About My Book

SYNOPSIS

When a body is found in an animal sanctuary, wildlife reporter Kristy Farrell discovers it was no accident. Five people were at the sanctuary when the death occurred.  All five attest to the victim’s nastiness. But is nastiness a motive for murder?

As Kristy digs deeper into the victim’s past, she discovers nothing is as it seems. She uncovers dark secrets affecting each of these suspects—providing powerful motives for murder.

Meanwhile, on the home front, things are anything but calm. A friend of Kristy’s widowed mother has become a victim of a pyramid scam. Kristy, assisted by her veterinarian daughter Abby, is determined to expose the fraud through a scheme of her own. In addition, Merlin, a rescue Siamese cat, has been added to the family.

Back at the animal sanctuary, things are quickly spiraling downhill. Accidents occur and wolves escape. Kristy overhears a conversation and discovers the sanctuary is in financial trouble.

Then a second murder occurs. Kristy believes the two murders are connected. Despite being thwarted at every turn by her nemesis, the blustery Detective Wolfe, she soon discovers a major hole in the alibi of a key suspect.  But as she closes in on the killer, it looks as if she may become the next victim.

Chapter One

The sudden roar made me jump.

“That was Bella,” Nick Lamonica said, pointing to a brown bear who was lumbering from his cave toward pond. Nick was the head animal keeper for the Happy Place Animal Sanctuary.

I’m Kristy Farrell, former English teacher turned reporter for Animal Advocate Magazine. I was writing a story on the sanctuary and the many animals it rescued. Bella was the most recent inhabitant—she arrived four days ago.

The bear entered the pond, causing a huge splash. Only her head remained above the water as she appeared to survey her surroundings.

“Bella spent her entire life in a circus,” Nick said. “She lived in a fifteen-by-fifteen feet cave and was only let out for training and when she was performing. Now she finally has space to roam. She has trees, a cave, and a pond.”

The bear looked as if it were grinning. Can a bear grin?

“C’mon,” Nick continued. “I want to show you the wolves.”

As we strolled down the tree shaded path, I gave Nick a quick once-over. He was built like a fireplug. I could easily imagine this short but muscular man hauling cartons of food and supplies.

“This is our wolf habitat,” Nick said, pointing to a grassy enclosure in the distance.  “Three acres divided into two pods. Wolves are pack animals, but you can’t add strange wolves to an established pack. That’s why we have two separate areas.”

Nick paused. “The wolves on the right are sisters who came from a roadside zoo. The pod to the left is home to a family of wolves raised as pets—”

“Pets?”

“We have more than a dozen animals here that are former pets. Monkeys, a wallaby, a pair of capybaras, a crocodile, and a few wolves. You’d be surprised at the number of people who think it’s cool to own a wild animal.”

 He shook his head. “These animals may be adorable when they’re babies, but once they grow up, they’re impossible to handle. That’s when they’re abandoned. The man who owned these wolves sent them here when a playful bite broke his finger. Wolves have powerful jaws—even when playing.

“Nick,” a voice yelled.

I spun around as a woman approached. She was tiny and rail thin. Her short black hair provided a stark contrast to her fair skin, and something in the way she stared at Nick with her glacier blue eyes sent a shiver up my spine.

“The barn hasn’t been repainted yet,” she said accusingly.

“You asked me two days ago. I’ll get to it, but I have more immediate chores.”

“You need to get better organized.” She frowned.

“It will get done next week.” He frowned.

“I also spoke to you about changing the food for the capybaras.”

“I put in the order. The new food should arrive in a few days. In the meantime, our veterinarian says our current food is perfectly fine.”

“He’s an idiot too.” Still scowling, she stomped off. “This place is a hotbed of incompetency.”

Nick cursed under his breath.

“Who was that?” I asked.

“Maureen McDermott, one of our animal keepers. She handles our marine mammals, monkeys, capybaras, wallabies, and other small creatures.”

He shrugged. “Like all sanctuaries, we don’t have the funds to do all we want. More staff would be great. Sometimes things like repainting a barn are not our top priority. But we take excellent care of our animals.”

“She seems impatient,” I said.

Silence.

“Off the record,” I said. Although I couldn’t print what he told me, off the record remarks often helped me form a picture of what was happening.

He hesitated, finally nodded, and spoke up. "She’s good with the animals, which is what really counts. But her people skills are terrible. She’s demanding and short tempered.”

Nick inhaled deeply. “She’s also what I called back in school a tattletale. She goes to the director and reports every mistake her colleagues make.”

“What types of mistakes?” I asked.

“I can’t recall specifics right now. Minor things.”

He narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. I wondered if these mistakes were minor. But though we were off the record, I could tell he had said all he wanted—at this point.

Maybe “Happy Place” was the wrong name for this sanctuary.

Chapter Two

After touring more of the sanctuary, Nick and I said good-bye in front of the cedar shingled administration building where I had an appointment with the sanctuary director.

When I stepped inside the building, no one was sitting behind the reception desk. I spied two rooms in the back, adjacent to each other. Suddenly, the door to the first office swung open and a woman, whose age I judged to be in the mid-thirties, emerged.

“I thought I heard someone out here,” she said, as she made her way toward me. Her dark curly hair reminded me of a French poodle. “I’m Gina Garone, the director. You must be Kristy Farrell, the writer from Animal Advocate.

As she extended her arm for a handshake, I couldn’t help notice her diamond tennis bracelet and other expensive bling—diamond pendant with matching earrings and a rock on her left hand rivaling the size of a small planet.

I like to know something about the people I interview, so I had researched Gina. She was new money. Her husband made multi-millions with his construction firm. Gina had spent her time volunteering for environmental organizations and animal causes.

When the Long Island Animal Rescue Coalition came up with the idea to create a sanctuary, Gina spearheaded the fundraising efforts, and her husband was the first to donate a substantial amount of money to purchase the land.

Cut to the chase—a board of directors was formed and Gina named director.

“Our receptionist is on vacation this week,” Gina said. “Why don’t we go to my office to talk.”

As we headed back, the door to the office adjacent to Gina’s swung open, and two men emerged. One was a tall athletic looking Black man. I recognized him immediately and smiled.   “Declan Carr.  How are you?”

“I’m fine,” Declan replied. But he didn’t look fine. He smiled at me weakly, and frown lines creased his forehead.

“I see you know our veterinarian,” Gina said, appearing surprised.

“Declan is a good friend of my daughter Abby. Delan and Abby were classmates at veterinary school, and they still keep in touch.”

“Declan,” Gina called sharply, as he started to walk away. “Don’t forget. I’ve set up a meeting for three o’clock tomorrow. Make sure you’re here.”

He turned toward Gina and nodded. “I will. And I swear I’m telling the truth.”

Gina sighed. “I don’t know how we’ll get to the bottom of this issue, but we will.”

Declan swung around and now faced me. “I’d love to catch up with you, but I’ve got to run. I’m headed to Manhattan for the Veterinary Association’s annual dinner.”

“You’ll probably see Abby there,” I called as he rushed out of the building. It seemed as if he wanted to avoid me.

Before I could ask about the issue with Declan, Gina introduced me to the man standing next to her, whose thin face, pale skin, and thick rimmed glasses enhanced a scholarly look. He was probably in his mid-twenties. “This is Lee Adler, our business manager. That’s his office next to mine.”

Lee nodded toward me and then said to Gina, “I have the report you wanted.” Lee thrust a paper into her hand.

Gina glanced at the paper. Her face clouded.

“We need to talk,” she said.

“I’ll be back in an hour.” He headed for the front door while Gina continued staring at the paper.

“Is something wrong,” I asked.

“No. Just some statistics. Let’s go into my office.”

Gina’s office was not what I expected to find in a not-for-profit organization’s headquarters. The room featured an antique French provincial desk, two silk upholstered chairs, and a Persian rug. Museum quality artwork hung on the walls.

Gina must have seen the surprised look on my face, because she smiled. “My husband furnished this room as a gift. Not a penny came from sanctuary funds. I like to be surrounded by beautiful things.

Gina motioned me toward one of the chairs. She sat behind her desk and handed me a brochure.

“This pamphlet contains a list of the animals currently living here, and it gives the history of more than a dozen of these poor creatures and tells of their lives before they arrived at the sanctuary. Most came from abusive settings in captivity. Others suffered permanent injury in the wild and can no longer survive on their own.”

I stuffed the material in my tote bag for later and then asked her a series of questions about managing the sanctuary. Gina provided a great overview of the facility’s operation, but she wasn’t good with specifics. I think she realized she didn’t have the information I needed.

“My main job as director is to bring in the money to keep this place going,” she explained. “The day-to-day operation, especially the budgeting, is done by Lee. He’s a whiz with numbers.”

She grabbed her phone. “Why don’t I set up an appointment for you to speak with him about the nuts and bolts?”

She called Lee and then asked me. “Can you be here early tomorrow, Kristy? Our staff is here by seven, so if you could meet with Lee at seven-fifteen that would be perfect.”

I agreed and we went back to the interview.

“Fundraising often involves getting donations other than money, she said. “For example, a local food chair donates a good portion of meat for the carnivores. And there are several other organizations that give us fish and produce.”

“That’s great. How much?”

Gina waved her hand dismissively. “I don’t remember the exact amount. But Lee will have all the figures.”

She leaned forward in her chair, rested her arms on her desk, and formed a steeple with her fingers. “We still need to buy plenty, but this does cut a hefty amount off our food costs.”

Before I could ask another question, Maureen McDermott burst into the room.

“Not now.  I’m with someone,” Gina said, her voice rising slightly.

Maureen ignored the comment. “Did you make your decision yet?”

“No. I’m still gathering facts.”

“I told you exactly what happened. Do you think I’m lying?”

Gina raised her voice. “I think you need to leave. I’m in the midst of an interview. I’ll see you tomorrow at three.”

I remembered three o’clock was the time she was meeting with Declan.

Maureen glared at Gina. If looks would kill, the director would be dead. Maureen said nothing else. She marched out of the room.

“What was that about?” I asked.

“It’s a personal issue. Now, let’s get back to the interview. I want to tell you about our next fundraising event.”

Gina’s voice was shaky as she continued talking. Was her argument with Maureen really personal or did it have to do with the sanctuary?

What was going on with Declan?

What was in the paper from Lee that upset Gina?

But most importantly was Nick Lamonica’s comment calling Maureen a tattletale. Was she a whistle blower?

I was a reporter. Gina had to realize I wouldn’t drop this until I found the answers.