Whisker Of Evil

15

Fair had taken charge of the carcass, immediately returning to his clinic, where he removed the head and packed it in a plastic container of dry ice to ship out to Richmond in the morning. Then he called the home of the state veterinarian, a man he liked, Dr. Bruce Akey, informing him the raccoon head would be arriving tomorrow afternoon.

All that was needed was the head, since only brain tissue would be tested. But to satisfy himself, Fair pulled blood. As he hadn’t observed the raccoon, he wasn’t going to jump to conclusions. The animal could have been suffering from other maladies. Distemper can also produce strange behavior before the suffering creature dies. An animal becomes disoriented or, in the case of a wild animal, lethargic, no longer frightened of humans.

Harry, latex gloves on, had been in the operating room with her ex. She hung up her lab coat while Fair was on the phone with Bruce.

She walked into the office as he hung up. “Well, it will be all over Crozet by the morning that we have a rabies epidemic, whether we do or don’t.”

“I know.” He glanced down at Tucker, whose metallic rabies tag was fastened to her rolled leather collar. “What do you think, Sugar?”

“Glad I’ve got my vaccination.”

“Think we could be seeing a surge in the disease?” Harry asked.

“We could. My experience is, rabies goes in cycles coming down from the north. Starts in Canada, moves into New York State, and about three years later it’s here.”

“Guess there’s nothing the Canadian government can do about it with all that wildlife.”

“And think how long our border is with Canada.” Fair stooped down to scratch Tucker’s ears. “Even if you put a ranger every hundred yards, the animals would still run through them. No, the only answer is a pill form of the vaccine.”

“How do you know wild animals will take their pills?”

“If we had access to a pill and could afford it, we could put out thousands and thousands of pills in the various foods.” He thought some more. “Corn; so many animals eat corn. And for the obligate carnivores I suppose we could grind up hamburger. It’s a start.”

“You always have good ideas.” She smiled up at him, then checked her watch, an old Bulova that had been her father’s. “Later than I think!”

“Remember how your mother used to say that time moved faster as she got older? It’s the truth.”

“I know. Kind of scares me.”

He walked her out to her old 1978 truck, Tucker bringing up the rear. He opened the door, lifted up Tucker, then kissed Harry on the cheek. “Jim said something to me. Said I ought to take one or even two partners. I suppose I should, but I like running my own ship.”

“You’d still run your own ship, but there’d be more money and more paperwork.”

“And more personalities. All I have to worry about now is Alma.” He mentioned his new secretary, as his former one had retired.

“Jim’s right. First of all, honey, you’d be doing the hiring, and you’re a good judge of character.”

“Why, thank you.”

“I guess it’s kind of like marriage: You don’t really know somebody until you live with them, but, still, you’d get a good sense of them and you could build in a trial period for both of you. And the other thing is, you aren’t forty yet but we’re both kind of closing in.”

“I know.” He smiled weakly. “Just a number.”

“It is, but everyone sure makes a big damned deal out of it. If you had partners, the practice could expand and you’d make more money and hopefully have a little more time for yourself.”

“Which I would like to spend with you.”

She climbed into the truck, closed the door, then leaned out the open window to give him a kiss on the cheek. “If you’re lucky.”