Cupcakes, Bats, and Scare-dy Cats (An Annie Graceland Cozy Mystery Book 6) by Pamela DuMond

Author:Pamela DuMond
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Pamela DuMond
Published: 2015-11-11T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Suspect the Doodle

Theodore (The Cat)

A LARGE BIN perched outside an enormous, squat building surrounded by a chain link fence. My stomach rumbled ominously, my legs felt weak, and I feared that I was entering the second stage of starvation. I spotted the remains of a curdled drink, a fly-encrusted tuna sandwich, and some cheese doodles lying on the pavement. I cautiously made my way toward the abandoned delicacies and sniffed.

You’re probably wondering why a cat of my status even knows about cheese doodles. On occasion, Annie lets me lick one while she’s busy watching TV and consuming half the bag. While I hate to spread rumors, I suspect the doodle is not even made of real cheese.

“While the food looks delicious, I don’t approve of this restaurant, Mary,” I said. “I doubt there’s anything healthy for a cat to eat here, unless said cat wants to be sicker than a dog in the near future.”

“This isn’t a restaurant. It’s Silver’s Gym. I didn’t bring you here to look for food,” she said. “I brought you here to look for clues.”

My stomach gurgled, and the remains of the smoothie beckoned me. “Clues?” I leaned down and licked the concoction.

Mary pounced on my head, I jumped a few feet in the air, and shook her off me. But by the time I hit the ground, she was already yards away, sitting next to the building, and grooming her nails. “Don’t you touch that stuff!” she said. “You want to get cooties?”

I bristled. “You mean catties?” I reminded myself to act cool—like I meant to spazz out, like I’d just been hit by a stray bolt of lightning.

“Cooties, you dork. Come over here.” She sashayed in front of me, her voluptuous tail undulating first left, right, and then left again.

A car pulled into the parking lot, nearly missed running over my fluffy paws, and reminded me of all the dangers I faced since leaving home. I glared at the driver, and then trotted toward Mary. “Where are we going?” I frowned as the vehicle parked on top of my smoothie.

“See that hole in the fence?” She asked.

“The one that isn’t even big enough for a mouse?”

“The one that’s big enough for a fleet of mice. They’re not going to let us walk in the front door,” Mary said. “This place isn’t feline friendly. We’re sneaking in the back way. Hurry up.”

The music grew louder and the clanging sounds more cacophonous as we approached the building. I spotted half-naked people inside grunting, sweating, and talking far too loudly as they moved heavy equipment. Perhaps it was a disco, or a warehouse for a home improvement superstore. Or, maybe, it was the headquarters for a cult.

“I see it,” I meowed, “but I’m not entering this hellhole with all the unsanitary people.”

“I thought you were the kind of cat who takes a risk.” She stepped through the gap effortlessly, circled, and peered at me from the opposite side. “The kind of feline who summons spirits from the other world.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.