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CHAPTERONE
“What do you think?Is he going to be okay?”
Ariel Williamson, the vet’s assistant, gently ran her hand over the Cocker Spaniel’s side. “Dr. Fredricks will be in shortly, but in the meantime, I’ll make him as comfortable as possible. Do you know what happened?”
Tawny Granger ran the Wildwood Rescue Center in town and had brought in the injured animal. “A man found him in the middle of the road in front of my rescue center. The poor thing was shaking. He thinks the dog was hit by a car, but he isn’t sure.”
“Mrs. Gardener will be frantic once she realizes he’s gone. She’s in her eighties and sometimes forgets to keep the gate closed.”
“You know this dog?” Tawny asked.
“Yes. His name is Buster.” At the mention of his name, the dog looked up. Ariel smiled and then lightly stroked his back. “You’re going to be fine.” Buster seemed to calm, enabling Ariel to pick out some gravel from his fur. She then pressed lightly on the Spaniel’s side. “I don’t feel any broken bones, but there could be internal injuries if he was hit. I’ll clean him up and then drive him over to Mrs. Gardner’s when I’m sure he’s okay.”
“That’s awesome. Thank you. His owner needs to be aware that dogs who roam can be attacked by wolves,” Tawny said.
“I’ve warned Mrs. Gardner of that fact, and she always promises to be more careful, but Buster somehow manages to get loose.” Many animal deaths in this area of rural Montana were from wolves.
“If Mrs. Gardner can’t pay for his care, let me know. We might be able to help.”
Tawny was the best. Even though she came from the most prestigious family in Wildwood, Montana, she worked hard to make it on her own. No family handouts for her.
“Thanks for bringing him in.”
“Thank you for helping out at the center as much as you do.”
Ariel smiled. “My pleasure.”
Tawny placed a hand on Ariel’s arm. “I never had the chance to say that I’m sorry about your brother. If it matters, I don’t think my dad really believed Trent killed Samantha.”
“That means a lot to me.” Her comment came as a surprise though, especially since Tawny’s father was Wildwood’s sheriff. The man was a pillar in the community, despite being a Granger. “Your cousin sure did a number convincing the jury that Trent was guilty, though.”
“Benson was just doing his job,” Tawny defended.
“I know, but he twisted my brother’s words.” To her non-lawyer way of thinking, there had been no actual evidence, other than some of her brother’s smudged fingerprints on the knife. Too bad that knife ended up in Sam’s stomach.
Tawny rubbed her arm. “You’ll find something to prove Trent is innocent.”
She couldn’t tell if Tawny believed Trent had committed the crime or not, but it was nice of her not to state her real opinion if it was different. “I plan to try.”
“Talk to Benson. Maybe he can help.”
Ariel laughed, but it held no joy. “Why would he help me? He was the one who put Trent in jail.”
It hadn’t helped that the prosecuting attorney had every female juror wrapped around his little finger. His drop dead gorgeous face, along with his smooth talking ways, had been the key to convincing even the biggest skeptic that Trent was guilty. At least that was what she told herself.
“Like I said, it was his job. We only talked briefly after the case, but I had the sense that after the prosecutor presented his case, my cousin didn’t believe your brother was guilty either, though he never said anything to me.”
Ariel thought that the job of the assistant district attorney was to win at any cost. It didn’t matter if the person was guilty or innocent. Even if Benson Granger hadn’t been so competent, the town had already condemned Trent before the trial began. Her brother had multiple disorderly conduct charges against him, and sadly, Samantha wasn’t the first woman he’d pushed around. If Trent hadn’t been Ariel’s brother, she’d have thought he was guilty too. “I’ll think about it.”
“Let me know if I can help.” Tawny glanced back at the dog waiting patiently on the table. “I need to get back to the rescue center. Take good care of him.”
“I will.”
No sooner had Tawny left than Dr. Fredericks and his wife, Miranda, who was the clinic’s veterinarian surgeon, returned. “What do we have here?” he asked as his wife looked on.
Ariel explained about Buster being found in the road. “I didn’t detect any broken bones, but I haven’t had time to take an X-ray. I think he’s just scared.”
He nodded. “I’ll check him out. Why don’t you head on out. I know you said you wanted to visit your brother today.”
