In Good Hands: Book 5 Georgie B. Goode Gypsy Caravan Cozy Mystery by Marg McAlister Page B

box at Scott. “If I get a bit short with people, it’s because I’m surrounded by incompetents. ”
    “Not now, ladies,” Scott said, extracting a bag and turning it inside out before scooping up some of the vomit. “Let’s worry about Trixxi.” He turned the bag back the right way again, enclosing the contents, and zipped it up. And then his eye fell on Trixxi’s water dish, and a speculative light entered his eye.
    “What is it?” Georgie asked, seeing him glance at the dog and then back to her bowl.
    “Just a thought.” He took the bowl to the sink and tipped it until a thin trickle of water splashed out, and his lips tightened. “Damn it! Damn it! ” He dipped a finger into the bowl and tasted it. “Jaxx, I need a bottle—no, never mind.” He yanked open the fridge, extracted a bottle of water, and poured the contents into the sink. Then he filled it with the water from Trixxi’s bowl.
    Georgie narrowed her eyes as she watched. “It’s green .”
    “They used antifreeze,” Scott said shortly, and followed up with a few choice swear words. “Georgie, where’s the nearest vet?”
    “I’ll take you there.” She swapped Trixxi for the bottle and the zip lock bag. “Jaxx, Ella, I don’t think it would be a good idea to stay here tonight. I’ll contact the security guard and ask him to stay with you until I can call Dad; he’ll arrange for a hotel.”
    “I want to come with you.” Jaxx started to follow them, but Scott stopped her with a look.
    “No, do what Georgie says and go pack a few things,” he said, looking uncharacteristically grim. “We’ll let you know about Trixxi. And this time, lock the damned door behind you!”
    Jaxx’s eyebrows drew together in a frown, and she opened her mouth as if to argue, but then her eye fell upon Ella, who was still looking daggers at her.
    “Well,” she said, with a new target for her anger, “If you can be bothered, Ella, we need to pack. If I’m not too bad-tempered to spend time with.” She whirled on her heel and disappeared.
    Georgie called the security guard, filled him in and then dismissed Jaxx and her tantrums from her mind.
    Right now, the only important thing was the welfare of a tiny ball of fur that had been an innocent victim.
    ~~~
    A few hours later, Georgie and Scott met up with her father in the security room at the RV Empire. Johnny B. Goode, looking grim, was standing behind the second night guard, staring at a playback screen. With him was Michael Crosby, the owner of the security company, eager to offer help. The mammoth RV Empire was one of his best clients.
    He looked at Georgie and Scott, and then at Johnny.
    “You know my daughter,” Georgie’s dad said. “This is Scott... Scott, meet Michael.” He looked at them, his eyes somber. Johnny owned three dogs, and he was not taking this lightly. “How’s the pup?”
    “We got there in time. She should be OK in a couple of days,” Scott said. “How long it takes depends on when she drank it.” He nodded at the screen. “This might tell us when it happened—but if the dog was asleep and it was a few hours before she ingested the poison, that’ll help.”
    “We’ve bookmarked the places where there was activity around the RV,” said the guard, “starting from when everyone left this morning. I’ll jump to each instance.”
    For the next ten minutes, he ran the recording, jumping from one bookmarked spot to the next. Since the Johnny B. Goode RV Empire had invested in top quality equipment, the high-definition color recording allowed an impressive clarity and zoom.
    They watched while Jaxx and Ella hurried out, early that morning, Jaxx bubbly and excited, whirling around in her aqua and black swing skirt, her high ponytail bobbing. They left, and the next few people in the vicinity of the motorhome were just employees taking care of the grounds; trimming shrubs or walking past with supplies. Then, at sixteen minutes after three in the afternoon—shown on the