An Inner Fire Read Online Free PDF

Mitzi?”
    “Mitzi was injured at the fireground,” he said.
    Grayce bent on one knee, not touching the stressed dog. “Mitzi, what an amazing protector.”
    She never knew where the words came from when she spoke to animals, but she knew they came from a deep part of her. She offered the words while observing the effect of her voice. Mitzi outwardly appeared calm, but her eyes remained alert, watchful.
    Grayce gently touched Mitzi’s head, needing to comfort, connect with the injured dog. Showers of blue sparks danced in her peripheral vision like those from an overloaded circuit. The charge flowing from the dog to her hand topped any ampere scale. Lightheaded from the power surge, Grayce forced herself upright and stepped toward the old pine table that served as her desk.
    Looking across the table, she saw Davis’ concern.
    “I’m fine, just got up too quickly.” She knew he didn’t buy it, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say.
    Grayce took a slow breath and focused on the sheet attached to the record. She had to concentrate to read the blurred words. “I see that Dr. Herrick referred you.”
    “He thought you could help with Mitzi’s pain. And since I met you, I knew Mitzi would be comfortable.”
    She focused on the referral sheet. “A wood plank fell on her back legs two days ago?”
    Davis leaned forward in his chair. “Mitzi was hit by a plank that missed me by inches.” He stared at the poodle. “She knocked me down. Pieces of a charred wall crashed right at my feet. She saved me.”
    In the stillness of the office, foreboding floated around Grayce. She envisioned Davis on the ground with the wall crashing right before him. In his office, she had been shaken, but she had thought it was caused by reliving the red-haired man’s rage. Now, Mitzi had saved him from a near catastrophe. There was something about this accident that didn’t feel like an accident.
    “Mitzi’s been acting crazy. She wasn’t supposed to be on the crime scene. She jumped out of the window as if she knew I was in danger.”
    Grayce squirmed. She felt as if ants were walking up and down her spine. “Really? What else has she been doing?”
    Davis shifted in his chair and hesitated as if not wanting to speak in front of the dog. “She howls when I leave the condo. The neighbors have complained. She chewed a hole in the wall as if she were trying to escape.” His voice grew louder, clipped with each explanation.
    “Is this new for her?”
    “Since I started the investigation at Fisherman’s Terminal, she’s been a pain in the…. I can’t leave her alone. I still can’t believe she got injured. I left the car windows open, but I never thought she could fit through it.” He rubbed his forehead with his broad fingers as if soothing away a headache. “Dr. Herrick thought you could help her. He couldn’t praise your skills enough.”
    Grayce focused on Mitzi’s pain and anxiety. She kept her voice low, trying to settle the fear pulsating in and around her and the apprehension traveling up and down her spine. “Acupuncture will help Mitzi.”
    “Great.” Davis gave her the same lopsided grin as in his office, softening all the harsh planes and angles of his face.
    Grayce gave an inner sigh of relief with Davis’ easy acceptance of acupuncture. She stood slowly, walked around the desk, and knelt beside the poodle. The dog thumped her tail when Grayce kneeled.
    Davis watched. “Should I be doing anything?”
    “No, you’re fine.”
    Grayce took a deep cleansing breath and closed her eyes. She visualized waves breaking on the beach bringing the brilliant blue water onto the white sand, the fragments of broken shells tumbling into the wake, joining the rolling waves, melding into the powerful ocean. Calm, she readied herself to heal the traumatized dog.
    She ran her hand along Mitzi’s back, not actually touching the dog but feeling for changes in temperature. When she got closer to Bui Hui, the center of