Normally, Persephone was a Velcro cat. It was a little unusual for a cat to stick so closely to a human, but I liked having her close by. We hadn’t been together long, which could’ve been some reason for it.
And Persephone knew all too well what it was like to be catnapped.
A chill rolled through my body as I scanned the arcade. “Persephone!”
Casey knew what to do. She crouched down, looking under machines, making kissing noises.
“What should I do?” Scott looked panicked. “What kind of treat will make her come running?”
“Fish,” Casey and I said in unison. I needed that laugh.
“Okay. The cooks might still be here cleaning up. If not, I can fire up the grill myself.” He headed into the kitchen.
I turned to Casey. “What if someone took her?” I whispered.
“How? Unless she got out into the parking lot.” She headed over to the gate and peeked over. “We were here the whole time.”
“Totally distracted by pinball machines and video games.” How were we supposed to find Cupcake when we couldn’t even keep tabs on Persephone? “Officer Mitchell warned us not to stay out late.”
“We’re grown women. And Brian sounds like he’s watched one too many gangster fantasy movies and he’s hoping to apply it to his own life. All he’s got to work with is a missing cat.”
“Drug dealers and owners of defunct ice cream shops with itchy trigger fingers seem pretty exciting to me.”
Scott came out from the kitchen carrying a plate of shrimp, startling Casey and I into trying to act cool.
“We had some shrimp cocktail in the fridge. Hope this does the trick.” He set the plate down in the middle of the floor.
“Persephone.” I crouched down, moving awkwardly between booths.
Finally I saw those two amber eyes glowing in the darkness. “Hey. What’s got you spooked?”
“Those machines. Don’t like the noises.”
“Sorry about that. I wish you told me.” I tapped my fingers together, hoping to draw her out. “Scott brought you some shrimp. And we’re done playing with the machines.”
She took a few careful steps forward. “I tried to say something, but those sounds…”
“Boy, am I glad to see you.” Casey held her hand over her heart as Persephone emerged. The shrimp was a suitable peace offering.
“Thanks for everything tonight,” I said once Persephone finished. “We’ll be in touch.”
I’d never been so happy to see the Rappaport Motor Inn in my life. I was ready to crash.
“Pajama party slash strategy meeting?” Casey asked as she shut the car off.
“Sure.” I had a little more gas in the tank, and it would be better to talk everything out than stay up all night with it running through my head. I squinted. “Is there something on my door?”
“Looks that way.”
I gathered Persephone in my arms and scanned the parking lot before approaching the door. Chances were that it was a love letter from Roy—about some other policy that we’d violated. As long as he didn’t kick us out in the middle of the night, we could handle it.
“What the…” I almost dropped Persephone and the note when I read it.
A ransom note.
Casey snatched it from my pinched fingers.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She shook her head.
Watch ur cat… U won’t find her next time.
My heart had yet to stop pounding from our Persephone search, and now this… Casey and I entered through my room, and I deadbolted the door behind us. Once I was in my pajamas, I stood guard, peering into the parking lot through a crack in my curtains.
Her knock on the door between the rooms made both Persephone and me jump.
“Wanted to make sure you’re decent.” She gave me a strained smile as she climbed onto my bed. Persephone joined her immediately, and Casey went right for the spot.
My cat didn’t hold grudges…but someone in this town did.
Casey narrowed her eyes at me as I reached for the coin purse I kept next to my bed and put a couple of quarters into the Magic Fingers machine.
“Persephone likes it.” I shrugged. “And it’s strangely calming. Especially after someone left a ransom note on the door of my hotel room…I’m freaked out. People know we’re staying here, but how did they find my room?”
Casey shook her head. “They worked fast, too. There were five whole minutes that we couldn’t find Persephone.”
Persephone hopped out of Casey’s lap and bumped against my hand with her nose. “Sorry I made trouble for you.”
“You didn’t.” I scooped her vibrating body into my lap. “There’s no such thing as a bad cat in my book.”
Casey drummed her fingers on her leg. “So the only people who knew Persephone was missing were Scott and whoever was in the kitchen.”
“Unless Officer Mitchell stuck around to make sure we got back to the hotel safe. But I’d think if he did, he’d make his valiant gesture known.”
“Agreed. If he saw Scott as competition, he’d totally want to swoop in and save the day.” Nothing was quite adding up. “This means we know the person who’s sending the ransom notes.”
“Not necessarily,” Casey said. “They could be creeping on us.”
“There goes the possibility of sleeping.” I shuddered. “But how would they know what rooms we’re in?”
“They’ve either been watching us, or they talked to Roy. He seems like the type of guy who would take a bribe.”
Neither explanation offered any comfort. My head was spinning. Something derailed us from our mission every time we left the hotel. That was no accident. “Whoever’s sending the ransom notes either wants to be caught, or wants to scare us away.”
Casey crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Not gonna happen.”
“Quite a few people in town who have an issue with Rosamund.” I was thinking out loud. “Someone sent us to the Dairy Barn, knowing it was a notorious drug deal spot. Or they let the shooter know we’re coming.”
“I didn’t even think of that,” Casey said.
“Officer Mitchell wasn’t interested in the shooting, and he got defensive when Scott rolled out the red carpet for us. Did he message you or anything after he left?”
She picked up her phone and her eyes widened. “There are reports that Persephone’s missing too.”
Anger burned through my veins. “From who?”
She swiped her screen. “This article doesn’t say. Just that she went missing from the New Wave Diner, and that they want to start a search party.”
“Make a statement, and take a picture of her.”
“Problem is, anyone who’s familiar with the hotel will know where we are.”
“Right.” This was so frustrating. “It feels like Officer Mitchell is behind this. In the morning we should talk to Roy—”
Casey groaned.
“Tell him about the ransom note. He was up in arms over the broken windshield, so it seems like he wouldn’t be catnapper-friendly. And we have to talk to him about the hole in Rosamund’s storeroom.”
“Then we should talk to Rosamund, and see if she’s had any problems with Brian,” Casey said. “So maybe she’s been getting citations? Not sure if he’s got the money to buy her out, but if we could establish a pattern, we can see how it’s escalated.”
“And I think you’re right, we should talk to Marnie again. There’s no way we’ll make it another week and for her next appointment. We cut a deal with her. I’ll talk to her about my relationship with Persephone and she does a reading that gives us some insight to who might have Cupcake.”
“What if it’s her?” Casey asked. “It makes sense. If she’s got psychic abilities—she could’ve known we’d jump on a lead at the Dairy Barn. She would’ve ‘seen’ that Persephone is missing, and she would’ve been able to figure out our hotel rooms. Or if she can see the future, maybe she had the ransom note prepared…”
“What happened to not wanting to hurt anyone?” Scaring people had to fall under the category, too.
Casey shrugged. “Maybe that philosophy goes out the window when that person has what you want.”
“What would we have that she wants? Do you think they took Cupcake to draw Persephone?”
“Could be. She said she wants to talk to you, and things have been crazy ever since we left the shop. But remember, Rosamund said that she thought Marnie wanted to see her go out of business. If we can’t find Cupcake, her wish just might come true.”