She grinned. “Killjoy. I’ll have your first exam room prepped in ten. Our first patient today is a miniature poodle with an anal gland abscess.”
I smiled. “We lead a glamorous life.”
We had back-to-back appointments all morning. Doc and I were the only vets in that day, and neither of us had a break until the clinic closed for an hour-long lunch break. As was often the case, the hour didn’t give me a break at all, but it did allow me to finish updating the patient files from my morning appointments.
“There’s no way around it,” I told Bella as I took her to the grassy area behind the building for her potty break. “It’s time to hire another full-time vet.” I patted her head topraise her. “The good news is we’re finally making enough money to do it. I’ll make some calls and put out…” I remembered the conversation I’d had with Gina and Darla the day I’d returned to work. “Actually, I’ll ask Gina and Darla to start the candidate search.”
When we returned to my office, I washed my hands, then pulled out a box from my mini-fridge that contained the Giovanni’s leftovers from last night. And then I couldn’t stop smiling again as I thought about my hot date.
The intercom system speaker on my desk crackled, making me jump. It was for emergencies and I couldn’t remember it ever being used. I was about to walk to the front desk to ask Darla what was wrong when I heard her voice.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry, I can’t do that,” Darla said.
“Please!” a woman said. I didn’t recognize her voice. “He said he’ll detonate it. He means it!”
Detonate? Like a bomb?
“All right, I’m going to turn off the security cameras, but I need you to remain calm,” Darla said. “I don’t think anyone is in the back, so I’ll have to check.”
She knew Gina, Doc, and I hadn’t left for lunch, so she was lying, either to warn us or to buy time. I tapped my computer to bring up the security feeds. I saw Darla at the front desk and a woman in the lobby. The woman was visibly shaking. There was collar around her neck with an attached box. The box had a blinking light.
Definitely like a bomb. The woman was clutching something in her hand. The detonator? Or maybe a walkie talkie.
The security feeds turned to snow. Darla had taken down the system. What choice had she had? If that was an explosive device, she’d just saved all our lives. But for how long?
“You’re not going anywhere,” a man’s voice said, but it sounded like it was through a speaker. Maybe he was commanding Darla through the woman’s walkie talkie.
Gina rushed into my office.
“Cami, it’s him. Scott. I saw him through the window. He was in the pharmacy parking lot next door. I tried to call 911, but I don’t have signal.”
I snatched up my phone and hit Kyle’s number as I explained what was happening at the front desk.
My phone line was dead.“I don’t have signal, either.”
Gina turned a sickly shade of gray. “Could he be blocking the cell signal?”
It couldn’t be a coincidence.
“Possibly. Gina, run. Go out the back exit. As soon as you get somewhere with signal, call Kyle, then 911.”
“I’m not leaving you or Darla or Doc, and don’t lecture me because I know you’re staying for them, too. Besides, what if Scott has a gun and sees me making a run for it?’
Our distress upset the dog, who whined and came to my side.
I petted her. “It’s okay girl, we’ll figure it out.” I stared at her collar. “We need a panic button.”
“Do you happen to have one of those handy?” Gina asked.
“Actually, I do. Plus, someone who is low to the ground so Scott won’t see her making a run for it.”
Scott’s voice spoke again, but this time, it didn’t come through a speaker. He’d used his hostage to force Darla to turn off our security system so he could enter into the building.
I pressed Bella’s panic button, hoping that signal wasn’t jammed. I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and jotted out an abbreviated message, folded it, and tucked it into hercollar. I hoped Kyle would be able to decipher it. But first, I had to set Bella on his trail.
“I need something with his scent,” I said.
“Scott’s?”
