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“I haven’t talked to him yet. I hope he’ll get back to me soon. If he agrees, we need to report this. But I’ll wait for Harper.”
Greg asked her another question. “Did you see anybody out there, like was the gate open or could you tell if there was a car? Did you hear anything, Lydia?”
“No. Somebody could’ve walked up the driveway, but it’s a mile and a half long. It’s not an easy walk, but if they couldn’t get in because we changed the codes, they could walk around it. The gate just goes across the driveway, but the area isn’t fully fenced until up top.”
“Unless they came from the park next door,” suggested Sally. “You know there’s a regional trail that goes right by your property line. It’s not more than a quarter-acre away, few hundred yards. Somebody could go to the regional park and climb over the cattle fence—it’s barbwire, but if they cut it, they could do it. They could make it up to your place and then back out without the use of a vehicle.”
It seemed the most logical choice.
An hour went by and still no call from the vet. They had promised an update by that time. So Lydia called them.
“Hi. This is Lydia Cunningham. I’m calling about Venom.”
“Mrs. Cunningham, the doctor will give you a call soon. We’re still working with him. He’s not finished. I’m sorry it’s taken so long, but we’ve had some things come up. The doctor will tell you everything.”
Lydia dropped the phone and sank into her lap, crying.
Sally picked her phone up “I’m sorry. She’s pretty upset. Is he still alive?”
Lydia held her breath. It was a question she hadn’t wanted to ask.
“Oh yes. It’s just that the doctor is involved in a couple other emergencies, so he hasn’t had a chance to call, but he will. Yes, Venom’s still sleeping.”
“Oh, that’s good. Thank you.” She hung up the phone and placed it on the coffee table in front of Lydia. She came around and sat next to her.
“My dear, that dog is an angel. I just don’t think there’s any way in hell God would part you guys from that beautiful animal. Have faith, Lydia, trust me. Somehow, we’ll get to the bottom of this, and Venom will have his revenge. I swear.”
Chapter 6
Sally was escortedback to her house by Danny, after refusing Lydia’s generous offer to put her up at her house overnight.
“No, I’ve been living alone too long, Lydia. Thanks, but I’m fine by myself. If the gods out there decide this should be the night that somebody wants to do me in, so be it. I’ve had a long and fruitful life. For sure though, I’ll take a big chunk out of them first.”
Everyone laughed with her fearless attitude. But Lydia was still worried for her safety.
Danny came back from Sally’s and told Lydia he was impressed with her massive art collection and antiques. “She’s kind of a pack rat, but she does have some nice things there. Nice lady. I’m sorry I offended her. And I apologized.”
“I’ll bet she turned it down again, right?” said Lydia.
“Oh yeah, she gave me a piece of her mind. Boxed my ears a bit. Scolded me for not thinking. I agreed with her and apologized again. She told me to quit doing that. Demanded it, in fact.”
“I’ll bet you learned your lesson,” said Greg.
“I never do, but it was a good wake-up call. So what’s up? Any news?”
“You mean in the ten minutes you’ve been gone?” Lydia answered.
“Just trying to be helpful.”
“No, nothing. It’s going to be a while, I think. I’m a little surprised Harper hasn’t called, but it’s usually for good reason. I’m not gonna try them again. It must be important.”
At just that moment, the Sonoma Valley Pet hospital called.
“Hello?” she said in anticipation.
“Hi, Lydia. This is Dr. Gordon. I’m calling to give you an update on Venom. His vitals are stable. We are still slightly concerned about his breathing, though that has also improved slightly. I’m going to keep him under sedation and on oxygen, with your blessing, of course. We’ll continue to give him fluids, and we’ll run bloodwork again periodically to make sure nothing has changed since admittance. Typically, we recommend a minimum of two days on fluids with monitoring after poison ingestion, but if his respirations stabilize and he seems calm, we’ll likely wake him up tomorrow.”
“Do whatever’s best, Dr. Gordon. That’s great news.”
