A Charming Crime Read Online Free PDF Page A

better than
one. He was doing double figure eights around their ankles. “Mr. Prince
Charming, stop!”
    He moved faster
when I tried to pick him up. He was never this friendly to anyone other than
me.
    “We like cats,”
the first one said, bending down and patting the ornery cat.
    “Yes, we do.”
Apparently the second one repeated everything the other said.
    I picked him up
anyway. I was increasingly becoming confused and the only way out was to get
out.
    “I’m Constance Karima.”
She pointed to herself, and then to her twin. “This is my twin Patience.”
    “Yes, I’m
Patience.” She giggled. Her green eyes sparkled as much as her teeth.
    “Nice to meet
you.” I noted everyone’s fantastic teeth. I ran my tongue along my front tooth
that barely overlapped the other. You’d never notice unless I pointed it out.
    Mewl. Mr. Prince
Charming made his presence known.
    “And this is Mr.
Prince Charming.” I held him tight to my chest in case he decided to jump down.
“Have a great day.
    Constance
stepped in front of me, creating a sudden wind tunnel. Her red housedress
swooshed back and forth from the breeze.
    “Oh, my.” She
picked at her short hair nervously. “So, are you sick?”
    Mr. Prince Charming
kneaded my arms with his back paws.
    “Hello, Karima
sisters.” The green door of Mystic Lights flew open with Isadora standing in
the shadow. “Please let our guest leave.”
    Hiss, hiss. Mr. Prince
Charming jumped down, and arched his back. He raced off and jumped in the back
of the Green Machine. Like a light switch had gone off, the wind stopped.
    The Karima twins
tilted their heads and stared at Mr. Prince Charming with a scowl on their
faces.
    “We were just
trying to figure out if he’s sick.” Patience’s long finger uncurled, exposing a
long black fingernail pointing towards my cat.
    Hiss sss.
    “Yes, sick,”
Patience repeated.
    Isadora’s A-line
skirt swayed as she gracefully walked down the steps, coming face to face with
me and the Karima sisters.
    “You’ll have to
forgive my dear friends.” She stood between them, placing a hand on each of
their shoulders. “They own Two Sisters and A Funeral. The only funeral home in
town, and they are always looking for business.”
    “No, someone’s
definitely sick.” Constance nodded to Patience who nodded to Izzy.
    God, I hope I
was nowhere near death, even though my heart was about to pound out of my chest
from shear freaking out. Whispering Falls was definitely not for me.
    “No one is sick,”
Izzy reassured everyone. Only it sure didn’t make me feel better.
    “Wow, nice car,”
said a voice from behind me.
    I spun around to
find an older gentleman with black coattails and a top hat checking out the Green
Machine.
    “I haven’t seen
one of these since the eighties.” He ran his gloved hand down the side of it,
and then stopped when he reached Mr. Prince Charming, who was hovering in the
bed of the Green Machine. He took his hat off and bowed down. “Good day, sir.”
    Meow, meow.
    I winked at Mr.
Prince Charming. I had had enough too. It was time to go home and get back our
real life. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Oscar Park
and give him a piece of my mind.
    When I turned
back around, everyone was looking at Mr. Prince Charming as if he was the first
cat they’d ever seen.
    “I guess we
better go.” I finger waved, trying not to be rude.
    “Very nice.” The
man reached out and touched the turtle charm dangling from my wrist. “Turtles
mean protection, and your cat seems to know it.”
    Slowly I pulled
my wrist away from his fingers, causing the charm to slip out of his grasp.
    “I guess you
could say that.” I covered it with my other hand, and brought it close to me.
“That’s how my cat got his name. He showed up on my tenth birthday with this on
his collar and has never left my side.”
    “Hmmm.” He
scratched the right side of his mustache, and then pushed the round glasses up
on his