A Whisker of Suspicion, page 1
A Whisker of Suspicion
Riverbend K-9s
Book Three
K.T. Lee
Copyright © 2023 by Vertical Line Publishing, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, sold, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission, except for statuary uses, the use of brief quotations in a book review, and other quotations with appropriate reference.
K.T. Lee
www.ktleeauthor.com
Publisher’s Note: This work of fiction is a product of the writer’s overactive imagination. It is not intended to be a factual representation of events, people, locales, businesses, government agencies, or wildlife biology. Names are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, is completely coincidental. Resemblance to the writer’s dogs, past and present, however, is almost guaranteed.
A Whisker of Suspicion/ K.T. Lee - 1st ed.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-947870-24-6
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-947870-26-0
Hardback ISBN: 978-1-947870-25-3
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Cover Design by Rachel Lawston
For my family
A Whisker of Suspicion
Wildlife veterinarian Dr. Veronica Perry travels the world to help animals in need. When Riverbend Animal Conservation Center offers her a chance to lead their veterinary team while helping repopulate endangered species in her own backyard, Veronica can’t turn it down. It doesn’t hurt that living in Riverbend, Indiana, will also give her the chance to help train Luna, a foster puppy for Riverbend K-9 Academy’s wildlife detection program.
Kai Torres is the head zookeeper at RACC. When his longtime friend, Veronica, joins their team, they work together to help restore RACC’s new land conservancy, just a few miles away from Riverbend. Restoring the abandoned land will be well worth it both for native species and for Riverbend itself, especially after they discover that two Riverbend citizens have been attacked nearby.
However, after Veronica and Kai believe RACC’s land is finally safe, Luna starts finding scents where they don’t expect them. Too late, they realize that the person responsible for the attacks is using RACC’s land conservancy as a cover for a more nefarious crime. And they’ll do whatever it takes to make sure Veronica and Kai don’t discover the truth.
A Whisker of Suspicion is Book 3 in the Riverbend K-9 Series. All books in the Riverbend K-9 Series may be enjoyed as standalone novels or as a series.
Prologue
Just outside Riverbend, Indiana, a man pulled critical supplies from his duffel bag. Concealed by a circle of trees in a long-neglected wood, he listened for signs he wasn’t alone. Birds chirped in the distance and a peaceful breeze blew, his surroundings belying the potential danger of his work. His new venture would take some finesse, and the last thing he needed was to be discovered.
A twig snapped behind him, and he jumped, pulling out his shotgun. Something had triggered the trap he’d set outside the perimeter of the small clearing. He’d been clear with his team that no one was to be in the area while he worked. A loud rustling in the bushes made his heart pound faster, and he tightened his finger on the trigger. He’d worked too hard and too long to get caught now. He scanned his surroundings, but the intruder, too, was hidden by the brush he was using for cover. More branches snapped. This time, within feet of his position. He drew in a sharp breath and fired his gun towards the noise. Then, he ran.
Chapter 1
Dr. Veronica Perry crested a hill in her little hybrid SUV and took a moment to appreciate the wide-open Indiana countryside. She’d been in so many different big cities lately that driving to Riverbend Animal Conservation Center while listening to her favorite music was comparatively relaxing. She didn’t even get stuck behind a tractor this time. The music stopped, replaced by the sound of her phone ringing. Kai Torres, the head zookeeper at RACC, was calling. A selfie of them in front of the RACC entrance appeared. Her eyes darted to the clock on her dashboard. She wasn’t supposed to meet him in Riverbend for another half hour. Veronica pressed a button on her steering wheel. “Hey, Kai. What’s up?”
Kai was a little breathless. “Hey, V. How far out are you?”
Veronica tapped her thumb against the steering wheel. “Maybe fifteen minutes? I’m running early.”
“Oh good. Come straight to the animal hospital. I’ll meet you out front.”
“Oh no. What happened?” Veronica’s stomach sank. She’d worked with Kai long enough to know that anything that would cause him to panic had to be about an animal.
“We had a local resident drop off a bobcat. Injured. They found her in a field, bleeding and wrapped in a bit of wire fence, which they removed. Our travel vet left last night, and the cat’s not breathing well, V. Her leg is pretty beat up, but I can’t see much else. This is the first wild bobcat we’ve ever seen in Riverbend. It’d be a tragedy to lose her.”
“I’ll be there as quick as I can.” Veronica pushed down on the accelerator, going as fast as she could without risking a speeding ticket.
“Come in one piece, okay? The last thing I need is two injured animals.”
Veronica chuckled and passed a slow-moving truck. “Will do, Kai. Get my operating room set up?”
“Already on it. The techs are laying everything out and will start prepping her as soon as you give the go ahead. How do you feel about operating on an injured bobcat?”
“As long as we can get her sedated, I feel just fine about it. I’ll be there in ten minutes. Give me sixty seconds to get from the parking lot to the hospital. Have someone holding the door and have gloves ready.”
“You got it, V. See you soon.”
Ten minutes later, Veronica jumped out of her SUV and slammed the door behind her, locking the door and stuffing her keys into her pocket in one fluid motion. She jogged to the small cinder block outbuilding RACC had designated as their animal hospital. RACC had recently lost their head veterinarian, and she was one of the crew of part-time vets they’d been using until they could find a replacement. When she got close to the building, Kai opened the door for her. Once she was inside, he walked with her. “Okay, we have an adult bobcat. Female, no parasites. There was fresh blood around the damage to her right front leg. Her X-rays should be done by now. She was lying pretty still, so we got them without sedating her.”
Veronica frowned. A wild animal that didn’t need sedation indicated a severe problem. “Copies of the X-rays?”
“Should be ready for you inside. Scrub in and we’ll get our cat anesthetized. She’s got pain control now, but with the blood loss, I’m not sure how long she’s got.”
“Do we have donor blood?” Veronica looked at Kai hopefully.
His warm brown eyes held relief. “Miraculously, we’ve got some in the freezer from a previous surgery on a captive animal. Already thawing.”
“You’re a lifesaver. Thank you.”
Kai nodded. “Thank me after our patient makes it through. She’s got the best vet I know on the case, though, so at least she’s got one lucky break.”
They reached the sink outside the operating room, and Veronica washed her hands. “We have a weight?”
“It’s waiting for you inside!” one of Riverbend’s techs shouted through the open door. “Already measured out the dose. Just need you to confirm.”
“I love you, Asha. You’re amazing.” Veronica finished washing up, taking extra care to clean under her nails. A calm settled over her as she efficiently dried her hands and put on a pair of gloves. At age eight, Veronica Perry declared she was going to be a veterinarian when she grew up. However, unlike many of her school friends who later selected biology, teaching, or art, Veronica had never wavered. Nor had she had any doubt about her career choice. Particularly in the middle of an emergency.
“I love you, too. Now show me by getting your tush in here, Doctor.” Asha shot her a look. Her eye makeup framed her intelligent hazel eyes, the only parts of her face visible above her mask and under her cap. Once Veronica confirmed all the key details, Asha administered the anesthetic, and they got to work.
In addition to the deep cuts on her leg, there was a fracture through the cat’s radius. However, something about the fracture wasn’t quite right. Veronica looked at the X-ray. A small, round object in the leg practically glowed against the dark background of the image. Veronica cursed. “She wasn’t just caught in a fence. Someone shot this animal.”
Veronica worked with her team to treat the affected area, paying close attention to the damaged limb. Unfortunately, it wasn’t her first gunshot wound. After some effort to minimize tissue damage, she used a pair of tweezers to retrieve what looked like birdshot from the cat’s leg. She checked one more time to ensure they had removed all the metal before setting the fracture and closing the wound. When Veronica was satisfied, she reversed the anesthesia, stood up, and stretched out her back. The cat was going to be okay.
Asha looked at her, one eyebrow raised. “Morning, Doc. Welcome back to Riverbend.”
Chapter 2
Once Veronica had moved her patient to a small enclosure to recover, she sat down at a familiar old computer to write up the report. She dictated all key details about the case, uploaded the X-rays, and added a picture of the birdshot she’d extracted.
Kai’s notes said that a man named Everett Armstrong found the bobcat injured on his family’s farmland and brought her in. Veronica sighed at the baggie holding the birdshot and conside
Asha Adams knocked softly and stood in the doorway. “Thanks for jumping in, Doc. Glad to see you.”
Veronica looked up from the computer. “Are you only able to take patients when I’m here?”
Asha grimaced, walking further into the office. “To a point. We can do the basics, but we usually have to send them to the next closest facility. We’ve been… short.”
“Short” was one way to describe what had happened. The FBI had found animal traffickers at RACC a few months ago. Since then, many of Veronica’s colleagues had steered clear of the rescue center. It was only human nature. Unfortunately, human nature had put RACC and their animals up the metaphorical creek without a paddle. Or rather, put them in the position to constantly borrow paddles before they got swept away. It wasn’t sustainable.
Veronica rubbed her neck. According to her agency’s contract, she too was only allowed to fill in, not take over, or she’d offer to help them full time. RACC was small, but no one had a bigger heart for animals than Kai and his conservation center. Despite what their run of bad luck might suggest.
“Okay.” Veronica blew out a breath. “I can reach out to some of my contacts, see if I can get you more coverage, too.” She looked at Asha meaningfully. “And I’ll let them know there are a lot of good people in Riverbend. Including”—she glanced down at her notes—“Everett Armstrong.”
Asha put her hands on her hips. “You’re more on the nose than you realize. Everett’s uncle, Ashton, is the guy who tried to buy our clouded leopard cub illegally. I suspect Everett was willing to go out of his way to prove not everyone in his family treats animals like garbage.”
Veronica smiled. “Well, there you go. His point was proven, and an animal was saved. Even though I don’t envy his family reunions.”
“Me neither.” Asha clipped a few loose papers neatly together before dropping them in a file cabinet. “The Armstrongs did their good deed for the week. Everett’s brother, Nash, even drove him here in his brand-new truck. He made Everett sit in the bed of his truck with the injured cat, but it was still a team effort.”
Veronica snorted. The Armstrong brothers probably had no idea that they were getting sized up by Riverbend’s most observant vet tech when they dropped off their rescue. “Making him sit in the back definitely sounds like a brother thing.” Veronica looked back at her computer wistfully. “And for what it’s worth, I’ll do what I can while I’m here.”
“It’s appreciated, V. You can’t save the entire world, though.”
Veronica stood up and laid her hand on Asha’s shoulder. “Wish I could, though.”
“You let us take care of Roberta, and we’ll let you make some headway on that.”
“Roberta?” Veronica cocked an eyebrow.
Asha grinned. “Bobcat. Roberta. It’s not very creative, but I like it.”
“Roberta it is, then.” Veronica reached for her coffee, then realized she hadn’t brought it in. There wasn’t much left, anyway. She might be able to squeeze in a stop at the snack stand for a fresh cup on her way to visit the clouded leopards. “Since you’re holding down the fort here, I have a to-do list I’d planned to tackle before Roberta made her dramatic entrance. Have you seen Kai?”
Kai appeared in the doorway holding a brand-new RACC travel mug in one hand and his older sky-blue mug, missing the “R” in RACC from years of use, in the other. He held out the new mug to Veronica. “Should I get out of here before you start giving me things to do?”
“Probably.” Veronica grinned and reached for the beverage. “If only everything I needed appeared the moment I asked for it. Thank you, Kai. Bringing me coffee is above and beyond.”
Kai shrugged. “You had your hands full this morning. I’m not sure it’s as good as hot tea in Nepal, or whenever you’ve been lately, but the River Bean makes the best coffee in at least a fifty-mile radius.”
“Nepal is actually tomorrow. Well, I leave tomorrow and get there… on one of the days after that.” Veronica took a sip of coffee, and it was as fantastic as she remembered. Marlene Francis, the proprietor of a local coffee shop called the River Bean, provided RACC with at-cost coffee, and it never disappointed. Kai had even added a little milk, the way she liked it. She felt a rush of affection at the gesture. “Plain black would have been a win, but remembering how I take it is worth some bonus points.”
Kai took a drink from his own mug. “I swear it tastes better now that we’re getting some cooler days. Or Marlene changed how she’s roasting the beans. I think she’s part wizard.”
“Wizard or not, any coffee I don’t have to make myself is magic. Now, let’s go see our animals.” Veronica placed the mug on a well-worn wooden table and shrugged into her jacket. It was late September in Indiana; layers were essential.
Kai led her out into the zoo, and soon Veronica was in her happy place. Walking through RACC with a warm cup of coffee, surrounded by lush trees beginning to change color, was absolute perfection. Soon, they reached her favorite animals. She really shouldn’t have favorites, but RACC’s clouded leopards were at the top of her list. Since she’d last been here, the cats had moved into a spacious new area with the permission of the newly minted director of RACC, Elise Butler.
Kai was reaching for the door to the leopard enclosure when Elise came walking towards them at a fast clip. They paused to give her time to catch up. A few seconds later, Elise pulled Veronica into a hug. “Dr. V! It’s so good to see you!”
Veronica leaned into Elise’s welcome, careful not to slosh her coffee out of her travel mug. While Veronica technically reported to an agency that managed her schedule, she regularly joked that her arrangement with the agency meant she had ten bosses instead of just one. Elise was one of the ten, although her warmth and competence made her the lowest maintenance boss on the list. She was a huge improvement over RACC’s previous director, who was now in jail for animal trafficking. “It’s good to see you, too, Elise,” Veronica said. “It’s been a while.”
Elise winced. “That’s almost certainly our fault. We’ve been sending you all over the country to relocate the animals we discovered in the outbuilding. Thank you for that, by the way. And for taking care of our rescue this morning. It’s been tough without more permanent veterinary staff, but we were lucky you were here today.”
Veronica tensed at the memory of the cramped outbuilding filled with illegally trafficked animals. It was a good thing Elise had been the one to catch the perpetrator in the act. Veronica wasn’t sure she could support the FBI’s by-the-book arrest when she would rather “borrow” one of their tasers. She was well-versed in the anatomy of many creatures and confident she could wield a taser on animal traffickers quite effectively. Veronica took another sip of coffee to distract herself from the memory of the FBI raid. “Happy to do it.”
“How long will you be staying in Riverbend this time?” Elise kept her tone casual, but Veronica now knew how desperate for help they were.
“I’m only in for the day. I’m going back to Nepal to visit our conservation partners tomorrow morning. The World Wildlife Trust asked me to help them before… you know…” She gestured broadly to the facility. “Everything.”
Elise put a hand to her heart. “Oh, well, I can hardly delay your trip with our work.”
