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close by, watching, ready to take off if Rhodes managed to get the ball and throw it again.
    Rhodes got the ball and threw it all the way across the yard. The two dogs whirled and took off after it.
    â€œHas Vicki seen him lately?” Rhodes asked.
    â€œIf she has,” Ivy said, “she hasn’t told me. Not that she would. She knows I wouldn’t approve.”
    The telephone rang inside the house. A landline. Rhodes liked having it.
    â€œI’ll get it,” Ivy said, standing up. “You stay here with the dogs.”
    Rhodes thought that was a good idea. Yancey had the ball again and brought it over to Rhodes.
    Ivy came to the door to tell Rhodes about the call. “Hack says it’s an emergency.”
    â€œIt’s always an emergency,” Rhodes said.
    â€œHe sounds excited.”
    That was unusual. Hack was hardly ever excited.
    â€œCome on, Yancey,” Rhodes said, standing up. “Time to go back inside.”
    Yancey wasn’t interested. He ran across the yard with the squeaky ball, trying to get Speedo to chase him. Speedo looked at Rhodes as if to say, “Want me to round him up for you?”
    Rhodes chased down Yancey himself and grabbed him up. He took the ball out of his mouth. It was easier to get it from him than from Speedo because Yancey couldn’t get it into his mouth and always had a precarious hold on it.
    Yancey wriggled like a landed fish and tried to grab the ball, but Rhodes threw it to Speedo, who bit and made it squeak. The sound made Yancey wriggle even more.
    â€œThat was mean,” Ivy said. “Are you going to talk to Hack or not?”
    â€œWe’re coming,” Rhodes said, carrying Yancey across the yard and into the house. He was careful not to set the little dog down until the door was safely closed.
    Yancey ran to the door and whined.
    â€œYou’re lucky you get to live inside,” Rhodes told him. “Speedo has to stay out there in the yard in a Styrofoam igloo, and you get the run of the house.”
    Yancey didn’t seem to care about being lucky. He ignored Rhodes and continued to whine at the door. Rhodes left him there and went into the kitchen. Ivy handed him the phone.
    â€œâ€™Bout time,” Hack said when Rhodes spoke. “We got a situation.”
    â€œDon’t we always?” Rhodes said.
    â€œNot like this,” Hack said, and instead of digressing, he went right into it. “We got a wild bull on the loose from the vet’s and headin’ for the Walmart. You need to get out there right now.”
    â€œThat’s Alton’s job,” Rhodes said.
    As the animal control officer for the county, Alton Boyd was the one in charge of things like bulls. However, it seemed that Rhodes was called to help him out all too often, having been involved with capturing both alligators and donkeys.
    â€œAlton needs some backup. Before you say send somebody else, you got Andy doing a crime scene, and Duke’s off in another part of the county. Alton’s got Dr. Stanton and his assistant, but they ain’t enough.”
    Dr. David Stanton was a veterinarian, fairly new in town. He had a new building a half mile or so down the highway from the Walmart. Rhodes wasn’t sure who his assistant was.
    â€œIf that bull gets to Walmart, much less gets in the buildin’, there’s gonna be big trouble,” Hack said. “You better get on out there.”
    â€œI’m on the way,” Rhodes said.
    *   *   *
    The Clearview Super Walmart was located out on the highway that led to Railville. Rhodes arrived at the entrance to the parking area and looked around. It was a little early for there to be much of a crowd, only about an hour after sunup, but there were a few cars in the lot near the entrance to the building. There was always someone shopping at Walmart, no matter what time it was. A couple of motor homes were parked at one edge of the lot. They