Read Meow or Never (Vanessa Abbot Cat Protection League Cat Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) for Free Online

think we had a pretty straight department here. I haven’t seen anything that
would make me think Walter or any other criminal element had a hand in this
police force. But if the FBI is that slack about letting him roam around the
country, I would have to agree with you. I wouldn’t trust anybody with your
protection.”

    “So what are we going to do about it?”
Vanessa asked.

    “There’s only one thing we can do,” he
told her. “We have to find a way to bring Walter to justice. We have to catch
him in the act of trying to kill one of us, or find proof that he’s hiring
others to do it. We have to prove he’s here, in town, and we have to find some
way to stop him.”

    “How are we going to do that?” Penny
asked.

    Pete shook his head. “I know it’s a
tall order, but we have to do it. We can’t wait around for someone else to do
it. We could all be dead before anybody knows what happened.”

    Vanessa sat up straighter in her chair.
“I’m with you, Pete. We’ve stopped Walter before. We can do it again.”

    “This is much more serious than that
was,” Pete told her. “No one knew before that Walter was a killer. Now he’s
killed one person and tried to kill two others.”

    “He tried to kill three people,” Penny
reminded them. “Don’t forget that the explosion at the plant was intended to
kill Alan. He killed Eastman by mistake.”

    “Do we know that for certain?” Vanessa
asked. “I thought that was just a speculation.”

    “We know it for certain now,” Pete told
her. “I checked the personnel records from the plant. Another pipe fitter had
to go to Chicago for some special training conference. Alan was supposed to
come in to cover for him, but at the last minute, his car broke down and he had
to back out. They called in Eastman instead. He was doing the job Alan was
supposed to do.”

    “And now he’s dead, just like that,”
Vanessa murmured. “Did you find any evidence linking Middleton to the case?”

    Pete shook his head. “I’m not wasting
any more time on Middleton or the plant explosion. We have firsthand proof that
Walter is trying to kill us, and we have a direct link between him and the real
estate agent’s office. I’m turning all my attention to that. I don’t think it
will be that hard to find out who told Walter where you were going.”

    “That still doesn’t help us protect
ourselves from the next attack,” Penny pointed out. “What are we going to do
between now and when you catch Walter? I don’t feel safe going home.”

    Vanessa stood up. “Well, I do. I’m
beat, and I’ve got thirteen cats waiting for me who haven’t been fed all day.
I’m going to my apartment. A good night’s sleep will help me think this case
over.”

    “I’ll find a place for you and Alan to
stay tonight,” Pete told Penny. “I can assign an armed guard so no one comes
along shooting the place up. That’s the best I can do for right now. I know it
isn’t much and it probably doesn’t set your minds at ease, but at least you
won’t be in any of your usual places where Walter can find you.”

    Vanessa took her leave. Pete walked her
out of the building, and they agreed to meet the next morning at the
Opportunity Shop to talk strategy.

Chapter 6
    Vanessa walked away with a smile on her
face, but as soon as she passed around the corner out of sight, she wilted. Her
feet shuffled along the ground, and she stared at the pavement sliding by
beneath her feet. She could barely summon the energy to unlock the door.

    When she pushed her way into the
apartment, the cats crowded around her feet so she couldn’t open the door. “Oh,
you poor, poor mistreated creatures. Did I leave you alone all day without
food? I’m so sorry.”

    She went to the kitchen and started
getting down the dishes and cans of cat food.

    “The bad news is that Walter Connelly
is back in town and out for retribution,” she told the cats. “But the good news
is that I found a very nice