Shirley Murphy - The Catswold Portal

“Those stained-glass windows,” Dulcie said softly. “How could the killer have wedged the body in like that? To lift a deadweight, pardon the pun, at that angle and ease the body down between the windows…That would be like standing on your hind legs lifting a dead rabbit as heavy as you, hoisting it way out at an angle and slowly down without dropping it. The killer had to be strong. But why bother? What was the point of leaving the body there?”

“You don’t think he was shot there?” Joe said.

“Nor do you,” she said, cutting her eyes at him. “Those windows are old and frail. You heard Ryan last night telling Clyde. That glass has to be brittle, and those strips of lead fragile. Those old stained-glass windows in the English Pub, the way if you rub against them, the glass will push loose from the leading? If Rupert had fallen there he’d have smashed those windows to confetti.”

Dallas said, “We’ll have to take your gun.” The cats heard chair legs scrape, then the front door open, heard the officers and Ryan going down the stairs.

Leaping from the bathroom window and down the hill, they were just at the edge of the drive when the officers and Ryan came down; and the medics set down their stretcher, prepared to take Rupert away. Slipping into the bushes, they watched Dallas unlock Ryan’s truck door then unlock her glove compartment. Flipping the glove compartment open, he turned to look at her.

“You said your gun was here?”

When antiques and valuables begin disappearing from residents’ homes, Joe Grey knows that something is very wrong in sleepy Melona Point. Could the thief be a local, or, even worse, is it the old crook who may be connected to Azrael, the sinister, yellow-eyed cat who terrorized Joe and Dulcie years ago? And when a young, healthy waiter drops dead at a local art opening, the town is on full alert. Cat Fear No Evil brings Joe and Dulcie the most dramatic investigation of their lives, as they follow diverse leads, scratch out the truth, and try to restore a distraught village to its usual cozy tranquility.

Clyde shrugged, engendering a moment of miscalculation in which the black tom raked his hind claws down Clyde’s shoulder, bringing new blood spurting, one claw dug deep. Joe stopped smiling and leaped from the tower like a swooping eagle, knocking the tomcat from Clyde’s grip. The two cats hit the floor locked in screaming battle, then Joe flipped the tom twice, forcing him into the cold fireplace.

Crouched over Azrael among the ashes, Joe blocked his retreat with a degree of viciousness Clyde had never before seen in his feline pal. Azrael, driven by Joe’s frenzied attack, backed against the fire wall pressing hard into the bricks—as if wishing the wall would give way and let him through into the dark chimney.

Watching the two tomcats, Clyde stood clutching his arm and applying pressure to the wound. The cats communicated now only in silence, their body language primal. Clyde could read Joe’s superiority of the moment as Joe goaded and stalked his quarry. The black tom showed only uncertainty in the twitch of his ears and the drop of his whiskers.

Joe moved from the fireplace just enough so Azrael could step out. His meaningful glance toward the glass doors at the south end of the study was more than clear. As Joe herded the flinching black tom toward the roof deck, Clyde stepped to open the door.

Silently Azrael padded past them onto the deck, as docile as any pet kitty. Silently Joe Grey stood in the doorway beside Clyde watching as Azrael crossed the wide deck over the roof of the carport, leaped into the oak tree, and fled down it to the sidewalk. As Azrael disappeared up the street, Joe Grey turned back inside, never looking to see which route the cat would take. Azrael had left the premises cowed and obedient, and that was all he cared about—for the moment. If, before the black tom was driven from the village, he presented more serious problems, Joe would deal with trouble as trouble arose.

About the Author

SHIRLEY ROUSSEAU MURPHYhas received six National Cat Writers Association Awards for Best Novel of the Year for the Joe Grey mystery novels, and five Council of Authors and Journalists Awards for her children’s books. She and her husband live in Carmel, California, where they serve as full-time household help for two demanding feline ladies. You can visit her website at www.joegrey.com.

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PRAISE FOR SHIRLEY ROUSSEAU MURPHY’S PHENOMENAL EPIC FANTASY THE CATSWOLD PORTAL

“A cult classic.”

Virginian-Pilot

“Delightful fantasy…Murphy balances her rich, detailed Netherworld with a vividly characterized earthly realm. Her cat people, in particular, ring true.”

Publishers Weekly

“Like Charles de Lint and Tanya Huff, Murphy demonstrates a rare feel for crossworld fantasy, bringing modern and mystical landscapes and people into an illuminating juxtaposition. More than a ‘feline fantasy,’ this engaging story should be considered a priority purchase. Highly recommended.”

Library Journal

“The fantasy buy for cat lovers.”

Orlando Sentinel

“Rich, descriptive imagery is found on every page, making this underground world come alive.”

School Library Journal

“Lyrical…The interweaving between real and fantasy worlds is well done…She is a writer to watch.”

Kirkus Reviews

Books by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

CAT CROSS THEIR GRAVES

CAT FEAR NO EVIL

CAT SEEING DOUBLE

CAT LAUGHING LAST

CAT SPITTING MAD

CAT TO THE DOGS

CAT IN THE DARK

CAT RAISE THE DEAD

CAT UNDER FIRE

CAT ON THE EDGE

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

THE CATSWOLD PORTAL. Copyright © 1992 by Shirley Rousseau Murphy. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Mobipocket Reader September 2007 ISBN 978-0-06-155073-7

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