Free Depawsit Slip (Vanessa Abbot Cat Protection League Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) by Nancy C. Davis

here.”
    “Oh?” she asked. “Why?”
    “I thought about what you said before,” he told her. “I went to town and searched all the department stores for another cut crystal cake stand.”
    “Didn’t you find one?” she asked. “I thought they’d be a dime a dozen.”
    “They are,” he replied. “And they’re cheaper than yours, too. It didn’t make any sense to me. I didn’t think I would find anything cheaper than secondhand, but I did.”
    “So did you buy one?” she asked.
    He turned his head to the side. “No. That’s what made me start thinking. You were right. That cake stand idea of mine made no sense. I want something I can put down on the ground, and it won’t get knocked over. And then, when your cat broke the cake stand, that made me think even more. I want something that I won’t care about getting broken. There will be young kids running around that park. If they step on the plate and break it, I don’t want to worry about it. That platter you showed me will be perfect.”
    Vanessa beamed at him. “I’m so glad you think so, Walter.” She collected the platter from the shelf and brought it to the counter.
    Just then, Penny walked in the door. She looked around at the assembled group and headed off toward the children’s toys. Pete and Vanessa exchanged a meaningful glance.
    “Would you like me to gift wrap it for you, Walter?” Vanessa asked.
    “No,” he replied. “I want it out so I can put my cake on it.”
    “Of course.” Vanessa chuckled. “How silly of me.”
    “That’s all right,” Walter replied. “Just a bag, please, if you have one.”
    “Sure.” She pulled an old flowery gift bag out from under the counter and slid the platter into it. “Here you go.”
    “How much?” he asked.
    “Fifty cents,” she replied.
    He frowned. Then he shook his head and started digging into his pocket. Penny came toward the counter with a jigsaw puzzle box in her hand. She frowned at Walter.
    “I’m sure Penny will be delighted with your choice,” Vanessa remarked. “Look at the cake platter Walter bought for the bride’s lunch.”
    Walter’s head shot up. “Penny? What’s Penny got to do with this?”
    “She’s your sister’s wedding planner, isn’t she?” Vanessa replied. “Don’t you want to show her your platter?”
    Walter furrowed his eyebrows. “Penny’s not my sister’s wedding planner.”
    Vanessa gasped. “She’s not?”
    “No,” Walter replied. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    Vanessa glanced at Pete. “Then you’re not the Mafioso.”
    “What Mafioso?” Walter asked.
    Vanessa shook her head. “Never mind. It must be Alfred.”
    Penny looked back and forth between them. “What are you talking about? What’s all this talk about a Mafioso?”
    Pete moved closer to Penny. His hand moved up closer to his pocket.
    “You said you had a bride whose brother was a Mafioso,” Vanessa reminded her. “You said this brother demanded you do everything his way. You could only have been talking about Alfred.”
    “I was not,” Penny shot back. “I never worked with Alfred Botchweather in my life, not as a wedding planner or as anything else. I don’t think I ever exchanged two words with the man while he was alive.”
    “But you must have had some other reason to kill him,” Vanessa pointed out.
    “I didn’t kill him,” Penny replied.
    “Oh, come on, Penny,” Vanessa returned. “You don’t have to lie about it anymore. You’re the only one of the four of us who had any motive to kill him.”
    “And what do you say that motive was?” Penny asked. “If he wasn’t this demanding Mafioso you mentioned, why do you think I killed him?”
    “To pay him back for ruining your brother,” Vanessa replied. “Your brother Alan Braithwaite must have gotten into trouble with Alfred, and you killed him in revenge. You don’t have to explain it to me. I wish I could have killed him in revenge for what he did to my son