Santa
Clawed
RITA MAE BROWN
SNEAKY PIE BROWN
ILLUSTRATIONS BY MICHAEL GELLATLY
BANTAM BOOKS NEWYORK • TORONTO • LONDON • SYDNEY • AUCKLAND
A Bantam Book / November 2008
Mom and Dad always told me to work with the
best. I do. Therefore, this book is dedicated to my editor, Danielle Perez.
Acknowledgments
Surround yourselves with
good people. Every day John Morris Sr. and John Morris Jr. (Toot), along with
Robert Steppe, come to work on the farm. They are a joy. Dana Flaherty,
professional whipper-in, also manages the farm, and she frees me from many of
the small burdens so I can concentrate on the larger. The hunt club members (we
don’t kill foxes so don’t get your knickers in a knot) are the best people I
know, and they carry me along.
But in many ways the
deepest acknowledgments must go to my cats, dogs, horses, and hounds, for I
connect often more intensely with these friends than I do with most humans.
Perhaps I know their language better, who is to say? If there aren’t cats, dogs, horses, hounds, and, of course, foxes, in heaven, I’m
not going. Then again, I might not be going anyway. Curious, isn’t it, that
even in the afterlife humans have created an uptown
and a downtown?
I couldn’t live without my
four- footed friends, and I couldn’t write, either.
Cast of Characters
Mary
Minor “Harry” Haristeen—Formerly the postmistress of Crozet, she
now is trying to make a go of it with farming. She turned forty in August and
doesn’t seem to mind.
Pharamond “Fair” Haristeen, D. V. M. —Harry’s husband is an equine vet, and he tries
to keep his wife out of trouble, with limited success.
Susan Tucker—Harry’s best friend since cradle days, who often marvels at how
Harry’s mind works, when it works. The two of them know each other so well that,
if they wished, one could finish the other’s sentences.
Mrs.
Miranda Hogendobber—Miranda observes a great deal but keeps most of
it to herself. She’s in her early seventies, devoutly Christian, and mothers
Harry, who lost her own mother when she was in her twenties.
Marilyn
“Big Mim” Sanburne—The Queen of Crozet
sees all and knows all, or would like to, at any rate. She despotically
improves everyone’s lot but is good-hearted underneath it all.
Aunt
Tally Urquhart—This wild woman, in her nineties, must be a devotee of the
god Pan, for she’s in her glory when pandemonium reigns. She’s Big Mim’s aunt and delights in shocking her prim niece.
Deputy
Cynthia Cooper—Harry’s
neighbor, she, like Fair, tries to keep Harry out of trouble when she can.
She’s smart and likes law enforcement.
Sheriff
Rick Shaw—He’s the dedicated
public servant, insightful but by the book. He wearies of the politics of his
position, but he never wearies of bringing criminals to justice. He likes
Harry, but she gets in the way.
Olivia
“BoomBoom” Craycroft—She was widowed in her early thirties
and, being quite beautiful, always trailed troops of men behind her. One of
them was Fair Haristeen, who had an affair with her when he was separated from
Harry. He and Harry have since divorced and remarried. BoomBoom can be forceful
when necessary.
