Jodi grinned. They both knew Cole’s words were wasted. There’d only been a handful of times that she’d requested Cole’s nonsurgical help in the middle of the night. But she’d also lost count of the times when she’d worked as both surgeon and anaesthetist. Jodi justified her decision because time was of the essence and she couldn’t wait for Cole to make the hour drive into Yamba.
Jodi had already unlocked the door to the clinic before Cole drove out. Rocky was first and foremost on her mind, so she headed straight towards where the Jack Russell was housed.
When the practice began treating more cases of paralysis tick a few years ago, she and Cole had devised a special oxygen crate. They’d covered a cage in clear plastic, so the animal could see out. Oxygen was pumped in via a tube attached to the side, the flow calculated based on the size of the crate and the dog.
Rocky seemed to be resting comfortably. He lay on his side, and at first glance the rise and fall of his rib cage seemed normal. Jodi pressed the stethoscope to Rocky’s side.
“Looks can be deceiving, hey, little man?”
Rocky lethargically thumped his tail once.
Jodi closed his cage and increased the oxygen flow. She double-checked Rocky’s IV site before drawing antiserum into a syringe and administering it through the port. “We’ll see how you go with this next one.” She traded the near empty bag of lactated Ringer’s with a fresh one and adjusted the flow.
She was unwilling to leave him, and pinched the skin at her throat. She’d promised Roger an update. Before she went to the office to make the call, she made a cup of coffee. Although the heartburn was starting to make itself known, she couldn’t do without the boost of caffeine. She had a feeling it was going to be a long night.
As Cole drove away from the surgery, she automatically glanced in the rear-view mirror. As she’d expected, Jodi had gone inside the moment she had dropped her off. She sighed. Her heart felt heavy with increasing concern for Jodi and the continuous long hours she was putting in with little respite. Cole squinted at the sudden harsh assault of car headlights as she passed a knot of oncoming traffic.
Cole slowed the car at an intersection. Her mind balked at her heavy introspection. Why was she taking such a personal interest in Jodi’s life? After all, Jodi was simply her boss. But that was too flippant. Too easy. Jodi was more than that. She was also her friend who’d helped her get back on her feet again.
She shook her head. Too involved. They spent more time together than an average married couple, simply because of the nature of their work. She needed to take a step back. Jodi was, after all, a big girl who could take care of herself. She needed to draw a line and not get so involved. That had been her undoing in her last relationship, and look where that had gotten her—nowhere, unless you counted engaged, dumped, penniless, unemployed, and with nowhere to live as progress in life. She drew in a big breath and pulled her shoulders back in an attempt to relax. It worked for all of about ten seconds. Cole frowned. Dammit if she didn’t want what was best for Jodi. It wasn’t a crime, was it?
She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. The practice currently had two vet nurses on the books working a variety of hours. If Jodi took on another vet, there would be more work available. They were a tight-knit group, a happy, well-balanced team. Whoever came in would need to fit in to that. Cole nervously bit a fingernail. If she was going to present some options for Jodi to consider, then she needed to make them good ones. She racked her brain about the last few vets that had blessed their doorstep with their presence. They’d had a few locums in for brief stints, but none that shone from memory.
Cole looked up in time to see a shooting star flash across the horizon. Reminds me of the flaming arrow they used one time at the Olympics to light the cauldron. Arrow. Of course—Fletcher! Cole laughed and slapped the wheel at the pleasure her own cunning gave her. Catherine Fletcher. Cate had been a mature student in her final year of veterinary science who’d served her last six months in the surgery, gaining valuable hands-on time with clients and animals under Jodi’s guidance. She still had Cate’s number somewhere. Cole decided to call her when she got home, to catch up, to see how she was going, and to maybe get a feel for where she was and what she was doing.
A small nagging feeling chewed away at the back of her mind. She felt slightly guilty and devious for plotting behind Jodi’s back. But something strange, alien almost, was hinting to her subconscious that this was an important thing for her to pursue. And if there was one thing her grandmother always taught her, it was to listen to her inner feelings—she might not understand what they were saying at the time, but she knew they were there for a reason.
“Hey, babe. Look what Jodi sent over.” Charlie clicked on each of the three maps and enlarged them.
Pip set a cup of tea on the table next to Charlie’s computer and peered over her shoulder. “Jackadgery, Dorrigo, and Nymboida. Those are rough and remote places, just where the wedgies like it best.”
“Now we need to find out if there are any breeding pairs in those areas.” Charlie shook her head. “I don’t know if we’ll have time enough before I leave.” She put her head in her hands. “Damn immigration. I hate this.” She drained her cup. “Tell me again why we can’t release Big Bird near where Cole found him.”
“Because there’s going to be some fairly wide scale clearing happening there to make way for hobby farms later in the year. He’ll only have five minutes to settle in before everything gets torn to pieces. We need to find him someplace not only where he’ll be safe, but also that you’ll be happy with long term.” Pip rubbed Charlie’s back and sat down next to her. “Leave it with me. I’ll make a few calls to Parks and Wildlife, and to Raptor Care and Conservation. They’d know better than anyone what’s out there.”
Charlie leaned her head against Pip’s. “See? In one swift move, you’ve managed to make things better. What would I do without you?”
“Probably get deported because you’d be hiking all over looking for the perfect place to release your budgie, and then be late leaving Australia.”
“Please, don’t even go there. I’m nervous enough as it is.”
“You’ll be right, sweet. Things will work out. You’ll see.”
Charlie nodded and sighed. “Deep down, I know that. But my pessimistic side, which also runs the anxiety department, is sitting in the driver’s seat.”
“Well, knock the chair out from under her then.” Pip wrapped an arm around Charlie’s shoulders and squeezed her close. “Come on, lovely. Let’s go to bed and work on those chair tipping techniques.”
Chapter Five
Jodi woke up still sitting at her desk in front of the computer. She looked at the screen, which of course was black because it had gone into sleep mode. She drew a big breath, pressed a hand to her back, and tried to stretch some of the stiffness out. She checked the time. “Oh, shit. Cole’ll be here in fifteen minutes.”
Jodi grabbed a fresh pair of scrubs and changed quickly. She rolled her dirty clothes up, sprinted out to the truck, and tossed them onto the floor in the back where they’d be out of sight.
After a quick freshen up in the bathroom, Jodi filled the coffee maker with water and switched it on. While the coffee brewed, she pulled Rocky’s chart from the active file and went to the kennelling area. Her heart sank when she found him on his side breathing heavily. Jodi increased the oxygen flow, injected another dose of antiserum, and noted the time on his chart. “Damn ticks. Mongrel things, aren’t they, Rocky?”
“Talking to yourself again, I see,” Cole said from the doorway. “How’s the little man doing?”
Jodi scowled. “Not as well as I’d hoped. I just turned the O2 up. We’ll need to watch him very closely from here on out.”
Cole cocked her head and Jodi was sure she was being scrutinized. “You spent the night here, didn’t you?”
Jodi widened her eyes innocently. “Why would you say that? I’m not wearing the clothes I had on last night. Doesn�
��t that say something?”
“Oh yes. But contrary to what you’re trying to make me believe, it’s easy to throw on fresh scrubs and hide your old clothes in your truck. Which, by the way, hasn’t been driven since yesterday when we got back.”
“And you would know this, how?”
Cole crossed her arms over her chest. “The hood of the truck is cold and there aren’t any tyre tracks in the dew.”
“You should’ve gone to detective school instead of vet nursing,” Jodi groused and handed Cole Rocky’s chart.
“I hardly see any need for that. I’ve already got you figured out, Doc.”
Jodi laughed. “It seems you do. Come on, let’s have a cuppa and you can tell me what’s on today’s agenda.” She walked past Cole and gave her a playful little shove. “Smart-arse.”
While Cole logged on to the computer to bring up the day’s schedule, Jodi poured two mugs of coffee. The headache between her eyes spoke loudly of lack of sleep and needing a caffeine fix. She put Cole’s mug on the desk and sat down on one of the lounges in the waiting room.
“Speak to me, Detective Impresario.” Jodi made herself comfortable and sipped her coffee.
Cole rolled her eyes but stayed focused on the screen. “Okay. Appointments this morning, and then this arvo you’re going to Hodder Stables to vaccinate, check teeth, and lastly check on my favourite horse.”
“Your favourite? When have you ever stepped foot on that horse stud?”
“Never. But if they have a horse named Coal, then it would have to be my favourite.”
“Okay. I’ll give you that. Anything fancy this morning?”
“Same old, same old—stitches out, needles in, surgical and annual health rechecks.”
The majority of the morning passed uneventfully. The appointments were fairly straightforward, other than the big old tomcat admitted into surgery. He was sporting a painful abscess on his cheek, no doubt from fighting with another cat. She would lance and drain it before she left for the horse stud later in the afternoon.
“Ah, there you are. I thought you’d already fed the girls earlier this morning.” Charlie unlatched the gate to the koala pen and affectionately ran the back of her fingers over the coat of Alinta, a female koala wedged into a Y section of housing who was watching her with sleepy eyes. She squatted next to Pip on an upturned milk crate, where Pip cradled another of the long-term residents, Lucille, in her arms.
“I did. I just came back to check on them.”
“Something wrong?”
A frown marred Pip’s normally relaxed face.
“Not sure. Lucille wasn’t really interested in the fresh red gum this morning, and that’s always been her favourite. And she seems super cuddly.”
Charlie knew Pip had a big soft spot for Lucille, who had come into her care after being hit by a car and sustaining significant head injuries. No one had expected the koala to live, but with a joey in her pouch, Pip gave her and the joey every chance to pull through she could afford. Lucille rallied and Pip nursed her back into health. Months later, the joey grew into a fine young koala who was released back into the wild to carry on Lucille’s genetic legacy.
Left with some residual brain damage, and mildly uncoordinated, Lucille was unable to be returned to her natural habitat, and she now lived her days out in comfort with abundant fresh food, milk treats, and regular cuddles whenever she requested them. And since being taken into care and returned to health, Lucille had proven to be a wonderful surrogate mother to orphaned joeys.
Charlie scratched the back of Lucille’s neck. The koala raised her head from Pip’s shoulder and stretched her arms out for a cuddle, crossing bodies to snuggle into Charlie’s embrace. She inhaled Lucille’s sweet, clean eucalyptus odour and smiled. Koalas were truly magical, wondrous creatures, unlike anything else she had ever encountered, and Lucille was one in a million. She was going to miss cuddle time from Lucille when she headed back Stateside.
Pip walked over to a fresh bucket of leaves, plucked a stem, and brought it back. Lucille reached out and munched on the offered leaves happily.
“Well, if you’re worried, why don’t you ask Jodi to come over and take a look at her?” Charlie hefted Lucille back into the fork of the tree stand in the enclosure. “She seems to be eating okay now.”
“Hm. Might be nothing.”
Charlie took Pip’s hand and gave it a light squeeze as they walked back. “Have you heard anything yet from your friends in Parks and Wildlife, or Raptor Care?”
Pip chuckled. “Not yet, love. But then, it’s only been a little while since I sent off the emails. I’ve seen you studying the files Jodi sent over. Do you have a spot in mind?”
“I rather like the look and sound of Jackadgery. And it has the added bonus of being the closest.”
“Is that why you picked it? Because it’s closest?”
“Oh no. It has some marvellous escarpments and a variety of forestation, from dense to light sclerophyll with the odd pocket of clearing. It’s sparsely populated, with only a handful of roads in the area. And the climate is pretty much the same as where he originally came from. But”—Charlie couldn’t help but smirk guiltily—“it just happens to be the closest, which is a bonus, I’ll admit.”
Pip laughed. “I’m just pulling your chain a little, but as your mentor, I had to ask and make sure you had thought it out with more than just your heart, even though I knew you would.”
“Heh. Sucks to be boss, huh?” Charlie felt a slight twinge of discomfort that Pip felt the need to revert back to a supervisor’s role instead of trusting her.
“Oh, I don’t know, it has its perks.”
Charlie stopped walking. Pip’s flippant attitude puzzled her.
Pip stroked Charlie’s jawline tenderly. “I wouldn’t be doing either of us any favours if I went all soft on you just because you’re my bed buddy. Besides, I need to make sure you’re up to speed if ever I should decide to retire and put my feet up.”
Charlie playfully coughed. “You could never retire.”
Pip kissed her lightly before resuming their walk back to the house. “You’re probably right. But I needed to ask, just as I think you needed to say those reasons out loud to yourself.”
Charlie pondered Pip’s words. She was right. She hadn’t stopped thinking about all the options since Jodi’s email first came through, compiling lists and poring over maps to justify her choice. She wrapped her arm around Pip’s shoulders. “Dammit. I hate it when you’re right.”
Pip winked at her. “I know.”
Jodi left Cole to keep an eye on the cat while he woke up from the sedation. She’d considered putting a drain in to facilitate the healing, but given he lived in a cowshed, she gave him a sufficient injection of antibiotics.
She donned overalls over her scrubs and settled a baseball cap onto her head. Cole had already supplied the tackle box with everything she needed for the horse stud visit. Although her clinic was primarily a small animal surgery, there were a few clients whose livestock she tended to as well. She didn’t mind tending to horses or the odd sheep or cow as it sharpened her familiarity with large animal husbandry.
“Rocky will need another injection before you leave, Cole. Can you just text me the time you give it and how he’s doing?”
“No dramas. I just checked him and he’s stable.”
“Good. Okay, then I’ll see you tomorrow. You know how Mr. Hodder likes to ramble on about his Percherons.”
“About as much as he does when he brings his kelpies in, I reckon.”
Jodi grimaced. “Yep.”
“How many times have you heard the same stories now?”
“I’ve lost count. But every once in a while he does add a new titbit in.” Jodi juggled the truck keys and walked out the door.
The drive to Casino was one she enjoyed. The widespread sugar cane fields gave way to national forest on both sides, eventually spilling out onto rolling paddocks, where hundreds of cattle grazed, an assembly of d
ifferent breeds, from Simmental, Charolais, and Hereford to Angus, Brangus, and Brahmas.
Jodi passed a McDonald’s in town and considered getting a coffee. She decided against it, figuring it was only another ten minutes, and Lord help her if she had to interrupt Frank Hodder to ask if she could use his toilet.
The driveway to the Hodder Stud was framed by three huge poles. Metal silhouettes of a Percheron horse on one side and a kelpie on the other faced the Hodder Stud sign, which hung proudly in the middle.
The road was lined the entire length with purple flowering jacaranda trees. Despite the winter rains, Frank Hodder kept his five kilometre dirt drive impeccably smooth.
The house came into view first, dazzlingly white where the afternoon sun touched it. The solar panelled roof peaked sharply, giving the structure some adornment to make up for the lack of windows on this western facing side.
Jodi followed the circular drive around to where the main entrance had been built to take full advantage of the morning light as well as the 1,800 stunning acres, which fanned out in front of it. A huge, marble floored veranda, lined with potted plants of all shapes and sizes, gave host to a number of Adirondack chairs. Frank Hodder stood up from one of them and approached Jodi’s truck.
“G’day, Doc. Room in there for me to catch a ride down?”
“Indeed there is.” Jodi waited while Frank got into the truck. “Where to first?”
“I reckon we’ll head over to the yearling barn, then to the training barn, then the foaling barn. I made sure Bob brought everybody in that needed tending to. He’ll be happy you’re on time because he’s going to have to clean every one of them stalls again.” Frank rubbed the stubble on his chin. “We’ll get the yearlings done quick to be nice on him. Them young horses don’t know how to keep a clean stall yet.”
Jodi drove down the westward sloping lane to the barns. White vinyl fencing surrounded huge, empty paddocks that had been cropped close and trampled hard and bare in spots where the Percherons congregated in the shade or at water troughs.
Precipice of Doubt Page 5