Paws off the Boss by Casey Griffin (best summer reads of all time TXT) 📖

The little ball of fur lolled sleepily in Piper’s hand. She chuckled at the patch of exposed skin on his belly and around his chest. In order to stitch up the little hamster, she’d shaved the fur—butchered, more like it. Now he reminded her of the band A Flock of Seagulls.

She finished dabbing the last of the ointment over the stitched wound on Theodore Copenhagen II. “There we go, Teddy. That’s much better now, isn’t it?”

He turned his glazed hamster eyes on her, looking a little doped up. You think this is bad? You should see the other guy.

“The other guy” was a playful Siamese cat who didn’t know his own strength.

“Now don’t get into any more fights,” she told him.

I can take him. Bring it on! He raised a tiny, clawed fist. The effort sent him rolling onto his back, his fat furry body sprawling out in Piper’s palm.

Dr. Fullerton, the primary vet at the veterinary hospital, was bent over her notebook on the stainless-steel table. She glanced up from her notes, looking over her glasses. “So? What’s the prognosis?”

“He’s still got some fight left in him.”

“Good.” She smiled, signing her name and closing his file. “Thanks for coming in today. I know it wasn’t your normal scheduled shift.”

“No problem.” Sure, Piper had a million other things to worry about, but since she’d now completed the required clinical hours, it meant this was her last day.

“Could you bring our patient back to his owner?” Dr. Fullerton asked.

“Sure thing.”

“I think it’s break time.” She checked the clock on the treatment room wall. It said 7:00 p.m. Slipping off her lab coat, she hung it over the back of a chair. “Your shift’s just about done. I’ll meet you in the back?”

“You bet.”

Piper grabbed Teddy’s painkillers from the cabinet and headed up to the reception area. There was only one person left in the waiting room. She sat with her back to Piper.

“Here’s Teddy!” Piper called out.

At the sound of her voice, the woman turned around. When Piper saw her face, she gasped and backed up until she hit the wall.

“Laura. What are you doing here?”

Piper wondered if the SFAAC activist had come to taunt her some more—or worse. But then she saw the small cage on the seat next to her and realized Laura was Teddy’s owner.

Laura’s mouth had fallen open. It snapped shut, and she scowled across the room. “I’m here for my Teddy, obviously. Now give him to me.”

But Piper cradled the hamster protectively. Absurd scenarios ran through her mind. Considering everything that had happened recently, nothing was far-fetched. “Why did you choose this hospital?”

Laura crossed her arms. “I live close by.”

Piper’s nostrils flared with anger. “Are you sure about that? Or did you use him as some sick excuse to come harass me at work?”

“I would never hurt my pet!” Laura’s eyes filled with rage. “I love animals.”

“But you hate me more.”

Laura twisted a wild curl of hair around her finger. “True.”

Well, at least they agreed on one thing. Their mutual hatred.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Piper said. “You were behind the attacks on the center.” She wasn’t sure if that was true or why she thought Laura would simply confess, but she was tired of waiting around for the cops to figure it out. Or for someone to get killed. “You had something to do with it, didn’t you?”

Laura snorted. “Are you serious? I was out of town. Besides, I’m an animal rights activist, genius.”

Piper had to admit, the motivation didn’t make sense. And it couldn’t possibly be that easy. But still, she wasn’t sure if she could believe Laura, who didn’t exactly deny her hatred for Piper. Who knew how far she was willing to go?

Laura held out a hand. “Now, give me my hamster.”

Piper looked at the sleeping lump in her hands. As wicked as Laura was, she did love animals. It wasn’t like Piper could refuse to hand back a beloved pet.

Frowning, Piper crossed the room and turned over the recovering patient and his medication. She watched the two of them leave, feeling no closer to the truth than before.

Storing the conversation away to tell the cops later, she tried to shake it off. Teddy had been her last official patient as a student. Now all that remained were her graduation ceremony the next weekend and her licensing exam right after that.

Eight years. It was so surreal. She’d never thought this day would come. And now, here it was. Piper wanted to high-five or fist-bump someone, but when she turned to the reception desk, it seemed everyone had already cleared out for dinner.

She whistled for Colin. He normally hung out with the receptionist, Terri. Everyone was understanding about Piper and Colin being attached at the hip. In fact, many of the staff members frequently brought their pets to work. But not even he’d hung around to congratulate her.

Well, that was certainly anticlimactic, she thought as she opened the door to the break room.

“Surprise!”

Piper jumped as the room erupted into happy cheers. She moved from hug to hug. Streamers and balloons clung to every chair and cabinet in the staff kitchen, and a giant banner draped across the wall said congratulations.

“What’s all this?” she asked Dr. Fullerton.

“A thank-you for all the hard work you’ve done here for the last several weeks.” The veterinarian yanked Piper in for a hug. “As far as I’m concerned, the second you have your license, you’re hired.”

Piper pulled away and stared at her in shock. “Really? Are you serious?”

“Absolutely. That’s if you want the job.”

She threw herself back into Dr. Fullerton’s arms. “Yes. That would be amazing. Thank you!”

“Welcome to the team.”

Colin padded up to her and laid his paws on her shin. Nice work.

“Okay, okay,” said Terri. “We all love each other. Now to the important part.” She waved a giant knife around. “Cake!”

“We’d best dig in,” Dr. Fullerton said. “I think Terri might begin a murder spree if she doesn’t get her sugar fix soon.”

Piper certainly didn’t need any more of that in her life at the moment. She gave Terri the nod, and the receptionist began dishing out Black Forest cake to everyone.

“So, when do we get to meet this handsome new beau of yours?” Dr. Fullerton asked.

“Today, actually,” Piper said. “He’s giving me a ride home. My car is temporarily indisposed.” She thought it best not to go into detail about her messed-up life to her future employer and coworkers.

“You’ll have to bring him in and introduce us.”

Piper grinned like a lovesick fool at the thought of introducing Aiden. She was just about to dig into her piece of cake when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and checked the display. “Inspector Samuels,” it read.

“Sorry,” she said to Dr. Fullerton. “I’ve got to take this.” She ducked out of the noisy room before hitting the accept button.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Piper Summers? Is this a good time?”

“Yeah. I have a moment.” A roar of laughter erupted from the break room, so she shut the door and walked to the other side of the empty waiting room. “What’s going on?”

“I wanted to let you know that I checked into that customer of yours, Barney Miller. Turns out his prints were all over your car last night.”

“So he trashed my car? Are you sure it couldn’t have been Laura from SFAAC? The spray-paint job is definitely her handiwork.”

“Well, he claims he happened to be driving by and saw someone messing with your car. Supposedly, he went to check it out.”

Feeling a chill slither through her, she wrapped the lab coat around her. “What was Barney doing there in the first place?”

“That’s what we asked him. And that’s when he lawyered up.” Annoyance tainted the inspector’s voice. “Since your car was parked at the back of the building, it was hit sometime between the officers’ routine patrols. Barney must have watched until they were clear. I suspect he’s been keeping a close eye on you for a while now.”

“You think he’s been stalking me?”