CSI: Cat Sleuth Investigation: The Detective Whiskers Cozy Mystery Series, #2

By Chris Abernathy

A cat who thinks he's a detective. A group of amateur female sleuths in a quiet beach town. A dead man. It's a recipe for fun - unless you're the local police chief.

There are worse ways to go than sitting on a beach chair in Paradise Cove with a refreshing drink in your hand. But who wanted the victim dead? Detective Whiskers will need all his new friends to solve the case, but do they even want to talk to him after solving his first murder has gone to his head?

Sheila's grandson comes to visit Paradise Cove and love is in the air, along with too much body spray, when young Freddy meets Susi the housecleaner. He might regret staying in town, though, when the murder investigation turns in his direction.

The Paradise Cove Murder Society and Detective Whiskers are on the case ... and getting in Chief Anderson's way again.

If you love humorous cozy mysteries where pets take the lead and eccentric friends come together to solve crimes with just the right amount of suspense then the Detective Whiskers Cozy Mystery Series is exactly what you're looking for. Buy CSI: Cat Sleuth Investigation now and find out why the only thing better than a K-9 cop is a feline detective!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wright on the Mark LLC
• Release date: Jun 19, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227277459

Book preview

One

… and then you single-handedly chased down the killer, man, knocked him over, and held him at claw point until the police dude arrived with his handcuffs, right, man?

Zappa rolled his eyes, rolled over on his back, and let the sea breeze gently roll over the hairs on his cat belly. Apparently, he was tired of hearing me tell him how I caught the man who tried to frame Sheila, my human, for killing our neighbor. Maybe I had brought it up a few too many times over the last few weeks, but the embellishments were his. Mostly. And you gotta admit it was kind of a big deal, a cat detective solving the first murder ever in Paradise Cove.

The mid-morning sun had warmed the sand and a catnap on the beach did seem like a good idea. I stretched out next to the beach bum hippie cat and closed my eyes. It was a pretty good life he had here, living in the sand dunes. Jimmy still fished on the pier every day and left some of his catch for Zappa and some for Blue, the great blue heron who flew in around lunchtime when Jimmy usually arrived. They’d been worried when Jimmy adopted Buster but the big goofy dog only liked playing with fish, not eating them. So, yeah, sometimes there was dog slobber on their dinner but, hey, beggars can’t be choosers, right?

A shadow passed over and the sudden flash of darkness caught my attention. Not Zappa’s. He was snoring quietly without a care in the world. I looked over in time to watch Blue gracefully glide down to the sand at the edge of the surf. She was a sight to see with her wings spread wide like that. She landed, pulled her wings in, and stood still like a statue, staring at the water hoping a fish would show up and she could catch lunch for herself. Something without dog slobber on it.

Hey, Blue. I had left Zappa to nap and walked around the sea oats to chat with Blue. Not that she was a great conversationalist. Our talks were usually one-sided with me offering a monologue until she’d had enough and flew away. Looks like it’s gonna be a pretty day.

Was that a nod? Hard to tell, but I thought I had seen Blue’s head move just a fraction. Was she acknowledging me? Probably not. She probably saw a fish.

I took the subtle hint from Zappa’s reaction earlier and resisted the urge to update Blue on the latest developments of the case or any other happenings I had observed on my neighborhood patrols. Nothing exciting really. Certainly not compared to a murder and everybody seemed tired of hearing about that already. I just sat in the sand, silently enjoying Blue’s company, until a larger wave brought water up to our feet. Blue didn’t mind but wet paws were not my favorite thing so I backed up and, making it look like I’d planned to go anyway, walked away.

Later, Blue, I called back.

Instead of heading back to our house, Sunset Cottage, I decided to take a stroll down the beach. Usually I saved my long walks on the beach for when Sheila wanted to go but I was in no hurry to get home this morning. A distant thump-thump-thump told me that Sheila was still out somewhere. Her grandson, Freddy, had come down from college for a visit. It was his last summer before joining the real world and since his Nana, as he called Sheila, now had a cottage on the beach he had chosen to spend the first week or so with her. When she left for some errands this morning he took the opportunity to play his music very loudly. I was certain he’d be hearing from Nosy Nancy, the overenthusiastic HOA president, real soon. In the meantime, I’d keep my distance and preserve my hearing. A good detective needs to be a great listener.

And I was a good detective. Fred, Sheila’s husband and my mentor, had trained me well. We’d solved many a case together back in Colorado. Then he died suddenly. Sheila and I were both stunned and lost if I’m being honest. We moved down to the beach, started over, and almost immediately found ourselves thrown into the biggest case of my career. Now, I don’t like to brag but I did a pretty good job of developing new contacts, tracking down clues, and delivering justice. Fred would’ve been proud of me. I kept Sheila safe and put a killer behind bars. I proved that I deserved the shiny badge he had placed on my collar.

I walked past the pier to the end of the beach and turned around. By the time I got close to home the thumping music had stopped. Either Sheila was back or Nancy had come by to enforce the noise limit, I supposed, so it was safe to return. I stuck my head through the pet door Jimmy had helped Sheila install and immediately my nose told me a different story. The pleasing scent of perfume let me know that Susi, the young housecleaner, had come for her weekly visit. Another scent, a less pleasant one, was coming from the guest room. Freddy, in addition to his bad taste in music, apparently had an equally bad taste in cologne. And he had suddenly decided he needed lots of it when Susi showed up. This was going to be fun. Not.

Two

Hi! Sorry about earlier. Nana didn’t tell me anybody would be coming.

The wave of body spray that followed Freddy as he came out of his room was overpowering. Glancing through the doorway before it closed I saw a can of something labeled Axe on his bed. Susi, God bless her, must have lost some sensitivity to smell thanks to her exposure to cleaning chemicals. That’s what I deduced with my finely-tuned detective skills.

Oh, no worries, Susi replied with a slight giggle. You must be Freddy. Sheila says you’re studying Business in Gainesville?

Uh, yeah. Go Gators! Freddy stretched his arms out in front of him and moved the right one down, imitating the chomping motion of an alligator as fans do at University of Florida football games.

More of a Hurricane girl, myself, Susi said, referring to the University of Miami. Speaking of which, was there a hurricane here that I didn’t know about? She smirked.

Freddy reached down and picked up a couple of empty soda cans and a large bag of potato chips from the coffee table. Sorry, he apologized again. I guess I made myself a little too much at home. Nana spoils me. I’ll help you clean up, he said, throwing away the trash and blushing as he looked at his dirty clothes she was holding.

Susi laughed. "It’s okay! It’s my job and Sheila’s really good to me. You’re supposed to be messy on vacation, right?"

It’s not required, Sheila said, walking in the front door with her arms full of groceries. I padded over and rubbed against her leg to say hello.

Freddy stepped over and took the bags from her. I’ll put these away for you Nana. He set the bags on the counter and began pulling out items. One after another he took an item out, looked at it, glanced back and forth between the refrigerator and the pantry then set it down and pulled out another item. Sheila and Susi watched him and laughed.

Just put the ice cream in the freezer and leave the rest for now, Sheila finally told him. I’ll put everything up in a bit. Susi, can you open the windows? I’ll get the fan. It smells like somebody dropped the entire Macy’s fragrance counter in here.

I meowed my agreement.

Freddy was blushing again but his face still wasn’t as red as my eyes were.

How long are you staying? Susi asked, changing the subject while she opened a window and took a deep breath of fresh air.

Just a week or so, Freddy answered. I wish I could stay longer but I need to get back and find a job for the summer. Gotta pay for one more year of school before I graduate and build my own business. I’m gonna be a big tycoon!

Tycoon of what? Susi paused between windows and looked at Freddy who looked down and shuffled his feet.

I, uh, haven’t decided that part yet. But I’m gonna be big!

Sheila and I bit our tongues. Freddy clearly had big dreams. What he did not have, was Rizz. I’m not sure if I used that correctly but based on overhearing the endless stream of TikTok videos he watched it meant the ability to smooth talk the ladies. Freddy was about as smooth as the top of the pineapple he had just set on the counter.

Too bad there aren’t any jobs in Paradise Cove, Susi offered.

Yeah, too bad, I thought sarcastically. Sheila and I had settled into a routine and I was looking forward to getting it back in a few days.

Actually… Sheila started to say something then stopped herself.

What’s that, Nana?

She waved it off. Oh, nothing. Never mind.

Susi pushed the issue. No, Sheila. What were you going to say?

Well, Sheila answered reluctantly, "I just ran into Evelyn from the Parrot Eyes Inn. Her bartender suddenly left without even giving a notice. She’s just getting into her busy season and she needs the money from the bar to make a profit.