Dog-Gone Murder

by Marnette Falley

  Maggie sighed. “All right,” she said without enthusiasm. “I’ve been printing endless reports for the accountant. I might as well print one more for you.” She walked to her office.

  Po had pictures of everything she could even think of taking in the reception area. And nothing seemed out of place to her. “Maybe this is a waste of time,” she muttered to herself as she flipped through them in view mode, making sure there was something stored there. Suddenly she came across some pictures of her daughter and granddaughter, and she smiled. The Fourth of July holiday when her kids and their families had come to visit seemed like such a long time away. She had a sudden longing for the warm, languid days of summer, when none of this trouble had disrupted her friends’ lives.

  Just then, Maggie walked back out of her office, holding a sheaf of papers. “Here you go,” she said. “The last month of appointments. I just made another printout of a report I had done already. So it shows how much they spent at each visit also.”

  “Thank you,” Po said. “And perfect timing. We can clean up out here now. Then I’ll take pictures of the rest. Just in case.”

  Po tucked the printouts into the tote she’d brought in loaded with rags and paper towels and glass cleaner. Then she refocused on the job of the moment, shining up the front door, cleaning the glass and wiping the dusting powder off the doorknobs, inside and out. Maggie was still mopping the ceramic tile when she finished, so Po started wiping down the front desk and then the waterproof pads on the benches and small end tables in the reception area. Finally, she wiped down the top of the curved wall that separated the dog area from the cat side.

  When she finished, Po moved on to take pictures in Maggie’s office, every exam room, and then in the treatment area, the surgical suite and the boarding area. She shot close-ups of the inside and outside of the staff entrance and the back door. And of anything else that looked as though it received attention during the homicide team’s search the day before. There seemed to be more fingerprint dust than expected in the pharmacy. She made a mental note to ask Maggie about that later.

  When she finished, she worked her way back to the front of the clinic and found that Angela had arrived.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here, Po,” she said. “And you’re both here early.”

  “Angela is the first team member I’ve ever had who almost always beats me in,” Maggie said with a smile.

  “I’m an early riser,” Angela shrugged. “And if I get in here and get things organized, we can keep our days running smoothly.”

  “Always a good thing,” Po agreed.

  “So, we’ve cleaned up this front room,” Maggie said. “If you guys could help with my office, we should be fine when Maya arrives at nine. She’s the consultant who’s coming to talk with me,” she said as an aside to Angela. “Then I don’t think we have any appointments scheduled for me, right?”

  “Right,” Angela said. “We do need to get the exam rooms cleaned up fairly soon, though. At 10 we’ve got a pre-adoption meeting set up with Mrs. Lynn. She’s thinking of getting a dog and wants to make sure her cats can deal with it OK. Catie is going to meet with her. And then we’ve got three weigh-ins this afternoon, I think.” She turned to Po to explain. “We’re testing a new weight-loss program with a few of our really obese patients. I just know they’re going to feel so much better if they slim down a little. But it’s hard for pet owners. So often, we express our love by giving treats or snacks. And it’s hard to fit in long enough walks to counteract that.”

  Po looked from Angela to Maggie. “I know it probably won’t do any good, but I still wanted to talk with everybody here about that code list you gave me, Angela. Can I use one of the exam rooms to do that?”

  “Sure,” Angela said. “Maggie said you wanted to do that today. Just let me know when you’re ready. I can introduce you to anyone you don’t know.”

  She turned to Maggie. “Do you want to do morning rounds today?”

  Every morning the small team at the clinic met to talk about how any hospitalized patients were doing, what care they needed, and which clients and patients they expected to see during the day. This 15 minute stand-up meeting set the stage for a smooth running day, and helped their team make sure none of the care their patients counted on them for fell through the cracks.

  “I think we’d better,” Maggie said. “After the disruption yesterday everyone will be feeling jumpy. And we still won’t have things back to normal today. I think we’d better take the time to talk about that, and about our patients. That’s what we’re here for, after all.”

  “OK,” Angela said. “I’ll let everyone know. We’ll be ready to get together at the normal time.” She turned back to Po. “Actually,” she said. “If you just came to the meeting, everyone could meet you then. That might be more efficient. And it’s only about 15 minutes away.”

  Po had just heard a car door slam, and then she heard another. She realized the practice team was gathering for the day. “That sounds great,” she said. “Thank you.”

  At 8 o’clock sharp the morning team was gathered in the treatment area, leaning up against counters and treatment tables, chatting. Although she couldn’t hear anything of what they were saying, Po felt a certain tension when she walked into the room—despite the quiet chorus of good mornings for Dr. Maggie and Angela. She felt certain they were discussing the search the day before.

  When Maggie started to talk, the room grew quiet.

  She quickly ran through the status of the hospitalized pets. There were only a couple. Wednesday mornings were usually reserved for surgeries, but they’d not scheduled any for today, because of the consultant’s initial visit. And they’d redirected clients with emergencies the day before, because of the police investigation. So, all in all, they had fewer cases to discuss than normal.

  They did, of course, have plenty of other issues to discuss. So Maggie opened by talking about the events of the day before.

  “You were all here yesterday,” she said. “So you know the police investigated the practice with the thought that someone here could somehow be part of Mrs. Richardson’s disappearance,” Maggie said. “I have, of course, reassured them that this can’t be the case. Still, I appreciate all of your help and cooperation yesterday. Now, today, I’d like to try to get back to normal, as much as possible. Unfortunately, there will not be a lot of glamour involved.” She won a mild chuckle from the group. “We need to clean up, obviously.”

  Angela spoke up. “It won’t take too long,” she said. “And we were talking about doing some fall cleaning anyway. This will give us the perfect opportunity.”

  “We’ve also got guests today,” Maggie went on. “Many of you know Portia Paltrow. She’s a long time client. Normally you see her with Hoover. And she’s my dear friend. She’s trying to help us figure out what’s going on here and how to stay out of trouble.”

  Po nodded a little, and smiled generally at the crowd. And she could see some friendly smiles in return, including from Catie, the young woman who’d given her the tour of the back of the hospital the last time she’d visited.

  “Po will be talking with each of you today, to learn more about our schedules and security and about how we work.”

  Maggie went on. “This is also the day that I’ll be meeting with the consultant, you’ll remember. That’s why we have so few visits scheduled. She’ll be helping me think about how we can work more efficiently.”

  Po thought the response to this seemed a bit less enthusiastic, and resolved to ask about that, too, as long as she was at it.

  Angela stepped in again. “We do have some technician appointments scheduled,” she said. “Mrs. Lynn is coming for pre-adoption counseling. Tess, I wrote you in to lead that appointment. We also have three weigh-ins, Catie. You’d done so much with that program, it seems like you’re perfect to do those today.

  “So,” Maggie said. “Thank you all for your poise yesterday. By tomorrow, I hope our schedule will be back to norm
al.”

  And with that they adjourned. Although Po, who lingered slightly behind Angela and Maggie, who were still strategizing about the best use of the team’s time for the day, noticed that a few quiet conversations ensued as soon as it appeared that there was no one to monitor the discussion.

  Po arrived back in the reception area just in time to meet Maya, Maggie’s consultant, and exchange pleasantries about the weather. Then Maya and Maggie headed for Maggie’s office.

  “So, Po,” Angela said. “Do you want to talk with people in any particular order?”

  “I don’t really have a clear plan,” Po said. “Is there an approach that would be less disruptive? I don’t want to be any more bother than absolutely necessary.”

  Angela’s cell phone started to vibrate, and she checked it surreptitiously to see the caller ID and then chose not to answer. But within just a minute it began to buzz again. “I’m sorry,” she said. “but can you excuse me for just a minute? I’ve really got to take this.”

  Po nodded, and wandered off to sit in a corner of the reception area and think about what questions she needed to ask to get a clearer picture of what was—or was not—going on at the clinic. She vaguely heard Angela talking quietly as she worked her way to the back of the hospital.

  Five minutes later, she had her list ready. Angela wasn’t back. “She must have gotten sidetracked,” she thought. And she decided to just go find someone to talk to on her own, rather than waiting for Angela to facilitate. “And I may run into her around the first bend anyway,” she thought.

  Po started for the back of the hospital, but paused next to the side door as she passed it, thinking again about who could have entered that way without causing any damage. And as she stood there, she suddenly heard Angela’s voice right outside.

  “Who do you think you are?” she said. “I don’t have to take this from you!”

  And then her strident tone suddenly changed.

  “I know, I know. I get it. Just calm down. I don’t want any more trouble.”

  She sounded like she was just on the other side of the door, and Po was certain she had no idea she could be overheard. She certainly didn’t want Angela to find her lurking there. So, heart thumping, Po moved away from the door as quickly as she could, trying to duck around the next corner as casually as possible. And she was just in time, because she heard the door open.

  Po was still close enough to hear Angela’s phone snap shut, and then to hear her take two shaky breaths. She decided the best course was to turn around and act as though she’d just started down the hall.

  “Oh,” she said, feigning surprise when she saw Angela. “I was just coming to tell you that I’m ready.”

  “Great,” Angela said. Po thought she looked upset, but it was hard to tell for sure. “Let me show you which room you can use, and then I’ll bring Catie to talk with you.”

  “OK,” Po said. But while she waited, she wondered: Who could that have been on the phone? What kind of trouble?

  Po thought for the hundredth time how lucky Maggie had been to find such a warm—and still efficient—team member to head up her office team and keep her days organized. And Po had known Maggie long enough to see what a difference a strong team leader could make.

  It had to be a relief, she thought, not to be in charge of every detail anymore. To have someone else doing scheduling and tracking inventory and taking care of some of those details of keeping a business running. And a complicated business at that. And it seemed as if Angela found the work very satisfying. She really treated the clinic as if it were her own. “I’m overreacting,” she thought. “What kind of problem could Angela possibly have?”

  Within one minute, Angela came back with Catie in tow, effectively cutting Po’s reverie short. “Hi, Mrs. Paltrow,” she said.

  Po remembered how friendly Catie was from her quick tour during her last visit to the clinic. “Hi, Catie,” she said. “Thanks for coming to talk with me.” She hesitated, not sure where to begin. Then she dug Angela’s list of code owners out of her bag and handed it to Catie.

  “I’m trying to make sure we’ve got a complete list of everyone who might have access to the clinic,” she said. “Do you know of anyone else who would know how to get in?”

  Catie glanced at the sheet, and shook her head. “No,” she said. “It looks like everyone is on the list.”

  “Is there anyone you think who could guess your code?” Po asked. “Or do you know anyone else’s? Or does anyone else in the clinic know yours?”

  Catie looked sharply at her. “I’m not trying to get anybody in trouble,” Po said quickly, trying to clarify. “I’m just trying to think about all the ways someone might be able to get in without being on this list.”

  The young woman looked somewhat mollified, and she pushed her sleek blond hair back over her shoulder. “You key in your code anytime you’re the one who locks up,” she said. “Someone might be able to watch and figure it out. But what would be the point? They have their own code.”

  Po nodded. “Is your code the same for all the doors?” she asked.

  “Uh huh,” Catie confirmed. “There’s a different code for the drug safe,” she said. “And they change that one and our codes for the door anytime an employee leaves the clinic,” she said.

  “Do you have drugs here that someone might want?” Po asked, feeling a little surprised.

  “Well, we have ketamine,” Catie said. “That’s what people would be most interested in, at least.”

  “Oh,” Po said, feeling a bit out of her league. “Why?”

  “It’s a hallucinogenic,” Catie said. “But the trip doesn’t last long. About an hour. Still, it’s a popular club drug.”

  “I see,” Po said. “I didn’t realize …”

  “Yeah, a lot of people don’t,” Catie said. “But I know Dr. Maggie and Angela keep a close eye on our drug log, and I bet that’s one reason why. And,” she went on, “they require drug testing for new hires, and stuff like that.”

  Feeling a little overwhelmed with the new information—and the enormity of the things she didn’t even know to ask about—Po wrapped up her first interview there, and resolved to come back to this topic with Maggie later. It seems she had quite a lot to learn about the drugs available in a veterinary hospital. Her phone interrupted that thought.

  “Hi, Po. It’s me,” said Kate. “Are you busy?”

  “Hi, Kate,” she said. “Never too busy for you. What do you need?”

  “I’ve got an update,” she said. “About where they found Mercedes’ car. The police found it near Ninth and Walnut.”

  “I know where that is,” Po said. “But surely it wasn’t just parked on the street.”

  “No,” Kate said. “It was behind a garage. The owners finally called the police to complain that the car was blocking them in.”

  “How did you find out?” Po asked.

  “P.J. let it slip,” Kate said. “He had to run out in a hurry, and I managed to sneak in a few questions on his way out the door.”

  “He won’t be mad with you, will he?” Po asked, always concerned for her goddaughter’s happiness—and wishing for a wedding, if the truth must be told.

  “Not if you don’t go apologizing about my nosiness the next time you see him,” Kate said.

  “Did he say anything else?” Po asked.

  “Besides Mercedes’ handbag, he said they found Fitzgerald’s leash and harness,” Kate said.

  “I don’t know quite what to make of it,” Po said.

  “Me neither,” agreed Kate. “But I’ll ask him about it again tonight and call you in the morning,” Kate said. “I’m still trying to learn where Jarrod and Jack Francis were,” she said. “Nothing but dead ends so far.”

  “Oh,” Po said with surprise. “I hadn’t thought of this until now, but I actually saw Jarrod on the day Mercedes disappeared.”

  She explained about his visit to the hardware store and the bait for the fishing trip. “Angela ment
ioned that he likes to fish,” she said.

  “Great, that gives me somewhere to go next,” Kate said, and she went back to class.

  Po took a minute to write down some notes on the back of the printouts Maggie had given her about what Kate had said, and about what she’d learned from Catie. She was beginning to feel as if her brain were like a full bucket. Any additional information might just pour over the sides. With the key points committed to paper, she asked Angela to track down the next team member. She talked to each of the next three in turn: technician Julie Stepford, veterinary assistant Tess Johnston, receptionist Lynne Wilson. Aaron didn’t work on Wednesdays, so he wasn’t there. Which just left Angela.

  “So,” Angela said as she walked into the room. “Did you learn anything that will help?”

  “I don’t think so,” Po said, with a little shake of her head. “It’s so hard to know what to ask.”

  “Almost anyone might have shared their code with a friend or boyfriend or something,” Angela said. “But these are all good people. They’re very devoted to caring for people’s pets, and they don’t want to hurt Dr. Maggie.”

  “I know you’re right,” Po sighed. “But still, if we can find anything that will help. Poor Maggie is so upset.”

  She paused a moment. “Angela, I know this is silly, but I didn’t realize you guys had any drugs here that would be attractive for theft or resale. And the police sure seemed to be all over that drug safe. Is that why?”

  “Probably,” Angela said. “That’s one reason Dr. Maggie requires drug testing when she hires. Of course we have a drug log, where we track our use of controlled substances. So that’s another precaution against someone on the team dipping into the stores. We try to be careful about security, too,” she went on. “We have a security system. We installed good outdoor lighting. We made sure the entryway provided as much visibility from the street as possible. Stuff like that.”

  “That makes sense,” Po said.

  “How’s it going with the consultant?” Po asked. “Can you tell?”