To Love and Protect (9 page)

"Did you collect any evidence yet?" the eager rookie officer asked Matt.

"No. Why don't you take some pictures of the windshield, then get a film sample of that red stuff. I'm going to go inside for a minute with Shelley.

"Sure," Officer Jenkins replied, already digging the necessary equipment out of her car.
Once inside the clinic, Matt led Shelley into an empty exam room and closed the door. "Look at me," she said, forcing a laugh. "I'm practically shaking."

He pulled up a chair beside her and sat down, taking her trembling hands into his own. "It's certainly understandable."

Shelley felt herself relax a bit, her hands now steady in Matt's strong grip. "Matt, who in the world is doing this?"

He sighed, clenching his jaw in frustration. "I don't know, Shelley, but I'm going to find out. I promise you that."

"The thing I'm most worried about right now isn't me, but my pets. It’s almost as if whoever is doing this knows that my pets are like my kids, and I’d be devastated if they were harmed."

"Maybe you should have your pets stay somewhere else for now if you're worried about them while you're away during the day."

It sounded like an easy enough solution, but Shelley knew how attached animals became to their home. Still, their ultimate safety had to be her chief concern at this point. "My sister can probably take my cats. I can probably keep Floppy here." As she noted Matt's quizzical expression, she added, "My rabbit."

He smirked. "Of course."

"But I'm not sure about my dogs." She looked up at him, her eyes anxious.

"Refresh my memory. How many dogs do you have?"

"Only three."

Matt sighed, then smiled and shook his head. "All right. I'll watch them for you. Bring them over tonight."

"Are you serious? Do you have room? What about Carly?"

"I have a good-sized, fenced-in area for them to run around in. Right now Carly's staying upstairs in my bedroom, so the other dogs can stay downstairs."

"It will only be for a short time," Shelley insisted, hoping she was right.

"I was thinking the longer, the better," Matt replied to Shelley's surprise. "I know you can't go more than a day without seeing your dogs, so as long as they're staying with me, I'll get to see you as much as they do."

Shelley looked down at the floor and smiled. When she looked back up, her eyes met Matt's and she felt something stir deep inside of her. "This is such a nice thing for you to do.”

"Don't think anything of it. I know how I'd want Carly to be safe if I was in a similar situation."

"Still, what you're doing is definitely above and beyond the call of duty."

He tenderly brushed her cheek. "Maybe if you were just someone who filed a complaint with the police. But you're more than that to me."

Whatever had stirred inside of Shelley earlier was now tightening up. As much as she wanted to hear these words from Matt, it frightened her as well. Was she becoming too attached to someone who she ultimately couldn't allow into her life? After Ted had died, she knew with every fiber of her being that she could never be involved in a situation that left her feeling constantly insecure. And that's how she would feel with Matt. Not because she couldn't trust him or depend on him, but because she couldn't trust the people and situations he would encounter on a daily basis as a police officer. Everyone was trying to convince her that Fairfax was too small a town for her to worry about Matt's safety. But he had inadvertently admitted his vulnerability to risk the other night by telling her that there was still an active, armed robbery ring that was ready to strike again.

"Hey," Matt said gently, lifting Shelley's chin with his hand. "What's wrong? You look a million miles away."

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking, that's all."

"Still don't trust that I'm a good dog-sitter?"

She smiled. "I know you will be. It's just ... I don't know. Part of me is still shocked that this is all happening. Who could I have angered enough to do this to me?”

"It's nothing you did, Shelley. It usually isn't in cases like this." He paused, looking slightly exasperated. "Look, you've worked out a way to keep your pets safe, but what about yourself? I don't like the idea of you being out in the middle of nowhere all alone every night."

"I'll be okay."

"You mentioned the other night that you’re close to your sister and she doesn’t live far from here.  Why don’t you stay with her until this situation is straightened out?”

"I don't want to leave my home, Matt. It's bad enough that my pets have to leave."

"Shelley, I'd really feel better if you stayed with someone else."

"If I start to feel scared, I'll move in with Diana, or even my mother, for that matter. She only lives forty-five minutes away."

Matt shook his head and sighed with a hint of grudging amusement. "You go out of your way to make sure your pets − including three dogs with very big teeth − are kept safe, but you won't take the same precautions for yourself."

Suddenly, Shelley felt the intensity of the situation. "Do you really think I'm in danger? I mean, is this some nutcase who could actually take things a step further and try to hurt me? I don't want to sound naive, but I've just figured that someone's trying to play mind games with me by leaving these messages. I haven't really thought that he − or she − would act any of this stuff out."

"It depends. A lot of times in cases like this, the perpetrator is just trying to scare the person, like you said. But there are always those cases where things escalate. And that's what you have to be careful for. The thing is, there are no obvious suspects in this case yet. It's not like you have a jealous ex-boyfriend or something." He stopped for a moment. "Right?"

"No, it's more like five jealous exes," Shelley replied, adding, "Just kidding," as Matt's eyes bulged. "And I don't know that Marge Henderson is a likely suspect anymore. I have a hard time picturing her coming out her on her bike to leave message on my truck."

"Maybe," Matt said, not sounding fully convinced. "The way the parking lot is situated near the woods, anyone could have pulled their car off the road at another spot and snuck up through the back."

"Sounds like someone's going through a lot of trouble to scare me."

Matt leaned back in his chair, his eyes cast upwards in thought. "I know this might sound crazy," he started slowly, "especially since everyone knows what a great veterinarian you are. But is there anyone who might be angry at you because of an animal you've treated here? Or for that matter, could there be someone you got in trouble because they were abusing or neglecting their pet?"

Shelley thought for a moment. She was, in fact, active in several animal advocate organizations, but so were a lot of people. "Wait − there
was
an incident when I was called out to a kennel in Middleton after it had been raided by the police." She closed her eyes as she recalled the deplorable conditions she had encountered.

"When was this?"

"About a year ago. And it was the next town over."

"Hmm … doesn't sound likely, but we shouldn't rule out anything at this point." He pulled a small note pad out of his shirt pocket and scribbled down the pertinent information that Shelley relayed to him about the case. There was a knock at the door just as he closed the note pad. "Come in," he said.

Officer Jenkins entered the room. "I've collected all the evidence."

"Good. Why don't you bring it back to the station now. We'll probably have to send the film of the writing material to the state lab for analysis."

"Got ya."

Matt turned back to Shelley. "Do you want me to come get the dogs tonight?"

"I'd rather bring them over myself if that's okay. I want to make sure they get settled in and everything."

Matt smirked. "You don't fool me. You just want to check out my place and make sure it's suitable enough for them."

Shelley laughed. "Knock it off. I've seen you with Carly. I know my dogs are in good hands."

Make that
very
good hands, she thought as she recalled how it felt to be touched by them.

"I'll be home after six-thirty, so just come by anytime after that."

"Sounds good−"

"And Shelley?"

"Yes?"

Matt's eyes grew dark. "I really think you should consider staying somewhere else, or at least having someone stay with you."

"I'll consider it."

Matt studied her with frustrated admiration. "Anyone ever tell you you're stubborn as a mule?"

"Not in at least at week."

"I should've realized what I'm up against when you wouldn't let me leave the clinic until you fixed my arm."

"Oh, how is it by the way?"

"It's pretty much healed up."

Shelly grinned. "See? I knew what I was doing after all. It's a good thing you listened to me."

"Like I had a choice," he muttered, though his eyes twinkled.

Geri knocked on the door, then stuck her head in the room. "Shelley, Jake Webber's here with his dogs. Do you want me to see if Dave can take him? He did ask for you when he made the appointment, but I'm sure he'd understand if you're not up to it."

"No, that's okay, Geri. I'll be right there."

"I'll clean your truck off for you on my way out," Matt said.

"You don't have to do that."

"Would you rather it sat in the parking lot all day with ‘You’re not safe' displayed on the windshield?"

Shelley shuddered. It wasn't that she forgot the warning, but hearing it verbally only deepened its sinister component. "No − I just meant that you don't have to be the one to clean it."

Matt looked into her eyes, his calm, easy way instantly reassuring her that everything would be okay. "I want to."

Shelley managed a smile. "Thanks − again."

"So I'll see you sometime tonight, right?"

She nodded, then quickly added, "Wait a second. With everything going on, I didn't even get a chance to ask you how Carly's doing."

"She's doing great, considering what she's been through."

"Is she eating?"

"Oh yeah − there's no problem in that area."

"What about moving around? Has she tried walking yet?"

"This morning she was standing up and walking a little bit in my bedroom, where I'm keeping her. She's still kind of wobbly and limping on that leg."

"She probably will be for another few weeks, but it's a good sign that she's attempting to walk."

"What would happen if she didn't?"

"We'd probably have to consider physical therapy to get her moving again. But it sounds like that won't be necessary. I'll have a better idea of things when you bring her in Friday."

"Got ya, Doc," Matt grinned.

A few minutes later, as Shelley swung her stethoscope around her neck and headed off to meet Jake Webber and his two rowdy Rottweilers, she couldn't help but smile at the thought of how nice it felt having someone looking out for her. Especially someone who appealed to her in the way that Matt did. It wasn't so long ago that she thought it could never happen again, that true love had found her once and it was unrealistic to think it could happen twice.  But she couldn’t deny that her growing feelings for Matt seemed to be heading in that direction. Her smile wavered as another question inevitably entered her mind. Would the happiness that she could potentially find with Matt end the same way that it had with Ted?