Free Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly

Assuming he showed at all today.
    Finally, under the end window, behind a printer box, I found an outlet. I leaned over the box and stretched to push in the plug. There was a loud snapping sound and sparks flew up. So did I, backward onto the floor. I lost a few seconds, maybe half a minute. I opened my eyes and looked up into Detective Gordon’s blue ones. I struggled to sit up.
    “Take it easy, Ms. Paulson,” he said.
    “I’m all right,” I said. And I was, except for the tingling in my fingers, the buzzing ache in my arm and the high-pitched sound of crickets in my ear.
    “I don’t think you are.”
    At that moment Roma came around the end of the bookshelves. “Kathleen, what happened?” she asked. “I came in the door and Mary said you were hurt.”
    “I got a little shock when I plugged in the vacuum cleaner,” I said.
    “A little shock?” exclaimed Susan. I hadn’t seen her standing behind Detective Gordon. “There were sparks and a big bang, and she went flying.”
    “Would you take a look at her, please?” Detective Gordon asked, getting to his feet.
    “She’s a vet,” Susan said. She gave Roma an apologetic look. “No offense.”
    Roma smiled. “None taken. You’re right. But I do have first-aid training.” She knelt beside me.
    “Roma, I’m all right, really,” I said.
    She laid a hand on my shoulder. “Kathleen,” she said, “stop talking just for a moment, please.” She began feeling my scalp, probing gently under my hair for bumps. “Did you hit your head?”
    “No,” I said. I shifted position and winced. “I did bang my hip.”
    She fished in her pocket, pulled out a set of keys and held them up to Susan. “My car is in the lot—it’s the dark blue four-by-four. There’s a black bag behind the driver’s seat. Would you get it for me, please?”
    “Sure,” Susan said, taking the keys.
    Roma turned back to me, reached for my arm and pressed two fingers to my wrist while she checked her watch. After that she sat back on her heels. “What happened?” she asked.
    “I was plugging in the vacuum cleaner. There was a loud snap, sparks and I went over backward.”
    She glanced up at Detective Gordon, who nodded his agreement. “Which hand?” Roma asked.
    “Excuse me?” I said.
    “Which hand was holding the plug?”
    “Oh. This one.” I held up my right hand.
    Susan came back then with Roma’s bag and set it beside us. “Thank you,” Roma said. She opened the bag and pulled out a stethoscope. As she put the round metal end on my chest I hoped the last place it had been wasn’t a horse’s rear.
    “Take a deep breath and bark,” Roma said. Vet humor, I figured.
    She listened in several places, then pulled the ends of the stethoscope out of her ears. “Let’s try standing up,” she said.
    Detective Gordon offered his hand. I took it and got to my feet. My arm still felt numb, but the high-pitched whine in my ear was almost gone. “See?” I said, holding out both hands. “I’m all right.” I turned to Roma. “Thank you.”
    She bent to stuff the stethoscope in her bag. “You’re welcome. But you should see a doctor—one who specializes in people, not pets and farm animals.”
    I thought about spending the rest of the morning sitting at the clinic, waiting to be seen by a doctor who wouldn’t do anything more than Roma had done. “I promise if I feel sick or off in any way, I’ll go,” I said. Susan, standing with her arms crossed, shook her head.
    “Kathleen, do you know why I became a vet?” Roma asked.
    “No.”
    “Because my patients never second-guess me.” She smiled to soften the criticism. Then the smile faded. “If you feel funny at all, go to the hospital. Don’t wait around.”
    “I will,” I said.
    Roma swung the strap of her bag over her shoulder. She nodded at Susan and Detective Gordon. “I’ll see you tonight,” she said to me, and headed back to the checkout desk.
    “You sure you’re okay?” Susan asked. “You hit the