Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [179]
“Check the closet and grab a couple of jackets,” she told him. “Preferably thick, something like wool and something that’s been worn and not laundered. Maybe there are some clothes on the floor.”
She found a tennis racket leaning against the wall. She rummaged through the bureau’s drawers then noticed a tie rack on the back of the closet door. She snatched a silk pinstripe and knotted one end of the tie to the handle of the racket. She made a slipknot at the other end.
The medical examiner came back with several jackets.
“Officer Hillguard,” he instructed. “See if you can find some blankets. Detective Manx, get at the end of the bed. We’ll have you lift up the bedspread when we’re ready.
Maggie noticed Manx’s impatience did not extend to the doctor. In fact, he seemed to regard the older man as an authority figure and willingly took his post at the end of the bed.
The medical examiner handed Maggie one of the jackets, an expensive wool tweed. She sniffed the sleeve. Excellent. There was still the faint scent of perfume. She pulled the jacket on backward, pushing the sleeves over her bare arms but keeping enough at the end to ball up in her fists. Then she grabbed the tennis racket and kneeled about two feet from the bed. The doctor kneeled next to her as Officer Hillguard set a quilt and two blankets on the floor beside them.
“Are we ready?” The medical examiner glanced at all of them. “Okay, Detective Manx. Lift the bedspread up, but slowly.”
This time the dog was prepared, his eyes glazed, teeth bared, the growl deep and low. But he didn’t lunge at them. He couldn’t. Underneath the bloody mess of fur that was once white, Maggie spotted the main wound, a gash just above the shoulder and barely missing the throat. The matted fur must have temporarily stopped the bleeding.
“It’s okay, boy,” Maggie told the dog in a quiet, calm voice. “We’re going to help you. Just relax.”
She scooted closer, extending a part of the sleeve and letting it hang beyond her hand. He snapped at it, and Maggie jerked backward, almost losing her balance.
“Jesus!” she muttered. Had she completely lost her mind? She tried not to think of her aversion to needles, yet found herself wondering if the treatment for rabies was still six shots.
Maggie steadied herself. She needed to stay focused. She tried again, more slowly this time. The dog sniffed at the dangling sleeve, possibly recognizing the scent of his owner. His growl turned into a whine and then a whimper.
“It’s okay,” Maggie promised in a hushed tone, uncertain whether she was trying to convince the dog or herself. She inched closer with the tennis racket in her other hand, the tie’s loop hanging down, moving in while the dog watched and continued to whimper. She let the dog sniff the tie. He didn’t resist when she slipped it over his snout. Gently, she tightened the knot.
“How’re we gonna get him out from under there?” Officer Hillguard was now on his knees on the other side of Maggie.
“Let’s unfold one of those blankets and get it next to him.”
But as soon as Officer Hillguard’s hands got close, the dog snapped and snarled, growling and struggling against the makeshift muzzle. He jumped toward the officer, and Maggie used the opportunity to grab the dog’s collar from behind. She yanked him forward onto the blanket, all the while holding the tennis racket and keeping the muzzle tight. The dog yipped, and immediately Maggie worried that she had opened one of the wounds.
“Holy shit,” she heard Detective Manx say, but this time he kept his revolver in its holster.
“We got him.” The medical examiner stood and waved Officer Hillguard over to his side. The two men tugged on the blanket corners and pulled the dog out from under the bed. “We can use my van to transport him to Riley’s Clinic.”
Maggie sat back on her feet, only now noticing that she was soaked with perspiration.
“Shit.” Manx was back to his belligerent mood. “That means all the blood by the door and in the bathtub