The Catsgiving Feast Read online

  The Catsgiving Feast

  by

  Kathi Daley

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 by Katherine Daley

  Version 1.0

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  I want to thank the very talented Jessica Fischer for the cover art.

  I so appreciate Bruce Curran, who is always ready and willing to answer my cyber questions; Jayme Maness for helping out with the book clubs; and Peggy Hyndman for helping sleuth out those pesky typos.

  And, of course, thanks to the readers and bloggers in my life, who make doing what I do possible.

  And a special thank you to Nancy Farris, Patty Liu, Sharon Guagliardo, and Pam Curran for submitting recipes.

  Thank you to Randy Ladenheim-Gil for the editing.

  And finally, I want to thank my husband Ken for allowing me time to write by taking care of everything else.

  Books by Kathi Daley

  Come for the murder, stay for the romance.

  Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery:

  Halloween Hijinks

  The Trouble With Turkeys

  Christmas Crazy

  Cupid’s Curse

  Big Bunny Bump-off

  Beach Blanket Barbie

  Maui Madness

  Derby Divas

  Haunted Hamlet

  Turkeys, Tuxes, and Tabbies

  Christmas Cozy

  Alaskan Alliance

  Matrimony Meltdown

  Soul Surrender

  Heavenly Honeymoon

  Hopscotch Homicide

  Ghostly Graveyard

  Santa Sleuth

  Shamrock Shenanigans

  Kitten Kaboodle

  Costume Catastrophe

  Candy Cane Caper

  Holiday Hangover

  Easter Escapade

  Camp Carter

  Trick or Treason

  Reindeer Roundup

  Hippity Hoppity Homicide

  Firework Fiasco

  Henderson House

  Holiday Hostage – December 2018

  Lunacy Lake – May 2019

  Zimmerman Academy The New Normal

  Zimmerman Academy New Beginnings

  Ashton Falls Cozy Cookbook

  Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries by Henery Press:

  Pumpkins in Paradise

  Snowmen in Paradise

  Bikinis in Paradise

  Christmas in Paradise

  Puppies in Paradise

  Halloween in Paradise

  Treasure in Paradise

  Fireworks in Paradise

  Beaches in Paradise

  Thanksgiving in Paradise – Fall 2019

  Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery:

  Romeow and Juliet

  The Mad Catter

  Grimm’s Furry Tail

  Much Ado About Felines

  Legend of Tabby Hollow

  Cat of Christmas Past

  A Tale of Two Tabbies

  The Great Catsby

  Count Catula

  The Cat of Christmas Present

  A Winter’s Tail

  The Taming of the Tabby

  Frankencat

  The Cat of Christmas Future

  Farewell to Felines

  A Whisker in Time

  The Catsgiving Feast

  Whale of a Tail – April 2019

  Writers’ Retreat Southern Mystery:

  First Case

  Second Look

  Third Strike

  Fourth Victim

  Fifth Night

  Sixth Cabin

  Seventh Chapter

  Eighth Witness – January 2019

  Rescue Alaska Paranormal Mystery:

  Finding Justice

  Finding Answers

  Finding Courage

  Finding Christmas – December 2018

  A Tess and Tilly Mystery:

  The Christmas Letter

  The Valentine Mystery

  The Mother’s Day Mishap

  The Halloween House

  The Thanksgiving Trip

  The Saint Paddy’s Promise – March 2019

  The Inn at Holiday Bay:

  Boxes in the Basement – November 2018

  Letters in the Library – February 2019

  Haunting by the Sea:

  Homecoming by the Sea

  Secrets by the Sea

  Missing by the Sea

  Christmas by the Sea – March 2019

  Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mystery:

  Murder at Dolphin Bay

  Murder at Sunrise Beach

  Murder at the Witching Hour

  Murder at Christmas

  Murder at Turtle Cove

  Murder at Water’s Edge

  Murder at Midnight

  Seacliff High Mystery:

  The Secret

  The Curse

  The Relic

  The Conspiracy

  The Grudge

  The Shadow

  The Haunting

  Road to Christmas Romance:

  Road to Christmas Past

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Recipes

  Triple Cranberry Sauce

  Sweet Potato Casserole

  Minestrone Soup

  Pumpkin Cookies

  Books by Kathi Daley

  Chapter 1

  Tuesday, November 13

  My name is Caitlin Hart and I am marrying the love of my life, Cody West, in exactly four days, three hours, and eleven minutes. While there appear to be a few challenges on the horizon, I am determined that nothing is going to ruin my special day. Not the major storm that’s supposed to blow in by tomorrow evening, not Cody’s obnoxious cousin who showed up with Cody’s mother despite Cody’s intentionally not inviting him, not the black eye I now sport after falling into the bedroom door after tripping over my dog Max, and not the new wedding venue I must find after St. Patrick’s, the church I have attended my entire life and the church I’ve dreamed of getting married in since I was old enough to dream of getting married, has closed for repairs following a small fire that appears to have been caused by an electrical malfunction.

  “We might have a problem,” my sister, Siobhan Finnegan, said to me after she’d tentatively entered my small seaside cabin through the side door.

  “Of course we do,” I answered, rolling my eyes. “Did the florist come down with the plague or did the bakery burn to the ground?”

  “Worse.”

  “What can be worse than a bakery burning to the ground?”

  “The bakery owner, Sally Enderling, was found dead this morning by her assistant.”

  I placed my hand on my heart. “Oh no. I’m so sorry. What happened?”

  “I spoke to Finn,” Siobhan referred to her husband, Deputy Ryan Finnegan. “It looks like someone came up behind her and hit her with an object they believe, based on the size and shape of the wound, was a rolling pin. She was found facedown in the walk-in refrigerator.”

  “That’s awful. The poor woman. I can’t imagine who would do such a thing.” I didn’t know Sally well, although we did run into each other from time
to time, and she seemed nice enough. She’d moved to the island four years ago from Seattle, but once she settled in, she jumped right into public service by running for a board position with the local chamber of commerce. She’d done a bang-up job, from what I understood, and there was even talk of her running for a seat on the town council in an upcoming election. I knew she was married to an accountant who had an office in Seattle but had arranged to work remotely a good deal of the time. I couldn’t imagine who would want to harm the woman. “Are there any suspects?”

  “One,” Siobhan said. I couldn’t help but notice that she seemed to be cringing as she spoke. “It seems, based on what we know at this moment, the last person to see Sally alive was Cody’s mother.”

  I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and blew it out slowly. “Cody’s mother?”

  Siobhan nodded. “That’s what Finn said. According to Sally’s assistant, Carla, Cody’s mother went to see Sally yesterday afternoon shortly before closing.”

  “Why would Mrs. West go to see Sally?”

  “It seems she wasn’t a fan of the plain white cake you chose, so she decided to speak to Sally about adding a different filling to each layer. Sally very nicely informed her that you’d specifically requested a simple frosting, and that you’d stated quite clearly that you didn’t want filling of any flavor, at which point Cody’s mother started yelling at her.”

  I slowly counted to ten before continuing in a much sterner voice than I’d intended. “Why on earth would Mrs. West yell at Sally?”

  Siobhan crossed her arms over her chest. “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger.”

  I closed my eyes and blew out a breath. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault. I didn’t mean to shout. Go on.”

  “Carla had to pick up her daughter from dance class, so she left in the middle of the conversation, but based on what Carla told Finn, Cody’s mother was very forcefully pointing out that she would be the one paying for the cake, which made her the customer, which in her mind required Sally to make the changes she was requesting.”

  I tossed back my head and threw up my arms. “That woman insisted on paying for the cake. I never asked her to contribute a dime to this wedding, but she showed up a week before she was scheduled to arrive with Cody’s totally irritating cousin in tow and started making demands. Paying for the cake was one of those demands.”

  Siobhan took my hand in hers. “I know, sweetie. And you’ve done such a good job of sucking it up and allowing her to participate. I don’t think the cake or the filling or the fact that Cody’s mom seems to be torturing you for not having the wedding in Florida is the point of this conversation, however. The point is that Mrs. West threatened to hurt Sally, and now she’s dead.”

  “She threatened to hurt her?” I screeched.

  Siobhan nodded. “Two women who were passing by the bakery told Finn that Mrs. West insisted Sally make the changes she wanted or suffer the consequences. I suppose she could have meant many things by that, but the sheriff is taking her threat seriously. Finn said he’s on his way to the island to question her himself. Finn’s been instructed to bring her in.”

  I fell back into a chair, which, fortunately, was directly behind me. That was it. God was definitely sending me a sign that I wasn’t supposed to marry Cody. There really was no other explanation. “So Sally died yesterday afternoon?”

  “Finn thinks so. He’s waiting for the medical examiner to say exactly when she died, but Carla said Sally had on the same clothes she’d worn yesterday, and it didn’t appear she ever went home.”

  “Wouldn’t her husband know that for certain?”

  “He was in Virginia visiting his mother, who’s been ill. No one realized Sally hadn’t gone home until Carla showed up for work this morning.”

  I took several deep breaths as I tried to steady my suddenly very shaky nerves. “Does Cody know?”

  “Finn was going to track him down and talk to him right after he hung up with me.”

  This wasn’t going to go over well at all. “He went to the north shore this afternoon to take some photos for the story on the fire at the old community church. I doubt he’s back yet. Still, he should be available by cell.” I stood up and took yet another breath to strengthen my resolve. “I suppose I should head over to Finn’s office.”

  “Finn said no. He was going to explain things to Mrs. West when he picked her up. He’ll call after she speaks to the sheriff, but he didn’t want you anywhere near the office when he speaks to her. I think all we can do is wait.”

  Well, that was just fantastic. There was nothing I liked better than waiting on the sidelines while the world crumbled around me.

  “Cait? Are you okay?” Siobhan asked when I didn’t answer.

  I nodded. “I’m fine. I trust Finn. I’m sure he has everything under control.” I glanced at my dog. “I think I’m going to take Max for a run.”

  ******

  Later that afternoon, I decided waiting was for the birds and headed to the newspaper to see how Cody was doing. Finn didn’t want me anywhere near his office while the sheriff was on the island, but the newspaper was all the way next door, so I was sure it would be fine.

  It wasn’t.

  After being scolded by Finn about following directions and actions having consequences and a whole bunch of other malarkey, I decided to go down the street to Coffee Cat Books, where I knew I would find people who loved me and wouldn’t yell at me.

  “Cait, what are you doing here?” My best friend and maid of honor Tara O’Brian asked. “I thought you were taking the day off to work on wedding stuff.”

  “I was, but then the woman making my wedding cake was murdered and Cody’s mother is the prime suspect, so I decided angsting over a new venue could wait.”

  Tara’s mouth fell open. “What?”

  I walked into the cat lounge and flopped onto the sofa. Tara, my sister Cassie, and our assistant, Willow, all followed. The three women stood staring at me like I’d lost my mind. Who knew, maybe I had.

  “Maybe you should start at the beginning,” Tara said.

  I nodded. “I was at the cabin late this morning, trying to figure out what I was going to do about the ceremony, now that the church is closed for repair, when Siobhan came over to let me know she’d spoken to Finn, who’d informed her that Sally from the bakery had been found dead by her assistant this morning.”

  “Oh no. Poor Sally,” Willow said. “What happened?”

  “She was hit from behind with a rolling pin or a rolling-pin-shaped object. At least that’s what Finn suspects.”

  “So get back to the part about Mrs. West,” Cassie suggested.

  “Finn told Siobhan it appeared as if Cody’s mother might have been the last person to see Sally alive. It seems she went to the bakery late yesterday afternoon to change my cake order because, apparently, white cake with white frosting is boring and stupid.”

  I saw Tara cringe.

  “Sorry.” I cringed in response. “That was rude and very inappropriate. A woman is dead and here I am, complaining about the actions of the woman who might have killed her.”

  “Mrs. West might have killed her?” Tara asked, taking a seat next to Willow.

  “Finn said two women were passing the bakery while Mrs. West was yelling at Sally. They heard her tell Sally to make the changes or suffer the consequences.”

  Willow audibly gasped. “You don’t think she actually…”

  “No. At least, I hope not. But the sheriff is taking the threat seriously. He told Finn to bring Mrs. West in for questioning. I think she’s still there. I was told to stay far away from the place while the sheriff was on the island. And I did. For a while. But I got tired of waiting, so I decided to go by to take a peek. Finn saw me and yelled at me, so I came here.”

  “You know Sally was Sheriff Fowler’s half sister?” Willow asked.

  I frowned. “She was? I had no idea.” I bit my lip. “I guess that’s why Finn wanted me to stay out of the line of fire. He wa
s just looking out for me.”

  “She and her husband moved to the island from Seattle to be closer to him,” Willow confirmed. “I attend the same exercise class as Sally, and while I wouldn’t say we were close, we chatted on several occasions. It sounds like Sally and her brother were pretty close.”

  “This sounds really bad,” Tara said.

  I had to agree.

  “The sheriff must be devastated,” Cassie said, a touch of sadness in her voice.

  “Yeah,” I agreed, feeling like a terrible person for trying to make Sally’s death all about me.

  “Do you think they’re going to put Mrs. West in jail?” Cassie asked.

  I narrowed my gaze. “I don’t think based on an argument and nothing more they would actually arrest her.”

  “What if there’s something more than just the argument?” Willow asked.

  I really, really wished I could say without a doubt in my mind that Cody’s mother would never get mad enough to haul off and smack someone with a rolling pin, but from her behavior in the past few days, I couldn’t help but wonder if that wasn’t exactly what she’d done.

  ******

  While Sheriff Fowler didn’t arrest Cody’s mother, he did tell her that she was a person of interest in the investigation and warned her not to leave the island, which she wasn’t planning to do anyway. His request still angered her. When Cody arrived at my cabin after dropping his mother at the inn, he looked as if he’d been put though the ringer. Poor guy. I couldn’t imagine how I’d feel if my mother was the prime suspect in a murder investigation.

  “Does it seem as if the sheriff actually thinks your mother is guilty of killing Sally?” I asked after opening a beer and handing it to the man I still hoped to marry in just a few days if we were able to find an alternate venue.

  “He didn’t say it in so many words, but Finn said in confidence that my mother was argumentative and even somewhat belligerent while being interviewed, which didn’t help her case.” Cody ran his hand through his hair. “I suspected my mother might not be quite as okay with our wedding plans as she indicated when I originally spoke to her. I even suspected a bit of an attitude, but I honestly didn’t expect her to act the way she has.”