Free Misty Hollow Cat Detective (Darcy Sweet Mystery) (A Smudge the Cat Mystery Book 1) by K.J. Emrick

got nothing.
    Samson had told me exactly which house was his.  The red one with the green roof.  Easy to find.  Once I'm there, I jump up onto a windowsill and peer inside.  It's a simple home, nice and cozy, with mismatched furniture and wallpaper that's peeling at the seams.  Pictures on the wall.  I don't recognize the family in them.  Even so, a photograph of a young girl draws my attention.  She's got spiky blonde hair and freckles and oversized dangly earrings.  Her clothes are plain but stylish.
    In every photograph of her, she's wearing a necklace.  A gold necklace with a hanging letter S embedded with diamonds.
    "It belonged to Samantha all along," Samson said to me.  I'm not sure when he got here, but he's sitting on the ground below me at the window, watching me.  "She was devastated when she lost it.  That necklace was a gift from her dad just before he died.  The necklace is the only thing left she has to remember him by.  I've been combing Misty Hollow for a week looking for it.  Imagine my surprise when I found that crow had it in his nest."
    "I can imagine," I agreed.  That explains why Samson took Corvin's sparkly.  "I don't blame you for wanting it back.  Samantha looks like a good kid."
    He jumps up easily to sit next to me.  "She is.  She's real good to me.  I'd do anything for her.  You can understand that, can't you Smudge?"
    "Sure," I answer easily.  "The human I live with is more than just my owner.  She's my friend.  I understand that completely."
    He sighs and looks away into the house, cool indifference masking his obvious relief.
    I regard Samson, measuring him again in my mind.  The kid might be young yet, but he's going to grow into a fine cat someday.  I'll have to make an effort to watch over him and make sure he doesn’t fall into the wrong crowd here in town.  I'll have to tell him about the dogs, and maybe introduce him to Tony and a few of my other friends.
    Hey.  It's what I do.
    "So you won't tell Corvin what I did?" he asks.
    "You mean, that you climbed up into his tree without him noticing, without the other crows seeing you, and stole back something that didn't belong to him, all in the dark of night?"  I flick my tail, amused.  "No.  I won't tell him.  A friend of mine suggested that I just get something else for Corvin.  To replace the necklace.  Besides, it wasn't even his to begin with."
    " Thanks, Smudge.  I appreciate that."
    Inside the house, I see Samantha come into the room, the real Samantha, not the one in the picture.  She curls up on the couch with her feet under her, a book in her hand.  Her fingers stroked the S necklace where it rests at her throat.  She looked happy.
    Now I understand why Samson took the necklace from Corvin.  I have to say, I was a little impressed with the pipsqueak.
    "See you around, kid," I say to him as I jump down from the windowsill and start off toward the park.  I need to see Corvin again.  There's one more thing I need to do before I can close the book on this mystery.
    A cat's work is never done.
    ***
    On the way to the park I take a detour through some of the cleaner back alleys.  Tony isn't the only one who knows where the good stuff can be found.  When I find what I'm looking for I carefully take it in my teeth, avoiding the more fragrant bits of garbage nearby.  I'll probably need a week to get the taste out of my mouth.  Corvin had better appreciate this.
    I spit the object on the ground at the base of Corvin's tree, then call up to him.  Of course he's there.  Crows are more than happy to stay at home when someone else is doing their work for them.
    "Smudge!" he calls to me as he wafts down on a warm breeze.  "Did you get it?  Did you get my shiny?"
    "Uh, no," I told him.  I'd rehearsed a whole explanation on the way over here about why I didn't have his necklace, but I decided not to use any of it.  "Look, Corvin, the necklace is gone.  Just forget about it.  I have something