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For both of our sakes, I hoped the weather improved soon, but I knew better than to expect that of Blueberry Bay in early February.

Nan drove us to Cujo’s house, then grabbed him from the side yard and clipped on his leash.

“I expect you to do better today.” The disapproving muttsky narrowed his eerie eyes at me. “Yesterday’s performance was unacceptable, but I’m glad you’re here to try again. We’ll make a runner of you yet.”

“I don’t know why it’s so important to you,” I mumbled. “You don’t even know me.”

“Oh, but I know running,” Cujo answered with a chuckle as he kicked his legs back in the snow.

And just like that, we were off.

“So,” Nan said as we rounded the first block. “I still think there’s something fishy going on about that missing golden retriever.”

I knew I wouldn’t be able to run in peace. Even small miracles were denied me as of late, it seemed.

“What’s this now? A missing retriever?” Cujo asked, still running at breakneck speed.

I, for one, felt as though my shoulder might pop clear out of the socket as I tried to maintain my grip on Cujo’s leash and keep pace with both him and Nan.

“Yes,” I panted, already overexerted. “It’s our case.”

“Case?” He asked, his ears twitching and turning with interest.

“I’m a private investigator.”

Gasp.

“Me and my…”

Gasp.

“Cat.”

He snorted. “You can’t give a cat a job. Cat doesn’t care about getting it done. You need a dog. Luckily, I volunteer. You give me a job, and I’ll get it done. That’s what we working breeds do best. So tell me, how can I find this missing golden retriever?”

“What’s he saying?” Nan asked and I remembered that while she couldn’t make out the words, she could hear the barking and guttural noises uttered by Cujo and other animals as we conversed.

“He wants to help find Marco,” I explained, taking several deep gasps for air yet again.

“Perfect!” Nan replied in her normal, unfatigued voice. Here I was about to drop dead and she hadn’t even worked up a sweat.

“We’ll head straight to the mayor’s after we finish our run,” she decided aloud.

“No. Please no. I need to rest,” I begged. “It’s too much all at once. “

“There you go. Disappointing me again,” Cujo remarked with a soft growl. “Yes. You definitely need me on this case. I’m part husky, you know. And part Akita and even part Great Pyrenees. All the great strong breeds combined in one. That makes me the greatest.”

Wow, this dog had quite the ego. As much as he didn’t like cats, he actually reminded me of one.

I hesitated.“I didn’t say you were hired.”

It seemed to me having to look after Cujo would make the investigation more difficult.

“Of course he’s hired!” Nan cried merrily. “Good boy. You tell us how you want your payment, and we’ll make sure to get it to you. Do you like rawhides or bully sticks? What can we give you?”

I translated this to Cujo who sighed and said, “A job well done is payment enough, but it’s nice to be appreciated.”

He glanced over his shoulder and gave me a disapproving look before continuing.“Catch me up on the case so that I’m ready. I’ll solve this in record time. You’ll see.”

I found it quite difficult to relay the facts while continuing our horrible run—but somehow, just barely, I managed. When we finished forty minutes later, rather than yesterday’s thirty, I crumpled into the snow, content to die right there so I could finally get some rest.

“What are you doing?” Nan asked with a laugh.

Cujo was far less amused. “Get up! Now is not the time to be lazy. We can’t rest until the job is done.”

I made a snow angel, ignoring them both until my heart finally slowed to a steadier beat. Moderately refreshed, I got up and dutifully headed to the car

“Now that wasn’t so bad. Was it?” Nan asked as she ushered Cujo into the tiny back seat. It barely contained his one hundred pounds of fluffy bulk, but he didn’t seem to mind.

I laughed a bitter laugh and closed my eyes, leaning back on the headrest.

The sooner we solved this case, the sooner I could return to trying to get some shuteye. Hopefully by the time we returned home, Octo-Cat would have forgotten all about his demand for a new bedroom.

Then again, when had he ever forgotten about anything? Or at least anything that concerned him?

Chapter Thirteen

Nan, Cujo, and I arrived at the mayor’s house for the second time in two days. I had an uneasy feeling about snooping around, sorely hoping Nan didn’t plan on breaking and entering today as well.

We’d been lucky enough to explain our unexpected presence yesterday, but if Mark caught us today, he would surely figure out that we were investigating him just as much as the disappearance of his dog.

“Is that the mark?” Cujo asked, panting heavily beside me. He’d stuffed his giant slobbery face between the two front seats and over the armrest. Funny that he didn’t get winded at all during the run, but this new excitement of the investigation had his tongue lolling freely from his enormousmaw.

I scanned the horizon just in time to see the mayor pulling away in his luxury sedan.