The Tail of the Secret Identity: A Beatrice Young Cozy Cat Mystery (Beatrice Young Cozy Cat Mysteries Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

scene he concocted. Skipped town with the investment,. And here’s another…”
    He stopped and looked up. “Why did all these people give him their money? These incidents happened all over the south. He didn’t seem to stay anywhere for long. Yet he got these perfect strangers to trust him.”
    “You haven’t met Bernie,” Beatrice said. “He was a charismatic guy. Always organized fun runs for charity and ran in them too. Promoted the heck out of Ashbrook and brought in investment and tourists. Went door to door and talked to people. I’ve never heard anyone say a negative thing about him. Well, except for his secretary, who said he was awfully private. Big trust issues.”
    “Yeah well I can imagine why when he had a rap sheet like this. The question is how he managed to evade us for so long. I mean, he was right under our noses .”
    The sheriff rubbed his head. “The press is going to have a field day with this one. Oh boy oh boy.”
    “You notified next-of-kin yet?” the detective asked, leaning way back in his creaky chair, rubbing his ruddy neck.
    “Doesn’t have any, except for his wife.”
    “Not according to this profile. He’s got a foster brother in Florida. You’re going to want to call him.”

8
    The sheriff drove and Beatrice managed the call to the brother, Noah Sanders.
    “You say he’s in New Hampshire ?” said the gruff male voice over the phone with just a hint of Florida twang.
    “That’s right. He was found dead this morning. I’m so sorry.”
    There was a brief moment of silence.
    “And you say he was the mayor of your small town. What’s it called?”
    “Ashbrook.”
    There was a dark chuckle over the line. “Well, that sounds like John. He was a man who knew how to run a scam. Doesn’t surprise me at all that he managed to scam an entire town.”
    “He didn’t scam us,” Beatrice said. “At least not that I know of. People loved him here. He was a good mayor.”
    “Well, I’ll be hanged. I expect you’ll want me to come up. I have a lot to tell you folks and it’s best done in person.”
    Beatrice’s heart leapt. “Can you?”
    “I’ll be there later today. I’ve been waiting for news of John for years. I lost track of him after he borrowed a ton of money from me and never paid me back. Took my car too.”
    “It wouldn’t happen to be a blue-gray Ford Escort, would it?”
    “The very one.”
    “Well, we have your car too.”
    “Even more reason to pay a visit to your neck of the woods. I’ll call you when I’m there.”
    Beatrice hung up the phone. “Noah’s flying up to New Hampshire today.”
    “Good thing too,” the sheriff said. “I expect he’ll have a lot more to tell us than Nancy. Unless she knew about his past.”
    “I’m not sure,” Beatrice said. “Bernie and Nancy didn’t seem especially close. She was his prize. I doubt he confided in her.”
    “Well, she’s the first person I’m going to talk to when we get back, you can bet on that.”
    About an hour or so later they pulled into the driveway of Nancy and Bernie Sullivan. They lived in a gorgeous brick Tudor house just outside town. Tucked into a stand of blue spruce trees at the end of a manicured gravel driveway, the house was surrounded by perennial gardens boasting late fall blooms. A double car garage sat to one side.
    The sheriff parked and they rapped tentatively on the door. Janice answered the door, looking perfectly pulled together, though her expression was worried.
    “I expect you’re here to see Nancy,” she said. “Come in. She’s in the living room.”
    Nancy sat collapsed on one of her elegant beige sofa. Her auburn hair was messy and her face streaked with mascara. Out of deference to her, Beatrice told the cats firmly to wait in the hall. She knew the sight of them would only upset her more.
    “Mrs. Sullivan,” the sheriff said, hat in hand. “Can we speak to you? It’s quite urgent.”
    She waved them in distractedly, then frowned when she caught