The cop who investigates seems less concerned with solving a homicide than with Catherine’s violation of an antiquated animal ordinance rendering TNVR illegal. The following evening, when he arrests Catherine for violating the said ordinance, and then holds her as a suspect in the murder, DeeLo vows to prove Catherine’s innocence and get the ridiculous law changed. How hard could it be? She enlists her boyfriend/boss and the resources of his law office. Her quest for justice and legislative change leads her to high-profile members of the community, some of whom have motives for murder.
Why Pecan Point? Mostly because of Barry Barton, my new boyfriend. Not only did Barry help me find a memory care home in Pecan Point for my mother, who has Alzheimer’s, but he gave me a job at his family law firm, Barton & Barton. Even though I have no legal background. However, my recent experiences with divorce and conservatorship have taught me more about the law than I ever wanted to know.
Not everyone is thrilled to have me at the firm, where I’m privy to the business of Pecan Point’s most prominent residents. Barry’s ex-wife and ex-partner, Victoria, can’t stay away from our office. Even though she dumped him for one of the Pecan County commissioners, she doesn’t want Barry moving on with me. And Jane, our receptionist, remains loyal to Victoria and gives me the evil eye whenever she sees me with Barry. Luckily, I have the boss on my side.
However, things haven’t gone smoothly for me in other ways. A few weeks ago, I was celebrating a friend’s engagement and stayed at the party longer than I should have. I knew better than to drink that second glass of wine and then try to drive myself home. Maybe if I hadn’t worn my new stilettos, I could have passed the field sobriety test. And flirting with the cop who objected to my rolling stop was definitely the wrong move.
As a first offender, I was sentenced to community service and chose to do it with the Pecan Point Humane Society. I picked that charity because I’ve always loved animals. Playing with furry pets seemed more appealing than picking up trash along the highway.
Rather than have me cuddle cute kittens and puppies, they assigned me to the TNVR program that helps control the overpopulation of stray and feral cats. TNVR stands for Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Return the cat to the location where it was humanely caught. At the spay/neuter clinic where we take them, the veterinarian clips the cat’s left ear so we know it’s already been fixed. Saves everyone a lot of time if the cat ever wanders into a trap again.
The woman I’m helping, Catherine Foster, is a real piece of work. She’s proud to admit she likes feral cats more than human beings and doesn’t hide her disdain for my status as a “community service volunteer.” To make matters worse, the first night we went trapping together, we were led to the strangled body of the local bookstore owner by her cat.
Instead of letting me call 9-1-1 like a normal person, Catherine snatched my phone and insisted we leave the scene. She didn’t want to get involved because she was afraid she’d be blamed.
But we didn’t get away. Officer Friendly, the same cop who gave me my D.U.I., pulled up just as we were leaving. Apparently, he and Cat have a history.
She quickly spun a tale about how we’d just found the body and were headed to the police station to report it. He thought we were lying and told us to leave. When I told Barry what happened, he couldn’t believe a cop wouldn’t check out the scene and make us stick around to give statements.
Officer Friendly is probably the only person who has read Pecan County’s outdated animal ordinance, and now he’s using it to arrest Cat Foster. The ordinance doesn’t distinguish between “pet cats” and “feral cats,” which are not owned by anyone. According to the ordinance, if you trap a cat, house it overnight, and then take it to the vet the next day to be sterilized and vaccinated, you own it. So, when it has recovered from the anesthesia and you release it back to its outdoor home, you violate the county’s animal abandonment clause. You’ve also violated the leash law because in Pecan County, pet cats must be kept indoors or on a leash. When Catherine releases an ear-tipped cat who went into her trap accidentally, Officer Friendly catches her in the act and arrests her on the spot for animal abandonment.
Once she’s in jail, the police want to question Cat about the bookstore owner’s murder. She may be surly, but Catherine Foster is no killer; I’m her alibi. If the cops would only listen to me and pay attention to the evidence I found…
The only reason Cat’s sitting in jail is because of that stupid animal ordinance. It shouldn’t be a big deal to make the changes necessary to recognize TNVR as a legal activity. We just need to modify the definition of “owner,” add a few terms like “community cat” and “community cat caretaker,” and exempt these from the laws governing owners. I’m sure Barry can help me with the legalese, and then we’ll present our proposal to the Board of Commissioners for approval. How hard can it be?
About the Author:
Sharon Marchisello is the author of the DeeLo Myer cozy mystery series from Level Best Books, starting with Trap, Neuter, Die (2024). Her two previous mysteries were published by Sunbury Press: Going Home (2014) and Secrets of the Galapagos (2019). She is an active member of Sisters in Crime. She contributed short stories to the anthologies Shhhh…Murder! (Darkhouse Books, 2018) Finally Home (Bienvenue Press, 2019) and Smoking Guns (Wildside Press, 2024). Her personal finance book Live Well, Grow Wealth (2018) was originally published as Live Cheaply, Be Happy, Grow Wealthy, an e-book on Smashwords. Sharon has published travel articles, book reviews, corporate training manuals, and a personal finance blog called Countdown to Financial Fitness. She grew up in Tyler, Texas, and earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Houston in French and English. She studied for a year in Tours, France, on a Rotary scholarship and then moved to Los Angeles to pursue her Masters in Professional Writing at the University of Southern California. Retired from a 27-year career with Delta Air Lines, she lives in Peachtree City, Georgia, doing volunteer work for the Fayette Humane Society, the Fayette County Master Gardeners UGA Extension, and the Friends of the Peachtree City Library.
Website: sharonmarchisello.com (https://smarchisello.wordpress.com/)
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