by Abby Deuel
Contents
Pasture Postmortem
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
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Synopsis
About the author
Acknowledgements
Mandy Bell Series
Back Cover
PASTURE POSTMORTEM
Book Two
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
Pasture Postmortem (Book 2 Mandy Bell DVM Mystery Series)
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all of the animals I have had the honor to call a patient of mine.
In particular I would like to pay my respects to those animals whom I helped ascend to the great big pasture in the sky.
May you run, play, and chase squirrels to your heart's content.
Chapter 1
"Slurp, slurp, slurp." Mandy could hear a very strange sound. At first, she thought she was dreaming of kayaking on a river. The sound became louder and faster, until it awakened her. Groggily, she crept out of the bedroom quarters of the RV and headed down the hall to the kitchen, toward the sound. She found Lyle, her Border collie, feverishly licking up water from the floor. Mandy's feet were saturated by the mysterious water as she approached Lyle. The depth was reaching a few inches and Lyle was trying to keep up with the overflow by drinking it as fast as she could.
"Lyle, stop. Go to the bed while I figure out what is happening," said Mandy. Lyle obediently retreated to the queen-sized bed in the rear of the RV.
Mandy explored the kitchen. No leaks under that sink. She went back down the hall to the bathroom and found water gushing from somewhere under the sink. Though a large RV, it was still designed to maximize every nook and cranny. As a result, the access to the leak would involve removing a panel in the bathroom. Two in the morning wasn't the time to start plumbing. Instead, she went to the water hook up outside and turned the handle to the off position. She returned to the RV where Lyle was obediently waiting on the bed for her next instruction.
Mandy looked in the bathroom area and was pleased to find the bursting fountain had stopped. She grabbed her entire stack of towels to place over the river that had started heading up and down the hall.
"Good girl, Lyle. That could have been disastrous if you hadn't woken me up. Luckily it was not the black or gray water, so you shouldn't have a belly ache, sweetheart," Mandy said to Lyle, "and as long as we are up, let's go feed the bobcat." Lyle responded by wagging her tail, always ready for the next task.
A few weeks ago, Mandy had admitted a baby orphaned bobcat to the clinic as a wildlife rehabilitation patient. Its mother had been accidentally killed in a trap by the local trappers outside of town. It had been fairly intense getting the little guy stable initially. He was dehydrated and wouldn't take to eating with the syringe nipple. He had finally gotten the hang of it, which meant Mandy could take longer naps between feedings. Exhausted was a fair description of how Mandy felt since taking in the bobcat. Gillian, the receptionist and technician for the vet clinic, was going to take shifts to help raise the bobcat. However, until he was eating well and stable, they agreed Mandy should keep him since she was the veterinarian.
Thankfully, the bobcat ate his milk with vigor and was ready to curl up for a warm nap before morning. Mandy surveyed the RV's water issue, and decided to get back into bed and deal with the mess in the morning. With winter approaching, this was the worst possible time to have a flood in a movable house. She had considered winterizing the RV in the next few weeks. Perhaps she had already missed her opportunity. It didn't feel cold outside yet. Too much to think about this early in the morning with a veterinary clinic to open for business in a few short hours.
The clinic had been owned and operated by a colleague of Mandy's who had passed away suddenly. With no relatives, Anna had left the clinic and her house to Mandy in her will. Reluctantly, Mandy had agreed to help run the clinic for a few months while a buyer could be located. The bobcat had sealed Mandy's involvement in the town of Crestview because an animal of that nature would require months of nurturing to prepare to release. Plans to sell the clinic had therefore been put on hold. Meanwhile, the clinic was busy as ever. The town of Crestview had fallen hard for their new vet, who also happened to solve murder mysteries on the side. On one of Mandy's first farmcalls in Crestview, she came across a body that turned out to be a murder victim. Not exactly hoping for a murder, Mandy had been glad to help restore the safe feeling of Crestview in honor of her friend Anna's love for the town by helping to solve the murder, risking her own life in the process.
Lyle didn't appear to get the message that slumber would be resumed. She was sitting at her bowl, ready for breakfast.
"We have a big day at the clinic tomorrow, or rather today. We need to try to get some more sleep," Mandy explained to Lyle. "Come back to bed. Lyle hung her head low in submission, catapulting into bed beside Mandy.
It wasn't long before they were both asleep and thankfully not dreaming of any type of water.
Chapter 2
The morning, only a few hours away, began with a knock at the door of the RV. Lyle beat Mandy to the door. Mandy felt like she was swimming through gel like an amoeba under the microscope. Her legs just wouldn't ambulate like the human she knew she was. Her self-diagnosis was lack of caffeine which she would remedy as soon as she figured out who was knocking at the door.
"Sorry to wake you, Dr. Bell. There is quite an emergency at the railroad depot. A train has collided with a stock truck. There are cows everywhere. We have rounded the ones who could still walk into the sale yards. There are still some with substantial wounds strewn about. We need your expertise," Larry said. He was normally so calm, cool, and collected, being the town police chief. Obviously the accident had shaken his being to the core.
"Jeez. That sounds tragically horrendous. I will be right there," Mandy said, regaining control of her legs with the rush of adrenaline her body released upon hearing the bloodbath awaiting her assistance.
"Thanks, Dr. Bell. The town appreciates it," said Larry.
Mandy quickly changed into jeans, turtleneck, and wool pullover. The weather was starting to show early signs of winter, especially this early in the morning. Lyle knew something was
up so she ate her kibble breakfast quickly and sat by the door so she would not be forgotten. They both left the RV to check the clinic. Mandy gathered a few drugs and equipment for a portable crash cart for the cattle. Lyle left Mandy's side, returning with Gillian, who had come in the back door.
"I hear we have quite the scene. What can I do to help?" asked Gillian.
"We will need emergency drugs, sterile surgery packs, halters, and lots of wound cleaning supplies. I've got a few things collected already," said Mandy.
While they had only met a few months ago, they had become a complimentary team to help the animals from Crestview in need. Gillian looked through what Mandy had and added to it. Before long, they were ready to face the carnage ahead of them. They loaded into Mandy's trusty Jeep and headed to the railroad tracks, wondering what they would find.
There were numerous cars and trucks at the seen. All hands were on deck. Luckily Gerry, the chief's assistant, was watching for Mandy and cleared a path for her Jeep to park front and center in the middle of it all. Years of working as a veterinarian could not have prepared her for what she saw.
Cattle were scattered in the field, moaning in agony from their wounds. Mandy had always said that cows were her favorite patients because their eyes could tell her so much. She had seen them cry and laugh and be thankful for her help. Her special sense of connection with animals was on sensory overload with all of the suffering she saw before her. Gillian and she didn't utter a word as they switched into automatic triage mode. They stayed together to facilitate the fastest possible care for the beasts.
The cows that had been transferred to the sale yard paddock were at least ambulatory so they fell to the bottom of the triage list. Their first patient was turned on her side, with her face saturated in cold mud. Before they even took her temp, they could tell that she was hypothermic. They looked at one another and yelled out to Larry and Gerry to come over. They commandeered thermal rescue blankets from the police, instructing everyone available to cover any cow left in the mud. People were jumping at the chance to help. No one had been able to figure out what to do and were waiting for a leader to send them into action.
The scene now looked like something from outer-space with large cloven-hoofed animals all snuggled in bright, silver blankets. Swarms of people were awaiting further instruction from Mandy and Gillian who were hooking up every downed cow to IV fluids. They assigned a team of two people to hold the fluids for each cow so they could take turns holding it up. Once every cow had fluids and a blanket, they rechecked all of them to start suturing lacerations.
They had a pair of portable clippers and showed one of the members of the crowd how to shave fur. They showed someone else how to inject numbing agent around the wounds. Another person was instructed how to surgically scrub the area. The assembly line was working well to service all of the cows, of which they had tallied at twenty-four. Mandy and Gillian were the last in the assembly line, suturing every wound and administering a long acting antibiotic. Rhonda, a well-dressed townswoman, was following Mandy and Gillian, recording information about the cattle so that the withholding times of the drugs used could be given to the owner of the cattle. Rhonda had been an import to Crestview, marrying the town doctor and coroner, Doc Tom. Rhonda's sense of style and worldliness reflected that she was from out west. She had become quite close to Mandy since she bred Dachshunds and was a frequent flier at the vet clinic.
Fortunately, the owner of the cows was not present yet. He was notified by phone and would be joining them as soon as he could drive there from Tennessee. Myrna and Merv, the owners of the town's cafe, were setting up a makeshift mess hall to feed everyone when the work had been completed. They had steaming pots of stew, fresh bread, hot coffee, and lots of sides to satiate everyone's appetite. It would be a while before anyone would be able to eat. They wanted to have everything ready for when that time came.
Mandy and Gillian had sutured multiple wounds and were not showing any sign of fatigue. Many people in the crowd were observing their ballet of efficiency as each cow obtained relief from their wounds. The worst wound involved a tear in one of the cow's thoraxes, exposing lung as she breathed. Mandy had never attempted to suture a wound of this magnitude. The owner of the cattle had relayed a message that the veterinarian had his approval to do whatever she needed to save as many as possible. Mandy was taking this instruction seriously and pushing her own boundaries. Amazingly, no cow had to be euthanized yet. All of the wounds were reparable. Some would require intensive nursing after the initial suturing.
They finally made their way to the last down cow. By this time, some of the initial cows that they had tended to were starting to stand up. That was a nice feeling to see the fruits of their labor in the form of cows starting to feel visibly better. They decided to take a break for nourishment before tending to the already standing cows in the sale yards. Mandy had still not managed to take any caffeine into her body. The adrenaline from the morning was beginning to feel a lull. She knew that she had to re-energize to have enough stamina to meet the sale yard full of cattle waiting for care.
"I think everybody should take a break to eat something," said Myrna. She had been preparing the food in the food tent. Always concerned for the level of food in people's bellies, she took her role seriously to provide nourishment to all of these hard-working volunteers. The line for food had formed. Everyone stepped aside, forming a part in the middle of the crowd to push Mandy and Gillian to the front. The town was embracing the efforts of the veterinarian and her assistant. Lyle was not forgotten in the mix of it all. She had been watching the recovering cattle. She had alerted someone if a cow appeared to need an extra hand. Her attentiveness had helped bump a badly injured cow higher in the triage list. Lyle kept pestering Mandy until she followed the collie, finding a great emergency. The injury was invisible since the cow was lying down, covering the gaping wound in her groin area. The wound had made a small nick in the femoral artery. She was quietly bleeding to death, not making a single sound as it was happening. They were able to repair the femoral artery. As a result of her selflessness, Myrna and Merv presented Lyle with her own helping of stew and a biscuit. Lyle licked the bowl clean.
Everybody was enjoying the spread put on by Myrna and Merv, discussing the incredible events of the morning. Though sitting felt good to Mandy's tired and sore body, she knew there were still cows waiting in the sale barn for her attention. Gillian and Mandy quietly departed the makeshift eatery to examine the remaining cattle.
There were approximately ten cattle left to tend to. Since they were all standing, Mandy hoped she would find no major surprises. The first couple had superficial wounds which required only cleaning and antibiotic spray. Luckily the sale yards had a stanchion to restrain the cattle and chute system. Otherwise, it would have been tricky to doctor the cattle since they were still in shock and quite flighty, unlike the moribund cows outside. The newer laws required that cattle not be transported with full horns which prevented massive injuries in unpredictable situations just like this. The transport trucks were now outfitted with smaller compartments to separate cows to avoid crushing and stampeding during the drive. This saved a lot of injuries from occurring. However, as many precautions that are taken, no one imagines that cows will be thrown from a truck after a train collision.
The most significant injury in the corralled cattle was a broken claw on a back foot. It had been completely ripped off. Mandy opted to amputate the remaining tissue.
She was just completing the operation when the owner of the cattle arrived. She had sterile gloves on but he reached his hand out to shake hers without noticing. She was almost done and had spare gloves so she took the gloves off to accept the kind offer, particularly under the circumstances.
"I wanted to thank you in person, Dr. Bell," the man said, "You have gone above and beyond to look after my girls. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."
"I would do it again any day. These cows are so well-behaved after al
l they've been through this morning," said Mandy.
"They are our family's pride and joy. Many generations have been a part of making them the gorgeous beasts that they are," said the man. "I am Nelson Crowley, pleased to meet you, ma'am."
"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Crowley. I would love to catch up. I would like to finish tending to these fallen girls, though," said Mandy.
"At your service," Nelson said, saluting Mandy with his right arm. "Tell me what I can do to help. We can catch up later."
Mandy directed him to helping the cows outside who were starting to get up. She wanted to ensure that they had access to quality food and clean water as they started to become more mobile. Nelson would be able to comfort the cows since they knew him. The sooner that they started eating, the better. Meanwhile, Mandy rejoined Gillian in the sale yards to fix up the remaining cows.
Chapter 3
"What are we up to?" asked Mandy to Gillian.
"This one is the claw amputation. I cleaned it up and bandaged it for you. Rhonda here has been recording all of the medications given to each cow so we can properly relay the information to the owner of the cattle. I wasn't sure what you have given this one, though," answered Gillian.
"She had lidocaine, xylazine, and 20 ml of penicillin," Mandy reported, without even thinking. She was in the zone of emergency medicine and had turned into a veterinary robot. Rhonda diligently recorded the information along with the cow's number. With Rhonda recording information, Mrs. Bouvier had joined them to help Gillian and Mandy keep their supplies in order. She was making trips back to the Jeep if they needed additional consumables. She was also keeping everything clean and tidy for the working girls. Mrs. Bouvier was a major fixture of Crestview. Anytime the town had a function, she was right there to make sure it went well. Consequently, she never missed out on a tidbit of the town's grapevine of news. She had a warm, matronly demeanor and became almost a second mother to many of the children of Crestview.
