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“Yes, Mommy?” she asked, one ear tall and pointy and the other flopped forward.

“Do these things belong to you?” I said, motioning toward the upset pile.

“My treasures!” she cried, running to them and rolling around. “What happened?”

“Yup, that’s what I thought. Case solved. Well, almost. Maybe. C’mon, we need to talk to Octo-Cat,” I told Charles.

But Paisley whimpered and refused to follow along,“No, please don’t tell him about my treasures. I don’t want him to steal them from me like he does at home.”

“I promise I won’t tell him about your secret hoard,” I assured the distraught pup.

She followed, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

“What’s going on?” Charles wanted to know as we approached the cabin.

“I have an idea about what might have happened to my ring,” I told him right as I pulled the door to our room wide open and the three of us stepped inside.

“What do you want now?” my cat demanded. “I thought I was finally getting a bit of me time, but noooo. Here you all are. Again. Story of all nine of my lives. Ugh.” He let out a long sigh, but I refused to fall prey to his dramatics.

“You’re a cat. Literally every second of every day is your you time,” I told him.

Octo-Cat scoffed but said nothing more.

When it was clear he’d yielded the floor, I said, “Listen, I need your help.”

“Yup, there it is!” he spat and flicked his tail. “You’d be lost without me, admit it.”

“If I do, will you help?” If my pride was the price of his assistance, I’d happily give it up. I’d lived with a cat for long enough to know how this whole thing worked. Which meant I also expected what came next.

Octo-Cat flopped onto his side and yawned.“I’ll think about it. Really, I’m quite tired. Between sleuthing and helping you sort out your cloying human emotion, you’ve been working me hard all weekend. I need some time to rest and recharge.”

“Shut up, you!” Paisley barked and kicked her feet back. “If Mommy needs our help, then we’re going to give it to her!”

“Paisley!” I said in shock. She almost never took a tough approach to anything, especially not when it involved the big feline brother she idolized.

Octo-Cat stared at Paisley with large amber eyes.

Paisley stared back with shiny black eyes.

And I couldn’t believe what happened next.

“Whatever,” Octo-Cat backed down, blinking his eyes slowly as he turned to me. “Just tell me what you need, so we can get this over with.”

Knowing better than to waste time questioning the madness I’d just witness, I moved ahead with my original intent. First, I explained the theory I’d developed after stumbling over Paisley’s beachy hoard, then I told them what I needed them to do.

Octo-Cat rolled onto his feet.“C’mon, Mutt. Let’s go do the thing.”

But Paisley didn’t follow. “It hurts my feelings when you call me that,” she said firmly.

Seriously? What the heck was going on here? Octo-Cat was showing his softer side while Paisley was standing up for herself. Nothing made sense anymore. Perhaps this place emanated some kind of strange magic.

Ha, as if!

Once the animals departed, Charles held his hand out to me.“Now about that walk.”

19

“Is every trip with you going to be like this?” Charles asked, kissing the back of my hand.

“Yup, and you’re stuck with me now,” I laughed.

“I don’t mind,” he said, pulling me close to gaze into my eyes. “I know your grandmother had a hard time because of her gifts, but I want you to know that I plan to always be here for you, no matter what.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for her back then. To be so alone and for so long.”

“Well, you might have to keep the secret from everyone else, but you’ve got a lot of us who are there for you.”

“Yeah, I know, and I—”

“Mommy!” a little voice interrupted.

I pulled away from Charles and looked out into the night to see Paisley bounding up with Octo-Cat hot on her heels.

Octo-Cat held up a paw, struggling to catch his breath.“We…we…we found it. Which means… You owe me… A lobster roll.”

“Okay, so where is it?” I asked, excitement crashing over me. Ahh, what a rush! This was one crime I couldn’t wait to solve once and for all, not only because of what had been stolen but also because of who was at fault.

Tugging Charles along, I followed the pets inside and went over to the front desk where Millicent sat grumbling to herself while she read her book.

“Excuse me,” I said, ringing the bell on the desk.

Millicent rolled her eyes and moved the bell.“Go away,” she grumbled, adding in a few choice words under her breath.

“I just wanted to let you know that we’ve caught the thief that’s been plaguing your bed-and-breakfast,” I revealed with a self-satisfied smirk. Okay, so I wasn’t being the most professional in that moment, but Millicent hadn’t actually hired me, so I was justified in my approach. At least that’s what I told myself now.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve,” she said, slamming her book onto the desk.