The Extortion Cat-astrophe: A Beatrice Young Cozy Cat Mystery (Beatrice Young Cozy Cat Mysteries Book 2) Read Online Free

dashed over. He tried to tear away the ring but Lucky held on, his green eyes furious.
    “What’s that?” Bee asked immediately.
    Nathan sat back down heavily in his easy chair. “One of the stackable rings from a toy that belonged to Tony’s toddler. He brought her here once during our better days. Told me he needed money to pay for her check-ups and such. I kept the toy because it used to remind me why I was forking over all that cash.”
    Beatrice took a long hard look at the little black cat, his whiskers twitching as he clung to his prize. “What are you trying to tell us, Lucks?” she muttered.

6
    The sun had barely risen over the hills in the east before Beatrice got out of bed and fetched her laptop. She had slept poorly and was itching to start researching Nathan’s case. Matthew had crashed, as usual, in the spare bedroom of her converted barn house. Still, she didn’t expect him up for some time. As it was Sunday, this was the start of his weekend and he usually liked to sleep in.
    She first went into the kitchen to feed Hamish and Lucky, who had risen from their cat beds as soon as she had rolled out of her bed. Then, to the sound of contented crunching noises, she nestled onto the sofa and turned on the table lamp. iPad in hand, she did a quick Google search under the cozy glow of light. “Tony Parsons” brought up many, many records but few details about his recent arrest.
    Grabbing her notebook, she wrote down what she could find. Parsons had previous misdemeanors for breaking and entering, possession of an illegal substance, assault, and minor theft. He had lived his entire life in the nearby town of Waitsfield, working occasionally in an auto repair shop. And he had a daughter, now twelve, who lived with her mother in another part of town.
    Beatrice froze at this. The daughter. She must have been the toddler who visited Nathan’s house with Tony. The plastic ring Lucky found was hers . But how could the daughter have any connection to the new extortionist?
    Lucky jumped up on the couch and settled over her feet, purring lovingly. Beatrice stared down at him as if that would help her unlock the clue he had shown her.
    She was distracted, though, by an insistent meowing below her. Usually Hamish liked to sit on her feet and from his expression she could tell he was not happy to be replaced.
    “Jealousy doesn’t suit you,” she told him. He merely sneezed and stalked off in disdain.
    Tapping her pen on her notebook, Beatrice tried to unravel the mystery for herself. Perhaps there was another child in Tony’s life? One neither she nor the papers knew about?
    Her thoughts were interrupted by the shuffle of slippers on the stairs. Matthew came down, still in his monogrammed plaid pajamas, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
    “Bee, I could practically hear you thinking down here,” he said, plopping onto the couch next to her. Hamish immediately sprang up and sat on his lap while looking daggers at Lucky.
    “I was just doing some research.”
    “I know you want to help. I love that you want to help. But isn’t the sheriff’s office better suited to handle something like this?”
    “Nate’s a reasonable guy,” she said, putting her notebook aside. “If he thinks there’s reason to avoid the cops, don’t you think we should listen to him?”
    “Bee, the guy has been sitting on this extortion for ten years . I love him dearly and he’s a great friend but I’m not sure he knows what’s good for him anymore.”
    Beatrice mulled this over and then cocked an eyebrow in her friend’s direction. “I don’t know. I think I could think this over more clearly if I had some coffee in my system. And maybe breakfast too.”
    “You want me to make you breakfast on my day off?”
    She shrugged innocently. “C’mon. I know you stay over for my fully stocked fridge. Don’t be coy.”
    He broke out in one of his characteristic sunny smiles. “You got me there. Alright, coffee and pancakes coming right