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took mugs of hot brew into the living room. We sat on the sofa and I cuddled next to him like Merlot often cuddled next to me.
    “Aside from the homeless woman, what was the mill like inside?” Tom said.
    “Kind of spooky in the dark,” I said. “I’ll be excited to see the place once they turn on the electricity. When I met with the town council, Penelope Webber told us they’re working on getting power to the building, but thetown will have to give a giant down payment to Upstate Energy because of how huge the place is. The mill went bankrupt and became a tax foreclosure, so there are no utilities.”
    Tom swallowed a gulp of coffee. “A tax foreclosure. Sounds like an event I never want to face in my life. Anything with the word
tax
in it scares the crap out of me.”
    I laughed. “Me, too. But your business is doing great. In fact, why aren’t you out on a job?”
    “Just wanted to see you. Next appointment isn’t until this evening. Your friend Penelope Webber, by the way.”
    “She’s an acquaintance. But doesn’t she have a state-of-the-art security system already?” I asked.
    “You know how I put those new features on your phone—the four-screen view for your cat cam and the remote app for arming your security system?”
    I nodded. “Love the four screens at once, by the way. I can find the cats immediately now while I’m off running errands.”
    “Knew you’d love it. Anyway, Ms. Webber heard through someone in town that she can check on all the rooms in her fancy house while she’s having lunch at the country club.”
    “First I knew that Mercy had a country club,” I said.
    “There isn’t one,” he said with a laugh. “I guess I mean she can see her house from wherever women like her go in the afternoon to show off their new shoes.”
    I smiled at Tom. “Women like
her
? Really, Tom?”
    “Sorry. That sounded bad. I get tired of entitled, rich people like her, is all. Believe me, you would, too, if you had to deal with as many of them as I do. If she were a guy, I would have said, ‘Wherever men like him go to show off their Cuban cigars.’” He lifted his eyebrows. “Sound better?”
    “I was just giving you a hard time. Truth is, I don’t care for her, either. Why can’t she be like Ritaestelle Longworth?She’s filthy rich and yet she’s so sweet and kind and giving. Did you know she’s the reason Shawn can relocate all those ferals in the mill?”
    “How’s that?” He drained his mug.
    I said, “Using the money she gave him, Shawn bought up the acreage surrounding the Mercy Animal Sanctuary. He’s been investigating new techniques used to give ferals a safer environment. Maybe you can help him with the future heavy lifting that will be involved in the project. See, he’ll have to move these new portable structures inside the mill. They kind of look like Dumpsters.”
    “I’m not sure I understand,” Tom said.
    “Maybe I can show you a picture on your phone,” I said.
    He pulled it out of his pocket and I gave him the name of the website dedicated to rescuing ferals.
    Tom nodded as we both looked at the pictures on the site. “They do look like miniature Dumpsters.”
    “Using food,” I said, “Shawn will lure the cats into these things. They’re a nice kind of trap with everything inside that the cats need. Food, a litter area, a sleeping spot with quilts I made. At first, the cats can go in and out. Then Shawn will fix it so they have to stay inside the shelter. After the cats calm down, he can—”
    “Calm down is right,” Tom said. “A
nice
trap is still a trap.”
    “I know. The idea didn’t sit right with me at first. But Shawn convinced me that this is the best way to handle the problem. Once the cats settle down, he’ll move the traps onto his property. Then, after they’re spayed or neutered, he’ll let them out a few at a time and they’ll be off and smelling the same kind of food set out on his property. Apparently, feral cats captured