Patricia Fry - Klepto Cat 03 - Sleight of Paw Read Free Page B

screaming. Dr. Jordan screamed.”
    “Yes, I did.” She smiled weakly at the boy. “It’s Dr. Ivey now, Steven.”
    “Oh, I didn’t know that.” He looked down at his hands as he fidgeted with the end of the dog leash for a few seconds. Taking a deep breath, he continued, “I could see Dr. Ivey—um—the guy vet, and this dude fighting through the window.”
    “Did you see who started the fight?”
    “No.”
    “Did you hear what they were saying?”
    “Yes.” He pointed in the direction that Ben had taken Pete Gamble and said, “He was swearing at Dr. Ivey and accusing him of killing his dog.” Again, looking down, he ruffled the fur on Princess’s head while mumbling, “That’s about all I heard.”
    “Did you hear either of these men threaten the other?”
    Steven promptly raised his head, his eyes wide and riveted on the deputy’s. “Yeah,” he announced. “The other guy said he was going to kill Dr. Ivey. Um, I think he meant the guy Dr. Ivey.”
    “Okay, Steven, thank you. Can I have your phone number in case we need to ask you any more questions?”
    “Sure. And I’m the one who called you.”
    “Yes, I guess we got two calls. You made the first call. Thank you for doing that.”
    “Yes, thank you so much, Steven,” Savannah said as she limped over to the boy, giving him a hug and petting his energetic Aussie with affection. “How’s she doing?” she asked.
    “Great!” Steven smiled. “She’s a super dog. Thanks for finding her for us.”
    Savannah looked over at Steven. “Thank you for taking such good care of her.”
    The boy’s round face brightened. “Wanna see a trick I taught her?”
    “Sure do.” Savannah glanced back at Michael and Deputy Jim before hobbling after the boy and dog out into the parking lot. Once outside, she noticed that Pete Gamble was sitting in the back of a patrol car. She led Steven off to the other side of the large parking lot.
    In the meantime, Jim pulled a chair around to face Michael, sat down, and asked, “So what happened, Dr. Mike?”
    Michael looked up at him. “It was surreal. I performed surgery on his dog. Everything was going well. But something happened overnight—we don’t know what—and the dog died.” He took a deep breath and then coughed. He hugged his middle and bent over a little. “Dang, I guess I have a bruised rib cage.”
    Jim winced. “The paramedics are on their way.” He looked down at his notes. “So the dog died…”
    “Yes, and when I called to tell Pete the bad news, he came unglued…began swearing and making awful accusations. He wanted to come and pick up the dog, which was okay with me. I figured he’d calm down by the time he got here. But, no. He came in here bent on hurting someone—namely me.” Michael leaned forward a little in the chair, his left arm wrapped around his rib cage. Several strands of his straight dark-brown hair hung over one brow.
    “What did he say to you?”
    “He said he was going to kill me.” He choked up a little. “He also threatened Savannah.” Taking a ragged breath, he looked up at the deputy. “He said he would ruin our reputation in this town.”
    “Who struck the first blow, Dr. Mike?” Jim asked, pen and pad poised.
    “I think he did. I mean, he came at me with that club and I couldn’t do much except try to protect myself. When he pushed Savannah and threatened her, that really got my blood boiling and I knew I had to find a way to stop him or one of us…or both…well, someone was going to suffer some serious damage. So I tried to remember some of the moves from my old wrestling days and went from protection mode to, you might say, combat mode. Somehow, I was able to take control and, well, then you got here.”
    “Ever have anything like this happen before?” Jim asked.
    “Never!” Michael said. “Like I told Savannah earlier, I’ve seen a lot of emotions when I’ve had to deliver sad news to a pet owner, but never such outrageous