Cats in Provence

F. Kristi R.

Description

The third book in the Inca book series finds our super cat detective embroiled in the world of art thieves. Inca and her family are awakened one night by a disturbing phone call; someone has stolen a painting from Aunt Florence! Now, Missy and the cats must go to Provence to help find the culprit and get back the stolen painting before the opening night of the art exhibition. They'll need all the help they can get to recover the painting and clear Aunt Florence's name. Inca will have to call her friends, old and new, to help solve this case. But when the case gets more confusing, will they still find the culprit? Or is Inca in over her head? Read all about the tantalizing tale of Inca and company solving a mystery in Provence, France. The Inca book series is founded on the escapades of a feisty Siberian kitty who considers herself a great sleuth. Inca the Siberian kitty, the main character, exemplifies the intelligence and cunning of our feline friends, and is a sure-footed and strong-willed leader. Readers will surely admire Inca's grace and wit as they follow the detective cat's adventures in these unexpected tales of redemption. This book series should be read by children who have a natural love for animals. The book is also great for cat and dog lovers, who will enjoy seeing the personalities of their favorite members of the animal kingdom shining through.

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Date de parution: 30 avril 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528953252
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

About the Author
R. F. Kristi, the author of the Inca book series, lives in France. She holds a doctorate in economic development and has traveled and lived in many countries around the world. She is fluent in English and French.
With a deep commitment to animal rescue efforts, Kristi has a keen interest and love for animals. She created the Inca Cat series for younger readers up to age 8 or 12, and for animal lovers.





Copyright Information
Copyright © R. F. Kristi (2019)
The right of R. F. Kristi to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781788232678 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781788232685 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781788232692 (Kindle e-book)
ISBN 9781528953252 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2019)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ


Acknowledgements
Edited by John Fox
Illustrations by Jorje Vanelle


1

Late at night, we were woken up by the sharp tone of Missy’s mobile phone piercing the midnight peace. Missy woke up and then buried her head back under the pillows to avoid getting up. I knew she was exhausted from working long hours at our cheese-shop-cum-restaurant.
The shrill ringing stopped after a few minutes and all was still once more. But my sixth sense had picked up some vibes and I could not go back to sleep.
I slowly raised myself from the bottom of Missy’s bed and surveyed our bedroom. Cara, my Siamese sister, was cuddled next to Missy, all rolled up in a ball. Fromage was in the little basket on a low table, sound asleep in his blanket. Charlotte, our adopted hamster, was also happily snoozing deep in Fromage’s shawl with only her little ears peeping out.
Shaking the uneasy feeling settling over me like an unwanted visitor, I crept out of the room and padded to the kitchen to help myself to a midnight snack. Food always comforted me, but this time I could not shake off the uneasy feeling. No sooner had I started chomping my favorite croquettes than the mobile phone started ringing again, buzzing like an irritating gnat.
A feeling that something was just not right entered my head again, and I dashed upstairs and jumped on Missy’s body to wake her up. As I suspected, she did just that and reached over to grab the phone. Seeing that the caller was Aunt Florence, she whispered, “Why is Aunt Florence calling this late? I just spoke to her this morning.” She quickly switched on the lamp and answered the phone.
I could not hear what was being said, but I felt that the news was not good. I saw Missy tense and ask Aunt Florence to take a deep breath and repeat what happened once again. Sleepyhead Missy was wide awake, her voice filled with shock and disbelief.
“Aunt Florence, take a sleeping pill with some hot tea,” Missy said. “I am going to speak to Solo as soon as it is daylight. Don’t worry, we are there for you.”

My ears pricked up at the mention of Solo. Solo is the famous detective who lives in the adjoining mansion. I was impatient to know what was going on. As soon as Missy put down the phone, I leapt onto her chest.
“What happened?” I purred, gazing into Missy’s eyes using my telepathic powers.
I have been born with the ability to communicate telepathically with humans. I am a kitty with several talents, but I consider my telepathic powers of communication with humans to be the greatest gift I possess.
The others were all awake by now, crowding around Missy on the bed. The alarm in Missy’s voice had jolted everyone from their slumber. As I sent wave after wave mentally to Missy, urging her to let us know what was going on, they all looked on with worried faces wondering what had made our easygoing Missy so distraught.
Missy started stroking me and explaining what had happened. Aunt Florence had been robbed of a valuable painting that she had been restoring for her client. By profession Aunt Florence was a well-respected restorer of valuable paintings.
The painting was the property of the owner of the chateau, Monsieur Du Valle, who lived next to her own cottage. She frequently worked for Monsieur Du Valle, restoring his valuable collection of old paintings piece by piece.
Apparently, upon discovering that the masterpiece was missing, she had called Monsieur Du Valle and the local police station (or gendarmerie as it is known in France). The police had visited and so had Monsieur Du Valle, who was in a terrible state. There was to be a major exposition in the gallery of the chateau, and the stolen painting was going to be the star of the exhibition.
Our household was comprised of myself, Inca, the leader of the troupe, a good-looking Siberian kitty-cat, even though I say so myself; my gorgeous Siamese sister, Cara; Fromage, my tomboy brother who was the cheese connoisseur of the family; and Charlotte, our pint-sized hamster who was an apt chess player. We all owned Missy, the energetic lovable human who was our staunchest ally and dearest friend.
A few months ago, we had moved from Paris to London, and Missy had opened her second cheese shop and restaurant. Fromage was the mascot of our cheese venture. He took pride that the business was thriving under his watchful eye.
He never tires of informing us that, “My cheese shop is prospering day-by-day,” or “You should have seen how many customers came into my cheese shop today.”
Sometimes Fromage forgot that Missy and her two French partners worked very hard too. One would think, listening to his daily bulletins every evening when he returned with Missy from the cheese shop, that he singlehandedly brought the business to its current popular state in the neighborhood of Kensington.
Missy looked at the alarm clock by her bed. “Let’s try to get some sleep. It’s only 3 a.m. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.” I knew that Missy was anxious, but she was also a positive person and I knew she already had a plan to help Aunt Florence.
Trusting her judgment, we all curled up and drifted off to sleep.



2

The next morning, Missy called her friends and co-partners to say that she would be coming in late to the shop. Soon after, Missy placed a call to Solo next door and asked if she could come over to discuss the matter. Solo was also very fond of Aunt Florence, who had once been his neighbor and whom he had known since childhood.
Solo also promised to alert our neighbors, Raoul and his wife whom everyone called the Señora. This couple were Polo’s human guardians and they also considered Aunt Florence a dear friend. Polo was a small Pekinese who lived in the mansion next door to Solo. He was a very good friend of ours, a brave little dog, very affectionate but sensitive about his small stature. Raoul had recently been found in a remote village in the Himalayas after a mountaineering accident by Solo, Terrance and Hobbs—as recounted in the story, Christmas Cats .
Polo is also part of Inca & Company, the detective agency that I head. The other members of the detective team, in addition to Cara and Fromage, are Monk and Terrance, who live in the large manor house owned by Solo with his manservant Hobbs.
Monk is a large and handsome Blue Russian dog with long slim legs and large golden-green eyes. He is rather portly but elegant and intelligent. His best buddy is Terrance, a huge and powerful Golden Retriever. Terrance is the specialist and most experienced member of our detective team, as his main job is detective top dog to Solo.
Originally, I had been concerned that Terrance, being the more skilled and experienced detective, would mind that an amateur like me was chosen as the team leader. But I was misguided in thinking so. Terrance was very good natured and had not minded at all about letting me take the reins. He had a typical doggy nature, I found out. Loyal and uncomplicated, unlike us cats who were more mysterious and profound. Probably far more mysterious than profound.

While Missy was busy on the phone, I had already gathered Cara, Fromage and Charlotte. “Here is a very important case for Inca & Company. Fromage, go quickly and alert Monk and Terrance that we will be over shortly as I’m sure Raoul and the Señora will be accompanied by Polo when they come. We will have the whole team altogether to listen to what is being said and decide how we can help to solve this case.”
Almost before I finished my instructions, Fromage disappeared, looking very important indeed. Breakfast today was a quick affair as we waited impatiently for Missy to dress so we could go to Solo’s manor next door.
Despite my alarm at Aunt Florence’s situation, I could not help feeling a tingling of anticipation. I was ready for a new adventure. I felt an old stirring of excitement, the feeling of going hunting. Another mystery to solve—yes please, please, please! Another opportunity to lead my team and solve a crime, in this case to benefit our beloved Aunt Florence.
When we walked over to Solo’s place, Raoul, the Señora and Polo were already there. We found them seated at the dining table being served breakfast by Hobbs. Monk and Terrance were under the dining table with Polo, and we took our place besides them to be able to eavesdrop and listen closely to what was to be discussed by the