Literally Murder (A Black Cat Bookshop Mystery) (26 page)

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Jake said with a wave of her hand. “You can mail me my good conduct medal. Anyhow, I’m sure Hamlet’s pretty pleased that he’ll still be the lord of the manor back home.”

“I’m not so sure. I think he rather liked Trixie.”

“Well, either way, it wasn’t meant to be. So let’s stop yapping about it and head back to the condo.”

Darla nodded and cranked the engine, and then glanced at her watch. “It’s almost lunchtime,” she said as she pulled out of the lot. “How about we call Nattie and see if she wants to go to that Cuban restaurant again?”

“Here’s a better idea. How about we hit one of those surf bars we saw on the water-taxi tour? They all have outdoor seating, so Hamlet should be allowed in.”

Darla considered that a moment and then shook her head. “It’s the weekend. Too many people, and the music will be too loud. Hamlet would be miserable.”

“I suppose we don’t have to take him with—
ouch!
”

Darla looked past Hamlet to see Jake rubbing the side of her head. “What happened?”

“I think Hamlet just slapped me,” she said in disbelief.

Darla had paused at a stop sign, so she had time to shoot a stern glance at the feline. He sat crouched with his paws tucked innocently against his chest, his attention seemingly on the road ahead, but as if feeling Darla’s gaze on him, he turned his head and gave her a slow blink.

Darla stifled a snicker and returned her attention to the road. “Hamlet says he didn’t do it,” she told her friend. “You must have gotten your hair caught in the seatbelt or something.”

“Yeah, it was ‘or something,’ all right,” Jake muttered, but she was smiling as she said it.

Darla thought for a moment, and then said, “I’ve got an idea. How about we give Tino a call? He can haul all four of us around town in his taxi for a couple of hours. Of course, the first stop has to be at his sister’s bakery.”

“Good idea, we’ll need a couple of bags of Cuban pastries for sustenance,” Jake agreed. “And we can always stop somewhere for Cuban coffee, too.”

“How about we take Nattie to the surf shop and see about signing her up for a lesson?” Darla suggested, getting into the spirit of things. “And after that, we can have Tino take us to one of those bars, and Hamlet can snooze in the taxi while we have piña coladas or something. What do you think?”

“Sounds like fun,” Jake said as she turned to the cat. “Hamlet, are you in?”

Hamlet roused himself to a seated position again, balancing like a pro on the console. And then he raised one paw. Darla and Jake exchanged glances before bursting out laughing.

“Fist bump!” they chorused, touching knuckles over Hamlet’s head before each lightly brushing the cat’s paw.

“Looks like we’re all bros now,” Darla exclaimed in triumph, putting her hands back on the wheel. “I can’t wait to tell Robert. What do you say, Hammy?”

Hamlet merely blinked again, and then purred.