have everything locked up. I don’t leave any food out that he could reach. Everything is in containers. Jace, were any of them knocked down?”
“No. Nothing was out of place. But someone had broken into Stella’s house. They smashed a window and came in the front door.”
“Was your dog loose or in a crate?” Katelyn then asked.
“Loose. He never gets into trouble,” Stella answered.
“Poison,” Katelyn said with certainty. “They probably fed him treats so he would let them inside. Jace, do you have any hydrogen peroxide in your car?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be there in five minutes, but if you can, get him to swallow some. It will induce vomiting. I want to see what he’s eaten. I’ll see you there, okay?”
“Yup,” Jace said, hanging up. “My bag is behind you. Grab it and I’ll give it to him as soon as I get there.”
Jace’s phone rang again and he answered it.
“It’s Luke. I’m going to pass you to escort you to wherever it is you’re going.”
“Vet clinic.”
Jace hung up again and didn’t slow a bit as the cruiser flew past him. They raced toward Keeneston before making a sharp turn and then down another street.
“Hang on.”
Jace turned hard into a parking lot and stopped. A deputy Stella hadn’t met yet pulled open her door while Jace picked up Jimmy and placed in him the grass at the edge of the parking lot.
“Hi. I’m Luke Tanner. You must be Miss Winters. I’m here for your safety.”
“He has a gun,” Stella blurted.
“Miss Winters,” Luke said kindly. “Everyone in this town has a gun.”
“I need the peroxide!” Jace yelled and Stella was snapped back to focus solely on Jace and Jimmy.
“Let me, Miss Winters.” Luke grabbed the bottle and ran far faster than Stella could on her wobbly legs. She stumbled over and watched as Jace measured out a certain amount and then poured it into Jimmy’s mouth. He held her dog’s snout up and rubbed his throat. She saw when Jimmy finally swallowed, but the relief didn’t last. He didn’t throw up instantly like she thought he would. Instead, he just laid there as Jace listened to his heart.
Two headlights turned into the lot and then Katelyn shot out of the car, clad in a tank top, sleep shorts, and barefoot. Her blonde hair was up in a messy bun, and regardless of being in her sixties, she still looked as if she has just stepped off the set of a photo shoot. “Get him inside.”
Jace lifted Jimmy as Katelyn opened the door and flipped on the light. Jace followed her with Jimmy in his arms as Luke helped escort Stella. Stella couldn’t tell anything about the clinic as her eyes were glued to Jace and Jimmy as they made their way through an exam room and into the back.
“Put him here,” Katelyn ordered and Stella looked strangely at what looked to be an elevated shallow metal bathtub with a wire baking rack over it.
Jace stretched Jimmy out on the rack as Katelyn slipped her feet into rubber shoes and slapped some gloves on her hands. She opened Jimmy’s mouth and pressed her fingers to his gums. “See how my finger indentation doesn’t turn that much whiter and see how long it takes for color to fill in after I remover my finger?”
Stella nodded as Jace moved to stand by her. He wrapped his arm around her for support.
“It means he’s low on oxygen. What’s his name again?”
“Jimmy,” Stella said through the lump in her throat.
Katelyn shoved her face in Jimmy’s mouth. She pulled back his lips and examined his teeth. “Certain poisons have a scent. I don’t smell them here. I’m going to hook him up to an IV and start him on fluids while I draw blood and run some tests.”
Stella nodded again and watched numbly as Katelyn worked to save her dog. After a patch of hair on his leg was shaved and Katelyn had drawn blood from the dog’s neck, she inserted the IV. “I’ll be right back. Yell if anything happens.”
Katelyn rushed off and Stella stepped forward slowly. She reached a shaking hand out to rub over Jimmy’s head. “Fight, please. I love you. I’m so sorry this happened. Come back to me, Jimmy.”
The tears broke free then as Stella placed her forehead on Jimmy’s and cried. Jimmy suddenly jerked and Jace pulled Stella back. “He’s throwing up,” he told her and she held her. Stella gripped Jace’s arm hard as she watched her dog battle for his life.
“He’s