“Shoo! Get out of here!”
Persephone darted out of the honeymoon suite and jumped into my lap.
Roy appeared at the door. His face was hard and angry. “I thought you kept your cat on a leash.”
“She doesn’t like it, and we’re in a fenced-in yard.”
“There’s a reason we don’t usually allow pets here,” he grumbled and turned back into the room.
“Good work.” I patted Persephone to get her to calm down. Her heart was pounding. “Did you get a chance to sniff anything before he freaked out?”
“There’s a cat in there. In the bathroom. Clawing at the door to get out.”
“Do you think it’s Cupcake?”
Casey’s mouth dropped, but I couldn’t tell her anything because Roy returned, carrying a small tray with three drinks on it.
“It could be,” Persephone said.
“Addie,” Casey brought me back from the shock. “Pick up your drink. We’re toasting.” The look on her face said play along.
“Sure.” I picked up my glass and clinked it against hers and Roy’s. “What are we toasting?”
“To Rappaport.” Roy took a healthy swing of his margarita. “And a prosperous future for all of us.”
“To Rappaport.” I put my drink down. “Could I use your bathroom?”
His face darkened. “I’d rather you use the one in your room. Or in the lobby.”
Casey scrunched up her nose. “That’s weird, Roy.”
“I’m a bit of a germaphobe, that’s all.” He chuckled. “Don’t take that the wrong way.”
“Are you sure that’s the reason?” I was going for broke. “Or is Cupcake in your room?”
“Of course he isn’t.” Roy’s face darkened. “How dare you accuse me of stealing my sister’s cat.”
“Persephone has smelled cat on you all along, and you just said that you usually don’t allow pets here. So that means you have a cat.”
“My motor inn. My rules.” He took another sip of his drink.
“And someone’s scratching at the bathroom door, hoping to get out. Persephone thinks it could be Cupcake.”
“Your cat’s too smart for its own good,” he snarled.
“Come on, Roy. Loosen up a little.” Casey gave him another one of those smiles that would make a mere mortal swipe right, but Roy was not moved. “You just told us that you wanted Rosamund’s land, and she won’t give it to you. So if you have Cupcake, there goes her best income stream. She’ll have no choice but to sell, right?”
His mouth parted, but he didn’t say anything.
“Let us see the cat, or we’ll call Rosamund.”
Roy let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. You figured me out. I have Cupcake, and it’s because I wanted to convince Roz to sell. Knock down that rotting old building and replace it with something that can bring real money into this town, instead of selling ten-dollar mugs with a cat on them.”
“Who shot at us?” I asked. “Were you behind that too?”
“I had Brian Mitchell keep an eye on the two of you to make sure you didn’t stick your nose in where it didn’t belong. There are things happening in this town that don’t concern outsiders. That’s all you need to know about that. So don’t think about calling the police on me. I’ve taken care of that angle already.” Roy rocked on his feet. “But Brian took a shine to Casey, and almost blew the plan.”
“What was the plan, Roy?” My body was trembling, and I hoped he didn’t see it.
“The plan was for the two of you to leave Rappaport, no matter what. Even if it meant Spy Kitty stayed with us.”
My blood ran cold, and I hugged Persephone against my chest. “Let us see Cupcake, so we know she’s okay. Then we’ll call Rosamund, and you can settle this with your sister.”
“You stole her money,” he said.
“You stole her cat, and had her shop vandalized.”
“We found Cupcake, didn’t we?” Casey said. “That’s what we were hired to do.”
Roy grumbled and opened the door to his room. It was most definitely the honeymoon suite, white and fluffy with hearts everywhere. He opened a door and Cupcake came running out.
Freaked out, but definitely in one piece.
Casey scooped up Cupcake. Even after his ordeal, he didn’t protest. “Come on, let’s get this cat home.”
Roy glowered, but he didn’t stop us as we left.
“We should probably get our stuff before we go to Rosamund’s house. Something tells me we need to find a new place to sleep tonight,” I said. “Let me call Rosamund and let her know we have Cupcake.”
It didn’t take either of us long to pack. Instinctively, we must have known we’d have to make a quick exit from the Rappaport Motor Inn. I put a few quarters into the machine, so Persephone could have one last celebratory Magic Fingers ride.
Cupcake hopped up on the bed with her.
“Has he told you anything?” I asked.
“He wants to go back to his mom,” Persephone said. “The big man didn’t pay any attention to him.”
“Did he hurt him?” The cat looked good, but that could be deceiving.
“No. Just fed him dry food and locked him in the little wet room. Didn’t give him a bed.”
“That sounds pretty miserable.”
Casey rolled her suitcase into my room. “I think we should just leave the keys in the room. The doors will lock behind us. No need to chance another Roy encounter.”
“Good idea.” Even though I had no idea where we’d sleep tonight, I wouldn’t miss this place.
“I can’t believe Roy stole my Cuppy Coo.” Rosamund kissed the top of Cupcake’s head and held him close to her body. We were sitting at the kitchen table in her house. “All because he wants to bulldoze our family home and business.”
“Had he made you an offer?” I asked. Persephone was on my lap, and on her leash. After Roy admitted he would’ve resorted to catnapping her to drive us out of town, I wasn’t letting her go far.
Rosamund huffed. “If you could call it that. I know what this land is worth, and the number he gave me was an insult. He’d pay anyone else market value, and that’s what I expected too. But he thought I’d give him a deal. Roy’s never paid a fair price for anything. That’s why he’s so successful.”
“What are you going to do now? Having him arrested isn’t an option.”
“The police chief is our uncle, and he’ll be very interested to hear about the deal Brian Mitchell struck with my brother, so don’t count that out.” Rosamund wasn’t to be underestimated, either. “I’m still in shock right now. And so thankful my Cuppy Coo is safe. Maybe I will sell the land. Not to Roy, of course. Start over fresh somewhere no one knows us. I’ve always fantasized about that. But I felt loyal to the town. Too bad the town hasn’t been loyal to me.”
“You don’t have to plan your future tonight,” Casey said. “I would suggest making a video to tell Cupcake’s fans he’s safe. You don’t have to tell them the details. Not until you hire a lawyer, because Roy will want to get the last word.”
“He always does,” Rosamund sighed. “Can you make a Spy Kitty video, too?”
“Absolutely. Tell us what you want us to say, and we’ll do it.”
“We should take pictures of the two cats together. The fans will go wild for that,” Casey suggested. Noodle was in her lap. “Would you like to be in the pictures too?”
Noodle jumped down, looking incredulous as she licked herself.
“She really likes you,” Rosamund said. “She hasn’t been that friendly since Scott moved out.”
“He did mention he missed her,” I said. “Maybe she could live with him?”
Rosamund nodded. “At one time, I wouldn’t have been willing to say yes. With all the hoopla of Cupcake’s popularity, I didn’t realize how miserable Noodie had become. I’m so sorry, girl.”
“I’m glad this worked out for everyone,” I said with a yawn. Rosamund had offered to let us stay at her house, but I was nervous we hadn’t heard the last from Roy or Officer Mitchell. “Ready to film the video?”
Rosamund nodded. We convinced her to go on camera with Cupcake so all the fans would know the video was the real deal. “This is Roz Rappaport, Cupcake’s mom. I’m glad to announce that Cupcake’s back home, safe and sound. Many thanks to Spy Kitty and her team, because without Persephone, Addie, and Casey’s hard work, we might have never found our boy. It might be a little while before we start shooting regular videos again, but have no doubt—we’ll be back, better than ever.”