The Purrfect Lie (Klepto Cat Mystery Book 12) Read Online Free PDF

little guys away, I checked out that area behind the shrub. Sure looks like stairs to a basement. Man, I can’t figure out how I never noticed it before or why no one told me about it. I guess I’m just not very observant. I am curious, though. What are you doing later today?”
    Michael glanced at Savannah, who was reading from her Kindle. “Just waiting for Lily to wake up from her nap and entertain us some more. Why?”
    “I’m cooking up a big batch of gumbo. Would you three like to come over for an early dinner and share it with us?” He hesitated, then added, “Maybe we could cut back that bush some and see what’s been hiding behind it all these years. What do you say?” Before Michael could respond, Max asked, “By the way, do you have tools for that kind of job?”
    “Sure.”
    “Sure, what?” Max chuckled.
    “Sure, we’ll come over for gumbo,” he said, catching Savannah’s eye for her reaction. “Sure, I want to see what’s down there, and sure, I have some tools we can use to cut that bush back…or down.”
    “Good,” Max said, sounding somewhat relieved. “Come over anytime. We’ll eat around five.”
    “Okay. Hey, my wife is mouthing me a message. Wait a minute.” When Michael returned to the phone, he said, “Max, what can we bring? Savannah wants to know what we can bring.”
    “Just your tools. Oh, and a flashlight. Do you have a working flashlight?”
    Michael chuckled. “Are you kidding? After what our wives went through earlier this year when that old flashlight of ours ran out of battery power out in the swamp, you can be sure I have a working flashlight. I’ll bet Maggie does, too.”
    “You think so?” Max asked.
    “Yeah, ask her,” Michael suggested. “I mean, no problem. I have one. Hey, we’ll be over as soon as the princess wakes up from her nap.” He grimaced. “Just a minute, Max, Savannah’s waving hand signals at me now. What, hon?”
    A few moments later, into the phone, he said, “She wonders if it’s okay if we bring Rags to play with his buddy Layla. She actually believes those two cats have some sort of special relationship.”
    “Of course, bring him. Layla is always intrigued by him.”
    ****
    Over an hour later, the Ivey family, including Rags, arrived at the Sheridan household.
    “Well, who’s this?” Savannah asked, upon seeing a black-and-white cat saunter into the living room.
    “That’s Jack,” Max said. “Haven’t you met Jack?”
    Savannah shook her head. “No, how long have you had him?”
    Michael reached down and petted the cat’s long fur, murmuring, “Hi Jack, old boy.”
    “You know him?” Savannah asked.
    He nodded. “Yeah, he came to see me at the clinic the other day.”
    “Why is he in here with your pets?” Savannah asked. “Are you keeping this one?”
    “I guess we are,” Margaret said. “He’s a real sweetheart—curious as all get-out. He’s more dog-like than cat-like…” she nodded toward Rags, “…like him, actually.” Then, turning to Max, she cried, “Oh no, Max! What have we done? We’ve brought in a cat like Rags!”
    Max grinned and reached out to run his hand over the willing cat. “He has a chronic kidney disease,” he explained. “Needs special care, sorta like Gizmo and Sammy. We can’t expect someone else to take on a cat with such challenges. So yeah, we’ll keep this one.”
    Savannah leaned over and enticed the cat in her direction. After petting him for a moment, she said, “He seems like a real sweetie. Love that cobby-body look.” She greeted the cat, “Nice to meet you, Jack. This is Rags. He came to play with Layla.” Just then, Rags walked boldly up to Jack and began sniffing him. Everyone watched as Jack sat back on his haunches and slapped playfully at Rags, then turned and took off running into the kitchen. Rags seemed to understand the invitation and raced after him.
    “Cute,” Margaret said. “No one else seems to have the energy to keep up with Jack. Looks