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

power stance. She looked to be in her late twenties. I would not admit it to her, but I could not help but swoon over her long black hair. How did she keep it so straight? She also did seem to have a boob job. Guess the gossip from our tribe was on the right path all along. Just not in the way they intended.

Veronica looked back at Annabelle as if to tell her to shut up, but Annabelle stayed firm in her stance. I had to give it to her, I would have crumbled under Veronica's gaze. She had her tribe under control in a way I would have never thought possible. They had fun but did not seem to disrespect her in the slightest. By Veronica's expression, it seemed this behavior was a first for her.

I looked around the room to see if Linda was sneaking away from the building tension. Sure enough, she was hurrying over with the two other coordinators and Aubrey trailing behind her.

"We all knew it was going to come down to this at some point," Annabelle said. "Blair and I didn't mean to hurt anyone. We just wanted—"

"Here comes Linda," I interrupted Annabelle's confession.

The other girl, Blair, looked familiar but I could not place her face. We had spoken to so many women today, they were all blending together as a string of dragon protectors. She too looked to be in her late twenties, early thirties. And seemed rather embarrassed at the attention being directed her way.

As Linda walked up to our group, the elevator doors opened with a wave of loud cheering. They found the final trophy. Linda leaned over to Samantha, whispered something, and she headed for the cheers.

"Aubrey tells me y'all have a confession to make?" Linda said.

"Yes, ma'am," Annabelle said, and stepped out from behind Veronica.

As she spoke, Nathan left us as well—I assumed it was to find the police. I still was not sure these ladies deserved to be arrested. Maybe banned from the cat show and given a tribe timeout. Arrested just seemed a bit extreme.

"This weekend," Annabelle said, "during the competition, I made a joke to Blair about how it would be hilarious if the trophy table rolled out, and there weren't any trophies to be handed out. One thing led to another, and we found ourselves putting the trophies around the hotel. It was just a joke. We didn't mean for it to go on this long. I thought someone would find them by now."

"We just thought everyone was taking the show too seriously," Blair said in a quiet voice. "We only wanted a laugh."

She wiped her eyes and appeared to take the confession harder than Annabelle. They both should have been ashamed. Causing all this drama for a laugh? What in the childish antics? The last thing I would expect from protectors.

"Attention, we have found the culprit," Azure transmitted. "Annabelle and Blair stole the trophies and hid them around the hotel as a practical joke."

"Duh, I'm standing right here," I transmitted. "Don't tell me the dragons knew this whole time."

"I am extremely disappointed that anyone competing in this show would do something so childish," Linda said. "You ladies are far from your high school years. It's an embarrassment to the show and the organization to have you here any longer. As of right now, you are both banned from future shows, and as soon as the police get over here, we'll let them do with you as they please. You both owe the entire show an apology for your behavior."

I shuttered at Linda's words. Her stern tone was one I never wanted to be on the receiving end of.

"Their dragons did not find out until about thirty minutes ago," Azure continued.

"Oh, wow," I transmitted.

As he transmitted, the police and Nathan came up behind Linda. They walked a few paces away from us and started a heated conversation.

"The planning happened while we were on the competition tables," Azure transmitted. "They were unaware of the misdoing of their protectors. Collectively, we scanned our protectors to verify they weren't involved. During which they discovered the truth."

"There is no need to charge them over trophy theft." We could hear Nathan saying. His voice rose as Linda's scowl deepened. "We found them. No harm done. Let's wrap up and go home."

"Wasting city resources is a criminal offense," Officer Spencer said. "We can ticket you for calling us out here for this."

It appeared his tone was more for theatrics than anything else. The officer beside him grimaced but did not voice her opinions.

"Are they not going to charge them?" Aubrey said.

"I mean, I don't think they need jail time," I said.

"Yeah, that's true," she said.

"You did what to me without my knowledge?" I transmitted and glanced at Skylar.

Her face told me she was getting Azur's transmission as well. She met my eyes and mouthed "wow".

"But instead of turning herself in," Azure continued, ignoring my questions, "Annabelle told Naomi that a trophy was on the table. Naomi couldn't help but investigate and tell Sue when questioned what she was laughing about."

"It would have been helpful if the city sent officers that actually investigated," Linda said, changing her tone to side with Nathan. "What exactly did you do all day? Relax in the A.C.? I want both of your badge numbers as the police chief will hear about this. Lucky for you both, he is a member of my church."

Wow, this woman knew no bounds. She must have realized it was a losing battle to press charges over trophies. Good for her, switching tactics with Linda to save your reputation. Better to save face with the show than the officers.

"They have let us know, that the reasoning behind the theft was indeed to take a jab at the tribes that love the show. In the future, it would behoove anyone with a complaint to come forward instead of resorting to childish behaviors. These dragons and their protectors will be dealt with by