by Abby Deuel
“Hmm, well, we’ve got 350 yearlings for you to vaccinate today. I hope you’re ready for it,” said Stan.
“I’m loaded up and ready to go,” said Mandy. Each animal would receive three ccs of vaccination under the skin. She had brought plenty of needles, which was handy because Stan didn’t seem like a forgiving farmer.
Stan’s son, Ned, was loading up the yearlings into the race. He, too, was no short man. Unfortunately, the race was made for the height of the McMurphy boys. This was a problem she had encountered before and she had learned the knack of using her balance to reach all of the animals even if the platform was far too low. She would inch along the middle plank of the fence, clinging to the top of the yard with her arms. When she first started, she used to climb higher on the fence and hang over the fence but one time, she had lost her balance and fallen head first into the calves. This was a scene the farmer had taken great pride in explaining and often re-enacting at the town pub every Friday night. That was one thing that Mandy had learned: farmers never forget when you have made a fool of yourself.
Mandy climbed up to the second rung of the fence and started vaccinating. She had done this a thousand times and was a pro at it. Before Stan could start up a conversation about the weather, Mandy was done with the row.
“Fifteen,” she said. She had learned to always count as she went so she could compare notes with the farmer and make sure that she charged them the correct number. Vaccinations are not just a service that vets give for no reason. It is really important that every animal be vaccinated at the same time or there isn’t much point. If the count at the end of the vaccination is the same as the farmer had predicted, then all is good. If not, then some stock was missed in the round up and Mandy always scheduled another visit to take care of them.
“Come on Ned, load them up,” barked Stan. Their working dogs were in the yards pushing up the stock. Not collies, but instead Blue Heeler-looking dogs. They were doing a fairly consistent job moving the cattle, but kept getting distracted.
Mandy stepped down to let the stock move by her without being startled by her presence. She had a system of working down one row and up the next so she never had to make wasted movements. She finished that row pretty quickly as well.
“Fourteen plus fifteen, we are up to twenty-nine now,” Mandy said. Ned let out the row and started to load up the next row. They worked in silence. Mandy figured that Stan was watching her every move to see if she could hold her own on the farm, so she was making sure to be extra efficient. She had counted another seventeen, bringing the total to forty six. She was just finishing the next row. The front gate of the chute started to give way and the leading stock were pushing through, a few close to breaking out. She darted to the front stop to them all from stampeding through the gate. Her noble efforts were for not. The two in the lead busted right through the gate before she managed to get the rest contained. Luckily, they each had characteristic coloring and could be spotted in the already vaccinated mob.
Stan instinctively jumped aboard his trusty Ford and raced to keep the two rogue cattle separate. Mud flew as his tires spun in the mud. He got his footing and sped off after the cows. Ned took Mandy’s place in front of the dodgy gate. She was using all of her weight to lean into the gate. Ned craftily began to mend the hinge mechanism. He was determined that there wouldn’t be additional escape artists.
Taking the opportunity, Mandy scooted off to her Jeep, unhooking Lyle on the way, and securing her vaccination gun in the pocket of her coveralls. Between the Jeep and the Ford, they cut the two yearlings out of the mob and wedged them against the fence of the paddock. Mandy jumped out and vaccinated them before they could get away.
“Wow, those were some fast moves, Dr. Bell,” said Stan, out of breath. These were the first words uttered by anyone, apart from colorful obscenities during the ordeal. Everyone was so experienced with stock that they leapt into action with no discussions necessary. Now that is was all over, they all caught their breath. Lyle had remained calm throughout, knowing that her role would only be necessary if they were unable to separate the two beasts. Even though she didn’t have formal training, her instincts were spot on.
“Thanks,” said Mandy. As quickly as the mishap had occurred, it was over. They drove back to the yards and resumed vaccinating. This time, Stan was chatty about the weather, the price of beef, and the growing season. Mandy felt like she must have held her own enough to win the respect of Stan.
“I might be new to the area, but these yearlings look like pretty good growers. What’s the breed make-up?” asked Mandy.
“Angus and Simmental. It’s an old family recipe,” answered Stan. Mandy was enjoying talking with a farmer again. It had been a while since she’d worked in a true mixed practice. Dogs and cats don’t have the same draw as fresh air and a paddock full of cows. She had recently done a few stints at city practices where the medicine was on a different level than calving cows and chatting about weather. She missed the ruggedness of farmcalls.
“Let’s have a quick iced tea break,” said Stan. He brought out a thermos and enough glasses for everyone. “You coming to the Halloween Hoedown?”
“Everyone keeps asking me that; it must be worth attending,” said Mandy.
“It is. The whole town gets into it. I’m not sure whether the Halloween Hoedown or the Christmas Mingler is my favorite,” said Stan, starting to warm up. He placed his empty glass down and looked in the distance. “Well, enough thinking about festivities, let’s get back to work.”
They got back into their rhythm of loading up stock and vaccinating again. They went through another ten rows with no complications.
“Stan, I’m just going to go to the little girl’s room, I’ll be right back,” said Mandy.
“Do you want me to drive you to the homestead?” asked Stan.
“No, I’ll just make do out here,” said Mandy.
The only problem with being a rural vet and a woman is that every once and a while you are caught in the middle of nowhere with a full bladder. Not only are the overalls an obstacle but you have to find a way to excuse yourself to go find a bush. This is the worst in the desert where there aren’t any bushes. Luckily, today Mandy was surrounded by good solid Midwest shrubbery. She ducked out behind the yards and followed a little stock path until she found a nice big poplar to shelter her.
Once she was done, she used the hand sanitizer she kept in her coverall pockets. She started to make her way back to the yards when she spotted a shoe sticking out from under a shrub. It was a freshly shined black lace up with barely worn tread. She reached down to pick it up but it wasn’t loose. She followed the shoe up and found it was attached to a leg. She knelt down to find the leg’s owner and found a limp body. Knowing some CPR, she found the face and checked for a pulse. There was nothing. The face of the body was colorless and frigid. She shrieked and backed up cautiously. She could see a pool of blood seeping from underneath the body and knew she better seek help before there were two victims needing an ambulance. Despite being a seasoned veterinarian, the sight of human blood had made her faint before. Human injury was not her forte.
Mandy started to make her way back to the yards, but was feeling lightheaded and stumbling.
“Are you ok? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Sit down,” Stan said as he helped Mandy take a seat on the yard rail.
“We need to get the chief out here,” stuttered Mandy.
“What?” asked Stan.
“There’s a body back there. A dead one.”
“What in blazes are you talking about?”
“See for yourself. Back there,” she said as she pointed a shaky hand toward the bushes. Stan walked the path that Mandy had come down and traced the foot to the body. He checked the pulse just to be sure.
“Ned, call the chief.” Stan bellowed. “They will need to investigate this. It’s a strange place to just drop dead without being murdered,” Stan continued, speaking aloud, not to anyone in particular. He exa
mined the area for any explanations. There was no car or any other evidence of how this body appeared here. Stan recognized the body as that of Buck Dawson, not the most revered of the town’s people.
Ned pulled out his cell phone and rang the chief. He had to walk toward the yards for better reception. Stan returned to Mandy’s side while Ned was calling it in. Mandy was rather shaken up. Stan was speechless, not knowing how to console Mandy. They sat in silence.
“You stay here, Mandy,” said Ned when he hung up. “We will let the rest of the cattle out. The vaccines can wait and the chief will be here quicker than a cat can lick his ……”
“That’ll do, Ned. Watch your language in front of a lady,” Stan interrupted.
“Thanks guys,” Mandy said, still trembling. She didn’t want them to know it was the blood and not the body that had her weak at the knees. She did her best to hide that little fact about herself. She watched as Don and Stan moved the remaining yearlings into another holding paddock.
Larry and Gerry arrived at the scene in their tan and brown chief’s car. Gerry jumped out to see how Mandy was. She was starting to get the color back in her face. Stan had let Lyle out of Mandy’s Jeep. Lyle knew something traumatic had happened and was doing her best to comfort Mandy, curling up in Mandy’s lap with her head in Mandy’s hands.
“I’m just glad I had already piddled in the bushes or I might have wet my pants,” Mandy said as Gerry put a blanket around Mandy and Lyle. She was trying to put her bravest face on, but she was ready to go home to her RV.
Larry and Gerry went down the stock track to the dreaded bush to see for themselves what had happened. They found Buck face down. They had to section off the crime scene and get to work. Gerry got yellow crime scene tape from the chief’s sedan. They called in the town doctor and coroner, Doctor Tom Brown, to examine the body and try to determine the time and cause of death. They didn’t want to disturb anything until Doc Tom had a chance to see it for himself.
Stepping back from the area, they leaned against the yards to collect their thoughts.
“Man, I didn’t see that coming,” said Stan. “I really thought you’d jabbed yourself with a needle or something. Who would’ve thought you’d found a dead body. And Buck, poor guy.”
“I wasn’t expecting this when I woke up this morning, that’s for sure,” said Mandy. “Who was Buck?”
“He was a jack of all trades and a master of none. He didn’t have a great rapport with the community. He was into a little bit of gambling. He did have a perfect shot, darts or a gun,” clarified Stan.
“Poor guy indeed. I hope he didn’t suffer. I better get back to town anyway. I have a full schedule of appointments. I can come back after that to finish up the cattle we hadn’t vaccinated if you’d like.”
“I think we can reschedule for another day. I’ll call Gillian and see what we can do. What a welcome to Crestview for you. At least you found him before something else did. There are bobcats and coyotes around here.”
Mandy was completely relieved that she had not come across that scene. A pool of blood was bad enough.
“Do you want a ride into town?” asked Gerry to Mandy.
“No, I’ve got my Jeep and Lyle to take home,” replied Mandy. “That’s kind of you, though.” She unhooked Lyle from the leash and loaded her into the truck. Lyle took her place in the front seat, ready for the ride. She loved to sniff the wind as the Jeep zoomed along.
“We’ll need to get a statement from you about what you found. Without a thorough examination, this tentatively looks like a murder. There will be an investigation. I can stop by the clinic later today,” said Larry authoritatively as Mandy started to get into her car. Doc was just pulling up in his Buick. Dressed in a smart tweed suit, he stepped out and went to the trunk of the car to get his equipment. Mandy stayed just long enough to study Doc so she’d recognize him the next time she saw him. She wanted to know what he’d find when he checked Buck over.
Chapter Six
Mandy pulled up to the clinic to find Gillian rushing out the front door to meet her. “Are you ok?” Gillian asked. “I heard what happened. Do you want a cup of tea?”
“I’m fine. This town sure jumps on news like a duck on a junebug. I just don’t really know why anyone would kill anyone in Crestview. Everything seems so welcoming. Who would do such a thing?” said Mandy.
“I guess we’ll have to wait to find out. Are you ok to see appointments this afternoon? Suddenly we are getting a lot of calls. I guess people want to hear first-hand what you went through this morning. Not many things like this happen here so people are making a big deal out of it,” said Gillian. “Why don’t we have a nice lunch first? I brought some leftover home-made chili mac from last night and I could use some comfort food. You can tell me all about it.”
“Lunch sounds like a good idea. All of a sudden I am famished. But, what is chili mac?”
“Oh, it’s chili over spaghetti with lots of cheese. I’ll heat it up in the toaster oven. You’ll love it.”
“I’m up for trying that. I love cheese on anything. And I think seeing appointments would be fine. When is the first appointment?”
“One-thirty, so we’ve got forty minutes to unwind and fuel up. I’ll get that cup of tea,” said Gillian.
Mandy cleaned up, changing out of her coveralls before joining Gillian in the break room to feast on her first cheesy goodness meal of chili mac. Lyle had a bowl of dog chow. Except for Lyle’s crunching, they ate in silence. When Lyle finished her bowl, she stretched her whole body, starting at her front legs and ending with a satisfying groan as her back legs elongated behind her. After her unwinding dog yoga, Lyle tried to curl up while the girls finished eating but she seemed unfulfilled. She left the room and came back with a length of rope for the girls to throw. She dropped it at Gillian’s feet and backed up. Gillian giggled, breaking the silence. She threw the rope which Lyle caught in the air, bringing it back to Gillian for another throw.
“So, are you really ok?” asked Gillian.
“Yep, but the more I think about it, the more I really want to know what happened. I might ask a few questions around town to see if I can figure out what happened,” said Mandy. The thought of staying in town a bit longer was not ideal in some ways though it did mean she could find out what kind of murderer was on the loose, which she knew Anna would want.
“Just don’t get too involved or Larry will be upset with you. He’s a real stickler for formalities. I think he wanted to be a big shot detective. Instead, he is our little town’s chief. He can be a tad territorial at times. And the people here may seem welcoming on the surface. However, everybody tends to keep their cards close with newcomers,” said Gillian.
“Duly noted. I’ll tread lightly. I have to see what I can find out,” said Mandy, sipping her tea and subconsciously tapping her finger on the mug.
They cleaned up their lunch dishes and took their tea to the front to look at the schedule for the afternoon. Rhonda was coming in with one of her dachshunds to be pregnancy checked. That would be the perfect place for Mandy to start asking questions about Buck Dawson since she was married to Doc Tom, the coroner.
“Are you going to tell me more about your morning?” asked Gillian.
“Do you want the short version or the long version?” countered Mandy.
“What’s the difference?”
“I have a touch of eidetic memory.”
“Whoa, doc, that’s quite a big word. Care to explain?”
“It means I can recall way too much information about a scene. Some people call it photographic memory. That’s a bit of a misnomer. For me, I can recall visual memories with astounding detail. Sometimes, it gets in the way of my concentration because I will go off on a tangent when triggered by a cue someone has mistakenly shown me or spoken of. I manage it pretty well. Over the years I have learned to curtail it more or less. It comes in awful handy with remembering patients. I’ve never used it to recall a murder scene though.”
“I see. I didn’t know that about you. Good to know. Given our time constraints, let’s go with the short version.”
Mandy proceeded to give Gillian a synopsis of her morning, ending with the crime scene tape and the arrival of Doc Tom. She left out the part of her being afraid of human blood. Gillian didn’t need to know all of her quirks in the first two days of meeting her.
“That was an action-packed morning for you. I can assure you that people don’t find dead bodies in Crestview on a regular basis. Don’t let this cloud your impressions of the town.”
“From what Anna described, I know it can’t be the norm. That’s even more of a reason to sort out the particulars of the dead body’s appearance in a random pasture,” said Mandy.
“Did you end up doing all the vaccines or do I need to reschedule?”
“We had to stop once they started taping things off. We don’t have that many left to do so it won’t take long.”
“I’ll give them a call and make a date for that. Do I need to set aside some time for you to go down to the chief’s office for your statement?” asked Gillian.
“Nope. Larry said he would stop by later here at the clinic,” Mandy said. “I’m going to check on a few things before appointments start.” With that, she retreated to the office to clear her mind before the appointments. Visual recalls could be exhausting and distracting. Lyle joined her in the office. She sat back in the chair and tried to remember as many details as she could from the moment she started walking away from the cattle yards and toward the place where she discovered the body.
She knew that if she concentrated hard now, it would be easier to check her mental images for details later. She didn’t see blood anywhere except under the body. There was no sign of a struggle that she could see. There was a dilapidated section of fence near the body that she had not examined well when she was there. She might have to check that again up close. She would have to sneak out without the police getting wind of her inquisition. She had plenty of questions to answer before she needed to make that trip out.
