Page 13 of Only Her (K2 Team)
“K2 Special Services. We do a lot of things, some I can tell you about and some I can’t as they’re classified.”
Secret stuff? That made Riley all the more curious about her neighbor. She glanced at her watch. “I’d love to hear more, but time to get back to the clinic.”
After signing the credit card receipt, Maria slid out of the booth. “I’ll just say that Cody’s one of the good ones.” She chewed on her bottom lip, making Riley think she was considering her words. “I’ll tell you that he was on the SEAL team with my brother and Jake. He was their sniper. Anything else, you’ll have to learn from him.”
A SEAL? She didn’t know much about the military or their branches, but she’d read a few SEAL romances, and those guys were supposed to be the baddest of the bad. And he’d been their sniper, so was his sole job to kill people? She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
Maria was watching her as if waiting for a reaction. Before Riley could think of a response, her cell played the oldies song “Doctor! Doctor!” It would be Brooke or Michelle on the clinic landline, and they would only interrupt her lunch with an emergency.
“Yeah?” she said, the phone to her ear as she walked out with Maria. She listened to Michelle for a moment. “I’ll be right there. Tell Brooke to start flushing out his stomach.” Dammit, not another one.
“I’ve got an emergency.” She increased her pace, striding ahead of Maria. About to break into a run, she thought of Maria’s adorable cat, Mouse. Maria and Jake lived in her part of town. Turning and walking backward, she said, “Don’t let your cat out for any reason.”
“What?” Maria walked faster, keeping up with her. “Is something wrong?”
“Someone’s poisoning animals. Just keep Mouse inside, okay? Gotta run.” With that, she turned and jogged to her car.
“Call me tonight,” Maria yelled after her. “I might be able to help.”
Riley doubted it, but she didn’t have time to ask why Maria thought she could be of help. “Sure, okay. Later.” She jumped into her car, and backed out of the parking space. Not caring if she was speeding, she pressed her foot down on the gas pedal. If a cop stopped her, she’d just flash her doctor’s credentials and deal with the fallout when she arrived at an animal hospital instead of a human one.
“Call Emerald Coast Animal Clinic,” she said to Bluetooth.
“Calling Emerald Coast Animal Clinic,” the robotic voice confirmed.
“Update,” she said when her receptionist answered.
“Brooke’s flushing out his stomach. Hold on a sec while I go to your office.”
Riley impatiently tapped her thumb on the steering wheel, waiting for Michelle to come back on the line. Who the hell got off on poisoning helpless animals?
Duncan, the male mixed breed having his stomach pumped, had been her patient since his elderly owners had adopted him from an animal shelter two days before he was due to be euthanatized. Some cold-hearted bastard who’d never been caught had shot Duncan in the left eye when he was a stray. No one had wanted a one-eyed older pet until Mr.and Mrs.Vaughn had chosen him. They loved that dog.
“The Vaughns were standing in front of me when I was talking to you. They’re really upset,” Michelle said, coming back on the line. “I popped my head into the exam room on the way back here. Brooke thinks he’ll be okay.”
Thank God.“I’m five minutes away. Tell her... Never mind, she knows what to do. Find out from the Vaughns how long he’s been sick. Be there in a few.”
The Vaughns were such a nice couple, and it would break her heart to have to tell them they’d lost Duncan. Arriving at her clinic, Riley slammed the gearshift into Park, and ran straight to the exam room.
“How’s he doing?” She slipped on a lab coat.
Brooke finished washing her hands. “I think he’s going to make it.”
Michelle poked her head in. “The Vaughns said they took him to the dog park to let him run. They’d been there about ten minutes when they noticed him next to a bush, eating something. Mr.Vaughn brought what Duncan didn’t get a chance to finish. Looks like hamburger meat. He said he thought it was suspicious that someone would leave a chunk of raw meat at a dog park, so he used his poop bag to scoop it up. I put the bag into a sealed plastic one and stuck it in the fridge. Is that okay?”
The poisoned meat evidence combined with the number of affected pets gave Riley hope that the police would finally take her seriously.
“You did great, Michelle. Thanks. Tell the Vaughns I’ll come talk to them in a few.” Riley did an exam, checking Duncan’s vitals, relieved that all his signs were close to normal.
“You’re going to be okay, sweetie,” she said when Duncan licked her arm.
Brooke brought a wet cloth over to clean his face. “I’m so glad we can give the Vaughns good news.”
So was Riley. “I’ll go talk to them. Bring him out when you’ve got him all pretty again.”
After sending Duncan home with his happy owners, she went to her office and called the police again. The dispatcher told her it would probably be the following day before an officer could come by to take a report. That sucked, but not much she could do about it.
She stopped by the front desk. “Michelle, when you get a chance, call the other clinics in the area. Ask if they’ve treated any poisoned animals.”
