Debbie took hold of his arm. “You’re already suffering from hypothermia. Let someone else do it.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m already wet. We’ll get warm and dry real soon.” Their wolf pack didn’t have wolves working for the sheriff’s department, except for Paul and Allan as contracted divers. So they had to take care of their own. Not that he could let on to Debbie why that was so.
At the edge of the culvert, he dropped the blanket on top of the snow.
Despite already being soaking wet and chilled to the marrow of his bones, he felt even colder when he entered the water. But his faster wolf healing abilities would help him overcome this more quickly than any human responder could.
He waded out, then dove into the submerged SUV, glad Debbie had returned to the hatchback to protect herself from the chilling wind. He pulled his flashlight out in case he needed it and to make sure no one would question how he found the purse in the dark. He was certain Debbie would be watching to ensure he would return safely.
He located the black leather bag resting on the roof of the upside-down SUV and pulled it out. Fearful he wouldn’t be able to hold on to the purse in the fast-moving water, he clutched it to his chest and waded to the shore. Once there, he grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around himself, then trudged slowly up the slope to the waiting ambulance. He felt as if he were wearing wet cement shoes.
“Thank you,” Franny said, taking her sopping-wet bag and holding it tightly to her body, as if it were her baby too.
The EMTs shut the ambulance doors, but before the ambulance took off, a bark came from inside. Then with its lights flashing and siren blaring, the ambulance headed for the clinic as some of the sheriff’s men arrived at the scene.
Debbie was staring at the ambulance as it drove away. “Did you hear a dog bark inside the ambulance?”
“No.” A wolf, yes. Dog? No.
“You should have let someone else get her bag, Allan. You’re not invincible,” she said, shaking hard as they sat inside the vehicle with the heat blasting them, a cold north wind sweeping across the area as they waited to speak to the police officers who had just arrived.
“Well,” said Rowdy Sanderson, a homicide detective, his blue eyes considering the two of them, “why don’t you get into something warm and dry before both of you need hospitalization too. I’ll handle this until you can file a report.”
“What the hell are you doing here? No dead bodies,” Allan said. He knew Rowdy was here because Debbie was.
“Could have been,” Rowdy said, glancing at Debbie.
“Thanks. We’re out of here,” Allan replied. They had to get into dry clothes pronto.
Allan and Debbie were always on call if something came up. They had been finishing up some paperwork on the Van Lake murder case. A car had been found in one of the area lakes, and the driver had contusions that were probably not due to the car accident. More likely, the victim had been beaten and the accident had been staged. Allan and Debbie had been on their way to get lunch at the pizzeria when they saw Franny’s SUV upside down in the culvert.
He still couldn’t believe it had been one of his wolf pack members. He would have contacted Paul and Lori with the news right away, but he knew the EMTs would let them know what had happened. He figured it was safer that way, rather than calling them in front of Debbie.
“Why did you want them to go there instead of to the big hospital?” Debbie asked.
“Franny’s baby was born at the clinic. The doctor there is Franny’s and the baby’s doctor.”
“She doesn’t have a pediatrician for the baby?”
“No. Dr. Holt is board certified in family medicine and pediatrics. Franny trusts her.”
“Okay, but I don’t think we should have canceled the first ambulance. I want to drop by the clinic as soon as we can change and get warmed up.” Debbie leaned down to pull off a boot, and then the other. She slid off a wet sock, dropping it on the floor, then struggled to get the other off.
“Agreed. I can drop you off at your place, let you get a hot shower, dry your hair, and dress. I’ll pick you up, and we’ll head on over there.”
The clinic took only lupus garous for long-term care. In an emergency, they would provide care for humans, stabilizing the patient so he or she could be sent off to the hospital in Bigfork. That meant human visitors rarely came to the clinic. The staff would have to be on alert when Debbie dropped by to see Franny and her baby.
“Thanks, sounds like a good plan,” Debbie said.