Temptation. Temptation. Pewter gave in.
Cazenovia suffered a moment. “They're ruined now. The humans can't eat them.” She, too, flicked out wafers.
Tucker, being a canine after all, rarely worried about the propriety of eating anything. Her nose was already in the wafer box.
Mrs. Murphy allowed herself the luxury of a nibble. “Kind of tasteless.”
“If you eat enough of them you get a bready taste, but they are bland.” Cazenovia's statement revealed she'd been in the communion wafers more than once.
“Does this mean we're communicants?” Pewter paused.
“Yes,” Mrs. Murphy answered. “We're communicats.”
“What if I'm not a Lutheran? What if I'm a Muslim cat?”
“If you were a Muslim cat you wouldn't be living in Crozet.” Tucker laughed.
“You don't know. This is America. We have everything,” Pewter rejoined.
“Not in Crozet.” Cazenovia wiped her mouth with her paw. “You've got Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Catholics. More or less the same thing and I know Herb would have a fit, a total fit, if he knew I'd said that, but fortunately he doesn't know what I or any other cat in this universe has to say.” She took a deep breath. “Then you've got the Baptists busily fighting among themselves these days and then the charismatic churches and that's it.”
“Let's open a Buddhist shrine. Shake 'em up a little.” Elocution hiccuped. She'd eaten too many wafers too quickly.
“No. We build a huge statue of a cat with earrings like in ancient Egypt. Oh, I can hear the squeals now about paganism.” Mrs. Murphy laughed as the others laughed with her.
Tucker swiveled her ears. “Hey, gang, meeting's breaking up. Let's get out of here.”
“Help me push this back in the closet and close the door,” Elocution said with urgency.
Cazenovia knocked the box in as though it were a hockey puck. Tucker, larger than the cats, pushed against the door. It closed in an instant. They scrambled out of there. Luckily for them, the doors to the meeting room weren't yet open. They made it back in the nick of time.
“—tomorrow afternoon,” Matthew told Tazio.
“I'll be in the office.”
“I know you're disappointed about the chestnut flooring but, well.” Matthew shrugged.
“I guess I'm a perfectionist. That's what they say back at the office and on the sites, only they say it a lot more directly there.” She smiled.
“You've got a lot on your plate, young lady.” Hayden McIntyre joined them. “Your design for the new sports complex is just the most ingenious thing. Is that the right word?”
“As long as it's a good word.” Tazio picked up her coat hanging in the hall.
“I know H.H. has none for me.” Matthew shrugged.
“He'll get his shot.” Hayden shrugged right back.
Tazio pointedly did not comment on the animosity between Matthew and H. H. Donaldson, head of a rival construction firm. The bad blood had been made worse when Matthew won the bid to construct Tazio's new stadium. She had hoped H.H. would win the bid because she especially liked him, but she could work just fine with Matthew.
Herb walked out with Harry and BoomBoom. “I sure appreciate you girls coming on over here. You're a welcome addition to the guild.”
Both women had just begun their first terms, which lasted three years.
“I'm learning a lot,” Harry said.
“Me, too.”
“Look at these little angels.” Harry knelt down to pet all the cats and Tucker.
“If she only knew.” Elocution giggled.
“Don't be so smug,” Cazenovia chided her. “Humans don't know what we're talking about but they know smug.”
“I don't know what I'd do without those two.” Herb smiled benevolently. “They help write the sermons, they keep an eye on the parishioners, they leave little pawprints on the furniture.”
“I'm sure they've left them on the carpets, too.” BoomBoom liked cats.
“Well, that they have but I can hardly blame them for wearing those carpets out. Fortunately we are a well-attended church, but it does put wear and tear on the building.” Herb checked his watch. “Game's in an hour. You all going?”
“Yes,” the two women said in unison.
“Well, I'll see you there. I'd better go through the building and shut some of the doors. On these cold nights it saves on the heat bill. Gotta save it where I can.”
As he headed down the hall, Mrs. Murphy urged Harry, “Come on, Mom, let's get out of here!”
Cazenovia and Elocution hurried into the meeting room, flopping themselves on the sofa with a great show of nonchalance. Too great a show.
“See you, Rev,” Harry called out as she tossed on her coat, opening the door for her pets and BoomBoom.
“Whew,” Pewter breathed as she stepped outside into the nasty weather.
Welcome to the charming world of
Sneaky Pie Brown.
Don't miss these earlier mysteries . . .
CLAWS AND EFFECT
Winter puts tiny Crozet, Virginia, in a deep freeze and everyone seems to be suffering from the winter blahs, including postmistress Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen. So all are ripe for the juicy gossip coming out of Crozet Hospital—until the main source of that gossip turns up dead. It's not like Harry to resist a mystery, and she soon finds the hospital a hotbed of ego, jealousy, and illicit love. But it's tiger cat Mrs. Murphy, roaming the netherworld of Crozet Hospital, who sniffs out a secret that dates back to the Underground Railroad. Then Harry is attacked and a doctor is executed in cold blood. Soon only a quick-witted cat and her animal pals feline Pewter and corgi Tee Tucker stand between Harry and a coldly calculating killer with a prescription for murder.
“Reading a Mrs. Murphy mystery is like eating a potato chip. You always go back for more . . . Whimsical and enchanting . . . the latest expert tale from a deserving bestselling series.” —The Midwest Book Review
PAWING THROUGH THE PAST
“You'll never get old.” Each member of the class of 1980 has received the letter. Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen, who is on the organizing committee for Crozet High's twentieth reunion, decides to take it as a compliment. Others think it's a joke. But Mrs. Murphy senses trouble. And the sly tiger cat is soon proven right . . . when the class womanizer turns up dead with a bullet between his eyes. Then another note followed by another murder makes it clear that someone has waited twenty years to take revenge. While Harry tries to piece together the puzzle, it's up to Mrs. Murphy and her animal pals to sniff out the truth. And there isn't much time. Mrs. Murphy is the first to realize that Harry has been chosen Most Likely to Die, and if she doesn't hurry, Crozet High's twentieth reunion could be Harry's last.
“This is a cat-lover's dream of a mystery. . . . ‘Harry' is simply irresistible. . . . [Rita Mae] Brown once again proves herself ‘Queen of Cat Crimes.'. . . Don't miss out on this lively series, for it's one of the best around.” —Old Book Barn Gazette
CAT ON THE SCENT
Things have been pretty exciting lately in Crozet, Virginia—a little too exciting if you ask resident feline investigator Mrs. Murphy. Just as the town starts to buzz over its Civil War reenactment, a popular local man disappears. No one's seen Tommy Van Allen's single-engine plane, either—except for Mrs. Murphy, who spotted it during a foggy evening's mousing. Even Mrs. Murphy's favorite human, postmistress Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen, can sense that something is amiss. But things really take an ugly turn when the town reenacts the battle of Oak Ridge—and a participant ends up with three very real bullets in his back. While the clever tiger cat and her friends sift through clues that just don't fit together, more than a few locals fear that the scandal will force well-hidden town secrets into the harsh light of day. And when Mrs. Murphy's relentless tracking places loved ones in danger, it takes more than a canny kitty and her team of animal sleuths to set things right again. . . .