Hair of the Dog by Susan Slater Read Free Book Online Page B

thirty-two paws digging into the surface. It gets torn up quickly.”
    â€œAnything else in the barn?”
    â€œOnly the usual lawn equipment—riding mowers, that sort of thing. And that’s Fred’s domain. You might want to get a hold of him for a tour. He doesn’t like just anybody poking around.”
    Dan didn’t think he needed to see the barn. Couldn’t think of a good reason anyway. Maybe another day. He made a note of Fred’s name. As usual, this was a puzzle. A challenged young man sitting in jail possibly without a good reason as to why; five urns on a desk; a hefty insurance payout; and, oh yes, lest he forget, a dead body.
    â€œDo you have time to talk with the track vet? He asked me to bring you by.”
    Dan jerked back to the present. The vet was on his list, “Sure, now’s a good time.”
    Melody led him down an east hallway and left him at the door to Kevin Elliot’s office. A quick knock got him inside the immaculate office/lab/treatment room. Absolutely spotless and without any damage from the fire. The man behind the desk was probably his age, early fifties, salt and pepper hair, receding hairline, but crisply decked out in a freshly starched, white lab coat over faded jeans.
    Kevin Elliott motioned him in. “Have a seat. I’d like to help in any way that I can.”
    Dan settled into a chair opposite the vet and took out the iPad. “I appreciate the time. I’d like to clear up a few things for starters.”
    â€œFire away.”
    â€œWere you the first on the scene? That is, after Fucher Crumm and Jackson Sanchez.”
    â€œYes, I was on my way into the office that morning. About five. Working early in the day is about the only time I can get paperwork done. It gets pretty crazy during race time. I’m more or less 24/7 around here and I’d just finished inoculating about thirty dogs for kennel cough—didn’t get out of here until around eight in the evening. I decided to go home, get something to eat and a little rest before finishing up the files.”
    â€œMaintenance crew wasn’t in yet?”
    â€œTheir day usually starts around six or six-thirty.”
    â€œDid you call in the fire?”
    â€œYeah. I thought I saw smoke from over this way coming down Williamson Boulevard. I called it in the minute I turned into the back lot. Flames were through the roof by then. Volusia FD got here in under ten minutes.”
    â€œBut by that time you’d already found the five dogs that had died?”
    â€œThey were stacked up against the side door. It took a little muscle to just get the door open a couple inches—ended up breaking a window and crawling in. That’s when I found them. I bagged up each of them and carried them out to my truck.”
    â€œAbout how long had they been dead?”
    â€œNot long. Maybe only a matter of minutes. The fire was hot—blistering the paint on the walls in that end of the corridor. And any escape had been cut off—the fire closed in behind them. If I’d only been ten minutes earlier…These were dogs I’d cared for since they were whelped.” Kevin reached across the desk for a couple Kleenex and blew his nose. “They weren’t pretty to look at.”
    â€œI can understand. I’m a dog owner and it would be very difficult to lose my pet under these circumstances. When was Ms. Halifax alerted to the severity of the situation?”
    â€œI’m afraid not until somewhat later when I was on my way to the crematorium. By the time I had the bodies in the truck, the fire department was here and things went from barely controlled craziness to all-out chaos.”
    â€œDid you check on the other dogs at this time?”
    â€œI made sure they were safe, of course. Fucher did a hell of a job keeping forty-five dogs out of harm’s way.”
    â€œIf he was able to save forty-five, how could five have been