"Cooley's Panther"

Excerpt:

“He’s new,” Cooley said. “He drives a black van and never comes to block parties. You can tell by his yard he’s not the best housekeeper. He didn’t even put a wreath out at Christmas. Say, would you be able to enforce a petition for him to clean up his yard?”

“No.” Officer Mofield studied 2021 intently.

“He handed out pencils at Halloween. Anyone knows kids just want candy. I’m guessing single, mid-thirties, no children.” She recalled the scruff of whiskers on his chin, black as coffee, and the irritation in his eyes when he’d looked her over, in her flattering pink church dress and holding out the paper with all the signatures. “Maybe a painful divorce, too.”

“You turning detective on me, Cooley?” Officer Mofield flipped out a notebook and jotted down a few words.

“What are you writing?”

“Never mind. Well, well. What have we here?”

There, in the dusty, tan soil of 2021’s yard, next to the garden shed, was a perfect panther paw print.

© 2006 Jody Wallace

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