Shirley Murphy - Cat Breaking Free

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Joe Grey isn't your average feline. After all, there's nothing ordinary about a cat who solves crimes. But it's more than his skill and cunning on the mean streets that makes Joe stand out among the legion of cat detectives on the prowl today – it's how Joe cracks cases that makes him so unique. Join Joe Grey, his lady friend Dulcie, and their tattercoat friend Kit in the eleventh delightful installment in the series that "raises the stakes of the feline sleuth genre" (Booklist) and discover the secret they hide from most people – and the mystery that makes Joe Grey so exceptional.
CAT BREAKING FREE
The fur starts flying – the fur of Joe Grey, Feline P.I., that is – when a gang from L.A. comes up to tranquil Molena Point, California, and begins breaking into the village's quaint shops. After all, Molena Point has been his home since he was a kitten eating scraps from the garbage behind the local delicatessen, and he doesn't take well to marauding strangers. Joe even wonders whether the blonde who's moved in next door to his human companion Clyde could be a part of the gang – she's been acting pretty suspicious lately.
But when the strangers start trapping and caging feral cats – speaking cats, like Joe and his girlfriend Dulcie – it proves too much for the intrepid four-footed detective. And when one of the gang is murdered, and a second mysterious death comes to light, he has no choice but to try to stop the crimes. Joe, Dulcie, and Kit, who used to be a stray herself, are deep into the investigation when they are able to release the three trapped felines. But as Kit leads them away to freedom, will she herself return to that wild life?
In this marvelous book that once again opens the door to the spectacular world of Joe Grey, meet three new cats – winning cats drawn from among hundreds of their owners' entries and chosen at random to appear in this book – and join old friends and new in Shirley Rousseau Murphy's most ambitious and enjoyable mystery to date.

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"I'm about ready," she told him, reaching down to scratch his ear. He settled, looking up at her expectantly for another treat, though he'd had a third of her order. "That's all," she told him. "No more." Less than a year ago, when she first adopted him, Rock had been running wild in the hills, a beautiful, unwanted stray. It had taken her some time to manner him. He'd been so unruly that she'd been on guard every moment in a public place, never sure how he'd behave. She was digging for change when Rock came out from under the table, growling. Startled, she looked up.

Roman Slayter was approaching her table. She was pleased that Rock's reaction today was totally different.

"What a nice surprise," Slayter said, raising an eyebrow at Rock's growls, but giving her that charming, boyish, brown-eyed smile. Without asking, he pulled out a chair. When Rock's growl deepened, Slayter paused. "May I join you? Are you alone?"

"Sorry, I'm just leaving. I have an appointment."

Roman sat down anyway, stretching his legs out under the table. Rock sniffed at his shoes, and at once he began to wag his tail.

What was wrong with the dog?

Roman smiled, looking up when the waitress arrived. "I'll have whatever Ryan had."

Ryan rose, shrugging on her jacket. Slayter gave her a pleading, lost look designed to gentle the meanest female. "Just for once, Ryan, indulge me. I have something of interest to tell you."

"I don't have time to talk." Slipping her cell phone from her belt, she flipped it open. "You show up in San Francisco asking questions about the money from the sale. You were all over me with questions that were none of your business. How much did I get, where did I bank it? You weren't even subtle. And you barged into the Harper place, pushy and uninvited. Why would I want to be friendly?"

Roman's smile was innocent and charming. "I'm sorry, Ryan. I only wanted to help-about the money. You know I've done financial advising, that I worked for Thompson and Marrick for a while. I never meant to pry, I just thought… Well, with so much sudden money dumped in your lap, that you might…"

"That I might not know what to do with it? That I might not know how to handle my own money? That I'm too dumb to protect it?" She was so angry she thought her face must be flaming red. She stood staring down at him, wanting to hit him. But then she smiled.

"If it's of any interest to you," she lied, "I've put all the money in annuities and trusts. Where no one, no one on earth can touch it, Roman." Speaking to Rock, she turned on her heel. But Roman's next words stopped her.

"Before you go, Ryan, I have information about the recent jewel robbery."

She spun around to face him. "Tell it to the cops, Roman. Why would you tell me? Go down to the station." She heard, beneath the table, the soft crunching and smacking that told her Roman had slipped Rock some treat. Leaning down, she snatched a Milk-Bone from his mouth. "And don't ever, ever feed my dog!"

Calling Rock to heel, she held up the slobbery Milk-Bone and gently dropped it in Roman's coffee.

With Rock at heel, she stalked out. Her heart was pounding. What the hell did he want? Let him pick on someone else! Driving over to get Dillon and Lori, she fumed. Rock was quiet, watching her. She felt only a little ashamed that she had snatched his treat. She began to think seriously about giving him poison training, where he would not accept food from anyone but herself, or would accept it only with a particular command.

At Dillon's place, she had to honk for the girls. They came hurrying out, Lori carrying her little overnight bag and a piece of toast, the brown-haired, big-eyed child wiping egg from the corner of her mouth. Redheaded Dillon Thurwell, two years older, took one look at Ryan's angry face and climbed silently into the back seat of the king cab.

Taking off, Ryan resisted the urge to burn rubber. In the back seat, Dillon gave Lori an amused glance. All the way to Clyde's, neither girl spoke. She must look mad enough to chew nails. Beside her, Rock looked back at the girls with a hangdog expression that made her want to laugh, and that shamed her.

But she was still puzzled by the change in Rock's reaction. Why growl at Roman, and the next minute cozy up to him? And the fact that he would so eagerly take food from a stranger frightened her badly. Looking into the rearview mirror, she tried to make small talk. "What did you have for breakfast?"

"Pancakes," Lori said hesitantly. "With a gallon of syrup," she said, rubbing her tummy. "Bacon, two eggs. A piece of chocolate cake."

"That should keep you until midmorning." These two would burn it off riding, cleaning stalls and doing chores for Charlie, burn it off just with the energy of their wild young spirits. Lori had so blossomed since she came out of hiding in her cave in the library basement, since going to live with Cora Lee French and the senior ladies. She was such a bright, eager child, and so resourceful and ready for adventure, now that she was among caring friends. Ryan hoped her adventures would remain positive.

"I'll only be a minute," she said, parking in front of Clyde's house. She grabbed the bag of faucets, took Rock with her, and left the girls in the truck. This project did make her laugh. Just thinking about it soothed her anger. The idea that Clyde's cats liked to drink from the bathroom sink and he was tired of waiting on them-and that he could teach four cats to turn on the water faucet by themselves. How many men would even have the patience to try? How many men would care where their cats drank?

She really didn't think this would work, but Clyde did. They had a dinner bet on the success of the project, steak and champagne at any upscale restaurant of the winner's choice. The whole project was a belly laugh.

But who knew? Maybe he could teach them; what did she know about cats? Swinging out of the truck, she stopped still.

The scene on Clyde's front porch amazed her. Made her angry all over again. Apparently, Chichi had left the cafe right after she did. The blond bimbo stood on Clyde's porch snuggling up to him, or trying to. She was all over him, petting his face and laughing with a high giggle that set Ryan right on edge; all that pulchritude and sex thrown at Clyde was just too much, made her feel like a jealous schoolgirl.

But then Ryan's commonsense took hold. Looking Chichi over, her sense of humor returned with an explosion that made her want to double over laughing. This was pitiful! The woman was more than a joke, this was a scene straight out of the daytime soaps or out of the cheapest comedy. Clyde's face was red with embarrassment or with anger, or both. Glancing past Chichi to Ryan, he looked so uncomfortable she thought he might expire right there on the porch. Even Clyde's cat seemed amused, staring out at them through the front window with, Ryan could swear, a malicious grin on his gray and white face.

17

Cat Breaking Free - изображение 18

Much earlier that morning, before Ryan left her apartment and before the Greenlaws entered the Swiss Cafe, Joe Grey was jerked from sleep. He'd been dozing in his tower after a little hunt. He woke to the sound of water pounding in the pipes, from the house next door-a sound for which he'd been listening, even as he slept. Chichi was up early again.

Slipping out from among the warm pillows and out of the tower, he sat down on the roof. Night was just drawing back, in the wake of a clear, silvered dawn. He gave himself a quick wash, working fastidiously on his front paws until he heard the rumbling in the pipes stop, then the faintest rustling from within the house next door, a sound no human would hear. Then, louder, an inner door closing, maybe the closet door. He waited until he heard Chichi's outer door open and close, and heard the lock turn. He listened to her walking through the grass below him, her footsteps softly swishing. Heard her hit the sidewalk in her soft shoes, walking quickly. Only then did he follow across the shingles, peering over.

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