“Robin is the most overprotective mother in Mercy. Don’t get me wrong; she’s got a great heart and loves her boy, but I guess since I’m the only female on the police force, they turned her over to me after all the 911 calls.”
“I’m not following,” I said.
“Robin was calling 911 for everything from Jack’s splinters to when he’d come down with the flu. So now, instead of calling 911, she calls me.”
“Everything is okay, then?” I said.
“It’s no emergency, but since you insisted on doing the driving, I’ll let you go with me to her place when we leave here. Then you can see for yourself.”
I could hardly refuse, considering that Candace had agreed to stay up all night before her day off to keep me company here. “Can I have a hint what this is about?”
“We’re gonna see a woman about a cow.”
Two
The drive to Robin’s house took longer than I thought, considering that every destination I knew of in Mercy was about five minutes from every other destination I knew of in Mercy. But we traveled over a country road I was unfamiliar with. The sunrise in front of us was muted by a flimsy fog, so no sunglasses were required. Candace kept me on a mostly southeastward track away from Mercy. Since I’d moved to South Carolina from Houston only a little more than a year ago, I shouldn’t have been surprised that there were rural parts of town I’d never explored.
Shawn had arrived from home to take over kitten duty at six a.m. on the dot, but the man was cranky and there had been little conversation. If he lived inside the shelter he’d probably be even more of a grouch. Everyone needed their sleep, Shawn included. He said he had a new volunteer, a tech who worked for the veterinarian, Dr. Jensen. She would handle the next night shift. Allison would take over for the weekend and beyond since her spring break was coming up next week.