Молли Фитц - Hairless Harassment

And that definitely worries me.

Especially since my mom just invited me to help her with her newest investigative journalism assignment…

I’d finally switched to a part-time schedule at the firm, and today was one of my days off. And by off, I meant I got to stay home and pack up my tiny rental house under the supervision of one very demanding tabby.

Not only did I have to discard a number of my belongings that he found to be inadequate, but he was also the reason I had to move in the first place. Granted, I’m the one who said I’d owe him a big favor if he allowed me to put him in a harness to take him outside. I hadn’t counted on that favor amounting to more than six-thousand square feet, though.

As it turned out, the favor he wanted was for me to purchase the old manor house he had lived in with Ethel Fulton before she was murdered and, through a truly unbelievable series of events, he came to live with me. Now a twelve-dollar harness was costing me the better part of my five-thousand-dollar monthly stipend, and I’d learned to be more careful about promising my kitty companion open-ended favors.

Yes, my former boss, Richard Fulton, did offer me a generous break on the price. Also, there were fewer interested parties once the greater populace found that the former homeowner had been murdered, but still— still! —owning Fulton Manor would require a pretty penny from me not just to keep up with the mortgage, but also to carry out the many repairs that seemed to be more or less essential for safety purposes.

At least that’s what the home inspector said.

Hardly any time has passed at all, and yet somehow the sale is final and the house is ready for me and Octo-Cat to move in. It’s funny how bureaucracy can either slow things way down or speed them way up depending what side you approach the red tape from. Around Blueberry Bay, the Fultons owned the spool from which the red tape was unraveled, which meant I bought myself a manor house with very little effort on my part.

Nan, who adores both me and my cat in equal measure, decided to help out, too. Even though she’d owned her little Cape Cod style home for more than thirty-five years, she decided it was time to sell and move in with me at my new Eastern seaboard mansion.

“The difference is,” she explained, “this time I’ll be living with you and not the other way around.” That was how she justified kicking me out of her house less than a year ago, only to move in with me now.

Honestly, I’m more than a little thrilled to have an added buffer when it comes to Octo-Cat. I love him more than anything, but he also infuriates me on a regular basis, constantly finding new and exciting ways to push the poorly constructed boundaries I’ve tried to erect.

And so all of us are moving in this weekend, even though Nan hasn’t even had an offer on her house yet. Breanne says it will be easier to sell without a current resident. Yes, I couldn’t believe Nan hired Calhoun Realty to list her house, either. She and I needed to have a serious talk about family loyalty.

But first we had to survive the big move.

“Someone just pulled up outside,” Octo-Cat informed me, hopping onto the end of the bed where the better part of my wardrobe was laid out for evaluation. I took packing as a good opportunity to downsize, even though my living space would increase nearly ten times.

A moment later an urgent knock sounded on the front door and my mom’s voice called out, “Angie? Angie, are you here?”

“Coming!” I yelled, letting the half-full box in my arms fall to the floor.

I flipped the deadbolt and my mom immediately pushed her way inside. “You’ll never guess what happened!” she told me, reaching into my closet and grabbing one of my jackets, which she thrust at me excitedly.

“What?” I asked, still a bit sleepy and not quite ready for this level of enthusiasm.

She followed me into the kitchen where I grabbed a can of Diet Mountain Dew and flipped the tab. It was my latest attempt at a suitable coffee replacement, and so far, so good.

“Lou Harlow was murdered!” she squealed with delight.

“Um, Mom. How about a little less bliss over someone dying, please?” Lou Harlow wasn’t just some random local, either. As one of the two senators appointed to represent the great state of Maine, she was one of the most famous people to reside in our little corner of Blueberry Bay.

And now she was dead. And for some reason, my mother was terribly excited about it.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s sad she died and everything, but guess who’s been asked to cover it?” She bit her lower lip and pointed both thumbs toward her chest while widening her eyes to a comical degree.

“Congrats,” I murmured, still feeling icky about her reaction to this whole thing.

“Thank you,” she said with an airy smile. “Turns out I did such a great job covering the Hayes murders, the station would like me to do another investigative piece.”

“I’m really happy for you, Mom.” And I was. She’d worked hard to get here, and at last everything was coming up… bodies in the morgue, I guess.

“Good, because I need you to do it with me.”

“What? No, no, no, no.” Yeah, I’d done the legwork to find the Hayes’s real killer and clear Brock Calhoun’s name, but that didn’t mean I wanted to jump straight into another murder investigation, especially one as prominent as this one would no doubt prove to be.

“Angie, I don’t really think you have a choice.”

I groaned and shook my head. “Oh, yeah, because that’s the way to win me over.”

“The senator was killed in her home,” she revealed. “Do you know where that home is?”

“Somewhere in Glendale?” I guessed with a sigh.

“Not just somewhere,” my mom corrected with a new light dancing in her hazel eyes. “Right next door to your new house.”

Chapter Two

Well, this was exactly not what I needed on moving day. My new home had already been tainted by murder, and now the place next door had become an active crime scene as well.

My mom stared at me with wide, sparkling eyes. “Well?” She nudged me with her elbow as if we were doing something as harmless as discussing reality TV gossip. This wasn’t reality TV, though. It was actually real life. My life.

“I know that look,” Octo-Cat proclaimed from his seat beside me. “It’s the same one you get right before you decide to do something stupid.”

“Well, good luck on the investigation,” I mumbled, hoping to silence them both so I could get back to packing.

It didn’t work.

My mom grabbed both my wrists and attempted to drag me from my chair. “Come with me. I need you,” she whined, drawing out each word dramatically. No wonder she’d become Blueberry Bay’s go-to newswoman. Even I found myself both wanting and dreading to know what would happen next.

I yanked my arms away and wrapped them around my waist defensively. “In case you forgot, it’s my moving day, and I still have lots to do before the movers get here in a few hours.”

Mom balked at this excuse as she moved behind my chair and put a hand on each of my shoulders, causing me to flinch. “A few hours? Why, that’s way more than enough time to take a quick glance. Besides, aren’t you curious?”

I bit my lip and tried really hard not to say anything. The truth was I had, in fact, begun to enjoy the thrill of the investigation. And despite my better judgment and bigger priorities, I was definitely intrigued by the newest murder in town having happened right next door to my new place.

A fresh corpse next door. What a housewarming gift!

Seeing that she had me on the hook, Mom began to reel me in. She put her face beside mine and tipped my chair back. “Tell you what. How about you come with me now and, after we take a quick look-see, I’ll come back to help you finish packing. Deal?”