Double Vision

by Ellie Hart

  I need to see you ASAP. Available this morning? I tap out the message using one finger.

  He answers my text almost immediately. Am driving. Will respond later.

  Damn. I love our state’s no texting while driving law, I really do, but sometimes it can be just this side of irritating. There’s nothing to do but call him. Hopefully he’s on hands-free.

  He answers after two short rings.

  “Don Butler here.” I can tell by his slightly muffled tone that he is on a hands-free device, but he’s eating. Isn’t that just as dangerous as using a cell phone?

  “It’s Giselle.” Close your mouth, I want to say. “I need to talk to you as soon as you’re free.”

  “Funny,” he replies. I can hear the sound of paper rustling in the background. A breakfast burrito wrapper, or maybe one from an egg sandwich. “I was just on my way to see you. You know what they say about great minds and all that jazz.”

  “Well, this great mind wants to run a few things past you. Where are you right now?”

  “Just pulling into the parking lot behind your clinic.”

  “Fabulous.” I stand up quickly, forgetting about my knee and whacking it soundly on the edge of the desk. “Ow!”

  “Hey, it’s not that painful to talk to me.”

  “No, it’s something else.” I press my lips tightly together in an effort to mitigate the pain, or at least my reaction to the pain. “Come around to the front door, all right?”

  By the time he arrives, I’ve hobbled down the hallway into the reception area.

  “Thanks for coming by,” I say, forgetting he was already on his way here. I glance over to the front desk where Maxi is writing the note, her bottom lip between her teeth. “We’re just waiting for the replacement receptionist, and we can go somewhere else to chat.”

  Don stares at me but he says nothing, instead doing a one-eighty as he looks around at the office.

  “Nice digs. And who’s this cutie?” He bends down, ready to scoop up a kitten that’s wandered close, swiping one tentative paw at his shoe. Mama cat is hovering just in the background, though, and he wisely limits the contact to a brief tickle between the kitten’s ears.

  “Smart move,” I say, a lopsided grin on my face. “That’s one of a new batch we’re trying to find homes for. Interested?”

  “Maybe,” he says, much to my surprise. I’d been half joking. “Speaking of homes, I got a tip about Jinx’s brother. Something about his home being ransacked.”

  A slight sound comes from the desk, and I look over in time to see Maxi slide from the chair onto the floor.

  “Was it something I said?” Don stares at the fallen girl as I limp in double-time to the desk and check to make sure she’s still breathing. I’m relieved to see she’s landed on a large cushion meant for the kittens, and her eyes are already opening.

  “It’s a long story. And after you’ve gotten her a drink of water, I’ll tell it you.”

  Without another word, Don bolts down the hallway. I have to admit the man can move for someone his age.

  Chapter Fifteen

  With Maxi now leaning back against the cushions of the love seat, I relax. I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen someone faint when hearing bad news, and I am relieved to see her color has returned. Don, on the other hand, is looking more than a little guilty at having caused the episode. Maybe I can play on that and get more information than I have to give up.

  The front door opens, and a slight young woman walks in. She starts to smile when she spots Maxi, a pair of dimples deep enough to hold water standing out on either side of her mouth.

  “Hey, girlfriend,” she says, tossing a macramé bag on the floor and sinking down next to Maxi. “You sick or something?”

  I jump in before Maxi or Don say anything. “Something. Are you good for the rest of her shift?”

  “Sure thing.” She shrugs her thin shoulders, reaching up to tuck a length of shining black hair behind one ear. “I’ve gotta study for midterms, if that’s okay. The profs at Berkeley could care less how busy my life is.” This is directed at me and I nod, vaguely sympathetic. I’m not so old I can’t recall my own frustration at the mountains of work my teachers seemed to invent from thin air.

  “No problem, as long as it’s quiet here. I’m sure you know how busy a clinic can get at the drop of a hat.”

  “You’re telling me,” she says, rolling her dark eyes. “I swear, sometimes it seems like every dog and cat in the Bay Area gets sick on the same day, you know?”

  I did indeed know. Toss in a few ferrets and pets of the smaller variety, and you’d have a real humdinger of a day. A twinge of guilt shoots through me. No wonder Lou’s ticked off, having to fly solo so often lately.

  “Maxi, you ready?” I reach over and pat the girl’s arm. She nods, moving to the edge of the seat and standing up, swaying slightly. Akemi and I grab for her at the same time, steadying her as she stands still, eyes closed.

  “Maybe we should postpone this,” Don offers, an uncomfortable expression on his face. “I mean, we can talk later if she’s not feeling well.” He gives a surreptitious glance at his watch. “I can always meet you later, Doc.”

  “I’m fine.” Maxi’s voice is firmer than I would have expected for someone who’s just fainted, but what would I know? I’ve never passed out in my life.

  I glance from Maxi to Don, aware of Akemi’s bright gaze flitting between the three of us. We need to take this somewhere else, or we’ll become fodder for dormitory gossip.

  “Don, do you want to drive? Or I can, if you want me to.” I glance down at my leg and see the blood on my scrubs has dried. I hesitate a moment, trying to decide whether or not to change before I go out in public. Marta’s voice in my head wins out, and I excuse myself to put on a clean pair of bottoms. “Just give me a sec, okay?”

  Finally we’re in Don’s van, and I have to use the sole of one shoe to push the debris on the floorboard to one side.

  “Eat fast food much?” I ask dryly.

  “You should see what’s back here,” says Maxi, something like awe in her tone. I can hear the crinkle of paper moving around on the back floorboard. “I haven’t seen this franchise for at least five years.” She holds a hamburger wrapper up for us to see.

  “Oh, hardee har har, very funny.” Don doesn’t sound upset, though, and it occurs to me he might see the various strata of trash as a testament to how hard he works, how busy his life is. I just shake my head, imagining Marta’s reaction. “So, where do you two want to go?”

  My phone buzzes against my hip, and I know it’s Marta. We often have this seemingly psychic connection. I think of her and she calls, and vice versa.

  “What’s up, buttercup?” she says in my ear, and I’m thrown off my conversational stride.

  “You called me,” I say, giving a small shrug at Don’s quizzical glance. “What’s up with you?”

  “Well, since I just left the clinic and was told by someone I don’t know that you’d left with Maxi and a strange man, I think you’re the one who needs to answer that question.”

  I grin as I glance sideways at Don. He is a strange character, but I seem to collect these by the handful. “Wanna join us?”

  “Absolutely,” she says without hesitation. “Where are you going? I can take an Uber and meet you there.”

  “Hang on a sec,” I say, then turn to Don. “Marta wants to meet up with us. Where should I tell her to meet us?”

  “Could we go by Rex’s apartment first?” Maxi leans forward, poking her face between the two front seats.

  He shrugs as he maneuvers the van into traffic, narrowly missing a parked car and getting a cacophony of horns in return.

  “Fine by me,” he says as he leans on his own horn in response. The ooga noise catches me by surprise and makes me laugh aloud. He grins and punches the horn again. “Like that, huh?”

  “I love it!” Maxi and I say in unison, and we laugh. She seems to be feeling much better, thank goodness. I�
��m getting to be quite the Florence Nightingale with Marta, but I’m not too sure how I’d do with someone else. My maternal gene still seems to be on the blink.

  “So, Maxi, what’s the quickest way to get there?” Don asks. “I can use GPS, but I figure you’ll know the back way.”

  “No problem,” she assures him. Scooting forward on the seat, she points to the next street. “Take a right here, then a left.”

  “What the heck is all that noise?” Marta says, her words underpinned with anxiety.

  “Just Don’s driving,” I say. “We’re headed to Rex’s apartment, so you can meet us there.” I give her the directions and we disconnect. I’m suddenly feeling a bit more cheerful, knowing Marta will be there.

  We arrive in front of Rex’s apartment complex in record time. It’s a multiple-story concrete building, but what might have been an austere edifice is soft, with fanciful swoops and curves across the Spanish tile roofline and along each wall. And it’s very familiar to me, as if I’ve been there before. Marta is already there, and we exchange a brief kiss before turning back to the building.

  Maxi catches my curious expression as I stare up at the building and laughs.

  “Do you recognize it? Most folks do, at least those who are die-hard Alfred Hitchcock fans.”

  “It’s from Vertigo,” I say with a grin. My parents looked down their noses at television. We never had one in the house, but they loved old films. Our local library had a weekly movie night on a monthly theme, so one glorious summer month we were introduced to The Birds, Vertigo, Rear Window, and Notorious.

  “Not bad, not bad.” Marta pats my arm. “How did I not know I’m living with a trivia genius?”

  Walking ahead of us next to Maxi, Don turns and gives us the benefit of his rather sharklike smile. “Don’t tell her that. She’s bigheaded enough as it is.”

  “Takes one to know one.”

  “Okay, children, let’s play nicely.” Marta, always the peacemaker, reaches over to slip an arm around my waist. “Let’s remember why we’re here, all right?”

  She couldn’t have chosen colder words to toss over the exchange, bringing the emotional temperature down to near freezing. The four of us walk soberly into the building, its insulated silence underscoring the mood. It feels as though we’ve walked into a setting, a stage for something that will impact all of us. I shiver slightly, and Marta tightens her arm around me.

  And when we arrive at the door of Rex’s apartment, that feeling intensifies.

  Don, who is surprisingly silent, motions for Maxi to announce our presence. She knocks on the door tentatively at first, then harder. There is no answer, of course. I didn’t expect there to be. What I do expect to see is too horrible to dwell on, so I push it aside, concentrating instead on my receptionist. If this is affecting me, I can’t imagine how Maxi is handling it. He’s only Tramp’s owner to me, but he’s her big brother.

  “I don’t think he’s in.” Maxi’s expression is a mix of fear and disappointment. “What do we do now?” She looks to me for the answer, and I look at Don.

  “I’m going to see if there’s anyone on-site with a key.”

  Don’s voice is decisive, and he leaves to do that. Maxi wraps her arms around her middle, gaze fixed on the floor. I put my hand out to touch her shoulder, but Marta gives me a quick shake of the head. She’s the expert on younger humans, so I draw my hand back and fake a stretch to dispel the awkwardness. Marta gives me her patented eye roll and head shake combo, and I grin despite the somberness of the atmosphere.

  Footsteps echo in the hallway behind us. Don and a tiny woman with a large bunch of keys are headed our way. Her clothes might be from now or fifty years ago, the skirt of her dress reaching almost to her ankles, belted tightly around a small waist. Combined with the knot of hair worn on the nape of her neck, she is the picture of everyone’s grandmother. Or the scary housekeeper in a horror movie.

  “Maxi, this is Mrs. Hendershott—did I get that right?—and she’s the manager on-site.” Don motions to Maxi, who automatically holds out a hand, but Mrs. H, as I’m already calling her, ignores the gesture. She focuses on the key ring, long fingers moving through a myriad of keys before she selects one. Opening the door, she silently motions for the four of us to follow her inside.

  Marta’s maternal instincts have already kicked in. She automatically reaches for Maxi, putting one arm about the girl’s shoulders. She nods for me to follow Don, and I get the picture: she’s going to keep Maxi back in case of the worst possible scenario.

  And I’m glad she does this. What meets our eyes is chaos, pure and simple. I focus on the empty dog crate sitting on one corner of the living room. Where’s Tramp? I push farther into the apartment, intent on finding what is probably a very frightened pup.

  Of course, this might be the way Rex always lives, but my gut says otherwise. While the other three stand looking around the room, trying to decide on the next move, I continue through the apartment, my eyes peeled for a small dog.

  I find him in the back bedroom, crouching under the unmade bed, mutely watching me as I extend a tentative hand for him to smell. He doesn’t bark, which is a red flag to me. Something has terrified him so much it’s made him retreat physically in more ways than one.

  “Come on, pal,” I say in a low voice, trying to coax him out. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  To my relief, he begins moving slowly toward me, belly low to the ground and ears back. When he gets close enough for me to reach him, I put one hand underneath him and gently lift him out. He is trembling all over, from his stubby tail to his wet nose. I hold him close in both arms and let him nuzzle as I sit on the side of the bed.

  “Hey, Marta, could you come here a sec, please?” I keep my voice low so I don’t startle Tramp. I can hear Marta moving quickly toward the bedroom, leaving Maxi and Don with the key lady as they search the rest of the place.

  “What’s up?” Marta peeks around the edge of the doorway, her eyes widening slightly when she sees what I’m holding. “Is that the infamous Tramp?”

  “Indeed it is,” I agree, leaning down and brushing the furry head with my chin. “Any sign of his owner out there?”

  Marta shakes her head, a worried expression on her face.

  “Not that we’ve seen so far.”

  “Oh, Dr. C, let me hold him,” Maxi squeals, reaching out both hands for the little dog. He clearly recognizes her and gives her face a good wash with his soft pink tongue. I leave the two of them enjoying their reunion as Maxi mutters sweet nothings in Tramp’s furry ears.

  Don and Mrs. Hendershott are still standing in the front room, their heads close together as if sharing state secrets. When I walk in, they both turn to look at me.

  “So, what’s the verdict?” I ask. “Any sign of Rex?”

  Don runs one hand over his thinning hair and shakes his head.

  “Not so much as a peep, and Mrs. H. here says she hasn’t seen him for almost two days.” He glances down at the building manager, who nods vigorously, giving her an odd bobblehead doll appearance.

  “Almost two days? Isn’t that slightly odd?” I don’t bother keeping the sarcasm quotient dialed down, and I’m almost glad to see Mrs. Hendershott flinch. “Or do people just come and go around here without anyone noticing?”

  After giving the tiny woman a quick glance, Don speaks up in her defense. “Doc, be reasonable. First off, Rex is a grown man. Second, have you noticed how big this place is? How’s anyone supposed to keep track of who’s here and who isn’t, not to mention take care of all the other issues?” His voice doesn’t sound convincing, though. Maybe I’m supposed to magically understand something underlying his commentary. I take the plunge.

  “Mrs. Hendershott, how many exits to the outside are there in this building?”

  She pretends to think. When she speaks, I can see she’s stalling for time. And hoping we haven’t noticed.

  “Two,” she says. “The one you came through and one that leads to the
back alley. Both are downstairs.”

  The import of her words takes a moment to sink in, but when it does, I’m beyond flabbergasted.

  “So, this entire apartment building that houses, what, at least thirty people, only has two ways out in case of a fire? Or an earthquake?”

  Don holds up both hands, palms facing me in a placatory gesture.

  “Come on, Doc. You’ve seen how old this place is, right?” He pauses as if waiting for me to nod. I simply stare back at him. “Can you imagine how much it would cost to retrofit a place like this? The rent would be astronomical, not cheap like it is now.”

  “Oh, sure. That argument would totally fly with, say, the families of these lucky renters after a massive fire, wouldn’t it? Not to mention their pets.” I gesture behind me toward Rex’s bedroom. “Tramp’s not the only innocent animal who might be trapped in a place like this, waiting to be rescued.”

  “What’s on fire?” Marta has come back into the living room, followed closely by Maxi and an ecstatic Tramp.

  Don gives a forced laugh. “Me, if the doc here has her way.” He clears his throat in the awkward silence that follows his comment, gaze fixed on Marta as if she alone can save him from this crazy woman standing just feet away.

  And maybe he’s right. When Marta turns to me, her eyes twinkling in amusement, I smile ruefully.

  “Sorry, Don. I just get a bit carried away sometimes. Nothing personal.” I hold out one hand to him. “Shake?”

  His grasp is a bit tighter than needed. I take the hint.

  “If there’s no sign of Rex, we’d better give the police a call.” Marta’s voice is calm but commanding. She is moving into her take-charge mode, and I’m delighted to let her. I get too worked up when animals are concerned. I run my fingers through Tramp’s fur and feel my blood pressure drop. Everyone needs an animal friend.

  And right now, I’m wondering where Tramp’s human friend might be. I sincerely hope nothing has happened to him. The way things are going lately, though, I’m not holding my breath.