Thank goodness she’d had the good sense to finally leave him. She shuddered to think of what his reaction to her lottery win would have been. No doubt he would have been convinced he was entitled to half and would have tried to bully her into giving it to him. Coming back to Lakeview had been the best decision she ever made. Not only did she love the town she’d grown up in, but she had her best friend by her side again. And now, apparently, she had a mission.
A meow from the carrier in the back seat brought her out of her funk. “Don’t worry, Queenie,” Kari said. “This place is going to be great.” At least the road up to the sanctuary had a beautiful view. Although it was a steep climb filled with twists and turns, it was lined with green trees and flowering meadows, with only the occasional house to break up the foliage.
They passed a field full of black-and-white cows, and another with huge bales of hay like round wheels dotting the landscape. One section of the road must have been home to some kind of (hopefully friendly) neighborhood competition, since all the mailboxes were ornate and colorful. One featured an outsized John Deere tractor, while the next had a giant chicken instead of the post one would normally expect.
“Watch out!” Suz said, grabbing the dashboard as a rusting white pickup truck came racing up the middle of the narrow country road, nearly causing them to veer into a weed-filled ditch. “Idiot!”
Kari swerved, avoiding the truck at the last minute by a combination of skilled driving and dumb luck. She could see the dust from the truck in her rearview mirror as she loosened her death grip on the steering wheel. As far as she could tell, the driver never even looked back. Queenie let out a loud complaint. “I agree, Queenie. That guy was driving like a maniac.”
They pulled into a gravel parking lot at the top of the hill, past a faded sign that read Serenity Sanctuary. The building itself was a peeling, pale yellow, single-story structure that rambled off in several directions as if it had been added on to over time or by someone without any kind of plan. Or both. A slightly ramshackle fenced-in area could be seen behind the building, and a driveway veered off to the left and led to a cute but equally run-down farmhouse. Pine, oak, and gnarled old apple trees dotted the property and a few large brown-and-tan chickens with luxurious feathers on their feet wandered around an overgrown garden near the house. Wildflowers ran rampant in the adjacent meadow.
“Well,” Suz said faintly. “I’m sure it will look a lot better after a coat of paint.”
Kari chewed on her lower lip, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. “It might take two coats,” she said. “And a new roof.”
Suz perked up. “On the bright side, you can afford to do both.” She got out of the car, her usual positive attitude instantly back in place.
Kari followed her a little more slowly, still trying to wrap her brain around the fact that she owned this place. Not to mention that she really could afford to fix it up. After years of being not quite poor, having large sums of money at her disposal was taking some getting used to. After a moment’s hesitation, she grabbed the cat carrier and brought it along. It was too warm to leave the kitten in the car, even though they were parked in the shade.
They walked through the front door into a room that bore little resemblance to the cheerfully professional atmosphere at the town shelter. It was smaller, for one thing, and had been painted an unfortunate gray that had probably been depressing even when it was fresh out of the can. Fluorescent lights flickered and hummed overhead. Empty cages lined one wall, and a row of leashes hung limply from hooks by the entrance. It was painstakingly clean, but all the furnishings looked old and beat-up, probably donated or bought used on the cheap.
Bizarrely enough, Kari felt right at home. She’d lived in apartments like this her entire adult life, at least since she’d gotten divorced.
“Uh-oh,” Suz said under her breath. “This doesn’t look like a happy group.”
Across the room next to a large wooden table that had clearly been repurposed as a desk, a too-skinny woman wearing ripped jeans and a worn Greenpeace tee shirt that revealed a wolf tattoo on one arm and a panther on the other was being comforted by an older woman with a bold turquoise streak in her cropped gray hair. A dark-skinned girl in her early twenties stood nearby, a frustrated look on her narrow face.
“I’m sorry,” the older woman said. “We’re not open.” She peered across the room. “Suzanne Holden, is that you?”
Suz grinned. When you were a six-foot-tall Amazon with lavender hair, you tended to stand out in a crowd. “Hi, Mrs. Hanover, what are you doing here?”
Ah, that was why the woman looked familiar. Sara Hanover had taught ninth-grade English for over forty years. Virtually every person who had grown up in Lakeview had passed through her classroom at one point or another. Including Kari. Mrs. Hanover was known for being tough but fair, and for speaking her mind to students, parents, and anyone else who crossed her path. Including the principal and the school superintendent, and once, a visiting vice president.
“We’re all adults now, Suzanne,” the older woman said. “You can call me Sara. Is that Kari Stuart with you? Goodness, it has been a long time. As for what I’m doing here, I’ve been volunteering at the sanctuary for a couple of years, since I finally gave up teaching. Couldn’t stand sitting around doing nothing. Bryn here”—she gestured at the tall girl next to her—“and I are the last ones remaining. And this is Daisy, who started the place.”
“Sorry,” Daisy said, swiping at her eyes and then straightening up. She had long blond hair in a single braid down her back, and would have been pretty if it hadn’t been for the lines of stress and exhaustion on her face. “I just had another run-in with that stupid dog warden, Bill Myers.”
She waved an official-looking piece of paper in the air. “He served me with a summons for one of the few dogs we’ve still got here, Buster. Says the dog bit someone after he got out through a hole in the fence last week, but I swear, Buster is the sweetest, most harmless animal on the planet. He’s a pit bull, and I know the breed can get a bad rap, but there’s no way he bit anyone.”
Daisy crumpled the paper up in her hand, looking as though she might burst into tears.
“I think we almost ran into him on our way in,” Kari said. “Literally, if he has a rusting white truck and acts like he owns the whole road.”
“That’s him,” Daisy said in a bitter tone. “He’s been trying to drive me out of here for ages, and after he gave me the summons, he had the nerve to offer me a pittance for the place.” She shook her head, thin shoulders slumping in defeat. “His timing couldn’t be worse either. Some crazy lady was actually going to buy the sanctuary and take it over, but once she finds out about the court case, she’ll probably back out of the deal.”
Sara waved her hand at the carrier Kari was holding. “So as you can see, we aren’t taking in any more animals right now. In fact, we’re desperately trying to find places for the ones we’ve still got.”
Kari smiled at the despondent trio. “That’s okay. I’m keeping the cat, even though this is really all her fault. And I’m the crazy lady who made an offer on the place, and I still intend to go through with it, as long as you are willing.”
“Crazy in a good way,” Suz added, green eyes twinkling. “I think.”
“Huh,” Kari muttered under her breath. “At least I’m not the one with three dogs, five cats, a corn snake, and a bunch of mice I didn’t have the heart to feed to the snake.”
“Bought an animal sanctuary sight unseen,” Suz muttered back. “Still crazier than me.”
“You put in the offer?” Sara said, one gray brow arching up in surprise. Then she tapped her chin with the tip of her finger, a gesture Kari remembered from all those years ago. “That’s right, I think I read something in the paper about you winning the lottery. It was the same day that councilman was caught with his mistress and a goat, if I recall, so I didn
’t pay much attention to your news. Congratulations.”
Kari had been incredibly grateful to the disgraced politician for his timing. Almost everyone missed the announcement of her win, which was tucked on a middle page of the local paper instead of the front where it might have landed otherwise. So far she’d only had a few people ask her for money or suddenly become much friendlier than they had been before. The last thing she wanted was to become a local celebrity, so she’d been keeping as low a profile as possible.
“I did,” Kari said. “And I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with it. Like you, I didn’t see much appeal in just retiring and sitting around. When the woman at the shelter mentioned this place to me when I took Queenie in this morning, I decided that fixing up the sanctuary was the answer to that question.” At her feet, Queenie gave a decisive meow of agreement.
“You are certainly the answer to my prayers if you’re serious,” Daisy said, a hopeful expression on her face for the first time since they’d come in. “And if you aren’t going to let Bill Myers’s phony charges chase you off.”
Kari looked around the room. It was shabby, but she could see the potential. And the sanctuary was clearly needed. “I’m serious,” she said. “I’d like to have you show me around, and to meet the animals that are still in residence, but I’ll sign the remaining papers with you tomorrow if you want.”
“That would be amazing,” Daisy said, standing up straighter as though someone had lifted a fifty-pound weight off her. “I couldn’t bear to just walk away and abandon the animals, but I can’t do it anymore. We’ve just been struggling along praying for a miracle.”
“So you wouldn’t mind if I move into the house after we sign the contract?” Kari glanced down at Queenie’s carrier. “I already have one more animal than my current lease allows, and apparently I’ve just added to that number. I don’t mind giving you a couple of weeks to find another place to live, though.”
“That’s really considerate, but I don’t need it,” the blonde said with a crooked smile. “I’ve already shipped most of my stuff to my sister’s in Virginia. She’s expecting her second child and already has a toddler. I promised to move there and help out as soon as I could get the sanctuary dealt with. I’ve basically been living out of boxes and a couple of suitcases. I’ve got a friend with a garage apartment I can stay in until I leave, even with all my animals.” She laughed. “I seem to end up adopting all the hopeless cases. Nice to see you’ve got a head start on that.”
“Oh,” said Kari, the funny feeling coming back to her stomach. “You’re leaving town? I kind of hoped you’d stick around for a while and show me the ropes. I don’t have the slightest idea what I’m doing.” Not that she couldn’t figure it out. She’d figured out how to deal with everything else life had thrown at her so far—she could figure this out too.
“Don’t worry,” Daisy said. “I’ll stay at least until after the court date next week. I don’t want to leave with Buster’s fate still hanging in the balance, and I was in charge when he got loose. They’re going to want me to testify.”
“Besides, you’ll have us,” Sara said with a smile. “I love being here, even though it has been a struggle. Having an influx of cash will really help, although I have to warn you, when the place is full, we can spend over twenty thousand dollars a year on food alone, so you are probably going to want to apply for grants and such too, or you’ll run through your winnings faster than you’d think.”
“I don’t know,” Bryn said. She’d been so quiet, Kari had almost forgotten the other girl was there. “I’m studying to be a vet tech at the college, and the sanctuary is a great place to get experience. Not that I’m practicing without a license or anything,” she was quick to add.
“But it might be tougher than you think to come in here cold. Running a rescue isn’t all cute kittens and roly-poly puppies, you know. It’s a lot of hard work and dealing with difficult people, and sometimes we lose one of the animals no matter how hard we try.” She stared at Kari with narrowed eyes. “It isn’t going to be easy. Or fun, most of the time. You get to clean up a lot of poop. A lot of poop. I’m guessing that most lottery winners don’t pick up poop. Don’t you have people for that?”
Sara raised one eyebrow. “Way to sell it, Bryn,” she said. “You are aware that without Kari, we are closing the doors and we can’t help anyone?”
“I’m just being honest,” Bryn said. “We’re better off closing now with just these few animals depending on us to find them homes in the face of impossible odds than we would be if she comes in full of enthusiasm, fills the place up again, and then leaves in a few months when the going gets tough.”
A scowl clouded Sara’s brow and she opened her mouth to speak, but Kari held up a hand to stop the older woman.
“I understand,” Kari said. “What’s more, you’re not wrong. At least not about that particular scenario. But it’s not going to happen. Tough going is nothing new for me, I promise you. I wasn’t born a lottery winner, and I’ve survived worse than a little poop. Even a lot of poop. I don’t expect you to trust me. You don’t know me. But I would like to ask you to give me a chance. This is important to me, and I really want to make it work. From what I can tell, that will be a lot more likely to happen with you than without you.”
Sara patted Bryn on the arm. “I’ll vouch for her,” the retired teacher said. “She always turned in her homework completed and on time, and if she said she was going to take on a task, she followed through. I trust her, and we need her.”
Bryn looked from one to the other, and then at Daisy. “Okay,” Bryn said finally. “I’m in. At least for now.” She folded her arms across her chest, looking less than enthusiastic. Pretty in a kind of understated way with her dark hair tucked under a bandana, she was slim and a little taller than average, although her worn jeans and cropped college sweatshirt didn’t do anything to emphasize it. Of course, she’d probably been scooping the poop she mentioned, which meant her attire was perfectly suitable.
“Fabulous,” Kari said, meaning it. “It would really help me if you were both willing to stay. I’d be happy to pay you.”
Sara shook her head. “I don’t need the money, dear, but I could contact a few of the folks who used to work here and see if they’d be willing to come back.”
“I wouldn’t mind a small salary,” Bryn admitted reluctantly. “College is expensive. My aunt is helping me out and letting me live with her, but I hate being a burden. I work a part-time job, but I do spend a lot of time here, especially during the summer when school is out.”
“That’s great,” Kari said with a sigh of relief. “It sounds like we’ve got a plan.”
“I’ll help too,” Suz said. “You know how I love a challenge.” She glanced around. “Which this is definitely going to be.”
“Let me go check that the dogs are all locked up,” Daisy said. “Then I’ll be happy to give you the tour.” She went out through a door at the back of the room, followed by Bryn.
Once Sara was alone with Kari and Suz, her face took on a stern expression that reminded Kari of her student days. “Bryn isn’t wrong, you know. Are you sure you’ve thought this through, Kari?” Sara asked quietly. “It really would be wonderful, both for Daisy and for the sanctuary itself, but I’m not sure you have any idea what you’re getting into. It can be incredibly overwhelming, even without the challenges posed by having the dog warden set on closing you down.”
Kari nodded firmly. “I’m sure.” For the first time in her life, she really was. This was where she was meant to be. She could make a real difference here. “What does Bill Myers have against this place anyway? You’d think he’d appreciate having another organization that took in animals in need.”
“You would, wouldn’t you?” Sara said, her lips pressed together. “I don’t know what his problem is, but I suspect he was somehow responsible for Daisy never getting the grants sh
e applied for, and he’s been hounding her for months—no pun intended.”
Suz snorted.
The older woman shook her head. “I’m just giving you fair warning. Watch out for that man. He is dead set against the sanctuary for some reason, and I’m going to bet he won’t be happy when he finds out that Daisy has found someone to buy it.”
Kari didn’t much care if he was happy about it or not. Especially after the guy almost ran them off the road. She’d found the purpose she’d been looking for in her life, and nothing was going to stop her from making it succeed.
Two
Four days later, Kari looked down at the paperwork in front of her and wondered why she hadn’t bought a nice villa in Tuscany like any sane lottery winner. From her vantage point at the back of the room, she could hear the cheerful banter as a few volunteers and the couple of part-time workers she’d been able to lure back painted the walls a soothing light blue color. Even though the paint was low odor and nontoxic, and they had fans going in all the windows, the slight aroma of chemicals competed with the smell of bleach and a hint of wet dog.
Install air conditioners and look into better ventilation, she wrote down on her list. It was a really long list, and getting longer by the minute. After day two, she’d decided she’d better divide it into three columns: Need, Want, and Do Yesterday. Sadly, the Do Yesterday column was by far the longest. Reluctantly, she moved Better ventilation to the Need section. Replacing the worn floor, whose cracked linoleum threatened to trip the unwary and, worse yet, was impossible to ever get completely clean, was way more important. She had someone coming to start on that tomorrow, as soon as the painting was finished.
A small black paw reached over and nudged the pen, causing it to go skittering across the desk and onto the floor.
Furbidden Fatality Page 2