No Kill Station: Murder at Rehoboth Beach

by Diane Meier

  Matt put his arm around Clara. “Let’s get out of here. Where’s your car?”

  “I’m ready,” said Clara. “You must be exhausted.”

  “The adrenalin is still pumping. I feel great,” said Matt.

  Aidan came over and Clara shook his hand. “No hard feelings, Aidan.”

  “I wish it had never happened, Clara,” he said. “I am feel terrible about all of it. Watkins is suspended while there’s an investigation into the shooting. I will be testifying against him.”

  “Thanks,” said Clara. “I know we can count on your support with animal welfare in the future.”

  “I’m your man,” said Aidan with a smile.

  As they got to the car, the Beach Herald reporter Janice grabbed Matt’s arm. “I just want to congratulate you, Matt. I’m hoping we can talk soon for an article about your plans.” Then she turned to Clara. “I hear that you’ve been doing the blog since your mother passed away. The whole story of you and your mother would be of great interest to our readers.”

  “I’d rather not discuss that with you or anyone. I hope you can understand,” said Clara.

  Janice didn’t seem to get the message. “I was told that you were arrested for the murder and released before Tina Patterson. Can you give me a comment on that?”

  “I can’t imagine where you heard that, Janice,” said Matt quickly. “If Tina Patterson told you that, you should consider the source. If you want to publish something that’s based in fact, I’ll be happy to give you an exclusive about what we’ll be doing to make Delaware into a no kill state.”

  “That sounds great, Matt,” said Janice with excitement.

  They quickly got into the car to avoid any further discussion with Janice. Henry had heard what Janice said. “Why did she say you got arrested, Clara?”

  “It’s a mistake,” said Matt. “Clara did nothing wrong. We’ll talk when we get home. How about some ice cream?” At the Lewes ice cream shop Henry happily went to choose his flavor. “That damn Janice,” said Matt with disgust.

  Clara shrugged. “We need to get our stories straight on what to say about the dogs to Henry. Snowflake and Smokey have decided that they both want to move on. At first Snowflake didn’t want to leave. But Smokey has made up his mind to go. He says he hopes that he’ll be young again in the hereafter. Snowflake decided that she’ll go with him.”

  “It’s all such a shock. The idea that one gets to choose whether to leave or stay is just amazing. Other people must have ghosts in their lives too, but don’t talk about it for fear they’ll sound crazy.”

  Clara nodded. “My mother says that she is ready to move on, too.”

  “Oh, I wish she’d stay a little while longer. I was so happy to see her feeling well. Also, I’m hoping to ask her some questions about shelters.”

  Clara smiled. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to stay long enough for that. In fact once you start asking her, she’ll probably never go.”

  “Really? Do you think she’d change her mind?”

  “No, I don’t actually. She’s really confident that you will make the difference at the SPCA so she feels like her work is done. She wants to see my father and her parents. If you don’t want Henry to know about all this, I can tell my mother and the dogs to disappear when he is around.”

  Matt didn’t answer for a minute. “I hadn’t thought about that. The advantage is that he would know there’s an afterlife. That might help him cope with any fears about death. He has worried a lot about that since he only has one parent and no other close relatives.”

  “I can see that it might be a comfort for him,” said Clara. “It is for me. I was always envious of religious people who believe in heaven.”

  “I worry about that he would be scared of less friendly ghosts coming around. I don’t let him watch a lot of horror movies but eventually he’ll see some. I can’t tell him whether or not those kinds of scary ghosts exist.”

  “My mother doesn’t know, that’s for sure,” Clara said.

  “I also wonder if he would tell his friends, even if I warn him that it’s not a good idea. He might tell them anyway. Most people would never believe it. Henry is very adamant about what he believes. I don’t want him to seem crazy to other people.” Matt sighed. “There are a lot of issues to consider.”

  “I know you’ll do the right thing for Henry. You’re a fantastic father.”

  “I’m so happy to hear you say that. Thanks. It means a lot to me that you think so.”

  Henry came out of the shop with two scoops in a bowl. “I got rocky road and strawberry.”

  “Excellent choice,” said Matt.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  B

  ack in the apartment, Matt knew it was time to tell Henry about the dogs. “Henry, I want to explain about what that reporter said. Remember when she said Clara was arrested?” “I knew that couldn’t be true,” Henry declared. “Clara is no criminal.”

  “You’re right. Clara is completely innocent of any wrongdoing. Sometimes police make a mistake. Clara was arrested but she wasn’t guilty and they let her go quickly.”

  “That’s awful. It must have been the state troopers. Not you.” Henry paused and Matt nodded. “So you got her out of jail, right?”

  “Yes, I did. That very same day. The killer tried to frame Clara by putting the murder weapon in the yard. It didn’t work. I told the troopers about their mistake and they let Clara go free.”

  “Clara must have been so scared,” Henry said angrily.

  “She was, but she’s fine now. She understands how the mistake got made. The problem is that the state troopers made another terrible mistake.” Matt put his arm around Henry’s shoulder. “One of the troopers who came to arrest Clara got scared of Smokey and Snowflake. He shot and killed both of them.”

  “No, Dad, that couldn’t have happened. Not Smokey and Snowflake,” he cried.

  As Henry cried, Matt silently cursed Watkins. There was no excuse for shooting the dogs. Matt hadn’t planned on telling Henry about the dogs returning as ghosts but changed his mind. “I know it’s awful and that you are really sad. I have to tell you one more thing. Snowflake and Smokey are now spirits and they didn’t leave for heaven yet. You can go see them downstairs.”

  Henry jumped up and ran to the door. “I want to see them right now.” He raced down the stairs and knocked on Clara’s door. She opened it and Henry was astonished to see the dogs. As usual they leaped around Henry in excitement. He hugged them and cried into their fur.

  “Don’t be sad, Henry,” said Snowflake. “We’re fine. You don’t have to worry about us.”

  Henry was struck dumb for a minute. “You talked,” he yelled with joy. “Snowflake can talk now, Dad.” He turned to Smokey.

  “Yes, I can talk, too, Henry,” said Smokey, wagging his tail.

  Henry did his special dance, and the dogs joined him in their own version. They ran off to the yard together with Henry asking Snowflake and Smokey questions.

  Matt was glad he had told Henry about the dogs being there as ghosts. “He was so miserable that I decided to tell him. It just happened. I’ll have to persuade him not to tell his friends but hopefully, he’ll understand why.”

  Sharon appeared. “Henry has such a tender heart. He loves Snowflake and Smokey so much. It will probably help him to know that there is an afterlife for animals as well as people. And being able to talk with the dogs is pretty exciting. Maybe this will help him face some of the tragedies in this world. I really wish that I had believed in God and could have offered that faith to Clara when she was growing up.”

  He had also wished he could convey faith to Henry. Matt had been disillusioned with the Methodist church where his parents had taken him. None of the Bible made much sense to him. Now that he knew there’s life after death he wasn’t going to suddenly start taking Henry to church of course. He didn’t think that his experience with Sharon and the dogs fit into religious doctrine.

  “Have you really deci
ded to leave us, Sharon?” asked Matt.

  “Yes. I’m ready to move on with Smokey and Snowflake. I have faith that you both will help the animals and I’m feeling more interested in the next world.”

  “Do you think you’ll be able to come back and visit?” asked Clara. “It would be so wonderful if you can.”

  Sharon hugged her. “I hope so.”

  “Do you think that we should tell Henry about you, too,” asked Matt. This was unknown territory and he was winging it.

  “He’s happy with the dogs. Let’s see how it goes.” said Sharon. “Maybe the dogs will want to stay a little while longer. Then it might make sense for Henry to know that I’m here.”

  “That would be terrific. I have a lot of questions about animal shelters for you, Sharon”

  “Good. I was afraid you’d never ask me. Fire away.”

  EPILOGUE

  C

  lara put the finishing touches on the new mural at the Delaware Animal Shelter. Matt had quickly painted over the old mural, but it turned out that some people missed it. Nobody seemed to remember that the woman who painted the old mural had been convicted of murder and was serving a life sentence without parole.

  Clara painted a new mural with a train that had more cars full of animals, including mutts and Pit Bulls. The sign said No Kill Station. People wave goodbye to the animals as they departed for Happily Ever After. Clara thought the mural was hokey but hoped it would please volunteers, fosters, donors and adopters.

  Henry came running into the lobby with his troop of kid volunteers. “Everybody wants to know when my new sister will come,” he said.

  “Soon, I hope. I feel like an elephant,” laughed Clara. “You look beautiful. And the mural is terrific,” said Matt said as he offered a hand so she could get up. “There are cookies and drinks for everyone in the break room. Thanks for your help today.”

  After the kids raced off, Clara kissed Matt. “Did I hear that you are bringing home a new foster dog today?”

  “I wanted to talk to you about that. There’s a little white Pit Bull who is really timid. Henry calls her Snowflake the Second.”

  Clara laughed. “This sounds like an adoption, not fostering. Do you think she’ll like Smokey the Second?”

  “Absolutely, I’m completely sure of that,” said Matt, putting his arm around her.

  “I wonder if Snowflake the First and Smokey the First know about all of this,” said Clara.

  “Sure they do. Maybe they’ll come back someday with your mother and meet everybody. That would be wonderful, especially after the newest member of the family arrives.”

  Clara patted her belly. “I hope so. I would love for my mother to meet our little girl. I like to believe they know how often we think of them with love and happy memories.”

  “I have faith that they know that,” said Matt giving her a kiss.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  The dedicated people in animal rescue groups and no kill shelters are the inspiration for this book. From my limited experience, I know that rescuing dogs and cats can be joyful but also scary and heart-breaking. I am awed by the hard work and dedication of people who persevere in this work. I am donating a portion of whatever proceeds there may be from this book to Grass Roots Rescue Society (grrde.org) in Delaware because I am so impressed by founder/director Karli Swope Crenshaw.

  The book is based on my understandings of the no kill movement which advocates saving 98% of the animals in shelters. Nathan Winograd, the author of Redemption and Friendly Fire and founder of the No Kill Advocacy Center, is a tireless advocate for animals and inspiration to animal lovers. The model animal shelter law that he developed, known as the Companion Animal Protection Act, was used in developing the Delaware law, which passed in 2010. Jane Pierantozzi, who is the founder and director of the Faithful Friends, an amazing no kill shelter, was instrumental in moving Delaware toward passage and enforcement of this law.

  When the law was passed, many people in Delaware had not anticipated how it would anger supporters of the traditional shelter that handled Delaware’s dog control. There were many bitter online arguments about the law. After much controversy and pressure from no kill advocates throughout Delaware, the state finally started to enforce the new law. Eventually the state took over the dog control and cruelty investigation functions, and now Delaware dogs are taken to a shelter that has a 90% save rate.

  As full disclosure, I should reveal that for years I wrote a blog called No Kill Delaware, which advocated better enforcement of the law. However, this book is by no means autobiographical (and I am not a ghost). All characters in the book are pure fiction. The villains in the book accept without question the arguments for killing shelter animals that are made by opponents of the no kill movement. I believe that these people are on the wrong side of history and hope they will wake up someday soon. The villains are also involved in dog fighting, which is a felony in every state. I am outraged that there are not more law enforcement resources for stopping this evil.

  Having never written a novel, I really needed and appreciated the excellent comments by my sister Emily Best Her encouragement helped me feel braver about putting this book out for readers. I am very grateful to Emily, my friend Linda Newton and my husband Richard for their help in proofing the book.

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