Лейганн Доббс - A Purrfect Alibi

A Purrfect Alibi

A pawsitively gripping cozy mystery

Leighann Dobbs

Books by Leighann Dobbs

Murder on a Mississippi Steamboat

The Oyster Cove Guesthouse (Cat Cozy Mystery Series)

A Twist in the Tail

A Whisker in the Dark

A Purrfect Alibi

Mystic Notch (Cat Cozy Mystery Series)

Ghostly Paws

A Spirited Tail

A Mew to a Kill

Paws and Effect

Probable Paws

A Whisker of a Doubt

Blackmoore Sisters (Cozy Mystery Series)

Dead Wrong

Dead & Buried

Dead Tide

Buried Secrets

Deadly Intentions

A Grave Mistake

Spell Found

Fatal Fortune

Lexy Baker( Cozy Mystery Series)

Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series Boxed Set Vol 1 (Books 1–4)

Or buy the books separately:

Killer Cupcakes

Dying for Danish

Murder, Money and Marzipan

3 Bodies and a Biscotti

Brownies, Bodies and Bad Guys

Bake, Battle and Roll

Wedded Blintz

Scones, Skulls & Scams

Ice Cream Murder

Mummified Meringues

Brutal Brulee (Novella)

No Scone Unturned

Cream Puff Killer

Never Say Pie

Kate Diamond Mystery Adventures

Hidden Agemda (Book 1)

Ancient Hiss Story (Book 2)

Heist Society (Book 3)

Silver Hollow (Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series)

A Spell of Trouble (Book 1)

Spell Disaster (Book 2)

Nothing to Croak About (Book 3)

Cry Wolf (Book 4)

Mooseamuck Island( Cozy Mystery Series)

A Zen for Murder

A Crabby Killer

A Treacherous Treasure

Hazel Martin (Historical Mystery Series)

Murder at Lowry House (Book 1)

Murder by Misunderstanding (Book 2)

Lady Katherine Regency Mysteries

An Invitation to Murder (Book 1)

The Baffling Burglaries of Bath (Book 2)

Murder at the Ice Ball (Book 3)

A Murderous Affair (Book 4)

Sam Mason Mysteries (Writing as L. A. Dobbs)

Telling Lies (Book 1)

Keeping Secrets (Book 2)

Exposing Truths (Book 3)

Betraying Trust (Book 4)

Killing Dreams (Book 5) Available in Audio

The Oyster Cove Guesthouse (Cat Cozy Mystery Series)

A Twist in the Tail (Available in the UKand US)

A Whisker in the Dark (Available in the UKand US)

A Purrfect Alibi (Available in the UKand US)

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Murder on a Mississippi Steamboat

Hear More from Leighann

Books by Leighann Dobbs

A Letter from Leighann

A Twist in the Tail

A Whisker in the Dark

Recipes

One

It’s not every day that the guesthouse you own is filled with tarot readers, crystal-ball gazers and psychic mediums, so one needs to take advantage of that when it happens. Which is how I found myself seated at a small antique mahogany table in the parlor across from Madame Zenda, who was laying out a row of colorful tarot cards.

“That’s a lovely card, look at those reds and the blues!” Millie Sullivan, my mother’s best friend and the woman I had bought the Oyster Cove Guesthouse from, leaned over my shoulder and pointed at a card that depicted a dashing knight on a horse waving a sword. Millie had sold me the old mansion, which was badly in need of repairs, because she wanted to retire. To “get out and do things”. Things that, so far, mostly consisted of getting into trouble alongside my mother. But the truth was, since I’d taken ownership, it seemed as if they’d both been here more than when Millie had owned the place.

Madame Zenda tapped the card with a sausage-like finger. She had to be in her late seventies, and was thin as a rail, with a face like a bloodhound and large, meaty hands. “A restless mind or a sudden surprise.”

“See, I told you that you should ask Mike to the Marinara Mariner for dinner on Wednesday.” Millie poked me in the shoulder. “They have a chicken-parm special that is out of this world. That might calm your restless mind.”

“Wait.” My mother, who was standing over my other shoulder, piped up. “Maybe the sudden surprise is that Mike is going to ask her out . I think Josie should hold off. You know, play hard to get. Men always want what they can’t have.”

“Don’t I know it.” Millie’s voice carried an air of authority.

I sighed but remained silent.

Mike was Millie’s nephew and also the town building inspector. I’d known him since I was a kid when he’d been my brother’s best friend. I guess you could say we sort of had a history. Nothing too sordid, so don’t get your hopes up. That had been a long time ago, though, and much water had passed under that bridge. Mom and Millie had been trying to push us together ever since I’d moved back to town, but I wasn’t in the market. One of the reasons I’d moved back to my hometown of Oyster Cove was that I’d recently gone through an unpleasant divorce. I had no intention of repeating that mistake any time soon.

Across from me, Madame Zenda was making a big show of selecting the next card, her gold bracelets jangling as she waved her hairy arms over the deck she held in her hand. She was wearing some sort of flowing caftan with vibrant reds, purples, and oranges that matched the cards she laid out. Her curly gray hair bobbed around her head like unruly springs. She flipped the card.

Millie gasped.

I looked down at the card; a skeleton in armor riding a horse.

Madame Zenda stared at the card, her bushy gray eyebrows mashing together like two elderly caterpillars jostling for the best spot on a leaf. Her hazel eyes clouded over. “Is that a skeleton?” Mom asked.

Millie leaned closer to the table. “That can’t be good.”

“It’s the death card,” Madame Zenda said softly, then hastened to add, “but it doesn’t always mean death.”

“Well if it does, you’re too late,” Millie said. “There’s already been a death here a few weeks ago.”

“And a few weeks before that, too,” my mother added.

“You’ve had several deaths here recently?” The question came from another of my guests, Victor Merino. He had been sitting cross-legged in the mahogany-trimmed upholstered chair in the corner, his eyes closed, hands on his knees, palms up. He was wearing a royal-blue velvet sweatsuit and had a shaggy, oversized mustache. I wished he wouldn’t sit like that on the chair, it was a delicate antique. He claimed he talked to dead people and apparently our talk of dead bodies had roused him from his meditation. I can’t say I was sorry about that, his constant ohm -ing was starting to drive me up the wall.

“Oh, nothing to do with the accommodations here at the guesthouse,” Millie added quickly. “You are in no danger. Those folks had it coming to them. Err… I mean, someone had a grudge against them.”