Paw and Order

by V. M. Burns

  Dixie took Lucky’s leash. “Why don’t you let us take Lucky and the other dogs back to the RV with the rest of the pack.”

  Eli’s eyes widened. “Rest? You mean there’s more?”

  We left Stephanie to explain as Dixie and I walked back to the RV. Beau was inside with Chyna and Leia. They were lying on the sofa watching a football game. When we entered, he sat up. “Welcome to the Jefferson travelling pet emporium.”

  We chuckled and removed all of the dogs’ leashes and allowed them to mix, mingle and sniff each other’s butts as though they were total strangers. We waited a few minutes to ensure all was under control.

  Donut consumed, Addison sat on the floor and played with the dogs. Dixie and I stood near the window, looking out at Stephanie and Eli as they stood together and talked. From our viewpoint, the two looked to be enjoying themselves and made a great looking pair.

  “What do you think about that gorgeous hunk?” Dixie inclined her head toward the pair.

  Before I could respond, Beau stood up, puffed out his chest and rubbed his stomach. “Thank you, I’ve been working out. Glad you noticed.”

  We laughed.

  After I regained my composure, I took another glance at Stephanie. “Well, I don’t know. He seems nice and he’s definitely handsome, but…I don’t know. I really like Joe. He’s such a good guy and—”

  Dixie sighed. “Oh, thank goodness. I feel the same way.”

  We glanced at each other and chuckled.

  “He’s great to look at, but…well, he’s more eye candy than the settle down, clean the bathroom and let’s weather the storms of life together kind of man.” She glanced lovingly at Beau who had returned to the sofa with Aggie, Rex and Snoball lying on his chest. Chyna, Lucky and Leia were sprawled out on their sides on the floor next to him. Periodically, Beau would toss a red rubber ball to the back of the RV and Jac would leap into the air and chase it. Eventually, he would return the ball and Beau would repeat.

  “That’s exactly what I mean.” I smiled as we quietly headed to the door and walked down the steps.

  Eli and Stephanie turned toward us as we approached.

  “Mr. Goldstein, I’m so glad you were able to make it today,” Dixie said.

  “Please, call me Eli. Mr. Goldstein is my father.” He flashed a smile that caused each of us to giggle. “I’m glad to be here, although I wish it was for a more pleasant occasion.”

  We wiped the smiles off our faces and nodded, now that we were brought back to the seriousness of Mr. Archibald Lowry’s death.

  I awkwardly mumbled condolences, but Dixie truly shone when it came to expressing grief and knowing the appropriate thing to say in all situations. She placed one hand over her heart and another on Eli’s arm. “Please accept all of our condolences. We didn’t know Archibald very well, but it must be horrible for those of you who did know him. Were you very close?”

  Eli nodded. “Well I wouldn’t say that Archibald Lowry allowed himself to get close to anyone, but I’ve worked for him for a number of years.”

  “Are you in private practice?” Stephanie asked.

  Eli nodded. “Yes, guilty as charged.” He chuckled. “I’m afraid a small practice isn’t nearly as exciting as working for a big firm in a city like Chicago.” He gazed at Stephanie with awe and a healthy dose of respect.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know about exciting, but it’s definitely interesting.”

  He gazed at Stephanie. “Maybe, we could compare notes over dinner.” When she hesitated, he hurriedly added, “Unless there is a Mr. Echosby or someone other than the golden retriever I need to contend with.” He reached down and held her left hand. “It’s just I didn’t notice a wedding ring, so…” He shrugged.

  Stephanie gazed into his eyes for several seconds. She reached out a hand and picked two strands of red hair from his shoulder.

  Eli took the hairs and dropped them, then dusted off his pants. “I must be covered in dog hair after the greeting I got today.”

  Stephanie smiled. “Dog hair comes with the territory.” She shrugged. “As to dinner…sure, why not?”

  He turned up the smile wattage and beamed. “Great.” He tucked her arm in his and they ambled over to the tent which was set up for lunch.

  Dixie and I walked slowly behind the couple, but were halted by a commotion. We turned to see what was happening.

  Dr. Morgan and Max were marching toward the tent, followed by a petite Asian woman with a long ponytail wearing forest green rubber chest waders that were held up by suspenders that went over each shoulder. She was accompanied by a medium-sized dog with unusual coloring.

  Dixie gasped. “What a beautiful border collie.”

  “It is beautiful, but I thought border collies were black and white, like Jac,” I said.

  “Black and white is very common but they can come in a variety of colors. Red, black, sable, saddleback sable, white and black, liver and white, blue tricolor, red merle…there’s a ton of different colors.” She inclined her head toward the regal beast that was circling behind the two humans. “That’s a red merle.”

  “What’s merle?”

  “Merle is created when a gene in one of the parents is incomplete. It’s hereditary and it takes a dominant gene and dilutes it creating a splotchy, swirl pattern.”

  The group got closer and I got a better look at the dog who had a very intense stare. “Border Collies give me the creeps. The way they stare. Does that dog have blue eyes?”

  “She does have blue eyes. Border collies can have blue or brown eyes. Just like in humans, brown is more common and the stare is normal. They are remarkably intelligent dogs, bred in Scotland as working and herding dogs. They’re sometimes called Scottish sheep dogs.”

  “Not surprising. Archibald Lowry loved all things Scottish.”

  She smiled. “She’s watching, waiting for something to move so she can herd it.” She paused. “They’re amazing working dogs and great with obedience, agility and other performance events. In fact, they are so dominant in agility, some clubs are hosting Border Collie only trials. This breed is definitely not one for lounging on the sofa watching television. These dogs need a job, or they can get into trouble.”

  When the doctor got close enough to us, we could see his face was red and his heavy breathing had nothing to do with the walk he’d just taken. He was angry.

  He marched up to where Dixie and I were standing, turned to the woman and said, “For the last time, I’m not a veterinarian.”

  Undeterred, the woman pulled herself up to her full height, which appeared to be about five feet tall and pointed a finger in his face. “You’re a medical doctor and Maisie needs medical attention. The least you can do is try and help.”

  The border collie sat by her owner’s side, staring. Surprisingly, Max, who was normally very active, sat by his owner’s side and stared at the border collie.

  Dr. Morgan turned to us and held out his hands. “Can you please tell this…woman, that I am a medical doctor and do not work on cows.”

  Dixie’s lips twitched, but she quickly collected herself and turned to the woman. “What’s wrong with Maisie?”

  The woman scowled at Dr. Morgan. “She’s giving birth, but something’s wrong. Our usual vet is in the middle of emergency surgery. So, when this guy,” she turned to give Dr. Morgan another scowl, “came wandering by, I thought he would help.” She spat. “Instead, he just said, I’m not a vet,” she said in a beautiful clipped British accent and then folded her arms across her chest.

  Dixie turned to Dr. Morgan. She softened her face and her eyes pleaded. “Couldn’t you just—”

  “No. I couldn’t just. I don’t know the first thing about birthing cows.”

  Dixie glanced at me and the twinkle in her eyes told me she had the exact same quote going through her head that went through mine. Eventually, we w
ere unable to contain ourselves and burst out laughing.

  Dr. Morgan stared from me to Dixie as though we’d suddenly lost our minds. “What on earth is so funny?”

  Dixie recovered first. She turned up her southern accent and said in her best Butterfly McQueen, Gone with the Wind accent, “I don’t know nothing’ ‘bout birthing babies.”

  Dixie and I started laughing again.

  Dr. Morgan didn’t see the humor, although I thought I detected a slight quiver at the lips of our Asian friend.

  When we collected ourselves, Dixie turned to face the woman. “My name is Dixie Jefferson. You must be Mr. Lowry’s gamekeeper.”

  The woman uncrossed her arms and nodded. “Yes. My name’s Mai, Mai Nguyen.”

  They shook hands.

  “I love your accent. Where—”

  Mai straightened up to her full height, five-feet-nothing, and tilted her head. She then bowed her head in a subservient fashion and spoke in broken English. “Ah, you expect me talk like Vietnamese servant.” She bowed several times but then stood up, put a hand on her hip and stared. “Sorry, they didn’t teach me to speak that way at Cambridge.”

  Dixie held up her hands in surrender. “I didn’t mean any offense. I just love your accent. I’m very sorry. I wasn’t trying to insult you in any way.”

  Mai nodded. “I’m sorry too. I guess, I shouldn’t have assumed you were as bigoted and close minded as some of the people I’ve met since I’ve come here.” She held out her hand. “Please forgive my rude behavior.”

  Dixie shook. “Only if you will forgive mine.” All was forgiven. Then she inclined her head toward the border collie. “And who’s your friend?”

  Mai gave a genuine smile. “This is Skye.”

  “May I?” Dixie asked.

  Mai nodded.

  “That’s a good Scottish name.” Dixie squatted down and permitted Skye to sniff her. When she was satisfied, Dixie ran her hands down the dog’s coat and whispered soothing words of nonsense to her. When she’d finished, she gave the dog a pat.

  Dixie stood up and I nudged her.

  “I’m sorry, this is my friend, Lilly Ann Echosby.”

  I extended my hand to Mai and we shook.

  Dixie glanced quickly at her watch and then took Dr. Morgan by the arm and Mai by the other and started slowly walking back in the direction they’d just come. “Now, I’m sure we can figure out a solution to this problem if we just put our heads together.”

  Skye, Max and I followed as Dixie guided Dr. Morgan and Mai back through the woods, all the time talking. She alternated between asking questions and making statements designed to stroke egos and de-escalate the situation. She chatted nonstop about everything from Mai is a beautiful name. What’s the origin? to Dr. Morgan is so intelligent, I just know he’ll be able to help us come up with a solution.”

  It didn’t take long before we came out of the woods to a fenced field with cows.

  We climbed over the fence and walked toward a large cow that was lying on its side under an oak tree.

  I assumed this had to be Maisie. Based on the amount of noise she was making, she wasn’t happy. She had a steady drip of mucus and what appeared to be a hoof coming out of her rear.

  Mai went to the animal and stroked her head, whispering calming words. Skye paced back and forth, anxiously awaiting someone to move.

  I was a city girl and wasn’t very fond of farm animals, but even I felt compassion at the sounds coming from that poor animal as she struggled to give birth. I turned to Dr. Morgan. “She sounds miserable. Surely, there’s something you can do to help her?”

  Dr. Morgan stared at each of us and then handed me Max’s leash. He pulled out his cell phone and walked a short distance away as he pressed the buttons.

  If I hadn’t been holding Max, I might have been concerned that he meant to leave, but when he finished, he marched back over and rolled up his sleeves. “Okay, I’m going to need a towel and some rope.”

  Mai nodded and ran toward a barn followed by Skye.

  Dixie knelt down and took her place, stroking Maisie and whispering sweet nothings into her ear.

  Dr. Morgan positioned himself at the business end of the beast and said, “Dixie Jefferson you owe me big time for this.” He shoved his arm into the cow’s rear and reached inside. “The calf is backward. I need to turn it.”

  He gave a tug. Maisie mooed and I struggled to keep from puking.

  Mai ran back from the barn carrying rope and several towels. She placed everything at Dr. Morgan’s feet.

  Dr. Morgan was still shoulder deep inside the cow’s rear, but that didn’t stop him from giving orders. “The calf is twisted. The head needs to come out first. I’m going to try and turn it.” He finagled something that caused Maisie to moan even more loudly.

  Dr. Morgan made another twist and then gave a pull. He slowly removed his arm. Like the creature coming out of Sigourney Weaver’s stomach in the movie, Aliens, something pulsed and twisted and eventually popped out of the cow’s rear. Dr. Morgan tied one end of the rope to the hoof and tugged.

  Maisie pushed and eventually a head appeared, covered in a film of mucus. Maisie gave one more big groan and then pushed the calf out onto the ground.

  Dr. Morgan removed the rope from the calf’s foot and pulled some of the film away from the head.

  I held my breath and waited while Dr. Morgan and Mai worked. It was only when I saw the calf move that I released the breath I’d been holding.

  Mai was so excited she reached up and gave a hoop and then threw herself in Dr. Morgan’s arms and hugged him. The doctor seemed dazed, but managed a one-armed hug. When she released him, he used one of the towels to clean himself up.

  We stood by and watched as Maisie licked away the remaining mucus and the calf struggled to adapt to its new environment.

  Dixie squatted down and had a few words with Mai and then she stood up and smiled at Dr. Morgan. “I knew you could do it.”

  “I need a shower,” he mumbled.

  Dixie stood up. “Let’s go back to the RV. You can get a shower and I’m sure Beau has some extra clothes you can wear.”

  Chapter 9

  Dr. Morgan showered and changed but wasn’t in the mood for lunch. Instead, he announced that he wanted to go and check on his patient. The color I saw rising up his neck made me suspect the calf wasn’t the only thing he wanted to check on.

  Addison leapt up. “Can I come see the calf?”

  Dr. Morgan nodded. He, Max, Addison, Lucky and Jac headed back through the woods. Before they left, Dixie called to Dr. Morgan. “I wonder if you could do a slight favor for me?”

  The doctor narrowed his eyes. “What kind of favor? I am not delivering any more farm animals.”

  Dixie chuckled. “Nothing like that.” She smiled. “It’s just that Mai agreed to help me out on Tuesday. I’ve got a demonstration at a middle school and she agreed to let me borrow a few sheep and Skye to do a herding demonstration.”

  Addison clapped. “That’s going to be at my school. Can I help with the demonstration?”

  Dixie nodded. “Of course, dear.” She turned to Dr. Morgan. “It’s just that in all of the excitement, I forgot to get Mai’s telephone number. I was hoping you could get that for me.” She paused and then quickly added, “So, I can make sure she has all of the information.”

  Dr. Morgan’s neck got red, but he nodded.

  “Thank you so much. I’m sure I can find someone at the school to help with loading and unloading the sheep.” She looked at the coroner expectantly and was rewarded.

  “I might be able to help with that, too.”

  She clapped her hands. “That would be wonderful. Maybe you could work out the details with Mai and just let me know what you two figure out.”

  He nodded and then headed for the woods with Addison and the dogs.


  Dixie changed from her grass-stained jeans into a fresh outfit and I looked around the lunch tent.

  B.J., Monica Jill and Stephanie were sitting at a large table with all of the people from Archibald Lowry’s household. Eli was seated in between Stephanie and B.J. and looked uncomfortable, but that probably had more to do with the goo-goo eyes he was getting from B.J. than any vibes he might have picked up from Stephanie.

  I sat down at the table in the seat next to Stephanie that she had saved for me while Dixie stood up at the front. She welcomed all of the visitors and thanked everyone for coming. She spent several minutes thanking Archibald Lowry for being such a great supporter and allowing the East Tennessee Poodle Rescue to have their fundraiser on his property.

  Everyone applauded politely.

  After a few moments, Dixie continued.

  “As everyone must be aware by now, Archibald Lowry was brutally murdered a few days ago.”

  There was a loud flurry of whispers.

  “However, thanks to his wonderful staff, we were able to still hold our event here today.”

  More applause.

  “I’d like to take just a moment to publicly thank Mr. Eli Goldstein, Archibald Lowry’s lawyer.”

  Eli Goldstein surprised me by blushing at the recognition. The handsome lawyer didn’t strike me as someone who would shun attention, but maybe I misjudged the man simply because he was handsome. He gave a reluctant wave and gulped water from the bottle at his place setting.

  Dixie called off the other names and each person rose in turn. “Mrs. Catherine Huntington, who I understand was Archibald Lowry’s housekeeper for over twenty years.” The housekeeper stood. She seemed nervous and clutched a cross around her neck. She inclined her head in a brief bow and sat. “Paul Carpenter, Archibald Lowry’s chauffeur.”

  He rose and waved.

  Dixie continued. “Ivan Bradington, butler.”

  Bradington was the only person who wasn’t seated, preferring instead to stand in true butler-like manner near the side of the tent. When his name was called, he took one step forward and gave a slight bow before stepping backward.