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

it meant I could solve this and go home. The competition had been interesting, but I was ready to be back at my cafe and able to drink good coffee. Next year, I would be sure to bring my own French press, coffee beans, and grinder. This would be the last time I got caught without access to drinkable coffee.

We basked in the comfort of each other's company, and the cool water on our feet. It felt amazing to just sit in silence.

The last cloud in the sky disappeared, and the sunbathed concrete reached a boiling point.

Sweat poured down my back, and I could feel my shirt cling to me. With the air falling still, the heat that I usually embraced became uncomfortable.

"Are y'all ready to leave?" I asked.

"Totally," Skylar said. "It was rather hot today."

"I think I could use a shower," Aubrey said.

"Hotter than you would expect for May," I said. "But then again, this is Texas, so you never know just how hot it's going to get."

The girls laughed. The only thing more Texas than the heat was talking about the heat any chance you got. At any given moment, someone within a five-foot radius of you was talking about the weather. It was just a part of living in Texas.

"Azure?" I called out.

Azure's ears perked up. He and Shadow had been in a deep sleep, but when they realized we were leaving, they came prowling over, stopping just long enough to do their yoga poses to stretch their spines.

"They only said we can't leave the hotel," Skylar said. "They didn't say anything about us being allowed to go upstairs."

"If you want, we can go up and you can use my shower." I said to Aubrey.

"Yeah," Aubrey said. "Even if I have to wear these clothes, it would be nice to wash off this sweat."

As we walked in the doors to the lobby, the AC washed over us. The cold air clung to my body, and a chill ran over me. I closed my eyes for a moment to it soak in.

When I opened them, I saw the San Marcos tribe walking past the elevators we had been heading toward.

I needed answers, and there was a good chance they knew exactly where the trophies were. Normally I would try to carry on mindless chitchat in the hopes of having them divulge the information willingly, but there was no time to tip toe around.

"What is the San Marcos tribe leader's name?" I transmitted to Azure.

"It's tribe Theban, and their leader is Joy," Azure transmitted.

"Right, thanks," I transmitted. "At this rate, I'm going to have to make flash cards to prepare for next year."

"No need to take it that seriously," he transmitted. "In a normal year, you won't be talking to the other tribes this much."

"Only trying to take it as seriously as you are," I transmitted since he clearly missed my sarcasm. "Mister, I need this solved to receive my gold trophy."

"Some days, you are insufferable," Azure transmitted with an eye roll.

"Glad we are down to only some days," I transmitted.

"Touche," he transmitted. "I walked into that one."

"I appreciate it when your mind is elsewhere, makes you more fun to mess with."

Since Aubrey and Skylar were discussing dinner plans behind me, they were not paying attention to where I was leading them. I hoped they would join the interrogation, but if I caught them by surprise, I could handle it. With two down, asking leading questions was getting easier.

As soon as we reached the tribe I said, "Missed y'all at the ceremony. Thought you had left the hotel already?"

"We were sleeping," Joy said.

"Had no idea that anything was off until we came down for a late breakfast around eleven," one of the other ladies said. Her name tag read Lola.

"Wish I had known missing it was an option," I said, laughing. "It's my first show and thus far it's been underwhelming."

"Totally," Skylar said. "Though, with it being my third, this has been the most exciting turn of events yet."

"The one time we decide to sleep in," Lola said. "We miss the good stuff. I bet Linda's face was priceless. She takes this show way too seriously."

Joy rolled her eyes and shook her head at her tribe mate's excitement while many of the other ladies giggled behind them. It was a little funny. Of course, it would happen the one time they missed the awards.

"Who do you think did it?" Skylar asked.

"Not sure," Lola said. "But I'm excited to find out. At least we'll be there for that drama."

Many of the ladies laughed, and we nodded in agreement.

"No kidding," I said. "Do you guys always sit out the awards?"

"We never win anyway," Joy said. "There's no point in losing sleep to go to the ceremonies."

She looked at my feet as Azure came over, rubbing his head against my legs, and asked, "Is this Azure?"

"Yes, I inherited him from my aunt Tona when she passed."

These cat ladies were going to stroke his ego into an unbearable level if they did not stop recognizing him. I could not recognize any of the cats I met today if we were to run into them later. Maybe after a decade of attending the show, but I still doubted it.

"I'm sorry to hear about her passing. She was always such a nice lady. You shouldn't miss the ceremonies though, Azure's a prize-winning cat."

She said it was such sincerity, I was forced to reevaluate if their tribe was responsible for the missing trophies.

Maybe they really did just not want to be there when they were going to lose? I mean, who wants to wait in a room to watch other people get a trophy knowing that there was not a chance they themselves would get one? If there was any way I could have avoided going, I would have. Though I was lucky, I had friends to keep me company. But why would they pick this year to not show up? Joy side stepping the question