Page 11

CHAPTER 11

Tom’s expression was serious, and Lorissa took a seat, drew in a deep breath, and let it out in a rush. “About?”

“Rose and Baby’s owner.”

“Oh, what did you find out?”

“It’s not pretty.”

“Talk to me, Tom. I need to know.”

“Yeah, you do. First, I drove by their house and it’s nothing but a burned-out shell. There is only one wall still standing, and that is charred black.”

“Damn, did they find out what happened?”

“Yes, I know you don’t know them, but the five men who found me to tell me about Rose and Baby are all brothers. One of the brothers is a fire investigator. He ruled the fire arson.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. It seems that the Bickers were having marital problems. Mrs. Bickers is some high-powered executive in Denver, while Mr. Bickers lost his job a few months ago. As far as I know, there are no human children in the marriage. Both are in their forties, and it’s my understanding that Rose and Baby are Mrs. Bickers’ children. She doted on them.”

“Okay, but what happened?”

“I don’t know it all, but ever since Mr. Bickers lost his job, according to friends, neighbors, and family, it was like a switch flipped in his brain. All of a sudden, his wife’s job was too much for him to handle. He wanted her home to cook, clean, and wait on him hand and foot. Again, this is all speculation, but she basically told him that if he hadn’t, and I’m sorry about the language, but it’s rumored that she told him that if he hadn’t fucked his way out of his job, then he could do the housework now that he had nothing.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Again, this is all speculation, but Mr. Bickers was caught with one of his female coworkers in a compromising position. He said it was consensual, she’s saying she was told if she didn’t do it, then she would lose her job, since he was the boss. Because of what he told her, she was too scared to report him.”

“Oh crap, that’s huge.”

“Yes, it is. Again, I don’t know all the particulars. I’m only telling you what I was told. I got this information directly from Sheriff Jim. He said that because Mrs. Bickers wasn’t the little woman that stayed home and wasn’t there when he lost his job, he went on a rampage. He destroyed the house, and when Mrs. Bickers came home from a conference, while she was in the house giving loving to Rose and Baby, and their babies, Mr. Bickers set the house on fire.”

“Please tell me Mrs. Bickers didn’t die.”

“Not yet, but it’s not good. It appears, based on the statements from the Falco brothers, and video cameras, Mrs. Bickers tried to protect Rose and Baby as best she could. She was able to get them close to the outside, but not all the way out. Again, I have no clue what happened, neither does anyone else, but as we speak, Mrs. Bickers is in the burns unit at a hospital in Denver. She had third degree burns over eighty percent of her body.” Tom paused and shook his head sadly. When Lorissa reached out to take his hand, he grasped it like a lifeline.

“What else? Tell me all of it, Tom.”

“Along with the burns, she has a crushed skull. When the firemen arrived, they found Mr. Bickers wielding a baseball bat and attempted to bash their heads in if they tried to get to his wife. According to Sheriff Jim, they, the Falco brothers, ended up turning the hose on him to knock him on his ass and away from his wife. As they rushed to her, the cops were there to take him away, and they rushed her to an ambulance. That’s when they found Rose and Baby. They stuffed them in their truck as they went back to fight the fire.”

“Damn, please tell me Mr. Bickers is in jail.”

“He is. Oh, and I don’t know whether this matters or not, but he was so drunk that his blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. They tried to give him a breathalyzer, but he passed out, so they took his blood. He was cuffed to the gurney and sent to the local hospital, but not until they called for Mercy Flight to take Mrs. Bickers to Denver. He’s been in jail ever since being released from the hospital. The son of a bitch had nothing wrong with him, except for some soot in his nose and on his clothes. They’re not taking him before the judge until the fire investigation is complete.”

“Wow, I know you and I are only vets, but based on what you were told, what do you think the chances of Mrs. Bickers surviving are?”

“Less than ten percent.” He sighed heavily and looked at her sadly. “I would like to do something, but I would like you to be with me if you agree.”

“What’s that?”

“First, I want to make sure Rose survives, then I would like you to go with me and I would like to take Rose and Baby with me. I’m sure we can rig something up in one of our trucks to take the babies with us, but I would like to take Rose and Baby to the hospital and tell Mrs. Bickers that they survived and are safe. I don’t know if we can actually take them with us, but I think if she knew they were safe then she can decide to fight or just give up. I can’t tell you why, but I think if she knew her animals were alive and safe, then she can rest easier.”

“How far is Denver from here? Forget I asked that, I flew into Denver. It’s a little over three hours.”

“Correct.”

“I can understand why you want to do what you suggested, but do you really think we should take them? If she’s in the burns unit and is in as rough shape as you say, they won’t even allow us in to see her. I’m sure it’s an extremely sterile environment.”

“You’re right, we can probably leave the animals here, do you think your mother or Grandmother would keep an eye on them? I’m sorry that I keep repeating myself, but I can’t seem to wrap my head around what happened. I think if I speak my thoughts out, no matter how many times I say the same thing, then I can grasp the severity of what happened.”

Lorissa laughed and ended up waving her hand in front of her face. “I’m sorry, it’s not a laughing matter, but Nana has already asked me when she could take one of the puppies. I didn’t know this, but when Mom was growing up she said she had a Yorkie. It turned out to live until he was twenty-two.”

“Wow, that’s a long time for a Yorkie.”

“That’s what I said, and though Grandpa found it abandoned on the side of the road at only a few months old, he was supposed to be Mom’s dog, but Nana took him everywhere with her. She operated a nursery, and apparently Ralph was with her every day, all day, and he only hung out with Mom when he wanted to sleep.”

Tom laughed along with her and could picture it. He nodded and said, “Well, since we both know that Mr. Bickers probably won’t be getting out of jail anytime soon, and Mrs. Bickers has an extremely long road ahead of her, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that you are now the proud owner of a dog and a cat. I’ll let you handle everything. If you want to keep them, then so be it, if you want to give the babies away, that’s your decision.”

“I think I’ll keep Rose and Baby for myself and see if I can’t give out the kittens and puppies when it’s time for them to go to their own homes. I will probably go to Erin and see if anyone on the farms wants one before I go to the general public. I know Nana wants a puppy, and I know Mom wants one, but I don’t know whether it’s a puppy or a kitten.”

“As I said, I’ll leave that up to you. Now, if I can call and make plans to go see Mrs. Bickers, would you like to go with me?”

“Yes. But I’m not banking on the fact that they will let us in to see her.”

“I understand, and I’ll think the same thing. I don’t want to be pushy, but dress nicely and I’ll take you out to dinner afterward. ”

“Not at that fancy restaurant you told me about. I don’t want to be hungrier leaving the place than when I arrive.”

Tom threw his head back and laughed. “How about a genuine steakhouse?”

“I can definitely sink my teeth into that.” She laughed along with him, and after checking on Rose, Tom left with the promise to contact her when he had any news about whether they could visit. After he left, Lorissa ran up the stairs, opened her closet, and started going through everything she owned. She sat on her bed and refused to cry when she realized she didn’t even have a dress. With sadness in her heart, she went back downstairs, and after pouring herself a cup of coffee she sat there for several minutes before she picked up her phone and sent a text.

Thirty minutes later, her mother walked in the back door and took one look at her daughter and sighed. “Show me.” She headed for the stairs and an hour later, she looked at her daughter and shook her head.

“I’m not mad, but it does shock me that you don’t have any dresses, or even a skirt and blouse. How did that happen? I thought you had that nice dress for the celebration party.”

“It got ripped when Griff pulled that gun, and we all hit the floor. It was easier to toss it than to try to get it repaired. I hadn’t realized I stopped dressing girly when I worked, because how many times can I wear a dress when I’m shoeing a horse.”

“I know and I’m sorry. Can you tell me why you want a dress all of a sudden?”

Lorissa explained the situation to her mother and after they shared some tears together about Mrs. Bickers, Laurie nodded and grinned. “What are you doing now?”

“I have to check on Rose, she’s awake, then I’m free, why?”

“Nana is home, should we get her to watch the babies, and we head to town?”

“No offense, Mom, but I really don’t need my mom with me when I’m picking out a dress.”

“I know, but humor me. You never went to your Junior or Senior Prom, and I don’t think you’ve ever been on a serious date. I know you studied hard and thought those events were frivolous. Let me have this one mother daughter bonding moment.” When Lorissa looked skeptical, Laurie grinned. “I’ll buy.”

“Deal!” Lorissa laughed as they started putting everything back into her closet. When they were done, they checked on Rose, and Lorissa was happy with the little dog’s progress. As she worked with them, Laurie had gone out to talk to her mother, and by the time they were ready to head out, Lois was in her glory as she was able to reach in and pet Rose, who was now awake and seemed to enjoy the attention .

Hours later, with both their arms loaded with shopping bags, and carry out food, Laurie and Lorissa were laughing as they entered the back door of Lorissa’s home and paused long enough for Duane to take the food from them. Instead of putting their things down, they took them upstairs to Lorissa’s room and put them on her bed. Back downstairs, Lorissa immediately went to check on Rose and Baby and was happy with the results. She took Rose down and had her use the puppy pad, and changed the kitty litter in Baby’s pen. After washing her hands, she went into the kitchen.

As they settled at the table, Laurie and Duane passed out the meals they’d picked up from a Mexican restaurant, and Lorissa turned to Lois.

“How did the afternoon go?”

“Good, Rose slept most of the day, and the babies didn’t even fuss, she allowed them to nurse. Baby and her babies were fine, I couldn’t even tell they were there.”

“Okay, now, I don’t want to spoil anyone’s dinner, so afterward, I’ll tell you what I learned earlier.” She took a bite of her rice and beans and was surprised when they said whatever she had to say wouldn’t ruin their appetite. She waited for a few more minutes as she ate, and then ate slower as she told them what Tom had told her earlier.

“Shit,” Duane said angrily. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to swear, but for someone to do that to their wife, it just makes me sick.” He took Laurie’s hand in his, and brought it to his lips to kiss the back of it. He held it longer than was necessary, then finally let it go. Lorissa sighed in happiness for her mother, but felt a pang in her heart that she didn’t have someone like Duane in her life. She ignored the image of Tom as he flashed through her mind. She would visit that idea later.

“What aren’t you telling us?” Lois asked.

“Tom is looking into us going up to Denver to the hospital to see if we can’t get in to tell Mrs. Bickers that Rose along with her babies, and Baby and her kittens are safe. That they are alive. He didn’t want to be morbid, but he thinks that if she knows they’re safe and away from her husband, then it will either ease her mind to heal, or…” she left the rest of her sentence to fade away and the others nodded. It was Duane who answered.

“Or succumb to her injuries knowing her babies are safe.”

“Correct.”

“I agree with him.” Duane nodded. “I know it’s only animals, but to hear you say it, they were her children. She’s going to fight to live for them, or fight the white light calling her until she knows they’re safe. I don’t envy you or him one bit for what you’re about to do. I want you to know if you need me for anything, I’ll be there for you.”

“Thank you, Duane. Knowing you feel that way means a lot to me. We should be okay, Tom’s getting everything ready, and we’ll go up in a couple of days. At first, we were going to try to sneak Rose and Baby in to see her, but then if she has third degree burns over eighty percent of her body, they’re not going to let us into her room, let alone two animals. We’re going to go to see if Tom, who she knows, can tell her. Then because we’re in the area, he’s going to take me out to dinner afterward. I know it’s not a celebratory meal, but we do have to eat.” She saw the expression on Duane’s face and burst out laughing. “It’s not to that restaurant he told you about.”

“He told you about that?”

“Yep,” Lorissa said on a laugh and told them what had happened between her and Tom on the day she came into possession of Rose and Baby. The older people stared at her in shock, but she didn’t see any censure in their expressions, so she dropped the subject and helped clean up after their meal. That night, after checking on Rose and Baby one last time, she went up to her room, showered, then took care of the clothes she and her mother had bought earlier. She didn’t know whether she should have or not, but she left the tags on them for the time being. By the time she crawled into bed, she was exhausted and slept straight through until six the next morning.