A Purrfect Crime (The Kitchen Witch of Casper Book 1) by Corrine Winters

Author:Corrine Winters [Winters, Corrine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-05-27T04:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

Tara was late to open up shop the following day. As it turned out, running around town looking for clues to clear her name was more than a full time job.

Having two full-time jobs was starting to wear on her.

She brushed past a trio of waiting women, and unlocked the door with a murmured, “So sorry to keep you ladies waiting.”

She hurried about the shop, flipping light switches, lighting candles, and turning on her favorite high-vibe music mix.

“Meow!” Athena said, greeting the oldest lady in the bunch.

The woman’s smile stretched broadly under a puff of blue-tinted hair. The woman leaned down to pet Athena, muttering soft coos. Tara’s chest flooded with warmth to watch her kitty work the room.

Best. Coworker. Ever.

Athena had a true knack for soothing even the most disgruntled customers, and Tara was grateful.

Usually, Tara liked to ease her way into the day with some meditation or yoga, but she could see that seemed unlikely today.

Already, another cluster of customers were making their way inside, so Tara cut straight to coffee in the hope she could help herself catch up.

The next few hours were a whirlwind of activity. It was well after noon before she collapsed into an old, worn armchair in the back room.

As she plopped into the chair’s cracked, tufted leather, the ancient springs groaned in complaint.

Tara drew in a deep breath and rested her head. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment while she let the day’s tension drain from her limbs.

Her belly roiled and groaned. Tara’s eyes flew open and she clutched her stomach like her hands could silence the grumbling.

Tara suddenly realized she was famished. She grudgingly got back up to see if she had anything to snack on in the fridge.

Just a lone container of fried rice greeted her when she opened the door. Tara shrugged and reached for a bowl. Then she popped the leftover Chinese food into the microwave, sprinkled some water over the rice, and turned it on.

Her mind floated away while she stood there, waiting for her food to heat up.

Tara sighed and fiddled with the collar of her shirt.

The microwave beeped before she was able to let her thoughts spiral too deeply, and she gratefully sat down to eat.

Tara piled a scoop of rice high on her fork, but as she brought it to her lips, a sudden blur of black and white flew across the table, cracking into her hand.

The fork flew, twisting through the air. Grains of rice flew everywhere like confetti. Tara gasped and jumped half out of her seat, springs creaking madly.

“Athena?!”

The cat sniffed at the bowl of rice and then looked back at Tara intently. Poison, Athena sent telepathically.

“Poison?” Tara was taken aback. “But… who?”

Tara quickly glanced around, as if the poisoner lurked just around a shadowy corner. Her mind zoomed through everyone she knew, but still she came up blank.

There were a number of people who had noticed her sleuthing, had even disapproved of it…

None are so disapproving as to try to poison me, surely.

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