Exhaling, Peri retreated into the reception area, smiling wanly at the second receptionist who was separating the “bring your pet in for a visit” cards the printer was spewing out. The diploma on the wall said Howard Lamms—which would be better than Squirrel, but not much. God save me from amateurs, she thought, her tension returning threefold.
Earlier, she’d grabbed a quick and lonely meal at a sandwich shop, where she’d borrowed an actual phone book—she hadn’t seen one since she was a little girl—to scope out the vets in a fifteen-mile radius. From there she’d prioritized them by how many doctors each had on staff under the assumption that if “Squirrel” was stealing meds, he wouldn’t want a partner around to have to explain things to.
Peri was currently standing with her box of rocks in the third office she’d tried. She didn’t have a lot of hope, but there were six more addresses on her list with multiple doctors if this last one didn’t pan out. She felt naked for having wiped off the anti-facial-recognition smut, but using it outside of large public places garnered more unwanted notice than not. It didn’t help that it’d gotten dark, but what bothered her most was that Allen was filling Silas with lies that were easier to believe than her truth.
A door slammed, and adrenaline surged as she heard a familiar voice shout, “Susie, will you take Buddy for his walk? The auto walker has gone fritzy again. I can’t keep the stupid thing …” Howard’s voice trailed off as he came around the archway, looking professional in a white lab coat, dreadlocks pulled back. “Flying …” He set a leash-draped drone on the counter and stared at her.
“Please. I need your help,” Peri said. “Something awful happened.”
“She has a squirrel, Doctor,” the receptionist with him said, and the silence stretched as disbelief, curiosity, and finally mistrust came over him.
“I’ll take a look,” he finally said, and relief filled her. “Exam room three. We can skip weighing her in. Has she bitten anyone? We might have to put her down to check for rabies.”
“No, she’s really very sweet-tempered.” Peri lurched into motion, the rocks sliding as she passed the front desk and entered a short hallway. “Just in a bad place and misunderstood.”
Howard held a door open for her. “Trying to help a wild animal rarely works out. The safest thing would be to turn her over to the proper authorities.”
“They’d kill her,” Peri said, meeting his eyes as she passed by him. “And she doesn’t mean any harm.”
“Wild animals seldom do,” he said sourly.
The door shut, and Peri carelessly set the box of rocks on the exam table.
“Are you crazy?” Howard almost hissed, snatching up a wand and coming at her.
“Hey!” she exclaimed, then lowered her voice as he ran it over her. “You already took the chip out. I’m clean.”
“You could have been rechipped and forgotten it.”
“I haven’t drafted,” she said as he set the wand down, beads in his hair clinking.
“You sure?”
“Pretty sure,” she said, and his eyebrows rose as he saw her doubt. “Wait,” she said as he pointed at the door for her to leave. “Opti has Silas. They caught him.” Howard’s mouth dropped, and she looked away, ashamed. “I ditched him to go back to Detroit, but Allen called me as I was hot-wiring a car, and now …” What am I doing? He’d never believe her.
“You stole a car?” he said as if that was the only thing that registered.
“You’re worried about a stupid car?” she said, then frowned at the shadow of feet passing at the thick crack under the door. “Allen admitted that Opti is rife with corruption,” she whispered. “Him. Bill.” Jack? “Allen told Silas that I set him up to be captured—that I’m in on it. They’re going to let him escape, knowing he’ll use the lies Allen is filling him with to try to shut Opti down and make me the fall guy. But Opti won’t go down; it’s too big. They’re going to frame me for everything to give the corruption in Opti the chance to bury itself deeper. Howard, you’ve got to help me.”
“How do you know my name?” the man asked, his dark eyes suddenly threatening.
“It’s on your vet certificate in the office,” she said, and Howard dropped back, grimacing.
“Allen admitted Bill is corrupt?”
She nodded, breathless, and then they both turned at the knock on the door. Not wanting anyone to come in, Peri ran a hand along the counter, knocking things over and making noise. “She got away! Oh God. I’m so sorry!” she shouted.
Howard stared, then added, “Give us a few minutes, Anne. I’ll call you if I need help.”
They waited until Anne’s footsteps shushed away, her loud conversation with the other girl up front both complaining and excited. “You’re not afraid anymore,” Howard said as he gathered a handful of cotton-tipped swabs she’d spilled.