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“Alright. I’ll be at your house in ten.” Garrett ends the call.
We swing by Jess’s house first, but like yesterday, there’s still no sign that she’s home.
The vet clinic is in an old house off Main Street. The small parking lot is empty except for a single car. The early morning sun promises a warm day, the blue sky reflecting in the puddles scattered on the ground.
I ring the after-hours doorbell. A few minutes later, Ambrosia opens the door, her textured curls a cloud around her smiling bronze face. “Troy? Garrett? What are you doing here?”
“I came to see Bailey, Jessica Smithson’s dog. And I wanted to ask you a few questions.”
She looks behind me. “Where’s Jessica?”
“I’m hoping you can tell me.”
Ambrosia’s forehead pinches into a confused frown. “Why are you hoping I know where she is?”
“She’s my girlfriend and she’s gone missing,” I explain. “And I’m hoping you can tell me something from when she was here yesterday that might give me a clue where she vanished to.”
“I’m not really sure I’ll be much help, but c’mon in. I bet Bailey would love to have a visitor.” Ambrosia opens the door and leads me to the room where the sick animals are housed. Each animal is in a cage with blankets. The sharp tang of pine disinfectant lingers in the air.
Bailey is in a large cage, big enough for her to lie down in but not do much else.
Like a number of the animals in the room, she lifts her head and gazes in our direction.
Ambrosia unlocks the metal door and steps aside so I can stroke Jess’s puppy.
“Hey, girl. How’re you doing? I don’t suppose you have any idea where Jess went?”
Bailey whimpers.
“How’s she doing?” I ask Ambrosia.
“Definitely better than when she came in yesterday. Her poor owner was scared Bailey wasn’t going to make it.”
“She loves Bailey.” For so many reasons. “You talked to her yesterday? Jess, I mean.”
“Not really. It was Dr. Cummingham who mostly spoke to her. She was too stressed to talk to anyone else when she first arrived.”
“Is he coming in today?” I continue stroking Bailey, doing my best to make up for Jess not being here.
“No, not unless there’s an emergency. He’s on call.”
“Do you have his number? I need to find out what he and Jess talked about.”
“I’m not supposed to give out any of the vets’ home numbers.” Hesitancy lingers in Ambrosia’s words.
“It’s an emergency. Maybe he knows where she is.”
Ambrosia glances at Bailey, who chooses that moment to flash her sorrowful pleading puppy eyes. “Okay, let me check with him.”
Ambrosia leaves the room and returns a few minutes later. She picks up the phone receiver on the wall, punches in a few digits, and hands it to me. “He’ll talk to you.”
I take it from her. “Hello, Dr. Cummingham?” I say into the phone.
“Yes. Ambrosia said you want to talk to me because you think I might know something that will help you find your missing girlfriend?”
“That’s right.” I’ve known Dr. Cummingham for forever. He used to come to my elementary school when my brothers and I were kids and talk about his job as a veterinarian. He knows me. Trusts me. I hope.
“I’m not sure how much I can help you, but I can try.”
