Рита Браун: Hiss Of Death

Hiss of Death is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2011 by American Artists, Inc.

Excerpt from The Big Cat Nap copyright © 2012 by American Artists, Inc.

Illustrations copyright © 2011 by Michael Gellatly

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Bantam Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

BANTAM BOOKS and the rooster colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication

Data Brown, Rita Mae.

Hiss of death : a Mrs. Murphy mystery / by Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown; illustrations by Michael Gellatly.

p. cm.

This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming book The Big Cat Nap by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.

eISBN: 978-0-553-90808-4

1. Haristeen, Harry (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Murphy, Mrs. (Fictitious character)—Fiction.

3. Women detectives—Virginia—Fiction. 4. Cats—Fiction. 5. Virginia—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3552.R698H57 2011

813′.54—dc22 2010047836

www.bantamdell.com

Cover design: Beverly Leung

Cover illustration: © Daniel Pelvin (cat), © Shutterstock/MisterElements (yarn)

v3.1

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Cast of Characters

The Really Important Characters

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Afterword

Author’s Note

Setting the Record Straight

Dedication

Other Books by This Author

About the Authors

Excerpt from The Big Cat Nap

Cast of Characters

Mary Minor Haristeen, “Harry” —Hardworking, frugal, forty, and good-looking, although she doesn’t think so. Her curiosity might kill her as well as her cats.

Pharamond Haristeen, D.V.M., “Fair” —He loves his work, his wife, and his farm. At forty-two, he’s known Harry all of his life. He accepts her for herself, despite the fact that she all too often courts danger.

Susan Tucker —Harry’s best friend since cradle days, she tries to act as the brake on Harry’s speed. It rarely works. Her two children are in college and graduate school; her husband was elected to the statehouse a year ago.

Cory Schaeffer, M.D .—A surgeon acquiring a big reputation, he thinks he’s smarter than most everybody else. He does care about medicine, and he wants to improve people’s lives.

Annalise Vernonese, M.D .—As a pathologist, she sees the ravages diseases and addictions can do to the body. She is passionate about health and fitness.

Paula Benton —A much-respected operating-room nurse, she is very detail-oriented as well as occasionally direct. Then again, she’s not from the South, so she sees this as a virtue.

Toni Enright —Another respected operating-room nurse, she works out at Heavy Metal Gym with Annalise. She figures if you’re fit, you can fight much of what life throws at you.

Thadia Martin —Once a gifted athlete and a pretty girl, she blew up her life on drugs. After serving a prison sentence and recovering from her problem, she now counsels others who are battling addictions.

Noddy Cespedes —Now in her forties, Noddy had a wonderful career as a bodybuilder. She owns Heavy Metal Gym, is completely committed to pushing iron as a way to avoid many conditions, not the least being osteoporosis. She’s a formidable presence.

Big Al and Nita Vitebsk —In their fifties, they own Pinnacle Records as well as a mutt named JoJo. Both are active in the community and stalwarts at the Reformed Temple.

Franny Howard —She is a member of a cancer support group, has a good sense of humor, and owns a tire store. She believes regardless of what you paid for your vehicle, it’s only as good as the tires on it. She has a point.

BoomBoom Craycroft —A real bombshell, she is another one of Harry’s childhood friends. Their relationship has been on again and off again. Now it’s on. She owns her late husband’s concrete business but has turned over day-to-day handling to a manager.

Alicia Palmer —One of the most beautiful women of her generation, she is a former movie star in her fifties and finally truly happy. It was a long, hard road to get there.

The Reverend Herbert Jones —As Pastor of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, he guides his flock with humor, insight, and quiet encouragement. He’s not much evident in this particular volume, but he’s always there when his parishioners or anyone else needs him.

The Really Important Characters

Mrs. Murphy —She’s a sleek tiger cat in her prime who has less curiosity and more sense than her human.

Pewter —A sometimes-petulant gray cannonball of a cat who can’t believe how limited humans are. She does not suffer in silence.

Tee Tucker —Alert and sagacious, she’s like every other corgi—pound for pound, quite a dog. She loves her humans, horses, and even the cats.

Tomahawk —A seventeen-year-old Thoroughbred, he’s what horsemen call typy, looking exactly like a TB should. He’s usually turned out with Shortro, a young horse whom he guides.

Shortro —A five-year-old Saddlebred being trained for hunt seat. He can jump the moon and is very people-oriented.

Simon —This possum lives in Harry’s hayloft and has a sweet tooth.

Flatface —The great horned owl lives in the cupola of the barn.

Matilda —The blacksnake also lives in the barn, and she’s grown to nearly four feet. She’s made a cozy nest in the hayloft in the back, and has been there for years, emerging after hibernation. As the spring nights are still cold, she returns to her nest at sundown.

M oldy money.” Susan Tucker jabbed her best friend, Harry Haristeen, with her elbow.

“Come on, you all, I’m cautious with money. That doesn’t mean I’m cheap,” Harry said, defending herself.

“Cautious? How about paralyzed?” BoomBoom Craycroft, another friend from childhood, said, laughing.

“My concern is I want to make as much money as possible for our five-K run this Saturday. I just think a thousand pink rubber bracelets is five hundred too many.”

Paula Benton, an ER nurse at Central Virginia Hospital and one of the prime organizers of the 5K Run for Breast Cancer Awareness, said, “Harry, they’re already here. What’s the point of complaining?”