Gary turned the mug so he could see the caption.“Oh, um.‘I stick needles in defenseless animals.’It’s a gag mug.Jackie gave it to me.I washed it before I poured your coffee into it.”
“I think I’m fine, thank you,” David said drily.
“Oh.”
Gary flushed beet red and looked at his feet.David felt a touch of guilt—which hereallydidn’t deserve—and said, “Actually, I think I will take some coffee.Thank you.”
Gary brightened and set the mug on the desk.He chuckled sheepishly.“Yeah, I guess the joke’s a little creepy, huh?”
“It’s definitely macabre,” David agreed.
“Yeah, she’s got a great sense of humor,” Gary said, beaming.“I really like her, doc.”
Gary and Jackie, the head veterinary nurse who was only a few years older than he was, had been dating for a little over a month.They’d been attracted to each other ever since Gary first arrived, but neither of them had the courage to do anything about it until David pushed Gary to admit that he liked her and turn their “get-together” into a date.
David was happy for them, but he really wished that his staff could live their dating lives without feeling a need to share it with him.He gave Gary a tolerant smile.“She’s a good girl.”
“She is!”Gary agreed.“She’s funny, and she’s sweet, and she’s hot too, which is pretty awesome.Although I guess you can’t say that since you’re married.And her boss.”
David nodded patiently.Gary reddened again and said, “Well, anyway, enjoy your coffee.I’ll get your equipment set up.Your first patient is scheduled… Um… Shoot.”
“Eight-thirty?”
“Yes!Eight-thirty.”
He ducked out of the room, poked his head back in to say, “Um, bye,” then ducked out again.
David chuckled and sipped the coffee.He opened his computer and told himself he wasn’t going to open that secret file again.
But he did.Of course he did.
Last month, David examined a Marine Corps working dog named Sierra, full name Asset Sierra-9.Her handler, Staff Sergeant Whitaker, brought her to David ostensibly because the Marine Corps vet who usually certified working dogs for their unit was unavailable.The Marine Corps wanted David to provide a health certificate for Sierra so she could resume her training.
That examination had revealed a dog who was physically in great health but who possessed numerous minor scars from “training accidents” and several signs of psychological trauma.Whitaker was highly resistant to David’s efforts to investigate further, prompting him to manipulate her into bringing Sierra back.
He had falsified bloodwork to bring her back, the first time in his twelve-year veterinary career that he had ever lied about a patient.Well, he hadn’t exactly falsified bloodwork, he’d just made false verbal claims.Still a gross malpractice, though.
And it had come to nothing.He had examined her more closely and found nothing to confirm his suspicions that she was being mistreated.
But she was.He knew she was.He was one hundred percent certain that Sierra was being abused, and the way she behaved around her handler only convinced him further of that.
Then there was the weird thing that had happened during that second visit.When David insisted on taking Sierra back to another room to examine her without Whitaker present—telling another lie to make that happen—Whitaker had stared at Sierra and done… something.She’d hypnotized the dog somehow so that Sierra didn’t behave honestly in front of him.
He couldn’t prove that.Hell, it sounded outlandish.If it weren’t for the way Sierra refused to look at Whitaker at first and the way her eyes flickered when she finally gave in, he would just dismiss his concerns as paranoia.
Maybe it was just paranoia, but hypnosis or not, something serious was going on with Sierra.He knew it because a Colonel Chastain from the 93rdTesting Brigade had sent him a message instructing him to delete all of the information he had on Sierra and informing him the Marine Corps would no longer need his services.He was an FBI contractor, so that didn’t have an impact on his career, but the message had ended wishing him and his wife good health.David wasn’t an investigator, but he could understand a threat when he saw one.They wished him and Faith good health while strongly insinuating that if he remained a thorn in their side, they wouldn’t retain good health.
Which made what he was doing now all the more dangerous.The file he was looking at contained all of the information he’d gleaned about Sierra since opening his investigation.
Which was just about absolutely nothing.Asset Sierra-9 wasn’t listed on any Marine Corps working dog records.There was likewise no record of a Staff Sergeant Whitaker, a Colonel Chastain, or a 93rdTesting Brigade.So, either this wasn’t a Marine Corps operation at all, or the Marines were hiding some very sketchy stuff.
There was a knock on the office door.Thank God his staff was learning.He closed the file, sipped his coffee, put on a professional smile and called, “Come in.”
The door opened, and the female half of the latest office romance poked her head in.The flush on her face and the laughter in her eyes suggested she and David had stolen a moment together when she arrived.That and the slightest of smudges on her lipstick.
“Good morning, Jackie,” David said.“What can I do for you?”
“I was just wondering if you’d put the order in for the bloodwork for that military dog?”
