Un-Fur-tunate Events (Vanessa Abbot Cat Cozy Mystery Series Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

talking to patients
or hospitals?” Vanessa asked.

    “No, I just take care of our public
relations.”

     “Maybe
you could explain something to me,” Vanessa went on.

    “I’ll do my best,” Andrea replied, “but
I can’t make any promises.”

    “You must understand how the foundation
makes its money,” Vanessa remarked.

    Andrea cocked her head to one side. “We
are a non-profit foundation.”

    “I must be confused.” Vanessa returned.
“I heard Frank tell Jerry he would receive a big payout.”

    Vanessa waited, but when Andrea didn’t
answer, she tried to explain further. “What I mean is, Jerry was ready to quit
the foundation. He seemed upset about how the foundation was making its money.”

    Andrea stopped, and her focus moved
away from Vanessa. She stared into space. Then she flew into action and whirled
away. “Jerry was the best part of the foundation. Without him, it’s going to be
hard to do our mission. I really must be going.”

    Andrea raced to her car. A moment
later, the buzz of the Bug faded down the road. AngelPie slid her shoulder
across Vanessa’s shins. Henry stepped out of the bushes on the other side of
the yard. He glanced down the driveway where the red car had disappeared. Then
he trotted up the steps and jumped up onto one of the deck chairs. “Well, I
just don’t know what to think of that.”

    Vanessa stood at the empty driveway
with the conversation still running in her head.

Chapter 4
    Henry stretched and yawned as he sat
atop Vanessa’s cookbook.

    “I asked you before, Henry,” Vanessa
minced. “I need to read the last part of that recipe.”

    Henry jumped up and settled down on the
chair and started licking his chest.

    “If you know something, just tell me.”
Vanessa directed, “You’ve been acting strange every since Andrea left.”

    Henry fixed his green eyes on her and
stared her down without blinking.

    “How exactly do you know that?” Vanessa
asked.

    Henry closed his eyes and tucked his
head into the fur on his side.

    “I have to finish preparing dinner,”
Vanessa told him, “I don’t have time to chase down Andrea and start asking
personal questions.”

    Henry didn’t move. He showed no sign of
hearing her. His ears didn’t even twitch.

    Vanessa looked at him and waited, but
when he didn’t respond, she sighed and turned away.

    “Okay, I’ll head down the road to see
if I can catch up with her.”

    She ducked into the front hall and
grabbed her car keys. She left the door open and jumped off the porch without
using the steps. Flossy sat up from where she lay nestled in a flowerpot in
front of the house. “Keep an eye on things, will you Flossy? I’ll be right
back. No, I turned the saucepan off before I left. Nothing’s on. Just look
after the other cats. I know you will. That’s my girl.”

    Vanessa jumped into her car and started
the motor. While she buckled her seat belt, AngelPie came over to the open
driver’s door and meowed up at her.

    “Do you want to come?” Vanessa asked.
“All right. Come on. But sit tight, because I need to concentrate on the road.”

    AngelPie jumped into Vanessa’s lap and
found a place in the passenger’s seat. Vanessa slammed her door and peeled out
of the driveway with a cloud of dust rising in her wake. She hit the main road
and dropped her foot on the accelerator pedal.

    “Now,” she told AngelPie, “keep your
eyes open for a red Volkswagen Bug.”

    AngelPie looked up at her face.

    “I know you can’t see through the
windows,” Vanessa told her. “I’m just talking to myself.”

    AngelPie lay down on the seat and dozed
off. Vanessa scanned the road ahead, but she hadn’t gone more than a mile or
two when she spotted the car parked by the side of the road.

    “I can’t believe Henry was right. I
will have to make him something special when I get back.”

    She pulled to a stop behind the Bug and
stepped out.

    Andrea looked up with her eyes red from
crying. “What