PAWSitively Sinister (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 11) by Patricia Fry Read Free Book Online

and continued talking, “Didn’t even know where you was ‘til I saw you here yesterday.”
    Ruth’s smile was strained. “Yes, we just found each other.”
    “Lucky break, right?” Mattie said while shoving the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth. After washing it down with a slurp of coffee, she looked from Savannah to Ruth, asking, “Got dessert?”
    “Probably,” Ruth said. “I’ll go check.”
    “Gee thanks.” She watched as Ruth headed for the kitchen door of the mansion, then said to Savannah. “Don’t get good food like this very often, you know.”
    “I… imagine not,” Savannah said, lowering herself into a chair and pulling the stroller close. “So do you have a place to stay, Mattie?”
    “Uh-huh,” she said, before chugging from her coffee mug. “I usually stay in my own tent at our camp.” After swallowing another gulp, she said, “Sometimes we crash in a shelter, but my friends don’t like the rules.” She grinned at Savannah. “Know what I mean?”
    “I think so,” Savannah said, keeping her eyes on Mattie. “They want to live free—without being encumbered.”
    “Encumbered?” Mattie questioned. She then let out a little laugh and said, “Oh, you mean like without rules?”
    “Yes, and, evidently, stuff. The… free spirits I know don’t have much stuff… many belongings.”
    Mattie smiled. “Free spirit,” she said staring up into the sky. “Yeah, that’s me, a free spirit.” She pointed at Savannah. “I like that.”
    “Here’s a cinnamon roll left from breakfast,” Ruth said, upon returning. She placed the plate on the table in front of Mattie.
    “Yum!” she said, picking up the roll and taking a large bite.
    “More coffee?” Ruth offered.
    Mattie nodded and kept eating.
    “I brought a cup for you, Savannah,” she said holding the coffee thermos toward her.
    Savannah contemplated the offer, then looked up at Ruth from her chair. “No, I don’t think so. Thanks, though.”
    “What are those guys doing out there?” Mattie asked, pointing.
    “Uh, digging a hole, I think,” Savannah said.
    Mattie raised her eyebrows and stared at Savannah, then at Ruth. “Are they searching for the secret?”
    Ruth looked at her inquisitively. “Secret?”
    “Yeah, Mims said there’s one out here, but that’s all she’ll say.” Mattie pushed the empty plate away, put her elbows on the table, and stared across at Ruth. “Ru-Ru, I’m worried about Mims.”
    “Why?” she asked. “Is she ill? Does she need to see a doctor?”
    Mattie shook her head vigorously. “No, nothing like that. She screams at night and it scares me.” She wrung her hands. “It scares everyone.”
    “Do you mean while she’s sleeping?” Savannah asked. “Is she having nightmares?”
    Mattie nodded. “I guess so. She says she sees things in her mind that scare her. She says she doesn’t know she’s screaming unless it wakes her up or one of us wakes her up. Then she cries and cries.”
    “How long has this been going on?” Savannah asked.
    “Not long,” Mattie said.
    “Like a year?” Ruth asked.
    “No, not that long.”
    Ruth tried again. “Can you tell us when it started? When did you first notice it?”
    “Um, like a few days ago.”
    “How long has… Mims been your friend?” Ruth asked.
    “Oh,” she said with animation, “a long time… maybe a lot of years… like ten years or twenty years.” She was quiet, then said, “I found her in the shelter on Seventh Street when she was almost thirty.” She turned serious. “She had no place to go and didn’t know how to take care of herself very well.” Sitting up straighter, she said, “I helped her and we became friends. I think that was… yeah, like twenty years ago.”
    “So you know her well? Did you know she once lived here?” Savannah asked.

    Her eyes widened. “No. She never told me where she lived before. I didn’t know that until a couple of days ago.” She grinned a toothless grin. “What a