Page 12 of Stilettos & Whiskey
The snake hissed, uncoiled from around the cat and slithered up an ironwood tree.
The cat ran for its life.
“You maced Twiggy,” Florence yelled in outrage.
Mildred smacked Florence with her cane. “If she hadn’t, that damn snake would have eaten Sassy.” She raised her cane again.
“No!” I grabbed the cane. “Don’t make me arrest you for assault.”
An evil gleam lit Mildred’s eyes. “Did you know Florence doesn’t have an exotic animal permit?”
“Snitch,” Florence snapped.
I pulled out my cellphone.
“Who are you calling?” Florence demanded.
“Animal control. They have the proper equipment to wrangle a snake that size.”
“That’s not necessary. I’ll get her down.”
I eyed the tree. Twiggy was about twenty feet up. “Don’t even think about it. Those limbs won’t hold your weight.”
“Are you calling me fat?” Florence spat.
I will not shoot her. I will not shoot her. “If you try to climb that tree, I’ll arrest you.”
“Fine,” Florence huffed.
I turned to Mildred. “I need your address and last name.”
“Miller and it’s 13622 North Reems Road.”
“You’re such a snitch,” Florence groused.
“And you’re a thief. Twiggy belongs to your ex.”
Wiping the sweat out of my eyes, I asked, “Is that true?”
“No! John gave her to me, and I can prove it.” Florence tapped on her cellphone.
“Hello?”
“John, I need you to tell this officer that Twiggy belongs to me.”
“Did she try to eat someone again?”
Oh, hell. Just what I didn’t need. A man-eating python.
A horrified look on her face, Florence quickly said, “No! Just a cat.”
“Just a cat,” Mildred repeated and raised her cane.
I took it away from her. “You might want to put some clothes on before the animal control officer arrives.”
“Oh, my goodness.” Red-faced, Mildred scurried into her house.
I dialed the number for animal control and sighed. Dammit! It was busy. As soon as Sergeant Bergman heard what I was dealing with, he’d come for a look- see. Reluctantly, I keyed my radio mic, “Charlie-24 I need animal control at 13622 North Reems Road for a twenty-foot python in a tree.”
