Лейганн Доббс - A Whisker In The Dark

“I’m sure Sheriff Chamberlain can do just fine without our help.”

Seth was taking it all in his stride. A movement behind him caught my eye. Nero and Marlowe were skulking around the edges of the tent, heading toward the town docks.

It had been kind of fun figuring out who had killed Bob, but I hoped we wouldn’t have another murder in town anytime soon. We hadn’t totally figured it all out on our own, either. I was starting to realize that we’d had a little non-human help. As if sensing my thoughts, Nero turned and looked right at me.

Yep, I was sure we’d gotten more than a little help from the cats. But I couldn’t very well tell anyone that, now could I?

“Too bad the humans will never realize the key role we played in helping them find the killer,” Nero said as they trotted past the tents on their way to the bait wharf.

“I don’t know, I think Josie has an idea. I mean, she must have figured out that I was hanging on to Earl’s leg for a reason,” Marlowe said. “But I suppose she can’t very well go around telling people that her cats helped her solve a murder.”

They rounded the side of the harbormaster’s station and proceeded straight to the bait wharf. All the other cats were lounging around by the lobster traps. No fish scraps this time, Nero noted with disappointment. Maybe they could persuade Josie and Millie to give them some morsels from the cheese sculpture later.

“Louie Two Paws tells me the case against Earl is pretty much tied up,” Harry said. His police informant—a double-pawed Siamese—always had interesting and invaluable information from the station.

“Yep. I think we did well,” Nero said as he hopped onto a lobster trap.

“And finally Josie is starting to realize that it pays to listen to us,” Marlowe noted, flopping down in the sun.

“And the confession I overheard?” Juliette asked.

“That was Carla. She wanted to cleanse her soul in regards to her sneaky plan to take over the company,” Nero said.

“But it’s all worked out because now Doris, Carla and Paula will run the company. Since Earl was embezzling most of the money, the company’s financial situation isn’t as dire as they thought,” Marlowe said.

“They can get the company back on track and it’s all thanks to us,” Boots preened.

“Right,” Stubbs said. “By catching Earl, we exposed his embezzling and saved the company.”

“And we cleared Flora,” Nero said. “You know, I knew her shoes smelled like something burnt. At first I suspected it had something to do with all the breads Josie was burning. Turns out she was rooting around in Earl’s fireplace for what she thought was a treasure map.”

“Who knew she was actually listening to the argument we overheard between Bob and Earl that day in the hallway? I thought she was dusting,” Marlowe said.

“Sometimes things are not always as you think,” Nero said wisely. The truth was that he also had thought Flora was just dusting but he wanted to make it seem like he knew more.

“And that also explains why the dirt on the table in the foyer smelled so familiar,” Marlowe said.

Juliette frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Earl claimed he wasn’t wearing the Ferragamo shoes that Paula saw the night of the murder. He produced a pair of mud-caked Nikes to prove it.”

“But it turned out the dirt on the Nikes was from the pot of the ficus tree in the conservatory,” Nero added. “When Earl was accused, he snuck down to the conservatory and dirtied his sneakers. The dirt was still on the table in the foyer where he’d presented them to Sheriff Chamberlain. I just wish we’d sniffed that one out sooner. Could have cracked the case earlier.”

“Well, the important thing is that we did crack the case,” Poe said.

“Yep. And Josie even has a full house of guests next week and more money for renovations.” Nero watched a lobster boat motoring out of the narrow mouth of the cove on its way to the open ocean. “There is something odd about the new guests.”

Juliette sat up, her interest piqued. “Odd? How?”

“They seemed unusually interested in assuring themselves that the Oyster Cove Guesthouse was the guesthouse where Jedediah’s skeleton was found,” Nero said.

“Why would they want to do that?” Stubbs asked.

“One reason,” Harry said. “They’re interested in ghosts.”

“But there is no ghost,” Marlowe pointed out.

Nero shrugged. “I guess they will discover that in due time. For now, Josie has a full roster of bookings and that’s what counts.”

Poe plopped down on the warm ground. “And now we can rest.”

“I will miss having guests with cheese,” Marlowe said. “But hopefully the next guests will be able to keep from killing each other.”

Boots looked down his long whiskers at Marlowe with an expression that indicated she had a lot to learn. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that. Josie doesn’t have a very good track record in the murder department. And if recent history is any indication, we may need to keep a close eye on the next batch of guests.”

If you raced through A Whisker in the Dark , you will love A Purrfect Alibi - book three in the Oyster Cove Guesthouse series. Immersed in a world of psychics and mediums, tarot cards and tea leaves, Nero and Marlowe take on their most mysterious case yet… but will they help Josie decipher the clues before it is too late?

Order A Purrfect Alibi now!

A Purrfect Alibi

The Oyster Cove Guesthouse series Book 3

Order it now!

Fortune tellers and mediums have descended on the Oyster Cove Guesthouse, determined to solve the mystery of local seafarer Jedediah Biddeford’s murder 300 years ago... especially if it leads them to the treasure he buried on the guesthouse grounds. New owner Josie Waters has suddenly got bigger problems than burning the breakfasts: she’s up to her elbows in tarot cards and tea leaves…

When one of the mediums is found dead with an ominous note nearby, everything points to Jedediah’s ghost being the culprit. Suddenly, Josie finds that the fate of her guesthouse depends on not one murder but two, and she’s not going to rely on a crystal ball for answers. Despite the fact that cookbooks and candlesticks keep mysteriously falling off tables, Josie is sure there’s no such thing as ghosts. But guesthouse cats Nero and Marlowe know better…

Aided by her mom and eccentric family friend Millie, Josie sets out to prove the identity of the killer without summoning any spirits. Luckily Nero and Marlowe know the truth about ghosts, ghouls and things that go bump in the night and they are on the case! Can they make Josie realize she is scratching up the wrong tree before the killer strikes again?

From the bestselling author of the USA Today bestselling Mystic Notch series, purrfect for fans of Adele Abbott, cat lovers and anybody who loves to curl up with a page-turning cozy mystery.

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