a deep sleep when a wet tongue swiped over her cheek.
With a groan, she shoved away the furry face. “Go away.” There was another lick and she reluctantly cracked open one eye to discover Barkley, a fifty-pound rescue mutt, perched on the bed. She’d brought the wiggling mass of goofiness home from the rescue sanctuary to give him a good grooming before his new owners picked him up at her veterinarian clinic. “Stop tugging on the sheets,” she muttered. “We need to do something about your manners. It’s far too early to play.”
As if to mock her words, a shrill alarm blasted from the nightstand.
“Arg.” Lynne glanced toward the clock that claimed it was four thirty a.m. How was it possible? She’d just closed her eyes. “Okay, okay,” she told the dog. “Let go of the covers and I’ll feed you.”
With a bark that was far too happy for this time of morning, Barkley jumped off the bed and headed to the door. Lynne grabbed a thick robe and followed at a much slower pace.
Usually she didn’t mind the ungodly hours her job demanded. She loved what she did and was always eager to enjoy the day, but her restless night had left her feeling lethargic. The unexpected death of Rudolf Jansen had obviously hit her harder than she’d realized, and combined with the sight of Kir after so many years . . . She’d been weirdly unsettled.
What she needed was a hot shower and a mug of coffee. In that order.
An hour later she’d showered, swallowed a gallon of coffee, and switched on the bedroom television as she pulled on a half dozen layers of clothing. Braving the early morning farm calls in Wisconsin wasn’t for the faint of heart. Or the underdressed.
Frostbite wasn’t a joke.
She was struggling into her coveralls when the sound of an urgent voice on the television captured her attention.
“We have breaking news exclusive to Channel Four,” a smooth male voice said as the morning talk show was replaced by a man seated behind a news desk. “The naked body of an unidentified woman was discovered on the property of Raymond Warren three miles west of Pike. The authorities confirm her death is being investigated and they are asking for citizens to contact them if they noticed anything suspicious. More details at six tonight.”
Lynne switched off the television and headed out of the house. Any crime was unusual in their small community, let alone one that involved a naked woman. She could only assume the woman had been killed somewhere else and her body dumped.
It didn’t make the story any less horrible, but it did allow Lynne to dismiss it as she concentrated on driving to the first dairy farm on her list. She had a full schedule that included a milk cow with an infected udder, a horse with an abscess on his hoof, and a newborn calf who refused to nurse. That didn’t include any emergency that might come in.
Four hours later she at last finished her rounds. Driving to her clinic, she was nearly frozen to the bone and desperately hungry, but there was no time to do more than grab another cup of coffee and a donut before dealing with the waiting room full of patients.
By noon she was sitting in her office, breathing a sigh of relief as her receptionist and two temporary interns headed out to lunch. There was blessed silence, or at least as close to silence as you could get in a clinic that had an attached kennel for those animals scheduled for surgery, or who were simply too sick to go home.
At least Barkley’s new owners had swung by to pick him up. There was nothing more satisfying than watching a neglected dog go to a family who were anxious to smother him with love.
She was sprawled limply in her chair when she heard the sound of the front buzzer. The clinic was technically closed during lunch, but everyone in town knew she was here in case of an emergency.
Rising to her feet, she walked down the hall and into the reception area of the clinic. It was a long, narrow room that was lined by plastic chairs, and at the end was a high counter for her receptionist. Eventually she hoped to build on an addition that would include a larger lobby as well as two more exam rooms. That would allow her to hire another vet to ease the workload that was threatening to