Taking On Lucinda
Page 27
Marlene opened the glass panel. “You can pet her for a minute or two, that might cheer her up. Then she’ll need her oxygen again.”
“We’ve got to get you feeling better, girl,” Barry told her as he fondled her ears. “Doc and I need our coon-hunting partner.”
The whole group laughed at one another, embarrassed to be misty-eyed for a dog.
“Sweet Jesus!” Sally said. “Even Merrill’s crying.”
Merrill smeared his eyes with the back of his hand. “I always figured her to be something special.”
They stood for a long time simply enjoying being in Lucinda’s presence.
Eventually, Barry and Nathan became distracted. They wandered around the room eyeing all the medical paraphernalia. “Look at all this stuff!”
Kent glanced around. He did not know what a lot of it was for, let alone how to use it. He had let himself go to seed. He had quit trying, isolated himself from this wonderful profession. So many people would give anything to be a veterinarian, and he had forsaken his privilege as one.
“You know, Barry, if you go to veterinary school, this is what it will be like. No doubt even more, by then.”
“Mom always said she didn’t want me to be around animals.”
“I changed my mind. You’d make a great vet,” Aubrey said.
Stef stepped up from behind and gave Kent a pat on the back. “That’s the Kent I grew up with.”
“As a matter of fact,” Kent said, “I’ve decided I’m going to use the money you’re paying me as Copithorn’s animal-care supervisor to build a new veterinary hospital in Jefferson.” He turned to his brother. “That sound like a good idea to you?”
“Amen to that.”
“I’m not going to let you in the new one,” Sally said to the chief.
Kent drew a deep breath and released it as he appraised all that surrounded him. “I guess I needed a real jolt to get me fired up again.” He looked at Barry. “And I’m going to need some help, you know.”
“You mean to take care of Lucinda when she comes home?” Barry said.
“Yes. And to help me in my new hospital after that.”
Nathan leaned an elbow onto Barry’s shoulder. They bent to where they had a better view of Lucinda. “We’re your men.”
Kent turned to Marlene. “When do you figure she’ll be able to come home?”
“Actually, I don’t make that decision. The chiefs will call it. But I know they’re concerned that she hasn’t eaten anything. No matter what we offer her, she says, Forget it. She belongs to a vet and all, so my guess would be they’ll discharge her as soon as she starts eating.”
“I’ll be right back,” Barry said and left the room.
Stef spoke to Rodman, who had been keeping his usual low profile while he observed the reunion. “I just can’t believe you were able to get Armani back for me. I’m in your debt forever.”
“Yeah,” Aubrey said, her voice reverberating out of the oxygen cage as she pressed her cheek to Lucinda’s. “ How amazing is that? You actually smuggled him away from the dogfighters.”
Rodman gave them a sheepish look. “Smuggled is too glamorous a way of putting it. The first time I was at Kent’s clinic buying medicine—I’m sure you don’t remember me being there, but—you came in panicked because Armani was missing. I recognized you as the Copithorn lady. I figured you had suffered enough with the fire and all, but I couldn’t very well say, ‘Hey, ma’am, I know where your cat is,’ so I just made a mental note of his description and left. Next day I was out at May-May’s and there he was, scared stiff but otherwise okay. I convinced May-May that even though I was a hard-ass, I liked the looks of that cat and wanted him for my own. He didn’t think anything of it. So I took him to my trailer up along the edge of May-May’s farm, and he’s been hiding out there with me ever since. He’s been right in the thick of things the whole time.”
“I’ll thank you every time I see him curled up on his rug by the fireplace.”
“He’s a good cat. I think he kind of liked slumming around with me after living in the lap of luxury with you. I just wish I could have saved the rest of them.”
“What’s going to happen to those SOBs anyway?”
Rodman leaned back against a counter. “Well, the way those boys have turned over to save their own asses, and knowing how bad the attorney general and the USDA want to show that the Animal Welfare Act has some teeth, I’d say just about all the high rollers will get the maximum.”
“Especially since there are Aaron and Tammy’s murders with nobody alive to pin them on,” Merrill said.
“Don’t forget arson,” Stef said.
“Right. They’ll be looking to string up someone there too. Plus you can throw in a few weapons violations, interstate transport, that sort of thing, and lots of marijuana and coke.” He took on a whimsical tone. “Yep. My ol’ buddy Lester Ross is going to be cooling his heels for a long while.”
The whole group muttered words of satisfaction at that news.
Rodman said, “I had a nice long talk with him. He knows just who dogged him to the bitter end. He can stew on that in jail.”
“What about all the videos Aubrey got?” Stef asked.
“They’ll have a heyday with that.” He gave Aubrey an approving look. “She got everything. No doubt any judge who sees it will be in a hanging mood.” Rodman’s tone held the contentment of one who had finally received reparation. “I don’t care if their lawyers go to Mars for a jury, they’ll be cooked when those tapes are shown. I can see the headlines now: Attorney General’s Office Takes the Bite Out of Dogfighting.”
They turned as Barry burst back into the ICU waving a white paper bag. “I’ve got what Lucinda needs!”
Aubrey and Stef backed out of the cage. “What is it?”
“Is it okay if I try my secret weapon?” Barry asked Marlene.
“That depends on what your secret weapon is.”
Barry extracted a foil-covered mass from his bag. “She’ll eat a hamburger, if she’ll eat anything.”
“Ah, kid. I taught you well,” Kent said.
Marlene shrugged. “Looks safe enough to me.” She held the glass door as Barry leaned in and unwrapped his delicacy.
Instantly, the greasy odor of fast food filled the room. All eyes were on Lucinda as Barry pushed the foil with its juicy contents towards her nose.
No reaction. Barry slid the food closer. For another moment still nothing, then the familiar sparkle appeared in her eyes, and her nostrils began to twitch. Slowly, she lifted her head, rolled upright, and sniffed the burger. She looked out at Barry then back to the burger. She reached down and nibbled it, licked her lips appraisingly then took a good bite.
Barry shook a fist victoriously. “Yes!”
“You’re a natural veterinarian,” Kent said.
They watched with silent smiles as Lucinda finished her first meal in days.
Marlene eased the door closed. “That’s it for now,” she said. “A little at a time, but it’s a great sign. I’d bet they’ll release her in no time if she keeps eating like that.”
Aubrey patted her purse. “I’ll leave you some burger money.”
Barry reached into the bag again and pulled out more hamburgers. “I figured it’s after noon, and we haven’t eaten since breakfast, so I got some for the rest of us.”
Everyone but Aubrey accepted a burger eagerly. Barry handed one to his mother. “Here, Mom, try this. I think you forgot how good they taste.”
In the excitement of the moment, Aubrey took the offering. Glancing from her son to the burger, she slowly unwrapped it and cautiously lifted the top roll. A brown disk of beef loomed at her.
Kent, Barry, and the others watched in amazement as she exhaled loudly and with great resolve raised the hamburger to her mouth. Her lips parted. She moved it closer. Then s
he froze. She set the burger on the counter. “Sorry, guys. This is where I draw the line.”
About the Author
Frank Martorana grew up working with animals on several farms around Schenectady, New York, and at the veterinary hospital of Dr. Stanley E. Garrison in nearby Burnt Hills. In 1976, he graduated from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. Since then he has been the “family doctor” for countless horses, cows, dogs, cats, and many other creatures around Cazenovia and Hamilton, New York. When he is not treating animals, he is hard at work readying the second and third books of the Kent Stephenson series for publication.
Please visit his website at www.frankmartorana.com
Don’t miss the next thriller in the Kent Stephenson Series.
Simpatico’s Gift
It’s the middle of the breeding season, and the top stallions in Kent’s practice are being systematically eliminated by sudden death, rare disease, and mysterious disappearance. Kent, his teenage daughter, Emily, and his hound, Lucinda, put their lives on the line to find out who is behind it and why. What they discover rocks the horse industry.
And it will rock the very soul of any lover of these great beasts.
Visit www.frankmartorana.com for updates