Driftwood Deceptions: A Black Cat Cozy Mystery (The Maggie and Pepper Mysteries Book 3) by Wendy Ledger

Author:Wendy Ledger [Ledger, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wendy Ledger
Published: 2023-09-18T16:00:00+00:00

17

Before we went home, we decided to walk by Fiona’s to check whether Salt had perhaps returned.

“I’m going to visualize she’s there, “ Pepper said. “She’s sitting on the front step, and when she sees me this time, she smiles. She says, ‘Pepper, I’ve had some time to think, and I’ve realized I was cross when I saw you before because I missed you so much. I’m so happy to see you now. I’m so glad that you came back.’”

But when we approached Fiona’s house, the steps were empty. However, next door, Jean and Jerry were home. From their backyard, we could hear Hawaiian music and laughter.

“We should ask them if they’d keep an eye out for Salt,” I said, and we made our way to their back fence, where we all looked on in wonder. This morning, there had only been concrete and a strip of grass. Now there were beach chairs and chaise lounges and a barbecue grill. Jean relaxed on a chaise longue. She held a mug resembling a coconut shell, accessorized by tiny umbrellas and a slice of pineapple. She wore a big pink beach hat and sunglasses, and her feet kept time with the music. Jerry had on a “Please Kiss the Chef” apron, and he attended the grill. The air smelled of salmon and teriyaki.

Paul had been dozing by Jean’s chaise lounge. He woke up with a yawn, caught sight of Pepper, and started barking.

“Paul! I’m enjoying the sound of the ukuleles. What is it?” Jean followed his gaze and saw us.

“Why, hello!”

Jerry waved from the grill.

Jean turned back to her dog. “Now, Paul, you must remember that Pepper is not Princess Snowflake. He wouldn’t bully you.” She looked over at me. “Right?”

“I will treat him the way I used to treat Bob,” Pepper declared to me. “I won’t look his way, and I’ll pretend he doesn’t exist.”

“He won’t,” I promised.

Jean gripped Paul’s collar with her hand. His feet danced as if his main mission in life would be to go after Pepper. “I’ll put him inside,” she told us. “I’m sorry, Pepper. Paul does not like cats.”

When she returned, Owen said, “We’re sorry to bother you, but we wondered if you had seen Salt.”

After a pause, I said, “The cat you know as Princess Snowflake.”

“Oh,” Jean said, “her.” She apologized to Pepper again. “I just can’t say that I cared for her much.”

“She didn’t really know her,” Pepper said in my ear. “She has misjudged my sister.”

It was hard for me to know whether that was right or wrong. Salt had seemed rather snooty when we saw her, but maybe she was just high-strung, passionate. Pepper certainly loved her. I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

I handed Jean a card. “We would appreciate it if you could let us know if you see her. We’ll come pick her up.”

“If she’ll let us,” Pepper said in a sad voice.

Jean placed my card next to her drink. “As long as I don’t have to be her BFF, I can do that for you,” she said.

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.