Page 2 of Justice Denied

“Mom never said anything?”

Jetta rubbed the bridge of her nose. “To be honest, I never asked her too many questions about his death because talking about Dad made her so sad. Which makes more sense now that I know the whole story.”

“I’m sorry—we should have told you. But I think we all wanted to forget, to move on. Jared had joined a prestigious litigation firm in Boston when Dad was arrested, while Jenna was in the throes of her residency at John Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. Jade and I were still in college.”

His explanation made sense but it still didn’t excuse their continued silence. A sharp yell from his end of the phone blasted her ears. Jason shouted something she couldn’t decipher, then he said, “I’ve got to go. Looks like Milicent whacked her brother in the noggin with his favorite blue truck again.”

The antics of her toddler niece and nephew quirked her lips into a smile as she said goodbye, her mind filled with the weight of a family secret everyone else had been carrying but her. Although, to be fair, she was carrying another secret that would soon be out in the open. She rested her hand on her belly, which grew bigger by the day as her due date neared. Mom was the only family member who knew and that was only because Jetta hadn’t been able to hide her pregnancy.

She patted Bingley’s head, her attention straying back to the envelope with its financial documents. The short note made more sense given the context of her father being accused of embezzlement, but she still hadn’t a clue what those papers could do to exonerate a dead man.

All problems for another day, as Mom liked to say in a thick southern accent as she mimicked Scarlett O’Hara. Jetta heaved herself out of the low-slung chair and tucked the phone into her pocket. After she scrambled an egg for dinner, she’d do some internet sleuthing. Millions of missing dollars would certainly have made headlines. Once she had the facts, she could grill her mother about why no one had told her. Being the youngest by so many years meant her siblings and Mom often treated her like a child even though she’d been an adult living on her own for five years now.

“Come on, Bingley. Let’s go inside.” She headed for the sliding doors, but her dog didn’t bound after her. Instead, he staggered, his body shaking violently before he threw up in the grass at the verge of the brick patio. “Bingley!”

She rushed to his side as the dog collapsed in a heap beside the patio, a little foam at his mouth. She laid a hand along his ribs, thankful to feel him breathing. After whipping out her phone, she noted the time—closing in on six. Her regular vet closed at five. “Hang on, Bingley.” Somehow, despite her shaking hands, she managed to Google the nearest emergency vet clinic. There was one on Leesburg Pike, a seven-minute drive away.

Bingley heaved again, spewing more of his stomach contents onto the grass. She laid a hand on his head to reassure him. “I’ll be right back.” Jetta hurried into the house for her keys and a towel to wrap Bingley in.

Back at his side, she placed the faded beach towel around his still body and attempted to lift him into her arms. But no matter how many angles she tried, she couldn’t get the seventy-pound dog more than a couple of inches off the ground. Tears of panic and frustration clouded her vision. She couldn’t lose him!

“Is everything okay?”

The sound of a male voice brought her head up. Seth Whitman, her next-door neighbor, stepped into her backyard through the side gate, his T-shirt accentuating his bulging biceps. “No.” Her voice broke on a sob. “Bingley needs to go to the vet, and I can’t lift him.”

He handed her a set of keys. “I’ll drive so you can sit in the back with him. The back seat should be clear, so open the door and I’ll get the dog.”

Relieved he hadn’t asked delaying questions, she dashed for the gate, leaving it open and headed to his SUV sitting in the adjacent driveway. All the while, she prayed her dog would survive whatever was ailing him and thanked God for bringing Seth to her aid at the right time.

* * *

Seth crouchedby the still canine, then reached his arms underneath the dog, being careful to keep the faded pink towel wrapped around Bingley’s lower body. Good thing he regularly dead lifted three hundred pounds or more during his workouts. Carrying the medium-sized pooch wouldn’t be a problem. He rose, the inert dog held easily in his arms.

“Door’s open.” Jetta hovered by the gate as he strode as fast as he could without jostling the animal. After gently laying him on the back seat, he repositioned the towel over the dog and stepped back. She passed him his keys, then hopped in beside Bingley, moving faster than he expected for someone as pregnant as she was. “It’s the Veterinary Emergency Group on Leesburg Pike.”

“Got it.” He closed the back door, then slid behind the wheel, connecting his phone to the vehicle’s Bluetooth. He hit the “Ask Siri” icon and fed the virtual assistant the clinic name to get directions. In less than ten minutes, they arrived at the clinic. He carried Bingley into the office, where staff immediately directed him to an empty exam room. After depositing the dog onto the stainless-steel table, he stepped back to allow Jetta access to the table.

A male tech came in, along with an older woman wearing a lab coat and stethoscope around her neck. “I’m Dr. Williams and this is Nolan, one of our techs. What’s going on with this handsome guy?”

Jetta swiped at her cheeks with her fingers. “I’d been playing fetch with Bingley and his favorite tennis ball in the backyard when he suddenly started vomiting and then collapsed.”

“How many times did he throw up?”

Seth gave into his impulse to move closer to Jetta, wanting her to feel she wasn’t alone. He stood by her right shoulder as she stroked Bingley’s head while the tech checked the dog’s vitals and answered their questions. “At least twice.”

“How long ago did this happen?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure, maybe fifteen, twenty minutes? Not more than half an hour.”

“I think it was less than that,” Seth inserted, not wanting to interrupt, but he had to correct Jetta’s statement in case it was important in figuring out what was going on with Bingley. “When I arrived, it was five-fifty-eight. It’s now six-ten, so it’s probably closer to fifteen than twenty minutes.”

The doctor nodded. “Good. Now I’m going to ask you both to step out so we can pump Bingley’s stomach and see if we can get out the rest of whatever he ingested.”

Jetta opened her mouth as if to protest, but the tech added, “It’s not something you really want to see. We’ll take good care of Bingley.”

“Come on, let’s let them get Bingley better.” Seth gently touched Jetta’s arm. He guided her back to the waiting area.

“Ma’am? Would you come check in now?” The receptionist beckoned Jetta over to the counter.

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