Free Beyond This Point Are Monsters by Margaret Millar Page B

dozen years apart.”
    â€œI didn’t bring up the subject of Ruth Bishop,” Ford said. “You did.”
    â€œYou led me into it.”
    â€œBy the way, it’s not exactly easy to fall off a tractor.”
    â€œI wouldn’t know. I’ve never tried.”
    â€œThe rumor is that your husband was drunk.”
    â€œSo I heard.”
    â€œWas he?”
    â€œAn autopsy was performed. There was nothing in the report about alcohol.”
    â€œYou said a minute ago that Mr. Osborne lay in a coma for days. All traces of alcohol would have disappeared from the bloodstream during that time.”
    â€œI’m not a doctor. How would I know?”
    â€œI think you know a great deal, Mrs. Osborne. The problem is getting you to admit it.”
    â€œThat was an ungentlemanly remark.”
    â€œI come from a long line of ungentlemen,” Ford said. “You’d better go back to your place. The recess is over.”
    Judge Gallagher was striding back into the courtroom, his black robe flapping around him like the broken wings of a raven.
    â€œRemain seated and come to order,” the clerk said. “Superior Court is now in session.”

CHAPTER SIX
    the name of john loomis was called, and one of the men in ranchers’ clothes came to the witness box and was sworn in: John Sylvester Loomis, 514 Paloverde Street, Boca de Rio; occupation, doctor of veterinary medicine. Dr. Loomis testified that on the morning of October 13, 1967, he was asleep in the apartment above his place of business when he was awakened by someone pounding on the office door. He went downstairs and found Robert Osborne with his dog, Maxie, on a leash.
    â€œI gave him hell, if you’ll pardon the expression, for waking me up so early, since I’d been at a foaling until three o’clock. But he seemed to think it was urgent, that someone had poisoned his dog.”
    â€œWhat was your opinion?”
    â€œI saw no evidence of poison. The dog was lively, his eyes were clear and bright, nose cold, no offensive breath odor. Mr. Osborne said he’d found Maxie in a field before dawn, that the dog’s legs were twitching violently, it was frothing at the mouth and had lost control of its bowels. I persuaded Mr. Osborne to leave the dog with me for a few hours, and he said he’d pick it up on his way home from San Diego in the late afternoon or early evening.”
    â€œAnd did he?”
    â€œYes. About seven o’clock that night.”
    â€œMeanwhile you’d had a chance to examine the dog.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œAnd what did you find out?”
    â€œNothing absolutely positive. But I was pretty sure it had suffered an epileptic seizure. Such seizures are not uncommon in dogs as they get older, and spaniels like Maxie are particularly susceptible. Once a seizure is over, the dog makes an immediate and complete recovery. It’s the speed of the recovery, in fact, which helps with the diagnosis.”
    â€œDid you explain this to Mr. Osborne, Dr. Loomis?”
    â€œI made an attempt. But he had this thing in his mind about poison, that the dog had been poisoned.”
    â€œWas there any basis for his belief?”
    â€œNone that I could see,” Loomis said. “I didn’t argue with him, though. It seemed a touchy subject.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œPeople often identify with their pets. I got the impres­sion that Mr. Osborne thought someone was trying to poi­son him.”
    â€œThank you, Dr. Loomis. You may step down now.”
    Leo Bishop was called as the next witness. His reluc­tance to take the stand was evidenced by the slowness of his movements and the look of apology he gave Devon as he passed her. When he responded to Ford’s questions about his name and address, his voice was so low that even the court reporter, who was sitting directly below the wit­ness box, had to ask him to speak up.
    Ford said, “Would you please