Callie knew they weren’t talking about the internet anymore. “Where’s your truck?”
“It’s parked in the back,” he said. “Can you believe that?”
“That’s crazy,” she said, though Dr. Jerry always parked his truck in the back. “I could go with you to make sure you find your way home.”
“That’s very generous, but unnecessary.” He held on to her hand again. “You’re the only reason I’ve been able to work these last few months. And I do understand the sacrifice on your part. What it takes for you to be able to do this.”
He was looking at her dope kit on the table. She told him, “I’m sorry.”
“You will never, ever need to apologize to me.” He held her hand to his mouth, giving her a quick kiss before letting her go. “Now, what are we trying to achieve here? I’d hate for you to go awry.”
Callie looked at the pentobarbital. The label identified it as Euthasol, and they used it for exactly what the name implied. Dr. Jerry thought he understood her motive for taking it out of the cabinet, but he was wrong.
She said, “I’ve run across a very dangerous Great Dane.”
He scratched his chin, considering the implications. “That’s unusual. I would say the blame lies squarely with the owner. Danes are normally very friendly and compassionate mates. They are called gentle giants for a reason.”
“There’s nothing gentle about this one,” Callie said. “He’s hurting women. Raping them, torturing them. And he’s threatening to hurt people I care about. Like my sister. And my—my sister’s daughter. Maddy. She’s only sixteen. She’s got her whole life ahead of her.”
Dr. Jerry understood now. He picked up the vial. “How much does this animal weigh?”
“About one hundred seventy-five pounds.”
He studied the bottle. “Freddy, the magnificent Great Dane who held the world record for largest dog, came in at one hundred ninety-six pounds.”
“That’s a big dog.”
He went silent. She could tell he was doing the calculation in his head.
He finally decided, “I would say to be certain, you’d need at least twenty ml’s.”
Callie puffed air between her lips. “That’s a big syringe.”
“That’s a big dog.”
Callie considered her next question. They normally ran an IV and sedated an animal before they put it down. “How would you administer it?”
“The jugular would be good.” He thought about it some more. “Intracardial would be the quickest route. Directly into the heart. You’ve done that before, yes?”
She’d done it at the clinic, but before Narcan was so readily available, she’d also done it in the streets.
Callie asked, “What else?”
“The heart sits at an axis inside the body, so the left atrium would be the most posterior, thus easier to access, correct?”
Callie took a moment to visualize the anatomy. “Correct.”
“The sedative effect should take hold within seconds, but the entire dose would be required to pass the creature on to the next life. And of course the muscles would tense. You’d hear agonal breathing.” He smiled, but there was a sadness in his eyes. “If you don’t mind my saying, it seems to me that it would be very dangerous for someone of your petite stature to take on this task.”
“Dr. Jerry,” Callie said. “Don’t you know by now that I live for danger?”
He grinned, but the sadness was still there.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “What happened with your son, you need to know that he always loved you. He wanted to stop. Part of him, at least. He wanted a normal life where you could be proud of him.”
“I appreciate your words more than I can express,” Dr. Jerry said. “As for you, my friend, you have been a delightful presence in my life. There is nothing about our relationship that has ever, ever not brought me joy. You remember that, okay?”
“Promise,” she said. “And the same goes for you.”
“Ah.” He tapped the side of his forehead. “That is something I will never forget.”
After that, there was nothing else for him to do but leave.
Callie found Meowma Cass curled up on the couch in Dr. Jerry’s office. The cat was too sleepy to protest the insult of being placed inside of a carrier. She even allowed Callie to reach down and kiss her round belly. The bottle-feeding had paid off. Cass was stronger now. She was going to make it.