Chapter Three

A chill went down my spine. My cynical inner voice had spent a lot of time considering this could be a trap…mostly between the hours of two and four in the morning. But I’d chalked it up to nerves. I was still new at this, and had to convince myself that a lot more had gone right in my partnership with Persephone than had gone wrong.

Casey gave me a look I knew well. We’d shared it often when someone we got a bad feeling about came into the shelter to adopt one of our animals. With Persephone on board, we could let them down easy. Sorry, no matches today. Persephone doesn’t think anyone’s a good fit.

“Please, come in.” Rosamund startled, like something spooked her. If I had hackles, they’d be on high alert. “Actually, why don’t we go to the shop? You can see Cupcake’s headquarters.”

“Where’s Noodle?” I asked. We were depending on Rosamund’s not famous cat to be instrumental in helping us find Cupcake. “I’d love for Persephone to meet her.”

“She’s at the shop.” Rosamund motioned for us to follow her.

“This is strange,” Casey mouthed to me as Rosamund unlocked the door to the shop.

I nodded. Rosamund didn’t have the same easy, welcoming vibe as my earlier clients. But we did have people like her come into the shelter. Shy, awkward people, who came alive in the presence of an animal.

The lights flickered as they came to life. The store was jam-packed in a way that drew me in. I automatically wandered down an aisle full of road trip-themed merchandise.

“It’s not much, but it’s my family legacy,” Rosamund said. “Before they finished the interstate, this was one of the main routes to get to Niagara Falls. People included Rappaport on their vacation itineraries as a can’t-miss stop. Now, they just drive by.”

“I love this little town. Everything looks so cute. If this hadn’t been our destination, I would’ve insisted we stop here.” Casey had gravitated toward the Cupcake display. It was an entire aisle, facing the front window. There were Cupcake figurines, plushies, keychains, mugs, posters, bags—if there was something Rosamund hadn’t put her cat’s image on, it hadn’t been invented yet. “Addie, we need to make some of this stuff for Persephone. We could start a gift shop at the shelter. All proceeds going toward Helping Paws, of course.”

It wasn’t a bad idea. “I think we’ll need a bigger shelter if we go that route.”

“We do our best to keep people interested.” Rosamund picked up one of the Cupcake plushies and sighed before hugging it against her chest. “The return to the past was my brother’s idea. He owns the hotel you’ll be staying at. He’s also the mayor. So, what he says goes.”

“What does he think about Cupcake?”

“He says it’s silly that so many people get excited about a cat. But he always neglects to mention how many people Cupcake brings into town. They spend money here. First at my shop, but then they have lunch, do a little shopping, and maybe stay at his hotel.”

“Not silly at all.” I wouldn’t add her brother to our suspect list, yet, but I’d keep an eye on him. “What do the other people in town think of Cupcake?”

“They all love her. It’s me they have the problem with.” Rosamund chuckled sadly, and put the plushie back on the shelf. “It’s not easy to live in the same town for your whole life. Especially when your family built this town. All eyes are on us. And some of them want to see me fail.”

“Why is that?” I moved back to my hometown after a short stint in Boston, so I understood the unique challenges of living in the place where you grew up.

She shook her head sadly. “Small town politics. My family’s run this store for over eighty years. And it might end with me. In the last couple of years, Cupcake has kept this store open. I’m afraid that I’ve become reliant on the money he brings in. We have a healthy mail-order business, and of course, people who come to meet Cupcake in person.”

I looked around the store. “What do you have planned for renovations?”

“Oh, there aren’t any. I didn’t want to explain to people why they couldn’t see Cupcake right now.”

I raised a brow. “Does anyone know he’s missing?”

“Only my brother, because I had to tell him why I was booking two rooms with an open checkout date for people I’d never met. He thinks you’re here to steal my money.”

“Is there anyone who might want to see Cupcake gone?” I asked.

“I can’t imagine why anyone would hold a grudge against a cat.”

“Is there anyone holding a grudge against you?” Casey asked. She had a way of making it sound gentle. “We all get haters online, but has anyone made it personal?”

“There’s Marnie, with her psychic shop.” Rosamund made air quotes. “She took some online course to learn how to read tarot cards and now calls herself a witch. She had the audacity to buy the billboard right outside my store, trying to steal my customers away.”

“But you don’t sell anything like that.” I didn’t quite see the connection. “Do you believe that Persephone can talk to me?”

Rosamund sighed. “I’m willing to try anything to save my business.”

“Is there anyone else we should talk to, besides Marnie? Anyone who would find satisfaction in seeing these renovations go on forever?” Casey asked.

“I think someone took Cupcake to use him as a stud. I’ve had many offers to breed him, people who wanted to split the profits of the kittens with me. The money was tempting, but I said no.”

“All the cats at Helping Paws thank you. Do you know of any local catteries?”

“No. And they wouldn’t be able to sell the kittens around here without me knowing. It’s a small town, and everyone talks. I have a feeling Cupcake is long gone.” A sob hiccupped in her throat, and Casey rubbed her arm.

I was really glad she was here. This looked like it might be a complicated case.

“Cupcake might not be here, but in my experience, the thief has stayed close to home. Is there anyone else you suggest we talk to about Cupcake’s disappearance?”

“They’ll tell everyone she’s gone. I’ll be ruined.”

I had to get real with her. “We’ve looked for many missing animals as part of our shelter work. People need to know he’s missing, so they can be on the lookout for him. All those extra sets of eyes and ears work wonders. You brought us here to find him. To get people to tell us about Cupcake, we have to tell them why we’re asking.”

Rosamund cast her gaze downward. The way she saw it, she could lose her cat forever, or kiss her pride goodbye. I didn’t envy her.

“Okay, we can tell people that he’s gone,” she said softly.

It was a giant step forward.

“Imagine yourself as the star of a mystery novel, and your famous cat is missing,” Casey said. “Who do you think could be involved besides Marnie?”

“Scott. My ex. He didn’t think I should get another cat, and he’s fought me tooth and nail at every town council meeting because I think his arcade diner is an abomination.” She shook her head with disgust. “He’s not taking the legacy of this town seriously.”

I couldn’t lie, an arcade diner sounded pretty amazing. “Is that why he’s your ex?”

She scoffed. “There are a lot of reasons. The man refuses to grow up.”

“Anyone else we should talk to?” The list was short, and neither option seemed to fit the motive. “Does Cupcake have any online haters?”

The fact that someone would take perfectly good time out of their day to hate on a cat they saw on social media boggled my mind, but it happened. People sent some really gross messages to the Spy Kitty account. I’d asked Casey not to show them to me anymore, but if I was solving crimes with Persephone, and going to unfamiliar places, I needed to be aware of any potential pitfalls.

“Maybe we should look into the online comments?” Casey suggested. “See if anyone’s left any clues that they know Cupcake is missing.”

“I’ve always filmed more footage than I could possibly use. I’ve been able to keep posting content without any interruption. No one outside of town would know anything was different.”

My heart sank. The cat had been gone too long for no one to be looking for him, and Rosamund was too concerned with protecting her reputation. This wouldn’t be an easy case.

“So if there is anything that suggests things are amiss with Cupcake, we can consider that a big red arrow,” Casey said. Bringing her was the best decision ever. She could concentrate on the online angle, and I’d handle the town. And the cat.

Speaking of cats, Persephone reappeared and wrapped herself around my legs. I picked her up.

“This place smells old. Like dust. And things that haven’t moved in a while,” she said.

I wouldn’t repeat that.

“Did you meet Noodle?”

“What’s a Noodle?” she asked.

“The kitty.” I looked at Rosamund. “I’d like to meet Noodle. And introduce her to Persephone.”

“That might be easier said than done. Noodle hides when people come into the store.”