“Let’s see if we can get together for a meeting this afternoon. Full staff, including interns, and any of the volunteers who can attend.”
She walked back and peeked into Medical. “Where’s Bill?”
Matt turned. “I cleared him. Tansy’s taking him back. Good to see you, Lil.”
They didn’t hug-it wasn’t Matt’s style-but shook hands, and warmly. He was about her father’s age, with thinning hair streaked with gray, and wire-rimmed glasses over brown eyes.
He was no idealist, as she suspected Eric was, but he was a damn fine vet, and one willing to work for pitiful pay.
“I’d better get back. I’ll try to cut Farley loose some tomorrow, so he can give you a couple hours.” Joe tapped a finger on Lil’s nose. “You need anything, you call.”
“I will. I’ll pick up the stuff on your list later, drop it off.”
He went out the back.
“Meeting later,” she told Matt, and leaned on a counter that held trays and bins of medical supplies. The air smelled, familiarly, of antiseptic and animal. “I’d like you to brief me, and the rest, on the health and medical needs of the animals. Lunchtime would be best. Then I can do a supply run.”
“Can do.”
“Tell me about our newest resident. Xena?”
Matt smiled, and the amusement lightened his often serious face. “Lucius named her that. It seems to have stuck. She’s an old girl. A good eight years old.”
“Top of the scale for the wild,” Lil commented.
“Tough girl. Scars to prove it. She took a pretty hard hit. The driver did more than most people do. She called us, and stayed in the car until we got there, even followed us back here. Xena was too injured to move. We immobilized and transported, got her in here, into surgery.” He shook his head, removing his glasses to polish the lenses on his lab coat. “It was touch and go, given her age.”
Lil thought of Sam. “But she’s recovering.”
“Like I said, tough girl. At her age, and given the leg’s never going to be a hundred percent, I wouldn’t recommend releasing her. I don’t think she’d last a month.”
“Well, she can consider this her retirement home.”
“Listen, Lil, you know at least one of us has been staying at night while you were in the field. I was on a couple nights ago. Just as well, as I’d had to extract a tooth that morning from the queen mum.”
Lil thought of their ancient lion. “Poor grandma. She’s not going to have a tooth left at this rate. How’d she do?”
“She’s the Energizer Bunny of lions. But the thing is, there was something out there.”
“Sorry?”
“Something or someone was out there, around the habitats. I checked the webcam, and didn’t see anything. But hell, it’s pretty damn dark at two in the morning, even with the security lights. But something had the animals stirred up. A lot of screaming and roaring and howling.”
“Not the usual nocturnal business?”
“No. I went out, but I couldn’t find anything.”
“Any tracks?”
“I don’t have your eye, but we looked the next morning. No animal tracks, no new ones. We thought-we think-there were human ones. Not ours. No way to be sure, but there were tracks around some of the cages, and we’d had some snow after the last feeding of the day, so I don’t know how else there’d have been fresh tracks.”
“None of the animals were hurt? Any locks tampered with?” she added when he shook his head.
“We couldn’t find anything, nothing touched, taken. I know how it sounds, Lil, but when I went out, it felt like someone was there. Watching me. I just want you to keep an eye out, make sure you lock your doors.”
“Okay. Thanks, Matt. Let’s all be careful.”
There were strange people out there, she thought as she put her coat back on. From the No Animal Should Be in Prison-as some thought of a refuge-to Animals Are Meant to Be Hunted and Killed. And everything in between.
They got calls, letters, e-mails from both ends of the spectrum. Some with threats. And they’d had the occasional trespasser. But so far, there’d been no trouble.
She wanted to keep it that way.
She’d go have a look around herself. Odds were, after a couple of days there would be nothing for her to find. But she had to look.
She shot a wave to Lucius, opened the door.
And nearly walked straight into Cooper.
7
It was a toss-up who was more surprised, and disconcerted. But it was Lil who jolted back, even if she recovered quickly. She plastered on a smile and put a friendly laugh in her voice.
“Well, hi, Coop.”
“Lil. I didn’t know you were back.”
“Yesterday.” She couldn’t read his face, his eyes. Both, so familiar, simply didn’t speak to her. “Coming in?”
“Ah, no. You got a package-your place got a package,” he corrected, and handed it to her. He wasn’t wearing gloves, she noted, and his heavy jacket was carelessly open to the cold.
“I was sending something off for my grandmother, and since I was heading back to the farm, they asked if I’d mind dropping it off.”
“Thanks.” She set it aside, then stepped out and closed the door rather than let the heat pump out. She fixed her hat on her head, the same flat-brimmed style she’d always favored. Standing on the porch, she pulled on one of her gloves. It gave her something to do as he watched her in silence. “How’s Sam? I just heard yesterday that he’d gotten hurt.”
“Good, physically. It’s hard on him, not being able to do everything he wants, get around the way he did.”
“I’m going by later.”
“He’ll like that. They both will.” He slid his hands into his pockets, kept those cool blue eyes on her face. “How was South America?”
“Busy, and fascinating.” She pulled on her other glove as they walked down the steps. “Mom said you’d sold your detective agency.”
“I was done with it.”
“You did a lot, left a lot, to help two people who needed you.” The finality in his voice, the flatness in it had her stopping. “It counts, Cooper.”
He only shrugged. “I was ready for a change anyway. This is one.” He glanced around. “You’ve added more since I was here.”
She walked back and peeked into Medical. “Where’s Bill?”
Matt turned. “I cleared him. Tansy’s taking him back. Good to see you, Lil.”
They didn’t hug-it wasn’t Matt’s style-but shook hands, and warmly. He was about her father’s age, with thinning hair streaked with gray, and wire-rimmed glasses over brown eyes.
He was no idealist, as she suspected Eric was, but he was a damn fine vet, and one willing to work for pitiful pay.
“I’d better get back. I’ll try to cut Farley loose some tomorrow, so he can give you a couple hours.” Joe tapped a finger on Lil’s nose. “You need anything, you call.”
“I will. I’ll pick up the stuff on your list later, drop it off.”
He went out the back.
“Meeting later,” she told Matt, and leaned on a counter that held trays and bins of medical supplies. The air smelled, familiarly, of antiseptic and animal. “I’d like you to brief me, and the rest, on the health and medical needs of the animals. Lunchtime would be best. Then I can do a supply run.”
“Can do.”
“Tell me about our newest resident. Xena?”
Matt smiled, and the amusement lightened his often serious face. “Lucius named her that. It seems to have stuck. She’s an old girl. A good eight years old.”
“Top of the scale for the wild,” Lil commented.
“Tough girl. Scars to prove it. She took a pretty hard hit. The driver did more than most people do. She called us, and stayed in the car until we got there, even followed us back here. Xena was too injured to move. We immobilized and transported, got her in here, into surgery.” He shook his head, removing his glasses to polish the lenses on his lab coat. “It was touch and go, given her age.”
Lil thought of Sam. “But she’s recovering.”
“Like I said, tough girl. At her age, and given the leg’s never going to be a hundred percent, I wouldn’t recommend releasing her. I don’t think she’d last a month.”
“Well, she can consider this her retirement home.”
“Listen, Lil, you know at least one of us has been staying at night while you were in the field. I was on a couple nights ago. Just as well, as I’d had to extract a tooth that morning from the queen mum.”
Lil thought of their ancient lion. “Poor grandma. She’s not going to have a tooth left at this rate. How’d she do?”
“She’s the Energizer Bunny of lions. But the thing is, there was something out there.”
“Sorry?”
“Something or someone was out there, around the habitats. I checked the webcam, and didn’t see anything. But hell, it’s pretty damn dark at two in the morning, even with the security lights. But something had the animals stirred up. A lot of screaming and roaring and howling.”
“Not the usual nocturnal business?”
“No. I went out, but I couldn’t find anything.”
“Any tracks?”
“I don’t have your eye, but we looked the next morning. No animal tracks, no new ones. We thought-we think-there were human ones. Not ours. No way to be sure, but there were tracks around some of the cages, and we’d had some snow after the last feeding of the day, so I don’t know how else there’d have been fresh tracks.”
“None of the animals were hurt? Any locks tampered with?” she added when he shook his head.
“We couldn’t find anything, nothing touched, taken. I know how it sounds, Lil, but when I went out, it felt like someone was there. Watching me. I just want you to keep an eye out, make sure you lock your doors.”
“Okay. Thanks, Matt. Let’s all be careful.”
There were strange people out there, she thought as she put her coat back on. From the No Animal Should Be in Prison-as some thought of a refuge-to Animals Are Meant to Be Hunted and Killed. And everything in between.
They got calls, letters, e-mails from both ends of the spectrum. Some with threats. And they’d had the occasional trespasser. But so far, there’d been no trouble.
She wanted to keep it that way.
She’d go have a look around herself. Odds were, after a couple of days there would be nothing for her to find. But she had to look.
She shot a wave to Lucius, opened the door.
And nearly walked straight into Cooper.
7
It was a toss-up who was more surprised, and disconcerted. But it was Lil who jolted back, even if she recovered quickly. She plastered on a smile and put a friendly laugh in her voice.
“Well, hi, Coop.”
“Lil. I didn’t know you were back.”
“Yesterday.” She couldn’t read his face, his eyes. Both, so familiar, simply didn’t speak to her. “Coming in?”
“Ah, no. You got a package-your place got a package,” he corrected, and handed it to her. He wasn’t wearing gloves, she noted, and his heavy jacket was carelessly open to the cold.
“I was sending something off for my grandmother, and since I was heading back to the farm, they asked if I’d mind dropping it off.”
“Thanks.” She set it aside, then stepped out and closed the door rather than let the heat pump out. She fixed her hat on her head, the same flat-brimmed style she’d always favored. Standing on the porch, she pulled on one of her gloves. It gave her something to do as he watched her in silence. “How’s Sam? I just heard yesterday that he’d gotten hurt.”
“Good, physically. It’s hard on him, not being able to do everything he wants, get around the way he did.”
“I’m going by later.”
“He’ll like that. They both will.” He slid his hands into his pockets, kept those cool blue eyes on her face. “How was South America?”
“Busy, and fascinating.” She pulled on her other glove as they walked down the steps. “Mom said you’d sold your detective agency.”
“I was done with it.”
“You did a lot, left a lot, to help two people who needed you.” The finality in his voice, the flatness in it had her stopping. “It counts, Cooper.”
He only shrugged. “I was ready for a change anyway. This is one.” He glanced around. “You’ve added more since I was here.”
