Free A Tiger's Tale (A Call of the Wilde Mystery) by Laura Morrigan

away and I want to find Brooke’s boyfriend—which could take a while.” I pulled off my dirty shirt and tossed it in the hamper. “Have you heard of something called
Pretty Little Liars
?”
    “The books or the TV show?”
    “The show, I guess. Caitlyn said Brooke’s boyfriend looked like the bad boy. Someone named Caleb.”
    “Tyler Blackburn.” Emma turned to my small desk and opened my laptop. A few keystrokes later, the screen showed a teenager with shoulder-length dark hair and a smile too perfect to fit a bad boy. He was cute, though. Wangster or not, if Stefan looked like the actor, I could see why Brooke would be interested.
    “How do you know who this kid is?”
    “I did a
PLL
-themed sweet-sixteen bash a few months ago.”
    “
PLL
?”
    “
Pretty Little Liars.
And, yes, before you say it—I know way too much about teenage stuff. It comes with the job. Don’t even get me started on Bieber fever.”
    “Don’t worry, I won’t.” But I’d just realized something. “Since you know so much about it, where would you go hang out if you were a wangster who thought you looked like a teen heartthrob?”
    “I’d start at the Regency Square Mall.”
    Then that was exactly what I’d do.



CHAPTER 5

    I had a dream I was on a powerboat. The engine rumbled as we sped over the water. Contentment washed through me as I turned my face to the bright sun, until suddenly I had the feeling I was being strangled. A beach towel had somehow gotten wrapped around my neck. I tried to untangle the towel but couldn’t.
    I woke with a start and lifted my hands to my neck. My fingers connected with soft fur and I let out a sigh. Apparently, my new kitty had decided my larynx would be a great place to sleep.
    Scooping the kitten onto the bed, I sat up and glanced at the alarm clock. Six fifteen. I started to lie back down but noticed Moss was nowhere in sight. My dog was not an early riser. After a quick mental scan, I felt him near the front door. There was a sense of urgency radiating from him.
    If he had needed to pee he would have gotten me up. Had someone been knocking? Why hadn’t I heard him bark?
    Tossing back the covers, I hauled myself out of bed, jabbed my legs into a pair of sweatpants, and shuffled toward the door.
    Moss wasn’t in the hall or the foyer.
    “Moss?”
    The door burst open and my sister and my dog came barreling toward me.
    “Hang on, you lunatic!” Emma dropped the leash and Moss charged past me. He lost his footing on the marble floor as he tried to turn toward the bedrooms. Skidding and slipping, legs splayed, with a grunt, he crashed into a potted palm.
    Oops.
    “Moss!”
What are you doing?
I put some force into the question.
    He ignored me, scrambled to his feet, and disappeared down the hall.
    “Your dog has lost his mind.” Emma panted from behind me. “I was going to take him out for a walk, but he didn’t want to go past the sidewalk. He stopped and lifted his leg on the first patch of grass and then almost yanked my arm off trying to get back inside.”
    I stared at her, bewildered, before I realized what was going on. I focused on Moss’s thoughts and smiled.
    “What’s funny about this?” Emma demanded.
    “Moss was in a hurry to get back to his kitten.”
    “Seriously?”
    I motioned for her to follow me down the hall. We stopped in the doorway of my bedroom. Moss was on the bed, his body so tightly curled around the kitten that all you could see sticking up out of the wall of off-white fur were the points of two black ears.
    “Did he really think something would happen to it?”
    I shrugged. “The novelty will wear off soon enough. Once the kitten gets some energy back, Moss will be glad to get a break from his mothering duties.”
    We headed into the kitchen, where I made coffee and Emma brewed her green tea.
    “So, what are you going to name the kitten? It’s a girl kitty, right?”
    “Right,” I said as I poured a cup of coffee. “I haven’t thought about