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Authors: Annie Knox
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in this investigation. It wasn’t just about protecting Pris. I had a powerful reason for wanting to hunt for evidence of the real killer—whether that person turned out to be Pris or someone else—but I wasn’t prepared to share that reason with my cop boyfriend just yet.
It felt like a betrayal. If we had a solid relationship, it had to be built on trust. I should
trust
Jack with the information I had about Denford’s unethical practices; it might actually help with his investigation. But it would also point a blazing orange arrow at myhead, identifying me as a possible suspect. One of the very reasons I admired Jack so much was his sense of honesty and integrity. He would have to take the information to the rest of the police department. He might even have to recuse himself from the investigation. Trusting Jack with my story meant trusting the entire Merryville Police Department with my story, and they weren’t all dating me.
“I know there’s little love lost between me and Pris. That’s why I promise I won’t get us involved in any crazy shenanigans. Just a little active listening.”
My mother set her own plate on the table and plopped down in her chair. “I don’t see what good it can do. Poor Pris looks guilty as sin, and if you go poking around, you’re just going to antagonize these cat people whom you want to woo. You can’t help Pris, but you can sure do some damage to your business prospects.”
“Thank you, Mrs. McHale,” Jack said with a self-satisfied smile.
“Not so fast, young man,” she scolded, one finger raised in a motherly assertion of power. Her tone made Packer whine. “I appreciate you caring about my daughter and trying to keep her safe, but don’t go thinking you can tell her what to do. My Izzy has a mind of her own, and she can make her own decisions. And her own mistakes,” she added pointedly, staring at the sauce-covered noodle I was casuallylowering for Packer. I was a wildly indulgent pet parent, and both Packer and Jinx had the poor manners to prove it.
“Mother!” I hissed.
“Well, it’s true. I don’t care that your sisters and all your school friends called you Dizzy Izzy,” she said, managing to brighten my blush even more. “You’re a smart girl and always have been. Just look at what you’ve done with this business. We all thought you were crazy.”
“Mother!”
“Izzy. Clothes for cats?”
“And dogs,” Rena added helpfully.
“Right,” my mom continued. “You have to admit it sounds like a crazy business, especially for a normal little town like Merryville, but you’ve actually managed to make it work. We all doubted you—me, your dad, and your sisters—everyone except Aunt Dolly, and look at how wrong we were. I just won’t stand for anyone else giving you short shrift.”
“I . . . I just—”
Jack raised a hand to halt my flustered response. “Mrs. McHale, I promise you that I would never underestimate Izzy’s intelligence. I just worry about the size of her heart. The softy who gives illicit noodles to her dog is the softy who may inadvertently run up against some very bad guys . . . and not realize they’re bad guys until it’s too late. I want to protect her from that.”
“Enough of the smushy-mushy stuff,” Rena said. “I just don’t think Pris did it.”
We all stopped midchew and turned to face her. Rena seemed like the last person on earth to champion Pris’s cause.
“What?” Rena said, a forkful of hotdish hovering near her mouth. “Look, Pris is a witch with a capital B and she has fallen on hard times, but what good is stealing a fancy cat ornament going to do her? Where’s she going to sell something like that without people asking questions?”
Jack raised his eyebrows. “You seem to have given this a lot of thought.”
Rena grinned. “Like Dolly said, we’ve got some mad investigative skills at this table.” She reached out to exchange a fist bump with Dolly, who was cackling like a
It felt like a betrayal. If we had a solid relationship, it had to be built on trust. I should
trust
Jack with the information I had about Denford’s unethical practices; it might actually help with his investigation. But it would also point a blazing orange arrow at myhead, identifying me as a possible suspect. One of the very reasons I admired Jack so much was his sense of honesty and integrity. He would have to take the information to the rest of the police department. He might even have to recuse himself from the investigation. Trusting Jack with my story meant trusting the entire Merryville Police Department with my story, and they weren’t all dating me.
“I know there’s little love lost between me and Pris. That’s why I promise I won’t get us involved in any crazy shenanigans. Just a little active listening.”
My mother set her own plate on the table and plopped down in her chair. “I don’t see what good it can do. Poor Pris looks guilty as sin, and if you go poking around, you’re just going to antagonize these cat people whom you want to woo. You can’t help Pris, but you can sure do some damage to your business prospects.”
“Thank you, Mrs. McHale,” Jack said with a self-satisfied smile.
“Not so fast, young man,” she scolded, one finger raised in a motherly assertion of power. Her tone made Packer whine. “I appreciate you caring about my daughter and trying to keep her safe, but don’t go thinking you can tell her what to do. My Izzy has a mind of her own, and she can make her own decisions. And her own mistakes,” she added pointedly, staring at the sauce-covered noodle I was casuallylowering for Packer. I was a wildly indulgent pet parent, and both Packer and Jinx had the poor manners to prove it.
“Mother!” I hissed.
“Well, it’s true. I don’t care that your sisters and all your school friends called you Dizzy Izzy,” she said, managing to brighten my blush even more. “You’re a smart girl and always have been. Just look at what you’ve done with this business. We all thought you were crazy.”
“Mother!”
“Izzy. Clothes for cats?”
“And dogs,” Rena added helpfully.
“Right,” my mom continued. “You have to admit it sounds like a crazy business, especially for a normal little town like Merryville, but you’ve actually managed to make it work. We all doubted you—me, your dad, and your sisters—everyone except Aunt Dolly, and look at how wrong we were. I just won’t stand for anyone else giving you short shrift.”
“I . . . I just—”
Jack raised a hand to halt my flustered response. “Mrs. McHale, I promise you that I would never underestimate Izzy’s intelligence. I just worry about the size of her heart. The softy who gives illicit noodles to her dog is the softy who may inadvertently run up against some very bad guys . . . and not realize they’re bad guys until it’s too late. I want to protect her from that.”
“Enough of the smushy-mushy stuff,” Rena said. “I just don’t think Pris did it.”
We all stopped midchew and turned to face her. Rena seemed like the last person on earth to champion Pris’s cause.
“What?” Rena said, a forkful of hotdish hovering near her mouth. “Look, Pris is a witch with a capital B and she has fallen on hard times, but what good is stealing a fancy cat ornament going to do her? Where’s she going to sell something like that without people asking questions?”
Jack raised his eyebrows. “You seem to have given this a lot of thought.”
Rena grinned. “Like Dolly said, we’ve got some mad investigative skills at this table.” She reached out to exchange a fist bump with Dolly, who was cackling like a
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