than take on another living creature. I can promise you those cats wouldn’t be safe in her care.”

  I know for a fact they wouldn’t, considering she was thinking of turning them into a couple of stuffed animals to grace her bed.

  “And Kadence would keep the cats safe?”

  He nods. “She was the only one of us who ever held them, let alone knew they existed. I’m more of a dog man myself. And not only is Kadence a cat lover, but she needs the cash as well. Unfortunately, she won’t be able to get a loan for her needs.”

  “What needs are those?”

  “The woman who owns the nursery she works at is selling the place. I heard Kadence hit up Aunt Bea for cash right after I did. Of course, my aunt turned her down flat as well. Kadence asked her to sleep on it because she was already turned down for a business loan. The owner is asking for a good chunk of change. And if Kadence got the cats and the business, I know she’d not only be happy, but she’d be taken care of. I love both Kadence and Magnolia as if they were my sisters, and they are.”

  My lips cinch as I look at him. He seems so very sincere, and there’s not one errant thought going through his mind to make him look guilty.

  “Ryan, who do you think could have done something so terrible to your poor aunt?”

  He takes a breath, and I can feel his chest broaden against me. How do I rat my own flesh and blood out? There’s no way I’m going to tell her what I saw that day. Besides, I still haven’t talked to Magnolia about it. She came out of that stockroom wringing her hands, her eyes on fire, panting as if she just ran a marathon. I can’t stand the thought that she got lost in a moment of fury. I know how Mags can get if someone works her up. And if Aunt Bea knew how to do anything, it was work someone up. Magnolia isn’t going to prison on my watch. I won’t lie to protect her, but I sure as heck won’t put her on the chopping block either.

  Oh wow. I glance over to Jasper and give a slight nod as I see Leo translating Ryan’s inner diatribe to him. It looks as if we’ve got our killer. It makes perfect sense.

  Ryan shakes his head. “I don’t know for sure who killed Aunt Bea. The only thing I know for certain about the killer is that they were at that party.”

  A thought comes to me. “Doesn’t the stockroom have a back entrance?”

  He nods. “The size of a one-car garage to get all that furniture in.”

  “I guess whoever did this could have slipped in and out
that way,” I say. “But they had to come at least as far into the store as the register to get the scarf.”

  He sighs at the thought. And the register just so happens to be where I saw Mags right before she headed into the stockroom.

  I glance to Leo and nod once again. That might just be the smoking gun.

  But in the name of not leaving a single stone unturned, I decide to proceed with my initial line of questioning.

  “Ryan, did you ever hear your aunt mention a woman by the name of Kristen?”

  “Kristen?” His brows pinch as he tries to place the name. “I don’t think so. Was she an employee?”

  “Oh, of course. I bet that’s it.”

  “She’d have to be if Aunt Bea knew her. That or a customer. Aunt Bea didn’t suffer fools as she liked to say. She wasn’t exactly what you’d call a people person. But she was pretty great to her staff and customers.”

  “That I can attest to, considering I was definitely a happy customer.”

  But if Kristen was an employee or a customer, wouldn’t Snuggles and Bingo have known that?

  The music swings high and Ryan dips me low, leaving me giggling like a schoolgirl once he returns me to an upright position. My feet stumble and I accidentally lurch into his chest and his face bumps into mine—lips may have accidentally been involved.

  In one hot second, the two of us are plucked apart, and Jasper is throwing punches at the guy.

  Thankfully, Leo got it wrong, and Jasper has chosen to eschew the bullets for now.

  The crowd on the dance floor breaks out into screams, and within a few seconds I’m floating in Jasper Wilder’s arms while Ryan takes off for the exit, nursing his lips.

  “Are you okay?” Jasper runs his arms up and down my back. “Did he hurt you? I don’t need to be a mind reader to know the plans he was making for the two of you.”

  A laugh bounces from me. “I’m fine. And surprisingly, I managed to get a lot out of him.”

  “I’m not sure how much of it we can use. The guy would have said anything to land you horizontally.”

  “He might have you arrested for assault,” I point out. “We should probably make a run for it.”

  “I’m not a coward.” Jasper winks. “Besides, you haven’t been properly dipped,” he says just as he dips me twice as low as Ryan managed, and while I’m upside down I spot Juni and Macy sloshing their drinks while they tussle in front of that golden statue. I’m betting Macy wants to work her feet in with Juni’s golden boy toy and Juni isn’t having it.

  Soon, the management shows up on the floor, saying something about a fistfight as they give a quick look around. And since Juni and Macy have started in on a shoving match, the entire management team drifts in their direction.

  “Uh-oh,” I say. “It looks as if we’re about to get the boot after all.”

  A sax solo comes from the band, and it sounds so startlingly good everyone stops to look that way. Once Jasper and I get a good look at the sax player, our jaws root to the floor. Standing with the band is a familiar gray-haired granny with a pair of dark sunglasses and a fedora planted on her head.

  “Oh my word, that’s Georgie,” I say, giving Jasper’s arms a squeeze.

  “Hey, she’s good,” he muses.

  Both Juni and Macy run past us with the management on their tails.

  “We’re with the band!” Juni shouts as they hop on the makeshift stage with the saxy crooner among us.

  Juni and Macy rock back and forth in time as if they had been choreographing this routine for months.

  Emmie pops up next to us, looking distressed. “Bizzy…” She’s about to say something when a tall, dark, and suspiciously muscular deputy steps between us.

  “Are you Elizabeth Crosby?” he says it sternly as if she were about to be put in the slammer for the next three decades.

  “Yes.” Her eyes bulge a moment. “What happened? Is it my dog? Is Cinnamon all right?”

  “There’s a sin happening here, all right,” he says, running his finger underneath her jawline, and in ten seconds flat both the officer in question and the music get racy.

  The guy loses his shirt, and in one swift move he ditches his pants, too. And just as he’s about to pull her close, both Juni and Macy make a play for him, giving Emmie just enough time to escape.

  She dashes back toward Leo, who I’m sure is doing a last-minute check of his ammunition stash, when Jasper and I spot Ryan speeding this way with a couple of official looking deputies in tow.

  “And that’s my cue,” Jasper says, scooping me into his arms and hitching his head for Leo and Emmie to follow.

  We drop a wad of cash back at the table and make a beeline for the door.

  “No fair,” I say, laughing as we manage to expertly evade Jasper’s co-workers. “Emmie and Leo didn’t get a chance to hit the dance floor.”

  Jasper and I turn their way just in time to see Leo collapse over Emmie.

  “Leo?” Emmie cries out as she helps him to the ground.

  His face is swollen, his lips are twice their size, and he’s passed out cold.

  And within minutes, an ambulance arrives and sends Leo moving and grooving all the way to the emergency room.

  Chapter 14

  Shellfish allergy—specifically oysters.

  Had the ambulance taken a few minutes longer, Leo might have been in respiratory arrest.

  Thankfully, he’s on the mend and his facial swelling is dissipating nicely. Emmie ended up spending the night with Leo in the hospital and sent me pictures of the two of them cuddling in his bed.

  Emmie texted an hour ago, letting me know they’re discharging him. Leo is almost back to his old self, and right on time, considering their wedding is tomorrow.

  Tomorrow.

  I can’t wrap my head around that.

  I’ve spent the entire day darting off in ten different directions, making sure the cake I ordered from a local bakery will be here on time. Since the sun dared to shine today, I hired a last-minute florist to help make the gazebo look like a fairy-tale wonderland, and she said she’d do her best but not to expect a miracle.

  And I’m also having Jordy prep the ballroom just in case those dark clouds up above the inn make good on their promise.

  It’s late afternoon, bordering on evening, and I’m standing outside of the inn, along with my furry friends, as we try to come up with a creative last-minute effort to jazz things up a bit. The rather plain double door entry definitely needs to be spruced up.

  Sherlock barks. How about those lights you use at Christmastime? The inn never looks as magical as it does during the holidays.

  “Twinkle lights!” I shake my head. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

  Bizzy, Fish mewls as she wraps herself around my ankles. It’s hours before the wedding. The inn looks spectacular already. I’d hate to see you overdo it. You’ll have a long day tomorrow as well.

  She’s right. Sherlock barks. You should do something to take your mind off of it like head to the café and get a plate full of bacon.

  “That actually does sound like a good idea.” I sigh. “But if I decide to indulge in one more glass of water, that bridesmaid’s dress isn’t going to fit.” Of course, it’s not a real bridesmaid’s dress. Emmie just told me to pick anything out of my closet as long as it wasn’t white. But I went shopping anyhow and bought the cutest little pink dress I could find—one size too small. It’s not my fault that was the only size it was available in. Besides, Jasper was able to get the zipper up the back as long as I pressed myself against a wall and he put all his might into it.

  Snuggles mewls, Don’t forget about the auction tonight.

  “I haven’t,” I say. “And I haven’t forgotten about Bea’s request concerning the two of you either. I’m still not sure what to do, though.”

  Jordy comes my way just as I scoop up Snuggles and Bingo.

  Bingo lashes Snuggles over the head with his tail. Here comes your boyfriend.

  He is not m
y boyfriend, Snuggles protests. He’s just a very handsome human who happens to call me cutie. And give me kisses. Her own tail waves back and forth as if she were looking forward to more of those smoochy moves.

  “Great news,” I say to Jordy as he jogs my way. “Leo is on his way home from the hospital as we speak. And he’s expected to be in top shape for his wedding. I guess this is just another thing Emmie will use to try to convince us that her dress isn’t cursed. The groom isn’t dead after all.” I laugh at the thought. “I guess I was wrong about the dress.”

  “I don’t think so,” he says, taking Snuggles from me. “Hey, cutie.” He lands a kiss to her ear and she purrs like a motorboat. “Bizzy, I’ve got bad news.” He sighs as he looks my way. “I got a report of a leak on the lawn just west of the cottages, and it turns out a pipe burst in that direction.”

  “That’s terrible, but at least the main lawn isn’t flooded. Just turn off the water to those lines. We’ll deal with it after the wedding. The west lawn is the last thing I’m worried about.”

  “Me, too,” he says. “I’m much more worried over the fact one of the cottages took the brunt of the flooding and is completely unlivable. Do you want to take a guess whose cottage that would be?”

  I suck in a quick breath just as a car pulls up, honking its horn, and sure enough, it’s Emmie and Leo.

  They hop out with Leo looking no worse for wear and head this way.

  “Leo, you look great,” I say with a twinge of horror in my voice. I don’t have the heart to tell Emmie that Ophelia struck again. “Guess what? I’ve decided to give you both a little pre-wedding gift.”

  “What’s that?” Emmie looks thrilled at the prospect of free stuff.

  “The honeymoon suite at the inn. Tonight,” I add quickly. “You’ll have to go now to claim your prize.”

  Emmie blinks back. “We can’t spend the night there. I have to get ready for the wedding in the morning, and I’ll need my things. But we’ll take a raincheck.”

  “No way, no how,” I say as I navigate them toward the inn.