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

years. Even though it was a small town, she imagined that in that stretch of time he had seen just about everything.
    “What is she doing driving out here?” asked Matthew in an undertone. He looked over at Beatrice, his forehead creasing.
    Hamish looked up with a knowing look as if he understood exactly what was happening.
    After a few minutes, they realized that Amy was driving towards a popular swimming hole. Since it was autumn no one went there anymore. There was a parking lot at the end of the road and a trail that led to the river.
    The sheriff stopped some distance from the parking lot where Amy had pulled in. “Let’s walk from here,” he suggested quietly.
    They piled out, being careful to close the doors quietly. Hamish and Lucky, newly freed from his carrier, jumped out and headed into the dark. Beatrice didn’t worry since she trusted them not to roam far. They had an unspoken agreement: the cats couldn’t go outside alone but, accompanied, they were allowed free range. Lucky had been a bit too free with this arrangement at the beginning and had wandered far out of sight but Hamish seemed to have brought him in line.
    Sheriff Roy, Matthew, and Beatrice walked softly down the dirt road. Tall pines overhung the road, their dried needles scattered over the gravel below. Birds fluttered in the treetops but otherwise the only sound was of leaves rustling in the breeze. And the distant sound of a car door opening and slamming shut.
    The three humans and two cats took a path that diverged from the road and ran alongside the parking lot.
    Amy’s hatchback sat next to a pick-up truck. Its interior lights were still on and they revealed a person leaning against it: a tall, buff man in a plaid shirt was smoking a cigarette. The tip glowed red in the darkness.
    Amy was dragging a suitcase out of the back of her car. Her skinny frame strained against the weight. The sheriff motioned for them to go closer. Beatrice took a pocket-sized digital recorder out of her pocket and switched it on. Cursing inwardly, she realized that they weren’t near enough to pick up voices, nor could she get much closer without being seen. Just her luck.
    Then she felt the scratch of little claws on her jeans. She peered down to see Hamish urgently pawing at her, his intelligent eyes fixed on the recorder. Beatrice looked at the device and its little belt clip, then at Hamish’s sturdy leather collar, and in an instant she knew what to do.
    “Genius, Hamish,” she said in a low voice.
    She clipped the recorder onto Hamish’s collar and watched him run through the woods and skirt under the car so that he could be right by Amy and Cameron. Beatrice beamed like a proud parent at a school concert, trying to ignore the fact that Jacob and Matthew were staring at her like she had lost her mind.

15
    Cameron stomped on his cigarette and helped Amy hoist the suitcase into the back of his pick-up. After tossing it in, he gathered her in his arms and kissed her passionately. She stood ramrod straight, not seeming to enjoy his embrace.
    “Is that all of it?” he asked, his arms still around her.
    “Yeah. I hid it as soon as I realized Jordan was missing. So you’ll get rid of everything?”
    “I’ll burn it. Don’t you worry about anything. Amy, why’re you acting so weird? Look at me!” She tried to pull away from him but he held on. “I’m doing this for you . I’m putting myself in danger for you . Hell, I’ve even been spending fifty-dollar bills at the local stores, trying to get back those fake twenties in change. Hiding them so no one would get suspicious.”
    “I didn’t know that,” Amy said in a small voice.
    “Okay, well, all I’m saying is that I deserve for you to tell me what’s going on.”
    She managed to pull away. “I dunno if you deserve it, Cam. Tell me now and be honest—did you do it?” she hissed.
    “Do what?”
    “Kill Jordan!”
    He paused for at least five seconds.
    “No!” Cameron finally burst