Marrok was still stroking the dog. "You did a good job, Dr. Brady. Quick, neat, and thorough. Thank you."

"It's my job."

"It's more than your job."

She shrugged. "I love animals. But so do all the handlers on the team."

He smiled. "I don't doubt their affection, but yours strikes deeper, doesn't it? Why else would you have become a vet? How many dogs do you own?"

"Five."

"And other animals?"

"What difference does it make?"

"I'm curious."

"Four cats. Three parrots. A pig. A donkey."

"I take it that they're not all house pets?"

"I have a place in the country outside Denver. It's a few acres, big enough."

"Why so many?"

"Some of them are strays. Some of them were abused. Some of them were left because their own ers didn't want to pay their bill and told me to find them other homes."

"And you took them in."

"When I couldn't find them a good home."

"Who takes care of them when you're trekking over the world on these rescue missions? Your husband?"

"I have a housekeeper." It was about time she asked a few questions herself. "Don't you want to fill out a report on the shooting? Captain Ramirez will send someone to take a statement."

"I think I'll pass."

"I'd want to wring that bastard's neck," she said curtly. "And it's your duty to do it. If only to keep it from happening to someone else's dog."

"I don't have the time. I promise you that no other dog will be victimized by the shooter."

"How do you know? If they don't find him, you can't expect-" She stopped, her gaze narrowing. "You know who shot Ned?"

"I don't have a name. I know I can find him." He sat down in a camp chair. "Go on. I know you want to go check out that house that I flagged. I'll stay with Ned. Believe me, I've been through enough illnesses with him to qualify as an expert."

She hesitated. "I should be the one to stay with him. I never leave a patient on the first night." She added deliberately, "And I don't leave strangers with access to a medicine chest full of narcotics."