X's and O's (Will Kilpatrick, DVM Mystery Series Book 1)

by A. Carlock Maxwell DVM

  A flicker, maybe irritation, darted through Otis's eyes. He leaned against the counter, took a swig of Coors. "Glad you saw it. I meant to mention that Dr. Bill left it last time he was here. He left stuff everywhere he went."

  That was true. Every farm in three counties had been beneficiary to his forgetfulness. "Is this all of it?"

  Otis frowned, rubbed an ear. "I thought there was three." After searching all the shelves, he shook his head. "Must have remembered wrong. Anyway, take it with you. I've been nervous, having it in there."

  Once outside, Will looked around for Spivey's farm truck, saw it being driven toward the field. He would have to wait for another opportunity to examine the bumper.

  ***

  Skeets waved him down on his way back to the clinic. He pulled over and she crawled into the rider's seat. "Are you avoiding me? You haven't called in a few days. Even in a strictly utilitarian way."

  "Nothing personal. Feeling like Seth has his eye on us." He teased her with a grin. "Maybe on you more than me. But to be utilitarian, what's the news on the street? Bearing in mind I'm on the way back from an interesting call to check Spivey's bull. It's okay, but Otis didn't look great."

  Skeets shifted in the seat, tucked a foot under her leg. "He shouldn't. I don't have but a sec, but here's the latest. For which I will await a personal bribe."

  "That's extortion."

  "Semantics. Been a few more anti-Otis happenings. Didn't get to personally investigate since he's trying to keep it contained. But I heard the sheriff talking to Seth, since he's the one doing extra surveillance. Somebody broke into his house. Spiked his Wild Turkey with something. That caused severe cramps that put on the floor doing, in his words, the Curly Shuffle." She paused to grin. "An interesting visual. He also found a cow heart injected with black die in his fridge. Somebody oiled his shower floor. Again in his words, when he slipped, it felt like his entire body was ruptured."

  "Wow."

  She touched his shoulder. "I'm not finished. The tops of his beer cans were doctored with perhaps a habanero extract and he blistered his lips on a cold one. Then we come to his den. Everything in it was destroyed. Trophies smashed. Furniture eviscerated. Then he leaves the house. Someone removed all the lug nuts and every wheel came off as he sailed down that long driveway. Various notes were found attributing the deeds to one unknown person named Epiphany. Needless to say, he isn't happy."

  "Any idea who Epiphany is. That name was on the note when the barn caved in."

  "Interestingly enough, your name came up in a list of suspects. I would be highly visible for the next while." She placed a finger below her lips, looked to have received a revelation. "If you'd like, I could place you in protective custody."

  "Not necessary. The sheriff gave me a little pep talk a few days ago. Same time he was speaking to Liza Hall about her...disagreement with Spivey."

  Skeets's mouth puckered into a disparaging knot. "I'm not her greatest fan, since you're spending more time with her than me." She raised a hand to prevent his interrupting. "I know it's legitimate cattle work."

  "Skeets, I've been back in town a week. We've had two evenings out of eight together. That doesn't replace seven years apart."

  She pushed a stray lock of hair behind an ear and sighed. "You're right. I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm sorry. But you need to know what you're dealing with. She's probably the prime suspect for now."

  "And why would that be?"

  "Recently discharging a firearm in his vicinity. Accusing him of all sorts of things. Even if they might be true Gotta run. You owe me big time." She touched her fingers to her lips, then his. "Dinner later? As you say, two nights doesn't undo seven years."

  "BW? Seven?"

  After musing it over, he mentally filed the information concerning Liza. Though discounting it, one never knew what people were thinking. Or doing.

  When Will returned to the clinic, he sidestepped Miss Effie's immediate questions about the call. He had said he would keep quiet about it and he would. "Did I see on Otis's record that he gets Winstrol now and again?"

  "For years. Got one the day they argued. We always keep a bottle on hand for him. Sometimes in pill form for his old dog. Why?"

  "Just checking." Spivey's story matched. Maybe he was wrong about the man. "He needs some more. Dropped the last one, broke it."

  She sniffed before heading to the pharmacy. "I've already re-ordered. But he ought to put that old horse on herbs."

  "Why's that? He's already a vegetarian."

  Chapter 28

  Wednesday

  Two days after the storm, Liza sat at the dining table. Homicidal urges hadn't wrecked her appetite. The aroma of green beans, corn on the cob, fluffy biscuits yellowed with butter and coated with sourwood honey filled her nostrils. She sipped iced tea, sugared to the thickness of Karo syrup.

  An impetuous gust of wind vaulted through the open window, lifting the drapes and sprawling across the table.

  With the worst of the cleanup over, life had regained a degree of normalcy. Work during the day, sort through boxes and emotions at night. More pictures. More receipts. No new clues concerning her mother's whereabouts. No clues to who her father was. No clues to where the money might be, assuming it hadn't been spent. And from the frugal way they had lived, she had doubts that it had.

  Jug and Pete had been back yesterday and helped with clean up. They had been fine to work with, although Jug tended towards moodiness, tearing up every time she was around. Maybe that was his normal when sober.

  If she could figure out a polite way to get rid of Andy Price, the bank president's son, life might again be tolerable. He was the trifecta of boring and exasperating and practical. The exact opposite of Will. Andy had hung around for days like an ambulance chasing lawyer specializing in emotional wrecks, which he took her to be. To top it off, he was newborn baby helpless when it came to farm work. Pete and Jug had tried to instruct him, but he didn't want to associate with them, much less learn something useful.

  Due to her recent resolve to be a better person, she couldn't run him off like a stray dog.

  He sat in her dad's chair, jaws grinding in prefect cadence, chewing each bite of food exactly thirty-two times. No more, no less. It was a little known fact, but each person had to discover their optimum-chewing zone, he explained, in the quest for assimilating the maximum calories from their food source. It also reduced stress on the digestive system.

  Maybe his, but not hers. Her stomach had manufactured enough acid in the last hour to eat a hole through the earth's crust. If not for the penal repercussions, she would drop an anvil on his head to see how high it would rebound. Male bashing, that's what she would be arrested for.

  He rocked back and smiled. "What are our goals after lunch?"

  She gave him a blank stare. She would eat worms if she heard the word goal again.

  The phone's ringing saved her from sacrificing a portion of her sanctification on the altar of a shrill response. She took the call in the living room to avoid another of his irritating habits - eavesdropping. He followed anyway.

  "Elvis, is that really you?" She enjoyed Andy's puzzled reaction as she held a hand over the mouthpiece. "Andy, do you mind? I need to talk to the King alone. He's kind of shy since he died."

  Shaking his head, he ambled back to the table.

  "Hello. Sorry about that."

  "Is this Miss Hall?"

  Her pulse drummed in her ear. Something in the voice said air raid, air raid. Sit down under your desk, put your head between your knees, cover your head with your arms. Above all, do not, I repeat, do not be alarmed. "No, this is Liza."

  "This is Dr. Kilpatrick. I got a call from the lab."

  "No need to drag it out." A frown flavored her words. Be uppity and not relate on a first name basis. I don't care. "I'm a big girl."

  "Both cows checked positive for brucellosis."

  She stared out the window. An inner grayness sucked the blue from the sky, turned the birds' s
ongs to high-pitched mumbles. I'll scream later. "Guess that means I go blind next?"

  Concern crept into his voice. "Are you feeling sick?"

  "Only kidding." Eyes closed, she took several deep breaths. The fears of having to sell a bunch of cows had kept her up praying and fretting several nights. Building the herd had taken years. Losing it might only take days.

  "Miss Hall, are you still there?"

  "Yes, Dr. Kilpatrick." Her behavior probably explained his not calling her by her given name. Why didn't she simply spontaneously apologize for her part of the misunderstanding? Wouldn't that be logical? "What's next?"

  "Have the others checked as soon as you can. For now, they're under quarantine. Someone from the state vet's office will contact you about having the reactors branded. Then you can sell them."

  "When can you come?" She hoped she didn't sound pushy. She was in no position to ask him for a favor. Long seconds passed before he replied.

  "I know you called me in a pinch for the first two cows. Feel free to call someone you can get along with better than me. My feelings won't be hurt. It's going to take several trips over the next few months to get through this. And I'm not sure if I'll be here for the second test."

  She propped on the sofa arm, worked her neck from side to side. The next closest vet who did large animal work was nearly fifty miles away. "Don't you think you should finish what you started?"

  A long pause droned in her ear. "If that's what you want. I'm trying to wrap up some of my uncle's business, but I can take a break. How long will it take you to catch them up?"

  Surprise mixed with relief. Unless his afternoon was completely a blank slate, he was making a special effort to come so soon. It did little to make her feel better about her behavior towards him. "I'll have them up in an hour." She paused before hanging up, a giddy feeling prompting a spontaneous smile. "And, Dr. Kilpatrick, please don't run over my dog getting in here."

  The sound of cattle bawling filled the air as Liza greeted Will at his truck. She smiled and extended a hand. When Will reached his out, she withdrew hers but held it out again when he withdrew his. He chuckled and reached out once more, shook hers. The unexpected tingle from his touch quivered her where she had never quivered.

  Working with him for hours this afternoon could turn the barn into the OK Chorale.

  "Thanks for coming so soon." She leaned against the truck while he finished gathering syringes, tubes, ear tags and charts. "Before we get started, I need to tell you something." She held her ground against his blunt stare.

  "I need driver's ed.?"

  Though his sense of humor lightened the moment, her fingers drummed the hood as she sought to calm her nerves. This would definitely be out of the boat time. But it was high time her behavior reflected her beliefs. She would introduce him to the nice Liza. "I need to ask your forgiveness for my behavior. I was plumb ugly to you the other day."

  Apparently caught off-guard, Will's head tilted. A quizzical smile shuffled across his face. "Which other day?"

  Her eyelids dropped to half-mast. Was he serious? He wasn't making it easy to display the new, improved Liza. She decided against ambiguity, for clear communication. "Every one of them."

  His grin enlarged, creating dimples. "And that was before you got really mean and rotten. But it's okay. You have a lot going on."

  Relieved, she chuckled. It had been so long since she had laughed out loud, she hardly recognized the sound. She covered her mouth.

  "You'll forgive me then?" She continued before he could respond. Like her admonishment to him, she intended to finish what she started. And perhaps that would start something. "If you're really a Christian, you have to. Or you'll be in sin yourself."

  "Sure."

  Liza frowned in mock petulance, heart pounding an anxious rhythm. "Sure what? Sure, you'll forgive me or sure, you'll be in sin."

  "Sure, I'll forgive you. You've had a stressful season."

  She ducked her head at his kindness, but not before noticing the thin red flush of color surfacing in his cheeks. His unease gave her the upper hand.

  "I...I don't really think you killed Tipper. I know he was too far gone." He nodded, a relieved look softening his eyes. "And feel free to visit the graveyard any time you want."

  "Thanks."

  "And it was nice, how you treated Clio last week. And me Monday. I don't think I thanked you properly."

  "No problem. And thanks for the kind words."

  "If you'll tell me how much the stuff you brought after the storm cost, I'll get you some money when the insurance pays off."

  Questioning blue eyes fixed on her. "It was a gift."

  A thin breeze slid between them, cooled the flush irradiating her cheeks. How would she ever be independent if people like him insisted on doing things like that? "I can't take that."

  He turned his attention back to gathering the needed equipment. "If you don't, you'll rob me of a blessing."

  "But-"

  "What's all the laughing about?" Andy stopped beside her.

  Now it gets interesting. "Dr. Kilpatrick, meet Andy Price."

  Andy stuck out a hand to Will. Winked. "I've heard about you. Been seeing PJ. And Skeets. You're a fast worker."

  Will looked at Liza. "I saw them each in a professional capacity."

  "Right. You looked like a professional." A sure-whatever-you-say look convulsed Andy's eyebrows.

  Reserved Will, a woman hustler? Not towards her. Which meant the problem was her. Which was logical. She hadn't exuded anything around him but venom. Had basically lied in church by backing out on their coffee date. But dating PJ? Who had suggested she impale him on the tractor's hay spear. Who said he was boring? Who said he was chasing Skeets, an old flame? Had PJ said that so she could pursue him herself?

  Andy dropped an arm across her shoulders. "I've taken Liza under my wing since the storm. Helping her get back on her feet. She was my first girl friend, back in second grade. Remember passing notes in Miss Starr's?"

  She shrugged his arm away and began walking toward the barn. What kind of mess had she gotten himself into? Because sensible young men had feared her dad, she had never dealt with anyone overtly interested in her outside the high school hallway. Now the one who was wasn't the one she wanted to be was the one who was.

  In minutes, Andy was arguing. "You work the head thingie-."

  She was glad her dad wasn't there to hear thingie. "It's not a head thingie. It's a head catch."

  "And I'll make them go up there." He paused a beat before continuing his patronizing instructions. "You don't know this about me, but I have a certain flair with animals. Guess it comes from watching Wild Kingdom reruns. Marlin Perkins was my hero."

  Which explained a lot. "I'm afraid you'll get hurt. You know nothing about working with cattle."

  "Your regard for my safety is touching. But trust me, this is man's work." Andy shouted at Will above the clamor. "Right, Will? This rough stuff is man's work."

  "Absolutely correct. The Y chromosome is mandatory for what you're doing. Don't let her boss you around. Stand up for what you believe in."

  Indignation's fire warmed her face at being double-teamed. She started to say something but swallowed it. Let his male pride get stomped and kicked and gored by every cow. It would be easy enough to drag his carcass out of the way and then get to work. "You're right. I don't know what I was thinking about. I'll go work the head ca-, thingie, just like you said. Go ahead and put some in the chute."

  "That's more like it." A satisfied grin dawned on his face. "I've got a great idea. Let's sing cowboy songs while we work. It'll make the time go faster."

  Liza rolled her eyes at Will as she stomped by. The head catch banged as she tripped it several times to be sure it was working properly. "Sounds like a wonderful idea. Why don't you lead us? We'll join in."

  Andy's off-key warbling of Get Along, Little Doggies rose from the pen. It could vibrate tartar from teeth.

  Liza peeked at Will to measure
his response. A reflective expression spilled over his face as Andy's voice filtered through the bellowing of the cows as he tried to coax some into the chute.

  When their eyes met, he shook his head. "Feels a scene from Blazing Saddles, doesn't it, Miss Hall?"

  Liza turned away, giggling. How could she be enjoying this, not worrying about tomorrow, knowing the test results might cause the loss of part of her herd? "I'm trying to become a better person today, so please don't make me laugh. And please, call me Liza. Miss Hall is way too formal for someone raised in a barn."

  "Location doesn't drive formality. You're perfect as a Miss."

  Liza hoped he didn't notice her entire body flushing. What did he mean? She wouldn't be perfect as a Mrs.? It would be perfect if she remained unmarried? Why didn't people say what they meant? Or had he? Did he think she was perfect? Of course not.

  "And call me Will. Unless that will upset your boy friend."

  "He's a boy, and he's a friend, but I don't have a boy friend." Did she just say that? Did it sound like she was advertising for one? Would he think her brazen? Or pathetic? Brazenly pathetic? Was she overthinking?

  She blew a sigh, hoping to dislodge the fizzy components of her imagination.

  "I don't hear y'all singing." Andy broke into a haunting version of Home On the Range.

  "I don't see you putting any cows in the chute either, Roy Rogers." Liza spoke in a singsong voice, grateful for the interruption. "Time's wasting."

  "Liza, Liza, Liza. You don't understand my technique. I learned a trick in psychology class. You don't rush into things like this. Relationship, that's the key to life. They have to learn that I'm worthy of their trust, that I'm not out to exploit them, that I respect their dignity, that..."

  A loud smack and an astonished grunt and a high-pitched aria of moans brought Andy's monologue to a halt before he could delve into Jungian theory as applied to cows. She exchanged a knowing grin with Will. Some portion of Andy's anatomy had been tattooed bone deep by a cow hoof.