Pandora approached Fluff cautiously, searching for signs of life. His body was still, his white fur less glossy and full. His whiskers drooped. His chest was not moving. She sniffed at him.
She should have been elated. Her biggest enemy, vanquished! Why did her heart feel so heavy?
Felicity’s sobs were getting louder. Judging by the way she was overreacting, you'd think Fluff had only one life. But of course, there was only one he could spend with Felicity.
And looking at the limp body in Felicity’s arms, Pandora knew that life was over.
Fluff had given his life to protect his mistress and Mystic Notch. Pandora didn't know how much of that was about the town, but giving up his life to protect Felicity was worth something, wasn't it? He had been an admirable foe, and the truth was, she actually kind of missed him.
But he was already halfway to his new life, and there was only one way to bring him back.
Pandora would have to give him the breath of life.
Once she did, they’d be bonded for all nine of their lives. The thought of that was repugnant, but she also couldn't stand the wailing coming from Felicity, and she felt a certain obligation to help them because in the end they had helped Pandora and Willa. If Felicity had never mentioned the way to reverse a potion gone bad, Pandora would not have had this chance. Of course, she didn't know if it had really worked. She’d have to wait until she could try to talk to the Mystic Notch cats, but judging by the way Felicity was looking pretty much like her old self, she was hopeful her communication with the cats would be restored.
Pandora let out a big sigh and crept over to Fluff’s lolling head.
I might live to regret this, but what the heck.
She took a deep breath, bent toward Fluff’s pink nose, and breathed out.
* * *
“What are we going to do now?” Sarah stared down at Josie. She appeared to be out cold, but for how long?
I clutched the box to my chest, still afraid it would fly open on its own.
At least Felicity had stopped wailing. I was a little concerned about her cat but didn’t have time to think about it right now. Instead, I was thinking about Gus and the murder investigation. Josie was the real killer, as she’d confessed to us, but would Gus be able to figure that out without knowing the paranormal motive?
I didn’t think that Sarah had heard Josie’s admission that she’d left fingernails at Mary’s to throw the police off track. If Gus started to suspect Sarah, I would have to tell Gus that Josie had done that. It wasn’t fair to Sarah to let her fall under suspicion. Though she actually had been there that day, and it might not bode well for her if Gus’s radar started pointing in her direction.
But how could I make Gus see that Josie was the killer? She certainly would never take my word for it. There would have to be enough corroborating evidence to make her think she thought of it herself.
“Merooo!”
“Meowsa!”
“Mpuurup!”
Outside on the sidewalk, a gaggle of cats had accumulated. I recognize them as the cats from Elspeth’s barn. What were they doing here? As I was looking out, Gus’s police car screeched to a stop at the curb.
She stormed toward the bookstore, shooing cats out of her way. She burst through the door, scowling over her shoulder at the cats. “Darn cats are following me everywhere…” Her voice trailed off as she turned and took in the scene.
It must’ve looked a little strange. Felicity holding a limp Fluff, Pandora doing something I wasn’t quite sure of near Fluff’s head, and me clutching a box while Sarah stood over an unconscious Josie.
“What in the world?” The way Gus’s gaze was flicking from Josie to me and the suspicious look on her face had me thinking she suspected that I was up to something.
“She attacked us!” I pointed toward Josie. “She confessed to killing Mary, and she hurt Felicity’s cat.”
Gus spun around to look in the direction I was pointing. My mouth flew open in shock as I saw Fluff moving. He clawed his way out of Felicity’s grasp and struggled to a sitting position then started preening himself, casting angry glares around as if warding off our sympathy.
“Oh, Fluff, you’re okay!” Felicity grabbed the cat and crushed him to her bosom. He did not look pleased.
“I knew it! I had just finished putting the evidence together against Josie. She lied to me about the time she was at Mary Ashworth’s. At first, I thought it was Danielle lying about the time. She’d mixed that up before. But when I looked at the article on Mary in the Gazette, I saw that Josie had made a fatal mistake.”
“What was that?” Sarah asked.
“The photo in the article had Mary’s grandfather clock in the background, which happened to show the time was ten minutes before Mary’s death. Josie had said she’d left an hour before.” Gus turned and frowned out the window at the cats. “I was just putting it all together in my office when right out of the blue, I had the overwhelming thought that I should come here.”
Could the cats have been communicating with her, putting thoughts in her head to come here? Given everything that had happened this week, I wouldn’t be surprised.
Gus stood over Josie, who was just starting to stir. She took out her cuffs and slapped them on her wrists. “Josie Martin, you’re under arrest for the murder of Mary Ashford.”
She hauled Josie to her feet and marched her toward the door. When she got to the door, she turned back, a frown on her face. Her gaze skipped from me to Sarah to Felicity. “Just what are you all doing in here at this time of night anyway? I thought you guys didn’t even like each other.”
Felicity, Sarah, and I all exchanged a glance, and then at the same time we all blurted out, “Weekly book club.”