Page 58 of A Cosy Christmas with the Village Vet

Pulling up in his yard, Brogan flung open the car door. Just as at Pond Farm, the snow on the ground was churned up, prints left by many footprints, including Nell’s.

She hurried up the path as best she could, almost losing her footing and snagging the saturated skirt of her dress on a branch with a sickening tear. She beat hard on the door. ‘Bert! Bert! It’s us!’ She rattled the door handle but it didn’t budge. She hammered on the door again, harder this time. By now her whole body was shaking. She flipped the letter box up. ‘Bert!’ she shouted through it, then peered in, relief washing over her when he appeared in the hallway, shuffling more slowly than normal. His breathing seemed more laboured and she could hear him wheezing from this side of the door.

‘Brogan? Is that you, lass?’ Bert’s voice sounded weak.

‘Aye, it’s me and Nick. We just got your message. Sorry.’

She heard him fiddle with the lock and draw both the top and bottom bolt back. Slowly, he opened the door and out peered a dishevelled version of the elderly man. Brogan’s expression fell when she saw him. His wan face was streaked with tears and there was a cut to his head. His thin, grey hair was sticking out all over the place, and his trousers and cardigan seemed wet and muddy down one side. He looked shaken to the core.

‘Oh, Bert. Have they done this to you?’

‘They’ve taken her.’ He sobbed. ‘They’ve taken my Nell.’

Brogan flung her arms around him, rubbing comforting swirls over his back. ‘It’ll be all right, don’t worry. We’ll get her back for you. I promise.’ She really hoped it was a promise they’d be able to keep.

Brogan heard the beep of Nick locking his car followed by the sound of him striding over the snow behind her. ‘Let’s get you inside, Bert. You can tell us what happened where it’s warm,’ he said kindly.

Once they were in the living room and had settled Bert in his usual seat, Nick asked, ‘Have you called the police?’

Bert shook his head. ‘They said they’d come back and hurt me if I did.’

‘The lousy….’ Nick’s top lip curled in disgust.

‘Bastards!’ said Brogan, finishing the sentence for him. Her chest was rising and falling sharply, her insides burning with rage. She glanced across at Bert. ‘Sorry for the bad language, but what sort of person does this?’ If she could get her hands on them right now…

‘Low down scum, that’s what sort,’ said Nick. He caught Brogan’s eye and shook his head in disbelief.

‘No need to apologise, lass. That’s exactly what they are.’ He swallowed. ‘The phone was ringing before but I was too scared to answer it in case it was them trying to catch me out.’

‘It’ll have been me, Bert. I rang a few times after I’d picked up your calls. They wouldn’t know your number anyway, so don’t be scared to answer your phone.’

‘Brogan’s right.’ Nick sat down in the chair opposite him. ‘Are you okay to tell us what happened?’

‘Aye.’ The elderly man nodded. His hands in his lap, he twisted his fingers anxiously. ‘Well, first thing that struck me as suspicious was when I noticed lights flashing around your place.’ He nodded towards Brogan. ‘I’d spotted headlights making their way along the road, but they stopped just at the end of your lane. Next thing, I noticed what I assumed was torch light shining round your yard. I mean, I know you have the outside light on all the time, but these lights were moving about, going all over the place.’ He paused as a bout of coughing took hold. ‘Sorry.’ He patted his chest, catching his breath.

‘Hey, it’s okay, Bert, just take your time,’ said Nick.

‘Yeah, there’s no rush.’ Brogan gave Bert’s arm a squeeze.

‘Anyroad, I knew you were out in the village at a party, so it wouldn’t be owt to do with you, which is why I called you the first time. Then I felt a bit daft for worrying you. It crossed my mind it might just be someone dropping summat off for you but weren’t keen to tackle your track in their car since it had been snowing.’ He paused again, inhaling slowly.

Brogan studied his face. He made for a pitiful sight. Her heart squeezed at the sorrow in his eyes, the dried blood in his hair. She couldn’t get her head around the sort of person who would do such a cruel thing to an old man.

‘Whoever it was didn’t hang around for long, which made me think it was just someone you knew calling on the off-chance you’d be in,’ he said. ‘Which is why I left another message, saying it was a false alarm; I didn’t want to call you away from enjoying yourself for no reason.’

‘That was very thoughtful of you, Bert.’ Brogan smiled gently at him.

‘Aye.’ He heaved a sigh. ‘I kept a look out for a while, but everything seemed okay, so I closed the curtains and made myself a cuppa; me and Nell settled down in front of the fire and watched telly. It’d be an hour later, and I’d just let Nell out for her last wee in the yard when two men appeared, they were grunting something I couldn’t work out. One of them, tall, skinny bugger he was, pushed me over, which is how I bumped my head, and the other shorter, plumper one grabbed Nell by the collar and threw her in the back of that van. It was awful to see, poor lass.’ Tears began pouring down Bert’s cheeks. He sniffed and wiped them away with the back of his hand. ‘That’s when they said if I called the police they’d come back and—’ Before he could finish his face crumpled and he was gripped by another chesty cough.

‘Oh, Bert, that must’ve been awful for you.’ Brogan’s eyes welled with tears and she quickly blinked them back.

‘I’m just so worried about Nell,’ he said once he’d recovered. ‘Why do you think they took her?’

Brogan didn’t want to say she’d heard reports of dogs being stolen to order by unscrupulous individuals who sold them on. There was nothing to be gained by adding to his distress. And there was still a chance they could get her back.

‘Right, despite what the thugs told you, I’m pretty certain they were bluffing, and I think we should call the police right now. There’s a good chance they could catch them,’ said Nick.

‘I agree,’ said Brogan. Not wanting to upset him further, she resisted telling Bert that it would appear he’d been right, that they had paid a visit to Pond Farm. It made her blood run cold to think they could’ve been after Wilf and Maudie too.

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