Purrfectly Royal (The Mysteries of Max Book 13) by Nic Saint

Author:Nic Saint [Saint, Nic]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Puss in Print Publications
Published: 2019-08-26T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

When Tessa and Dante piled into the house, followed by Angela, Chase, Odelia and Gran, they were all atwitter. Apparently something had happened.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, lifting my head from my paws. I’d put in a solid couple of hours of sleep and I was slowly starting to feel like myself again.

“There’s been another attack,” said Odelia as she sat down next to us on the couch. Tessa switched on the TV, and we could all see firsthand the pandemonium at the homeless shelter. People were screaming, shots were being fired, and suddenly the lights went out and the place went dark. A grave-looking newscaster announced that the Duke and Duchess of Essex were safe, but that for a while there things had looked very hairy indeed.

“It’s a miracle you made it out alive,” I said, riveted by the images.

“Turns out it was just firecrackers set off by a couple of kids. At least that’s what the police are saying. There actually was an attack, only Tessa opted not to tell the police, for the same reasons she mentioned earlier.”

Tessa and Dante were conferring with Angela, and judging from the heated argument they weren’t seeing eye to eye.

“So there was an attack?” I asked, greatly concerned.

“While the lights were out, Tessa says she felt something graze her cheek.”

Odelia was right. There was a band-aid on Tessa’s cheek.

“Someone fired a shot at her but missed,” said Odelia.

“Could whoever is responsible set off the fireworks?”

“Possibly. They say it was kids, but I’m not convinced. More likely the killer paid them off to create confusion, then cut the power to cover his tracks.”

“Did they find out who was responsible?”

She shook her head. “There were a lot of people there. The moment those firecrackers hit the place descended into chaos.”

Gran cranked up the volume on the TV. “Listen to this,” she said, and everyone’s attention turned to the screen.

“There are rumors this may have been an attempt on the Duchess of Essex’s life,” said the newscaster in the same mournful tone, “but a statement has just been issued claiming those rumors to be absolutely false.”

“Oh, for goodness sakes,” Dante said under his breath.

“Through an unfortunate concatenation of circumstances the Duchess suffered a minor injury but at no time was she in any danger, real or imagined,” the newscaster continued reading the royal statement.

“Who issued this bogus statement?” asked Dante. “That’s what I would like to know.”

“I did,” said Tessa.

“Someone tried to shoot you! I was there! I heard the shot!”

“No damage was done,” she said, touching the band-aid on her cheek.

“This is serious, Tessa,” he said, concern lacing his voice. “Someone took a shot at you. And now I’m starting to wonder if that stone ball that fell on you was an accident or a deliberate attempt on your life.”

“There was a third attempt,” said Angela suddenly.

“Mom!” Tessa said, aghast. “I thought we agreed—”

“I think it’s time you told your husband, honey.”

“But you said—”

“I know what I said. But I’ve changed my mind. Dante was standing right next to me when that shot was fired, and he was as shocked as I was.

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