Dial Meow for Murder
A Lucky Paws Petsitting Mystery #2
by Bethany Blake
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Dial Meow
for Murder
A Lucky Paws
Petsitting Mystery #2
by Bethany
Blake
Genre: Cozy
Mystery
Even an experienced pet
sitter like Daphne Templeton can be fooled by animal behavior: how can an
adorably tiny fuzz ball named Tinkleston be capable of sudden flying leaps with
cat claws bared? But human behavior remains even more mysterious, especially
when Tinkleston’s owner is murdered on the night of a gala fundraiser for
Fur-ever Friends Pet Rescue.
Accompanied by her
unflappable basset hound, Socrates, Daphne plans to take charge of Tinks the
Terror and leave the crime-solving to handsome detective Jonathan Black. But
while luring the prickly Persian out of hiding, she uncovers clues that might
take suspicion off her own mother. Maeve Templeton already has a reputation as
a killer—in real estate. How far would she go to bag Sylvan Creek’s most
coveted property, the Flynt Mansion?
To expose the truth,
Daphne finds herself donning a deranged clown costume on an autumnal adventure
that might just be crazy enough to work—if it doesn’t get her killed.
Includes recipes for homemade dog treats!
“Doggone charming from
start to finish!” —Cleo Coyle, New
York Times bestselling author on Death by Chocolate Lab
Then the
reality of Miss Flynt’s death began to sink in for me, and I suddenly felt sad.
“Could we all stop talking about
Miss Flynt like she’s an object? Or an inconvenience?” I requested. “She
wasn’t the easiest person to deal with, but she did a lot for Sylvan Creek and
animals.”
“Daphne’s right,” Piper agreed. “I
think, in our shock, we’re acting a little callous.” She rubbed her
arms like she
was cold, although her silk shirt had finally dried, leaving behind a water
stain. “And where is
this ‘buyer,’
anyhow, Mom?” she asked, taking a seat on an upholstered bench that ran the
length of the bank
of windows. It
really would be a lovely spot for morning tea. Then my sister checked the
wristwatch she always
wore, in case
her phone ever died. Which never happened. “It’s getting late.”
“I don’t know where she is,” Mom
said. “I’ve been trying to text her, to postpone, but she’s not responding. I
suppose she’s still en route. Traffic between Manhattan and the Poconos can be
dreadful, even on a Saturday evening.”
That was true. A lot of city folks
had weekend homes in the mountains, and the commuter route was perpetually
backed up, even at odd hours.
“I’m stepping outside for a moment,”
Mom told us, tapping at her cell phone. “Reception is sometimes bad in these
old houses. Maybe she’s not even receiving my messages.”
Piper, always restless, rose again
as the back door shut behind our mother. “I’m going outside, too, to
clean up.”
Either Moxie or I—or both of
us—probably should have offered to help gather up the jack-o’-lanterns and take
down the chandeliers, but neither of us volunteered.
Moxie began fidgeting with her
nails, pretending she hadn’t heard Piper, no doubt so she wouldn’t miss any
gossip-worthy news from the coroner or police.
Socrates, sitting quietly at my
feet, also averted his gaze.
“Come on, Moxie,” Piper finally
prompted. “I’m sure you won’t miss anything if you’re on the lawn.”
Moxie stuck out her lower lip, like
she doubted that. Then her shoulders slumped. “Oh, fine. I’ll help.”
Piper turned to me, her eyebrows
raised over her wire rims. “Daphne?”
Before I could answer, the doorbell
rang. “I need to get that,” I said, grabbing the Falling Leaves candle
off the counter again. Resourceful and brave Piper had located a fuse box in
the basement, but she hadn’t been able to restore the power. “It’s probably
Mom’s big commission.”
Bethany
Blake lives in a small, quaint town in Pennsylvania with her husband and three
daughters. When she's not writing, cooking for pets and people or riding
horses, she's wrangling a menagerie of furry family members that includes a
nervous pit bull, a fearsome feline, a blind goldfish, and an attack cardinal
named Robert. Like Daphne Templeton, the heroine of her Lucky Paws Mysteries,
Bethany holds a Ph.D. and operates a pet sitting business called Barkley's
Premium Pet Care.
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