Kitty Cats and Kitsch, page 9
There was a little bit of blood right under her ear.
“Noodle scratched me. That cat knows how to defend her territory.”
Rosamund rose from her stool and came back with a wet paper towel. I pressed it against the wound, but the bleeding had pretty much stopped.
“Tell me everything.”
“I knew you’d want me to try again with Noodle, so I headed for the backroom. She’s in a bad mood today. Not sure why.”
“Maybe because there were so many people here.”
“Could be,” Persephone continued. “But she’s guarding an opening in that backroom. It’s not big—I couldn’t get through it, but a smaller cat could.”
Oh. That changed things. Cupcake could have escaped…if Noodle let her near the opening. Did that mean the break-in was completely unrelated? Or Cupcake got freaked out while it was happening and found a way to escape?
I relayed Persephone’s discovery to the ladies.
Rosamund groaned. “I asked Roy to patch up that hole. Must’ve come loose again.”
Casey and I looked at each other. I wished she could talk to me Persephone-style, so no one else could hear.
“Can we see it?” I asked. Persephone’s perspective might be skewed.
“Not sure we can get in there. I put boxes in front of the spot for a reason.” Rosamund headed to the backroom. “We discovered the hole when we found mice. Noodle took care of most of them, and obviously, we’re not looking to invite more guests in.”
The backroom never got bright, even when the lights were on. Casey and I helped move the cardboard boxes. Some of it looked like more Cupcake merch, but now wasn’t the time to mention that. Rosamund would want to put it out as an olive branch to the customers who'd left disappointed. The last thing we needed was more people in the mix. After a gunshot to our SUV and a growing collection of ransom notes, it was time to narrow down suspects.
We were met by a very defensive Noodle. Only a sliver of waning sunlight was visible behind her.
“Hey, kitty.” Casey was brave enough to go down on one knee and make kissing noises at the snarling cat. “I think I can make your day a little better.”
I’d seen her win over fiercer opponents at the shelter. She reached into her bag and pulled out a package of treats.
“I didn’t know she had those,” Persephone said.
“You’ll get a treat later.”
The first gentle shake was enough to get a curious look from Noodle. The next one was enough to get her to soften and come forward.
“She wasn’t this mean before,” Rosamund whispered. “It’s new. It breaks my heart.”
“Maybe she saw something that scared her.”
Noodle approached Casey cautiously. This wasn’t her first rodeo, and she kept talking to the cat, telling her pretty she was, and that she was brave to defend her spot. She offered a hand, and when Noodle bumped up against it, I knew the tabby was putty in Casey’s very capable hands.
I inched closer to the opening. I had to be careful too…Noodle probably thought her territory was more important than a few treats. The wood looked like it had either rotted away, or an animal had gnawed an opening.
Noodle was not to be underestimated.
I curled my lip at the mouse carcasses. Just because it was nature didn’t stop the pang of regret that I couldn’t save the little creatures. The opening was small and jagged.
“That’s not the same hole that Roy patched. It’s new.” Rosamund sighed.
“Is it big enough for Cupcake to get through?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. But Cupcake never came into the backroom. This is Noodle’s territory.”
Noodle had flipped over onto her back and was letting Casey rub her belly. Persephone hadn’t relaxed. She was super stiff in my arms, not taking her eyes off Noodle.
“If something spooked Cupcake and sent her back here, could that be why Noodle’s been upset lately?”
“It’s possible,” Rosamund said.
“We have to consider that the break in upset Cupcake, and she escaped. Which would mean she was local, and whoever has her thinks they can gain something from giving her back to you.” That theory meant that we’d have to talk to Roy. Hopefully he’d held onto the torch of search party leader while we’d been thrown off the path. “Any issues with neighbors?”
“There’s no one too close, and I already told you who had the most to gain from taking Cupcake.”
I nodded. Noodle wasn’t the only one who was defensive around here. It might take Rosamund a bit to look at this from a different lens. “Why don’t we let you recoup from the day? We’ll meet up tomorrow and come up with a plan to search for Cupcake.”
Casey gave Noodle one more good scritch on the head before rising to her feet. “We have dinner with Brian, too.”
Rosamund groaned.
“Can we tell him about the ransom notes?” I asked.
She pressed her lips together, and I braced myself for a no as I went over my rebuttal in my head. Officer Mitchell would have access to resources we didn’t. And if we could get him to take us seriously beyond his crush on Casey, maybe we could bring Cupcake home sooner.
“I suppose we have to,” she finally said.
I’d save the victory dance for when we actually found her cat, but it felt like progress. We headed back to the hotel before our dinner date.
Roy was holding court at the tiki bar for happy hour.
“I don’t want to go talk to Roy, but I feel like we should say hi and check in.” I eyed the tiki bar, then Casey.
“You’re right. Maybe we should freshen up first?” Casey suggested. “Give new energy to the rest of the day.”
“We could certainly use that.”
The Canyon room was starting to feel cozy. I fed Persephone and went into the bathroom to get ready to third—and fourth—wheel on Casey’s date with Officer Mitchell.
I was pretty sure she wasn’t interested in him like that, not that we’d had a chance to talk about it. Normally, I would bow out of this situation as gracefully as possible, but I wanted to see what Officer Mitchell had to say for himself when he was simply being Brian.
Or if he was like me, his job never really ended.
After throwing on a cute dress—I’d had a chance to go shopping since the last case, so I didn’t have to rely so heavily on Lucky for all occasions that required something fancier than a T-shirt—I knocked on Casey’s door.
She looked adorable in a boho patterned blouse, cropped black pants, and chunky heels. We simply nodded to each other and headed to the tiki bar.
The pool area was packed. Some of the patrons wore Cupcake T-shirts, so walking in with Persephone didn’t go unnoticed. Roy narrowed his eyes at us as we took the last two empty seats at the bar.
“I don’t usually allow animals at the bar,” he said.
“Consider this a special occasion.” Casey smiled at him.
“For you, I can make an exception. What would you like?”
“Two pina coladas, please.” She looked at me. “Does that sound good to you?”
Anything that had whipped cream and a cherry on top sounded amazing to me, but I usually didn’t drink while I was working. I had a feeling Roy didn’t pour heavy. “Yes.”
Roy nodded and got to work loading the blender. An older couple, sporting oversized Cupcake shirts, tentatively approached us.
“Is this Persephone?”
“Yes.”
“We’re big fans. When we heard Cupcake was missing, I said to my husband, they need to call Spy Kitty, and here you are. Any leads yet?”
“We can’t talk about the investigation,” I said.
The couple nodded.
“Of course,” the woman said. “Is there anything we can do to help? We love sharing Cupcake’s videos with our grandkids, and we can’t imagine having to tell them that he’s gone.”
“He’s not exactly gone, just missing.”
“You think you can find him?”
“That’s what we’re here to talk to Roy about.” Casey winked at him as he brought us our drinks. “We’d love to catch up with you later, especially if you’ve been on the Cupcake search teams.”
“Oh yes. We’re going out again bright and early tomorrow. We won’t stop until Cupcake is home safe and sound.”
Roy gripped the edge of the bar and waited for us to say goodbye to the older couple.
“I see you got a new car,” he said.
That should’ve been the least of his worries. “We have a dinner date—”
“Of course you do.” He smirked.
“Related to the investigation. And we’re hoping you have some new information for us. You know, as leader of the search party.”
“I’ve been slammed here with people coming to help.” He sounded overwhelmed. “Didn’t think so many people would care about a cat. If I saw this coming, I would’ve raised the room rates.”
Casey leaned forward. “If we don’t find Cupcake, all this is going to go away.” She nodded as Roy recoiled. “Don’t get me wrong, the town is super cute, but you haven’t created a pull. Rosamund and Cupcake are popular. People want more. But if this story doesn’t have a happy ending…”
She put her hands in the air.
“So we need a pull,” he said, focused totally on Casey.
“First, we need to find Cupcake,” I reminded everyone.
“Of course. But once he’s safe and sound, things will go back to normal. What if you could make this boom last forever? Imagine what that could do for the bottom line.”
He gave her his signature oily grin. “Maybe we need a dinner date of our own.”
Chapter Seventeen
“We really need to make time for Marnie soon,” Casey said as we drove toward the New Wave Diner. She’d convinced Officer Mitchell to meet us there for dinner, and I hoped that meant we’d have a chance to talk to Rosamund’s ex-husband while we were there.
I wouldn’t be mad if we had to visit the New Wave more than once. Because pinball. I hadn’t played since I was a kid—it was a staple of our family vacations in little towns just like Rappaport.
And tuna melts. A total diner staple food for me.
Rappaport did have a lot more to offer than a famous cat. And I’d be willing to help them come up with ideas—if they were willing to help us find Cupcake.
“I don’t think Roy and Offi—Brian—are the guys she was talking about,” I teased.
“No. But there’s a reason they’ve been put in our path. And I’m still convinced there might be a teensy-weensy curse in play.”
“Today went smoother than yesterday.” It wasn’t much, but it was something.
“Right, but we’re no closer to finding Cupcake. If anything, we have more questions.”
“Very true. That’s how things happen with these investigations. It looks like someone dropped a puzzle on the floor before things start coming together. So all these pieces might help us, or they may never fit. But they all have to be taken seriously.”
“How annoying,” Casey said as she pulled into the parking lot of the diner.
“It’s frustrating.” And knowing this was standard operating procedure didn’t make it any better. “Especially when it feels like we’ve gotten nothing done. And this time, there’s a life on the line.”
“More than one, if that person who shot at us improves their aim.”
A chill went down my spine.
“That’s why we need to talk to Marnie. We didn’t ask her the right questions last time,” Casey continued. “Maybe she could help narrow down where Cupcake is.”
“She doesn’t do readings for people…or cats…that aren’t present.”
“She also says harm none,” Casey countered. “We all know the longer it takes us to find Cupcake, the less chance we have for a happy ending.”
“We can talk to her.” I had to agree Casey was right—we didn’t ask Marnie the right questions. I had no experience with the supernatural, outside of the fact I could talk to my cat.
Casey slowed the SUV to pull into the parking lot of the New Wave Diner. The place was packed, which I considered a good sign. If the patrons were here to help find Cupcake, maybe they’d be willing to talk. Chances were they’d be more helpful than the citizens of Rappaport had been so far.
There was only one spot left, and a man stood in front of it. He shielded his eyes from the early evening sun and waved us forward. Officer Mitchell might have been in civilian clothes, but he was still on duty. He waved enthusiastically as we parked.
“What did you say to him while I was talking to Rosamund?” His attitude had done a total one-eighty.
“He might be under the impression I’m famous.” She gave him a bright smile. “He asked me what my role was in the investigation and I said I’d volunteered to be Persephone’s social media manager because I had a similar account. He filled in the blanks. I didn’t correct him.”
“Whatever it takes.”
Casey climbed out of the car to meet our host, and Persephone hopped into my lap.
“I smelled cat at the pool,” she said.
Oh.
"Really?” I didn’t even think to ask her if she’d sensed anything in the short time we were there. “What kind of cat?”
“Cat.” If she knew to say duh, she would’ve added it.
“Was the smell the same as at Rosamund’s store?”
“Maybe. It was faint.”
My mind was racing as I clipped the leash onto her harness. I wish I’d asked her before I left. But I didn’t think she’d find anything noteworthy there.
By now, I should know to expect the unexpected.
I wasn’t ready to share this new information with our dinner date yet. He’d done a one-eighty since we’d met him at the police station, and I didn’t trust him.
Officer Mitchell gave me a big smile and wave. “See you got the car situation taken care of.”
“I hope we don’t have any more pitfalls before we find Cupcake.”
“The people in Rappaport don’t like change. But they do like excitement.” That could explain his change of heart. “And this is the most exciting thing that’s happened in a long time. I mean, we have actual celebrities here in town.”
People were turning and pointing, realizing Persephone was here.
“I made a reservation for four to make sure we’d get a table outside,” he added. “You’ll still get the full experience. Scott’s put some games out on the deck. There’s a retractable closure to keep them safe in the elements.”
“Do you come here often?” I asked as we waited for the hostess to seat us.
“Not as often as I’d like. Don’t always have someone to come with.” He beamed at Casey.
“You should start a competition in town. Like a game night,” she suggested. “People could form teams, and then you’d always have someone to hang out with.”
“That’s a great idea. I’ll have to post on the town social media site and see what we can get going.”
The hostess led us to our table, and Officer Mitchell followed close behind her. It gave Casey and I a chance to mouth town site at each other.
This date had already paid off.
“Look! It’s Spy Kitty!” a little boy exclaimed. Persephone had just hopped onto her metal chair, and people were closing in before we had a chance to pick up our menus.
Officer Mitchell rose from his chair, full-on police officer mode. “Folks, Persephone and the ladies are here to enjoy everything we’ve come to know and love about the New Wave Diner. Please, give them some space.”
It worked.
Casey smiled at him. “It’s nice having our own personal security guard.”
“I’d hate to see anything happen to Persephone while you’re here,” he said.
My heart skipped a beat. “Have you had any threats? I mean, besides the person who shot at us?”
He twisted his lips together. “I’m not supposed to share police business with civilians.”
So he had. “Did you know that Rosamund is getting ransom notes?”
From the way his mouth dropped, that was news to him. “Rosamund keeps to herself. Doesn’t like to admit when something’s wrong.”
“Has anything like that come to the station?”
He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Just complaints about traffic. And some people speculating about who’s causing it.”
“Spy Kitty,” Casey added.
He nodded. “Cupcake has been a fixture in town. He always brought visitors, but it wasn’t disruptive. Like this. Not sure we’ll even get in a pinball game tonight.”
“I guess we’ll have to come back.” We still needed to talk to Scott.
The waitress looked shellshocked when she came over to take her order. Officer Mitchell got a bacon cheeseburger, Casey ordered a BLT, and I was going for my diner standby.
“I’ll have a tuna melt, fries, and iced tea…and what kind of fish do you have without too much spice?”
She looked confused.
“For Spy Kitty.”
“I’ll see what the chef can do.” She gave a tight grin and spun away.
“Oh!” I called to her before she walked away. “Could you add an order of fried pickles?”
Casey kicked me under the table and motioned for me to look at my phone.
There was a message from Henry. Think you’ll be able to video chat tonight?
I hope so. I’m third-wheeling it on a weird date with Casey.
Her message finally came through. What if someone tries to poison Persephone?
You’re being dramatic.
She casually picked up her phone and smiled as she typed. Brian just said there have been threats…
You need to work on him to share police business.
Why do you think we’re here?
“I understand you can’t share police business, but maybe you could give us some pointers about things to avoid?”
Officer Mitchell swallowed hard and looked around before leaning forward. “I’ll follow you back to the hotel tonight. I’d suggest keeping your search to daylight hours.”
Casey and I shared another look.
