Purrfect Roast: A Dragon Cozy Mystery by Verena DeLuca (the giving tree read aloud TXT) 📗

As Elizabeth caught up to Bethany, Skylar sat with me.

"I can't believe they are playing along," she whispered.

"This is Garth, he is a Maine Coon," Vera said.

"Me either. I for sure thought some would walk out," I whispered back.

I made a point to glance at Tori, though Skylar knew full well who I was thinking of.

"Oh my! I had no idea cats could get so big!" Aubrey said, click. "He must eat you out of house and home!"

"Oh yeah, he's got quite the appetite!" Vera laughed.

Skylar giggled at my statement, causing the ladies to look at us. We cleared our throats and adjusted ourselves. I waved the ladies' glances off and the train of cats continued.

"My little Patchwork is a Sphynx," Betty said.

"Is it alright if I pet him?" Aubrey said.

Click.

"Go right ahead. Their lack of fur is a huge fascination to people, but they do actually have a bit of peach fuzz."

"Oh, that's fascinating! I had no idea they'd be so smooth."

"Butter is a Scottish Fold," Tori blurted without looking Aubrey in the face.

Click.

"So cute!" Aubrey said.

The process of cataloging the breeds did not take long, so the room was still fairly full as our tribe departed.

"That makes eight on my list. I wonder how many I can get to!" Aubrey said.

"I think, if I remember correctly, there are some forty-ish breeds allowed to compete. Not to mention the household or unknown varieties that are here."

"Oh wow, I had no idea there were so many breeds!" Aubrey said.

She was genuinely shocked, which made me feel a bit better. I too had no idea there were so many breeds out there.

I was just about to speak when Tori said, "Since I'm sure you're already looking to blame us, I just want you to know, it wasn't us."

"Not everything is about you Tori, but if you're feeling that guilty about stuff you've done in the past maybe you should come to terms with it."

Azure hopped down from the seat next to me and put his face up to Butter's. Tori and I froze, worried they would start a cat fight. The rules in the handbook were abundantly clear, any cat fights would cause both contestants to be disqualified and removed. How they would remove us today, no one knew, but I was sure they would lose any trophies they had won.

I thanked my lucky beans that Aubrey and Skylar turned to watch the room to avoid the awkward fight Tori was angling to start.

They separated and Butter lay down on the ground, looking away from the group, while Azure hopped into my lap.

"He knows better," Azure transmitted. "Just needed a reminder as to why."

"Whatever," Tori said. "I'm not feeling guilty in the slightest. I just knew you were going to blame us first."

"Like I said, not everything is about you. We didn't actually think anyone in our group would stoop this low. But since you brought it up, did you do it?"

Tori rolled her eyes. "No."

"Didn't think so." I gave her a sweet-as-honey smile. "As the leader of this group, I'm going to give you some advice, get help. This attitude and constant negative air that surrounds you isn't healthy. I'm starting to think most of it isn't related to the group at all. Find a therapist by next month."

Tori coated her makeup on thick and it interfered with my ability to read her facial expressions. But it was obvious I struck a chord, her anger showed through loud and clear.

"Yes," I continued. "This is an official order. You need to work this out, as it's affecting the entire group. Discover the answer regarding whether you actually want to be a member or not, because right now, with this attitude, you aren't being the member we need."

"Yes, ma'am." Tori picked Butter up and strutted off.

"Excellent use of your authority," Azure transmitted. "You're turning into a natural leader like myself. Tona must have seen this in you without you realizing it was there."

I stood and shook the anxiety of the situation out of myself, as I cleared my throat to calm down. That woman knew exactly how to get me worked up. But I was serious. Her presence at the meetings fostered drama, not support. I was uncertain if I had the authority to exile her, but we would grind those beans when we got to them.

"Thank you," I transmitted, unsure if he was still trying to butter me up or not.

I took in another deep breath and let it go. The truth was, it felt great to scold her for acting like that. She needed to learn how to human.

"Butter said they didn't do it," he transmitted, "and he currently doesn't know any drama that'll help find the culprit."

"Well then," I said aloud. "I guess let's start at the beginning. Everyone is a suspect and we have to rule them out one by one."

"Totally," Skylar said, giddy with excitement, while Aubrey nodded along, happy that her Sunday just got a lot more interesting.

CHAPTER FIVE

Sunday, May 17th, 10:45 AM

"Now that they're gone," Skylar said, "I can catch you up."

"Oh, yeah," I said. "Almost forgot you were gathering intel."

We sat back down to wait for the room to clear. I desperately needed rest and caffeine. I was sure my tone was showing it, but at least the girls would not hold it against me.

"Yes, do tell, any leads?" Aubrey said. Her excitement over this case was my lifeline at this point.

"You're never going to believe this," Skylar said with a laugh.

"Oh?" Aubrey and I said in unison.

"Did you know the Hill Country Aristocats are the best group here?" Skylar's words dripped with sarcasm. "They decided they're all going to take home gold."

"What?" Aubrey asked. "A little pompous, are they?"

"Yeah, what the tea," I said. "I hope they aren't presenting our group that way to the other competitors. There's no guarantee we will win."

"I haven't heard them make any remarks in front of others,"