Death by Equine by Annette Dashofy (booksvooks txt) 📕

The upper side of Barn B appeared to be the venue for the convention. Dr. McCarrell, Sherry, Meryl, half a dozen assorted helpers, and one unfamiliar woman wearing dark-rimmed glasses and a stern expression were spread out down the shedrow.

Meryl spotted Jessie. “About time you got here.”

“Sorry I wasn’t around to greet you all.”

The woman, whom Jessie didn’t recognize, handed a tube of blood to Sherry and stripped off her Latex gloves. She approached with an extended hand. “You must be Dr. Cameron. I’m Dr. Leslie Baker from Veterinary Services.”

Jessie took her hand. “Dr. Baker. I apologize for my absence.”

“Now that you’re here, I suggest we get to work. This is a serious matter, and we have a lot of animals to check.”

“You’re absolutely right.”

Dr. Baker pointed out which horses still needed attention. Jessie suggested they break up into teams. Dr. Baker agreed and patted Sherry on the shoulder. “I understand Dr. Malone here just received her license. She seems very capable. I’d like to continue working with her if that’s all right with you?”

Sherry beamed.

Dr. McCarrell expressed a preference to work with his regular assistant.

Meryl considered Jessie with mock distaste. “I guess that leaves me with you.”

“So it would seem.”

They enlisted a pair of young men to help and headed to the next barn.

Meryl tossed a tablet of Veterinary Service EIA lab test forms to Jessie. “What did Greg want?”

Jessie sent a groom into the first stall to halter its occupant and handed the forms to her assistant to fill out. “He wanted to talk to me about the break-in.” She could imagine Meryl’s reaction to Daniel’s criminal record. If Jessie intended to keep his secret, Meryl wasn’t the person to confide in.

“Oh? He find out who did it?”

Their second assistant entered the next stall to jot down the second horse’s tattoo and markings. Jessie kept her eyes on the Vacutainer she was preparing. “Not yet.”

“Greg needed you to go with him to tell you there’s no news?”

“Something like that.”

“Whatever you say.” Meryl gave a skeptical grunt. “I hear Sherry Malone is now a full-fledged vet.”

“That’s what she tells me.”

“What did she say when you showed her the hair clip you found in your house?”

Jessie swabbed the first horse’s neck with an alcohol prep before sticking it and watching the blood flow into the vacuum tube. “She denies breaking in. But I didn’t mention finding her barrette.”

“Why the hell not?”

“I’m saving it.”

“For what?”

“For when I need the element of surprise.” Jessie removed the tube, then the needle. She held pressure with a thumb to make sure the bleeding stopped. Speaking of the element of surprise. “Turns out Sherry didn’t inherit Doc’s practice like she expected.”

“Oh?” Meryl looked up from signing one of the forms, her dark eyes even darker than usual. “Don’t tell me he left it to you.”

“No. I suppose it went to Amelia as part of his estate.” Jessie labeled the tube while the groom moved to the next stall to hold Meryl’s patient.

But Meryl just stood there holding the empty Vacutainer and watched Jessie, as if she knew there was more.

Jessie knelt to place the tube of blood into the plastic carrier. “How would you feel about buying my half of our practice?” she asked and waited for the explosion.

But it never came. Instead, Meryl’s expression grew sad. “No.” She stepped into the stall.

Not the reaction Jessie expected. Ranting, raving, swearing? Yes. But a flat-out denial? Never. “Excuse me?”

Meryl finished with her horse before replying. “I said no. I can’t afford to buy out your practice any more than you can afford to buy this one.” She gathered her equipment and brushed past Jessie to the next stall.

Jessie stood in stunned silence. Every argument she had planned, every reason she intended to offer, evaporated like so much morning mist under a hot sun. She noticed the groom, a boy with a bad case of acne, watching her with the same trepidation as someone waiting for a green horse to spook. Realizing her mouth hung open, she closed it and bent to gather the plastic bin containing the Vacutainers. When she straightened, the sight of Daniel leaning against the wall startled her.

The groom turned to see what had surprised her and snapped to attention.

“How’s it going?” Daniel asked.

“Slow.” She noticed the boy, still rigid as he clenched the lead shank. “At ease, son.”

“Sorry,” he whispered, and with the reverence one might reserve for a movie star, added, “It’s just, you know, Mr. Shumway.”

She lowered her head to hide her amused smile.

Daniel pushed away from the wall and approached her. “I see you have help. That’s good.”

Jessie spotted Meryl peering over the top of the test forms tablet.

“Any idea how long this is going to take? When will we know?”

“There are two other vets working on it besides us.” Jessie remembered Sherry’s new license. “Make that three. Once we’ve drawn blood from every horse, it’ll be at least twenty-four hours to get the lab work done. Maybe longer with this volume. Dr. Baker from Veterinary Services might be able to light a fire under the lab guys, but I wouldn’t count on it.” Jessie motioned for her assistant to follow her past the stall where Meryl was working. And eavesdropping.

Daniel trailed along. “I just got off the phone with Zelda Peterson. She wants to bring Clown back to the track to get him ready for his next race, but for obvious reasons isn’t too anxious to do it until we know for certain.”

“I don’t blame her.” An image of Daniel injecting Clown with ace flashed through her mind. She shook her head to chase it away.

Daniel scowled. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Flies.” She waved a hand and shook her head again for good measure.

He put a hand on the back of her neck, and she jumped.

“That wasn’t a fly.” He let his hand drop. “What’s going on? You’ve been acting strange for a couple of days.”

She pretended to be intent on watching her assistant as he