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Author Insight
My Best Friend Teeny
To people who have never been close to a beloved animal companion it may be difficult to understand the grief of losing your best friend who happens to be an animal. My cat Teeny went to heaven last week and his pain from kidney failure has mercifully ended. He was my supporter, my constant companion as I sat at the computer. He greeted me at the door when I came home. He gently tapped my cheek with his paw in the morning to wake me up. He was sweet and loving and enjoyed meeting new people. I'm still functioning in a gray fog of grief. There is an empty place in my life where he used to be. A friend told me "the bond is not broken." She said I will see him again in heaven, and I know that's true. But meanwhile, I miss him more than words can say.
Book Excerpt
A Fate Worse Than Death
Steven, with Lyle in the passenger seat, navigated through downtown streets in a rundown neighborhood near County Hospital and finally stopped in front of a two-story house with blue paint so badly chipped it was coming off in sheets the size of paper plates, revealing a moldy gray siding underneath. The cement steps were cracked, and black garbage bags were piled up beside the small porch.
The detectives could hear yelling coming from inside the house, both male and female voices. Lori Lou was almost as loud as Ziggy. The front curtains of the house next door moved slightly, and they could make out the face of an elderly black man peering out from behind them. Lyle took out a notepad and handed it to Steven. “We can’t just go knock on the door. He could shoot our heads off. Here, why don’t you give him a call since you’re his pal and all that?”
Steven took the pad and studied the number.
Lyle grinned. “You sure we don’t want to wait until this whole thing dies down?”
Steven gave him a look, then took out his flip phone and dialed. He blew air out of his mouth and waited. Nothing. The yelling inside the house stopped. Steven was about to hang up when Ziggy picked up. He was holding a cell phone to his ear as he looked out the window at Steven and Lyle sitting in the unmarked car.
“What do ya want?”
Steven sat up in his seat. “Ziggy! Remember me? Detective Baker. We had a little talk a while back about your partner.”
“Never had no partner.”
“Neighbors have been complaining about all the commotion in the house. Why don’t you let Lori Lou come out on the porch so we can make sure she’s all right?”
“She’s indisposed.”
“That doesn’t sound too good, Ziggy. Let us have a look at her.”
“Forget it. She doesn’t want to come outside.”
“Then I’m afraid we’re going to have to come inside, Ziggy.”
Steven heard Lori Lou screaming in the background, “What are you guys waiting for? He’s going to kill me!”
The phone went dead, and Ziggy turned away from the window as the front door started to open. They saw Lori Lou’s face in the opening. Before she could step outside, she was yanked back from the doorway by her hair. She screamed and struggled to pull Ziggy’s hands away. The door slammed shut. Steven grabbed his radio and reached for the door handle.
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