by Abby Deuel
"Alrighty."
Mandy loaded up her gear in the Jeep and headed back to the clinic. She was just in time for another cup of tea. While they were sitting down to sip their hot tea with milk and sugar, the fax machine rang. Mandy ran over to see if it was anything about Maggie. Sure enough, it was the preliminary results.
The pathologist reported that there was nothing remarkable in any of the organ tissue. The organs were all healthy and normal. The fluid analysis had yielded nothing either. Given the notes that Mandy had included with the specimens, they would be running a toxicity panel to determine if there was something amiss there.
"So?" asked Gillian.
"Nothing," said Mandy. "We have to wait for more tests."
"Bummer. How did it go with the Crowley cows?"
"Good. One of them appears to have caught pneumonia. We are treating her and will see if she will be fit to travel soon."
Just then, the phone rang. Gillian darted up to the front to grab it only to return to give it to Mandy.
"It's Doc Tom."
"Hello. I see. That's what Maggie's results showed. I am beginning to think that myself. I will keep you in the loop. You too, thanks."
"And?"
"It seems that Derek's autopsy reports are the same. Nothing. So they are waiting on a tox panel, too."
"Any theories?"
"Not yet. Do we have anything scheduled over lunch?"
"No, what's your plan?" asked Gillian.
"I might head out to Derek's and just check things again. I have just as much of a right to be sleuthing as the police. I have a dead animal to explain to an orphan."
"I'm not sure that the police will agree with your train of thought there, but it's worth a try."
They finished their cups of tea. Mandy was not into conversation. Her mind was obviously preoccupied. The sooner she could make sense of Maggie and Derek's death, the sooner she would be back to normal. They saw a few more appointments, which were routine, so didn't jolt Mandy out her own world. Even the Warner boys reporting that their dogs were all doing fine didn't bring Mandy back to earth. She was deep in concentration. Something was not adding up about the two deaths and she was determined to figure out what.
She kept nurturing the little Pyrenees pup between appointments. She could see that Lyle was developing a deep bond with the pup. There was something that a loving dog could provide to a pup that a human could not mimic. Mandy knew that if this pup survived, it would be mostly due to Lyle's dedication. The poor little pup didn't even have her eyes and ears open. The world was a scary and big place for an orphan. Having a warm little spot with one of her own kind to lick her face and nuzzle her made the world less terrifying. Lyle had found her place in this world, at least for the moment.
Chapter 18
At lunchtime, Mandy made a beeline to Derek's house. She left Lyle with the puppy, having just given the pup a feeding. When she arrived at the house, she was relieved to see that no one else was there. She could explore without having to defend herself and her presence. She started by checking the spot where Derek's body was. There was absolutely nothing strange, other than the yellow crime tape. She headed up to the house. She searched inside again, looking everywhere she had looked before and anywhere else she could think of. This yielded nothing new. She went back outside to the porch. She looked again at the table and the glass on it. It looked like watery iced tea. The glass on the ground was definitely empty. The strange thing was that around the glass was a row of dead bugs. It was as if whatever was in the glass had spilled and was deadly to the bugs. There was no other explanation for the bugs to only be dead around the tipped glass.
She looked again at the half full cup on the table; there were no dead bugs in it. Surely by now, a bug would have at least flown in and died. Mandy went inside with the full glass to see if she could find what had been in it. She looked in the fridge and there was nothing similar. There was no iced tea. In fact, when she looked in the cupboards, there were not even glasses that matched these two glasses.
Something was beginning to form in her mind. Someone had come to Derek's to talk to him. They had brought whatever was in the glasses and the glasses themselves to have a discussion with him on his front porch. Somehow, the person had added some deadly toxin to the glass that Derek had drank. Either whoever it was didn't drink it, which would have raised suspicions to Derek or the poison was only added to Derek's glass. Then, once the person was confident that Derek had ingested enough, they left, leaving the glasses there. Alternatively, something could have startled them to leave the glasses unfinished. Regardless, the one with the poison had tipped over and Maggie had drank some, ingesting the poison as well.
There were still so many questions. What was the poison? Who was it who came over to talk to Derek? Why did they want him dead?
Mandy's head was spinning. This could no longer just be a coincidence. This was a murder. She had to get back to the clinic to do some research about toxicities in animals and in people. From her understanding, there were far more substances toxic to animals than to people. So, she would concentrate on substances in liquid form that could kill a person in less than a few hours. It had to be something that had no flavor or odor. The total amount of liquid had to be less than a full glass and yet Derek had some, Maggie ingested some, and a toxic spill murdered a handful of bugs. Therefore, the toxicity level was shockingly high regardless of how small the amount was that had been ingested.
Mandy wracked her brain and could come up with nothing. She called the lab and asked them to run the toxicity panel on things that were liquid form. She asked them to concentrate on those that could be toxic to humans as well. They said that they would rush order it and have the information to her as soon as possible. As Mandy was focused on her new knowledge, someone tapped her on the shoulder.
"Can I help you?" asked Larry.
"Um. I was just grabbing a sample of Maggie's food to send to the lab. I want to make sure whatever killed her wasn't in that."
"I see. So where is the sample then?"
"I haven't gotten it yet," said Mandy.
"You've been here long enough. Get your sample and skedaddle. This is a crime scene. It is likely a murder," said Larry.
"Oh my. A murder. That's not good," Mandy said with her most convincing face. Larry didn't buy her surprise.
"What do you know? You knew it was a murder, didn't you?"
"I had a suspicion."
"A suspicion is all you are allowed. Move on down the road and, Bell, stay out of this one," said Larry.
"Will do," said Mandy. She sheepishly got her food sample and returned to her Jeep. She put the Jeep in gear and sped off back to the clinic. She had a lot of work to do, on top of the clinic patients, and checking on the Crowley cow. She beat Gillian back from lunch. She took the opportunity to pull out a toxicology textbook she had in her RV. Lyle helped her by licking her shoes while she perused the pages.
"Thanks, Lyle. I know you want to go to the farm. We can't for a while. I had to go today but it's not safe for you to go there until we figure all of this out," said Mandy.
Mandy looked through all of the sections to see if anything jumped out at her. There was nothing that fit the description. Most toxicities caused some kind of change in the organs or blood work. The phone rang and Mandy looked at the caller ID. With Gillian still at lunch, she didn't want to answer it without knowing who it was. It was the lab.
"Yes, hello. This is Dr. Bell. Oh. That's a shame. OK. Well at least we know what it isn't."
Gillian walked in as she was hanging up.
"What do you know?" asked Gillian.
"It seems to be a toxin that they don't even have a test for. It has to be in the family of insecticides because it faintly triggered one of their tests. They repeated the test and still got a faint reaction. So, we know it's not any insecticide commonly used. However, it is something they have never seen before."
"Unbelievable. You know it's important when
the lab is stumped. Why on earth would Derek and Maggie drink an insecticide?"
"They didn't on purpose. I found two cups out at his farm that didn't match any from his house. One of them still had something in it. I brought it with me to have it tested. The other was empty and where whatever was left spilled on the ground, corpses of bugs were scattered all around it. Whatever it is, it's very toxic," said Mandy.
"Good grief. That doesn't sound good at all. Let's send that off to the lab right away," said Gillian. Mandy retrieved the glass and Gillian prepared the liquid sample for mailing.
"Thanks Gillian. With this new little lead, I am going to research online to see what I can find."
"I will man the front. Where's Lyle?"
"She is watching the basketball screen saver on my computer. I found it on the settings the other day. It is hilarious to watch her look for the ball behind the screen when it bounces out of sight." They creeped around the corner to find Lyle bouncing with glee at the screen. It must have gone out of bounds because Lyle tip-toed behind the screen, stalking a non-existent ball.
"That is adorable," said Gillian.
"It sure is. I hate to interrupt you, Lyle. I need the computer."
When Mandy moved the mouse and the screen saver returned to her desktop, Lyle looked decidedly sad. However, Mandy had moved the puppy into her office for Lyle to monitor; so, when the puppy whimpered, Lyle curled up with her chin on the edge of the basket that the puppy was cuddled in. She was turning out to be a great nanny.
"You get some headway in here on the case that isn't a case and I will watch for patients."
"Thanks, Gillian," Mandy said, grinning.
Chapter 19
Before Mandy could get much research time in, the next patient arrived. It was Gerry with his cat for a follow up. The cat had been blocked a few weeks previously and Mandy had catheterized his bladder to flush the blockage. Since then, Reggie had been doing well. Gerry was feeding him special food and monitoring the litter box to make sure that Reggie was peeing daily. However, it was always a good idea to do periodic urinalyses to ensure that crystals were not being produced in the urine that could cause another blockage.
"Howdy. It's time for his recheck. Bad timing. Pretty busy day. I wouldn't want to put it off, though," said Gerry.
"No, we wouldn't want that," said Mandy. They were both eying each other to see who would break first. They each had more information. They technically were not supposed to be discussing the case. Last time with Buck's murder, there was no forward momentum in the case until they started talking to each other and sharing clues. Obviously, both of them were too stubborn to approach the subject. Gillian popped her head in.
"Hi, Gerry. Isn't this case weird? Some kind of strange toxicity?" Gillian asked. That started the ball rolling. They caught each other up on what each of them knew. Mandy left out the part about the glass and the sample that was headed to the lab. That could be her little secret for a while. So far, all they both knew was that the method of killing was an unknown insecticide ingested. Neither knew any more about the motive or the murderer. They were both in agreement that it was a murder.
Meanwhile, Mandy had retrieved a urine sample from Gerry's cat. She gave it to Gillian, who would run it in the in-house lab. Reggie was busily grooming himself where they had put alcohol on his belly to help make the cystocentesis as sterile as possible to be able to draw the urine out of his bladder with a syringe. Gillian returned with the results which showed no sign of infection or crystals.
"That is great news. That means the change of food is doing what it is supposed to. Yay for modern science," said Mandy.
"Exactly. You had quite a bit to do with his recovery as well. You are a pretty clever gal," said Gerry, causing Mandy to blush slightly. "I never want to see him in the pain that he was in before," said Gerry. "If you find out anything else on Maggie, let me know. I will try to keep you posted on the progress we make with Derek's murder." Knowing that Mandy helped make Reggie healthier put Gerry in a more sharing mood. Mandy decided to follow suit.
"Will do."
Gerry and Reggie left and Mandy returned to her computer where Lyle was chasing the ball on the screen again. Luckily, it was not a screen she could tip over. It was bolted to the desk. Still, Mandy wasn't sure she had chosen the wisest screen saver in the presence of a Border collie. She checked the puppy who was whimpering and sucking on her blanket. She needed another feeding so Mandy mixed some fresh milk up and fed her until her little belly was bulging. Despite her rough beginning in this world, the puppy was thriving. At some point, she would need a name.
Mandy resumed her search. She had now confirmed that it was a murder and that the same thing Maggie had ingested, Derek had ingested as well. She looked for experimental insecticides. There was a huge number of people putting lots of time and money into the research. There was a need for a product that would prevent pest infestation in crops while not hurting the crop itself. Mandy didn't know a lot about this side of science. Chemistry had not gelled with her in college. Her research revealed that the golden tuna would be a spray that would act as an herbicide and an insecticide all in one, which would save time and money for crop farmers.
Someone had tried to create one back in the seventies. It had been shot down left and right due to its effects on humans and wildlife. The chemical was so toxic that it had killed a few of the farmers in the trial run of it. It was pulled from the research zone. The grant was pulled. She couldn't figure out who was involved in making it. It was through a university in the Midwest, meaning it was relatively close to Crestview. She decided to email the current chemistry department at that institution to see if they could give her any information on the classified chemical. What she read did not even have the name of the compound listed so she had to copy and paste the chemical compound from the patent. She hoped that the chemistry department could recognize it from that since it made no sense to her. It was just a bunch of letters and lines. Again, chemistry was not her strong-suit. All that was listed with the patent was some company that later went out of business called Brucetus. There was no other information on that company. It was as if it was a slip in judgment and then it was erased from history. Since then, no one had attempted to make another chemical like it that she could find.
She emailed the lab with the compound image so they could look at it as well. She wasn't sure if they could somehow figure out if that was the same compound at fault in Maggie's death but it was worth a try. She would keep her new findings a secret for now. It was all theory anyway.
"Next appointment is here," said Gillian, poking her head in.
"Be right there," Mandy said. She closed out of the windows in her browser and erased the browsing history. She was perhaps being a little paranoid. It was even creepier to be involved with this murder since whoever had done it was extraordinarily clever. She did not want to meet them in the woods alone like she had faced Fred before Gerry saved her.
Mandy went to the exam room where a chinchilla was chittering from a cage in the corner.
"Oh my, she's not happy. What seems to be the issue?" asked Mandy.
"She needs her teeth trimmed and she is losing a lot of fur lately. I think she just needs a general check over," the chinchilla's owner replied.
"Alright. Let me grab a towel. Is she friendly?"
"She is with us. I don't know how she'll be with you. You may want gloves."
Mandy grabbed a towel, her trusty teeth trimmers, and some gloves, just in case. She reached in and caught the chinchilla gently, which caused more chirping. First, she checked the teeth. They did need a tidy up so Mandy clipped the excess tooth away, being careful not to hurt the chinchilla. She then examined her thoroughly for evidence of parasites and general well-being.
"What do you feed her?"
"It's hard to find chinchilla food here so we give her rabbit food."
"Hmmm. Any treats?"
"A few bits of apple tree branches here and there. She
likes dried apples, too."
"Where is her cage?"
"It's in the house by the window. She used to be in a back room but we thought she was lonely. We moved her up to the front room."
"I think she needs a slightly better diet for starters. Here is a place you can order it online. And as far as her fur, there are no parasites. She seems to be plucking it. I wonder if she is too stimulated being in the front room. She may be a little stressed out. I would move her back to the old room again and we'll see if that helps."
"Not a problem, thanks."
"We shouldn't need to trim her teeth again once you get the other food in."
The chinchilla and her owner left. The next few clients were vaccinations. The owners were curious about the chatter they were hearing about Derek being dead and Mandy discovering the body. Mandy tried very hard not to reveal anything or to encourage anyone to look into it. She couldn't even fathom who would have killed Derek since he was so well-liked. She was definitely on guard.
Chapter 20
With the patients all seen and the clinic locked up, Mandy and Gillian parted ways for the evening. Mandy had to check on the Crowley cow with pneumonia while Gillian planned a quiet night at home. They were looking forward to no late night bobcat feedings or patient checks. That had been ruined because they now had a puppy to raise. As long as Mandy paced herself, she could handle the puppy and not interrupt life too much. Mandy and Lyle had already bonded with the puppy so it was obvious that they would be keeping her.
To fuel her brain, Mandy grabbed a quick peanut butter sandwich. Her diet had been so rich and exotic lately that she craved a good old-fashioned classic. She had some fresh, crispy, salty potato chips to go with the sandwich. Normal people might want a glass of milk with this meal. Mandy, on the other hand, wanted some apple juice. Mandy poured a little milk in Lyle's bowl so she would have something to wash down her share of the peanut butter sandwich. Now fed and more alert, they jumped in the Jeep to check on the cow.
