The Haunted Inn: The Happy Cat's Home Novella, #3

By Alex Mahon

Cristina Solans always thought she lived in a sleepy little village where nothing happens. But when she is hired to investigate a possible haunting at a former inn, she uncovers more skeletons in the cupboard than a graveyard.

 

The case veers off the beaten track when her boyfriend hints at a new career move, which would mean the end of their relationship. What's worse, he doesn't seem too worried about it

 

Uncovering all these secrets and skeletons means having to reassess her relationship with all and sundry. Where else can she turn for help? The answer is closer to home than she thinks.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alex Mahon
• Release date: Sep 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223625087

Alex Mahon

I was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1964, but moved to Renfrew when I was seven. After wandering around various countries, working in numerous jobs, I met a woman In Lleida, Spain, who was crazy enough to put with my nonsense and married her. I now work as an English teacher as punishment for my past sins.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Aclap of thunder jolted me out of a dream about drinking cocktails on Malibu Beach. I had no idea why my mind chose that place as I had never been there or seen it on television. Just one of those things, I suppose.

I turned my bleary eyes to the alarm clock I’d forgotten to set.

Eight a.m.

I rolled back over towards Alex, who was purring away like the proverbial kitten. He had arrived from Canada a week ago, and ever since then we had stayed mostly in the bedroom.

Hardly surprising after spending so much time apart!

I sorely wanted to kiss him good morning. But it could wait. I had to feed and water the cats first, and there was a client to meet later. Even so, I didn’t want to get up, not with him lying there like an unwrapped Christmas present I wasn’t allowed to touch.

I forced myself out of bed and slipped on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. I padded barefoot downstairs to the kitchen. While making coffee, I checked messages on my phone. A few friends wondered if I was still alive as I hadn’t replied to their forty million texts. I copied and pasted the same reply to the chosen few.

Still on honeymoon...so to speak. Do not disturb!

They countered it with a flurry of suggestive-laden texts and icons. It took so long to read them all that I had to reheat my cup of coffee in the microwave.

I carried the coffee cup into the hall where we had a small cupboard. We usually put the mail on top of it. That morning there was a white envelope half-submerged in cat pee. The culprit was obviously Frisky since no other felines lived in the house. The little rascal could now clamber up the furniture with little effort. No doubt he knew he had done something wrong and made himself scarce. By rights, I should go and scold him. But every time I tried to do that in the past, he gave me a sad look which melted my anger.

Such was the power of a kitten’s gaze!

I put the half-empty coffee cup in the sink and fetched a roll of paper towel and latex gloves from the cupboards. I dried up the envelope as best I could and stared at it for a while.

The University Of Lleida, it said on the front. It contained the result of my Private Investigator course. Passing it would allow me the opportunity to join an agency that worked cases for the Mosses d’ Squadra, the Catalan Police force.

The way things stood, working as a veterinary assistant seemed out of the question. I had received no offers since my last job. The only chance to work with animals was at The Happy Cat’s Home.

Nice work. But taking care of animals paid very little if anything at all. It was a glorified hobby, an unpaid vocation. I wanted to be financially independent. Since my private investigation cases were few and far between, I couldn’t rely on them either.

With trembling fingers, I peeled back the flap and took out the letter inside. I located the crucial text, reading it a few times to make sure I got it right.

I had passed. 

Euphoria and uncertainty fused to create a plethora of emotions. I wanted to tell everybody the good news. How would they take it? The job meant leaving the other women in the lurch. I suppose it would have happened sooner or later. Besides, there was no point in hanging around here all my life. And I had a new boyfriend in tow. We needed time to be on our own, which meant saving up for a new place.

As I returned the letter to the drawer, Alex came down the stairs, cradling Frisky. Good morning, he said. I was wondering where you went to. He yawned. Can’t believe I slept so long. He yawned again. Just got a Whatsapp message from an academy. They said they’re looking for native English teachers. And wondered if I’d be interested.

Hi, darling, I said and scratched the underside of Frisky’s chin. He gave a low purr. Which academy is it?

Red Bus. The guy spoke in broken English.

Oh, I know that one. The teachers are mostly teenagers. And the pay is terrible. I shook my head. Avoid it like the plague. The best one still seems to be the Loch Ness Academy. More professional. And the salary is pretty decent for an English academy.

Probably right. His nose flared. It smells like cat pee in here.

I pointed at Frisky. It was him. I wiggled my fingers in front of his face. He tried to snare them with his extended claws. He’s a sneaky little thing, aren’t you?

Alex grinned. He certainly is. Need any help round here?

That was one of the many things I liked about him. He never bothered what the cats got up to. Nor did he have any problem helping out at the refuge. And just as importantly, he was as fond of Frisky as I was. Few men I’d ever known loved animals as much as him, especially cats.

Not as far as I’m aware, I said.

Talking about the job at Loch Ness. I forgot to tell you. When the guy who interviewed me went to the toilet, a bunch of girls came into the classroom. They kept gawping. A few made comments, but I couldn’t understand them. When they did speak in English, they wanted to know everything about my private life. It was embarrassing.

Nothing wrong with that. They probably fancied you.

I don’t think so.

I giggled. Oh, they did. Trust me. You’re too handsome to be a teacher. Just ripe for young ladies to have a crush on.

No way. They’re too young to think in that way about an older guy like me.

I shook my head. That’s not how they see it. I remember a classmate of mine who had an affair with an English teacher. Her name was Elena. She was seventeen. And the teacher was twenty-six. His name was John O’Hanlon. An Irish man. Elena was in a bar one night, waiting for a friend. But her friend cancelled at the last minute. When Elena was about to leave,  John came in. They chatted. He spun the old trope about his girlfriend not understanding him etcetera. Elena didn’t care. She had always fancied him and nothing else mattered. One thing led to another and they went back to his place. He lived alone. The affair lasted two months before the school found out. They forced him out of the job. But it never stopped their relationship. Now they both live in Portugal. She had a baby boy last month.

Wow! Juicy tidbit of gossip. You’ve got no worries on that score. He kissed my nose, lips, and neck. Why don’t we go to bed?

I’d love to. But I have to meet a client.

Can’t it wait?

Wish it could. But I’ve already arranged it.

Well, in that case, I’ll keep my pent-up energy for cycling. You do know that bike’s a death trap, don’t you?

Tell me about it.

We need to get a car.

I nodded. "Yeah, but if we have different schedules, only one of us could use it. So, it would only marginally reduce our problem. The other person would need to hope Ingrid’s van was free. Otherwise, one of us would still have to use Laia’s bike. Maybe we should think about