Purrs and Peril by Jinty James

Author:Jinty James
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cozy cat mystery, cafe cozy mystery, clean and humorous cozy mystery, food bake cook coffee, small town murder mystery, culinary mystery, cat cozy with romance, cat cozy mystery with police love interest
Publisher: Jinty James
Published: 2019-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

“WE DID OUR GOOD DEED yesterday,” Zoe told Lauren as they drove to the casino the next morning. “We went to church and we’re going to help repaint it.”

“Pastor Mike is a good man,” Lauren said as she drove along the highway. “He was very kind when Gramms died, and dropped by to check on me when I moved into her house afterward.”

“I’m glad we’re helping him.” Zoe let out a whoosh of air. “And now we can enjoy ourselves today!”

About an hour later they arrived at the casino, a two-story brick building consisting of hotel rooms and a large gambling area.

After parking, Zoe grabbed Lauren’s hand. “I can’t wait to try everything!”

“How much mad money did you bring?” Lauren asked curiously.

“One hundred dollars. That should be enough, shouldn’t it?”

“I hope so.” Lauren had only brought fifty, and that included lunch money.

They walked along the redbrick path to the entrance. Ahead of them, a burly man came out of a side door and hurried toward the car park.

“Isn’t that Ed?” Lauren stopped and stared.

“Where?” Zoe turned her head. “Yes, I think it is!”

“What’s he doing here?” They looked at each other, their eyebrows raised.

“Maybe he read the same article I did,” Zoe suggested, “and came to try his luck.”

“But he looks – I don’t know – not exactly happy?” Lauren frowned.

“Maybe he didn’t win any money.” Zoe waved in Ed’s direction, but he didn’t seem to notice.

They watched him open the driver’s door of his ageing sedan and get in. The engine chugged, and Ed drove out of the parking lot, not appearing to see them.

“Huh. That was strange.” Zoe shrugged and continued walking toward the casino entrance.

“Yes.” Lauren wasn’t sure what to make of it.

As soon as they entered the building, Lauren was distracted by the lights and sounds – and her cousin.

“Ooh – slots!” Zoe towed Lauren toward glowing machines featuring animated characters. Zoe plopped down on a red leather stool and pulled out five dollars. She fed the money into the machine and pressed a button. The reels whirred and came up – not a winner.

“Oh.” Zoe pouted, then pressed the button again. Ring, ring, ring! She’d won two dollars.

“You should play too.” Zoe gestured to the machine next to her, with red and white glowing lights. “Keep me company.”

“Okay.” Lauren sat down and opened her wallet. She’d decided on the drive here to stick to the minimums. She fed in a one-dollar bill and pressed the button to play the minimum of five cents.

Zoe was right. It was fun – at first. Her one dollar disappeared slowly, due to winning twenty or thirty cents here and there. Lauren glanced over at her cousin who was glued to the screen. Snatches of music and the simulated sound of coins pouring out of machines added to the entertaining ambiance.

“How much have you won?”

“I haven’t.” Zoe chewed her lip. “I’ve lost ten dollars.”

“Oh.” Lauren rose. “Maybe we should look around and decide what to do next.” She glanced at her watch.

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