Cat of the Century Read Free Page A

for the animals to snuggle in and keep warm.
    As Harry turned out of Barracks Road Shopping Center onto Barracks Road, Tucker filled in the two cats on the broken pot.
    Harry rarely traveled without her friends. With few exceptions, their friendship meant the most to her in the world. For one thing, they never lied to her. For another thing, they didn’t care if she wore jeans and cowboy boots, earrings and mascara—two nods to girly things. Fussing over her face and attire was just too much work for Harry. She had more important things to do.
    The old truck lacked cup holders, but Harry had installed one. She plopped her cell phone into it. The phone rang. She wouldn’t use her phone when driving, because she didn’t trust herself not to lose concentration.
    Already she’d put in a full day. At 5:30 A . M . she’d fed her husband, Fair, and herself. He’d then left for his practice—equine veterinary medicine. She fed the horses, mucked their stalls, turned them outwith their blankets on. She’d called Southern States, a regional agricultural supply chain, and put in her seed and fertilizer order. This way she reaped a small discount for ordering early. Boy, it cost, too.
    Thanks to some traffic, she turned down the mile-long dirt driveway to her farm thirty-five minutes after leaving the shopping center. She parked the truck by the barn, making use of the overhang. It felt like snow. If the weather turned nasty, the overhang would keep some of the snow off the windshield.
    She flipped open the cell phone to see the missed call. Big Mim.
    She hurried into the old farmhouse to use the landline.
    Upon hearing the familiar voice, Big Mim ordered without formalities, “Harry, you need to call Inez Carpenter in Richmond.”
    “Of course.”
    Harry did as she was told.
    Although Tally’s best friend was ninety-eight, her voice was strong.
    They chatted for a few moments, then Inez got to the point. “Harry, as you know, I’m head of the William Woods Alumnae Association chapter here in Richmond—well, I’m emeritus. The board wants to present Tally with something from ourselves. I know better than to ask Mim. She’ll wave me off. Any ideas?”
    “She’d like a purple-martin house.”
    Harry mentioned a beautiful insect-eating bird with specific housing tastes. Purple martins returned to Virginia in the spring and liked to live in colonies. Multiple gourds hanging on cross rails or large birdhouses with many apartments appealed to them. One had to carefully clean out their quarters when they left for the fall and winter. A scout, flying ahead of the flock, would arrive in February to inspect the furnishings. If dirty, the purple martin wouldn’t return to nest there.
    “Oh.” Inez’s voice raised a notch. “What a good suggestion.” A pause followed. “You have a mind for puzzles. If we have a little time when we’re in Fulton, I have one for you. Let’s keep it between us.”
    “Sounds interesting.”
    A very long pause followed this, and the nonagenarian lowered her voice. “Perhaps too interesting.”

W onder what it’s about.” Harry had just finished telling Fair about her conversation with Inez.
    “Inez isn’t given to overstatement.” He speared the last piece of rib eye on his plate, having carefully pared off the fat.
    Tucker, Mrs. Murphy, and Pewter, alert, sat at his feet. They’d already worked over Harry.
    “Guess I’ll find out. She didn’t want to tell me over the phone.”
    “Then it involves someone’s reputation or something dicey.” Fair felt the glow that attends a full stomach.
    “You’re probably right. Inez wouldn’t want to besmirch someone. She may have doubts, but she’ll hold her fire until she has everything locked up tight. I’ve learned a lot from her.”
    “Me, too.” He smiled.
    Inez had wanted to be a librarian while at William Woods but, upon graduation, decided she really wanted to be an equine vet. She went back to the college, took organic