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

Lilac tramped on the hula dancer, the cupcake bra flew into the crowd. She then stomped on the log cabin Twinkie cake like a feline Godzilla. She was about to capsize the pink iced gingerbread house, when Jake caught her. He held her in his arms and spoke softly to her. “I’ll get you out of here, baby girl.”
    The Erie Herald reporter — Russell Krow — was taking pictures in a rapid-fire, machine-gun fashion. Katherine could only imagine what the front page of tomorrow’s newspaper would look like.
    Michelle ran over with a roll of paper towels. She had one hand covering her mouth to refrain from laughing. Katherine shook her head in amused disbelief, yanked several towels off, and began wiping the icing off Lilac’s paws.
    Colleen had collapsed in her chair. She was fanning herself with her hand and laughing hysterically. Mrs. Murphy smirked and took a shot of something from her flask. Jake grabbed the carrier, put Lilac inside, and with Katherine escaped to the door. The crowd opened up for them — a few of them having disappointed looks on their faces, except for Tommy’s school friends at the back, who were laughing rowdily.
    Once out of the armory, Katherine said, “I can take her home. You go back and bid on your flowerpot cake.”
    Jake grinned and kissed her on the cheek. “Okay, I’ll see you when you come back.” He handed her his dad’s truck keys.
    As Katherine drove the feline Godzilla home, she said, “What were you thinking? Capsizing Jake’s mom-from-hell’s cake? You didn’t !”
    Lilac was sitting serenely inside the carrier, licking the remaining icing off her paws. Once inside the mansion, four felines surrounded the carrier. Katherine opened it and Lilac flew out, taking four or five stairs at a time, “owling” the entire way upstairs. Katherine burst out laughing and then returned to the armory. The auction was finished. Jake proudly held the flowerpot cake.
    Katherine asked, “How much did it go for?”
    “Forty bucks. That dang Frank from the diner was bidding against me.”
    Katherine grinned. “Oh, how sweet! That was Frank’s mom’s cake. She just broke her hip. Michelle said that although she wasn’t able to come, she was still able to bake it with her home health aide. Adorable!”
    The cake auction was the grand finale of the holiday fundraiser. Katherine boxed up the remaining cat cookies, which was all of them, except for the ones that Colleen, Tommy and Shelly had eaten. Mrs. Murphy had sold every one of her cat cozies and had taken orders for more. She said she could make them at home and mail them. Margie was also successful. Only Katz had a box to carry home.
    On the way out, one of the vendors approached Katherine and was annoyed because Lilac had broken several candles. He threatened to talk to the board about not allowing pets the next year. Katherine apologized and wrote a check for the damages. She made a mental note to ask the board about the cost of the damaged cakes so she could write a check for those, as well.
    Jake drove Katherine, Colleen, and Mrs. Murphy back to the mansion, then headed over to his parents’ house. Mrs. Murphy excused herself to take a nap, while Katherine and Colleen went to the kitchen for some tea.
    Abby hissed at Lilac every time she got near her.
    “What’s that all about?” Colleen asked.
    “Who knows?” Katherine shrugged. “Maybe Abby is jealous because she didn’t get to go.”
    “Two catzillas would have been hilarious,” Colleen offered. “What time is the shindig tonight?”
    “You mean the grand opening of the Erie Historical Museum, by invitation only?” Katherine said in a fake TV-announcer voice. “Jake is my escort. I really want to look my best for the event. He’s picking me up at seven. That gives me plenty of time to get ready. I’ve already laid out my clothes on great aunt Orvenia’s bed. I bought the sweetest black cocktail dress.”
    Colleen asked, “Was that a good idea?”
    “What?