Joe put the dog on the floor. ‘What’s the plan?’
Zach switched on the metal detector and held it aloft as it gave a whistle. ‘This will tell us if he’s eaten it.’ Dave was instantly enthralled by the whistling machine and appeared to be barking his thoughts on the matter as he pogoed to try to grab the end of it.
‘I’ll take that,’ said Joe, seizing the detector.
‘Good idea, you’ll know where to aim it,’ said Zach. ‘Shall we put him on the kitchen table or what?’
‘Neither. Are you two insane? You can’t run a metal detector over a dog.’
‘Why?’ asked Zach.
‘Will it hurt him?’ asked Lottie.
‘No, but would you like it?’ She detected the merest hint of a scold in his tone. They both shook their heads. ‘And the chances of it giving you an accurate reading are pretty slim.’ He switched it off and Dave stopped barking.
‘How do we find out if he’s eaten it?’ she asked.
‘He has,’ said Zach. ‘It’s the only explanation. Can you operate on him?’
Joe squeezed his eyes shut. ‘Bit drastic, mate. And all I’ve got is my basic kit and no working premises.’
‘Could you ask another vet if you could use theirs? I mean they won’t be working Christmas Day?’ Zach was starting to sound desperate.
‘Not really, no.’ Lottie could tell that Joe was hoping Zach wasn’t serious.
‘X-ray then?’ said Zach.
‘Don’t happen to have one of those on me either, or an ultrasound, before you ask. X-ray would give the best results, but he’d need an anaesthetic whereas with ultrasound the animal doesn’t have to keep perfectly still so there’s no need to knock him out.’
Lottie threw up her arms. ‘Farmer Giles.’
Joe sniggered. ‘Is that a condition you suffer from?’
‘Not rhyming slang for piles.’ She was trying her hardest to stay cross with him. She gave him a hard stare and continued. ‘Giles Hutton. He was in Zach’s year at school. He went to agricultural college and now he’s into mating animals.’ Joe cheekily raised one eyebrow. ‘Husbandry,’ she explained, but he was still grinning. Lottie ignored it. ‘He was in the Bleeding Bear a few weeks ago showing off this portable ultrasound he’d been using to check sheep to see if they were carrying lambs. He was actually using it to see which of the rugby lads was storing the biggestfart in their bowels—’ why was she talking about farts? ‘—but anyway. He’ll be home for Christmas. It’s worth a shot?’ Joe was nodding.
Zach didn’t look so sure. ‘I still say we open him up.’
Lottie ignored her brother and made the phone call and was soon relaying the information to them. ‘Giles is home and nursing a hangover, but he has the ultrasound and we can borrow it.’
‘Hi. Is everything all right?’ asked a concerned-looking Emily, exiting the drawing room. The other three stood stock still, looking at each other.
Zach stepped forward. ‘Yeah, it’s all fine. Look, I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait a bit for your main present. Bit of a hitch.’
‘That’s okay. I’m happy with my hand cream.’ She turned to Lottie. ‘Can I help with dinner?’
‘Crap! Yes, you can,’ said Lottie, running for the kitchen. Thanks to all the lost ring drama she’d completely forgotten about dinner, and now she was behind.
Emily followed Lottie as she skidded through the kitchen and began unpacking crates of veg.
‘Nana ordered all this, and I added some more to be on the safe side,’ said Lottie, clutching a bunch of carrots.
At last Lottie handed Emily the final stalk of Brussels sprouts and they surveyed the mountain of food now on the table.
‘There’s a possibility I may have over-ordered,’ said Lottie, with a pout.
Emily wasn’t sure how to answer; she’d only ever seen that many vegetables in a supermarket. ‘Always better to have more than you need.’
‘True,’ said Lottie, waving a pointed finger at the potatoes. ‘But I think we only have one peeler.’
