Love's Taming(76)
“You can probably guess what he said!” was the reply.
“Look Annie, I know you want to help but if you were my girlfriend, I wouldn’t want you anywhere near this kind of detective work,” Carl added. “I mean, these guys sound dangerous. Crazy. Jesus, who does that to dogs?” He shook his head in disgust, then looking over to Suzanne said, “You ready to leave? I’ll walk you to your car.”
Leon looked over and nodded to him. “Thanks Carl. I’ve got a few minutes left here to finish the order.”
“Well, I’m going to check my emails from earlier,” Annie said. “I had one from a county vet that sounded promising.”
Carl and Suzanne turned back to her with concern on their faces as they were walking out. “You aren’t going to try to investigate, are you doc?” she asked.
“No! I promise guys, I won’t do anything on my own. But if it looks like one of my county colleagues has any ideas, I’ll let Shane know.”
Satisfied, Carl walked Suzanne out to her car and then headed home himself.
“I’ve got the ordering finished for the month,” Leon stated, shutting down the computer in the office. “Anything special you need me to do before I head home?”
“No, you’re good to go.”
“You still checking things out?”
“Yeah. Read this email from this veterinarian in the county next to Jefferstown.”
Leon leaned over her shoulder reading.
Hi Annie. Haven’t seen you in a long time. Still got the practice in the city? Got your email. While I don’t know any specifics about puppy mills in our area, I have my suspicions. I’ve had some clients bring in dogs they said they bought from breeders, but when I questioned them, it definitely wasn’t a breeder. The dogs were just in crates at one of the farmer’s markets that the county has during the summer months. Dogs have parasites and some signs of malnutrition. I report it when it comes in and animal control goes by the markets but nothing so far. One of our clients has hunting dogs and he mentioned that he has heard dogs barking out in the woods near the old Truman farm but he just assumed it was someone raising more hunting hounds. Other than that I can’t say that I have anything for you. Take care and if you ever get out of the city, look us up. I got married last year and we’d love to have you over. Malcolm Bursten, DMV
Leon was quiet for a moment as he finished reading. Looking down at her, he asked, “So do you think it’s worth telling Shane?”
“It can’t hurt to tell him. The dealers aren’t keeping dogs in the city or the police would have found them by now. And the counties surrounding the city are just too big and rural for them to comb through.” Shrugging, she continued, “I’ll let him know and then he can decide what to do.”
“All right, doc. I’m outta here. Shirley’s going to have dinner waiting and if I want to get a little somethin’ tonight, I best not be late!”
Laughing, she agreed, “Get home before both your dinner and Shirley get cold!”
* * *
That evening Annie shared her findings with Shane. When she had pulled her emails up on her laptop, she actually had three more from colleagues that all had some possible clues.
He looked over at her face, excited with the idea that she was helping him. Her green eyes shone with delight as her face scrunched in concentration. His concentration was diverted by the copper hair piled on top of her head and the sweet scent of honeysuckle from her bath wash. Pure fuckin’ sunshine.
Glancing over, she quickly moved her hand over her face with a look of concern. “Do I have something on my face?” she asked blushing.
Leaning over, he placed a soft kiss on her lips. “No, baby. I was just admiring the view.” He was leaning back in to take the kiss deeper when she suddenly spoke.
“Can we go this weekend and see if we can find some of these places?”
Shane jerked back, brow furrowed and ice blue eyes snapping. “What the hell are you talkin’ about? We? Baby, there is no we when it comes to this investigation. You’ve already been attacked and there is no way in hell you are getting anywhere close to this.”
Rolling her eyes, Annie turned to face him. “Shane, I’m not talking about going in, guns blazing, to break up a drug dealer’s den. I’m talking about visiting some of these places that may be puppy-mills. If they’re there and as poorly run as most, then as a vet I can get them shut down.”
He rocked back in his seat and looked at her incredulously. “Annie, the answer is no. Even if there is no drug activity, these places are dumps, and the people who run them don’t want to be found. They also don’t mind protecting their interests. They sell dogs that are poorly bred and sell them as pure-breds and make a lot of money doing it.”