Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 02 - Apple Pots and Funeral Plots (26 page)

Chapter 25

Tom couldn’t have gotten back from the police station this quickly.
Maybe it was Joe?
No, the maid had said he was in his office.
Was it one of those stupid guards?
I didn’t have time to be kidnapped.
My dog was sick!
Instincts and all the
moved that my dad had made me learn and those that I practiced with Tom
took over.
I stepped back toward the person.
Tom had told me that an attacker never expects his prey to step back toward them.
It confuses them for a few seconds and that’s all the time you need.

I stomped hard on his foot.
He gasped.
Then I shot an elbow into his stomach, using my other hand to push it harder.
He groaned.
Then, linking my fingers together, I swung around as fast as I could and hit him squarely in the head with my hands.
He tumbled down, hitting his head on the table next to the bed.

I didn’t know why he was in my room, but I couldn’t just leave him there to escape and attach someone else, could I?
So I grabbed
Shelby
’s leash and linked it around the frame of the bed and then used it to tie the man’s hands together.
It was the first time I actually got a look at him.
He was definitely one of the guards from the big tent.

I ran back to
Shelby
, picked her up, and headed for Tom’s car.
After I set Shelby in the passenger seat, I closed her door and ran around to the driver’s seat and jumped in.
My hands shook, so I grabbed the wheel tightly, took a deep breath and started the car.
Where was the headlight switch?
If I was going to go screeching down the street I should have my headlights on for safety.

I’d never seen so many buttons in my life.
I pushed them all.
Pretty soon the lights
flashed
, the siren
wailed
, and eventually the headlights came on.
I didn’t bother to turn any of them off.
The tires screeched as I raced from the inn’s parking lot.
Each block felt like an eternity.
Tears ran down my face and I choked back my sobs.
I couldn’t lose my dog.

Six blocks later, I slammed on the brakes in front of Doc Gordon’s office.
I didn’t expect it to be open.
But hopefully there would be a number for emergency help.
I pushed all the
buttons and then
pushed
them
again and was at least able to turn off the sirens.
I left the lights flashing, gathered up
Shelby
, and ran to the front door.
The sign said, “In an emergency, ring bell.”
I pushed it, and kept pushing it.
With each chime, my heart beat harder and faster, feeling like it
would crawl up my esophagus and explode through my mouth
.
Where was the doctor?
What good was the stupid sign if no one helped you when you had an emergency?

A few minutes later, a lady in a white bathrobe answered the door.
It was the nurse I had seen when I visited Doc Gordon the other day.

“Yes?” she said.

A small wave of relief ran over my body.
Someone was here to help me.
“My dog’s sick.”
I blubbered and held up
Shelby
.

“Come on in.”
She opened the door and I followed her inside.
“My husband, Ken, is over at the police station stitching up Kate’s head.
Did you hear they found her in that old decrepit mine?”

“I heard that,” I muttered.
Ken must be Doc Gordon’s first name.
But I didn’t have time for chitchat.
I held
Shelby
toward her.
“What about my dog?”

“Bring her into the examination room.
I’ll take a look at her.”

She wasn’t a doctor, but she was a whole lot more qualified than me.
I followed her into one of the rooms and set
Shelby
on the metal table.
The nurse put on a stethoscope and listened to several places on
Shelby
’s body.

“She’s got a good pulse.
It’s a little slow, but it’s definitely strong.
Could she have gotten into some of the medicine that Ken gave you?”

“I don’t see how.
I keep it in a bag in a drawer of the clothes cabinet.”

“I’m going to give her something to clean out her stomach and then get an IV of fluids going.”

“Is she going to be okay?”
I whispered, unsure if I really wanted to hear her response.

She nodded and smiled.
“I think so.
After I get her set, I’ll give Ken a call and have him come over as soon as he can.”

“Thanks,” I smiled back, grateful for all she was doing for
Shelby
.

She pointed to the door that I had used to come into the room.
“Why don’t you go back to the waiting room?”

I didn’t move.
The fear that something was seriously wrong with
Shelby
crept into my mind and made my body shudder.

She patted my shoulder.
“She’s going to be okay.
You can come in after I’ve got the IV going.”

“Okay,” I reached over and stroked
Shelby
’s fur.
“I appreciate all you’re doing.”

“You’re welcome.”
She picked up
Shelby
and went through the back door of the examination room.

I walked back to the waiting room and sat down on one of the couches.
My eyes filled with tears and I put my head in my hands.
Great, it was bad enough I put myself in danger, but now my dog was hurt because I came to Clainsworth to find out what happened to Danielle.

A few minutes later, the nurse came back.
“She’s doing fine.
Her pulse is stronger and her breathing is better.”

I heaved a heavy sigh of relief.
“Can I sit with her?”

“Of course.”

I followed the nurse to the back room.
The right side was filled with narrow cabinets with glass doors.
There were hundreds of bottles and boxes of medication.

The nurse saw me looking and said, “We get so many samples from the pharmaceutical companies.
We keep them and give them to patients who can’t afford the medication for themselves or their animals.”

“That’s really nice.”

“Ken’s a good guy and a great doctor.”
She winked at me.
“Although I’m a bit prejudiced, I’m afraid.”

I smiled and nodded.
He had certainly helped me, and if he could help my dog, I’d be his friend for life.

I noticed a large glass bottle with the words, “Sodium Pentothal” on it.
What would a doctor use that for? Animals?
I’d have Justin check into that.

When I saw
Shelby
lying in a makeshift crib, my heart sank and tears welled up in my eyes again.
She was hooked up to several monitors and had an IV running from her leg.

The nurse put her hand on my arm.
“It looks a lot worse than it is.”

I walked over and petted
Shelby
on her head.
She didn’t respond.

The nurse came over and adjusted one of the monitors.
“I talked to Ken.
He’s finished with Kate and he’ll be over in a few minutes.”

“Great.”

The nurse left and I stood by
Shelby
’s bed, petting her, and praying that she’d be okay.

A few minutes later, Doc Gordon came in.
“I hear your little girl got into something.”

I shook my head.
“I don’t know how.
The meds you gave me were in a bag inside of a cabinet.”

He walked over and petted
Shelby
.
“It’s amazing how they can get into things.”

I shrugged.
“I guess so.
Will she
be all right?”

“Let’s take a listen and see what’s going on.”
He put on a stethoscope and listened to the same places that the nurse had.
“Her heartbeat is strong and her breathing is even.
She’ll
be fine.
It
just
will
take her a while to come out from under the sedative effects of the medication.”

“Thanks, Doc.”

“You’re welcome.”
Then he leaned towards me.
“You look exhausted Lisa.
Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.
Just worried about my dog.”

“If you’d like, I can give you a shot of something to help you get a good nights sleep.”

“Well…” I was certainly exhausted, but he’d been the last person to give Danielle something and look what happened to her.

Just then, Tom came in, out of breath, and panic clearly visible on his face.

The doctor nodded at me.
“I’m going to check with Jane, my wife, and see what she’s given Shelby.”
He turned and left through a door that was marked, “Private Residence.
Do Not Enter.”

“What happened?”
Tom asked, between breaths.

I wrapped my arms around him and buried my head in his chest, ignoring the fact that he was still talking to me.
My body
trembled
but
it calmed as he held me tighter.

He whispered into my ear, “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” I whispered back.

He leaned his head away from mine and in a low controlled voice, he asked, “Then, what the hell happened?”

“
Shelby
must have gotten into some of the meds the doctor gave me for my aches and pains, although I don’t know how.
I shook my head, then continued, “But the doctor says that
she’ll
be fine.”

“I’m glad honey, that’s great,” he pushed my hair back behind my ears, “But that’s not what I’m talking about.”

“What?”
I shrugged in confusion.

“Let’s see, maybe it’s the guy tied to our bed.”

“Oh I forgot about him.”

“Yeah, him,” Tom smiled.
“What happened?”

“I came back and found
Shelby
sick.
I wrapped her in some towels and when I was ready to leave, he was behind me.
He’s one of those stupid guards from the mayor’s big tent.”

The corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk.
“Did you use one of those moves I taught you?”

“Actually I used
two of yours and one of my dad’s
.
He went down; I tied him up, and drove over to the Doc’s clinic.
How’d you find me?”

He tilted his head toward the front of the building.
“I followed the blaring lights.”

“That’s because your car has too many buttons.
I
just tried
to turn on the headlights
but
ended up turning on everything.”

“That’s okay.
It was like a beacon so I could find you.”
He reached over and petted
Shelby
.
“How’s she doing?”

“She’s going to be fine.”
I put my head against his shoulder and leaned on him.
“By the way, what happened to the man tied to our bed?”

“I put my cuffs on him and called the police.
They should have him in custody by the time we get back to our room.”

“That’s nice.
I would have had trouble sleeping with a grown man tied to my bed.”

Tom laughed.
“That’s good to know.”

The doctor came back and checked
Shelby
again.
Then he turned to Tom and me.
“You two might as well go back to the inn.
She’ll be
out most of the night.
You can pick her up in the morning.”

I wasn’t leaving my dog, “But…”

Tom put his hand on my arm to silence my objections.
Then he looked at the doctor, “Are you sure?”

“Yes.
She’s going to be fine.”

I really didn’t want to leave her, but standing by her bed and watching her sleep wasn’t going to do either of us any good.