The Cats that Walked the Haunted Beach (The Cats that . . . Cozy Mystery Book 10) Read online

  The Cats that Walked the

  Haunted Beach

  Karen Anne Golden

  Copyright

  This book or eBook is a work of fiction.

  Michigan City, Gary, Lafayette and Rensselaer are real places in Indiana, but the towns of Seagull and Erie are not. The characters I created do not exist, nor have they ever lived in the above cities.

  Names, characters, places and incidents are products of my imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, persons or cats, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Edited by Vicki Braun

  Book cover concept by Karen Anne Golden

  Graphic design by Rob Williams

  Copyright © 2018 Karen Anne Golden

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-13: 978-1723365263

  ISBN-10: 1723365262

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Prologue

  When Katherine caught up with Scout, the Siamese was very agitated. Katherine tried to snap the clasp of the leash on Scout’s collar, but the cat darted away.

  “Come back here,” Katherine pleaded.

  Scout ran and stopped in front of Cabin Six’s side door, which was standing wide-open. She swiveled her brown-pointed ears forward then backward, in an inquisitive motion.

  “Do not go in there,” Katherine warned.

  Scout rushed in and disappeared in the darkness.

  “Just great,” Katherine muttered.

  Catching up, Colleen said, “This is creeping me out. I’m not going in there.”

  “Is anyone home?” Katherine called from the door. She rang the doorbell. “Hello, is anyone home?”

  No one answered.

  Colleen said, “Find a light switch.”

  Katherine found one inside the door and turned it on. She screamed and stepped back.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Look!” Katherine pointed at the man sprawled face-down in front of the fireplace.

  Colleen gasped, “Is he dead?”

  Katherine moved to find out, then heard something loud drop in the back of the cabin. She glanced down the hall. She saw the silhouette of a cat in front of a closed bedroom door.

  “Scout, come here, darling. Come to mommy.”

  “Na-waugh,” Scout cried. She stood up on her hind legs and tried to turn the door knob with her front paws.

  “Hiss,” the Siamese snarled.

  Katherine dove for the cat, snatched her around the middle, and attached the leash to Scout’s collar.

  Scout shrieked.

  Katherine thought she heard movement on the other side of the door. She held onto Scout and sprinted past Colleen. “Let’s get out of here. Whoever murdered that man may still be in the cabin. They might come after us.”

  Chapter One

  Mid-April

  Return to the Pink Mansion

  Katherine Cokenberger, thirty-year-old heiress to a fortune, finished surfing the Internet for vacation places in northern Indiana. She logged off, then joined her seven cats on the all-season sun porch.

  She lingered by the door and reflected on how much the cats meant to her and her husband, Jake.

  Scout and Abra were the oldest. The Siamese seal-point littermates once performed on stage in a magician’s show. They had a strange ability to predict murder. Their death dance was a warning Katherine did not ignore.

  Iris was a seal-point from an upscale New York City cattery, and one of the resident thieves. She served as a mother hen to orphaned brothers, seal-points Dewey and Crowie. Lilac, a beautiful lilac-point Siamese, was a gift from Katherine’s former boyfriend.

  Abby, a ruddy-ticked Abyssinian, was the reason that Katherine had given up her computer career in Manhattan and moved to Erie, Indiana, northwest of Indianapolis. Katherine’s great-aunt left her a seventeen-room pink Victorian mansion, a huge inheritance, and Abby. The clauses of the will specified that Katherine had to live in the mansion for one year and take care of the cat in order to inherit millions of dollars.

  Abby was the second resident thief, but her thefts were different from Iris’s. Some of Abby’s stolen objects helped solve several major crimes.

  Katherine smiled, then stepped out onto the porch. “Hi, kids,” she said softly. The cats ignored her.

  Scout and Abra sat on the wide windowsill in front of the center window and studied the bird feeder below. In the corner, Iris, Dewey and Crowie occupied different levels on the cat tree, and were taking their morning nap. Abby and Lilac were perched on top of the window valance, snuggled together like a 1950s Lane Siamese cat lamp. With the attic office finished, the cats were happy to be back in the pink mansion, and so were Katherine and Jake.

  Katherine’s cell phone pinged. She moved to a wicker chair and sat down. She pulled her cell from her khakis’ back pocket and opened the message.

  Colleen texted, “Are you home? I need to talk to you.” Colleen was Katherine’s best friend since elementary school.

  Katherine texted back, “Sure. I’m here all morning.”

  “Great, I’m leaving Daryl’s now. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Katherine texted a smiley-face and slid the phone back in her pocket.

  “Hey, cats. Anything of interest?” she asked.

  Lilac belted a loud me-yowl. Abby chirped.

  Scout and Abra exchanged a string of Siamese talk that only the two littermates understood. They jumped down, hiked up their tails, and trotted out of the room.

  “Sorry I disturbed you,” Katherine said, laughing.

  Jake walked in. “Who are you talking to?” he asked, rubbing his eyes. His brown hair was sticking straight up from sleep.

  Katherine giggled. “Medusa head alert. I hope you deal with that before you teach your class.”

  Jake was a history professor at the university.

  “I think I’ll leave it that way to see if any of my students notice,” he joked.

  “What time do you have to leave?” she asked.

  “I figure I’ve got time to take a quick shower, then drive into the city. How about you? What are your plans today?”

  “I’m expecting Colleen any minute. She just texted.”

  “She probably wants to talk to you about the wedding.”

  “You mean the part where she can’t see eye-to-eye with Daryl about where it’s going to be?”

  “I certainly hope Colleen changes her mind about getting married in NYC,” Jake began. “It would be difficult for the Cokenberger clan to fly out there—”

  “How hard would it be?” Katherine interrupted.

  “Hard on their wallets. Plane tickets and hotels don’t come cheap in the Big Apple.”

  “But, Jake, it’s Colleen’s wedding. I think she should make the decision,” Katherine said, slightly annoyed. “It’s not just the Cokenberger clan, but Colleen has family from Ireland coming. Do you think they want to fly out to the heartland to see their niece marry in the place Daryl’s mom and your mom suggested? Seriously, who gets mar
ried in a barn?” Katherine rolled her eyes.

  “Wait a minute, Sweet Pea. Daryl and I checked out that barn. It’s really nice—”

  Katherine broke in, “Complete with chickens running amok, a couple of milk cows chewing their cud, and let’s not leave out the slop hogs scarfing down the wedding cake. Colleen would hate it.”

  Jake laughed, “Katz, the place looks like a barn on the outside, but inside, aside from the shiplap walls and beamed ceiling, it’s very modern with a well-stocked bar, a kitchen, a dance floor and enough tables to seat a hundred guests.”

  “Uh-huh!” Katherine answered slyly.

  “Well, shucks pumpkin, the wait staff even wears shoes and everythin’. The tables even got them fancy tablecloths.”

  Katherine burst out laughing at Jake’s fake country accent.

  “Like I said, the place is really nice. And, the beauty of it is, it doesn’t cost a fortune.”

  “Okay,” Katherine said. “I see the two of us can’t agree on the place for the wedding, let alone Daryl and Colleen.”

  Jake advised, “I’ll keep my two cents to myself, if you do, too.”

  Katherine rose from her chair and pinched him on the arm. “What’s the fun in that?”

  The front doorbell clanged loudly. Iris woke up and growled. Dewey bellowed a loud mao in his baritone voice. Crowie kept sleeping, oblivious to the other cats’ excitement. Abby and Lilac jumped off their perch and trotted out of the room.

  “I’ll get it,” Jake said, sprinting to the front door.

  “Send her back here,” Katherine called.

  In a few minutes, Colleen walked in. Her long red hair was tied up in a bun, perched on top of her head like a robin’s nest.

  Katherine bit her tongue from laughing. “Hi, Colleen. What’s with the new do?”

  “I wear it like this to annoy Daryl. He hates it when I put my hair up.”

  “Are you serious? Jake could care less about my hair.”

  “That’s because it’s so short. Maybe you should grow it out, so you could have a bun like mine,” Colleen teased, patting the top of her head.

  “Have a sit down,” Katherine said, pointing to a wicker chair.

  Colleen plopped down in the chair. “I’m fit to be tied,” she said, squinting her eyes in an annoyed fashion. “That awful, obnoxious, over-bearing woman—”

  “Who are you talking about?”

  “Jake’s mom, Cora. I could strangle her.”

  “What does she have to do with you?”

  “Oh, she’s conspiring with Daryl’s mom, and the two of them, thick as thieves, are planning my wedding.”

  Katherine said facetiously, “Has Cora given you the big wedding book?”

  “That blasted book weighs five hundred pounds and is so dated, the bridesmaid dresses look like something from Gone with the Wind.”

  “Yep, been there. Sounds like you have your hands full.”

  “And, the coup de grace,” Colleen replied with frustration, “Daryl wants to have the wedding in a barn!”

  Katherine smirked and didn’t tell her friend that Jake and she had just been discussing the infamous barn. “May I make a suggestion?” she asked instead.

  “Of course, Katz. You’re my best friend. I trust your judgement.”

  “This has nothing to do with the wedding.”

  “That’s a blessing.”

  “How about we do a girls’ retreat with your mum?”

  “With Mum? I thought you were still mad at her.”

  “Water under the bridge. I forgave her. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen her, and I miss her. Wouldn’t it be fun for the three of us to meet somewhere for a long weekend?”

  “Where? I’m certainly not flying to Manhattan for a girls’ retreat.”

  “I’ve done some research and found this bed & breakfast in northern Indiana. It’s close to the Indiana Dunes State Park.”

  “The Dunes State Park? I’ve never heard of it.”

  “It’s a state-owned park with several miles of beach on Lake Michigan. It has acres of natural landscape. From what I’ve found on the Internet, it also has spectacular views.”

  “Keep selling it. I’m warming up to your idea.”

  “There’s a B&B I can rent for a long weekend. That’s next Thursday, or is that too soon?”

  “By long weekend, what do you mean?”

  “We can drive up there Thursday and come back Sunday afternoon.”

  “How long does it take to get there?”

  “A couple of hours.”

  “I’m just asking because I’m taking a speech class this semester. Next Thursday I have to stand up in front of the class and speak about modern day colloquialisms.”

  “How did you manage that boring topic?”

  “We had to draw cards from a bowl, but I think the professor rigged it. I know it’s a ridiculous topic, but I have to give a speech without using any common phrases.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like ‘shut the door’! My speech professor says I use it too much.”

  “Well, no offense, but you do say it a lot. Maybe you could come up with another phrase.”

  “I’ll work on it. Anyway, back to your plan, I’ll call Mum and run it by her.” Colleen looked at her watch. “I better go. I’m done venting on Countess Dracula.”

  Katherine shushed Colleen, “Jake is still home.”

  “Oops,” Colleen said with a big grin. “I’ve got a class at eleven, and I wanted to do a bit of shopping before then.”

  “I’ll walk you to the door.”

  Colleen grabbed her bag and followed. Iris came out of nowhere and tripped her. Colleen stumbled, then caught herself before she fell. “Katz, your cat is trying to kill me. That was premediated.”

  “Miss Siam,” Katherine scolded. “We do not do that.”

  Iris sassed a loud yowl, and ran to the kitchen.

  “Sorry about that. I’ve learned to not get into Iris’s way when she’s headed to her food bowl.”

  “Shut the door!” Colleen exclaimed. “I mean, perish the thought!”

  Katherine suggested, “Maybe you need to work some more on your speech assignment,” then laughed.

  ***

  Later in the afternoon, Katherine was busy in the kitchen preparing a tuna casserole for dinner. Before she started, she booted out the cats and closed the door so the felines wouldn’t bother her. Outside the door, the cats reacted by howling like they were starving to death.

  “Be quiet!” Katherine called through the door. “I’ll give you a snack in a minute.” It was never easy fixing a recipe with fish, because no matter where the cats were in the house, their magic noses would pick up the scent, and they’d be in the kitchen faster than speeding bullets.

  Jake opened the door, and seven cats dashed in. They gathered around Katherine’s legs, begging for a treat.

  Katherine complained, “Gee, thanks, Jake. I had the door closed for a reason.”

  Jake smiled. “Maybe you should have a tuna alert sign on the door to warn me.”

  Katherine opened the oven door and placed the casserole on the middle rack. “How was your day?”

  “Fine,” Jake said, opening the refrigerator and pulling out a can of Mountain Dew. He flipped the tab and took a few sips. He drew up a chair and sat down.

  Katherine dried her hands on a dish towel, then grabbed the cat treat package from a cabinet. “Who wants a treat?” she asked, walking the cats out of the room like the pied piper. Only Scout remained behind.

  She gave each of the cats a treat and hurriedly ran back to the kitchen, shutting the door behind her.

  “A lot has been going on today,” she said.

  “Like what?”

  “This morning, I got a text from Mum. She said she’s flying to Indiana, and—”

  Jake cut her off. He shook his head. “She’s not staying here.”

  “Whoa, let me finish,” Katherine said, eyeing her husband curiously.

 
; “She’s not staying at the guest house either,” he answered with great finality.

  “I know that Mum has made some bad decisions in the past, but—”

  Jake interrupted again. “Dumber-than-dumb decisions is a better description. For starters, how about when Mum was your guest, staying in your home,” he emphasized, “and while you were out of the house, she disarmed the security system and let in a psycho woman who . . . shot me.”

  “Please, Jake, let’s not go there.” Katherine didn’t like to think about that day when Jake was shot, and in self-defense, she’d shot and killed Patricia Marston.

  “Or, the last time she brought murder to our home was when she gave that nut-job school chum of yours our address, which drew the Russian mob to our door.”

  “I want to put this behind us. Mum has been like a mother to me.”

  “Look, I know Mum is your best friend’s mother, but the woman makes choices that put other people in harm’s way. She’s a murder magnet. She’s dangerous, and if she wants to visit us, we can put her up in the Erie Hotel on our dime.”

  “Okay! Okay!” Katherine said, putting up her hands in mock self-defense. “I surrender, but if you’d let me finish, Colleen and I are meeting Mum for a girls’ retreat.”

  “Count me out,” Jake frowned.

  “I said girls’ retreat.”

  “When?”

  “Next weekend.”

  “Where?”

  “I’ve done some surfing and found a bed & breakfast close to the Dunes State Park. It’s available for rental next week. I can book it from Thursday to Sunday afternoon.”

  “Na-waugh,” Scout cried from the countertop.

  Katherine glanced over at the errant cat and scolded, “Get down off of there.”

  Scout muttered a protest and jumped down. She trotted over to Jake’s foot and collapsed on his shoe.

  “That’s next week,” Jake noted. Looking down at Scout, Jake asked, “Do you think it’s a bad idea, magic cat?”

  Scout crossed her eyes, lifted her hind leg and began cleaning her toes.

  “Okay, crazy cat, forget I asked.” Jake grinned. “Tell me more about this B&B?”

  “I’m booking the entire place, so it’s just Mum, Colleen and me there.”

  “What about Scout and Abra? They’ll freak out if you take off without them.”