Nozy Cat 3: Hope Jones Cozy Mystery Series, #3

By Lyn Key

Hope Jones operates the Brontë Bookshop in the hamlet of Sweet Springs amid the rolling, green hills of the Virginia piedmont. Her best friend and business partner Peggy Sue Roswell assists Hope along with Stacey, her smart, spirited fifteen-year-old daughter. Their tuxedo feline Nozy Cat, always opinionated and outspoken, is the bookshop mascot. A local woman, Marian Hightower, is discovered murdered inside her farmhouse, and the puzzling mystery begins to unfold. The three murder suspects are quickly identified, and the sleuths refuse to back off their investigation until they expose Marian's killer and restore order to Sweet Springs. Nozy Cat 3 offers mystery fans a clean read and exciting whodunit with loads of good-natured humor and a fun dose of the paranormal.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: ECL Press
• Release date: Oct 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386735908

Book preview

LICENSE STATEMENT

Copyright © 2018 by Ed Lynskey and ECL Press. All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the author.

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-Book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to the vendor of your choice and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Front cover credit: Public domain photograph courtesy of MIphoto and the morgueFile.com.

Other Books by Ed Lynskey

Alma and Isabel Trumbo Cozy Mystery Series

Quiet Anchorage

The Cashmere Shroud

The Ladybug Song

The Amber Top Hat

Sweet Betsy

Murder in a One Hearse Town

Vi’s Ring

Heirloom

Eve’s Win

Piper Robins Cozy Mystery Series

The Corpse Wore Gingham

Fur the Win

Hope Jones Cozy Mystery Series (as Lyn Key)

Nozy Cat 1

Nozy Cat 2

Nozy Cat 3

Private Investigator Frank Johnson Mystery Series

Out of Town a Few Days (short story collection)

Pelham Fell Here

The Dirt-Brown Derby

The Blue Cheer

Troglodytes

The Zinc Zoo

After the Big Noise

Other Novels

Lake Charles

The Quetzal Motel

Ask the Dice

Blood Diamonds

Topaz Moon

Outside the Wire

Skin in the Game

Other Short Story Collection

Smoking on Mount Rushmore

Chapter 1

Hope Jones was having a bad day. She’d gotten an old shopping cart to use as the freebies bin for the used books they rejected for placement on the display shelves to sell at the Brontë Bookshop. While she’d been tidying up the back room, somebody had made off with the shopping cart.

Who’d steal an old shopping cart? Hope wondered. Had a bag lady commandeered it? Had a cockatoo’s owner converted it into a mobile birdcage?

Hope couldn’t believe the thief’s audacity. The shopping cart had vanished from its spot just outside the front door where she’d parked it. She gazed up and down Main Street without spotting any sign of it. Nine o’clock on Tuesday morning marked a slow period in town.

The bright sunshine left her squinting, and the humidity felt pleasantly low. Despite her dismay over the stolen shopping cart—she’d traded five romance paperbacks to the whatnot shop lady for it—she didn’t miss the gorgeous June weather. If she didn’t have a bookshop to run, she’d give in to the temptation to go play hooky. Sweet Springs, a hamlet located in Virginia’s piedmont with its leafy knolls, offered her plenty of choice picnic spots. 

Hark, where has the shopping cart gone?

I put it in the garage for a tune-up, Hope replied. The idle is running a bit rough, and it’s spewing black smoke from the tailpipe.

Snarky this early in the day is a bit much, don’t you think?

Hope smiled at her tuxedo tomcat in the yellow collar with the tiny red stars printed on it. Her late husband J.D. had given their pet his name: Nozy Cat. The startling fact he could speak fluent English still baffled and, on occasion, stunned her. But she’d adopted him. Therefore, as the congenial Wilbur Post had done with the wisecracking Mister Ed, Hope just rolled with it. She suspected witchcraft might also be in play, but she didn’t think about it a lot. 

Somebody stole the shopping cart, Hope said.

Don’t look at me. You’re the one who taped the Free sign to its handle.

The Free sign means the rejected used books I’m going to put into the shopping cart.

The thief didn’t know that unless he’s a mind reader. When is Peggy Sue coming?

Speak of the devil, here she is now.

They gazed down the sidewalk at Peggy Sue, blonde and stout, hurrying along. Hope waved hello to her closest friend since grade school, and Nozy Cat held up his forepaw in greeting.

Have you heard the latest news? Peggy Sue asked.

Somebody filched Hope’s shopping cart, but we didn’t think it was that sensational.

Nozy Cat, let’s tone it down, Hope said. Go on, Peggy Sue. Fill us in on the latest news.

Murder has struck us again, Peggy Sue said. The other end of Main Street is abuzz over it.

All right! Now we can get busy sleuthing again!

Hope gave Nozy Cat an admonishing frown.

Er, I mean that’s horrible news. Truly, it is.

Who died? Hope asked.

Marian Hightower, Peggy Sue replied. Do you remember we sold her first editions not that long ago?

She inherited them along with the farmhouse from her grandmother Abigail, Hope replied. Nobody was left in the Hightower family. Marian’s mother died in her sleep last Christmas Eve, and Marian never had the chance to know her father who ran off with the beekeeper’s wife.

Wasn’t it with the gravedigger’s wife? Peggy Sue asked.

I sometimes get them mixed up, Hope replied.

Give us the gory details of Marian’s murder.

Just a dry summary will suffice, Hope said.

Les Turpin delivered a roll-off dumpster, Peggy Sue said. Marian rented it to fill up from her emptying out Abigail’s clutter from the farmhouse. After no response to his knocks, Les peered in through the picture window, and there Marian lay sprawled out as a lifeless heap on the floor.

As easy as that, we find ourselves back in our gumshoes.

Hope shook her head. Nobody has said boo to us about working on her murder case, she said.

Nozy Cat turned and addressed Peggy Sue. Have the police arrested the killer?

No, Peggy Sue replied.

Have the police identified a suspect?

No, Peggy Sue replied.

Have the police found a single clue or lead?

No, Peggy Sue replied.

Stop it right now, Hope replied. We’re not getting mixed up in another murder mystery because I won’t stand for it.

We promised the police we’d aid them, Peggy Sue said. If I were you, I’d be prepared for their visit.

I haven’t set eyes on Sergeant Trogg in weeks, and he probably won’t even think to ask us, Hope said.

Nozy Cat snickered, sounding like a rusty chortle. Don’t look now, but isn’t that our constable parking his police car?

Hope snapped her head around. He’s the last person I want to see this morning, she said.

I bet the topic of Marian Hightower’s murder comes up early in your conversation.

You have nothing to wager except your sardines and sarcasm, Hope said as she caught Peggy Sue’s eye. Here we go again, it would seem, she said. Are you prepared for our next go round?

Peggy Sue shrugged. How does one prepare for sleuthing on a murder mystery?

I could quip I was born ready, but I’m a mere diligent, humble bookshop cat who’s seen and not heard.

That will be the day, Hope said.

Chapter 2

The veteran cop Sergeant Trogg headed the homicide investigations, and Sweet Springs had seen a spike in them over the past few years. Luckily, he kept Hope and Peggy Sue close on hand as his unofficial assistants. They’d collaborated to bring the evildoers to justice on two previous murder cases. Unlike Hope and Peggy Sue, Nozy Cat could barely stand Sergeant Trogg, and vice versa held true.

Keep your cat with the spooky blue eyes away from me, Sergeant Trogg said as he tromped into the bookshop. He gives me the heebie jeebies.

It sounds like a personal problem.

Nozy Cat chortled at the squat, short man with the leathery face, crooked nose, and bushy eyebrows.

Why, a swell morning to you also, Sergeant, Hope said. You must be doing fine since you’re snarling like always.

Toss him a dog bone, Hope, and keep him on a short chain.

Hope gave Nozy Cat a warning glance although nobody could understand his feline communications except the Joneses (Hope and Stacey) and Roswells (Peggy Sue and Travis).

I don’t have the time to exchange frivolous pleasantries with you, Sergeant Trogg said. His voice deepened to a gruffer note. A murder has occurred, and Marian Hightower is the victim. 

Peggy Sue heard the tragic news and passed it on to us, Hope said.

Sergeant Trogg glanced at Peggy Sue. I should’ve known it’d be all over our little Peyton Place by now, he said.

Peggy Sue shrugged. Our little Peyton Place employs you, so I wouldn’t be so quick to criticize it. Why are you visiting the Brontë Bookshop?

Marian’s homicide brings me to consult with you, Sergeant Trogg replied.

I suppose you find it awkward to ask us, so I’ll say it, Peggy Sue said. You’d like us—Hope, Nozy Cat, and me—to assist you with investigating her murder.

You are correct except I won’t let a flea-bitten, mangy feline interfere with my police work, Sergeant Trogg said. 

Nozy Cat’s fur along his back bristled straight up, and his eyes turned a stormy shade of blue. Those are fighting words, copper. Put up your dukes and defend yourself.

Hope picked up her scrappy cat and used her hand to smooth down his raised hackles.

Did you find any fingerprints or other evidence? Hope asked.

Was there any DNA, which doesn’t stand for Doughnuts Now Available?

I’ve got nothing, Sergeant Trogg replied. I personally inspected Marian’s residence. Abigail was a full-blown hoarder, and Marian was in the process of cleaning out the litter, but she’d barely made any headway.

How did Marian die? Hope asked.

Her killer smothered her, quite possibly with a pillow, Sergeant Trogg replied.

Brutal.

Nozy Cat shivered along with Hope and Peggy Sue.

However, I found no pillow on the premises that may’ve been used, Sergeant Trogg said.

Was Marian’s house ransacked? Hope asked. Was there any sign of a struggle? Did you find any evidence of forced entry? Was a smartphone or flash drive dropped?

Did the killer lose a monogrammed handkerchief or an earring? Did the killer leave a telltale footprint in the muddy flowerbed?

Hope shook Nozy Cat held in her arms before she whispered into his pointy ear. If you don’t stick a cork in it, you’ll get no sardines for a week.

Have mercy. You win. I’ll be quiet. For now, that is.

What did you just whisper into his ear? Sergeant Trogg asked.

You’re imagining things, Hope replied.

Just stop these private winks, furtive eye rolls, and sly nods, Sergeant Trogg said.

You’re turning paranoid, Hope said.

Sergeant Trogg pointed a finger. It all ties back to him, Dozy Cat.

He can’t even get my name right. We’re doomed, Hope.

Nozy Cat, Hope said. His name is Nozy Cat.

Sergeant Trogg rolled his eyes. Whatever, he said.

A killer is on the loose, and it’s up to us to catch him before a second murder happens, Hope said.

I couldn’t agree more with you. Sergeant Trogg narrowed his eyes on Hope and Peggy Sue. Didn’t you conduct business with the decedent?

Marian called us concerning Abigail’s collection of first editions, Hope replied. Marian said she felt no sentimental attachment to the books. We looked them over and agreed to handle making the sale for her.

Uh-huh, Sergeant Trogg said. I’m not a reader, but I’m a cop who knows when something worth money is at stake I have a motive for murder.

We sold Marian’s first editions, deducted our small standard commission, and gave the bulk of the proceeds to her, Hope said.

Uh-huh, Sergeant Trogg said.

We have the paperwork on file in the back room to prove it, Hope said.

Uh-huh, Sergeant Trogg said.

Have you got something on your mind? Hope asked as she narrowed her eyes on him. Are you hinting Peggy Sue and I have some involvement with Marian’s homicide?

Select your next words with care, Sergeant Trogg, Peggy Sue said. Otherwise, you might lose our support you came seeking.

The murder victim recently completed a business deal with you, Sergeant Trogg said. It’s a relevant fact I can’t ignore and not consider.

You can rule us out as murder suspects, Hope said.

It’s premature to rule anybody out, Sergeant Trogg said. I’m a careful, methodical police detective who regards everybody at first as a homicide suspect.

Then you can leave us, Hope said, her temper heating up. She was usually an even-keeled person, but the crusty Sergeant Trogg had antagonized her. She pointed at the door. You can find your way out the same way you came in.

Whoa. Hope is breaking bad. I didn’t think she had the fire in her, but I like seeing it.

Are you throwing me out? Sergeant Trogg asked. Are you ordering a cop around?

When the cop acts as insulting as you have, my answer is a resounding yes, Hope replied.

Sergeant Trogg glanced at Peggy Sue. I’m the law enforcement official in case Hope has forgotten, he said.

Peggy Sue shrugged.

We know who you are, Hope said, angrier. Even if, you can take a hike, Sergeant.

Give him both barrels, Hope. Don’t hold back. Cuss him out to make a sailor blush.

Hope almost smiled as she whispered back. You really enjoy watching me tear into Sergeant Trogg.

You don’t know the half of it. I’ve been waiting for this day to come since the first time I met him. Shall I whip my king of the jungle hisses on him for good measure?

Remember you’re the bookshop mascot who’s seen and not heard, Hope whispered.

I’m a cop who’s paid to look at every angle, Sergeant Trogg said. I don’t see why it should interfere with our spirit of cooperation.

Of course it impacts any cooperation we might give you, Peggy Sue said. How can we trust working alongside a cop who has one eye on us and suspects we might be Marian’s killers?

You have to eliminate Peggy Sue and me as murder suspects, Hope said.

Sergeant Trogg glanced down at Nozy Cat who blew him a kiss as well as cats are able to blow a kiss. Sergeant Trogg’s jaw sagged, and his second sharper look saw Nozy Cat merely staring at him.

Your cat is a menace to society, Sergeant Trogg said. He should be locked up and the key thrown away.

Is Nozy Cat picking on you again? Peggy Sue asked. He’s a fun-loving bundle of fur once you get to know him. Haven’t you ever kept a pet, even a goldfish in a glass bowl?

I inherited an African gray parrot named Georgie Girl from my grandfather, Sergeant Trogg replied. She came with a potty mouth. When I had the guys over to play poker, she unleashed a blistering stream of invectives, causing me to cringe.

What became of the salty Georgie Girl? Peggy Sue asked.

She escaped by flying through an open skylight, Sergeant Trogg replied. "I tacked up flyers on the street