Dangerous Paws (Kitten Witch Cozy Mystery Book 10) by Corrine Winters

Author:Corrine Winters [Winters, Corrine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-01-16T23:00:00+00:00

Nineteen

Ember forced herself not to run back to her car. All round her, the sights and cheery sounds of downtown Caucherie seemed to mock her urgency with their laconic small-town aplomb.

“You’re holding me really tight,” Kali said.

“Sorry.” Ember relaxed her grip. “Better?”

“Yes. Don’t worry, I’m sure April is fine. Most serial killers don’t go after children…” Kali swallowed. “Except the Atlanta killer, and BTK, and...I’m just going to shut up now. Sorry.”

“You’re fine, Kali. Ignoring the truth doesn’t make it go away.”

“If it did, we cats would basically be gods,” Kali said. “Or should I say, bigger gods than we already are.”

Ember knew Kali was trying to cheer her up, but apprehension still roiled in her gut.

It was ridiculous to think the killer would go after April…or was it? Her struggles were a matter of public record. Whoever the killer was—and Ember was convinced she was right, and the murders were the work of a sequence murderer—they obviously knew a lot about the town and its people.

It wasn’t outside the realm of reason that April might find herself a target on the Jester’s list.

Ember struggled to keep her speed under control as she headed for the elementary school. It was hard, with even the cheerful sun seemingly diminished by the terror gnawing at her belly. April had been through so much. She didn’t deserve any of it, and now…

“Um, you’re up over forty and this road has a lot of turns... “ Kali said.

“Darn it. Sorry, I’m just--”

“Worried, I know.”

Ember decided to speed. If Smothers pulled her over—which he probably wouldn’t, he knew her car—she would explain the situation.

“Now you’re up over fifty.”

“I know. I’ll be careful, I promise.”

Ember called the school on her way but got no answer. That wasn’t unusual, in and of itself, because Margaret had to range around the playground and the cordless phone’s signal only reached past the monkey bars.

Still, it added fuel to the growing fire of paranoia in her belly. Ember skidded into the parking lot and rolled to a lurching stop near the cyclonic fence gate.

Margaret spotted her and came to the gate, a smile on her face. “Hello, Ember. Didn’t you get April already?”

“No,” Ember said firmly. “I haven’t.”

Margaret’s brow furrowed with confusion. “I haven’t seen her around in a bit, but I’m sure she’s out here somewhere. Let me go find her.”

Margaret searched the playground for April, calling the girls’ name. Ember fought a new wave of panic. She kept hoping to see April’s head pop out of a hooded slide, or from behind one of the trees providing shade for the playground.

When Margaret came back to the gate, it was at a jog. She grabbed her sign out clipboard and pored over it.

“She hasn’t been signed out,” Margaret said with alarm. “I—I don’t know where she is. Maybe she got inside the building somehow?”

Ember’s belly twisted in knots. “Can you call me if you find her? I’m going to go home and see if, maybe, Cedric picked her up.”

Ember knew it was a vain hope at best.

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