Losing Patients (Animal Instincts Book 4) by Chloe Kendrick Page A

was, and she said that his wife was sleeping with her husband.”
    “Wow, that’s quite an announcement during a seminar at the vet’s,” I said, hoping to get her to tell me more.
    “Several people turned around and looked. He said something back to her, and then they moved over to where the refreshments were. She told him that they were planning to divorce and marry each other.”
    “I wonder why they didn’t go out into the hallway or to get a cup of coffee?” I asked, thinking of the roomful of witnesses they were providing.
    “She said that she really wanted to hear the seminar, but she thought it her duty to tell him.” She snorted over the word “duty” as she said it.
    “How did he respond? I would have left after that. I certainly wouldn’t want to hear about dogs and cats in a rescue center.”
    “He laughed it off. He said that he had his own divorce funds that he’d stashed away. She didn’t even know that he’d put over $100,000 in a hiding place at his home where she’d never find it. He laughed as he said this.”
    “You certainly were able to hear everything. Were they that loud?” I wanted to make sure I had a credible witness to give Detective Green. She was always skeptical of my stories, since she said that I got many of them from talking to animals. She liked her witnesses to be jury proofed.
    “Well, I turned up my hearing aids that night. Between their arguments and the background noise of the pets in the clinic, I had trouble hearing what the girl from the rescue center was saying. It was very rude, and I didn’t like it at all.”
    I felt my spirits drop as she said this. Her testimony would be questioned because of the mechanical help she had in hearing the conversations. I could hear what the police would say now about it.
    “Was there anyone else around who would have heard what was being said? I always like to get two versions. It’s hard to remember things word for word when you’re not really expecting to have to recall it later.”
    “The guy who brought the treats. He was standing right there. He had to hear what was going on. He’d have heard every word.”
    Allan Hale had heard it all. I didn’t quite understand why that would be a motive for murder. Blanche Graham had heard the words, and she was alive and well. It didn’t make sense why only certain people were being singled out for murder after the event. What had made them special?
    I thought about this some more and had a thought. What if Hale had heard about the $100,000 and decided to take it for himself? Then he’d not be just a witness to the scene between the two victims; he’d be someone who was trying to take that money away from them. There was an easy way for me to find out if he had come to the Givens’ home.
    I picked up the phone and called Detective Green again. “I have a big favor to ask. Could you review some of the old video feeds of the last few days and tell me if Allan Hale stopped by the Givens’ home? I’m suspecting that he did.”
    “Why? What would make you think that he was going to visit the widow? I thought you said she was sleeping with the Adamson man. Now you think she was involved with Hale too? What is up with this case?”
    I took a deep breath and let it out. “This is only a theory so far, but I was told that the two original victims were arguing at that rescue seminar. Givens said that he’d hidden $100,000 in the house where no one would ever find it. I’m wondering if Hale didn’t decide to accept that challenge and try to find it on his own.”
    “So he would have been killed to stop him from getting the money. That’s a decent motive right there. Do you think that anyone else is going to come after the money? Do you think that Harriett Marksberry went after it as well?” She paused to write something down. The scratches of her pen were audible over the phone. I thought of all the things we heard each day that we didn’t pay attention to. Someone had