by Abby Deuel
"Isn't that unusual in a Midwestern man?" asked Mandy.
"I suppose it is. I tend to dance to my own fiddle music, though. Now, tell me, what had you running late? Everything OK?"
"Yes. I had to stop to check the Crowley cows. While I was there, we earmarked the ones that are safe for transport tomorrow. It took a little longer than the time I had allotted. It looks like Mr. Crowley will head out this week since Barth can stay behind for the last shipment of his girls," said Mandy.
"Wait, Mr. Crowley is trying to leave?" asked Gerry.
"That's how I understood it, why?" asked Mandy. Myrna arrived with their root beers.
"No one is allowed to leave town without the permission of the police right now. Not that they are suspects or anything but protocol is protocol. We have put a moratorium on travel until the murder is solved," said Gerry.
"I see. I didn't realize that. You best tell Mr. Crowley first thing in the morning. I'm sure he will oblige gracefully," said Mandy.
"I shall. Thanks for the heads up. And what about Lyle, where is she?"
"She stayed home to puppy-sit. She loves her new puppy, hardly taking a break from watching her. It's adorable," said Mandy.
"That is pretty neat," said Gerry.
"Now for me to ask a few questions," said Mandy. "Do you have any suspects for the investigation, yet?" Myrna delivered their freshly fried fish, fries, and corn fritters. They were neatly arranged in a basket around the mound of coleslaw. Merv and Myrna could even make an old pub favorite like fish and chips look like gourmet food. She produced tartar sauce, ketchup, Ranch dressing, and extra napkins from her apron pocket.
"Need any other condiments. You never know what people want on fries anymore," said Myrna.
"Do you have any Downhome Sam's?" asked Gerry. Myrna pulled that out of her pocket, too. "What isn't in that pocket of yours?"
"Now, now. Don't be silly," said Myrna.
"What is Downhome Sam's?" asked Mandy.
"Try it. It's made here in the Midwest. We put it on everything. It's like a steak sauce with a milder flavor," said Gerry. Mandy plopped some in her basket to try with her fries. She nodded in agreement. "You will find that in these here parts, we eat Ranch or Downhome Sam's on almost everything."
"I will need to play monkey see, monkey do for a while so I don't stick out like a sore thumb," said Mandy.
"So, does that mean you are staying?" asked Gerry.
"I believe it was your turn to answer a question," said Mandy. Gerry focused on savoring every bite of his food, purposely ignoring Mandy's question so as to solicit a blush out of her. It, of course, worked.
Chapter 31
"Seriously, I will answer your question," said Gerry. "We are really getting nowhere here. We are starting to wonder if it was a suicide instead of a murder. It would be easy for Derek to have poisoned himself. He might have had someone over for iced tea and not been pleased about whatever they said. He might have been in the doldrums about something. Think about it. Maggie could have accidentally drank some after Derek was dead. Or, maybe he poisoned her too so that they would go together."
"What? That makes no sense whatsoever. I knew Derek. He was fine. I never saw anything to indicate that he was unhappy," said Mandy.
"Many people live with depression behind closed doors. They shouldn't have to. But society tends to frown upon people with issues," he said, emphasizing the words 'issues' by motioning quotation marks with his fingers.
"True. However, I like to think that he had someone he could talk to before he chose to do that," said Mandy.
"That's the problem. Most people assume that everyone has someone to talk to instead of becoming that person that someone can talk to," said Gerry.
"You know, the suicide rates of veterinarians is reportedly higher than in any other career. It seems that people work so hard and take their patients' lives so seriously that they put way too much stress on themselves. They are now starting to put special classes in some vet school curricula to encourage stress management. It makes sense to me. It is a very demanding career, what with grumpy clients, after hours calls, hard cases, etc. But, Derek, what would have had him so stressed that he felt the need to take his life?" asked Mandy.
"Maybe it was finances. He was re-mortgaged to the hilt. It's hard to say. Plus, a person doesn't need to be stressed to be depressed. There are mental illnesses that cause a person to be depressed without any outside explanation. It's chemical imbalances in their head," said Gerry.
"You sound like you are speaking from experience," said Mandy, cautiously.
"My dad had clinical depression. We all missed the signs. He was in a fatal car accident. I always wonder, though, whether that was his way of committing suicide without anyone having to know that's what he did," said Gerry.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. That is just terrible," said Mandy, putting her hand on Gerry's for comfort. She looked under the table, ready to give Lyle a warning for growling only to remember that Lyle wasn't there.
"It's OK. It's been a while. Going through the ups and downs of clinical depression with him opened my eyes. I am more aware that it is all around us, although most people hide their illness if they have one," said Gerry. "I wish more people could feel comfortable talking about it. It wouldn't be so hush hush if people came out with their stories, you know?"
"Truly. I concur. I guess it is possible that's what happened to Derek. At what point do you close the investigation?"
"Technically, we can't close it until we find a murderer. Proving mental illness in an undiagnosed person is nearly impossible. It may be a case that never gets closed," said Gerry.
"Hmmm," mumbled Mandy.
"What do you know?" asked Gerry.
"Well, I," she paused, "I have been following the lead that this weird chemical that killed him might be the key to finding the murderer. I have not been able to track down why exactly. I am still on the how. It seems to be a very rare chemical that is no longer in production. It was associated with a company that went bust after a whistle blower identified that the chemical was too toxic to be in circulation. The problem is that all of the information is classified. The only person alive that I have found who might know something has Alzheimer's. He had a lucid moment the other day and the nursing home sent me a transcript of what he said. It didn't tell me much that I didn't already know," said Mandy.
"Wow, you have made more headway than us. Do you have any names that I can run through my systems?" asked Gerry.
"One. It's a rather common name in Ireland. It's Ian Cruadhlaoich," said Mandy, spelling it on a napkin for Gerry.
"That's an unusual name. I'll see what I can find. Anything else?" asked Gerry.
"No. That's the tunnel I have been stuck in. It's not leading anywhere fast. Maybe your fancier search engines can help break the case," said Mandy.
"Maybe. Just promise me one thing. This may be a suicide. But if it is a murder, you are known in this town to be investigating it. Please watch your back. Deal?"
"Deal," Mandy said.
"Anyone for dessert? We have punkin pie with whipped cream," said Myrna as she cleared their table of empty baskets. They had both eaten every last crumb, even without Lyle's help.
"Punkin?" asked Mandy.
"Monkey see, monkey do," said Gerry to Mandy, leaving Myrna looking confused. "Yes, please, two." Myrna left the table to put their dessert order in. "Round here, we call pumpkins punkins. It's just how we ended up pronouncing the word. You'll learn all the little quirks of the Midwest. Be patient."
"I have lived all over this country so I have heard many different dialects. For some reason, I thought the Midwest was the least apt to have its own language. I am decidedly wrong," said Mandy.
"We will teach you along the way. You've learned two things so far tonight, Downhome Sam's and punkins. We'll have you speaking Midwest in no time," said Gerry as Myrna arrived with the largest slices of pie Mandy had ever seen.
"Good grief, we are going to exp
lode," said Mandy.
"Not really. We haven't even started filling our dessert stomach, yet," said Gerry.
"Pardon? Is that a Midwest thing, too?" asked Mandy.
"Nope. That is what my grandma always told me. We have two stomachs, one for nutritious food and one for dessert. That way, I could always save room for her desserts," said Gerry.
"I hate to say it. I may not be a human doctor but I have taken a lot of anatomy. Your grandma was wrong. There is one stomach and it must hold everything we decide to eat," said Mandy.
"Fair enough. However, I will correct you, then. Technically, we cannot explode, either," said Gerry.
By the time they finished arguing over matters of speech, they had both eaten their entire slice of pie, negating the whole conversation anyway.
"I better get home to my girls. Lyle will be worried about me and the puppy will be hungry. It's been a pleasure," said Mandy.
"The pleasure was mine. I will let you know what I find out about Cruadhlaoich. Be safe," said Gerry.
Chapter 32
Upon returning to the RV, Mandy found that Lyle had carried the puppy from her basket to the bedroom and was curled up asleep with the puppy in the center of her body. Mandy didn't want to disturb the slumbering pair but she knew the puppy needed food. It made more sense to fill her up as much as possible to reduce night-time feeding demands. She rolled Lyle's hind end out to open her body, retrieving the marshmallow of a puppy from the warm snuggle spot Lyle had provided. The puppy yawned, and then started suckling at the air in response to movement. Lyle whimpered in her sleep, perhaps dreaming of someone harming her puppy.
Mandy gave the puppy a giant helping of milk to keep her satiated for as long as possible. Another feeding would be required through the night. With Mandy's full morning schedule, she was hoping to get as much uninterrupted sleep as possible. She was full as a tick and ready to snuggle in to bed. She had not been letting the puppy sleep in the bed for fear of someone rolling over it accidentally. However, since Lyle had started a new practice, the puppy was not as keen on staying in her basket. Mandy tried but the puppy couldn't settle down so Mandy brought her back to the bed to put next to Lyle. All was quiet in the RV.
Morning was brisk enough for Mandy to turn on a space heater. She had heard people tell her that the Midwest had spontaneous weather, exemplifying the old saying, 'if you don't like the weather, wait a minute.' Mandy was starting to see the truth of that statement. One minute in late October, it was sunny with birds chirping, the next, it was frigid and raining. Mandy had learned to pack a variety of clothing options in her Jeep to cater to the ever-changing mood of the weather. Today, it seemed to be warning of cooler temperatures. Luckily, Mandy would be inside the hog facility most of the day, unlikely to become drenched in sleety, cold rain.
While she drank her coffee, Mandy finished off the transport certificates for the Crowley cows. It wasn't a terribly intellectual task but rather a mundane, tedious task that required an extra shot of coffee to accomplish first thing in the morning. The puppy received her breakfast while Lyle ate her kibbles. Mandy would have to leave the puppy and Lyle home since the hog facility's disease control protocols did not include allowing two dogs to sit anywhere on the premises. Mandy had arranged for Rhonda to come through the morning to check on the two girls. As a dog breeder, Rhonda had ample experience rearing orphaned or rejected young pups. She had been begging Mandy to meet the puppy so this would be a great way for them to become acquainted.
Mandy knew the hog facility would take most of the morning. She would have to table the murder investigation until the afternoon. She relished the opportunity to focus on something other than chemicals and clues. Sometimes, when she was getting nowhere with a problem-solving mission, taking a breather from it shed new light on the situation. She was also curious as to what Gerry might have found in his name search of Cruadhlaoich. Mandy couldn't fool herself; it was possible that she was on a wild goose chase or that there was no murder to begin with.
Her second mug of coffee was empty which meant it was time to get moving. She placed the dishes in the sink to do later. For some reason, she had no appetite so she skipped breakfast. It was probably her nerves worrying about a case that might not even be a case. She packed a bag of gummy bears and some granola bars in her satchel. She tucked the puppy in and gave Lyle a snuggle.
Gillian had beat Mandy into the clinic. She was already doing the morning chores, though there weren't many since there were no hospital patients. They were ready to go in less than ten minutes. They even remembered to change the voice mail on the message machine so people wouldn't be confused that they were not there to answer their calls for a few hours. As they were locking the doors, they taped notes on the door that explained that the clinic would re-open after lunch. They were tempted to write 'gone fishing' on the sign but they opted to curb their sense of humor. It wouldn't be pleasant for someone with an emergency to find that the only vet in town had gone fishing.
They were running right on time since Gillian had packed everything that they would need the night before. The piggery was all the way on the other side of the county. Their journey took them through some of the rural areas which Mandy had not had the pleasure to see, yet. Gillian offered to drive so that Mandy could look out the window and Mandy accepted the offer.
"How'd dinner go last night?" asked Gillian.
"Good. It was pleasant to sit down after a long day," said Mandy.
"What did you find out?" asked Gillian.
"It turns out that they are so lost for clues that they are now thinking this wasn't a murder at all. They think Derek took his own life and Maggie was a casualty," said Mandy.
Gillian almost swerved off the road. "What? That's ridiculous," said Gillian. "He was far from a tortured soul."
"That's what I said. Then Gerry pointed out that there are people all around us who silently deal with demons that the rest of us never have any idea about," said Mandy.
"I guess so, but Derek? I don't buy it," said Gillian.
"Gerry is looking into a name for me that might clarify some things. We'll see what he finds out," said Mandy. On the north side of the Jeep, they were passing a sign that said 'Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze.' "What exactly is that sign about?"
"You've never heard of those?" asked Gillian.
"Can't say that I have," said Mandy.
"Well, allow me to explain. A corn maze is when a whole field of corn is planted with a real maze cut into the rows and rows of corn. The result is a fairly scary place to get lost in since the corn rows are taller than most people so you can't see your way out. Rows of corn are scary anyway; you never want to get lost in a field of corn. Some places combine the maze with a night-time horror event with people dressed in costumes who jump out at you while you are trying to get through the maze. It's kind of fun, if you're into that. A pumpkin patch is a lot more kid-friendly. That is just a huge area filled with pumpkin vines for people to choose their own pumpkin for Halloween. That sign needs to be taken down as that season has all finished. I'll take you next year. The best time to go is in the beginning of October," said Gillian.
"Interesting. I have so much to learn about the Midwest," said Mandy.
"I'll help. The other thing about pumpkin patches that are fun is that they often have a petting zoo associated with it. Kids get to ride ponies and pet piglets. Some places have huge spreads for that time of year to please the whole family. There is an Amish community near here that puts on a very enjoyable Halloween-themed activity zone. They have great food, too," said Gillian.
"That would be fascinating. I have only read about Amish. I would love to go to that next year," said Mandy.
"We have quite a few Amish settlements around here. I am surprised that we haven't had any Amish clients come into the clinic since you've been here. We'll have to do an Amish road trip one of these days and take you on a little tour of some of their shops. They make great crafts and we will soon have two houses to
re-decorate."
"I'm into that. We'll have to plan a weekend and make it happen," said Mandy.
They talked so much that they made the journey feel much shorter than it actually was. Before they knew it, they were at the piggery unloading their gear. Gillian grabbed the cooler of vaccines while Mandy carried the medicine bag full of items one might need to diagnose and treat a sick pig. The owner of the piggery was waiting at the front desk to sign them in. He checked all of their gear for cleanliness before admitting them to the shower area. He was a man who wanted to get business done before small-talk so the girls followed suit. On the other side of the shower area, he was waiting to give them protective gloves, glasses, shoes, and hats. They had donned one of the white coveralls folded in racks outside the shower stalls. They were officially ready to start their morning of hog health.
"Thanks for coming out. I am Trent, I oversee the operations here. We take pride in our adherence to the highest standards of porcine husbandry. I appreciate you following our procedures. Please change gloves between each room. There are boxes of gloves mounted on every door. You will notice foot baths in front of every entrance. Please linger in them for at least ten seconds. We will do the vaccines first so as not to contaminate the facility with the sick ones that I have isolated for you," said Trent.
"It's nice to finally meet you. We have only spoken on the phone. I am Gillian," said Gillian, not sure whether shaking hands at this point would break protocol. Trent answered her question by making no attempt to return her gesture.
"Hi, Trent. I'm Dr. Bell. I commend you for your protocols. Too often, procedures are lost in the shuffle as years go by. Some people don't understand the importance of cleanliness," said Mandy.
"We have never had an outbreak here since I have been the manager. Plenty of piggeries in the area are battling with a gastrointestinal disease right now. We plan to stay clear of it altogether. It's not just that economically an outbreak can cripple a piggery; it's also that we are in the business to provide a safe food source for American people. We want our product to be free of any contaminants," said Trent.