Page 15 of Purrfectly Outfoxed

‘Good morning to you too, beautiful. Sleep well?’

‘I’d have slept better if you weren’t broadcasting your self-satisfaction like a foghorn.’

‘Can’t help it. Last night was... enlightening.’

‘Last night was nothing.’

‘Sure it was. That’s why you practically melted when I?—’

‘Finish that sentence and I’ll claw your eyes out.’

I chuckle, stretching in my basket. God, even her threats are hot. There’s something wrong with me.

I’m about to send back another teasing comment when I notice something off.

The laundry room door is open.

Not wide open, but cracked. Just enough that I can see into the hallway.

I know I didn’t leave it open. I specifically made sure everything was exactly as it was when Bea locked me in here last night.

‘Tabitha? Why is this door open?’

Silence.

‘Tabitha?’

Still nothing, but I feel something through our connection. Something that feels suspiciously like... satisfaction.

‘What did you do?’

Then I hear it—a woman’s gasp from the living area.

“Oh, my goodness! What happened here?”

Bea.

I’m on my feet in an instant, racing out of the laundry room and into the living room.

And freeze.

The place is destroyed.

The couch cushions are on the floor. A potted plant has been knocked over, dirt spilling across the hardwood. The throw pillows have been strewn about, with stuffing everywhere. The curtains are half-off their rods. And in the kitchen, I can see the remnants of what looks like the entire contents of the trash can scattered across the floor.

Bea stands in the middle of it all, hand pressed to her chest, looking absolutely horrified.

“Oh no. Oh no, no, no.”

And there, sitting primly on the kitchen counter, tail wrapped around her paws, is Tabitha.

She looks at me with those yellow-green eyes, and I swear to god, she’s smirking.

‘You didn’t.’

‘I absolutely did.’

‘You framed me?!’