Free Meow or Never (Vanessa Abbot Cat Protection League Cat Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) by Nancy C. Davis

now if it wasn't for her.”

    Pete indulged in a private smile. “I
thought it might be something like that. I've heard of this sort of thing before.
Crooks can't stand anybody taking the credit for their crimes. They have to put
their own stamp on things, or they just can't enjoy themselves.”

    Walter gave him a crooked grin. “Now
you're starting to understand the criminal mind. I didn't think you had it in
you. You catch on quicker than I thought. Maybe you're not so dumb after all.
I'm surprised.”

    “Not everyone can be as smart and
successful as you, Walter,” Pete replied. “I'm just a cop. I don't have
thousands of people at my beck and call, and I don't have a criminal empire at
my fingertips, either. But I wasn't born yesterday. You might be surprised at
the tricks I have up my sleeve.”

    “I might,” Walter replied. “But I don't
think so. I've known too many cops in my day. You and Vanessa and your friends
can't beat me. Even if you catch me now, I'll find a way to get you in the end.
I'll beat this murder rap, and I'll be back in business before you know it. You
can't win. You're the ones who might as well give up.”

    “What are you going to do, Walter?”
Pete asked. “You can't shoot me right here in cold blood. There are two
witnesses standing right down there. They'll testify that you killed me, and
then you'll be facing two murder charges instead of one. You don't want that.”

    “Two witnesses? Do you mean those cats
right there?” Walter laughed in Pete's face. “That was a good one. You really
are as stupid as I thought you were. Vanessa and Penny will never testify
against me. If they live to leave this building—which I'll make sure they
don't—my people will track them down and take care of them.”

    Vanessa gasped out loud. Walter never
flinched. He kept his gun trained on Pete's chest when Pete glanced down at
her. Vanessa looked around again in desperate hope of finding some way to help
Pete and stop Walter.

Chapter 10
    At that moment, Aurora streaked out
from among the equipment and jumped up onto the control deck of the conveyor
belt. She landed first on one of the levers, and the whole machine exploded
into life. Vanessa and Penny jumped back in surprise at the sudden noise, and
Aurora herself sprang off the lever onto the driver's seat. The machine,
however, lurched forward swung around to the right. The belt started racing
through its track. Teddy screeched in surprise and alarm and took a wild dive
off the belt into thin air. He landed on the scaffold just inches from Walter's
head.

    The conveyor machine, meanwhile,
continued on its ghostly ride across the warehouse floor. Aurora sprang down
from the driver's seat and skipped back toward Vanessa. The noise and sudden
movement of the machine snapped Vanessa out of her trance, and this time, she
bent down and scooped the kitten into her arms. That was one cat accounted for.
Now she just had to find a way to get ahold of Henry and Teddy.

    The conveyor marched across the floor
with its belt spinning. Henry still balanced on the very tip of the crane. He
couldn't move away from the belt without falling off, and he couldn't move to
any more secure location without stepping onto the moving belt.

    The crane swung around and crashed into
the scaffold. The scaffold shuddered, and Pete grabbed ahold of the railing in
a useless attempt to stop himself from falling. If that scaffold came down, he
was finished. Teddy squeaked in terror, but none of them could move. Henry almost
fell over backwards to the floor below, but at the last second, he clawed his
way back up onto the crane. One more jolt and he would lose his grip.

    Vanessa put out her hand, but there was
nothing she could do. The conveyor machine jumped back a foot at the impact and
then marched on ahead. It slammed its crane into the scaffold again, harder
than before, and this time, Henry couldn't hold on any longer. In one final
desperate bid for safety, he leapt