There was one last piece sitting on the pie plate all by its lonesome in the middle of the table. I stretched my arm out as far as I could, but it was too far away, and with Ethan’s head on my lap and Ella curled between us I knew if I got up I’d wake them all and spoil the moment. So instead I just sat there.
My gardening book was at the opposite end of the table, opened halfway and lying facedown at Michael’s spot. There was a scratch pad next to it where he had scribbled a couple of notes. Hopefully, with Silverthorn’s fingerprints on Mr. Hoskins’s buttons, McKenzie wouldn’t need the book as evidence. That way Michael could keep it.
As for the chapter on poisonous plants, I figured maybe I’d keep that for myself—it had definitely turned out to be a pretty good reference tool for solving a mystery—and you never know when something like that might come in handy.
ALSO BY BLAIZE AND JOHN CLEMENT
The Cat Sitter’s Cradle
ALSO BY BLAIZE CLEMENT
The Cat Sitter’s Pajamas
Cat Sitter Among the Pigeons
Raining Cat Sitters and Dogs
Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof
Even Cat Sitters Get the Blues
Duplicity Dogged the Dachshund
Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter
About the Authors
John Clement is the son of Blaize Clement (1932–2011), who originated the Dixie Hemingway mystery series and collaborated with her son on the plots and characters for forthcoming novels. Blaize is the author of Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter, Duplicity Dogged the Dachshund, Even Cat Sitters Get the Blues, Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof, Raining Cat Sitters and Dogs, Cat Sitter Among the Pigeons, and The Cat Sitter’s Pajamas. Visit their Web site at www.DixieHemingway.com.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
A THOMAS DUNNE BOOK FOR MINOTAUR BOOKS.
An imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
THE CAT SITTER’S NINE LIVES. Copyright © 2014 by Blaize and John Clement. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.thomasdunnebooks.com
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover designed by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
ISBN 978-1-250-00933-3 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-4851-1 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466848511
First Edition: July 2014