I wasn’t going to the mine. I was taking him to Urgent Care.
I ran and got Deloy, who took one look and agreed something was wrong. “It was that building inspector, I tell you, Levon! When he bent over to pet him, I saw him give him some treats of some kind.”
“Fucking hell. Did they look like regular biscuits?”
Deloy frowned. “No,” he said immediately. “White. Small round white things.”
“Fuck me dry. Breath mints. He must’ve poisoned his mints. Stay here to make sure that fucktard doesn’t come around.”
I hated to waste valuable seconds, but before I took off, I had to call Oaklyn with one hand while examining Lazarus with the other.
She answered, thank God.
“Oaklyn. The building inspector gave Lazarus poisoned mints. Call your Dr. Lee and warn him we’re coming.”
“Yes, that’s the closest doctor.” We’d already discussed how there were no veterinarians in the Avalanche area. We’d decided to take Lazarus to Lee in case of emergency. “They might not’ve been poisoned, Levon. Lots of breath mints contain xylitol, a fake sweetener which is deadly to dogs. How long ago did he eat it?”
“Maybe ten minutes.”
“You could induce vomiting then.”
“If I knew how. Look, I’ve got to ride. Lee’s only ten minutes out of town. See you there.”
I didn’t wait for a response, just flogged it down the frontage road toward Urgent Care. Halfway there I realized Lazarus was vomiting. I’d had to put his goggles on him to protect his eyes, and puke got all over them. His head rested against the edge of the sidecar. I prayed maybe he’d puked all the poison out.
It wasn’t until halfway there I realized I was crying. Big, strong, macho old me had hot tears dripping from my eyes. I can’t remember what else went through my mind on that horrible ride. A giant black pool of doom had flooded my brain, making me unable to think logically. I felt like the one about to puke. I ran stop signs and lane split between cages, always dangerous with a sidecar. When the medical building was within sight I could barely see, my eyes were so blurred.
Oaklyn must’ve flogged it in her cage, too, because she was already there, waiting out front with the doctor.
“We’re going to induce vomiting,” called Oaklyn before I’d even hopped off my scoot.
“He already puked.” I ripped off my own goggles, not caring they were full of water, and threw them on the ground. Oaklyn was already taking off Lazarus’ goggles, taking off his seat belt, and kissing his sweet head.
“Let’s get him inside,” said Lee.
It took all three of us to lift Lazarus from the sidecar and walk him inside. The nurse finally got a sling and we slipped it under his ribcage so we could haul him in to the exam room. We decided not to put him on the table and let him lie on some big towels.
Lee said, “We’re not going to induce vomiting since he’s already vomited. I’m afraid he might inhale it into his lungs.”
“What, then?” I was going to strangle the vet if he couldn’t offer me any concrete help.
“IV fluids. Monitor his blood sugar, administer dextrose,” said Lee. The nurse was already hustling around getting the IV ready, and Lee was taking blood.
I finally looked at Oaklyn. We hadn’t really talked since I’d surprised her—and myself—with that kiss. I was busy sixteen hours a day at my studio, and she spent a lot of time at Save Our Baby Brides, which had recently turned into a safe house for unwanted elderly widows from Cornucopia. Their welfare checks might help them get into Nana’s retirement home, but in the meantime it was a mountain of work for Mahalia and Oaklyn. She told me she was seeing a lot of people with an inbred form of Down Syndrome.
I saw that she already had a deep love for my enormous brown beast. I’d never seen such concern in her eyes. I knew all at once she wasn’t priggish or self-absorbed. As a nurse she had to have empathy for others. Her eyes were filled with such anguish, I almost felt as though I had to comfort her. I placed my hand on her arm.
“He’ll be all right,” we both said simultaneously. I was too distraught to laugh at the synchronicity.
I only became awash with rage when it seemed Lazarus was stable. We went into the parking lot so other clients wouldn’t hear my rant.
“Unbe-fucking-lievable! It was obvious they plotted this out beforehand. You don’t just happen to give a dog some breath mints.”
“No, you don’t,” Oaklyn angrily agreed. “It’s not their usual treat. You never told me why you think some municipal workers in Avalanche might have it out for you.”
So I told her about Ladell Pratt, up to and including his visit two weeks ago to the Bountiful motel room. That was where her jaw really dropped and she clapped a hand to her mouth.