S A C R I F I C E D A KIERAN YEATS MYSTERY LINDA J WRIGHT Copyright © 2019 by Linda J Wright This is a work of fiction. While some of the geographical names and historical figures may be real, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictionally. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher. Published 2019 Printed in the United States of America First Edition ISBN 978-1-7323593-2-1 E-ISBN 978-1-7323593-3-8 Library of Congress Control Number: 2019907799 Cover Design by Bianca Gill Cats Paw Books Ebook formatting by ebooklaunch.com For information, contact: Cats Paw Books 630 Hickory Street NW Suite 120-119 Albany, OR 97321 [email protected] CONTENTS Praise for Stolen: A Kieran Yeats Mystery Dedication Acknowledgments About the Author Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Author’s Note PRAISE FOR STOLEN: A KIERAN YEATS MYSTERY “A superb series kickoff. Wright, who has been involved in animal advocacy for over 30 years, combines her passionate commitment to animal rights with a riveting whodunit that’s not dependent on murder to sustain interest.” Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) “One of the best-reviewed books of 2018.” Booklife “A powerful tale of the rescue of pets stolen from an upscale Victoria, British Columbia, neighborhood . the best animal book of this or any other year. A terrific rescue story!” Safe Haven Humane Society, Albany, Oregon “Stolen is a mystery that explores animal rights and welfare by giving an honest look at the abuse animals often endure for profit. While containing some hard moments, the story is uplifting, has a terrific ending, and is told through Kieran Yeats’s clear, passionate voice - that of investigator who fights to save animals. Liz Konkel, Readers’ Favorite Book Reviewer “If you have any interest in animals, or are just a mystery buff, you have got to read Linda J Wright’s newest novel, Stolen. All the characters in this book are well-developed, and the story will keep your interest. A great read!” Kathe Stander, Past President, Central Coast Humane Society, Newport, Oregon “Stolen: A Kieran Yeats Mystery was one I quickly got caught up in. The characters were all sharply defined and it was easy to identify, to empathize, and to root for all of them. The author used the story to raise awareness of the need for more protection for animals under the law, and I am always impressed, as a reader, when social issues are able to be promoted in fiction, without taking away from the enjoyment of the story, and this author does it extremely well.” Grant Leishman, Readers’ Favorite Book Reviewer “Linda J Wright has written an exciting mystery that will appeal to animal lovers and mystery lovers from young adults on upwards. Readers are introduced to some of the issues involved in using animals as research subjects, and the heartbreak owners face when their pets are stolen for such research. I look forward to reading more of Wright’s books.” Sandy Calkins, Librarian, Yachats, OR “Wright’s plot is taut and well-constructed. The story’s bucolic setting on Vancouver Island had me wistfully considering relocation. I’m looking forward to reading about Kieran Yeats’s future cases. Stolen: A Kieran Yeats Mystery is most highly recommended.” Jack Magnus, Readers’ Favorite Book Reviewer “We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.” Henry Beston, “The Outermost House”, 1928 For Sheila Crandles ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people helped to bring this book into being. If I’ve neglected to mention anyone, I’m truly sorry. Thanks to my editor Christi Cassidy for being a spelling, grammar, and usage maven, and for saving me from falling down embarrassing rabbit holes. Thanks to my development editor Nancy Fay who told me what worked, what didn’t work, and where to put those bagpipes. Thanks to my beta reader Jac Lambert who told me honestly what was meh, what she liked, and what she really liked. And thanks to my smart and long-suffering partner Martha, for reading and commenting on individual chapters as the book grew. These women are worth their weight in chocolate. Thanks again to some of the poets and writers whose work continues to enrich my life: Mary Oliver, William Stafford, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and the mad medieval genius Christopher Smart. Thanks also to Henry Purcell, whose odd opera “Dido and Aeneas” continues to delight and perplex me, and to writer and psychiatrist Willard Gaylin, whose book “Feelings”, is well worth an annual re-read. And thanks to the people at Cats Paw Books for believing that light needs to be shed on injustices done to animals and that I might be one who could shed such light. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Linda J Wright is a Canadian citizen. Born in Ontario, she grew up in a military family, and spent part of her childhood in France. She lived in Victoria, British Columbia, before moving to Oregon, where she now lives with her partner and their spoiled rotten cat. In the 90s, she was awarded three California Arts Council Artist-in-Residence grants to teach fiction-writing to GATE high school students and won a California Association of Teachers of English Excellence Award for those classes. She is the author of eleven novels, and in 2019 was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Best Mystery for the first book in her mystery series, “Stolen: A Kieran Yeats Mystery”. An animal rights advocate, Linda has been involved in animal welfare for over 30 years. In 1990, she founded the rescue organization The Cat People, and served as its first president. Since then, she has served on the boards of several animal welfare organizations and has been a consultant to hundreds of animal rescue/welfare groups. In 1999 she was part of the team that rescued Keiko the orca (the real Free Willy) and rehabilitated him in Newport, Oregon, setting him free off Iceland. She continues to advocate for animals through her writing. MONDAY CHAPTER 1 Midnight. I sank a little lower in the front seat of my Karmann Ghia and sipped the last of my coffee. Parked here in the shadows of Murphy’s Auto Repairs, the Karmann Ghia lined up with a dozen wounded road warriors, I was all but invisible. And bored. I had nothing to do but listen to the creak of Murphy’s sign as it swayed in the wind and watch the occasional pair of headlights go past on the highway leading to the ferry docks. And wait. I am not a patient waiter. A particularly icy gust of wind swept across the highway from the ocean, and I shivered, zipping my windbreaker higher and jamming my hands into my pockets. Why hadn’t I remembered my gloves? Late October on Vancouver Island is definitely gloves weather. I wiggled my fingers and found my phone — the phone on which only several hours before I had received the cryptic text that had brought me here to this desolate stretch of highway. The text read: Please help me. I can pay you $500. I have a package I need you to take. Meet me at the Donut Stop on Saanich Highway about midnight. Shrew I’d texted Shrew back immediately but she hadn’t replied. High melodrama indeed! Ordinarily I might have ignored such a strange proposition — after all, I’m an animal crimes investigator, not a parcel retrieval service — but October had been a rough month. Not to put too fine a point on it, but I hadn’t seen hide nor hair of a paying job in thirty days. So I made an exception to my own First Commandment (Thou Shalt Take No Off- The-Wall Clients) and agreed to this nocturnal rendezvous. Just to be on the safe side, however, I parked one establishment down from the Donut Stop at Murphy’s. Caution is one of my middle names. When Shrew drove up to the Donut Stop, I’d assess things, then decide if I wanted to take this mysterious package. “C’mon, Shrew,” I muttered. “It’s past midnight. I’m freezing my hindquarters off and missing my sleep. Let’s get on with it.” But nothing happened. The wind moaned a little louder in the branches of the Garry oaks, Murphy’s sign creaked even more ominously, and a tangle of paper cups, hamburger wrappers, and newspapers went scudding across the Donut Stop’s parking lot in a crazy tarantella. Somewhere nearby an owl hooted, a mournful, tremulous sound. I turned, checking out the shadows for gremlins, and saw the bulk of Mount Douglas looming like a hulking beast against the night sky.