To Love and Protect (12 page)

"That's the kind of guy I am," he said with a wink.

“I’ve noticed,” Shelley replied, glad for the opportunity to show her appreciation with another kiss. She jumped as the cell phone in her back pocket simultaneously rang and vibrated.

“I need to take this call,” she said as she glanced at the incoming number.  “Okay, I’m heading over,” she said a minute later, after Jack had filled her in on the situation. She turned to Matt.   “That was the clinic. Jack came in to do a post-surgical check and he’s concerned about the vital signs for one of the dogs.  Dave and I take turns to respond to these after-hour calls−"

“And as my luck would have it, tonight’s your turn.”

“Afraid so.”

“Well, I can’t get upset with someone from doing their job, right?”

“I hope not.”

“Good – remember that the next time I get called to an emergency, too.”

“Wait a second,” Shelley protested.  “That’s not the same−”

Matt silenced her with a final kiss of the evening, and it was one that was worth the wait. But it was his observation about their mutual dedication to their jobs that hovered in her mind as she drove to the clinic. Would
she in fact ever be able to relax about
his
emergencies? The warmth of his kiss came flooding into her thoughts, vying for equal attention.  The powerful attraction that she felt for Matt wasn’t something that she could easily give up.  But if she could learn to let go of her fear, then maybe she wouldn’t have to.  It wouldn’t be easy – this much she knew − but if anyone was worth the effort, there was no question in her heart that it was Matt.

EIGHT

When she awoke the next morning, Shelley was greeted by something unusual − silence. There was no Toodles poking at her cheek and meowing. No clicking of the dogs as they padded away across the linoleum kitchen floor. Not even any birds chirping outside her window, though this was most likely due to the autumn chill pervading the morning air.

It was a late start for her − normally she would be showered and out the door at this point and on her way to the clinic. But on a day like this, when she wasn't due in until noon, she took advantage of a few extra hours of sleep.

A soft-yellow nightlight still shone from across the room. It was Shelley's one concession to the frightening, unseen presence that had tracked her down several times in the last couple of weeks. Lying in bed in the bright of day, Shelley wondered just what it was that she had hoped to accomplish with the tiny light. In reality, the most it would afford her was the chance to actually
see
her killer before he dropped the ax on her face. She grimaced at the morbid thought and threw the covers over her head. How she had ever managed to sleep so soundly through the night now had her befuddled. Only sheer exhaustion from worrying about her pets' safety and their new temporary homes could explain last night's deep sleep.

The silence continued as Shelley went about her usual morning routine, and only abated when her phone rang at close to eleven. It's probably Diana, she thought as she grabbed the phone in one hand while holding a half-peeled banana in the other.

"Hello?"

"It's just
a
matter of time,"
a hoarse voice whispered sinisterly.

"What? Who is this?"

"Your number
is up, Sweetie. You can’t hide..."

The phone went dead, prompting Shelley's body to do nearly the same. A quick glance at the call screen confirmed a blocked number just as her knees gave way, and she fell back onto the sofa in near disbelief. The nightmare was back, and with sound instead of mere writing. Her hands almost numb with fear, Shelley dialed 9-1-1. After explaining who she was to the dispatcher and describing the latest threat, she waited for the telltale sign of stones crunching in her long driveway.

Only a minute or two later, two police cars pulled up to the house. As Matt and Sergeant Rinaldi stepped out of their respective cars, Shelley waited on the porch. She still hadn't gotten back all the strength in her knees to attempt climbing down the steps. Sergeant Rinaldi came up onto the porch first, with Matt close behind.

After she repeated the short but frightening content of her phone conversation, Sergeant Rinaldi scratched his balding head, then rested his hands on his hips. "I've reached my saturation point with this scare campaign, and I'm sure you have too, Shelley. As of now, I'm stepping up surveillance of your house, and I'd like you to come stay with Joyce and myself."

Shelley's eyes met Matt's. His usual easy smile was gone, replaced by a dark visage of concern.

"Dan," Shelley started carefully, "I appreciate you offering for me to stay with you and Joyce, but I just don't think I'm ready to do something like that−”

"Now, Shelley, I know you're independent and stubborn as a mule with his hooves dug in the dirt..."

Shelley couldn't help but notice how a grin briefly appeared on Matt's otherwise serious face.

"But," Sergeant Rinaldi continued exasperatedly, "this is a matter of personal safety. Hell,
I
wouldn't want to be alone under these circumstances, and I sleep with a loaded rifle by the bed."

Somehow, that didn't surprise Shelley. In fact, she could easily picture him sleeping with his cowboy boots on, too.

"I'll stay with my sister Diana," she said, wondering if either of them could see through her half sincere statement.

"No you won't," Matt said, immediately challenging her. "You should, but you won't."

"What I can't understand is your reluctance to leave this place, Shelley," Sergeant Rinaldi added. "You must know it's not safe to be here, otherwise you wouldn't have moved your pets."

Shelley looked down at the blue-grayish porch floorboards, scraping at an imaginary piece of dirt with her heel. "It's my home, Dan. I don't want someone to take this away from me, too."

Sergeant Rinaldi gently put his hand on her shoulder and nodded silently, his lips pursed tightly

"But," she finally conceded, "the truth is I don't want to be alone at this point, either. So I will stay with my sister for now. I promise."

Matt's face relaxed slightly, and he winked at Shelley as she smiled at him.

"All right, then," Sergeant Rinaldi announced. “Got that solved, now all we have to do is solve the mystery of who the turkey is that's doing this to you.”

"Don't compare him to a turkey," Matt warned, "or else Shelley will think you're insulting a bird."

He was definitely getting to know the real her, she thought with a smile.

Her mind was still scattered from the events of the morning when she started her shift a little while later. "How's Floppy doing?" she asked Jack as they met up in the back room of clinic.

"Happy as a rabbit," he replied, pointing to Floppy's cage.

Shelley went over and peered inside. "It's too bad he can't run around here like he does back home."

Jack looked up from the chart he was reading. "You let him run around in your house? Well, I guess you wouldn't have a problem finding him that way. You could just follow the trail of droppings."

"He's litter box trained. Most rabbits can be, actually. The only thing you have to watch out for is that they like to chew on wires."

"And your dogs would probably like to chew on
him."

"I would like to think they wouldn't, but it's not something worth chancing. That's why I only let him out in one of my back rooms."

Geri swung the door open from the reception area. "There's an Elaine something, something, something Spinelli here to see you.”

Shelley couldn’t blame Geri for not remembering all the ex-husband surnames that Elaine carried around with her like a charm bracelet.  She couldn’t recall them all herself.

“She doesn't have an appointment, but she said it's an emergency,” Geri continued.

Shelley gasped. "Oh, no. I told her to cut back on that pate!"

Geri looked confused. "Huh?"

"It's a long story. Put her in exam room two. I'll be right in. Did she say what the emergency was?"

Geri was silent for several moments, as though trying to find the best way to deliver the information. "A bad dye job."

"A bad..." Shelley paused. Maybe she didn't want to know too much too soon. Not when she considered Elaine's usual antics.

"Shelley, it was horrible!" Elaine screeched as Shelley cautiously entered the exam room.

"What in the..." Shelley stared in disbelief at Fifi, who sat quietly on the exam table.

"I know!" Elaine wailed. "It's awful! She's purple! Look at her! She might as well be Barney with a bad perm!"

"Elaine, what did you
do?!"

"I just thought Fifi would look as delicious as I do when I put a colored rinse in my hair. I didn't think it would turn out looking like
this!"

Shelley couldn't help but direct her stare at Elaine's head, which did in fact have a light-pinkish tint under the florescent light. It looked bad enough on her, and even worse on Fifi. "This isn't a medical emergency, Elaine."

"It isn't?"

"Fifi doesn't need a veterinarian for this. She needs a pet psychologist to deal with all the stuff you put her through."

Elaine drummed her long, lacquered nails on the metal exam table. "Hmmm. You think? I know my therapist has been at it for fifteen years with me, but he's not good for much more than complimenting me on my incredible fashion sense and my matchmaking abilities. But what the heck! Maybe there's a good pet therapist out there who can make sense of Fifi's delicate psyche."

"I'll have Geri give you a couple of names on your way out."

Elaine balked. "You mean you're serious about this? There are actually people who are paid a hundred bucks an hour to tell someone why Spot lifts his left leg to urinate instead of his right?"

Shelley sighed, but her lips were curled in a half smile. "And I'll see if I can get some names of a good therapist for you as well," she teased. "Perhaps it's time for a change."

"Are you kidding? My therapist Trevor thinks I'm a goddess who can do no wrong. It's worth paying someone a hundred-plus an hour to hear that."

Shelley laughed. "Sometimes, Elaine, I just don't know about you."

"So what do I do about this god-awful color?"

"Wait a few days to give poor Fifi a rest, then shampoo it out."

"Oooo!" she squealed. "That'll be so fun. I'll have Giovanni come over and give us a matching wash and blow dry!"

Once out in the reception area, Elaine clutched her purple poodle against her pink suede, formfitting dress. Leaning over the reception counter, she gestured to Geri with come-hither curl of her index finger. "You're not single, are you?" Elaine asked with her usual sledgehammer subtlety.

Geri looked over at Shelley with a mixture of surprise and disbelief. Shelley shook her head sympathetically.

"Actually, I am−"

Elaine gasped as if learning her favorite line of skincare products had been discontinued. "A beautiful young woman like you? Single?
Still
?"

"Still! I'm only twenty-four!"

"I know, I know. Spinsterhood's a few years off, but let's not split hairs."

Geri turned to Shelley with a bewildered expression that said:
Is this woman for real?