The Extortion Cat-astrophe: A Beatrice Young Cozy Cat Mystery (Beatrice Young Cozy Cat Mysteries Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

finger at them sternly. “You both stick close to me, you hear? No aimless cat-wandering from either of you today.”
    Then she grabbed her two humans. “Alright, look out for any booths that list people with the last name ‘Parsons.’ Not you, Zoe. You just eat. And try to think of an amazing recipe to crush Abigail Freedman.”
    As it turned out, the Waitsfield Fall Carnival was so much fun that Beatrice almost forgot that she was supposed to be solving a case. There were food booths with turkey legs and apple crisp; craft stands with local jewelry, pottery, and paintings; a performance from the local ballet school; an oxen pull; a bluegrass band and more.
    Best of all was the pie-judging competition. Beatrice eagerly poured over the offerings on display: blueberry custard, strawberry white chocolate, and a cinnamon bun pecan pie. She was incredibly impressed with the offerings and exchanged crust tips and filling ideas with the contestants on hand. Whipping her smartphone out, she took snaps of everything, hoping inspiration for her own competition entry would strike later.
    It wasn’t until Beatrice got caught up at a local soap vendor’s booth that she remembered to ask leading questions about Tony Parsons. The older lady manning the booth had a good ten years on Beatrice and was sweet as sugar. She made all the soaps herself and what a variety there was: lemon rosemary, chocolate mint, and oatmeal vanilla to start.
    Beatrice had a real weakness for any homemade bath and body products and she and the seller, Rachel, quickly struck up a friendly conversation. She realized that Rachel was probably her busybody equivalent in Waitsfield and therefore the best person to ask about local gossip.
    “I hate to bring up unpleasant things,” Beatrice said cautiously. “But I know Tony Parsons is from here. It’s been all over the papers in Ashbrook. You see, I’m quite the mystery and true crime reader so I couldn’t help following the case.”
    Rachel’s clear, sharp blue eyes lit up. “I completely understand. I’ve got a shelf of paperback mysteries like you wouldn’t believe, including everything by P.D. James.”
    She leaned in conspiratorially. “I knew Tony Parsons was up to no good for years. Glad they finally caught him in the act. Though let me tell you, his no good family is just as bad and none of them are locked up. I guess we can’t get everything we want, can we?”
    Beatrice put down the bar of coconut lime soap she was sniffing and leaned in too. “You don’t say? So Tony wasn’t the black sheep then?”
    Her new friend shook her head gravely. “Absolutely not. He and his brother were as thick as thieves growing up—still were—up until they put Tony in the slammer. Did everything together. They even had kids the same age.”
    “Really?”
    “Tony didn’t have custody of his child but his older brother, Rick, lived with his daughter. Mother took off. Tony was like a second father to that girl. Only good thing I can say about him.”
    Beatrice leaned against the counter. What if the toddler that Tony brought over to Nathan’s all those years ago wasn’t his child but Rick’s? It was possible that Nathan had got them confused, or even that Tony had all-out lied to get the money.
    “Where’s Rick now?” Beatrice asked as she fingered a particularly fragrant bar of orange clove soap.
    “Oh he lives with his mom out on Falls Road. She helps him with his daughter. He drives a school bus but he must have another source of revenue. Everyone knows that girl always has more toys than she can use. And he drives a brand new car. Sound suspicious to you?”
    Beatrice contented herself with a non-committal “hmm” and exchanged email addresses with her new friend. She then went in search of Matthew and Zoe, who were watching the oxen pull.
    Zoe was cheering on the losing team and Mathew was trying to pump her for information about her new boyfriend. Beatrice dragged Matthew aside on the pretext