Farmcall Fatality (Mandy Bell DVM Series Book 1)

by Abby Deuel

  Contents

  Farmcall Fatality

  Publishing Rights

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Synopsis

  About the Author

  Acknowledgements

  Mandy Bell Series Information

  FARMCALL FATALITY

  Book One

  A Mandy Bell DVM Mystery Series

  By Abby Deuel

  Copyright © 2014 by Abigail Deuel

  All Rights Reserved.

  Paperback Published by Createspace.com

  Kindle version Published by Amazon.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Deuel, Abby

  Farmcall Fatality (Book 1 Mandy Bell DVM Mystery Series)

  ISBN 9781500278984

  ASIN BOOL5KEHWQ

  This book is dedicated with love to Alfred H. Deuel, my father

  Happy Birthday Dad

  RIP 6/19/50 to 4/13/10

  Chapter One

  Mandy rolled into the sleepy Midwestern town of Crestview in her thirty-four-foot RV on a crisp Sunday evening in Fall. Her Border collie, Lyle, was asleep in the passenger seat. Normally Lyle had her head out the window trying to herd the oncoming traffic with her cunning, working-dog eyes. The journey from Arizona to Illinois had taken about three days of solid driving, and she was fresh out of enthusiasm.

  “Second building on the left,” she read from her tattered, leather-bound Moleskin notebook.

  She turned off and pulled the RV behind the clinic. There wasn’t anywhere obvious to hook up a 50amp connection and the cool autumn air was divine so Mandy powered down the generator. Lyle bounced out of her seat, ready for a stretch. Also in need of restoring circulation to her feet after the drive, Mandy switched out of her driving slippers for her dusty, soft leather work boots.

  Of course, Lyle immediately found the cattle chute and sheep races behind the clinic. Even though she had never actually worked with stock herself, her genes were from a long line of sheep dogs from which she inherited the natural inclination. Lyle was eagerly sniffing through all of the chutes and paddocks, presumably hoping to find the source of the sheep dung.

  “Come on in, girl,” Mandy called to Lyle and together they entered the back entrance of the clinic using the key that had been sent to her PO Box out in Arizona.

  Mandy’s plan was to use the following week to look around the veterinary clinic and start getting it ready to sell. Her classmate from vet school, Anna, had died suddenly leaving the clinic and her house to Mandy in her will. Anna was an only child from elderly parents who had passed away several years ago. Mandy wasn’t aware of any other relatives of Anna’s. Anna and Mandy had been best friends for years. Although Mandy didn’t really have any ties to where she’d driven from, she wasn’t the sort to nest. She had been living in an RV for the last fourteen years, traveling across America as she saw fit. Being a veterinarian in such a vast country meant that she was never short on work or adventure. Mandy had never made the trip before despite Anna’s many previous invitations. It felt wrong to finally be seeing it under these circumstances.

  Not one to dwell on sad things, Mandy recalled the day she met Anna. They were all sitting in the lecture theater on the very first day of vet school, pleased as punch that they had been accepted into such an esteemed program. Everyone had a brand new set of notebooks and pens lined up on their desk for the occasion. Two people burst in through the side door, interrupting the riveting tale of the role of digestive enzymes from the plump, grey-haired physiology professor, Dr. Crisp. They announced that the lecture would resume the next day and an activity would ensue.

  “Everyone must remove their shoes and socks. Form a single-file line and start making your way out the front door of the theater. Leave all of your belongings. We will lock the door as you leave,” announced one of the interrupters.

  They all did as they were told and found themselves led through an obstacle course of tires filled with mud, cow dung, milk, and other animal-related gooey substances. Water balloons were thrown, silly string was sprayed. Each student received a mouthful of “drench” from a cattle drench gun. The idea was to expose them to the wonders that would be part of the world of veterinary medicine.

  The induction took place on the main concourse of the university and by this time a crowd had gathered to watch the new vet class lose a little of the arrogance they came to school with that day. They were all starting to see the humor in the situation when someone shouted.

  “Look up!”

  There was a string of shoes hanging from the eighth floor window that resembled those that the students had been wearing earlier. Simultaneously, a new barrage of water balloons followed by flour fell on the crowd of students. Not knowing the rules of the building, a few students ran to the entrance of the building to rescue the suicidal shoes and escape the dropping balloons. However, they were stopped by a professor who informed them that they could not enter a hospital with inappropriate footwear, particularly none at all. Dejected, the vet students put their heads together. Someone had the bright idea of going back to the original lecture theater to see if there were any shoes left behind. That building wasn’t in the hospital so the footwear rule would not apply.

  Indeed, a single shoe from every pair sat under the desks. Thinking quickly, they started trying to pair up shoes of similar sizes. Lo and behold, Mandy and Anna had the same shoe size and Anna got the task of wearing one of each to gain access to the vet tower and rescue the rest of the shoes. From that day on, Anna and Mandy became close throughout the trials and tribulations of vet school.

  Smiling at the memory of their friendship, Mandy took a deep breath and entered the clinic. Since Anna had passed recently, the clinic had not been left long. Cabinets were stocked full and the daily appointment diary was all ready to go on the desk. The clinic served a small, rural community where everyone seemed to have an animal of some sort. The majority of clients were farmers with cattle, some sheep, and horses to help move the stock. Everyone had a dog or a whole pack of dogs and a barn cat or two. Anna had said that there was always something coming in to keep her busy.

  As Mandy wandered around the clinic, she imagined Anna walking these very steps. Just then she heard a loud noise from the back of the clinic. She found Lyle with her nose in a container of dog food, enjoying a late afternoon snack. Mandy remembered that in all of her business to get here, she hadn’t fed Lyle her lunch. Although Lyle was five years old now, she was such an active dog who, without three meals, started to get a bit sluggish in the afternoon. She found a bowl for Lyle and set it down in the dog run area.

>   “Here you go girl, sorry I forgot about lunch. I’m pretty famished myself,” she said. While Lyle was eating, she thought she may as well find a level spot for the RV and settle in for the night.

  Mandy had a walk around the clinic’s back paddock to find a place to call home for the next little while. She had become an expert at scouting out the best level area with good wind protection and access to morning and afternoon sun. Mandy had decided long ago that as long as you have the ability to choose your locale to hang your hat at night, you may as well put some thought into it. She found a great spot under the oak tree. She put the RV parking brake on and lowered the hydraulic feet. Then, she opened the door to the book case and pressed the switch to bring out the lounge slide, doubling the main room of the RV. She went down the hall to the bedroom and flicked the switch to extend the bedroom slide out. That was much better, she thought. An RV is pretty small without the slides out.

  This was her third RV. She had first bought one when she lived in Montana and was going camping every weekend. After a while, she found herself living in it more than her apartment so she decided to go full time. She loved the lifestyle of having her whole house already packed up and ready to go. Most weekends, she went exploring new areas with Lyle. She had enough space to sleep six, though she rarely had any visitors. The first RV she had was smaller and the bathroom too minimal. Now, she had upgraded to a larger model with one large lounge slide and one in the bedroom. She had all the modern conveniences, an oven, a dishwasher, a washer/dryer, a fridge/freezer, and a tub. There was plenty of storage for essentials without encouraging clutter. She also had a compact barbecue, a few lounge chairs for outside, and a hammock and stand. In less than twenty minutes, she could park and set up her whole life in a completely new place. Behind the RV she towed her trusty Jeep. Mandy had given herself a Jeep as her graduation present because it lent to the life she wanted to lead. She could take the doors right off and let the dog fur and dirt whip right out the side while driving. It had served her well all of these years. She had no intention of upgrading.

  With the house squared away, Mandy went back in to get Lyle. It was going to be an interesting week and she better get some dinner started. Lyle was curled up on the bean bag chairs in the corner of the clinic lobby. There was a box of children’s toys and books under the table near the bean bags. Lyle had always liked children, presumably because they matched her high octane energy and often gave her tasty morsels when their adult counterparts were not watching.

  Mandy opened the door to the RV and Lyle bounded up the four steps to take her throne in the Lazy-boy chair by the door. From this spot, she could see through most of the windows to be sure that no animals or humans could pass by without receiving a good once over with her intelligent eyes. Mandy pulled out some left over beans from the night before so she whipped up some burritos. Being in the Southwest meant she had had access to all sorts of wonderful burrito additives, and luckily, she had stopped off at a road-side stand to get tomatoes and avocados. She had cleverly stock-piled a few items for her stay in the land of casseroles and dressing: The Midwest. As a side dish, Mandy put together a fresh spinach salad with a pineapple and cucumber salsa.

  After living in an RV for so long, Mandy was an expert at making meals in small spaces and not using many dishes. She rinsed the dishes to be ready when she had a full load and went outside to let Lyle run. Lyle jumped out of the RV with a tennis ball in her mouth. She dropped it by Mandy’s feet and backed up with her head still facing Mandy. Her lips caught on her upper teeth, giving her a puffy lip look and her eyes were wide with intensity. She stood, not moving a muscle, waiting in anticipation. Mandy picked up the ball and threw it, sending Lyle running like a greyhound. Lyle caught the ball on the first bounce and returned it to Mandy’s feet. Although this could go on for days, Mandy brought Lyle back inside and decided to go for an after dinner stroll to explore. She put her boots back on and sauntered up the main drag of town, leaving Lyle to nap.

  There wasn’t much to this little town, she had noticed when she drove in, a car garage on the left, a small grocery store on the right, and just up the road a variety store. There was a florist, funeral home, church, a cafe, a hardware store, a gas station, and a doctor’s office with a post office incorporated. In keeping with a Midwest town, the railroad passed through it to service the grain silos from local farmers’ fields. Anna had told Mandy all about this town and how devoted to working the land it was. Now Mandy could see if for herself.

  The last building on the left in town was the Inn and also the only business open this late on a Sunday. The door was the old saloon style door although this was far from the Wild West. Through the window, she could see that there were a few people playing pool and another few looking at the juke box. She decided to enter to have something to warm her up from the brisk air. The carpet was well worn in the path from the bar to the tables and back. She followed the path many others had taken and ordered a nice light, cold beer with a lime. Not usually a drinker, she thought when in Rome... She needed to start collecting information to help her sell the clinic.

  “Here you go, Mandy,” the bartender said when he handed it to her. She was taken by complete surprise and spit out the beer she had just sipped. “It’s a small town, nothing happens without everyone knowing about it, you’ll see,” he said.

  “Cheers,” Mandy said.

  “Don’t be scared, Mandy; none of us bite around here. They outlawed that at least ten years ago,” said a bronzed man with gray stubble and bear-sized hands. He chuckled.

  Feeling a little vulnerable, Mandy took a stool by the window and sipped her beer. A Cher song came on the jukebox so she figured that maybe this town is a little more inviting than it first looks.

  It wasn’t long before a few of the locals came over to satisfy a little harmless curiosity about the new arrival.

  “Found everything ok? Anna kept a nice house so you should feel right at home,” said a man in a shredded pair of Carharts and a red flannel shirt.

  “Yep, I live in an RV so I just parked it up behind the clinic. I haven’t been to the house yet,” replied Mandy.

  “I’m Billy. I farm hogs out west of the town. Don’t be shy around here. We are a whole town of friendly folks. And we sure did love Anna. So, a friend of hers is a friend of ours. Such a shame to lose her. It was so sudden.”

  “It was a shock to me. We had spoken on the phone just days before she passed. She said she had a mild headache but who would have thought it would be a fatal aneurysm? At least she was living the life she had always wanted when she passed,” Mandy said. “That’s the best we can all hope for - to die doing what we love.”

  “True indeed. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help your transition here,” said Billy.

  “Will do, thanks,” said Mandy, through a smile.

  Chapter Two

  When she finished her beer, she left a tip on the table and walked back to the RV, looking in the windows of the shops along the way. She saw her reflection in the window of the florist. Her wildly curly brown hair was in top form. Mandy was always battling with it to keep from expanding beyond any acceptable style. In fact, even when she was a kid, the problem had been embarrassing. In second grade, the kid behind her had told his mom that he couldn’t see the board. The mother had written a note to the teacher and poor Mandy was asked to wear her hair back so little Toby could see the lessons on the blackboard. Ever since then, Mandy had tried all sorts of hairstyles. The only real cure was living somewhere really dry and hoping the lack of humidity would keep the frizz at bay. Even out in the desert, her hair had been fluffy. In the Midwest, it was blossoming into its full glory of curls. She had worn it down today and, after seeing it in the window, she pulled a bandanna out of her leather satchel and tried to tie it back.

  She strolled along the main street, stopping to look at the town map in front of the post office. The whole main area was one street long. She had lived in a number of small tow
ns her life and she found they all had their charm to them. From the map, she could see that there were cattle yards for a weekly stock sale just at the edge of town. “I bet that is an experience,” she thought out loud.

  The plaque above the map explained that Crestview had received its name because of the hill to the north that provided an outlook point from which to see the whole town. The generally flat terrain of the area meant that a hill became a landmark back in the pioneer days. The name Crestview had stuck through hundreds of years of maps featuring the tallest hill for miles around. Mandy decided that the name suited the town now that she was finally seeing it in person. Anna’s descriptions had made it seem like a storybook village, devoid of many of the unpleasant aspects of more populated areas. Mandy meandered down the street, soaking up the ambiance of her late friend’s stomping ground.

  Arriving back at the clinic, Mandy was ready for a good night’s sleep. She opened the door to the RV and climbed the three stairs up to the lounge. Lyle was curled up in the bedroom but came out to greet her with her shiny new Wilson tennis ball. Lyle dropped the ball at Mandy’s feet and backed up, ready to catch the ball.

  “I’m too tired to fetch tonight,” Mandy said, “but I promise that we can go for a walk tomorrow.”

  Mandy opened the door to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. A green ball appeared at the doorway. Lyle slowly backed up from where she had placed the ball, waiting patiently for Mandy to recount her earlier statement.

  “It’s time for bed. Fetch will have to wait for morning,” Mandy said to Lyle.

  As if comprehending, Lyle leaped onto the bed and rolled herself into a little ball with her head on the pillow and her tail tucked under her front paws.

  “That’s more like it,” Mandy said. She changed into her well-worn flannel pajamas and tucked herself into bed. Mandy pulled a map out from her bedside shelf and opened it up. Traveling was just as much a favorite pastime for her as falling asleep looking at a map of her new surrounds. She had kept track of everywhere she had been and enjoyed perusing the detailed maps of the States to see where she needed to fill any holes. She hadn’t been here before, so it was at least exposing her to a new part of America. She had one of those maps that had National and State Parks in green. There was lots of green around this area. Mandy figured once she had the clinic squared away, she would explore for weekend camping spot. She drifted off, pondering if there were any fishing spots in the vicinity.