Молли Фитц - Terrier Transgressions

Mitch finished eating first, then picked Yo-Yo up and sat him on her lap. That reminded me of something that still didn’t sit well with me.

“When I was talking with Sandra,” I said, waiting for a beat to make sure everyone was listening, “she mentioned dog-sitting for a friend once. Do you think it’s possible she meant Yo-Yo?”

“Do you really think she stole him, kept him hostage for a few weeks, and then let him go? That seems kind of improbable,” Charles said. “What reason would she have for doing that?”

“Let’s ask the dog,” Octo-Cat said before taking a giant hunk of shrimp into his mouth.

“Would you?” I said, adding “please” when he didn’t immediately comply.

“What’s—?” Charles began, but I shushed him while I waited for the animals to finish their exchange.

“Affirmative,” Octo-Cat said a moment later. “She took him that night when he wouldn’t stop barking, but he got away and came home. It took him a while to find his way back from Misty Harbor, but he was determined to get home, no matter what.”

I quickly relayed this information to the rest of the group.

“So, why didn’t she kill him, too?” Charles asked, stating the obvious.

“I guess even evil has its limits,” Nan said with a pert nod.

“He says he’s sorry for not remembering everything sooner,” Octo-Cat informed me. “And he said thank you for helping his family.”

“What’s going to happen to Yo-Yo now?” I asked the others.

“Charles is helping me petition the school to keep him with me on campus as an emotional support animal,” Mitch answered with a sad smile. “I just couldn’t imagine losing him again. He’s the only family I have left now.”

“And until then, he’ll stay with me,” Charles said. “But we should have no problem getting our petition approved, in light of…” His voice trailed off, but Mitch picked up the thread for him.

“My parents being recently murdered.”

“What a day,” Nan said with a giant sigh. “Let’s take a break before investigating our next big case, if that’s okay with you,” she said, turning to me.

“What makes you think there will be a next case?” I asked, surprised.

“Because, my darling, you might not always go about things in the safest way, but I think you’ve finally found your true calling.”

“Which is?”

“You’re the best private eye in all of Maine,” she said with a proud smile.

“I’ll drink to that,” Charles said, raising his glass of soda.

“Me too,” Mitch said.

That’s when Mom came swooping into the restaurant to join us. “I’m here!” she cried. “What did I miss?”

“Nothing,” Nan said, sending a wink my way. “Nothing at all.”

Well, I guess I could tell Mom later. I’d had more than enough excitement that night already.

Octo-Cat nudged me with his paw. “Now that that’s over with, I’m ready to collect on my favor.”

Mom was busy giving her order to the waitress, so I bent down and quietly hissed, “What is it?”

“I want you to buy me a house,” he said with a Cheshire grin.

“A house!” I exploded.

He nodded excitedly. “And not just any house. My house. I want to go home.”

My jaw hung open as I searched for the appropriate response. Nothing came to me, though.

“Don’t worry, you’re coming, too,” Octo-Cat added in a futile effort to answer my objections. He’d learned a lot about human society lately—I’d give him that—but there were certain things that still went way over his head, money being a prime example.

“You want me to just buy Ethel’s house?” I hissed again. “ There’s no way I can afford that huge place.”

“We’ll figure out the details later,” he assured me, returning his attention to his meal.

When I glanced back at my human dining companions, I saw Mom staring at me with a look I instantly recognized.

She knew.

What’s Next?

I never signed up to be a private investigator with a snarky, talking cat for a partner, but there's no backing down now. Especially considering a prominent politician was murdered pretty much right in my backyard.

The only witnesses were the senator's two hairless cats, Jacques and Jillianne. Normally pets want to help us solve their owner's murders, but this time it seems the two devious felines might actually be the ones who committed it…

Surprisingly enough, my own partner in crime, Octo-Cat, actually wants to help this time, but he can barely understand our two prime suspects because of their strange Cornish Rex accents. And I thought speaking tabby was hard!

So, there you have it, even with two successful cases behind me, I really don't know how I'm going to solve this one. Is it too late to go back and pick another career?

Pre-order to save! HAIRLESS HARASSMENT is just 99 cents until it releases on May 30.

Grab your copy here!

Sneak Peek of Hairless Harassment

Hi, I’m Angie Russo, and my pet cat never ever stops talking. Not just mews and meows, but actual words that I can understand. So far, I’m the only one who seems to have this ability, and I still have absolutely no idea why.

It all started when I got zapped by a faulty coffee maker at the law firm where I work as a paralegal. Since then, Octo-Cat and I have used our special connection to solve two murder investigations together. Yeah, even I have to admit, we make a pretty great team.

Only a few weeks have passed since our super sleuthing earned the local handyman Brock Calhoun a get-out-of-jail-free card. And already my feline sidekick is begging for another case. Apparently, napping and complaining all day isn’t an exciting enough life for him now.

All my life I’ve been on the search for that one amazing talent that would make me special and give me purpose. My nan starred on Broadway in her prime, and my parents both work for the local news station and love what they do.

They were all so sure of their talents early in life, but I’ve really struggled to pinpoint mine. I couldn’t even figure out my passion well enough to nail down a bachelor’s degree, racking up seven associate degrees instead.

I definitely never expected to find my true calling as a paralegal, especially considering how much I’ve always hated lawyers. But now that I have Octo-Cat and my special ability, I find that working at the offices of Thompson, Longfellow & Associates provides the perfect way to use my new-found abilities for good—especially considering that the newest partner knows all about my ability to speak to animals.

Oh, yeah! Charles didn’t get fired. Instead, he got promoted. I was so proud of him that I even suggested we go back to the Little Dog Diner in Misty Harbor to celebrate with the world’s best lobster rolls. He told me it would have to be some other time, though, because he already had plans with his new girlfriend, Breanne Calhoun.

Yeah, I don’t get that, either.

The news that he’d started dating the cold and snippy realtor we’d very recently suspected of murder was enough to extinguish my crush on Charles once and for all, though. I’ve also decided that the next time Octo-Cat refers to him as “Upchuck,” I’m not going to correct him.

The thought of him and Breanne together makes me sick, too.

It’s for the best, though, I suppose. I really need to focus on understanding my new pet-whispering abilities, and Octo-Cat and I both need to get better at investigating cases without raising the community’s suspicions. That pretty much means I have no time left for love or infatuation or whatever it was I once felt for Charles.

Anyway, who needs a boyfriend when you have a talking cat?