That Perfect Place Read online

  She hugged him and mussed his hair, wondering what Brad considered too old. “That’s very grownup of you, Brad. However, if I do move in I will not be doing your chores.”

  “What’s this about chores?” Jake asked as he came out on the deck.

  “I was just about to finish mine. Jill wants to talk to you,” Brad said, jumping up.

  “Was that my kid that just left?” He watched as his son sprinted off.

  “He thinks we should move in together before you get too old. He said something about your sneaking around at night.”

  “I don’t sneak. But moving in together would sure make me happy.”

  He sat down in the chair next to her and grabbing her hand, pulled her into his chair on top of him. He slid her shoes off and massaged her feet.

  “I’ll think about it. I’m not sure I want to give up my autonomy completely yet. Besides, the rent is paid for a while over there.”

  He kissed her and rubbed her upper arms. “Are you playing golf tomorrow?”

  “Yes, did I tell you one of the ladies that played with the group Bob and I were in asked me to join a ladies-only league?”

  “When do they play?”

  “Same time but on a different course. She only plays at the country club when her husband is home, which isn’t often because he’s a contractor and travels.”

  “Maybe you’ll have to teach me this golf stuff. We could play on Sundays.” He nuzzled her neck.

  “Jake, don’t start something we can’t finish just now,” she moaned as he ran his strong hands along her torso.

  Brad popped through the slider with a basket of laundry.

  “Dad, phone for you. And the dogs stink.”

  “Give me the phone. Bathe the dogs.” He put Jill down and stood up. “And this time, dry them before you let them back in.”

  “Hello. Gundersen here.”

  “Jake, it’s Maggie. We got a problem with the male lions. Earlier today they were agitated, and now they are acting drugged and we’ve got vomiting and diarrhea. I’m really worried.”

  “I’m on my way, Maggie.” He turned to Jill. “The lions down at the Brandeises’ are sick.”

  “Do you want me to come?”

  “Not unless Jim is available. I have the call tonight, and we might be a while.”

  “I’ll call and see.”

  Jill jumped in the passenger side of the truck as Jake was starting the engine. She noticed he had a tranquilizer gun on the back seat.

  By the time they arrived, the older male, Zorro, was in bad shape. He had blood in his stool and was unresponsive. Jake started an IV and administered antibiotics. Jill monitored him while Jake checked on the younger ones. They were in much better shape but grouchy, so he used the tranquilizer gun to sedate them. Carlos, who had worked at the Brandeis farm for the past five years, helped him all evening. The lions were his babies, so he didn’t mind staying the night.

  The cats were running a high temp. Jake started them on a course of ciproflaxin just as he had done for Zorro. He and Carlos were washing their hands when Jake noticed a black spot forming on Carlos’s arm.

  “Carlos, what’s that from?”

  “Oh, I think it’s a spider bite. I had just a little cut a few days ago and now this started.”

  Jake took his arm and examined it closely. “Is it painful?”

  “No, just itchy.”

  “Carlos, have the male lions been getting different meat than the others?”

  “Senora Maggie has put aside some very good meat for Momma Sasha, but the boys are working on a new carcass I got a few days ago.”

  “Are you feeding anybody else off that one?”

  “Today I put some through the grinder to feed tomorrow.”

  “Call everyone together and put that meat aside. Are you on anything for that arm?”

  “Yes, I am taking amoxicillin.”

  “Good. Don’t miss a dose.” Jake ran to his truck and pulled out his sheet of numbers again. This time as well as APHIS (USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service), he asked for the number of the Center for Disease Control.

  When everyone was assembled, Jake showed them the black ulcer on Carlos’s arm.

  “This may be cutaneous anthrax. I’ve seen it before in Africa when I was with the marines. If it is, and the lions have ingested anthrax, we may lose them. It is vitally important that we locate the source of the meat they have been receiving this past week. If anybody gets an itchy sore anywhere, have it checked immediately.”

  His phone rang. He listened and responded for several minutes.

  “The CDC is sending a man out tonight. They want this place quarantined until we are sure of what we are dealing with.”

  “Is this contagious?” Maggie asked.

  “Not from direct contact with the affected animal. You have to inhale or ingest the spores to get it. Anthrax manifests itself three ways. Ingested, it causes bloody diarrhea and vomiting. It’s pretty deadly if not caught right away. Inhaled means you breathe enough spores in to cause an infection in the lungs. Early on you’ll feel like you have the flu. There again, if not treated within the first forty-eight hours the patient will often die from the toxins produced in the chest.

  “Third is the mildest and most common—cutaneous anthrax enters through an open sore. It starts with an itchy rash and progresses to a black eschar and leaves a scar. It’s not usually deadly. In fact, all are treatable—if caught right away. I’m going to add a second antibiotic to the lion’s medication, and we need to isolate the meat they have been getting. It’s probably the source.”

  Jill stayed until the CDC man came up from Iowa City and confirmed that the wound on Carlos’s arm did look like it could be anthrax and that the lion’s symptoms fit. He took all the suspected meat and several other samples, as well as blood from Carlos and the lions. He questioned everyone extensively and gave them a warning much the same as the vet’s had been. Finally he sent Carlos to the hospital in Cedar Rapids after calling ahead to explain things.

  Maggie took Jill home around eleven thirty, and Jake prepared to stay the night. The Brandeises were not aware of the change in the status of Jake’s relationship with Jill. Both were delighted when they caught them in an embrace before parting for the night. Steve had a field day with his friend over it.

  Toward dawn, it was pretty apparent that Zorro was not going to make it, and the vet put him down reluctantly. Zorro had been one of Jake’s first patients when he returned to Iowa. The younger two were no worse, so Jake was hopeful the double antibiotics would do the trick.

  Maggie gave their friend some breakfast before he left to cover the appointments at the clinic with a promise to return in the afternoon. He was working on about four hours of sleep, so he hoped nothing too complicated would show up.

  When he returned to the zoo around three, news vans were parked at the gate and reporters tried to question him. He just closed his window and, laying on his horn, eased through. When he finally got to the isolation facility, the younger males seemed better. The diarrhea was less, and their temps were closer to normal. He headed north after warning them again what to watch for in the other species on the property, including humans.

  He stopped at a dairy on the way home, and the owner stopped him in the drive.

  “Don’t get out, Doc. We don’t want to take a chance of your bringing anthrax here.”

  “It isn’t airborne, Roger. I showered and changed before I left the zoo.”

  “Still, I can’t take any chances. I’ll get someone else in.”

  “I can probably send Jim down tomorrow.”

  “Same problem.”

  “He wasn’t anywhere near the infected animals. Suit yourself.” Jake drove home a bit frustrated and wondering how word had spread so fast.

  By the time he got to the clinic, Jeanine had had several calls wanting to know if there was an anthrax outbreak in Buchanan County. Jeanine told the callers that there had been one carcass brought in
from elsewhere that was a confirmed case but that the animal in question had been properly disposed of and the herd it had been in contact with was vaccinated. She assured everyone that the current case was not confirmed and didn’t pose a threat to anyone else.

  She told her brother about the calls, and he in turn filled her in on the confrontation at the dairy.

  “What I don’t understand is, how did word get out so quickly?” He ruffled his hair.

  “Assuming Carlos went to the doctor’s office in Brandon, that doctor is the brother-in-law to the ranch where the anthrax first showed up and lives next door to the dairy. Someone must have filled him in on what happened last night. The old guy is a known gossip. Everybody hears what goes on in his office if it’s at all juicy.”

  “Well, that’s ethical.”

  “Jake, it’s small-town anywhere. People love gossip about their neighbors.”

  “I suppose. Maybe we should put a statement in the local papers.”

  “Let me call County Health. The statement shouldn’t come from us. It needs to come from some outside authority. There’s no chance you could get it, is there?”

  “I was vaccinated against it in ’99. I should still be protected.”

  “Why does that not make me feel a whole lot better, Jakob?”

  “I’m safe, Jeanie. Don’t worry.”

  “I’ve worried about you since I was twelve. I doubt I’ll stop now.”

  “I’ve got to go castrate some colts.” He yawned. “And then I hope to sneak a nap before I head back south.”

  Jill came into the large-animal treatment area as he was finishing up.

  “Are you heading back down, babe?”

  “In a bit. The two younger cats seemed like they might be on the mend. Hopefully I’ll be back before ten.” He leaned over his right shoulder and kissed her as he washed his hands.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked. He gave her a look. “I meant food.”

  “I’m always hungry. You should have guessed that by now.”

  “You and Brad can put away quite a bit. Why don’t I get us some pizza?” She leaned her head against his shoulder. He dried his hands and turning, took her in his arms.

  “I liked the marine corps, I like being a vet, and I love my son, but I was never a happy man until you came to Iowa.”

  “As I recall, you were very unhappy until the day you took me in your arms and kissed me. It was in this very room, I might add.”

  “What about you? Are you happy now?”

  “When I was a little girl, Mom always claimed that I was a happy child, but I was merely content. With Tom, I was just being persevering, but here, yes, I am truly happy now. I love my work and the people we work with. I love your son and your beautiful house, but most of all, I love you, all six and a half feet of you,” she said, reaching up. She could barely touch the top of his head.

  “I’m only six five,” he corrected, bending down.

  They were in the middle of a very hot kiss when Jeanine came in and cleared her throat very loudly.

  “Jakob, there’s a man here from the Department of Homeland Security that wants to see you.”

  They both spun around. This anthrax thing must be more serious than they thought. Jill recovered first.

  “I’ll get us some food,” she said and hurried off.

  The agent introduced himself as Todd Halloran. They went into Jake’s office to talk.

  “We have reason to believe that the cases of anthrax you have seen are related to an investigation of ours. We had traced our suspects to southwest Iowa, and I understand that the first infected cow you saw here was reported to have come from there.”

  “Fremont County, yes.”

  “Can I ask, Dr. Gundersen, just how it is that you are so familiar with the disease?”

  “A, I’m a veterinarian, and B, I’m a marine corps veteran. I was in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Afghanistan. I saw cases of it there.”

  “Fair enough. Are you familiar with the weapons strain of the virus?”

  “It isn’t a virus. It’s a bacteria, Bacillus anthracis. And yes, I am aware that there are several strains, including one called the Ames strain.”

  “And you did your undergrad degree in Ames?”

  “Iowa State Marine ROTC, warfare not biology.”

  “But you would know how to culture anthrax?”

  “Sure. A high-school biology student could do it. All you need is a little sheep’s blood. But to get it into weapons form is quite a bit more complicated.”

  “Could it be done at just any lab? Say, for instance, like the one you have here?”

  “No, you’d need specialized equipment to grind the spores and get them in aerosol form for distribution without killing them.”

  Halloran nodded. “You had a Dr. J. Mirza working for you this spring, did you not?”

  “Yes, a temp vet sent from Iowa State.”

  “What do you know about him?”

  “Competent with livestock, didn’t care for small-animal work, and was scared to death of women. I also know he was a Christian.”

  “What makes you so sure he wasn’t lying about it?”

  “I don’t believe a jihadist would go so far as to take communion and drink the wine.”

  “You witnessed this?”

  “Yes, twice.”

  “Do you know the abandoned farm where it was suspected the cows were temporarily kept?”

  “Not exactly, but with a little more information I could probably find it. I know this county pretty well by now.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Gundersen. We’ll contact you if there is anything else.” He handed Jake a card with his name and several numbers.

  “How about you tell me one thing?”

  “If I can.”

  “The lions and Carlos Lopita should not have contracted anthrax from that carcass. Is this a weapons-grade strain we’re dealing with?”

  “It’s definitely not a natural occurrence of the disease, and that’s all I can say.”

  When Jake reached the house, Jill and Brad were sitting on the couch engrossed in a video game.

  “Dad, Jill is great at this. We’re just starting our second mission.”

  “That’s good. Where’s the food?” He yawned.

  “Salad’s on the table, and Sam is bringing some pizzas for both houses. It will be here in a few minutes.”

  “OK.” By the time the pizza got there he was asleep in his chair. Jill didn’t want to wake him, but the jangling phone got him up anyway.

  Jill was on call, so she took it. Cynthia Mattson needed a few stitches put in a colt who had attempted to jump a fence and missed. Jill finished her pizza and prepared to leave.

  “Here, take my truck, hon. Everything I need is already down at the Brandeises.”

  “I’m just wondering if I should be prepared for any hostility.”

  “Cynthia can be catty, but she’s not mean. Chances are she’s moved on by now. I don’t flatter myself that I was her only nighttime entertainment.”

  “Don’t be too long down in Brandon.”

  “I’ll try.” They kissed, and Brad pulled himself away from the TV screen long enough to complain that he never got kisses. Jake went over toward his son, laughing, but Brad was too quick for him and shied away.

  “I meant Jill.”

  She gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek, and Brad absolutely beamed. Jake wasn’t sure how he felt about his son having a crush on his girlfriend. Life could be strange.

  When Jill got to the Quarter Horse farm, Cynthia was waiting in the barn. Andy Willis was with her and looked pretty happy to be there. The barn was one of the showiest Jill had seen in Iowa. It was large and airy and not a bug in sight. There had to be at least thirty stalls, all made of light-stained oak and heavy-gauge wire mesh.

  The colt was friendly and easy to handle. The gash wasn’t bad, but stitching it would leave less of a scar, which was important for a show horse. Jill was nearly finished when Cynthia se
nt Andy to the house for some beers.

  “I was hoping you’d come out, Dr. Maitland. I wanted a little girl talk. First, I don’t hold a grudge that Jake wanted you and not me anymore. I think he wants a wife, and I’m always on the show circuit. Plus, you’re just his type, smart and ladylike but still kind of sexy. What I want to say is this. Jakob Gundersen is the sweetest, most loving man I know. He’s intensely loyal and an old-fashioned, honest, wear-a-white-hat American, and if I find you treated him badly, well, you’ll have the nastiest catfight in history on your hands. Caroline and probably that hellcat Jeanine would join me, I’m sure.”

  Jill laughed. “Jeanine has already warned me. Believe me, I would never intentionally do anything to hurt him. He is like the old-time cowboy good guys, isn’t he?”

  “And rather satisfying between the sheets.”

  Jill laughed and nodded. She blushed to think that she’d ever admit that to anyone as she put her equipment away.

  By the time Andy got back with the drinks, the two women were fast friends. Jill stayed and talked for a bit and then returned home around ten. Jake wasn’t back yet, so she texted him to see if he needed help. About twenty minutes later, he answered that he was on his way home. Jill got ready for bed and sat on the couch with the dogs and both cats draped around her. The next thing she knew, the dogs were wagging and panting at the door to greet him.

  He looked really beat as he entered.

  “Is everything OK, Jake?”

  “They are somewhat better but still really grouchy. I managed to get myself nipped.”

  “Oh shit. Let me see.” She jumped up and grabbed his arm.

  He had wrapped it in gauze, but there was enough seepage to soak through.

  “Come on, we’re going down to the clinic and get these looked at.”

  “I already cleaned and disinfected it, and I stopped by the health center and got some oral antibiotics. They want me to get an anthrax booster just in case.”

  “Good idea. Let me just put on a clean dressing.”

  Jill rebandaged the wounds and got an ice pack.

  “That’s going to be ridiculously swollen by morning if you don’t ice it. Did you take any anti-inflammatory?” He shook his head.