Рита Браун: Nine Lives To Die

Inside, good coats off, Harry sat down to remove her cowboy boots. Her throbbing feet were cold and wet from the snow. The boots weren’t made for this weather.

One eye open, Pewter called from her bed, “It’s almost one o’clock in the morning. Whatever and whoever is out there, nothing you can do about it now.”

“Fair, I should call Cooper despite the late hour. We don’t want a repeat of last time, when someone took the skeleton.”

He dropped in a chair. “All right.”

Harry called Cooper, who had just crawled into bed after a long day and night. “Harry, are you all right?”

“I am. Cooper, I’m so sorry to call you, but the skeleton is back, leaning against my barn door.”

“I’ll be right over.”

Fifteen minutes later, the animals rose from their beds as they heard the tires of Cooper’s Highlander crunching on the snow. Harry and Fair, knowing the keen senses of their friends, pulled on snow boots, heavier coats, hurried out to greet the weary deputy.

Tucker accompanied Harry and Fair. Mrs. Murphy walked to the back of the barn, lifting her paws high after each step.

The glow of the Chinaman’s light and the falling snow created a surreal scene.

“This is no way to start the New Year,” the tall officer said and sighed.

As Cooper investigated the bones without disturbing them, Mrs. Murphy checked to see if Odin had eaten the latest leftovers. He had. Trotting back to the front of the barn, she sat under the eave, a bit out of the falling snow, watching.

“Let’s go inside,” Cooper suggested.

Once there, she called in to the dispatcher, herself half asleep. “I know no one can get out here now, but put it on record that I called you at quarter to two, January first. Have someone call me on my cell when a team can get out here. We don’t want to lose this evidence one more time.” She ended the call, looked at her friends. “In my head, I keep hearing that song, ‘How Bizarre.’ Great song.” She rubbed her eyes.

“What can we do to help you?” Fair asked.

“Let me sleep on your couch. If anyone comes down your drive, Tucker will tell me.”

“I will. I will,” the dog promised.

Pewter turned up her nose. “Tucker, you’re so obsequious.”

“You think I don’t know what that means?” Tucker cocked her head.

Noticing the glares and raised hackles, Harry stepped in. “Don’t you dare. Both of you.”

Fair, sheets and blanket in his arms, walked into the living room.

“I’ll do that,” said Harry. “You stir up the fire.” She smiled at her thoughtful spouse, then focused on Cooper. “I’ll bring you a robe. I really hope whoever did this doesn’t come back.”

As Harry finished up making a bed on the sofa, she reminded Cooper she could stay in the guest room.

“I know, but it’s at the back of the house. Short of sleeping in the barn, I want to be as close as I can. Just in case.”

Tucker settled down near the fire, Mrs. Murphy curled up next to her. Pewter remained in her cushy bed in the kitchen. Why go too far from her crunchies?

“Good night, Cooper.” Fair headed down the hall.

“Night and thank you,” she replied.

“See you in the morning.” Harry paused for a moment. “No matter what, Happy New Year.”

“Happy New Year to you, too. All signs point to an exciting one!”

The dawn of a new day and a new year provided no respite from the snow. When the sun rose, the clouds obscured most of the light. By 9:00, it was still coming down steady, snowplows working overtime. There was hope that by nightfall this would end. People stayed inside. It was a holiday, a hangover holiday.

Outside by the barn with the three-person retrieval team, Cooper wore plastic gloves, as not to compromise the evidence.

“You know, I shouldn’t really worry about fingerprints or blood.” She couldn’t help herself and laughed. “This defines a cold case.”

Dabny, another officer she liked, fired back, “Cold, yes. Snow, yes. But, Coop, you never know.”

Her cell rang. “Cooper.” Listening, she looked at the small crew, working on a holiday, too.

Walking back to the house, Cooper, head down, pushed open the kitchen door. “Flo Rice is missing again. Her sister is having a fit that she’s frozen.”

Harry was making coffee for everyone as Fair was frying up eggs and bacon. She said, “Not again.”

“Another five minutes,” said Fair. “What about you?”

“Coffee’s just about ready,” said Harry. “I’ll set the table. Would do everyone good to come inside for a bit. The cold seeps into your bones.”

“This isn’t exactly how I thought we would ring in the new year,” Fair said. He put the bacon on paper towels to soak up the grease.

“Don’t do that,” Pewter yowled. “Pour it on my crunchies.”

Hearing the cat, Fair looked at the other two animals. He saved the grease, pouring it in a china cup. “I’ll let that cool.”

“Heaven!” Pewter purred loudly.

“It’s not on your crunchies yet.” Tucker enjoyed pricking her dream.

“Wonder if Flo ran back to River Run?” Harry folded napkins.

“If that’s where she headed, let’s hope she got there,” said Fair. “Tricky roads.”

“Yeah. She’s been a pain, rude, you name it, but I feel sorry for her.”

“I do, too.”

Flo had ample occasion to feel sorry for herself as Esther drove into Cletus’s driveway that morning.

After two long strides to the front window, Cletus ordered, “Hide! It’s Esther.”

Flo ran into his bedroom, which was cold as ice. She prayed her sister hadn’t spotted her car behind the shed.

Cletus opened the door and acted as though this was a common occurrence, Esther as his front door during a snowstorm. “Esther, how are you?”

“Cletus, have you seen Flo?”

“No. Come on in out of the snow.”

Esther stepped inside the front door. “What a winter this has been! We have winters with no snow and then winters with lots of snow. I don’t understand it.”

“Me neither.”

“I’ve called the sheriff’s department. I’m so worried about Flo. She’s been wandering lately and gets so angry. I hate to think of her out in a storm. I thought she might have stopped by here. I remembered once she told me she’d drop by here to sit and talk.”

“No. Should I call you if I see her?”

“Better to call the sheriff’s department.”

Hearing Esther’s voice, Buster clambered out of the crunched-up towels and barked.

“Terminator, that’s enough.” Cletus knew it was Buster.

“Do you still have that adorable dog? Oh, I must see him.”

“He’s in the kitchen. You go in and I’ll be right behind you, if you will excuse me for just one minute.”

As she stepped into the kitchen, Cletus opened the bedroom door and grabbed Flo by the wrist. They shot out the front door just as Esther bent down to look at The Terminator and also beheld Buster.

“Buster!”

As Esther shouted the dog’s name, Cletus skidded behind the wheel of Esther’s sturdy SUV, Flo already in the passenger seat. Esther had pulled in the driveway behind his truck. He had the presence of mind to notice she did not come to the front door carrying a purse and did not have keys in her hand. He took the chance that she’d left her keys in the ignition. Luckily, he was right.