The whole thing still felt a bit surreal. After the event on the yacht had played out yesterday, the police had moved in and swept the whole boat. They’d eventually found Peyton, drugged with something and locked in one of the master suites. The captain of the boat had also been drugged. Esther hadn’t thought that part through very well—she needed him to drive the boat, but she knew he wouldn’t cooperate with anyone but Peyton. But she’d been more intent on keeping Peyton quiet because, as she’d admitted to the police, Peyton “wouldn’t have been pleased with my methods for protecting her.”
Peyton, who remained innocent in the whole mess, had started to get a bad feeling about Esther’s actions after some comments she’d made when Marco had been hurt. Peyton had tipped off Grandpa that she thought her longtime friend may have had something to do with the murder and the assault. Peyton had also confessed that Chad and Jillian had been blackmailing her and Marco for years now, and Esther had been pressuring her to stand up and shut it down. And it turned out she’d had an alibi for the murder after all—she’d set up a meeting with her lawyer and Stevie Warner’s lawyer to see how she could help him keep his home and property. She’d gotten wind of the family rift that was going on and wanted to make it right. Plus, I assumed, any way to retaliate against Jillian would be satisfying for her.
Leopard Man stood up. “How is Rhiannon?” he asked.
“She is perfectly fine,” I said. “The vet checked her out yesterday after the … incident, and gave her a clean bill of health.”
“Thanks to your quick action,” Leopard Man said.
The crowd cheered again.
I felt my face turn red. “It was nothing.”
“A toast to Maddie,” Cass Hendricks, our island guru, called out, raising his glass.
The crowd joined him. My face turned even redder.
“And a toast to Leo,” Mick Ellory added. “Who set up that sting operation on the boat like the pro he is.”
Now the crowd really cheered. Grandpa accepted their applause with grace, standing up and thanking them all. I had to laugh. Grandpa had known all along what we were walking into on that boat, and the way he’d handled it made me think he’d had no business retiring as chief.
“Now, please, enjoy your evening. We have lots of food, music, and kitties and puppies to snuggle,” I said. Along with the café cats, Katrina had brought along a few of her dogs to mingle too in hopes of getting them homes. “Thank you all for coming!”
As the crowd turned back to their food and conversations, I stepped down from the little stage and went to join Lucas, who stood off to the side. He slipped an arm around me. “Nice job,” he said.
I smiled. “I’m just grateful people still came.”
“Everyone loves the café and you and Katrina. Of course they’d be here to support you.”
“Yeah.” He was right. It was one of the good things about home. For all the faults of living on a little island like this, there was a lot of great stuff. Like community.
“I can’t believe we pulled this off.” Val and Ethan came over to stand with us.
“I had no doubt.” Ethan leaned over and kissed Val. “I’m going to get us a drink. Maddie, Lucas, what’ll you have?”
“Martini,” Lucas and I said in unison, and then burst out laughing.
When Ethan walked away, Val turned back to me. “He asked me to go back to California with him to meet his grandmother,” she said.
My eyes widened. “Wow. That’s huge, Val.”
“I know.” She smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Katrina came over with Thurber. She looked decidedly lighter, as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted from her chest. “Ten grand a month. Plus the proceeds from this event.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe it. We’re going to have to strategize about how we handle it.”
“Already on it,” I said. “We have an appointment with a financial advisor next week.”
“I should’ve known,” she said with a laugh. “So what do you think this will mean for us? I feel like this is going to open a lot of doors.”
“Oh,” I said, “I have a few ideas.”
St. Martin’s Paperbacks titles by Cate Conte
CAT ABOUT TOWN
THE TELL TAIL HEART
A WHISKER OF A DOUBT
CLAWS FOR ALARM
About the Author
CATE CONTE writes the Cat Cafe Mysteries and the new Full Moon Mysteries. As Liz Mugavero, she writes the Pawsitively Organic Mysteries, the first of which was an Agatha Award nominee for Best First Novel. She lives in Connecticut with her rescue pals. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
St. Martin’s Paperbacks titles by Cate Conte
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by St. Martin’s Paperbacks, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
CLAWS FOR ALARM
Copyright © 2021 by Liz Mugavero.
Cover design by Danielle Christopher. Cover illustration by Robert Crawford.
All rights reserved.
For information address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.stmartins.com
eISBN: 9781250761569
Our books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, ext. 5442, or by e-mail at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition published 2021
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
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