Free The Cats that Stole a Million (The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery Book 7) by Karen Anne Golden Page A

friends hugged, then Katherine asked, “Is that your car?”
    “Yes, why?  Did you think Santa and his reindeers brought me here?” she quipped.
    Katherine was still in shock.  “You drove by yourself from Manhattan to Indiana in this storm?”
    “No, Dummy, I drove it from Indianapolis.  I’m on my way to Chicago.”
    For a moment Katherine was caught off-guard, then she remembered her old friend called her “Dummy,” while Katherine called her friend “Rummy.”
    “Okay, Rummy.” 
    The seven cats stood at a distance, oddly standing in a row like soldiers, looking at the woman with feline curiosity.  They eyed the coat and hat even more.  Abra licked her lips. “Raw.”
    “Oh,” Madison jumped back, suddenly very agitated.  “What are those?”
    “My cats.  What’s wrong?”
    “No, the two in front.  They don’t look like any cats I’ve ever seen.”
    “Madison, they’re my Siamese.  Scout and Abra.”
    “Dummy, I can’t come in until you . . . you . . . ,” she stuttered.  “Put them up.”
    “They won’t hurt you,” Katherine reassured.  “They’re just being curious, but if you want me to, I’ll take them upstairs.”  Before she had time to herd cats, Scout cried a loud “waugh,” and most of the other cats followed her up the stairs.  Iris hid behind the Eastlake hall tree, while Abby tried to blend in next to the oak table nearby. Katherine was too distracted to notice them.
    “I must apologize, Katz.  Colleen’s mom told me you had cats, but I didn’t know you had . . . so many.”
    “Come in the parlor and sit down.”
    Still standing in the same spot, Madison said, “La-di-da.  A ‘parlor,’ she says.”
    “It’s in here,” Katherine directed.  “Do you want something to eat or drink?  I can fix you something.”
    “No, I’d rather sit for a while.”  Sitting down close to the window, Madison said, “The cats gave me a scare, especially those two tall, skinny ones.  I must be going crazy, but I swear their eyes were red.”
    “Sometimes if the lighting is just right, Siamese eyes will appear to be red, but trust me, there isn’t anything scary about them.  They’re the sweetest cats.  Let me take your coat.”
    “No, I’ll hold on to it for a while.  I’m chilled to the bone.”  She placed her Chanel tote bag on her lap and began rummaging through it, then put the bag on the floor next to her chair.
    “I better go upstairs and shut the cat’s playroom or else they’ll come back down here.  I know you’re not a cat person, but cats instinctively gravitate to the person who either doesn’t like cats, or is afraid of them.  It’s their nature.”
    “Whatever,” Madison said dismissively.
    Katherine left the room and thought how strange it was that a friend she hadn’t seen since high school graduation was now in Indiana, sitting in her parlor.  Before shutting the cats’ door, she did a head count. Two were missing. 
    “Oh, great,” she lamented.  “I hope they’re not in the room freaking out Madison.”  Hurrying back downstairs, she found her friend madly texting someone. Katherine waited until she was finished, then said, “You look great.  We need to do a major catch-up.  Are you still modeling?”
    “I was, but I’m twenty-eight now, and there are younger models out there taking the jobs.  That’s one of the reasons why I’m headed for Chicago. I have a gig there, and then I’m flying back to NYC.”
    “Colleen said that you were temping.”
    “Yes, believe it or not,” Madison laughed.  “Can you imagine?  I regret not going to business school after I graduated.  I wish I had better computer skills.  I’ve been doing reception jobs.”
    “Really?” Katherine asked. “In Brooklyn or Manhattan?”
    “Mid-town Manhattan.  Sometimes the job lasts six weeks, if I’m lucky, or a few days.  Lately, I’ve been working on 47th Street.”
    “That’s not far from where I used to work on Fifth