Рита Браун: Puss 'N Cahoots

Puss 'N Cahoots

A Mrs Murphy Mystery

Rita Mae Brown

Dedicated in loving memory of

Paul and Frances Hamilton

Contents

Title Page

Dedication

Acknowledgments

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

Dear Reader

About the Authors

Books by Rita Mae Brown with Sneaky Pie Brown

Copyright

Acknowledgments

As always, Ruth Dalsky, my researcher, endures all things. It’s a good thing she has a sense of humor.

After discussing varying agents of death and destruction with my friend and doctor, Mrs. Mary Tattersall O’Brien, M.D., I’m surprised any of us are still alive.

You know how authors always write “Whatever mistakes are made are entirely my own”? I much prefer to blame the above.

Cast of Characters

Mary Minor Haristeen, “Harry” —A few days shy of her fortieth birthday, she’s fit, looking forward to the future, and in love with her husband, whom she’s remarried after a former divorce.

Pharamond Haristeen, “Fair” —One year older than his wife, whom he’s thrilled to have won back; he’s an equine veterinarian and a gentleman.

Joan Hamilton —The proprietor of Kalarama Farm. She’s justly famed as an extraordinary breeder of Saddlebreds and is an old friend of Harry’s.

Larry Hodge —Joan’s husband, as famous as a trainer as she is as a breeder. Larry possesses good humor and can defuse potentially upsetting situations.

Booty Pollard —At forty-one, he is a fierce competitor to Larry Hodge. He keeps a pet monkey, Miss Nasty, as well as snakes. The snakes he keeps at home. He’s vain and spends a boatload of money on clothes.

Charly Trackwell —He, too, is in the first flush of his forties, and his ambition grows with each passing year. He is a trainer with an exclusive client list. There are those who think he has an exclusive lover list, as well.

Ward Findley —Younger than the big-three trainers, he shows talent. At twenty-nine, he wants to break into the spotlight but currently he’s held back by lack of money. If he can just knock out a big win, he will attract clients with heavy checkbooks.

Renata DeCarlo —A movie star who feels the encroachment of middle age, she has suffered a string of flops. Naturally she’s beautiful, but she’s at loose ends, unsure which way to turn next. A good rider, she shows Saddlebreds and her trainer is Charly Trackwell. Renata is the jewel in Charly’s crown, and she would be the jewel in any trainer’s crown.

Paul and Frances Hamilton —In their eighties, they are a long-married couple, parents to Joan. Paul loved Saddlebreds as a boy on the farm. Frances loves people, and the people are at the Saddlebred shows. They have eight children. Joan commands the Saddlebred world. Her siblings pursue other venues.

Manuel Almador —Head groom at Kalarama Farm, he’s good with a horse, well organized, and greatly trusted. Manuel is in his late forties.

Jorge Gravina —He understudies Manuel. In his thirties, very responsible, he’s well liked and a quiet-living man.

Benny —Ward Findley’s jack-of-all-trades. He’s a man who married too many times.

Carlos —Charly Trackwell’s head man, who knows when to look the other way.

The Really Important Characters

Mrs. Murphy —Harry’s tiger cat possesses high intelligence and marvelous athletic ability.

Pewter —Mrs. Murphy’s rotund gray sidekick lacks some of the tiger cat’s athletic ability, but she makes up for it by being grouchy. However, Pewter is perfectly capable of seeing what humans cannot.

Tee Tucker —The bravest corgi who has ever lived. She loves Harry and Fair, too, and she loves the cats, even if they pluck her last nerve.

Miss Nasty —The monkey is aptly named and is as much of a clotheshorse as Booty Pollard, her owner. She takes an instant dislike to Pewter, and it’s mutual. No good can come of this.

Queen Esther —Renata’s three-gaited mare is talented, expensive, and beautiful. She’s not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, however.

Shortro —Renata’s young three-gaited gelding is wonderfully intelligent, game, and a good citizen.

Voodoo —Renata’s flashy older gelding, who taught her a lot. He was the first expensive horse she bought once she started to make money in Hollywood. Clearly, he won’t be the last as Renata means to win, win, win.

Spike —A ginger cat, battle-scarred, who lives in the barn at Shelbyville by the practice arena. He doesn’t suffer fools gladly.

Harlem’s Dreamgirl, Point Guard, Golden Parachute —Outstanding Kalarama horses.

Frederick the Great— A five-gaited stallion shown by Charly Trackwell. Both horse and trainer are at the peak of their powers.

Callaway’s Senator —Frederick’s fierce competition. A five-gaited stallion originally bred at Callaway Farm and bought by one of Booty’s wealthy clients. Booty believes this is his year to win all the big shows with Senator.

Long, golden rays raked the rolling hills surrounding Shelbyville, Kentucky, on Wednesday, August 2. At six P.M., the grassy parking lot of the famous fairgrounds accepted a steady stream of spectators. By seven P.M., the lot would be overflowing and the shift to backup parking would begin. A soft breeze carried a hint of moisture from the Ohio River about twenty-five miles west, which separated the state of Kentucky from Indiana. Barn swallows swooped through the air to snare abundant insects, as crows, perched on overhead lines, watched, commenting on everything. Cattle dotted pastures. Butterflies swarmed the horse droppings at the fairgrounds. While butterflies liked flowers and flowering bushes, they also evidenced a strong fondness for manure. Each time a maintenance man dutifully picked up the manure, a cloud of yellow swallowtails, black swallowtails, milk butterflies, and small bright blue butterflies swirled up from their prize. No matter how lowly their feeding habits, it was a beautiful sight.

“If I weren’t in this blasted collar, I’d snatch one,” Pewter bragged. “Maybe two.”

“They are tempting,” Mrs. Murphy agreed with the fat gray cat. Mrs. Murphy, a sleek tiger cat, was carried by Harry Haristeen. Pewter was carted by Fair Haristeen, DVM. The cats eagerly awaited the beginning of the first night’s competition.

Shelbyville, the second glittering jewel in the Saddlebred world, attracted the best horses in the country. The show commenced a full two weeks before the Kentucky State Fair, the blowout of Saddlebred shows.

The four jewels in the crown were the Lexington Junior League, Shelbyville, the Kentucky State Fair at Louisville, and the Kansas City Royal, the only big show held in late fall, November. All the others were summer shows.