Depawsit Slip (Vanessa Abbot Cat Protection League Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) by Nancy C. Davis
Authors: Nancy C. Davis
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Chapter 1
Vanessa Abbot scratched Flossy under the chin and made her way through the Opportunity Shop. She let down the blinds and turned off the lights. When she came to the bookshelves, she found Henry in his favorite box of torrid romances. She ran her fingertips down his back and he arched and purred.
“Don’t stay up too late reading,” she told him. “You’ll ruin your eyes.”
He blinked his bright yellow eyes and stretched out again. Vanessa moved on and returned to the front desk. She opened the cash register with her key and empties the bills into a paper envelope. Then she locked up the drawer and took her handbag from under the counter.
She paused at the front door to slip the envelope into her handbag. AngelPie twisted her tail and body through the electronics on the shelf next to the light switch. She mewed at Vanessa. Vanessa rubbed her chest and head, and then flicked the light off.
“I’m just going down to the bank to deposit the cash. I’ll be back in a minute, and then we’ll go upstairs and eat our dinner. You hold down the fort.”
The bells jangled when she pushed the door open, and AngelPie disappeared into the darkness. Vanessa locked the door behind her. Above the Opportunity shop sign, bright orange letters read “Hamilton County Cat Protection League”. She looked at her reflection in the shop window. Her plain brown hair with its first hint of grey stretched back from her face into a neat knot. Her tan overcoat covered her clothes, and her leather shoes clicked against the sidewalk when she walked. No one would notice an aging cat lady hurrying down the street.
The overcast evening hung heavy over the little town of Caspar Crossing. Autumn cold settled over the town and into Vanessa’s bones. She looked forward to returning home and curling up with her cats in front of the fire.
Of course, they weren’t really her cats. But they might as well be. She took care of them, fed cared for and pampered them. Whenever the Cat Protection League took in a neglected or abused cat, they always came to live with Vanessa in her apartment at the Opportunity Shop. The League’s monthly bulletin listed Vanessa Abbot as President, but in reality, she was the Cat Protection League. She manned the Shop every day, took care of the cats, and she managed all of the League business.
She bustled down the damp streets to the bank. Her hand went to her bag more than once, but she made sure she didn’t take out the envelope until she actually got into the line in front of the teller. Five other people stood in line, and they all turned around and greeted her when she arrived.
“Nice night isn’t it, Vanessa?” said Ollie Fleetwood, the local plumber. He still wore his stained work pants and his plaid flannel shirt.
Vanessa shuddered. “It’s ghastly.”
“Just wait until winter,” added Alfred Botchweather, the barber. “If you think this is bad, just wait until you’re wading through six inches of snow. Then you’ll really have something to complain about.”
“I don’t mind snow,” Vanessa replied. “I can handle snow much better than grey and damp. For some reason, it doesn’t chill me as much. Then when the sun comes out and shines on the snow—well! It’s lovely. I love going out in weather like that.”
A bright young woman with flowing auburn hair and bright brown eyes turned around in the line. “I agree with Vanessa. Give me snow any day of the week. You can keep your rain and gloom to yourself. Of course, I wouldn’t shake a stick at spring, either.”
“Oh, sure,” the fifth man chimed in. “Listen to Penny Cartwright. Sure, you love spring the best. You’re a wedding planner. That’s the time of year you get the most business. Now take me, for instance. I’m a doctor. I get all my business in the winter, when people are sick.”
“Shame on you, Walter Connelly,” Vanessa scolded. “Shame on you for profiting from other people’s sickness. You
Vanessa Abbot scratched Flossy under the chin and made her way through the Opportunity Shop. She let down the blinds and turned off the lights. When she came to the bookshelves, she found Henry in his favorite box of torrid romances. She ran her fingertips down his back and he arched and purred.
“Don’t stay up too late reading,” she told him. “You’ll ruin your eyes.”
He blinked his bright yellow eyes and stretched out again. Vanessa moved on and returned to the front desk. She opened the cash register with her key and empties the bills into a paper envelope. Then she locked up the drawer and took her handbag from under the counter.
She paused at the front door to slip the envelope into her handbag. AngelPie twisted her tail and body through the electronics on the shelf next to the light switch. She mewed at Vanessa. Vanessa rubbed her chest and head, and then flicked the light off.
“I’m just going down to the bank to deposit the cash. I’ll be back in a minute, and then we’ll go upstairs and eat our dinner. You hold down the fort.”
The bells jangled when she pushed the door open, and AngelPie disappeared into the darkness. Vanessa locked the door behind her. Above the Opportunity shop sign, bright orange letters read “Hamilton County Cat Protection League”. She looked at her reflection in the shop window. Her plain brown hair with its first hint of grey stretched back from her face into a neat knot. Her tan overcoat covered her clothes, and her leather shoes clicked against the sidewalk when she walked. No one would notice an aging cat lady hurrying down the street.
The overcast evening hung heavy over the little town of Caspar Crossing. Autumn cold settled over the town and into Vanessa’s bones. She looked forward to returning home and curling up with her cats in front of the fire.
Of course, they weren’t really her cats. But they might as well be. She took care of them, fed cared for and pampered them. Whenever the Cat Protection League took in a neglected or abused cat, they always came to live with Vanessa in her apartment at the Opportunity Shop. The League’s monthly bulletin listed Vanessa Abbot as President, but in reality, she was the Cat Protection League. She manned the Shop every day, took care of the cats, and she managed all of the League business.
She bustled down the damp streets to the bank. Her hand went to her bag more than once, but she made sure she didn’t take out the envelope until she actually got into the line in front of the teller. Five other people stood in line, and they all turned around and greeted her when she arrived.
“Nice night isn’t it, Vanessa?” said Ollie Fleetwood, the local plumber. He still wore his stained work pants and his plaid flannel shirt.
Vanessa shuddered. “It’s ghastly.”
“Just wait until winter,” added Alfred Botchweather, the barber. “If you think this is bad, just wait until you’re wading through six inches of snow. Then you’ll really have something to complain about.”
“I don’t mind snow,” Vanessa replied. “I can handle snow much better than grey and damp. For some reason, it doesn’t chill me as much. Then when the sun comes out and shines on the snow—well! It’s lovely. I love going out in weather like that.”
A bright young woman with flowing auburn hair and bright brown eyes turned around in the line. “I agree with Vanessa. Give me snow any day of the week. You can keep your rain and gloom to yourself. Of course, I wouldn’t shake a stick at spring, either.”
“Oh, sure,” the fifth man chimed in. “Listen to Penny Cartwright. Sure, you love spring the best. You’re a wedding planner. That’s the time of year you get the most business. Now take me, for instance. I’m a doctor. I get all my business in the winter, when people are sick.”
“Shame on you, Walter Connelly,” Vanessa scolded. “Shame on you for profiting from other people’s sickness. You
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