Man's Best Alibi by Tara Meyers

Author:Tara Meyers [Meyers, Tara]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2018-07-01T22:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

Ember tried but failed to stifle a loud yawn as she entered Haven Backcountry Outfitters. She’d spent most of the previous night with the same chocolate lab she’d treated the week before. His symptoms had returned with a vengeance, except this time, he nearly died.

A small bell chimed overhead as she pushed through the heavy wooden door, Daenerys close on her heels. A lot of the local stores were pet-friendly, and Ember didn’t like to leave her in the car when it could be avoided. Two people standing nearby turned toward the sound. Smiling weakly at them, she nodded a hello to the man nearest her. She couldn’t remember his name, but he’d brought his puppy in for a well-check the previous month.

“Morning, Dr. Burns!”

“Hello! How is little Chloe doing?” While she had no idea who the man was, she could always remember the pets’ names.

“Great! I’ll need to schedule her next visit soon. She’s loving the dog food you recommended.”

Waving a farewell as he walked past her, Ember slowly wandered deeper into the vast store. She had to tug several times on Daenerys’s leash as the labradoodle found every spot any other dog had dared to leave a trace behind.

The original plan had been to stop in on her way to work that morning, but it was almost lunchtime. Even so, she’d only managed a few hours’ sleep. The scene from the night before flashed brightly at the thought, and Ember paused.

Mel had mistakenly thought she’d be able to take care of the lab on her own when she first saw him, but by the time she’d gotten Ember, Hershey was going into respiratory distress. They’d almost had to intubate him.

Serves me right for turning my phone off!

It was rare that Ember was unavailable, and she hardly ever turned her phone off unless she was out of range in the mountains. Those times, either Mel was on call or she’d forward her number to an answering service that would put clients in touch with one of the vets in a nearby town. While Ember recognized the need for a social life, she also accepted the responsibility of running a business that required her complete commitment. She felt like she’d let Mel down.

Fortunately, Hershey started responding to the medications right away, and his respiratory drive improved. While the lab was still quite ill, he was recovering. But his owner was beside herself.

Susan Carpenter was so sure that her dog had gotten into her pain medication the last time that she hadn’t limited any of his activities. As a result, he’d been running around outside for the past three days. Now, Susan was convinced one of her remote neighbors poisoned him as retribution for letting him roam free and mess in their yard.

Since the dog’s owner refused to let Ember run any tests previously, they never confirmed if the dog even had drugs in his system. This time, Ember offered to pay for the labs herself. She didn’t believe in coincidences and was afraid the similar illnesses had more to do with a virus than nasty neighbors.

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