Кэрол Дуглас: Cat In An Aqua Storm

PRAISE FOR MIDNIGHT LOUIE & COMPANY

ATTENTION!All you ailurophiles addicted to Lilian Jackson Braun’s THE CAT WHO mysteries can latch onto a new purrivate eye: Midnight Louie... slinking and sleuthing on his own á la Mike Hammer.”— Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“[Perhaps] there should be only two categories of mysteries: those with cats and those without. This is a ‘with’, big time. Midnight Louie [is] one of my favorite hep cats. Douglas has always written strong women characters and has always been before her time... Several thumbs up.”— Mystery News

“After garnering considerable acclaim for her delicious Irene Adler historical adventures, Ms. D. reveals yet another brilliant facet of her amazing versatility in this equally delightful contemporary puzzler.”—Melinda Heifer, RT Book Reviews

“Carole Nelson Douglas takes anthropomorphism to elegant heights as Midnight Louie, a tom who’s a private dick, harries Las Vegas malefactors.”— Publishers Weekly

“MIDNIGHT LOUIE IS ONE HEAVY DUDE.Gourmand, ladies’ man and world-class dog-baiter, this feline detective attacks crime tooth and nail. But if he lays a paw on my lasagna, he’ll tangle with a real heavyweight.”— GARFIELD,as told to JIM DAVIS

“Move over, Koko and Yum Yum (and Sneaky Pie too):Midnight Louie’s back, prowling the sin-soaked streets of Las Vegas once again.”— The Purloined Letter

“Midnight Louie’s off his leash for the first time since CAT IN AN ALPHABET SOUPwith his own superbly funny side of the tale...”— Mystery News

For Anne Perry, phenomenal mystery and fantasy writer and cat lover,

for her support of my fictional worlds

CONTENTS

Cover

Back Cover

About the Midnight Louie mysteries

Copyright

Start Book

Cat in a Blue Monday preview

About the Author

Also by Carole Nelson Douglas

CHAPTERS

Prologue: The Life That Late He Led

Chapter 1: Electraglide in Black

Chapter 2: A Crummy Encounter

Chapter 3: Dial “M” for Matt

Chapter 4: Crawford Sees Red

Chapter 5: Sick to Death

Chapter 6 :No Love Lost

Chapter 7: The Cookie Crumbles

Chapter 8 :Dance of Death

Chapter 9: Perfect Recall

Chapter 10 :Vamp of Savannah

Chapter 11: The Naked and the Dead

Chapter 12 :WOE vs. WHOOPE

Chapter 13: The Naked Nose

Chapter 14: Kitty City Nitty-Gritty

Chapter 15: Little Girl Lost

Chapter 16: Crime and Punishment

Chapter 17: Official Abuse

Chapter 18: A Roommate to Die For

Chapter 19: A Kinky Cat-tail

Chapter 20: The Sweet Smell of Success

Chapter 21: A Walk on the Wild Side

Chapter 22: Golden Girls and Boys...

Chapter 23 :Nursery Crimes

Chapter 24: Poster Boy

Chapter 25: The Kitty City Connection

Chapter 26: ...All Must Come to Dust

Chapter 27 :Louie in a Jam

Chapter 28: Louie Takes a Powder

Chapter 29: Born to Be Child

Chapter 30: A Stitch in Time...

Chapter 31: ...Saves Nine

Chapter 32: Louie Bows Out

Chapter 33: Electra City

Chapter 34: Little Cat Feet

Tailpiece: Midnight Louie Lets His Hair Down

Carole Nelson Douglas Untangles Some Snarls

CAT IN AN AQUA STORM

(formerly titled Pussyfoot)

THE MIDNIGHT LOUIE ALPHABET SAGA CONTINUES . . .

Follow the clues from the foundation “Alphabet” novel through a colorful kaleidoscope of crimes as the bestselling cat mystery series moves to A to Z

Cat in an Alphabet Soup...Cat in an Aqua Storm... Cat on a Blue Monday... Cat in a Crimson Haze... Cat in a Diamond Dazzle... Cat with an Emerald Eye... Cat in a Flamingo Fedora... Cat in a Golden Garland... Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt... Cat in an Indigo Mood... Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit... Cat in a Kiwi Con... Cat in a Leopard Spot... Cat in a Midnight Choir... Cat in a Neon Nightmare... Cat in an Orange Twist... Cat in a Hot Pink Pursuit... Cat in a Quicksilver Caper... Cat in a Red Hot Rage... Cat in a Sapphire Slipper... Cat in a Topaz Tango... Cat in an Ultramarine Scheme... Cat in a Vegas Gold Vendetta... Cat in a White Tie and Tails... Cat in an Alien X-Ray... Cat in a Yellow Spotlight... Cat in a Zebra Zoot Suit

CAT IN AN AQUA STORM

(formerly titled Pussyfoot)

AUTHOR’S NOTE:Since Midnight Louie’s mystery adventures began in 1992, the soon-to-be 27-book series in a retro-modern saga that portrays twenty-five years of amazing Las Vegas Strip reinvention from the early 1990s to today. Yet, the foreground story only covers a couple of years in the characters’ lives. Think of the vintage movies that filmed a couple walking on a treadmill against a constantly changing background.

So be warned: you will see “dead people” in the pop culture references, and also see how the Las Vegas Strip, cell phones and recent technologies evolved as they happened. And even the irreverent rascal, Midnight Louie, will become politically correct in one key department.

Previously in Midnight Louie’s

Lives and Times

The Life That Late He Led

Even the darkest day begins with a dawn.

This one starts with me lounging on the second-story patio of my pied-à-terre as the sun rises over Muddy Mountain. Clouds shift against the distant peaks like Sally Rand’s famous ostrich fans teasing the notorious, apparently naked foothills of her form.

Fading shades of pink and blue reveal the sun’s naked red eye opening to scorch the already-browned sands. Good old Sol has been up all night, just like the folks on the Las Vegas Strip, only he did his usual disappearing act while smiling on the other side of the world. Smart fellow.

It is early July, and soon the sands will be hotter than a sizzling lucky streak on a craps table. I allow my eastward-gazing mind to picture Lake Mead as a bright London-blue topaz in its dusty desert setting. Hundreds of carp glitter like sunken gold along the shoreline, carp a-pant for the daily influx of tidbit-bearing tourists. I have never seen this treasure hoard of panhandling carp in person, but I hear plenty about them. I share the tourists’ fondness for carp, although my tastes run more to feedingonthan feedingto.