Meow for the Money (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 14) by Patricia Fry Read Free Book Online Page A

up.”
    Savannah nodded. “Sure.” Suddenly she spun around, momentarily losing her balance. “What are you doing, Rags? Stop it!” she said gritting her teeth. When he kept tugging on the leash, she looked in the direction he was leaning and laughed. “Well, maybe he wants to use the soft dirt over there for a potty break.” She decided to follow his lead. “Okay, come on.” However, he didn’t stop at the patch of dirt. He pulled Savannah past it and disappeared behind a row of shrubs that were hugging the foundation of a small house on the back of the property.
    “What are you doing?” Savannah asked, sounding frustrated. She took a few steps toward the cat and shrieked, “Oh no!”
    “What is it?” June asked, sounding panicked.
    Savannah picked up the cat and charged out from behind the bushes. Taking a shallow breath, she stuttered, “…a…oh my gosh…a…body.”
    “Where?” Clarence asked.
    When Savannah pointed, he and Phillip stepped cautiously in that direction; Megan followed behind them.
    “It’s Drew,” Megan soon reported, now looking almost as pale as Jody.
    “I’d better call the police back,” Clarence said with a sigh. Once he ended the call, he approached June and knelt next to her. He lowered his head. “I’m so sorry.”
    “Andrew is dead?” June asked, disbelieving. “Are you sure?”
    “Sure looks that way, ma’am.”
    “My God,” she said. “How, Clarence? Did he have a heart attack? What was he doing way out here behind the guest quarters? He’s a household domestic, for heaven’s sake.”
    “Maybe he came out to smoke,” Clarence reasoned.
    “Yeah, that’s probably it,” Phillip said, joining them.
    “Drew didn’t smoke,” June said quietly. She looked up at the two men. “Did he?”
    Both of them shrugged.
    “Well, call someone!” June shouted.
    “We did,” Clarence assured her. “They’re on their way.”
    Just then Jody, with the toddler still in her arms, picked something up off the ground. “His binkie,” she said quietly.
    “What?” June asked.
    “Carlo’s binkie. What’s it doing out here?” Jody then stared in the direction of the body and began speaking at an accelerated pace. “Do you think Drew took him and then croaked and left my son on his own? Maybe that’s how Carlo found his way to the ravine all by himself? It’s a short walk from here,” she said, calculating the distance with her eyes.
    “Why would he do that?” June asked. “Why would Andrew take Carlo out of his bed?”
    Jody thought for a moment, then said, “Maybe he got up by himself and Drew found him wandering around.”
    “But I thought you said you were just outside his door,” June said. “You would have seen him.”
    Jody glanced around nervously. “But Megan and I were talking loud and laughing a lot. Maybe we didn’t hear him come out of his room.”
    “How would he open the door to get outside?” Megan asked. “He can’t even reach the doorknobs yet, can he?”
    “The police are here,” Savannah said, waving them over. She watched as two officers exited their car. “Hi Ben, Jim. This is June Balcomb and her niece Jody.” She glanced at the two men and Megan, who were standing off to the side. She pointed. “The body’s behind those bushes.”
    After the two officers took a quick look, Ben stepped aside to make a call and Jim rejoined the women. He glanced briefly at each of them. “So who is he; do you any of you know?”
    “Yes, I understand it’s one of my employees, Andrew Pritchard,” June said. She pointed. “Ragsdale found him.”
    Jim spun around and looked at the cat. Pressing his lips together, he said, “Not again. Unbelievable.”
    Ben, who had joined the others by then, raised his eyebrows.
    “Was it a heart attack?” June asked.
    Jim shook his head. “I don’t think so, ma’am. It looks like he was stabbed.”
    “Stabbed? My God!” June said clutching her chest. “Who would want to…” she