The Counterfeiter-Catching Cat: A Beatrice Young Cozy Cat Mystery (Beatrice Young Cozy Cat Mysteries Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

and I installed a lock to he can’t come into the main house. Has to go out the side door. I feel awful about it, even more so because Amy was so mad at me. But to tell you the truth, sheriff, he sold my television, took cash from my wallet, used my credit card without asking. I’m a single mother on a tight budget. I’m barely making ends meet as it is.”
    A vein appeared in the sheriff’s forehead. “And you never reported these robberies?” he said brusquely. “This is the first I’ve heard of this.”
    She shook her head quickly and looked deep into her coffee mug. “I didn’t want the boy to get in any more trouble. Amy loves him. I didn’t know how she would cope if he ended up in jail.”
    Her eyes misted and she dabbed at them with a tissue she took from her pocket. “Sorry. Despite my feelings about Jordan, I still feel responsible for him. Not even his own mother cares if he’s alive or dead. I’ve tried to get in touch with her but she hasn’t called me back. Anyway, it’s not like him to disappear. He never goes far from Ashbrook. Or from Amy.”
    The sheriff got up and patted her shoulder. “Don’t you worry, Sally Ann. I’ll do everything in my power to find Jordan as soon as possible. You can call me night or day if you need anything. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll have a peek at the basement and then we’ll be out of your hair.”
    Sally Ann unlocked the padlock on the basement door and Hamish and Lucky ran down the creaky wooden steps without hesitation. Hamish knew exactly what was expected of him and as usual, Lucky followed his lead. The three humans came down after them.
    The unfinished basement had a concrete floor and tiny windows covered with tin foil. Cobwebs stuck to the wooden rafters.. A wooden futon frame and mattress was pushed into one corner and an open door revealed a rudimentary washroom. Another door that led outside was shut tight with a heavy bolt.
    “Jordan sure liked his privacy,” the sheriff commented, eyeing the covered windows and bolted door.
    Sally Ann crossed her arms in front of her thin body. “Sometimes I wondered if he got on the wrong side of somebody. He seemed to be obsessed with securing the place.”
    Roy looked at her sharply. “What somebody would that be?”
    She shrugged and shook her head sadly. “It’s just a theory. He had a way of ticking people off.”
    Hamish jumped on a large wood table in the middle of the room and began sniffing eagerly, his fluffy tail twitching all the while. Then he began scratching and meowing frantically. Beatrice approached. The table looked like it was stained black with something like ink. She sniffed the air, detecting a sharp, acidic smell mostly masked by a heavy odor of lemon. Cleaning products.
    “Did you clean down here recently?” Beatrice asked.
    Sally Ann shook her head. “No. I didn’t want to disturb anything before you folks had a look.”
    Beatrice frowned. “You smell it?” she asked the sheriff. He nodded. “And something else beneath it. Ink maybe?”
    He nodded again, this time more slowly, his bushy eyebrows meeting over his forehead as his brain worked over this new development.
    “Did you have a printer down here?” he asked Sally Ann.
    A confused expression came over her face. “No. I don’t even have a computer. Neither did Jordan or Amy, far as I know. I don’t know why anyone would be printing anything down here.”
    “Ink of any kind? Maybe for drawing?”
    “No sir. Neither were artistic types. I can’t imagine what they’d need ink for.”
    Beatrice and the sheriff looked around the space but there was almost nothing to be seen. The place was bare, as if it had been scrubbed clean. Jordan’s clothes and any other personal effects were gone, though a few toiletries remained in the bathroom.
    The sheriff scratched his scalp as he surveyed the scene. “You mind if we see Amy’s room?”
    Amy’s room couldn’t have been more different. It spoke volumes about the