Primer and Punishment


 Contents
 
 Title Page
 Copyright Notice
 Dedication
 Acknowledgments
 Chapter 1. All Decked Out
 Chapter 2. Slips and Slides
 Chapter 3. A New Four-Legged Friend
 Chapter 4. On the Hook
 Chapter 5. Air Repair
 Chapter 6. Something Fishy Is Going On
 Chapter 7. This Calls for Kitty Cuddles
 Chapter 8. Fish Food
 Chapter 9. Capsized Cat
 Chapter 10. Hook, Line, and Sinker
 Chapter 11. Smoke Signals
 Chapter 12. Too Little, Too Late
 Chapter 13. Coincidence or Conspiracy?
 Chapter 14. Cat Toy
 Chapter 15. A Little Birdie Told Me …
 Chapter 16. The Electronic Enemy
 Chapter 17. Confessions and Confusion
 Chapter 18. Decked Out for Dinner
 Chapter 19. Rock-A-Bye Baby
 Chapter 20. Moral Dilemmas and Obligations
 Chapter 21. Working Behind the Scenes
 Chapter 22. Home Sweet Home
 Chapter 23. April Showers
 Chapter 24. Splish-Slash
 Chapter 25. An Alarming Day
 Chapter 26. Lonely Kitty
 Chapter 27. Cases and Claims
 Chapter 28. Apps
 Chapter 29. Making Waves
 Chapter 30. Wet Pursuit
 Chapter 31. Family Reunion
 Chapter 32. Causes for Celebration
 Chapter 33. Fresh Catch
 Chapter 34. Moves and Mews
 Chapter 35. Like A Diamond in the Sky
 Recipes
 Other St. Martin’s Paperbacks Titles by Diane Kelly
 About the Author
 Newsletter Sign-up
 Copyright
 
 
 
 Guide
 
 Cover
 Title Page
 Dedication
 Acknowledgments
 CHAPTER 1. ALL DECKED OUT
 Contents
 Copyright
 Title Page
 
 
 
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 Begin Reading
 Table of Contents
 About the Author
 Copyright Page
 
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 The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author’s copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com/piracy.
 
 
 To my father, Paul R. O’Brien Jr., a pilot and captain. See you on the other side of the horizon.
 
 
 
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 
 I am fortunate to work with such a talented and tireless team at St. Martin’s Press. I appreciate you all! Thanks to my editor, Nettie Finn, for your insightful suggestions on my stories. Thanks to Executive Managing Editor John Rounds for leading the charge. Much appreciation to Sara Beth Haring, Sarah Haeckel, and Allison Ziegler for all your hard work on marketing and publicity. Thanks, also, to artists Danielle Christopher and Mary Anne Lasher for the adorable cover for this book.
 Thanks to my agent, Helen Breitwieser, for keeping me under contract and doing what I love.
 An ongoing debt of gratitude goes to my fabulous friend Paula Highfill, who suggested 
 
 
 CHAPTER 1
 ALL DECKED OUT
 
 
 WHITNEY WHITAKER
 On a Saturday morning in mid-April, I sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen of the cottage my cousin Buck and I had rehabbed a while back, the place I now called home. We’d originally planned to flip the cottage but, due to some unforeseeable circumstances (a body in the flower bed), we’d been unable to sell the property for a reasonable price and decided to hang on to it for the time being. I’d happily moved out of the cramped converted pool house behind my parents’ home and into the much roomier cottage, which allowed me to stretch both my legs