A Purrfect Alibi

“And the treasure,” Marlowe said. “At least now everyone knows that treasure is long gone and people will stop coming here looking for it.”

“Good thing Victor didn’t get to pull off his little stunt of digging up the coins he’d buried.” Nero hopped up on the bookcase and looked out the window. “The whole state would be here looking for more.”

“That was clever of you to send Esther for your little stash that was hidden in the outhouse. Good thing no one else discovered it all these years,” Marlowe said. “You could have told us it was there though.”

“Sorry I didn’t tell you. I was saving that for someone special. I’d hidden the coins there the night I buried the bulk of the treasure in the yard. I wanted to be able to get at some of my treasure. Couldn’t go digging the main stash up every time I wanted some extra coin. Course, I never got to even use any of it myself. I meant for Esther to keep that money, but she said it didn’t rightly belong to her. She loved this old house and wanted to see it fixed up like it was back when I lived here.” Jed looked at Josie. “We trust Josie to do that.”

Nero felt a rush of pride in his human. Josie might not be so swift in the area of cat-human communication, but she could definitely be trusted and Nero knew she was growing very fond of the guesthouse and would do right by it.

“So now that your killer has been named, you’re free to go to the other side.” Marlowe looked at Jed curiously. “But you choose to stay here.”

“Indeed. There’s nothing for me over there. But Esther and I have worked out a nice system of communication through her crystal ball.” Jed checked the clock on the stove. “Speaking of which, I have to sail off now. Gotta meet my lady. It’s been nice working with you cats. Perhaps we will meet again someday.”

And with that Jed slowly dissipated, leaving no evidence that he’d ever been there except for a slight mist on the floor.

The humans were cleaning up the dishes and Nero and Marlowe trotted to the front parlor. They were in dire need of a catnap. All this investigating was tiring.

“At least one of the guests here really could communicate with ghosts,” Marlowe said as she curled up in the blue velvet chair.

“I always knew Esther wasn’t the killer. She was too nice to us.” Nero chose a spot on the corner of the sofa. Resisting the urge to run his claws through the brocade fabric, he turned a circle, settling in with his tail wrapped around his nose.

“Yeah, but did you know who the killer was beforehand?” Marlowe asked.

“I suspected Myron,” Nero said. “But of course I didn’t want to say anything out loud. I mean, can you imagine if I’d suggested the whole thing stemmed from the fact that the butler did it? How clichéd! If on the off-chance I was wrong, I’d have been the laughing stock of the cat community.”

Marlowe slitted an eye open and looked at Nero, then sighed and snuggled deeper into the chair. “I’m glad both cases are solved. I’m looking forward to long restful days spent catnapping and chasing mice.”

“Me too,” Nero mumbled, already drifting off to sleep. “Hopefully it will be a good long while before another murder happens at the Oyster Cove Guesthouse.”

If you loved A Purrfect Alibi, don't miss Murder on a Mississippi Steamboat. Nora Marsh and her great-aunt Julia thought their steamboat river cruise would be the perfect relaxing holiday. But the discovery of a dead body means the race is on to find a killer instead! A gripping new 1920s cozy historical mystery.'

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Murder on a Mississippi Steamboat

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FROM THE NINE-TIMES USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE MYSTIC NOTCH SERIES.

Nora elbowed her way up to the railing and looked down. The paddle wheel was making its last turn, dredging up a mass of turquoise chiffon made almost transparent by the water. A hand, its red lacquered fingernails a contrast to the pale white skin, stuck up from a bejeweled cuff…

A relaxing cruise down the Mississippi on the Miss Delta Belle steamboat turns to tragedy when celebrity Delilah Dove falls from the deck and is swallowed by the river faster than you can say ‘man overboard!’

It’s touted as a tragic accident, but guests Miss Nora Marsh and her wily great-aunt Julia know a murder when they see one. Can they get justice for Delilah and crack the case without alerting the murderer to their suspicions?