Free The Counterfeiter-Catching Cat: A Beatrice Young Cozy Cat Mystery (Beatrice Young Cozy Cat Mysteries Book 1) by Alannah Rogers

know.”
    Beatrice thanked her, made sure that her coffee was paid for and lunch was on its way. Then she headed straight to the sheriff’s office with Lucky, Hamish, and a paper bag full of lunch in tow.

13
    Sheriff Jacob Roy was pecking cautiously on an ancient computer when Beatrice arrived. He had never learned to touch type and he squinted as he worked, as if he was suspicious of the entire process.
    Roy sighed heavily when he saw Beatrice enter but his eyes lit up when he spotted the brown paper bag in her hand. Beatrice knew that the sheriff always forgot to eat lunch and that he had a soft spot for their baked mac n’cheese. She put the offering in front of him and he immediately unpacked the main meal, as well as a side salad, a coffee, and a dark chocolate and cherry cookie.
    The sheriff shook his head and picked up the fork, thoughtfully included with the lunch. “You sure know how to butter me up, Bee. I can’t resist this mac n’cheese. Some days I think that if you asked me to fire my deputy and hire you in his place I’d do it, just so I could get lunch every day.”
    Beatrice laughed and settled into the chair opposite him. “Then it’s a good thing I have a much less dramatic request.”
    Roy forked in a big bite of cheesy pasta. “I knew you wanted something from me,” he said, after chewing and swallowing. “Well, out with it. I knew you weren’t here just to apologize for your cats attacking Amy White.”
    “It was just Hamish and he didn’t attack her. I think he was trying to tell us something.”
    The sheriff’s eyebrows raised slightly. “The cat is trying to tell us something?”
    Beatrice ignored the sarcasm in his voice. “Listen, I know Amy’s fragile right now. I didn’t want to upset her. But I think she’s withholding information. You may remember that Lucky has a habit of, um, borrowing things that aren’t his.”
    “You mean stealing .”
    “If a cat can be charged with such a thing. Anyway, he picked up Amy’s cell before we left and I didn’t discover it until we got in the car. I, er, had a little look at the contents.” Beatrice nervously twisted one of her rings. “I thought it might be important.”
    “Oh you did, did you?” The sheriff threw down his fork. “You didn’t think about returning it to Amy first?”
    “It’s not a felony to read someone’s text messages,” Beatrice shot back. “Anyway, good thing I did. There are plenty of texts between her and Cameron. I spoke to Hannah and she confirms that the two of them have a history and that Jordan was jealous.”
    She handed over the phone in its zip-lock plastic bag with a triumphant look. The sheriff frowned but took the bag, put on gloves, and scrolled through the texts. His eyebrows pinched together.
    “Well, I see what you mean about them having a history. Amy told me that she and Cameron were just old work acquaintances. That they spoke sometimes but she didn’t know him that well.”
    “I doubt that’s true,” Beatrice returned. “Hannah’s seen Amy driving in the direction of his bar many times. She’s sure because there’s little else up that road. We might be able to get security footage of her heading that way. But I think this is enough to go on for now.”
    Roy peered up at her. “What exactly are you saying?”
    “We have to follow her,” Beatrice said, leaning forward, her blue-gray eyes intense. “She must know her cell disappeared while she was in this office, and that we’re likely to have found it. She has to act to protect herself and fast. Something’s going to happen today and we have to be there to see it.”
    The sheriff sagged back in his seat and looked at his mac n’cheese with a conflicted gaze. “You want me to tail Amy White? Why? I don’t think she killed Jordan, Bee. Maybe she had motive but she couldn’t have drowned him—she’s not his match, physically.”
    Beatrice shrugged. “I don’t know who killed Jordan. But I do know that Amy is