To Love and Protect (5 page)

"Shelley, don't take this the wrong way.  But what happened to Ted was a fluke."

"A
fluke?
"  She had never heard his death described that way, and she felt his memory had somehow been insulted.  But she also knew Elaine hadn't intended it that way, so she bit her tongue and let it pass.

"How often do you hear about a local police officer being killed – or even injured – on the job?  Other than burning their tongues on coffee that's too hot or choking on a stale donut, I don't think they encounter much danger here on a day-to-day basis."

"That's what I thought, too, when I married Ted.  But clearly I was wrong.  And the reason why Matt came to the clinic in the first place was because his dog had been shot when they were responding to an armed robbery."

Elaine gasped.  "Did you save him?"

"Her.  And, yes."

"Thank goodness.  I couldn’t imagine putting my Fifi in the line of fire like that."  As if on cue, Fifi trotted – or waddled, more accurately – into the living room.  "I know, I know," Elaine said with the slightest tinge of guilt in her voice.  "She's put on a pound or two since last month.  I don't understand why they won't do liposuction on dogs.  It's certainly done wonders for me."

"Elaine," Shelley began sternly.  "By feeding Fifi all that rich, gourmet food, you're putting her at a greater risk of death than a police dog."

"Oh, but she looks so happy."

"She looks
fat!
"

"I prefer to call her Rubenesque."

Shelley sighed.  "God, you're impossible.  Come here, Fifi."  She took her stethoscope from her bag and listened to Fifi's strained heart.  Finally, she turned to Elaine.  "How about a compromise?"

"I hate that word.  My ex-husbands always tried that one on me, too."

"And I'm sure they didn't get anywhere, which is why they're all exes."

"Anyway," sniffed Elaine.  "Let's hear it."

"Once a week you can give Fifi a special treat, but it has to be of the low-fat variety.  Hanson's Deli has a line of light pates.  One spoonful, once a week.  That's all."

Elaine's kohl-rimmed eyes bulged.  "You heard me," Shelley insisted, trying to be stern for Fifi's sake. 

"Oh, all right, but only if you come by next week to check on my progress."

What do you know, thought Shelley.  She was finally getting through to her.

"
And
," Elaine emphasized, "you tell me the latest with your kissing cop when you visit."

"I knew there was a catch."

Later, on the drive home, Shelley laughed as she thought about Elaine's unique brand of persistence.  But as she walked upstairs to the front porch, her smile faded.  The plant that Marge had left two days ago was still out by the welcome mat.  But it was also out of the pot now, too, apparently pulled out and tossed to the side, with the remaining soil dumped in a heap beside it.  Spotting a small piece of white paper in the dirt, Shelley pulled it out and read the warning spelled out in black marker:  WATCH OUT.

She gasped, whirling around to see if anyone was there.  But she found only the long stretch of driveway in front of her and the acres of land on either side.  Sitting passively on the other side of the welcome mat were Bella, her beagle mix, and Rusty, her Irish Setter.

"Good watch dogs you are, guys," she said, more with affection than annoyance.  They both jumped forward to be petted.  It didn't make sense.  Who would come up to the porch – or be allowed to by the dogs, for that matter – and not be afraid?  She knew how the dogs were when strangers approached.  The only time they weren't barking at someone who was unfamiliar to them was when they paused to bare their teeth. 

Shelley quickly went inside, allowing the dogs to follow her.  Dozer, the greyhound she had rescued off the track several years ago, slept in his usual spot on the braided rug before the fireplace.  Toodles and Peaches, the playful orange cat who had showed up on her doorstep six months ago, purred contentedly on the couch.  Everyone seemed perfectly calm and happy – except Shelley.

Someone had left an anonymous threat on her porch, and she had no idea who or why.

FOUR

"It must be someone who knows you," Dave said later as she started her noon shift at the clinic.  His suspicions echoed her own.  "Why else would the dogs have allowed him on the porch?" he noted.

"Or her," Joan interjected as she cleaned a cage nearby.  She was a part-time vet assistant who had started working at the clinic three months ago.  In her early forties, with an indistinguishable face and a short, sturdy build, she was a dependable worker whose shyness was slowly eroding as she got to know everyone.  "You just never know these days.  The women are as bad as the men."

Shelley brightened when she spotted Carly sitting up in her cage.  "Well, look at you!" she exclaimed.  Carly whined and wagged her tail in reply.

"She's a great dog," Dave commented.  "Sweetest temperament you could imagine.  Hard to believe she's capable of tearing someone's limbs off."

Shelley gingerly but quickly withdrew her fingers from the cage.  "I know.  Has Matt been by?"

Joan and Dave exchanged glances, exclaiming in unison, "
Maattt!"

"That's Officer Reardon to us," Dave teased, "but then again, we're not on a first-name basis with him like you are."

Shelley laughed.  "Knock it off.  He told me to call him Matt, okay?"

Geri opened the door from the reception area and stuck her head in the room.  "Officer Reardon's here to see Carly.”

"Speak of the devil," Dave said, his smile outstretching his beard.  "By all means, Geri, send him back!"

Shelley shot Dave one last warning glance as Matt came up behind her.  His eyes lit up as Shelley turned to him.  Or maybe they were just mimicking her own, she thought, as she tried not to stare at him.  He was in his uniform, looking every bit as solid and handsome as she remembered.

"How she's doing?"

"Great," Shelley answered, feeling a surge of electricity play between them as he moved in closer.

"I'm on duty until six tonight.  Would I be able to come by after and take her home?"

"I don't see why not.  You'll need to keep her quiet for the next few weeks.  No obstacle training courses, that's for sure."

Matt laughed.  "Not a problem.  She doesn’t have to do anything but rest and get better."

"Hey," Dave began, "tell Officer Reardon about your scare this morning."

Matt's smile quickly vanished.  "Your scare?  What happened?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Nothing!" Dave repeated incredulously.  He quickly relayed the incident to Matt.

Matt turned back to Shelley, his face tight with concern.  "Why didn't you call the police?"

"It had already happened.  By the time I got there, whoever did it was long gone."

"Has anything like this happened before?"

Shelley knew the answer, but she was afraid to say it even to herself.

Matt persisted.  "Well?"

"The other morning I found a mound of fertilizer on my porch step."

"Fertilizer?"

"As in the form of cow manure," she admitted sheepishly.  "It seemed so out of the blue at the time.  I certainly didn't think it was anyone trying to scare me.  Crazy as it sounds, there are lot of farm animals in the area."

"And what," Dave said unceremoniously.  "You figured a cow mistook your porch for a porto-john?”

Shelley started to grin, but Matt’s funny bone clearly was on hold.

"Shelley, this isn't anything to fool around with."

She glanced over at Dave and Joan, whose expressions were equally grim. "I know.  I didn't think much of it after the first incident, but the note I found today doesn't leave me much choice.  I
am
starting to get worried about this."

"Where do you live?" Matt asked.  "I'll take a drive by now and make sure everything's okay."

Shelley nodded.  "Maybe that's not a bad idea.  Here's my address," she said, writing it down on a piece of scrap paper.

"Are you going to start an investigation?" Joan asked, sounding both curious and slightly horrified.

"We'll see," Matt answered, tightlipped.  He pulled Shelley aside to a quiet corner of the room beside the cages.  "Can you think of anyone who could be behind this?"

Shelley's mind jumped to Marge.  She had, after all, left the plant for her.  Was Marge upset that Shelly had left it outside?  Was she so insulted by this mistakenly perceived slight that she threatened Shelley as result?  A sane person wouldn't go to such extremes.  But what if Marge was more than just eccentric?  What if she was dangerous as well?  It seemed like a preposterous notion, if it weren't for the fact that she had always found something a bit "off" about her neighbor. Still, she wasn't prepared to turn Marge in just yet.  Maybe she would share her suspicions with Matt later, but for now she just wanted to start her shift and not keep clients waiting longer than necessary. "I'll let you know if anyone comes to mind. But I really never thought I had any enemies."

"Why would you?  Who could possibly find a reason to dislike you?"   

Shelley smiled at Matt’s fervor. "I don't know.   The two men who were trying to fish in my brook the other week, until I chased them off my property."  As Matt looked at her in surprise, she shrugged.  "I have to protect my fish, too, you know."

He shook his head.  "You're too much.  What time are you here till tonight?"

"Seven."

"I'll be by around six-thirty to pick up Carly.  But I'd like to come back after and make sure you get home all right tonight."

"I'm sure I'll be fine," she said, beginning to regret that she had shared her dilemma with him.  Still, it was nice to have someone care. 
Very
nice, in fact.

Geri peeked her head through the door.  "Shelley, the Greenes are here with Chaucer."

"Put them in the first exam room and tell them I'll be right in." She turned to Matt. "I guess I'll see you later when you get Carly."

"And don't worry about your place. I'm going to take a drive by right now."

"Nice guy," Dave remarked once Matt had left.

"Yes, he is."

"He seems to like you."

"I think he's just glad I helped Carly," Shelley reasoned. Still, she was secretly tickled by Dave's observation.

"I don't know if that's all it is. Your diagnostic skills are right on with animals, but I think you're missing a lot of clues with Matt."

"Don't you have charts that need to be updated?" Shelley teased, smiling good-naturedly despite Dave's persistence.

"Ouch. You're harsh."

Shelley laughed quietly as she readied for her first patient. She was glad to have something else to concentrate on for the rest of the day. The hours flew by as they usually did during a typically busy shift. Before she had a chance to sit down and take a breather, it was six-thirty and Matt was in the reception room, waiting to take Carly home.

"I have blankets set up in the back of my SUV," he said.

"Great," she replied. "Jack and Dave are bringing her out."