The Cat Who Smelled Murder #1 ( Skyvalley Cozy Mystery Cat Series)

Chapter 1-She Doesn't Want to Be Alone

Emmy looked at herself in the mirror and fixed one of her pearl earrings in place. She never really liked dressing up like she was going to a convention of some sort, but tonight was a special night. So special, in fact, that her father, Troy Byrne, decided to hold a party, a far cry from his spending time alone with Audrina phase, now that they could still be considered newlyweds.

            He's actually signed a new business deal, one about selling calligraphy pens and materials. It's a hobby that Emmy's always been interested in, and she was happy her father was back on track again. It has been a while after the whole Lena McMahon fiasco, anyway.

            You see, their lives changed dramatically over a year ago when Emmy came back from Paris. Apparently, Lena McMahon, former Chief Police Officer of the Sky Valley Jail, and Tryke Miller, Troy's former business rival, held a grudge against Troy. Lena has been in love with him ever since they were in high school, and she wasn't able to get over the fact that Troy married Emmy's mother. From then on, she plotted revenge against him, and when she realized that Tryke was also in love with Emmy's mother and hated Troy for being able to get everything he wanted, the two of them decided to ruin Troy's life—and Emmy's, too.

            Because Tryke's daughter, Annabeth, died because of his evil plans, he became more determined to ruin Troy. In fact, a few more people died in the process, including Daniel's ex-girlfriend, Ruby; Annabeth's husband, Matt; and even Ruby's husband, Edward. It was all so crazy until Emmy figured out the truth and drove Lena away from Sky Valley. Since then, her father hasn't really ventured into business anymore, but today was different.

            Emmy feels like it's a good time to start anew, especially because life had been pretty eventful in the past couple of months. Sometimes, she still couldn't believe that she was able to help a ghost named Lucy, a 15-year-old girl who got her whole life thwarted. Now, she feels that she's finally ready to live a life that's more "normal," without thinking about a lot. She needs it, too, especially because she and Dan are now parents to a baby girl named Charlize.

            Just then, Daniel entered the room and hugged Emmy from behind. "Is my lovely wife ready?"

            Emmy grinned and faced Daniel before kissing him on the lips. "You look sharp yourself." She said, and knew that Daniel really did. He looked amazing in his black suit, with matching silver-gray tie.

            "Don't want to embarrass Troy, you know." He quipped. "This is his comeback in the world of business."

            "I know." Emmy smiled. "I'm really nervous, though...I mean, I hope everything goes well. I want everything to go well."

            "And there you go worrying again," Daniel said and squeezed her hand. "Everything's going to be okay." He said.

            They shared a smile and walked hand in hand to the other room where their daughter, Charlize, and her babysitter, Bella, were staying. Dan and Emmy thought that Bella's a really nice, responsible young girl of seventeen. She was always just quiet, and would smile at them nicely. She never makes Charlize cry, and Charlize obviously loves her a lot, too.

            Emmy met Bella while she was in her Fashion Studio one day. She often brought Charlize to work back then and when Bella offered to babysit, she agreed. Of course, she looked at Bella's credentials, too, but the girl really had it in her. And Emmy saw how caring she was with Charlize, so now, she and Dan feel confident to let her take care of the baby when they had to work or go somewhere, just like tonight.

            "So, you all right, Bella?" Emmy asked.

            "Yes, everything's good." Bella smiled, and Emmy thought that if she actually had a sister, she'd want Bella to be that girl. She was just so charming, but Wendy, their 1-year-old Maine Coon, didn't really like her so much. This was unusual, Emmy thought, because Wendy liked almost everyone—but maybe there really are some people whom cats would never be fond of.

            "Don't forget to call us if anything, okay?" Emmy told her. "And, don't forget to give her milk before nine, she usually gets hungry...or needy," she laughed and went on, "by that time."

            "We'll be okay, don't worry." Bella smiled. "You guys enjoy your night."

            "We'll be back before you know it." Emmy smiled at her and just as they were about to leave the house, their cat, Wendy, started to meow so loud that Emmy and Dan were confused.

            "You fed her, right?" Emmy asked Daniel.

            "Yeah, she just ate a few minutes ago. There's still some food in her bowl."

            "But what's the problem, Wendy?" Emmy asked as she scooped Wendy from the floor. Wendy was still meowing. Mehwww-mehwwwww-mehwwwww. "What is it, girl?"

            "I feel like she doesn't want to be alone," Daniel said and carried Wendy. She instantly purred. "See?" He said. "The 'I want to be your baby' vibes are strong!"

            Emmy laughed as she petted Wendy. "Honey, we have to go."

            Meooooowrrrrrrr!  Wendy uttered loudly as if saying "no."

            "What do we do now?" Emmy asked. "You think we should bring her with us?"

            "Yeah, why not?"

            Emmy pursed her lips then petted Wendy. "Will you be a good girl?"

            Wendy answered in the form of purring.

            "I guess that's your answer." Daniel smiled.

            "Oh well, come on, then," Emmy said and carried Wendy, not minding her fur on her dress.

            Daniel kissed Charlize whom Bella was carrying. "We'll see you both in a few." He smiled and helped Emmy as they both went out of the house.

            It feels like it's going to be a good night, Emmy thought. Or was she wishing for too much?

Cats are some of the best creatures on earth. They're smart, interesting, and well...they could be manipulative, too.

Did you know that cats can adjust their meows and purrs to how they want their "humans" to see them? Yep, they're smart like that—especially when there's a baby in the house and they feel like their role in your life is threatened. This is because they can actually mimic the sounds they hear, especially the sounds a baby makes. This way, they get your attention right away and you could easily give them what they want.

Pretty nasty, huh?

Check out the next chapter in 2 weeks time!

If you want to read the whole story now, please check out this link:-

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XJ6NGKI