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treatment.”
Jane took her hands off Shadow and leaned against the table, her fingers clenched into fists. Shadow, sensing her distress, rubbed his head against her arm.
“Martin was clever, too,” Jane went on. “He always figured he was the smartest person in the room and had all sorts of schemes to rake in piles of money. Problem is, they never worked. He ran the finances on our practice, and we were up to our eyeballs in debt when I finally discovered he was fooling around on me. Worse, he was actually milking some of his better-off lady friends for money.”
“Guess I can see why he’s your ex.” Sunny didn’t know what else to say.
“But not before we came up here for a new start.” Jane tried for a light touch, but her voice grew harsh even as she softly petted Shadow. “Martin managed to straighten out and fly right for a couple of months. Then he fell back into his old ways again—and somehow it was worse that he’d do it here, where I grew up!”
“Yikes!” Sunny said.
“There’s a difference between running around in wide-open suburbia and doing the same in a small town. I heard about what he was up to pretty quickly,” Jane said quietly. “And that was it. I made sure that the practice was in my name, and he couldn’t get anything out of it. So after the divorce, Martin set up shop on the other side of the river and did his best to poach as many of my patients as he could. He was pretty successful, with that patented Rigsdale charm.”
She gave a tight little laugh, but her face was flaming. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this, except that you saw what I did to him at the Redbrick.”
And you really don’t have anyone else in town to talk to,
Sunny realized. “There are a couple of guys I wish I could do that to,” she told Jane, thinking of the editor in New York she’d been involved with. The same editor who’d laid her off when things got tough.
“Well, Martin stayed true to form.” Jane sighed. “I thought he was being civilized, asking me out to dinner last night. Instead he hit me up for money—foundation money.”
Jane had recently wound up running an animal welfare fund with a sizable endowment. She’d put in a lot of work with animal control people throughout the area. With the financial help of the foundation, they established a no-kill policy at the local shelter and stepped up adoption efforts, not just in Kittery Harbor but all through Elmet County. Every week, Sunny saw advertisements with pictures of furry adoption candidates in the
Harbor Crier
and in other local papers. Jane was even trying to get some of the local TV news outlets onto the adopt-a-pet bandwagon, too. She’d made a couple of successful test appearances. With a gorgeous blonde as the spokesperson, stations were quite willing to try it out.
But Jane wasn’t trying to get herself on television; she really was trying to help stray and abandoned animals. She took her position seriously, and she certainly wasn’t getting a lot in pay.
“The way Martin saw it, I must be rolling in dough, and I ought to spread it around.” Jane’s voice grew almost jagged, earning her a concerned look from Shadow. “He thought I should bring him in as a consultant, with remuneration in line with all his years of experience. A low six-figure fee would be just fine.”
“He sounds like a piece of work,” Sunny said quickly, hoping to head off the icy expression congealing on Jane’s face. “So, is there anything else I should do for Shadow’s foot?”
“Huh?” Jane blinked for a second, her vengeful train of thought obviously derailed. “Oh. No, just try the oil massage for a week. If he doesn’t show improvement, then we’ll try something more medical.”
Anger crept back into her voice. “Martin, of course, would skip to that step right away. He never saw a procedure he didn’t like. The more expensive, the better.”
“Well, thanks, Jane.” Sunny brought the carrier back onto the
Jane took her hands off Shadow and leaned against the table, her fingers clenched into fists. Shadow, sensing her distress, rubbed his head against her arm.
“Martin was clever, too,” Jane went on. “He always figured he was the smartest person in the room and had all sorts of schemes to rake in piles of money. Problem is, they never worked. He ran the finances on our practice, and we were up to our eyeballs in debt when I finally discovered he was fooling around on me. Worse, he was actually milking some of his better-off lady friends for money.”
“Guess I can see why he’s your ex.” Sunny didn’t know what else to say.
“But not before we came up here for a new start.” Jane tried for a light touch, but her voice grew harsh even as she softly petted Shadow. “Martin managed to straighten out and fly right for a couple of months. Then he fell back into his old ways again—and somehow it was worse that he’d do it here, where I grew up!”
“Yikes!” Sunny said.
“There’s a difference between running around in wide-open suburbia and doing the same in a small town. I heard about what he was up to pretty quickly,” Jane said quietly. “And that was it. I made sure that the practice was in my name, and he couldn’t get anything out of it. So after the divorce, Martin set up shop on the other side of the river and did his best to poach as many of my patients as he could. He was pretty successful, with that patented Rigsdale charm.”
She gave a tight little laugh, but her face was flaming. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this, except that you saw what I did to him at the Redbrick.”
And you really don’t have anyone else in town to talk to,
Sunny realized. “There are a couple of guys I wish I could do that to,” she told Jane, thinking of the editor in New York she’d been involved with. The same editor who’d laid her off when things got tough.
“Well, Martin stayed true to form.” Jane sighed. “I thought he was being civilized, asking me out to dinner last night. Instead he hit me up for money—foundation money.”
Jane had recently wound up running an animal welfare fund with a sizable endowment. She’d put in a lot of work with animal control people throughout the area. With the financial help of the foundation, they established a no-kill policy at the local shelter and stepped up adoption efforts, not just in Kittery Harbor but all through Elmet County. Every week, Sunny saw advertisements with pictures of furry adoption candidates in the
Harbor Crier
and in other local papers. Jane was even trying to get some of the local TV news outlets onto the adopt-a-pet bandwagon, too. She’d made a couple of successful test appearances. With a gorgeous blonde as the spokesperson, stations were quite willing to try it out.
But Jane wasn’t trying to get herself on television; she really was trying to help stray and abandoned animals. She took her position seriously, and she certainly wasn’t getting a lot in pay.
“The way Martin saw it, I must be rolling in dough, and I ought to spread it around.” Jane’s voice grew almost jagged, earning her a concerned look from Shadow. “He thought I should bring him in as a consultant, with remuneration in line with all his years of experience. A low six-figure fee would be just fine.”
“He sounds like a piece of work,” Sunny said quickly, hoping to head off the icy expression congealing on Jane’s face. “So, is there anything else I should do for Shadow’s foot?”
“Huh?” Jane blinked for a second, her vengeful train of thought obviously derailed. “Oh. No, just try the oil massage for a week. If he doesn’t show improvement, then we’ll try something more medical.”
Anger crept back into her voice. “Martin, of course, would skip to that step right away. He never saw a procedure he didn’t like. The more expensive, the better.”
“Well, thanks, Jane.” Sunny brought the carrier back onto the