Strays — Kristine Kathryn Rusch

In the first days of the Clinton administration, Ransom, a DC private eye specializing in Republican dirty tricks, falls on hard times. He finds himself investigating the murder of a local celebrity -- Bob the Weather Cat.

Ransom finds it hard to take himself seriously, but he tries for the sake of a client, a rich little old lady with a grudge against feline-haters.

Chosen as one of the best short stories of 1993, “Strays” pits Democrat against Republican, cat haters against cat lovers, in a town newly changed by a pivotal election -- and the death of a kitty in a yellow rain slicker.

“Strays,” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch was first published in Danger in D.C.: Cat Crimes in the Nation's Capital, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Ed Gorman, Donald I. Fine Inc., 1993.

Bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch has been nominated for three Edgar Awards, two Shamus Awards, and an Anthony Award. She has won the Ellery Queen Reader's Choice Award twice. To find out more about her work, go to kristinekathrynrusch.com

If you liked “Strays,” you might try these short stories and collections by Kristine Kathryn Rusch:

The Case of the Vanishing Boy
Five Feline Fancies
The Poop Thief
Pudgygate
Stomping Mad