by Abby Deuel
"I see. Did he mention much about his past?"
"Not that I recall."
"Anybody ever come to visit him?"
"No. I don't remember seeing anyone. He kept himself very busy on his farm, keeping his sheep happy and healthy."
"If you think of anything else, let me know," said Mandy. "Thanks."
Lyle rolled over onto her back, stretching. Mandy looked down at her, admiring her ability to relax when there was a murderer to find. "Back to square one, Lyle," Mandy said. "It is going to be awfully tricky to find someone who would kill such a squeaky clean guy." Mandy's thought pattern was interrupted by Gillian calling out from the back of the clinic and Talulah was ready to anesthetize. The pre-medication that they had already given made Talulah sleepy enough to induce into full anesthesia to repair her ear.
"Be right there," said Mandy. Leaving Lyle to relax, Mandy joined Gillian in the surgery area. She had calmed to surgical plane of anesthesia so, within minutes, they were shaving and prepping her ear for the surgery. Ear hematomas are a type of surgery that, for every veterinarian a person meets, a new method to repair it will be found. Mandy had tried numerous methods over the years to try to get the ear to heal flat, including x-ray film, shirt buttons, fancy purpose-made kits. She had finally settled on first puncturing the ear in several places with a biopsy punch. This would leave a place for further fluid accumulation to escape out while the ear healed flat. Then, she would quilt the ear with non-absorbable suture going through the ear, being kept in place by tiny pieces of IV line. The effect of the IV line was to keep pressure on the ear while not cutting through the skin during swelling. This also allowed Mandy to systematically take the sutures. If one area was stubborn to heal, she could leave the sutures in over that section to encourage flatness while not causing the skin to grow over as it might if the IV line piece was not acting as a cushion. Without all of these measures, Talulah's ear would heal as a convoluted cauliflower-like mess. This could lead to chronic ear infections from lack of air flow.
Mandy was working her magic while Gillian thoroughly cleaned Talulah's ears. They were dirty enough to require a deep flushing to get all of the debris out. Once they were sparkling clean, Gillian applied a long-acting antibiotic and anti-inflammatory ointment to reduce recurrence of infection. Lastly, they fitted Talulah with a cone of shame. As she woke up from anesthesia, she might try to itch all of their hard work right out. Mandy had learned that lesson the hard way. Just to be extra cautious, they trimmed Talulah's nails, filing the sharp tips. Talulah would have a few weeks of aftercare to look forward to, but step one of hematoma healing was complete.
Chapter 25
Mandy was sitting at the desk in her office, working on catching up on paperwork, when Gillian poked her head in.
"There are some people up the front to see you. They didn't say who they were. Do you want me to push them off?" asked Gillian.
"I am not expecting anyone. Strange. I'll come to see who they are," said Mandy. Mandy meandered up the front, deep in thought as to who may have come unannounced. Lyle took the opportunity to run up to the toy box in the front and pick out a toy. Mandy came around the corner and saw two people standing there. Immediately, Lyle recognized them and was giving them her over-enthusiastic greeting which involved lots of jumping and licking.
"Hi Dr. Bell, we heard you were making a go of it here. Thought we'd make a stop to check on you. We are on our way to a national show in Chicago," said the woman. She was dressed in her usual black pants and fuzzy gray sweater. She had her hair tied back and was smiling from ear to ear petting Lyle.
"Well, hello Blanch. Hi, Chip. How's it all going? It's so good to see you," said Mandy.
"No complaints here. We miss you at the clinic. But, we are happy to see that you are settling in somewhere," said Chip. He was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt with his ever-present pen tucked in the neck of the shirt. He had been on the road long enough to have a five'o'clock shadow to prove that he had let his businessman guard down.
"I think I may have finally found the place for me. In fact," she paused to look behind herself to make sure no one was eavesdropping, "I am working on buying a property here. You guys would love it. It has a lovely home on forty acres with rolling hills and sheep. And there is a pond for swimming or for Water dogs to play in," said Mandy. "You guys need to meet Gillian. She is the other half of this clinic. She has been pivotal in my decision to stay here. Gillian, this is Chip and Blanch Sayer. They breed Portuguese Water dogs. I met them when I did a stint in Massachusetts."
"Hi, nice to meet you," said Gillian, shaking their hands.
"They helped me become more accepting of breeders. Up until I worked with them, my opinion of breeders was very low indeed. There are so many who don't do any background checking on their dogs. They are just in it for the money. These guys do it all, OFA testing, CERF testing, genetic lineages. They even take it upon themselves to commit to taking care of any dog their breeders produce for life. They tell anyone who takes one that even it's two in the morning, they can call and they will come and get the dog if it needs something. That is a true breath of fresh air in the age of puppy mills," said Mandy.
"Wow, that was an introduction. Thanks, Mandy," said Chip. "Remember how long it took us to convince you to help us. You were so reluctant. You kept putting us off. And then we finally broke through your shell and got to the yummy chocolate-filled center. And the rest is history."
"We sure went through a lot together. Remember poor Bibi. We brought her into you. We had to carry her in. Her gums were so gray. Her temperature didn't even register on the thermometer. You put every machine you had on her. She had two IV lines. You were like a robot, covering all bases. We thought for sure she wouldn't make it. You worked your miracles and did surgery on her that afternoon. Not only did she make it through, but you found that cancer in her ovary and saved her life. We never did figure out which came first, the ovarian cancer or the hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. Needless to say, she is alive and well, thanks to Dr. Bell," said Blanch.
"Remember how she wouldn't turn the corner and eat until you started bringing on all of your other dogs in for visits? Then, she finally had a reason to live again and became ravenous," said Mandy.
"Yeah, and then she ripped out her IV line and smeared her poop all over it. She got that major infection in her leg. We got her through so much and then we thought she would lose her foot," said Chip.
"You guys saved her foot. You took her home since she was eating and off of all of the IV drugs. You did soakings and dressed her foot to make it heal. Once she was stable enough, we took that one infected toe off. That was where the infection just wouldn't clear. And then she was good to go," said Mandy.
"You know, she's here. They all are. We got an RV and took out everything so we could fit their crates in it. We now travel all over to shows. It's working out wonderfully. I can still work over the phone so it doesn't really matter where we are. We love our new nomadic life," said Chip.
"That's pretty funny. I give up my RV and you guys get one. How the tides change," said Mandy. "How long are you in town?"
"We are just here overnight. Can we plug in somewhere?" asked Chip.
"You can plug in behind the clinic next to my RV. You can make yourselves at home," said Mandy. "Let me show you around." Mandy proceeded to give them a complete tour of the clinic. They parked the Sayers' RV behind the clinic and plugged it in. "You can use the fenced paddocks to let the crew out to potty."
"Perfect. They are probably ready for a stretch," said Blanch. She disappeared into the RV and reappeared with a herd of very excited Water dogs. They thundered out into the paddock and did laps before sniffing for a spot to mark. As breeders, their dogs were all intact but one. They had to let them out in shifts to prevent any fighting since their hormones were all raging at any given moment. Most breeders just keep their dogs in crates to prevent unwanted behavior and the need to micromanage. The Sayers were different; they wanted to
provide a normal home environment for their dogs.
"I see they all look healthy. How are the two little girls doing?" asked Mandy.
"Excellent. We are just about ready to breed one of them. They have passed all of their tests," said Blanch.
"That was a hectic morning, wasn't it?" Mandy said, referring to the morning they had done a C-section on the female that Dr. Bell had bred. The entire litter would not have existed were it not for Mandy. She had performed the AI that resulted in their existence. Then, she had monitored their progress with x-rays and ultra-sounds until one day, she brought all nine of them into the world with a fast and furious C-section. The litter had been too large to birth naturally through the female's narrowed cervix. The joke at the time was that if Mandy hadn't been the one to do the AI, she would have believed they had a mis-mating with a bulldog since the puppies were that large. The puppies all went on to grow into healthy, gorgeous dogs.
"It sure was. You know, one of their brothers is already winning titles. They are special puppies and we thank you for your part in it," said Blanch, looking at her dogs running with a palpable sense of pride.
Mandy had experienced a serious inner dilemma about whether to help breed the female with the narrow cervix. It is sometimes a fine line for a veterinarian to decide between what they can do and what they should do. In the end, she had decided to help since they would likely go forward with or without her. At least with Mandy involved, they were getting a veterinarian with a conscience who would not do ethically questionable procedures.
"I am happy to see them thriving. I'll leave you guys to settle in. Maybe we should grab some food at the Inn later? Have you eaten?" asked Mandy.
"We grabbed an early breakfast on the road. We could use a sit-down meal, though. Give us a few minutes and we'll be ready," said Chip.
Chapter 26
Mandy, Gillian, Chip, and Blanch decided that, since there were no other appointments, they would head out to have an early dinner. The last week had been action-packed and a little time to catch up with old friends was allowed for the two busiest women in Crestview. Lyle would accompany them while the Water dogs would have to stay in the RV. They were used to the drill of napping in the RV while the world went on. Chip and Blanch actually found that their dogs were more settled if they had structured and alternating play vs work time. As a high energy breed, they would literally keep working until they fell down from fatigue.
There wasn't much of a crowd at the Inn since it was earlier than would be a normal dinner time. Not to mention that Crestview was more of a working man's town instead of one that had an underbelly of alcoholics who were waiting in line at the town watering hole at the break of dawn. Mandy found this a refreshing aspect of Crestview. She liked to see people that all still knew the secret to how to make it in this world: hard work. She also liked that there were times when the town knew to let its hair down, like for the upcoming Christmas Mingler. Now that Mandy had decided to make the Midwest her home, she was embracing all aspects of how her life would change. Seeing a blast from her past, it was hitting home that she had indeed found her niche in the world. She would be the farm-owning flock-watching veterinarian with a knack for murder investigations.
"What can I get for you?" asked Myrna, jolting her from her own private reverie.
"Oh, um, what's the special?" asked Mandy.
"Tater-tot casserole with a twist," said Myrna.
"What's the twist?" asked Chip.
"Don't ask questions, just try it," said Mandy. Everyone nodded at the chance to try the casserole. "A recipe like Myrna's tater-tot casserole is not something that people readily share in the Midwest. Out East, people aren't keen to tell you what's in their crab cakes. Same thing."
"Four casseroles and a plate of goodness for Lyle, coming right up," said Myrna, disappearing behind the kitchen doors, smiling the whole way.
"So, tell us what the current events are in Crestview," said Blanch.
"This week has been a doozie. It started with a flood in my RV, followed by a train that hit a stock truck full of cows. Then, we had a bushel of dogs intoxicated from cattle pour- on. As if all of that wasn't enough, we now have a murderer on the loose," said Mandy.
"Wait, I thought you were joking until you said a murderer. What kind of place is this?" asked Chip.
"It's a wonderful town. We just seem to keep having murders," said Gillian.
"Keep?" asked Chip.
"We had one about a month ago. Luckily, Dr. Bell here solved it before anything else happened. This new murder is far trickier. It was some kind of weird chemical that killed a farmer here. Actually he's the farmer whose land Mandy is going to buy. Anyway, he died and she found him. The police don't seem to have a clue. His dog died of the same toxin so Mandy has been doing some sleuthing of her own to put all of the pieces together. When we did the necropsy on Maggie, the dog, we found a little puppy inside of her. She is doing quite well so far so she must not have absorbed any of the toxin. You'll get to meet her, she's adorable," said Gillian.
Blanch and Chip were struggling to follow Gillian's fast-paced recount of the murder. It all seemed a little far-fetched. Mandy could see it in their eyes that they were concerned about Mandy's well-being. They didn't like the sounds of Mandy heading a murder investigation as a hobby. Myrna delivered their drinks to the table.
"Casseroles will be right out. Does anyone need anything else?" Myrna asked.
"I think we are good," said Mandy, noticing that the table was silent. Myrna left and the conversation resumed.
"I don't like the sounds of this at all. Who do you think did it this time?" asked Chip.
"I am not even supposed to be investigating. The local police force is not my biggest fan. They like protocol and a veterinarian solving murders is not part of their modus operandi. Needless to say, I have never done what I was supposed to do. My theory is that someone from Derek's past came back to haunt him. I haven't been able to find anyone in his current life who had any reason for him to be dead. From what I can gather, it seems that he came to Crestview and bought some land. No one here really has much information about his life before that. So, it would stand to reason that someone from before here is who killed him. And the mysterious part is that they poisoned him in his iced tea. It had to be someone he wasn't scared of or he wouldn't have sat down with them," said Mandy.
"Fascinating. What is the toxin?" asked Blanch.
"That's another strange part. The compound is some sort of insecticide that is not in circulation in the general public. It has an extremely high toxicity. I am trying to track down more information about it. I am waiting to hear back from a few people," said Mandy. Myrna arrived with their steaming casseroles, overhearing the tail end of their discourse.
"Enjoy your supper, ladies and gentleman. And, Mandy, do be careful. I figured you were working on Derek's case. I have a bad feeling about this one," said Myrna, as she left them to enjoy their meals.
"They care a lot about you here, don't they?" asked Blanch.
"Almost everyone has been very welcoming. A few people think I have bigger shoes to fill than my feet can handle. I'm sure that they will accept me in time. I have nothing but fond memories of Anna. It has taken me a while to get over the feeling that I am just stepping in where she left off. I am changing my perspective to believe that she had a reason to bring me here. She knew that it was the kind of place that I have been searching for in all of my nomadic travels," said Mandy.
No one acknowledged her outpouring of emotion with words. They only nodded and grunted. They were too busy devouring the tater-tot encrusted meals. Merv and Myrna did not disappoint again. The broiled top layer was crunchy, yet creamy with a mix of cheeses shredded on top. The inside was rich with flavor, featuring sensationally tender beef, green beans, and mushrooms, all against the backdrop of a rich, white gravy. The twist was that it was white gravy marinated with truffles, instead of the traditional brown, predictable gravy.
"If they
feed you this good around here every night, it would be easy to forget anything about a murder," said Chip.
"I can assure you that everything Myrna and Merv produce here is phenomenal. Lyle and I do a lot of walking to reduce the effects of the wholesome food," said Mandy.
"It really seems that you have found a truly perfect place for you and Lyle. I am pleased that it is in the middle of the country. As we are traveling to shows, we are almost certainly going to pass by here several times a year to check on you. I wish that we could stay to make sure the murderer is arrested before they strike again. Unfortunately, we have to hit the road at the crack of dawn tomorrow," said Blanch.
"It looks like we have a very trustworthy person we can count on to keep an eye on you in our absence," said Chip, patting Gillian on the shoulder.
"That I can guarantee. Mandy is becoming part of the family here," said Gillian.
Since they all had animals to get home to, the night did not drag on into the wee hours. Gillian had to get home to help Hamish with a school project and put the horses up for the night. Blanch and Chip needed to let their Water dogs out and feed them back at their RV. Mandy, of course, had the bobcat and the puppy to nurse along. Hanging out with animal people meant arranging social engagements between chore schedules, but none of them would have it any other way.
Chapter 27
Before Mandy and Lyle could settle in for the evening, they had to check on the cow at the yards. Mandy suited up with slightly warmer attire and checked in the Jeep that she had the necessary medications for the ailing beast. On the way to the yards, she saw the site where the pavilion construction would be taking place. She decided to stop and have a look since she saw some people standing around it.
"How's it going?" asked Mandy.
"It's going," said the man who seemed to be in charge. "I'm Adam, nice to meet ya," he said.