by Abby Deuel
Lyle responded by yawning and flopping down sideways to stretch her whole body out.
“Thanks for your interest. Are you giving me the cold shoulder because I wouldn’t let you come with me?” Lyle merely sighed and stretched her body out further.
The soup was ready on the stove and Mandy picked her favorite ceramic bowl to enjoy it in. She had a fresh package of saltines and crumbled some on top of the soup. She tossed one to Lyle as a peace offering. The good thing about soup, Mandy thought, is that you can’t eat it too fast so you end up feeling full quicker. Plus, it warms your soul from the inside out which is always a comforting feeling. She would need all the strength she could muster to meet Dennis and sort out what he needed, once and for all. She was so worn out and cozy from her soup that she dozed off, waking up to Lyle licking her face.
“Guess I need some caffeine,” Mandy said to herself as she warmed some coffee from the morning.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
To finish her coffee and satiate her sweet tooth, Mandy grabbed a few chocolate chip cookies to nibble on as the clock approached quarter past five. She left the RV and went into the clinic to check Trixie and Ronnie. They were still doing well so she left them to rest. She would have to come to a conclusion with Ronnie over the next few days so she would call his owner in the morning to make a plan. Lyle had been following her diligently while she made her rounds to check on patients until she veered off toward the lobby. Through the front window, Mandy saw Dennis pull up in Fred’s VW beetle.
“It must be 5:30 already, Lyle,” Mandy said to Lyle as she let Dennis in.
“Hi, thanks for meeting with me,” Dennis said. “I know you are a busy lady these days.”
“That’s ok. I do have a bit on my plate. Even still, let’s see if we can’t get you a resolution.”
“I’m glad we have a chance to be alone. I wanted to impress upon you how important it is that you keep your nose out of the murder investigation. I may not live in Crestview anymore but I know how this town is. They don’t take kindly on outsiders butting in.”
“You’re entitled to your opinion. I have to do what I have to do. What is it that you are looking for anyway?” As she was asking the question, Dennis was pulling something out of his back pocket.
Before he could answer, Gerry came rushing through the door. Mandy was startled both by Gerry’s entrance and by the way Dennis was pulling something from his pocket. When Dennis saw Gerry, he let go of whatever he had his hand on behind his back.
“I’m so sorry to barge in. I saw the lights were on. Reggie is howling in pain. I don’t know what’s wrong,” Gerry said as he placed Reggie on the counter.
“I’m sorry, Dennis. This looks like an emergency. Duty calls. I don’t know how long I will be so you can wait or we can try again tomorrow,” Mandy said.
“I think I’ll head on back to Fred’s. I’ll stop in tomorrow,” Dennis said, clearly not impressed.
“Ok,” Mandy said. She turned her attention back to Gerry and Reggie. “Talk to me. How did you find him?”
“When I got home from the funeral, I found him in front of the litter pan just yowling. I scooped him up and brought him here. That’s all I know.”
“Did you change the litter back to what you were using before?” asked Mandy.
“Yep.”
“Have you been able to give the antibiotics?”
“Yep,” said Gerry.
“Ok, let me have a look at him.” She transferred him to the exam room table and felt his abdomen first. “Oh my, his bladder is enormous. I’d say we have a blockage in his urethra.”
“What does that mean?” asked Gerry.
“Well, even though we found a slight infection and we’re treating it, it seems he may have some sludge made of crystals that has blocked his ability to pee. I won’t know for sure until I try to pass a catheter. I can say that his bladder should not be this large. First, I am going to give him some pain medication.”
“Yes please.”
“Once I have him more comfortable under mild sedation, I will try to pass a catheter and if there is a blockage, I will unblock it. We need to get his bladder empty quickly or it will stretch too far and not want to contract normally. Also, they can get toxic from not being able to excrete urine,” said Mandy.
“Ouch. That all sounds horrible.”
“It is. It’s also not uncommon, especially in indoor male cats. I’m afraid he will need to stay with me for a few days. And we will be changing his food to try to prevent this problem in the future,” said Mandy.
“I will leave you to it, unless you need a hand.” Gerry placed a hand on Mandy’s shoulder as a thank you. Lyle had been watching him closely and promptly snarled her lip.
“What is that about, Lyle?” asked Mandy. Lyle just looked from Mandy to Gerry with intense eyes. “I should be alright by myself. Thanks.”
“Looks like Lyle would like it to stay that way, too,” Gerry said, chuckling.
“She doesn’t take kindly to anyone getting too close to me. She could finish my sentences if people only knew how to hear her. She is the yin to my yang.”
“I understand. I am not here to intrude.” As Mandy drew up pain medication for Reggie and administered it, Gerry watched her intently, but from a distance. “Why was Dennis here anyway?”
“It seems he needs something that is in Anna’s house. He has been trying to meet me to retrieve whatever it is. I have been busy so tonight was the earliest I could take him over to her house. He says he is leaving town shortly and wanted to get it before he left.”
“I don’t like the sounds of that. Next time, call me and I will be a chaperone. Correction, Lyle and I will both chaperone,” Gerry said. Reggie was already starting to relax under the influence of the pain medication and sedation.
“Are you jealous?” Mandy asked.
“Me, no. I am just worried about your safety. There is still a murderer on the loose and we don’t know who it is. Are you having any luck in your sleuthing?”
“I did just get an anonymous warning to keep my nose out of it. So, I must be getting close.”
“As in a threat?”
“I suppose,” answered Mandy.
“I don’t like the sounds of that at all. Where is this note?” asked Gerry.
“I have thrown it away. Don’t worry. I’m not fazed,” said Mandy.
“You best let me handle any threats to you. We can’t allow anyone else to get hurt or worse.”
“Point taken. Back to the investigation. I feel like I am missing something. I keep zeroing on a suspect before find out something that changes my mind. So, no, you?”
“We are still following leads. But we don’t have a top of the list yet. We certainly don’t have the makings for a warrant to arrest yet,” Gerry answered.
“I am thinking of going out to the rifle range tomorrow to see what I can find out there.”
“Be careful Dr. Bell. We have already investigated out there, but do let me know if you come across something important,” said Gerry.
“I shall. I will also give you an update on Reggie. I better prepare a cage for him. My hospital ward is getting full,” said Mandy.
“There’s nothing wrong with being popular,” Gerry said.
“True.”
“Well, I will leave you to it. Call me.”
“You have my word.”
“Oh, and please be safe,” Gerry warned.
Chapter Thirty
Mandy gathered the instruments and materials she would need to unblock Reggie and transferred him to the surgery area. He was now adequately sedated so she could proceed with her treatment. First, she administered a numbing agent to his urethra. She opened a sterile pouch of lubrication and attempted to pass the urinary catheter. Sure enough, there was a noticeable blockage which prevented the catheter from entering the bladder. Mandy drew up some flush in a syringe and attached it to the catheter. While moving the catheter in and out, she flushed with the syringe.
Unblocking a tom cat can be as much finesse as scientific. She patiently kept repeating the process, being careful not to be too forceful or she could damage the urethra. As she concentrated, her glasses slid down her nose.
She leaned back and stretched her back and then repositioned her glasses. Reggie was comfortable under anesthesia so she was safe to keep trying. Finally, she was able to push the catheter and a fountain of blood-tinged urine swished out into the basin she had ready for this hopeful occurrence. She saved a pipet of the urine to test and potentially send off for a culture and sensitivity if the infection persisted despite the antibiotics he had been receiving.
Mandy filled several syringes full of flush and rinsed the interior of the bladder through the catheter. Once confident she had emptied the bladder, she sutured the catheter in place to ensure good flow until she could pull it for good. It would remain in place to allow urine flow for at least a day so she could monitor for additional blockages. Many cats objected to an indwelling catheter so she put an Elizabethan collar on his head to prevent him from pulling the catheter prematurely. She administered some subcutaneous fluids to Reggie since the poor guy had been unable to pee, and therefore, hadn’t consumed much water, leading to dehydration. She also administered a drug to help the bladder muscles start to contract again since they had been stretched severely under the pressure of the urine. She gave another medication which would prevent the urethra from forming a stricture under all of the inflammation. Finally, she gave Reggie a strong dose of antibiotics before settling him in his cage for the night.
“When it rains, it pours,” Mandy said out loud to herself, standing back to look at all of the sick animals she had collected over the last 36 hours. She checked Trixie’s glucose again and was happy with how it was stabilizing. She would be able to release Trixie to her owner soon. Ronnie was lying on his side, wagging his tail. He had started to chew at his bandage on his leg so Mandy fitted an Elizabethan collar on him. He clearly was not impressed with this contraption and had his head rammed in the corner of the cage.
“If you had left it alone, you wouldn’t have to wear the cone of shame,” Mandy said, shaking her finger at Ronnie. “Alright you guys, I need to take a break to eat something. Everybody looks happy or as happy as they can be. Good night, all,” Mandy said to her patients.
Emma whizzed around the corner, her feet hitting the floor with such gusto that she sounded like a herd of hyenas. “Mrrraw,” Emma said loudly. She rubbed on Mandy’s legs as Mandy attempted to walk.
“Ok, a little water for you,” Mandy said and turned the faucet on. She gave Emma and Jimbo a few crunchies in their bowl and waited for Emma to get her fill of water before turning off the faucet.
“Now I am going to go get something to eat, you needy children!” Mandy laughed.
She went back out to the RV and Lyle climbed up to sprawl out on the dashboard to watch birds as the sun set.
The soup Mandy had eaten earlier hadn’t kept her feeling full. She made herself a grilled cheese sandwich on the stove. Lyle jumped off the dash and sprang into action when she heard the sound of the cheese being unwrapped. She sat with the cutest, most irresistible expression on her face that Mandy rewarded her with a corner of cheese.
After eating, Mandy tried to get some rest. Half of her head was swimming with ideas of what to look for at the rifle range during lunch the next day. The other half of her thoughts was consumed by her patients. Even though she had been a vet for many years and had seen just about everything, she never became complacent. She often pushed herself to learn more and do better with every case. She was paranoid that she might miss something and get sloppy like many over-confident vets did in their mature years.
Numerous cases had resulted in restless nights due to her need to check on them through the night. She had learned to listen to the subconscious voice that awakened her during these occasions. In fact, more than once, the angle of the case she had been missing had come to her while checking the patients in the wee hours of the morning. One case, an elderly pug with liver failure, proved how this intuition could be the catalyst for a different treatment. This pug had been in her care for almost two weeks, on IV fluids, antibiotics, anti-nausea medication, the works. She knew it was liver failure due to uncontrolled diabetes but she could not figure out why the dog’s nausea was so uncontrollable. She had been offering all kinds of different foods in an attempt to get the little guy to eat something. She could see that he was wasting away in front of her. She would back off the intravenous nutrition to try to encourage the dog to eat but to no avail. Finally, during a late night check up on her patients, Mandy got an idea. She had read once upon a time that eating liver could actually help a liver. She started boiling some up to entice the pug. In addition, she had tried every single anti-nausea combination except plain old Benadryl. She remembered that people who get motion sickness sometimes use that in a pinch for their dizziness. She administered the Benadryl while the liver was cooling. She knew she had better get to bed since she had a full load of surgeries the next morning so she left the liver for the pug to try on his own. The next morning, she found an empty bowl and a hungry pug. Mandy never knew whether it was simply time for the case to finally shift directions on its own or if her squirrelly late-night ideas were the cause, but she was always so thankful when things took a turn for the better.
Tonight, she would try not to wake up to check on her patients, but if the feeling came, she would honor it with a visit to the clinic. Lyle was curled up with her head on a pillow and her body pressed up against Mandy. The sound of Lyle’s breathing was so soothing that she finally dozed off to sleep.
Chapter Thirty-One
Morning came far too soon. As usual, coffee helped reverse the damage of a sleepless late night. Even though she hadn’t woken up in the middle of the night, she didn’t sleep well. Today she would be heading over to the rifle range to investigate during the noon hour. After sufficient caffeine, she checked on her patients and they were all doing well. She gave each of their owners an update. Since Trixie was handling her insulin and change of food well, she would be discharged in the next few days. Ronnie’s owner, Doug, opted for surgery and she would work that into the schedule this week. He also agreed to meet with her at the range today. Reggie was peeing well and eating so she pulled his catheter. If he continues to pee well, he could be discharged later in the week. Mandy made sure Emma and Jimbo were happy with fresh food, clean water, and scooped litter boxes.
Mandy could have scheduled for Gillian to come in to do the morning chores, but with so many patients in the clinic, it was really better for Mandy to just do it while she was checking on them all. The clinic had a little fenced-in area in which to walk ambulatory patients. They didn’t board animals but the clinic could be quite full with just patients alone.
Mandy returned to the RV and had a hearty breakfast of frozen waffles with peanut butter and sliced cheddar cheese. Although a strange combination, she found it kept her satiated for a long time and she would need it for her plans today. She also didn’t enjoy traditional breakfast items like eggs and bacon. She detested sweet food early in the morning, opting to have something savory most of the time.
The morning appointments were seamless, with the help of Gillian and Lyle. They had a coon dog with a thorn in his paw, a cat with an upper respiratory tract infection, a bulldog with an ingrown dewclaw, and several routine vaccine appointments. Mandy and Gillian took one tea break in between the appointments and suddenly the morning was over. Gillian had kept the afternoon fairly light so Mandy could take a long lunch to go meet Ronnie’s owner at the rifle range.
Mandy checked her patients and then went out to the RV to have a light lunch before heading out. Lyle really got jumpy around guns and gunshots so Mandy opted to leave her home while she went out to the range.
“I’m sorry, girl. We will go for a nice long walk when I get back. I’ll bet you a dollar to a donut that you’d rather be here,” Mandy told a very di
sappointed Lyle. She hopped in her Jeep, leaving a sulking Lyle in the chair by the door.
At the rifle range, Mandy had trouble finding a parking spot because it seemed to be a popular place in Crestview today. She hoped that she would still be able to interview Doug Reed for clues despite how busy he might be. She spotted him leaning against the partition from the main room to the break room. His mustache was moving wildly with each word he spoke to the person he was standing beside. The two people were in an animated discussion, so Mandy took the opportunity to look around.
On the wall was the Rifle Range Hall of Fame. Apparently, they had competitions for most consistent deadly shots in the paper models of perpetrators. There seemed to be different categories, but Mandy wasn’t completely sure what the differences were among them. She had never actually been to a range before. It seemed a lot more complicated in person than she had imagined. There were a few different courses, some with stationary targets, and some with moving targets and obstacles. She always thought the point of a range was to keep one’s aim fresh for hunting season. Clearly, there must be some other added benefits. Socializing was likely among the perks because the place was full of people.
Doug spotted her and made his way over. “Welcome to my humble range,” he said.
“This is hardly humble. Bustling, more like. Thanks for taking time to meet me,” Mandy said.
“Let me show you around,” Doug said. He led her back to the front door. “This is the entry area. We check all FOID cards on entry. We have safes over this way where people can store their weaponry here instead of bringing it back and forth from home. Only I have the key to these safes so people must sign in and out through me for their guns. We also store supplies in here. I am pretty tight with security since I am liable for any issues here.”
