Page 42 of A Cozy Christmas Blizzard
“But Dr. Jeffries is with you?”
“Yes.”
“Keep him there!”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Don’t let him leave,” Zelda said, sounding even more excited. “I’m calling on my cell. I’m only a few minutes away.” She took a deep breath. “I need to talk to him. It’s urgent. Zach and I just had the biggest argumentever, and I need to talk to Dr. Jeffries.”
“Zelda,” K.O. cut in. “Now is not the best time for you to visit.”
“Didn’t you hear me?” her sister cried. “This is an emergency.”
With that, the phone went dead. Groaning, K.O. replaced the receiver.
“Is something wrong?” Wynn asked as he stepped around the paramedic who was still looking after Max.
“It’s Zelda. She wants—no,needs—to talk to you. According to her it’s an emergency.” K.O. felt the need to warn him. “She’s already on her way.”
“Now? You mean she’s coming now?”
K.O. nodded. “Apparently so.” Zelda hadn’t mentioned what this argument with Zach was about. Three guesses said it had to do with Christmas and Wynn’s theories. Oh, great. Her sister was arriving at the scene of a disaster.
“Are you taking him to the h-hospital?” LaVonne sobbed, covering her mouth with both hands.
“It’s just a precaution,” the medic answered. “A doctor needs to look at those scratches.”
“Not that dreadful man!” LaVonne cried, pointing at Max. “I’m talking about my cat.”
“Oh.” The paramedic glanced at his companion. “Unfortunately, in instances such as this, we’re obliged to notify Animal Control.”
“You’re hauling my Tom to... jail?”
“Quarantine,” he told her gently.
For a moment LaVonne seemed about to faint. Wynn put his arm around the older woman’s shoulders and led her to the sofa so she could sit down. “This can’t be happening,” LaVonne wailed. “I can’t believe this is happening to my Tom.”
“Your cat should be—”
Wynn cast his father a look meaningful enough to silence the rest of whatever Max had planned to say.
“I’m going to be scarred for life,” Max shouted. “I just hope you’ve got good insurance, because you’re going to pay for this. And you’re going to pay big.”
“Don’t you dare threaten me!” LaVonne had recovered enough to shout back.
With his arm stretched out in front of him, Max Jeffries followed the paramedic out of the condo and past the crowd of tenants who’d gathered in the hallway outside K.O.’s door.
“That... that terrible man just threatened me,” LaVonne continued. “Tom’s never attacked anyone like this before.”
“Please, please, let me through.”
K.O. heard her sister’s voice.
Meanwhile LaVonne was weeping loudly. “My poor Tom. My poor, poor Tom. What will become of him?”
“What on earth is going on here?” Zelda demanded as she made her way into the apartment. The second paramedic was gathering up his equipment and getting ready to leave. The blood-soaked towels K.O. had wrapped around Max’s arm were on the floor. The scene was completely chaotic and Zelda’s arrival only added to the mayhem.
“Your f-father wants to s-sue me,” LaVonne stuttered, pleading with Wynn. “Dosomething. Promise me you’ll talk to him.”
