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Автор Рита Мэй Браун
The Tail of the Tip-Off
Rita Mae Brown
Dedicated to
Mrs. C. McGhee Baxter
because it will make her holler,
"Why did you do that?"
Cast of Characters
Mary Minor Haristeen (Harry) The young postmistress of Crozet.
Mrs. Murphy Harry's inquisitive and intelligent gray tiger cat.
Tee Tucker Harry's faithful Welsh corgi.
Pewter Harry's shamelessly fat gray cat.
Susan Tucker Harry's best friend.
Fair Haristeen An equine veterinarian, and Harry's ex-husband.
BoomBoom Craycroft A tall, beautiful blonde who has always irritated Harry.
Miranda Hogendobber A virtuous and kindly widow who works with Harry at the post office.
Tracy Raz Miranda's former high-school sweetheart who reunited with her at their fiftieth reunion. Also a referee at UVA women's basketball games.
Reverend Herbert C. Jones The beloved pastor of St. Luke's Lutheran Church.
Cazenovia and Elocution Reverend Jones's two cats, whom he dotes on.
Big Marilyn (Big Mim) Sanburne The undisputed queen of Crozet society.
Little Mim Sanburne Big Mim's daughter who is still struggling for her own identity.
Tally Urquhart Older than dirt, she says what she thinks when she thinks it, even to her niece, Big Mim.
Coach Debbie Ryan The motivated leader of the UVA women's basketball team.
Andrew Argenbright Coach Ryan's assistant coach with the women's team.
Rick Shaw The overworked and understaffed Sheriff who prefers to play it by the book.
Cynthia Cooper The sheriff's deputy and Harry's good friend.
Tazio Chappars A young, brilliant architect, and a recent addition to the community. She's on the Parish Guild with Harry and BoomBoom at St. Luke's.
Brinkley A half-starved yellow lab who loves Tazio.
Matthew Crickenberger A powerful but generous businessman and contractor who also sits on the Parish Guild.
Fred Forrest The cantankerous and combative county building code inspector with a reputation for scrupulous, if sour, integrity.
Mychelle Burns Fred's assistant. She models her behavior, unfortunately, on Fred's.
H. H. Donaldson A fiercely competitive local contractor. Hot-tempered but good-hearted, yet he has a wandering eye.
Anne Donaldson H. H. 's long-suffering wife. Though wary, an intelligent woman and a good mother.
1
A gray sleety drizzle rattled against the handblown windowpanes in the rectory at St. Luke's Lutheran Church. As if in counterpoint, a fire crackled in the large but simple fireplace, the mantel adorned by a strip of dentil carving. The hands of that carver had turned to dust in 1797.
The members of the Parish Guild were seated in a semicircle around the fireplace, at a graceful coffee table in the middle. As anyone knows, serving on a board or a committee is a dubious honor. Most people recognize their duty in time to avoid it. However, the work must be done and some good folks bow their heads to the yoke.
Mary Minor Haristeen had succumbed to the thrill of being elected, of being considered responsible, by the congregation. This thrill thinned as the tangle of tasks presented themselves in meeting after meeting. She liked the physical problems better than the people problems. Fixing a fallen drainspout was within her compass of expertise. Fixing a broken heart, offering succor to the ill, well, she was learning.
