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

was arrested for holding up an electronic store and locked up.”
    Nate took a deep breath. “Not long after, I started getting the emails and letters. Someone else was demanding cash. They wouldn’t reveal their name, talk on the phone, or meet in person. I tried to shake them off but then one night a guy in a mask stopped me in the driveway and held me at gunpoint, told me if I didn’t pay up he was going to make my life hell.”
    Matthew rubbed his temples. “Man Nate, I wish I’d known about this earlier.”
    Nathan shrugged helplessly. “I know. I wanted to tell you and go to the cops so many times. But then I thought, what kind of fool allows himself to be extorted for ten years ? And if anyone else knew, maybe the guy would attack me. I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking straight.”
    “What’s important is that you told us now,” Beatrice said, trying for a reassuring smile. “We will get to the bottom of this, Nate. Do you have any idea who this person could be?”
    Nathan tapped his fingertips together. “I imagine it must be someone close to Tony. Someone who knew what he was up to and decided to take advantage of his absence. He has parents, siblings, cousins, friends, and acquaintances he knows through dealing. It could be any one of them.”
    Beatrice nodded. “Well, that’s a start. I’ll need you to give me all your correspondence. I’ll go to Tony’s town and do a little digging about who he was close to. See what I can find out. And we have to meet with Sheriff Roy…”
    “No!” Nathan said, leaping out of his chair. His bloodshot eyes bulged out of his head. “I can’t involve the cops. When you see the letters you’ll understand. All the things he threatened to do to me and anyone else if I went to the cops. This person is dangerous , Bee.”
    Beatrice took a deep breath. She and the sheriff were already on unsteady ground. He tolerated her sleuthing and, after closing the local counterfeiting case, even seemed to have a grudging respect for her. She didn’t want to lose that by shutting him out of a matter that was rightfully his to solve.
    Still, it was Nathan’s life and she had to respect his wishes. She looked over at Matthew and tried to read his expression. He looked worried; she reached for his hand.
    “We will have to involve the sheriff at some point,” she said softly. “If these people are really that dangerous, I don’t see Matt and I bagging him and taking him to jail ourselves.”
    “Didn’t you just hold somebody at gunpoint?” Nate asked hopefully, his eyes meeting hers. “In the parking lot by the trail…”
    Were these the kind of rumors circulating in Ashbrook—that she was holding people up at gunpoint? Beatrice decided she would have to worry about that later.
    “Uh, no. Hamish pushed a gun out of someone’s reach and I grabbed it.”
    Just then the basement door creaked open dramatically and there was a series of thumps as someone came down the carpeted stairs. Nathan leapt up and made for the baseball bat resting by the TV.
    “Murrr-OW?” said Hamish, sitting at the foot of the stairs, looking quite pleased with himself. Lucky was beside him.
    Nathan froze, bat in hand. “How did they open the kitchen door? And then the basement door…”
    “These two are as clever as raccoons,” said Beatrice proudly. You’d think they had opposable thumbs. I think that’s our cue to leave.”
    She scooped up the giant Maine Coon. He was pure muscle with an enormous fluffy coat that made him look even bigger than he really was. He struggled in her arms, growling furiously, his eyes locked on Lucky who was sniffing around the room. Nathan stepped away from them both and Matthew went to scoop up the black cat, who nimbly darted out of his grasp.
    Lucky dove into a corner and then came out holding a bright orange plastic ring. He looked pleased as punch as he did so. With a frustrated yowl, Hamish managed to disentangle himself from Beatrice’s grasp and