Family Matters (17 page)

“Ohhh, a family event, eh?”

“Yes, eh.
What are we Canadian?”

“Well, I’m home now, so you’re free as a bird.”

“Watch me fly then.”

“Don’t get a ticket.”

“Yes, Mom.” Jim tipped his baseball cap and started the engine.

“And get that muffler fixed,” Gracie called over the rumbling.

Jim merely smiled annoyingly, shrugged, and started to back up. Haley was barking and had her front paws over the backyard gate. More barking came from the kennel. A line of wagging tails greeted her.

“I’m coming, everybody.”

The stack of paper lying in wait on her desk was without a doubt going to take several hours to take care of. She put on a pot of coffee while Haley roamed through the kennel. Jim had left a note taped to the phone that all playtimes had been taken care of, which meant she could get started on clearing away the mess. Haley’s obedience session would have to wait until tomorrow.

The sun was sliding behind the woods to the west when she finally finished the last of the paperwork. She leaned back in the chair and stretched her arms overhead. Haley got up from her green L.L. Bean bed in the corner and licked Gracie’s hand.

“OK, girl, I guess we can head to the house now. We’ll say good night to everybody and set the alarm.”

Haley wagged her tail and started down the first corridor. At least the kennel didn’t seem quite as creepy now. The current guests were anxious to sniff and lick Gracie and Haley. On the final corridor, Haley ran ahead and stopped at the run housing Stinky, a brown and white terrier of uncertain heritage. His face had a Bull Terrier look, but his coat was wiry. He was usually pressing his nose against the wire, anxious for attention. Haley whined and pawed at the gate.

“Where’s Stinky?” She called out, expecting his excited bark.

Haley woofed again, and Gracie ran to Stinky’s run.

“Oh, Stinky, what’s the matter with you?”

Stinky was lying on his side, his breathing labored. The run smelled terrible. His eyes were closed, and he didn’t move when Gracie gently put her hand on his head. He had lost control of his bowels and was lying in his own mess. She ran for the phone with Haley at her heels. She got through to the Countryside Vet Clinic’s answering service. Taking the phone with her, Gracie grabbed a towel from the grooming room and ran back to Stinky. He lifted his head, but seemed disinterested in her presence.

The vet on call was coming. From Gracie’s experience, Stinky had probably had a seizure. She put the towel over him, stroking his head and talking to him in low tones. His breathing was less labored and seemed to improve as she sat next to him on the concrete floor. Haley lay down in the hallway, watching with a worried expression.

The vet arrived within twenty minutes and examined Stinky, who was now on his feet and looking a little confused. Gracie hosed down the run and disinfected it while the vet, who was new to the Countryside practice, examined the dog.

“Looks like it was a seizure.
Could be epilepsy or just a one-time event. I’m Kelly Standish, by the way.” She held out her hand.

“Nice to meet you, and thanks for coming so quickly.”
Gracie wiped her wet hand on her jeans before she shook hands.

“I live over on Middle Reservation, so it’s not far. Do you know who his regular vet is?”

“I’ll get his file for you.”

Stinky’s
file revealed he was a patient at Countryside.

“He usually sees Dr. Smallwood. Do you have Internet access here?”

“Yes, we have wireless. My computer is still on, if you need it.”

“Let me get my laptop and check his records.”

Dr. Standish set her laptop up in the reception area and quickly checked Stinky’s medical history.

“Nothing here.
Hopefully, it’s just a one-time event, but he needs to see Dr. Smallwood as soon as possible.”

“Let me give his owner a call, while you’re still here, so you can explain what’s going on.”

Although Stinky’s owner seemed satisfied by the vet’s diagnosis, she expressed some doubt that Milky Way could handle the situation. Gracie assured her again that Stinky was well cared for, and she would personally take him to the vet on Monday morning.

Dr. Standish smiled understandingly as Gracie finished the call. “If you could just take care of the dogs, it would be easy. It’s the owners who are difficult.” She smiled as she shut down her laptop.

“How true. How long have you been at Countryside, doctor?”

“Call me Kelly. Just about two months. I came back home after 10 years of practicing in Pennsylvania. My parents are getting older and need a little help these days, so I decided to move back. I couldn’t get them to move near me. Nothing has changed since I graduated from high school in ‘
93.”

“It’s pretty much the same. Did you go to Letchworth?”

“Yes. Did you?”

“Yes. You graduated the year my cousin would have. Did you know Charlotte Browne?”

“Charlotte? She was one of my best friends. Remembering her accident was one of the hardest things about moving back here. She had a lot of stuff going on in her life, and then it was over, really over. It all hit me again when I drove down Main Street on my first day back.” She lowered her eyes and fell silent.

Gracie was momentarily speechless. Thoughts sprinted through her mind before she replied.

“You know, I’ve been looking at what happened to Charlotte, due to some unusual family circumstances over the last couple of weeks. Would you be willing to get together sometime soon? Come over, and I’ll cook.”

“I’ll give you
a call. A home-cooked meal sounds good. With my hours, I live on frozen dinners and salads. Let me check on Stinky before I go.”

The little terrier jumped on the gate and barked. Stinky wagged his stubby tail furiously and pressed his nose through the wire.

“That’s the Stinky I know.” Gracie opened the gate and bent down to scratch his ears.

He wiggled his way to greet Kelly.

“All his vitals are normal. Just keep an eye on him and call us if you see anything out of the ordinary.”

“Thanks, Kelly. Hopefully, he’ll be fine.”

“I hope so too. Once we get some blood work done, we can make a better diagnosis. You’re a funny little dog, with a lot of personality. Behave yourself, now.” She rubbed his belly, and he squirmed with pleasure.

“Please give me a call, Kelly. I saw Miss Russell today, and I can catch you up on Deer Creek, if you’d like.” Gracie hoped the mention of Miss Russell was the hook she needed to find out what Kelly Standish knew about Charlotte.

“Miss Russell. Wow! I haven’t thought about her in a long time. I would like to know what’s she’s doing. I’ll give you call when I check my schedule for the week.”

“Great. Call either the kennel or my cell. I’ll give you my numbers.”

Her watch said 10 p.m. by the time she was setting the alarm. As the door clicked shut, Gracie realized she’d forgotten to turn on the outside lights. The mercury vapor light outside the reception area lit the driveway well, but the side lawn to the house was inky. There was no moon, and the stars didn’t illuminate the bluestone pathway to the kitchen door. Haley trotted confidently ahead of her. Gracie wished for dog night vision, as her toe hit the broken edge of the path.

“Ouch! Haley, wait up. Where are you, girl?” Haley might as well be invisible tonight.

Haley suddenly gave a deep-throated bark and ended it with a growl. Gracie stopped.

“Haley, come.” She knew her voice was uncertain.

What or who was in the dark? Why hadn’t she turned the lights on? Haley barked again. Gracie heard stones scattering, and she caught a glimpse of Haley running across the driveway toward the cornfield. She wasn’t going to stop. Gracie ran the width of the driveway, straining to see.

“Haley, come here. Haley.” There was no way she wanted to venture into the cornfield at night, but that’s exactly where the dog was headed. A flashlight was a necessity. After tripping over the edge of the path again and bruising her shin on the way up the steps, she dug a flashlight out of the junk drawer in the kitchen. She flipped all the outside lights on, setting off the dogs, and they began howling, barking, and baying. What a choir! The neighbors would probably complain for sure tonight.

The corn was well over her head, and the leaves arching over her reminded her of the trees at
Manderly in the movie,
Rebecca
. The batteries in her flashlight weren’t top-notch, and the beam was weak. She could only hope it would last while she was in the maze of rows that whispered and waved like long tentacles in the light breeze. Hide and seek in the cornfields when she was a kid was spooky, but fun. This was not fun in any form. Where was Haley? What had she gone after? Was there someone out back just waiting for them? A knot formed in the muscle from her neck to her left shoulder. Her heart was racing. Haley didn’t respond to any of her calls. She was so far in the field now, she wasn’t sure which way was out. Why hadn’t she kept her bearings? Maybe staying in one row would keep her from getting more confused. The flashlight flickered, and she hit it against her palm.

“Come on, don’t quit now.”

The flashlight gleamed a little brighter. She called again to Haley. The sound of a cornstalk cracking came from behind. She swung the flashlight around, but didn’t see anything. Then she heard another crack and what sounded like footsteps. She clutched the flashlight tighter. She could at least give whoever was out here a whack on the head.

“Haley, come here.
Enough fooling around. Come on.” Her heart still pounded, and her head was whirling. This was stupid. She needed to find her dog and go home. Another crack of a cornstalk was now ahead of her. Something or someone was in here. It was probably an animal. A four-footed one was preferable. She squatted down and turned the flashlight off. If someone was in here, the darkness was her friend. The swish of leaves moving continued, and then she heard whining. It had to be Haley. She heard something running through the corn to her right. Two shiny eyes gleamed right in front of her. She flicked the flashlight on. It wasn’t Haley. The skunk looked directly at her, and the tail rose. Before Gracie could move, the white-striped critter turned and sprayed with vigor.

The biting, acidy smell hit the air, and droplets of skunk stink hung on the corn leaves above her, burning Gracie’s nose and eyes. She fell backwards onto the rocky soil. The odor was overpowering, and she was coughing and wiping her face with her tank top. Scrambling to get up, she scooped the waning flashlight from the ground, pushing through the rattling green dagger-like leaves to get out of the cornfield. Gracie’s throat burned so badly that she couldn’t get more than raspy cough out. Tears streamed like a fountain, making her vision blurry. The rough corn leaves with their sharp edges cut into her arms and legs. She had to find the end of a row so she could escape the field from hell. Breaking through the last of scratchy corn leaves, her flashlight gave out. Shaking and tapping it didn’t work this time. With some effort and a few stubbed toes, she finally made it back to the steady light by the
kennel. On the concrete pad in front of the entrance, Haley lay panting heavily. She thumped her tail and smiled, holding her nose high and sniffing with interest.

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

Haley got up, tail still wagging, but making a good attempt to look properly chagrined.

“Stay there. Don’t get near me. You’ll smell just like me if you do. Of course, I couldn’t tell if you did or not. ” Her nose was in massive overload.

Gracie started peeling off her jeans and tank top. There was no way she could go in the house like this. The smell would be everywhere. She turned the alarm off, ran to the grooming room for the “Skunk Off” shampoo they kept for unlucky dogs, and grabbed a large towel from the storage rack. Using the outside hose and generous amounts of shampoo, she lathered and rinsed twice, wearing just her underwear in the darkness behind the office. At least the water was lukewarm in the hose. Haley stood in wonder, wagging and sniffing throughout the process.

“This is
all your fault, Haley. What were you thinking?”

Haley ran to backyard fence and came back with her mouth full. Gracie tried to make out the shape. She squinted through the sting of the shampoo running into her eyes.

“A raccoon! I got sprayed because you had to go hunting? You’ve got to be kidding!

Haley dropped her trophy at Gracie’s bare feet.

“Haley, take it away. It’s great. Good job, but get it out of here.”

Obediently, the big Lab picked up the limp raccoon and took it back to the fence. She lay in the grass, nosing her catch as if deciding to eat it or save it for later.

“And don’t you dare eat it. I don’t need guts all over the lawn.”

The offending clothes were dispatched with a stick she found on the lawn and tossed in the dumpster. Gracie
couldn’t be sure how badly she still smelled, since her olfactory system was officially out of commission. After a short discussion with Haley, she decided that camping on the back patio was probably the best idea, and a quick trip to pick up some clothes and her sleeping bag wouldn’t damage the air quality of the house too much.