The Better to Hold You Read Online Free PDF Page B

looked like, but Lilli had the kind of subtle, willowy, doe-eyed beauty that charms other women as much as it does men.
    Sam cleared his throat. “What about me?”
    “What, indeed,” said Malachy, not bothering to look in his direction. Sam’s mother owned an airline, and, presumably, she had donated heavily to various causes dear to the internship committee’s hearts. “Bringing us back to the subject of wolves, we had some excitement with our hybrid while you were out, Ms. Barrow.”
    It took me a moment to follow this abrupt change of topic. Two days earlier, a hard blond lady with biker tattoos had brought in a very lanky, nervous young dog. She said that she was visiting from out of town, and that her dog, Pia, had been attacked by a pit bull in the park.
    I had examined a laceration on Pia’s paw, and asked if she had recently been given a rabies vaccine. I added that Pia looked to be at least half wolf, and that there was some discussion over whether that particular vaccine was safe in wolves. Before Biker Lady replied, I added that every state has a different law concerning wolf hybrids: In New York, they’re considered dangerous wildlife.
    At this point, Pia’s owner became very flustered. I think she would have taken her dog back home then, except that the poor animal winced when I palpated her abdomen, indicating possible internal injuries. Biker Lady agreed to leave her dog with us overnight. That was two days ago, and we had no contact number, which was worrisome. Because the Animal Medical Institute is a large teaching hospital, a lot of people assume that we charge discounted rates. We don’t.
    If Pia’s owner had discovered this and realized she couldn’t afford to pay us, she might not come back for her animal. And a suspected wolf hybrid was not the kind of dog that could be adopted out. If her owner didn’t come back for her, she was going to wind up getting euthanized. And Pia was fine; X-rays had shown that her sore abdomen was just the result of some superficial bruising.
    I tried to keep my voice even. “What happened to Pia?”
    “According to Sam, she had, and I quote, ‘a major freak-out.’ He was attempting to get a bone marrow sample from the chocolate lab in the cage next to her, and Pia just started howling her head off.”
    “Maybe she didn’t like your technique,” suggested Ofer.
    Sam flushed. “Listen, you poison dwarf, I didn’t do anything wrong. There’s something wrong with that animal, and you know it.”
    “Of course there’s something wrong,” drawled Malachy. “She’s sick and she’s nervous. You will, presumably, have to deal with other nervous canines in the future, unless you plan on restricting your practice to healthy animals.”
    Malachy gestured to the cat, which I was still holding. “In any case, Sam will take over your patient while you head up to the fourth floor. Maybe you’ll have better luck getting the bone marrow sample. Lilliana, you’d better try to track down the hybrid’s owner. After Pia’s little serenade, we have been instructed to remove her from the Institute within the next twenty-hour hours. Now, Sam, let’s try again to see if you can spot anything unusual in these X-rays.”
    Lilliana motioned to me and we left Sam to Malachy’s tender mercies.
    “So,” I said, trying to clear my head as we waited by the elevator banks, “what exactly happened to Pia?”
    “I’m not entirely sure. But whatever it was, everyone in the building heard her little call of the wild, and the board responded by letting us know that we are not licensed to treat potentially dangerous wildlife.”
    The elevator doors slid open and we went inside. For a moment, I just watched as the numbers of the various floors lit up in succession, mulling over Pia’s situation. “Lilliana? Do you think Pia’s owner intends to come back for her?”
    “Absolutely. I told Malachy that there is no way on earth that she is abandoning that animal.”
    “How