Free The Cats that Played the Market (The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery Book 4) by Karen Anne Golden

hitting on you, or what? What’s with that lunch comment?”
    “Mom used to say, ‘lunch is for friends, dinner is for lovers.’”
    Colleen rolled her eyes. “Whatever!  You’ve got to admit he was hot.”
    “Hotter eye candy than Daryl?”
    “I wouldn’t go that far. What’s with these Indiana men anyway? Most of them are gorgeous hunks.”
    Several potential buyers came to the table and began looking through Mrs. Murphy’s cozy blankets. They began to sell like hotcakes, but the cookies were a disaster. No one wanted them. Even with Lilac striking a Hollywood pose in her carrier, Katz hadn’t sold a single green-iced cat cookie.
    Colleen sensed her friend’s disappointment and grabbed a cookie. “Don’t feel bad, Katz. They’re really tasty. Give it time.”
    The morning wore on. It was getting close to noon. A boisterous crowd of ball-capped men had grouped in front of the cake table. Jake assumed his position in front of the white chocolate flowerpot cake. He caught Katherine’s eye and winked.
    Colleen observed, “This is a new experience for me. I’ve never seen men interested in a bake sale.”
    “Me, either,” Katherine said, and then laughed, “Colleen, we’ve never been to a bake sale before, so how would we know.”
    Shelly and Tommy were getting fidgety. Shelly went over to the cake table for the twentieth time and each time came back giggling. “Mommy, the hula dancer has boobies.” Margie would hush her each time, but to no avail. Tommy was clearly the more bored of the two. He kept asking Katherine if he could pet Lilac. “Katz, please? Can I hold her? She looks lonely in her cage. She wants to come out,” the twelve-year-old boy pleaded.
    Margie admonished, “Stop whining! It’s driving your mother nuts.”
    Katherine reluctantly gave in. “I guess so, but only if I put her harness on. I don’t want her to get loose.” She opened the door and brought Lilac out and sat her on the table. Katherine placed the harness on the Siamese, snapped the buckle, and then attached a short leash. She then handed the lilac-point to Tommy.
    “Ahhh,” Tommy cooed. “You’re such a cutie.”
    “Owl,” Lilac cried quietly. The Siamese was hoarse from me-yowling. Her blue eyes crossed with joy.
    “I want to hold her,” Shelly said eagerly. “It’s my turn. Let me hold her.”
    Then a large, loud man stepped up onto the platform and grasped the mike. Robbie said in his typical booming voice, “Welcome, folks! I’m today’s auctioneer, so let’s make some money for the Erie Food Bank.” In his right hand he held a bugle. As he tipped it back, Katherine lunged for Lilac. Loud noises freak Lilac out. Loud noises make Lilac crazy. Loud noises make Lilac run.
    Katherine was too late. As Robbie blew on the bugle, Lilac jumped from Tommy’s arms and began leaping from table to table, leaving a wake of tumbled wares — candles, soaps, and ribbon-tied bags of potpourri —scattered all over the floor. Katherine made a mad dash for her, but Lilac was too fast. At the end of the tabled row, close to the entryway, Lilac stopped abruptly, turned and ran back. Margie, Mrs. Murphy, and Colleen moved to catch the fleeing cat. Lilac tried to get inside the carrier, but the door was closed. Robbie kept blowing the bugle. Finally, Lilac jumped on top of the carrier and sat there for a split-second as if she were contemplating her next move.
    “Stay, Lilac,” Katherine said, inching closer to snatch her. She could see Jake in the ball-cap crowd rushing over to help her. But he was also too late.
    In what seemed to be one fluid motion, Lilac launched off the carrier, soared through the air, hit the cake table, and slid into the volcano cake. It immediately exploded with liquid chocolate squirting everywhere. Some of the chocolate hit Robbie.
    “Can someone bring me a towel?” he yelled over the mike.
    “My cake,” Cora said, reappearing out of nowhere. She looked like she was going to faint.
    When