Read Online A Mew to a Kill by Leighann Dobbs - Free Book Online Page A

grandmother and, since Elspeth and she were good friends, I’d spent a lot of time with Elspeth, too. Elspeth’s house was a short distance from the old Victorian I’d inherited. In a way, I’d inherited Elspeth, too, because Gram had left instructions for me to check on her. Elspeth had no family of her own in the area and she wasn’t getting any younger.  
    Elspeth was also friends with Maisie Beardsley, so my visit to check up on her wasn’t entirely altruistic. I hadn’t been to Elspeth’s in a few days and I really did want to make sure she was okay, but if I happened to get some information that would help in my investigation in the process, what was the harm?
    I parked my Jeep at my house, rushed in through the farmer’s porch, shoved my purse onto the counter and grabbed a gray hoodie from the pegs just inside the door. Instead of making a bee-line for her food bowl like she usually did, Pandora followed me around as if she knew we were going out.
    After making sure the porch door was shut tight, I headed toward the woods at the end of my property. Elspeth lived one street over, but I always took the shortcut between the two houses that ran through the woods instead of driving. I needed the exercise. Pandora trotted right along beside me as she often did. Elspeth had a family of cats, and Pandora liked to hang out with them while I visited with Elspeth.
    It had grown dark, but a crescent moon lit the path. I didn’t really need the moon, though. I’d traveled the path so many times, I knew it like the back of my hand. The setting sun had brought a chill to the air reminding me that up here in the White Mountains nights were cooler than down south, despite the warm summer days. I snugged my gray hoodie around me and listened to the dry leaves crunch under my feet as I walked through the silent, peaceful woods.  
    It wasn’t long before Elspeth’s house, with its intricate gingerbread moldings and wraparound porch, came into view. Emerging from the woods into Elspeth’s yard always felt like walking into a fairy tale. Elspeth, herself, reminded me of a fairy godmother, with her snowy white hair and sparkly cornflower blue eyes.
    A warm, golden light glowed on the porch, highlighting the clusters of pink roses that grew along the railing. As I got closer to her house, Elspeth appeared almost as if she was expecting me. An orange striped cat weaved in and out between her ankles.
    “Willa, how lovely to see you.” Elspeth wrapped me in a hug. She was a tiny little thing, but her hug had a strength to it that belied her small stature. She seemed fragile at first glance, but I knew she was made of tough stuff.
    At our feet, Pandora and the orange tiger cat sniffed each other enthusiastically before trotting off together toward Elspeth’s barn.
    Elspeth saw me looking after the cats. “They’ll be fine out there. They always are.”  
    She ushered me into the house and the scent of gingerbread and molasses made me forget all about Pandora. Besides, the cat didn’t need me worrying about her. She could take care of herself.
    I followed Elspeth down the hall to her old-fashioned kitchen and she gestured for me to take a seat at the pine table. “What brings you over?”
    “I wanted to see how you were doing and make sure you didn’t need anything. Do you?”
    Elspeth sprinkled giant sugar crystals on the brown cookies and slid them off the cookie sheet onto a plate. “No, I’m just fine. Don’t need a thing.” She set the plate and a cup of tea on the table in front of me and then sat down opposite me. “I heard there was some excitement at the judges’ meeting for the art show.”  
    I nodded, taking a bite of the cookie. Spicy ginger and molasses peppered my taste buds. “Yeah, I guess Paisley Brown really wanted a spot in the show and there was a disagreement with the judges.”
    Elspeth frowned. “And then she ended up dead.”
    I nodded.  
    “Do you think the two could be related?”