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“Ignore it,” Lauren replied. “I’ve left a message for Mitch. What else can we do?”
“We can go and meet this – this – person,” Zoe said.
Lauren glanced around the café. Although it was lunchtime, they weren’t too busy. Which for once, was a good thing.
“Without Mrs. Snuggle?” She looked down at Annie, who had an eager expression on her face. “And you are not going to pretend to be Mrs. Snuggle, either.”
“Brrp.” Annie’s lower lip jutted out in a pout.
“It’s too dangerous. What if this person kidnapped you?” Lauren pointed out.
Annie joined Lauren behind the counter and brushed against her leg.
“Brrp.” Pooh.
Zoe clicked her fingers. “I have the most genius idea!”
“What?” Lauren asked cautiously. She noticed the excited gleam in Zoe’s eye and knew that didn’t always bode well.
“We’ll use a decoy!”
“What sort of decoy?”
“Brrt?”
“Something that looks like Mrs. Snuggle. Like a – like a—” her gaze landed on Annie’s toy fish lying on the floor “—stuffed toy!”
“Why would we do that?” Lauren asked, not liking where this was heading.
“To draw out the killer!”
“But we don’t know the killer wants Mrs. Snuggle. What if it’s someone else who wants her because she’s a valuable cat? They might have nothing to do with poisoning Kathleen.”
“You mean they’re just grabbing an opportunity to grab Mrs. Snuggle?” Zoe nodded. “Well, I bet that’s a crime, too. They sent us a threatening note, remember.”
“I still think we should wait for Mitch,” Lauren said.
“But what if this person comes to the café if we don’t meet them at the appointed time? Or what if they come to the cottage instead?”
“Would they know we live there?” Lauren pointed out. “Just because they know we run the café, doesn’t mean they know exactly where we live.”
“What if they go knocking on our door because they’re going to ask where they can find us? And we open the door and BAM! We’re looking into the face of the person demanding Mrs. Snuggle.”
Lauren didn’t know what to do. The sensible thing would be to speak to Mitch about it first; after all, he was the police.
“I still think we should—”
“Pleeease?” Zoe looked at her hopefully. “You know I love sleuthing!”
“Brrt?” Pleeease? Annie looked at her hopefully as well.
“Oh, all right.” Lauren gave in, like she usually did. “But we must have the police on speed dial.”
“Yay!” Zoe attempted to high-five her, but Lauren kept her hand down at her side.
“If we’re going to do this, we’ll need to close the café a little early,” Lauren said.
“And we’ll need a Mrs. Snuggle decoy,” Zoe added.
“Brrt!”
“Do we have any stuffed cat toys that could pass for a real cat?” Lauren asked.
Zoe closed her eyes and scrunched her nose. “No,” she finally answered.
“Then what should we—”
“I know! We can make one!”
“Make a stuffed toy?” Lauren stared at her cousin.
“Brrt!” Yes!
“Have you added soft toy making to your list of hobbies?” Lauren asked.
“It will be easy,” Zoe assured her. “I’m sure I can rig up something.”
Lauren glanced around the not-too-busy café. “Can you do it on your lunch break?”
“Great idea.” Zoe flashed a grin. “I’ll go right now.”
“Brrt!” Annie scampered after her. When she reached the door to the private hallway, she turned her head, as if checking Lauren would be okay on her own.
“I’ll be fine.” She nodded, and gave Annie a smile.
Annie seemed to smile back at her, then darted down the hallway after Zoe.
Lauren tried Mitch again, but it was still voicemail. She just hoped she was doing the right thing, allowing Zoe – and Annie – to talk her into this.
The rest of the afternoon passed quickly – too quickly for Lauren’s peace of mind. Customers came and went, but all she could think about was their upcoming sleuthing appointment at five o’clock.
“I think we should close right now,” Zoe declared at four-thirty. The place was empty.
“Okay.” Lauren locked the door. “But we should do some cleaning up first.”
“Oh-kay.” Zoe sighed. “But we don’t want to arrive late at the park.”
“You haven’t shown me what you did at lunchtime,” Lauren said. Zoe and Annie had come back after almost an hour, looking pleased with themselves. Then more customers had come in, and she and Zoe hadn’t had a chance to discuss the Mrs. Snuggle decoy.
“It – or she – is all ready.” Zoe grinned. “It took a little longer than I thought, but I think she looks pretty good!”
“Where is it – she?” Lauren asked.
“In Annie’s carrier.”
“Brrt.”
“How long do you think it will take us to get to the park?” Lauren checked her watch.
“We should drive there,” Zoe told her. “The person wanting Mrs. Snuggle might think it strange if we walk from here carrying a cat in a cage.”
“Good point,” Lauren replied. “Annie, you’ll be staying home.”
“Brrt.” Annie’s lower lip jutted out. It was rare that she pouted twice in one day, or even in one week.
“I don’t want anything to happen to you,” Lauren told her in a gentle voice. “You can be in charge of the cottage.”
“Brrp.” Annie still didn’t look happy.
“Let’s clean up later,” Zoe urged. “I can’t wait to show you the decoy!”
Lauren allowed herself to be dragged back to the cottage. Cleaning up wasn’t her favorite thing to do either, but she knew it had to be done.
“Have you thought about what we’re going to do at the park when we meet this person?” she asked her cousin. “What if they realize we’ve tricked them with the decoy?”
“Already thought of that.” Zoe airily waved a hand in the air. “See, we’ll get a good look at them, shove the carrier at them, and skedaddle out of there.”
“You’re giving them Annie’s carrier?” Lauren looked at Zoe.
“Annie said it was okay.”
Lauren looked at Annie.
“Brrt.” Annie seemed to nod her head, her green eyes impossibly wide – and innocent.
“Fine.” Lauren sighed. Luckily, she could afford to buy Annie a new one.
“So once we get out of there, what are we going to do then?” Lauren asked. She wanted to make sure that she, Zoe, and Annie were on the same page.
“Call the police, of course,” Zoe replied, as if it was the most obvious answer in the whole world. “And tell them someone just tried to steal Mrs. Snuggle!”
***
“THIS IS MRS. SNUGGLE?” Lauren stared at the white, lumpy towel lying in Annie’s carrier.
“Yeah!” Zoe grinned. “I thought it looked pretty good. See, I even drew on eyes and whiskers. And a nose.”
“Brrt!”
“Annie helped me.” Zoe stroked the feline. “It was fun.”
Lauren didn’t think the towel – stuffed with what? – would fool anyone, let alone someone determined to grab a valuable Persian.
“It’s lucky we had this old towel in the closet,” Zoe continued. “It’s practically the same shade as Mrs. Snuggle’s coat. And I stuffed it with more old towels – the ones that had holes all through them that you were going to throw out a while ago.”
Lauren hadn’t gotten around to that – maybe it was just as well, since they wouldn’t be missed.
“And I thought we could rig up a towel on the outside of the carrier,” Zoe added. “So when this person wants to take a quick look at Mrs. Snuggle, we can push it aside and show them the part of the decoy that looks the most realistic.”
Lauren didn’t think any part of the decoy looked realistic, but she didn’t have the heart to tell Zoe – or Annie – that.
“Okay.” She sighed.
Lauren gave Annie a little cuddle before going out to the car, Zoe right beside her. She couldn’t help thinking this might be the most foolish thing she had ever done.
“Have you got your phone on?” she asked.
“Yep. And I’ve already started recording. So we’ll have evidence!”
“Good idea.” Lauren nodded.
They got into the car, Zoe opening one of the rear doors and placing the carrier on the back seat. Then she hopped into the front seat. “Should I put a seatbelt around the cage?” she asked Lauren, who’d already started the ignition.
“Yes. We want to make it look as real as possible.”
“Oops. I haven’t closed the door.” Zoe jumped out, fiddled with the rear seat belt, and climbed back into the front.
“Everything okay now?” Lauren said.
“Yep.” Zoe peered at Lauren’s watch. “You’d better step on it or we’ll be late!”
Lauren pulled away from the kerb, and concentrated on driving to the park a few blocks away.
“I wonder who we’re meeting,” Zoe pondered.
“I just hope they don’t discover we’re recording them.”
“Or going to call the police.”
Lauren pulled into the small lot at the local park. The late afternoon sun shone down on them, and a small breeze ruffled the leaves on the oak trees dotting the perimeter. The community had voted to plant some more trees and flowers, such as California Lilac, and butterfly bushes.
“Look!” Zoe tapped Lauren’s arm. “There’s a gray sedan over there. I bet it belongs to the person who sent the note!”
“And it might belong to someone perfectly innocent,” Lauren said.
“Brrt!” Annie’s face appeared behind Lauren’s in the rear-view mirror.
“Annie!” Lauren gasped. She turned around, her hand on her heart. “What are you doing here?”
“Brrt!” Coming with you! Annie looked very pleased with herself.
“I swear I didn’t know she was with us,” Zoe said earnestly. “She must have snuck in when I had the back door open for the carrier.”
“And she must have climbed through the cat flap at the cottage.” Lauren frowned. “I thought I’d locked it.”
“And I thought I’d locked it. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Lauren touched Zoe’s shoulder. “But what are we going to do now? Maybe we should take Annie home and then come back here.”
“But the killer – or whoever wants Mrs. Snuggle – is already here!” Zoe pointed to the gray sedan.
“Then they can wait a bit longer,” Lauren said. “I don’t want anything happening to Annie.”
“We could leave her in the car,” Zoe said, “with the window open. She could watch from here.”
“Brrp.” Annie sounded as if she wasn’t totally on board with that idea.
Someone got out of the car at the other end of the lot.
“It’s a woman!” Zoe unfastened her seatbelt. “We should go.”
“Stay here, please, Annie.” Lauren turned to the feline. “I want you to be safe.”
Annie seemed to be thinking about it, her eyes closing in thought.
“Come on, Lauren!” Zoe opened the back door and grabbed the carrier.
“Brrt!” Annie was out of the car in a flash.
“I don’t have your harness,” Lauren told her as she closed the driver’s door behind her.
“Brrt!” Don’t need one!
Lauren bent down to her. “Will you let me hold you while we do this?”
Annie tilted her head to one side, considering.
“Brrp,” she said softly.
“Thank you.” Lauren gathered the silver-gray tabby to her, the fluffy fur tickling her nose. “I love you.”
“Brrp.” I love you, too.
“Come on!” Zoe charged ahead, the carrier banging against her legs. Lauren just hoped that whoever they were meeting wouldn’t get suspicious if they noticed how freely the cage swung from Zoe’s hand.
Lauren hurried after Zoe as best she could, since she was carrying Annie.
“Hi,” she heard Zoe call out. “Did you send us the note?”
“Yes, I did.” The figure turned around.
Lauren drew in a breath.
It was ...
“Nina?” Zoe’s voice.
Lauren caught up with her cousin.
“Why did you send us the note?” Lauren frowned.
“Have you got Mrs. Snuggle?” Nina pointed to the carrier Zoe held. Her wavy dark brown hair looked a little disheveled, as if she’d run her hand through it several times, and her pastel green pantsuit was wrinkled.
“Right here.” Zoe patted the handle.
“Thanks.” Nina reached for it.
Zoe stepped back.
“I think we deserve an explanation,” Lauren said. She hoped Zoe still had the recording device on her phone turned on.
Nina laughed. “Oh, of course. I thought I could offer Mrs. Snuggle a better home with me. She needs someone who understands cats – she can be a bit temperamental – or hadn’t you noticed?”
“We noticed, all right.” Zoe nodded.
“So why did you send us a threatening note?” Lauren asked.
“I wanted to get your attention. I’m sorry, it was a bit rude, wasn’t it?” Nina pointed to Annie snuggled against Lauren’s chest. “I see you brought your own cat with you.”
“She wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Lauren said, giving Annie a reassuring stroke.
“Cats are like that sometimes, aren’t they?” Another laugh. “If you just give Mrs. Snuggle to me, I can take her home.”
“Are you sure you want her?” Lauren said, playing for time. Although she didn’t know why. Their plan – before Annie had snuck on board – was to hand over the carrier and scram!
“Yeah, she scratched Father Mike,” Zoe said, sounding indignant.
“Don’t worry, I can look after myself,” Nina said. “If she’s in a mood, I’ll just give her some anxiety calming medication. It works wonders for Brunhilda.”
Lauren and Zoe glanced at each other.
“Is that common?” Lauren asked, clutching Annie a little tighter.
“Sure. Some people don’t like to use it much – but—” she shrugged. “I can’t have Brunhilda carsick if we’re going to a show. Brunhilda is a winner.”
“I bet she’ll win more often now that Mrs. Snuggle isn’t competing.” Zoe gestured to the carrier she still held, the shielding towel fastened to the outside, hiding the contents.
Nina gave a little laugh. “Who says she’s not competing anymore? I’ll have Brunhilda and Mrs. Snuggle to show, as well as to breed from. Now, just hand her over.” Nina stepped forward. “In fact, why don’t you give me a peek at her? She must be wondering what’s going on.”
“She’s been a bit grumpy today,” Zoe said, touching the towel acting as a curtain. “Maybe it would be best if you didn’t disturb her right now.”
“Sure.” Nina shrugged. “I can give her some meds as soon I put her in the car. That should fix her up. They fixed Kathleen.”
All four of them froze, including Annie.
Lauren’s heart hammered so hard she was sure the others could hear it.
“My stupid big mouth.” Nina’s expression became ferocious. “Now you know I killed Kathleen, I’ll have to kill you, too.”
“But why did you harm her?” Lauren asked.
“Just to get your hands on Mrs. Snuggle?” Zoe added.
“No.” Nina shook her head. “I was sick of her constantly winning at the shows. Especially since I suspected her of bribery – and I was right! When I heard Dana accuse her at your little show here, I’d had enough. But all I was going to do was to complain to the same organizers as Dana. But then ...” she paused.
“Then?” Lauren prompted softly. Annie lay still in her arms, as if listening as well.
“Then she stole my drink! I’d gone to the refreshment stand and bought myself a juice, and put it down at Brunhilda’s cage. Then Kathleen comes past, and grabs it! She didn’t even ask if she could have some! And she left a bright red lipstick mark on the cup. I don’t even wear lip color!”
“Ouch.” Zoe grimaced.
“Exactly! But I’m not a monster. I decided to give Kathleen another chance. I bought myself another beverage, and then put a lot of Brunhilda’s anxiety medication in it. Some spectators milled around me when I did it, so I didn’t think anyone would notice what I was doing. Then I left the drink on the table next to Brunhilda’s cage. It was up to Kathleen whether she harmed herself.” Nina paused.
“That is ... genius.” Zoe’s eyes widened.
“I know!” Nina looked pleased with herself. “And of course, Kathleen being Kathleen, she grabbed my new drink again and gulped it all down. I thought it might make her sick, but didn’t think it would kill her. Oh, well.”
“So when she walked past me and Jerry on the way out, she was already suffering from the effects of the pet medication in the beverage,” Lauren said slowly. “That’s why she seemed unwell.”
“It must have been,” Nina agreed. “That stuff must work fast on humans.”
“But why do you want Mrs. Snuggle?” Lauren frowned.
“Especially if you hated Kathleen,” Zoe commented.
“I didn’t even think about the possibility of adopting her, until I spoke to you at the Sacramento cat show. You said Father Mike was looking after her and I thought, why shouldn’t I have her instead? I understand Persians; I doubt your priest does. And she’ll give me valuable kittens, just like Brunhilda does, which I can sell for twelve hundred dollars each.”
“You need the money,” Zoe guessed.
“Who doesn’t?” Nina swept out her arm. “Showing Brunhilda is expensive. It’s a good way to advertise her future litters and get buyers on my waiting list, but I want her to have the best of everything. The best food, the best vet services, the best bedding and accessories. You have no idea how expensive it is to breed and show cats.”
“But won’t it be twice as expensive if you have Mrs. Snuggle as well?” Lauren asked.
“I’ll give Mrs. Snuggle Brunhilda’s old bedding and blankets, so I’ll save costs there. I’ve always thought she needed to go on a diet, so I’ll be careful with her portions. Once I tell everyone I have another Persian queen ready to breed, I’ll be able to take deposits from people on my waiting list, which will help with the extra expenses, and get the debt collector off my back.”
Zoe stared at her. “You have people chasing you for money?”
“It’s not much.” Nina attempted to laugh it off. “Just a couple of thousand. Unfortunately, I owe a specialty cat store some money, and when I didn’t pay my account on time, they turned it over to a collection agency. And those people won’t leave me alone.” She scowled. “They call me all the time demanding payment.”
Lauren thought back. “Did they call you at the Sacramento cat show when we were speaking to you?”
“That’s right.” Nina nodded and took a little step toward them. “I was worried you’d somehow guess what the phone call was about, but apparently not. When you didn’t come nosing around in the next couple of days, I thought it would be safe to send you the note demanding Mrs. Snuggle.”
“The best thing you can do is turn yourself into the police,” Lauren urged.
“As if that’s going to happen!” Nina scoffed. “Don’t worry about Annie, I’ll give her a good home. She’s such a gorgeous thing, aren’t you?” Her tone became soft and cooing as she looked at Annie. The feline wriggled against Lauren’s chest, as if trying to get as far away from Nina as possible.
“It’s a shame Annie is spayed,” Nina continued. “Just imagine the beautiful babies she would have!”
Zoe pulled out her phone. “I think you should know we’ve recorded this entire conversation.”
“What?” Nina narrowed her eyes. “Give that to me!”
“I don’t think so.” Zoe dialed. “I’m calling the police right now!”
“No!” Nina lunged at them.
Annie jumped out of Lauren’s arms and raced past Nina. The moment gave Zoe the opportunity to shove the carrier into Nina’s stomach.
“Oof!” Nina staggered back. “Mrs. Snuggle, are you okay?”
“Annie!” Lauren shouted, running in the same direction as her fur baby.
“She’s here!” Zoe called. “With me!”
Lauren whipped around, relief flooding her. Annie stood with Zoe in front of the car, looking as innocent as possible, as if she hadn’t just distracted a killer.
“Let’s go!” Zoe jumped into the driver’s seat, Annie leaping into the back.
“Mrs. Snuggle!”
Lauren raced past Nina who pushed away the towel curtain and peered into the cage.
She slammed the car door and buckled her seatbelt just as she heard a shriek from Nina. “That’s not Mrs. Snuggle!”
Zoe peeled out of the parking lot, tires screeching.
“If you ever want a new career, you could consider becoming a racing car driver.” Lauren tried to catch her breath.
“Brrt!”