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I glanced around the room and saw cage after cage of cats, but no other person around.“What happened to Doug? I thought you two were volunteering together?”

She shrugged.“We were, but suddenly he said he had to go. Wasn’t feeling well and asked if I would be okay on my own.”

Interesting.“What did you say?”

“I saidsure.Who am I to keep him here if he’s sick? I mean, it’ll be boring now, but at least I have the cats to keep me company.” She smiled at the line of cages.

Uh-huh.She seemed earnest enough, and I had no reason to distrust her. Still, I’d have liked to talk to our feline witnesses without her present.

“Hey, do you think you could do me a favor?” I said, landing upon an idea that was just simple enough to work.

Her head perked up.“Sure. What do you need?”

“I’m a bit worried about my cat and dog. They’ve seemed really stressed all night. I thought since you have so much experience with animals, maybe you could look in on them for me while I hold down the fort here?”

“Sure. If you think it would help. Where are they?” She picked herself up from the floor and rose to join me.

“Upstairs, the only room on the third floor.” I infused my voice with a worried edge. While I’d never been a brilliant actress like my nan, this particular lie had enough truth in it that I could pull it off. I was worried about my pets—Octo-Cat was throwing a fuss, and he could very well take that out on poor Paisley while no one was looking. “Could you spend a little time visiting with them when you go up? I’m worried if I were the one to check on them, they’d just run and hide under the bed to punish me.”

She crinkled her nose like an adorable bunny.“That’s kind of weird, but okay. I could use the change of scenery for a bit. If anyone comes in to adopt a cat while I’m gone, will you come and get me?”

“Sure can… um.” Here I was contemplating her as a suspect, and I didn’t even know her identity. “What’s your name by the way?” I asked coolly.

“Scarlett,” she answered with a half-smile. “See you in a bit,” she added before slipping the door open and letting herself out into the hall.

Yes, she would be seeing me in a bit, but hopefully Paisley could charm her enough to keep Scarlett out of my hair so I could question this line-up of possible witnesses.

The cats would have seen whatever happened between Scarlett and Max. And maybe they’d share something she hadn’t.

Chapter Seven

I waited a few seconds to make sure Scarlett had well and truly gone, then settled myself on the floor with my legs tucked beside me and addressed the cats in their crates.“So, guys, what really happened?”

“Are you talking to us?” a fat tom cat mumbled, coming to the forefront of his crate and pressing his cheek against the bars.

“Seems if she wanted our help, she’d offer us a little something first,” a rail-thin cat with one missing eye suggested. He, however, remained huddled in the back corner of his cage.

“Yeah!” a fluffy long-haired cheered as he spun in mindless circles. “Help us help you here!”

“Okay,” I agreed casually. My dress clung to me tightly, making the floor-bound position incredibly uncomfortable, but still I persisted in my interrogation. “What do you guys want?”

“Let us out of here,” the skinny one-eye hissed. Apparently he was the cats’ representative now. His one green eye flashed at me dangerously. But his request didn’t seem too much to ask.

“If I let you out of the cages, will you give me answers?” I countered as I adjusted my legs to help circulate my blood flow in the restrictive garment.

Old one-eye crept forward and put a paw against the wire bars of his cage.“Sure, we’ll give you whatever answers you want, human. Now make with the opening these cages.”

I swallowed back a sigh and transitioned to my hands and knees to crawl the short way to the first of the crates. It was an awkward maneuver, but still easier than standing and kneeling.

I let the one-eyed boss cat out first, and he immediately shot past me to make a flying leap for Octo-Cat’s pride and joy, a one-hundred-and-forty-gallon freshwater fish tank. He jumped straight for it and hit it face first with a giantthwap!

“What’s with this invisible force field?” he grumbled as he picked himself up off the ground and made eyes at the offending glass.

“Let me guess,” I said, trying hard not to laugh. “Born a stray.”

“And I would have died a stray, too, if not for these do-gooding saps putting me behind bars!” His fur twitched in odd spasms and he eyed the fish tank woefully.

“They’re trying to get a home for you, so you can have a better life,” I explained. The cats knew that, didn’t they? The people who ran the shelter had good and kind hearts. I didn’t doubt that for a second, but I also knew just how hard it was to please a worked-up feline. My spoiled tabby was case in point.

“I had a good enough life back on the streets,” One-Eye hissed at me.

A new feline voice rose up in response.“Oh, hush up, Jinx. No one wants to hear your complaints… again.”