Read Kitten Kaboodle (Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 20) Online
Authors: Kathi Daley
Kitten Kaboodle (Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 20)
Kitten Kaboodle
by
Kathi Daley
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by Katherine Daley
Version 1.0
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
I want to thank the very talented Jessica Fischer for the cover art.
I so appreciate Bruce Curran, who is always ready and willing to answer my cyber questions.
And, of course, thanks to the readers and bloggers in my life, who make doing what I do possible.
Thank you to Randy Ladenheim-Gil for the editing.
Special thanks to Joanne Kocourek, Donna Walo-Clancy, Vivian Shane, and Nancy Farris, for submitting recipes.
And finally I want to thank my sister Christy for always lending an ear and my husband Ken for allowing me time to write by taking care of everything else.
Come for the murder, stay for the romance.
Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery:
Halloween Hijinks
The Trouble With Turkeys
Christmas Crazy
Cupid’s Curse
Big Bunny Bump-off
Beach Blanket Barbie
Maui Madness
Derby Divas
Haunted Hamlet
Turkeys, Tuxes, and Tabbies
Christmas Cozy
Alaskan Alliance
Matrimony Meltdown
Soul Surrender
Heavenly Honeymoon
Hopscotch Homicide
Ghostly Graveyard
Santa Sleuth
Shamrock Shenanigans
Kitten Kaboodle
Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery:
Romeow and Juliet
The Mad Catter
Grimm’s Furry Tail
Much Ado About Felines
Legend of Tabby Hollow
Cat of Christmas Past
A Tale of Two Tabbies
The Great Catsby –
July 2016
Seacliff High Mystery:
The Secret
The Curse
The Relic
The Conspiracy
The Grudge
Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mystery:
Murder at Dolphin Bay
Murder at Sunrise Beach –
June 2016
Road to Christmas Romance:
Road to Christmas Past
Monday, August 8
I’d like to think that the line between right and wrong is clearly defined, but the reality is, there are times in our lives when the only real choice lies in the gray space between what society tells us we
should
do and what you know in your heart you
must
do. My own journey into the gray space began when my husband Zak Zimmerman’s honorary grandmother came to town. Technically, Nona isn’t related to Zak, but the Harley-riding senior citizen has ensconced herself into the family in such a way that there isn’t a Zimmerman alive who doesn’t either love or fear her. The most important thing to know about Nona is that she’s not only a strong and opinionated woman who’s willing to fight for what she believes but she’s just a tiny bit crazy as well.
I first had the opportunity to meet Nona the previous summer, when she came to stay with us for Zak and my wedding. I wasn’t sure what to make of the uninhibited woman who insisted on practicing nude yoga on the beach until she whisked me away on her pink motorcycle and helped me solve the murder that had been weighing on my mind. Nona and I had a grand adventure that earned her a permanent place in my heart. Prior to returning home after the wedding, she’d promised to come back for an extended visit, and if there was one thing you could say for Nona it’s that she kept her promises. Unfortunately, it was in keeping this promise that she happened to meet a kindergarten teacher and animal activist named Aspen Woods, who was embroiled in a battle with a kitten mill owner named Edna Leech, and the controversy that would touch all our lives was born.
“Zoe Donovan, have you heard a word I’ve said?” my best friend Ellie Davis asked. Ellie had just returned from a month-long visit with her mother and we were having a girls’ night out. We used to hang out almost every day, but our one-on-one time had become a rare thing since I’d become both a wife and a surrogate mother to three minors.
“I’m listening. You were talking about the new dress you picked up on your vacation.”
“Twenty minutes and three subjects ago.”
“I’m sorry. I guess I’m a little distracted. What is it we were talking about?”
“Dentures.”
I frowned.
“My Great-Aunt Clarissa called me early this morning to complain that one of the men at the assisted living facility we moved her into had stolen her dentures. When I tried to explain that was highly unlikely because dentures were made to fit a person’s mouth and the man she was accusing was a great, big man and she was a teeny, tiny woman, she informed me that the man didn’t steal them for himself but for his new girlfriend, who’d recently moved into the adjoining room and, having lost all her teeth, couldn’t eat anything harder than Jell-O.”
“I assume there’s more to this story?”
“Of course there’s more to the story. I haven’t even gotten to the part about the Pomeranian with the head cold yet.”
Pomeranian with a head cold?
“I’m sorry, go on.”
“Anyway, as I was saying, after I hung up with Aunt Clarissa I called the man who runs the place and told him about the dentures. Now, keep in mind that Aunt Clarissa has become more than just a little forgetful in the past few years, so we both assumed she’d simply misplaced her teeth the way she misplaced her going-out-to-supper wig a few weeks ago.”
“You mean the pink one?”
“No. The pink one is her company’s-coming-to-visit wig; the blue one is the wig of choice for outings away from the home. Anyway, as I was saying, we just assumed Clarissa misplaced the dentures, so we decided to …”
I guess I must have zoned out again because the next thing I knew, Ellie was staring at me with a huge grin and a look of expectation on her face. “So what do you think?”
“Think?”
Ellie groaned. “Okay, that was the funniest story I’ve ever told in my entire life and you weren’t even listening. What’s on your mind that has you so distracted?”
“Kittens.”
“Kittens?”
I looked around the restaurant to see who might be listening in on our conversation, but apparently not a single soul was interested in Ellie’s long, drawn-out story about her Aunt Clarissa. “I have six stolen kittens hidden in my guest room.”
“You stole kittens?”
“I didn’t steal the kittens, but I’m pretty sure I know who did.”
“Who?”
I leaned in close and lowered my voice. Not that anyone would care about a boxful of kittens. “Do you remember Nona?”
“Zak’s crazy relative with the pink Harley who almost got you killed last summer?”
“That’s the one. Shortly after you left to visit your mother, she showed up on her Harley and announced she was staying with us for the rest of the summer. Of course I was delighted to have her because, unlike the rest of Zak’s relatives, real or honorary, Nona is a Zimmerman affiliate I actually like. Anyway, a few days after she arrived she introduced me to a new friend she’d met at the yoga class she’d signed up for. The friend, whose name is Aspen Woods, is a lovely woman around our age who’s been on a campaign to shut down a kitten mill she’d discovered outside of town. Nona figured that because I owned and operated a wild and domestic animal rescue and rehabilitation shelter maybe I could help Aspen accomplish what she’d been unable to on her own.”
“And did you? Help her?”
“I tried, but in the end I didn’t meet with much success. Aspen had already filed a complaint with the county, but the county determined that the cats weren’t being abused. Although they’re in pens and unable to roam free, at the time of the inspection they were mostly healthy and well fed. The pens were clean, and due to their size, the fact that they were locked up wasn’t considered cruel. Aspen insisted that when she visited the property there were both adult cats as well as kittens that were clearly sick, but the county animal control didn’t find sick animals at the time of their inspection, so it was determined there was nothing they could do. I tried to argue that the property owner knew of the inspection and would have simply moved any sick animals, but in the end I was told to butt out and stop harassing the woman.”
“And did you?”
“Mostly, for the sake of the Zoo. I need to play nice with the county so the operating agreement between the Zoo and the county isn’t suspended. I hate to say it, but I’m really at their mercy.” I paused as a wave of uncertainty washed over me. There was a time when I would have leaped into the fray without a second thought, but the responsibility of owning a business and being a wife and surrogate mother had changed the way I interacted with people in my personal life. There were times, such as now, when I wasn’t sure how I really felt about the changes I’d made. Don’t get me wrong: I love my family and I love my life. but when I look at Nona and her devil-may-care attitude, there are times I miss the old, spontaneous Zoe.
“I’ve been helping, though,” I continued. “In a politically correct sort of way. I’ve been quietly meeting with a couple of members of the town council on a plan to change our local laws to better define what is and isn’t an abusive environment. The problem is that even if I am successful in getting new legislation approved, it will take months or even years to really make a difference. Besides the time lag, there’s also the fact that the county would have to adopt the town’s legislation for it to be enforced outside the town limits.”
“So even if you’re successful it most likely won’t do much to help the current situation.”
“Exactly. Aspen and Nona, however, aren’t dependent on the goodwill of the county and are on a mission to save the cats no matter what. When it became apparent that the county was unwilling to do anything, Aspen began picketing the county offices and Nona began engaging in public displays of verbal abuse.”
Ellie laughed. “Verbal abuse?”
“You know Nona. She’s a feisty sort who isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. She’s got a razor-sharp tongue and she manages to draw quite a bit of attention.”
“Is it working? The verbal abuse and the picketing?”
“Unfortunately, no. The harder Aspen and Nona try to get the place shut down, the more the property owner, Edna Leech, digs in her heels, and the county has all but washed their hands of the whole thing.”
“Okay, I have an overview of the situation, but what does this have to do with the kittens in your guest room?” Ellie prompted.
I took a sip of my water before I continued. Several parties had come in since Ellie and I had begun our conversation, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before our isolated table in the corner wasn’t going to be quite so isolated. I lowered my voice just a bit for good measure. “Nona informed me this morning that she’d snuck onto Edna’s property to check on the cats and she’d noticed a litter of kittens that appeared to be sick. She said she marched herself up to the house to demand that Edna obtain medical care for the kittens, but instead of agreeing, Edna told Nona that if she trespassed on her land again she would have her arrested; then she slammed the door in her face. Nona asked me if I could use my pull with the sheriff to investigate the matter, but Salinger was out of his office when I called, so I was unable to speak to him. Several hours later I found a box with six kittens on my front porch.”
“If Nona is staying with you and she stole the cats, why wouldn’t she just bring them inside?”
“I’m not sure unless she wanted me to honestly be able to say I didn’t know where the kittens came from. I’m sure Nona doesn’t want to get either of us in trouble, but it’s clear the kittens need medical attention. I called Scott Walden,” I said, referring to the local veterinarian, “and he came by to look at the babies. He confirmed that they’re both ill and malnourished and gave me medicine and food supplements to help them get back to where they need to be.”
Ellie sat back in her chair. She appeared to be contemplative, but I could tell she was concerned that I was harboring stolen kittens. Once she began to speak I knew I was right. “I know you’re upset about the situation, and I agree the kitten mill needs to be shut down, but you have to take the kittens back. You know it’s the right thing to do. Those kittens are worth a lot of money. Stealing, even for a good reason, is against the law. You could go to jail.”
“I won’t go to jail.”
“You can’t know that. If the cat woman presses charges Salinger might have no choice but to arrest you for possession of stolen property or harboring a criminal or something.”
Ellie might be right, but Zoe Donovan the newly responsible woman had come to the end of her rope and Zoe Donovan the impulsive activist was about to take her place.
“I’m not taking the kittens back. I know it might be the legal thing to do, but there comes a time when you have to ignore what you
should
do in favor of what you
must
do.”
“You know Salinger is going to realize you have the kittens as soon as this Edna Leech reports the theft.”
I frowned. “I know that, and I’m willing to accept whatever consequences come my way. The strange thing is that I really expected Salinger to show up on my doorstep before this. Edna must realize the kittens are missing by now and she has to know it was Nona, Aspen, or me who took them. The fact that she hasn’t reported the missing kittens seems a bit odd.”
“I suppose she might realize that by bringing attention to the sick kittens it could endanger her entire operation. She might just let the whole thing go.”
“Honestly, that’s what I’m hoping, but letting it go doesn’t seem like an Edna thing to do.”
The hostess came by, causing a pause in our conversation as she sat the table next to us. After she left I decided it might be best to change the subject before someone overheard us and I asked Ellie about her visit to her mother.
“It was nice. When she told me she was going to sell the restaurant and move in with her best friend I thought it was a mistake, but she seems really happy. She’s even made some new friends.”
“That’s awesome. I’m glad things worked out. It’s been a little odd not finding your mom in the kitchen at Rosie’s, but she’s worked really hard and deserves a break.”
“Yeah, I’m happy for her too, although I do really miss her. I think she’s going to come for a visit in the fall. She wants to meet Brady.”
“Speaking of Brady, how are things going between the two of you?”
“Fine,” Ellie answered vaguely.
I knew Ellie’s relationship with the new math teacher at Zimmerman Academy was complicated at best. Brady had moved to Ashton Falls just before Valentine’s Day to replace Will Danner, the previous math teacher, who’d quit suddenly after he was offered a job that would allow him to be close to his elderly father. Zak and I had been out of town when Brady arrived with his four-year-old daughter, Holly, and twin eighteen-month-old sons, Haden and Hudson, so Ellie had volunteered to pick them up at the airport. Ellie had recently broken up with the love of her life, Levi Denton, and Brady had lost his wife to pneumonia fourteen months earlier. The two wounded souls seemed to have forged a bond that was, so far, more than a friendship but not quite a romance.
“Look, you know I hate to be nosy.”
Ellie just looked at me.
“Okay, I quite enjoy being nosy. In fact, when it comes to people I love, I consider being nosy my job. The thing is that when I got home from Ireland it seemed obvious that you and Brady were working on building a relationship that was more than just fine. Over the next several months I witnessed the two of you spend a lot of time together even though you both insisted you were just friends, and then out of the blue you announced you were going to visit your mother and would be gone for a month. It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out that something must have occurred that would cause you to flee. My guess is that something has to do with Brady.”