That Christmas Feeling Read Online Free PDF Page B

shoulders and forcing her back onto the settee. “Sit down now! And if you so much as squeak, I’ll tell Rob to handcuff you.”
    With Flossie bawling like a calf at branding time and Claire doing her level best to restrain her, Bill managed to sneak in a quick examination of the elderly woman’s knees. As the paramedic retreated from the hail of verbal abuse, Rob returned to the parlor with Claire’s pet carrier, the fishing net she had brought and word that the local shelter could handle ten cats and the nearby town of Bolivar wouldtake the rest. The head of Buffalo’s animal rescue was on her way with several humane traps and other equipment.
    “I’m afraid you’re going to have to cuff Miss Ross, Chief,” Bill said, eyeing Flossie. “I got a look at her knees, and I suspect they’re all right. But I’m telling you…I think we may have some other problems going on. I’d like to check her over. She may need to see a doctor.”
    “What’s wrong?” Claire asked. Flossie was headed for the door, murmuring that she was going to fetch her pistol. “Is my aunt sick?”
    “Hard to say, but I think for sure she’s got…well, fleas. Maybe other things, you know.”
    She grimaced. “Lice?”
    “Not sure. She definitely looks anemic to me. There are bruises all over her legs, but everybody knows the only place she ever goes is to the corner grocery to buy cat food and a few supplies. So I’m thinking she bumps into the furniture, maybe. Then there’s the matter of her teeth. Vitamin deficiency, low iron, you name it. Her general nutritional condition looks pretty bad….”
    His words drifted off at the sight of Rob West handcuffing Florence Ross to the arm of her carved mahogany settee. Her free fist pounding his broad shoulders, Flossie wailed and screeched and threatened the police chief with every manner of legal action and vengeance imaginable.
    Claire could only stare in dismay. How on earth had things gotten so out of control here? Exactly who was responsible for Florence Ross? Did the state of Missouri owe her help—the Division of Family Services, Meals onWheels, Social Services or whatever? Were Buffalo’s public servants—the police force and the city aldermen—liable for keeping an eye on their elderly and infirm residents? Should the Ross family have been looking in on their recalcitrant relative, a hermit who had unequivocally disowned all of them? Or was Aunt Flossie supposed to be capable of maintaining her own health and habitation?
    The sight of the elderly woman cuffed and snarling at everyone in sight sent a curl of flame through Claire’s chest. The truth of the matter was, Aunt Flossie had brought this on herself. She had alienated everyone to the point that no one wanted to go near her. For all they knew, she could have dropped dead weeks ago, and no one would have been the wiser.
    Angry at her aunt, her family, the police, the state government and even herself, Claire snatched up the fishing net and dropped it over the nearest cat. A gray-striped bag of skin and bones, the animal instantly sprang to life—yowling, hissing, turning circles inside the nylon net, tangling claws and teeth and tail in a mass of freaked-out feline hysteria.
    “Look at her! Look at what my niece is doing!” Flossie hollered. “She’s killing Oscar!”
    Oscar? This cat had a name? Struggling to keep the animal trapped, Claire reached for the pet carrier. As she tugged it toward the netted cat, a claw caught her hand and raked a line of torn flesh.
    “Ouch!” she cried, tumbling backward into one of the haystacks of clothing and newspapers. The cat escapedthe net in a blur of gray fur. Ears flattened against his head, Oscar made for the open window and vanished with a flick of his long tail.
    “Nice try, Clarence,” Rob said, reaching out to help Claire to her feet. “But I believe this is a job for two.”
    “Fine, then.” She handed him the net. “See if you can do it.”
    But the cats were on