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the hair on its tail stood on end. Seconds later, Precious’s lips curled back to reveal a set of very sharp teeth. For a moment I wondered what Mrs. Piraino needed with the security chain. Cujo didn’t have a thing on Precious.
    â€œWas that the last time you saw Mack?”
    Agnes stroked a cat’s back and tilted her head to the side. “I think so. Mack avoided me after that. I’m guessing the sheriff finally told him to leave me and my babies alone.” She leaned forward and gave me a sly look. “Sheriff Jackson and I dated when we were younger.”
    I thanked Agnes for her information and got up to leave. Precious hissed and pulled back into a crouch, making me take a step backward.
    â€œStop that, Precious.” Agnes’s voice took on the authoritative tone I remembered from my library days. “Don’t mind Precious. She gets a little cranky if she doesn’t get her medication on schedule.”
    Precious stopped hissing and gave me a flat stare. “If it makes her happy, you should probably give it to her,” I said. It would probably make the rest of the neighborhood happy as well. Who knows how many children Precious might eat without drugs?
    â€œI will, dear.” She assured me. “Thank you for stopping by. I like having visitors.”
    I said good-bye to Agnes and Precious. Hurrying to my car, I scratched Agnes off my list of suspects. The woman might be a little batty about her cats, but she was harmless. Turning the key, I headed off for the next potential murdering maniac on my list.
    Dr. Lionel Franklin’s veterinary clinic and farm was located about fifteen miles north of town. When I reached a green and white farmhouse with a sign reading LARGE ANIMAL VETERINARY clinic outside, I parked next to an enormous black pickup truck and hopped out of my car. A placard on the door said the doctor was in, so I rang the bell. When no one answered, I tried the handle.
    Locked.
    I decided since I’d driven all the way here I might as well look around. The sign did say the doctor was here somewhere. I wandered around the side of the house and followed the dirt path, poking my head into a few small sheds on the way. In one were some gardening tools; in the other, a couple of large pieces of farming equipment. No Dr. Franklin. I continued toward the large white barn at the end of the path.
    The light was dim as I walked into the enormous barn and stopped. The smell of horses and hay wasn’t unpleasant.
    â€œDr. Franklin?” I called. My voice echoed in the barn, and several horses poked their heads over stall doors on either side of the wide center aisle to look at me.
    When no human answer came, I took a few steps down the center aisle. A noise from the left stall made me jump. Curious, I poked my head in. Standing in the stall was a camel—and he was wearing a hat.

Four
    I squeezed my eyes shut tight, shook my head, and opened my eyes again. The camel was still there, and he was sporting a black fedora.
    I blinked.
    The camel blinked back.
    Then the camel poked his head over the chest-high door to get a closer look at me. Certain this was a hallucination, I reached toward the animal with my hand. The camel sniffed at me, and I petted its nose. The camel gave a funny little snort and rolled its eyes.
    I scratched the side of his face. That got me another eye roll and a throaty kind of grunt. I smiled. Not only was the camel real, but he liked me.
    â€œI see you’ve met Elwood.”
    I spun around and came face-to-face with over six feet of intense maleness. If this was the doctor, I could see why the women in town were in hot pursuit. He looked to be in his midthirties with tanned skin and a chiseled jaw. His thick brown hair that had probably needed a haircut three weeks ago now looked just plain sexy. In the barn’s dim light I couldn’t tell if his eyes were hazel or green, but either way, this man was perfection. Of course,