“Why would you be in the general store for four hours?” I ask.
“Exactly.”
I think I realized where he’s getting his information from. Martha Turner knows everyone’s business whether they want her to or not. I bet he’s hanging around to figure out the people in town.
“I’m going to pull around back,” I tell them as I turn on my heel and start out of the store.
By the time I hop in my truck, I’m texting Sheriff Clark to let him know who I think is giving Dr. Reed the information he has. She probably doesn’t even realize she’s doing anything wrong, which makes this situation worse.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Sutton
The sun is relentless as I drive down the dusty road to the Nance Ranch. My truck kicks up a cloud of dirt behind me, and the smell of sagebrush fills the cab. It’s been three days since I administered the medication to his herd. The medicine should have started working by now, and except for the few of Dad’s that we’ve had to reevaluate the meds on, no one else has stated there were any problems.
When I pull up to the barn, I see Mr. Nance standing by the fence, arms crossed, and a scowl already etched onto his face.
I expected a much different greeting from him. Especially since last time I was here, I saved his herd from being culled and him from going to jail. Why is he looking at me like that?
I steel myself, grab my bag, and step out of the truck.
“Morning, Mr. Nance,” I call, trying to keep my tone friendly.
He doesn’t respond; he just glares at me as I approach.
“I’m here to check on the herd,” I say, stopping a few feet away.
“Doc Lucy does my herd checks.”
“I understand. She’s feeling under the weather and asked me to check them today. Since we started the meds a few days ago.”
“Those meds killed my cattle.”
“Excuse me?”
“They’re all dead,” he snaps.
The majority of his herd is out in the pasture and looks fine, so I can only assume he means the ones that we medicated.
“One or two of the ten that we medicated?”
“Every last one of them,” he says, his voice dripping with anger. “And it’s your fault.”
“Mr. Nance, I… I don’t understand. The medication should have worked. It’s been tested, and I’ve used it on other herds with no issues.”
“Well, Dr. Reed seems to think otherwise,” he says, his eyes narrowing.
“Dr. Reed? The same man that had you in handcuffs?”
“Yeah. He came back out the day after you medicated. Him and a real nice lady came to apologize for their actions. That lady is a vet in Montana, too. She went out to check the ones you medicated, said you didn’t treat them right.”
“She went out to the herd? By herself?”
“Yeah, Dr. Reed and I started talking, and then she was done and so, yeah she was out there by herself.”
“Was she in the hazmat gear?”
“No,” he laughed. “Said all that was pointless. Doc Reed told me about you. He told me you didn’t know what you were doing. Said you probably overdosed them or gave them the wrong dosage altogether. He said that’s why you weren’t in Billings anymore and came back here.”
