Catnapped! (A Matchmaker Mystery Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

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    Alyssa stuck her phone back in her pocket with such force she almost ripped the seams. Knowing it wasn’t safe for her to speak without getting herself fired and pissing off Brady, she clenched her jaw. Wordlessly, she pivoted on her heel and strode out of the room.
    “Where are you going?” Mrs. M. called after her.
    “To find out if Roscoe’s gotten a ransom note.”
     

 

Chapter 6
     
    Pete swiveled in his desk chair so he could take in the panorama of computer monitors on his desk. Each of the three screens featured someone he was researching.
    The first was Amy Winn’s mysterious father, who Brady had asked him to look into. It looked like Brady’s suspicions that he was a shady guy were right on the money. He’d been a person of interest in a list of crimes dating back decades, but he’d never been officially charged with any of them.
    The second screen featured Tara, the name Armani had given as someone who could help find a missing cat. She was a woman who made unfortunate choices with her makeup, if her DMV photo was to be believed, but who otherwise appeared to walk the straight and narrow. No criminal record. A steady work history as an animal control officer. An upstanding citizen.
    Alyssa Montgomery was the subject on the third screen. Easy-to-find public records revealed the blonde beauty had majored in Criminal Justice before becoming a cop, but they didn’t tell him why she wasn’t one now. He’d have to dig deeper to find that information. He’d heard the panic and anger in her voice when she’d asked how he knew her middle name. He wondered if that was because she valued her privacy or because she was hiding something.
    He spun his chair in a full circle trying to decide what to do next.
    His doorbell rang, interrupting his thoughts.
    Jumping out of his seat, he hurried to his front door. A quick glance through his peephole revealed his friend Jackson standing on his porch.
    “What’s up?” Pete asked, opening the door.
    “Heard you talked to Brady.” Jackson, carrying a pizza, strode in without an invitation.
    “Uh-huh.” Pete’s nose practically twitched as he fell into step behind the bearer of food.
    “He in trouble?” Jackson tossed the pie onto the kitchen table.
    “He wanted some additional info on Amy’s father,” Pete replied, slowly taking plates and napkins from a cabinet. As good as the pizza smelled, he knew his friend was more concerned with their conversation than eating.
    “And?”
    “And not such a good guy.”
    “That’s what Brady’s mom said.”  Jackson grimaced. “She’s worried about him.”
    “Brady’s not going to do anything stupid,” Pete soothed, pulling a couple of beers out of the fridge.
    Jackson leaned against the counter, rubbing the back of his neck in worry. “Oh yeah? What would you call quitting his job and running to Europe with a girl he’d just met?”
    Pete put the beers down on the table, sank into a chair, and opened the pizza box.  “He hated that job.” Pete looked enquiringly at Jackson. “You gonna eat?”
    Grudgingly, Jackson nodded.
    While he sat down, Pete plopped a piece onto plates for each of them. “And I thought you liked Amy.”
    “I did. The single time I met her. But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t some kind of master manipulator or something. I’ve been fooled before.”
    Pete winced at the bitterness in Jackson’s tone. He knew its source. He also knew he didn’t want to rehash old news. He took a bite of gooey pizza and then changed the subject. “Jane’s friend Alyssa came into the gym today.”
    “The Ice Princess?”
    Remembering how she’d blushed twice in his company, Pete suspected a fiery woman lurked beneath her cold mask, but he didn’t tell his friend that. “Uh-huh.”
    “Why?”‘
    “She wanted to work out. Instead, Juana tried to set her up with Mauricio.” He chuckled at the memory.
    “Geez, I know she wants grandkids, but she must be getting really