Diamond Legacy. Monica McCabe

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ bellowed pitifully, thrashing in helpless despair during the final few seconds before the drug claimed her. When she stilled, a collective sigh of relief went out.

      It was also a call to action. The clock was ticking. Fueled by a second wind, Miranda jumped to her feet.

      “Let’s move people,” she shouted. “Henri, swing her over to the padding on the rock platform. Jason, watch her landing closely. We don’t want compression to complicate matters. Make sure the lady is comfortable.”

      She raced over to join Senga, Kiv, and the rest of the team by the mobile dental lab.

      “Everything still sterilized?” she asked Senga as she dug into the medicine chest for the anesthesia antidote.

      “Properly irradiated and sterile packaged,” he replied.

      “Excellent.” She checked the long-needled syringe for air bubbles and laid it aside for after the procedure.

      “Kiv”—she looked the young man square in the eye—“grab the wooden brace so we can prop Estelle’s mouth open. Don’t want any missing fingers should her jaws clamp shut.”

      Uncertainty filled the young man’s eyes, and he shot a second glance at the unconscious hippo. Good. A little fear was healthy. Wild animals were unpredictable.

      Estelle now reclined on her side atop the pad-covered rocks, her head on the low end to allow drainage. The lady was drooling.

      Miranda and Jason pulled on their latex gloves, then worked together to position Estelle’s head to the best angle. Jason straddled the hippo’s neck, leaned over to grab her upper jaw, and lifted while Miranda positioned the brace in Estelle’s mouth.

      She began the inspection immediately. “Infection is setting in around that left incisor,” she said as she reached for a pick. “This girl’s been in a lot of pain. No wonder she’s cranky.”

      Jason knelt on the ground next to Estelle’s open jaws. “She’s in a bad way, doctor,” he lisped with his best mad scientist impression, rubbing his hands together. “But we can rebuild her, yes?”

      The team members laughed outright, and Miranda shook her head with a smile.

      “Yes, Igor,” she said. “But we have less than an hour. Let’s get busy!”

      Chapter 6

      “I watched you with the hippo yesterday,” Letta Mombasa said. “You’ve a strong sense of the animal kingdom.”

      Pleased by the comment, Miranda smiled at the clinician serving her residency at Katanga. Assigned the task of orienting her and Jason for their short stay, Letta had greeted them with warmth and friendliness the moment they’d arrived.

      “Estelle proved a worthy challenge.” Miranda swung her medical bag off her shoulder and dropped it on a spotless counter. “I almost came out on the losing end.”

      Letta shook her head. “You had fierce concentration,” she said with equally fierce scrubbing of an exam table. “You did not falter.”

      Compliments aside, Miranda genuinely liked the young woman. She had a beautiful smile and smooth chocolate skin that glowed with healthy radiance. She was also helpful and unafraid of hard work—two qualities Miranda admired.

      “My father is a big game veterinarian.” Miranda dug her stethoscope out of her pack and slung it around her neck. “He taught me early on to respect an animal’s primal instincts.”

      “That explains some,” Letta replied. “Yet talent such as yours cannot be taught. One is surely born with it.”

      Miranda smiled. “It takes talent to recognize talent.”

      The compliment seemed to embarrass Letta, and she dropped her eyes, turning away. As she did, her elbow knocked over a bottle of disinfectant. “Oh, dear.” She snatched the bottle upright and sighed at the pooling liquid.

      Warren Graham rounded a corner just then, grabbed a handful of paper towels, and tossed them onto the table as he walked by. “At it again, Letta?”

      Miranda frowned at his retreating back. “What’s that about?”

      “Nothing,” Letta mumbled as she wiped up the mess. “I’m a bit clumsy is all, and Mr. Graham is always gruff.”

      That she could believe. They’d met Warren Graham shortly after arriving, and for a man heading up personnel, he seemed to lack basic people skills.

      Jason poked his head into the clinic just then, flashing a sloppy grin and announcing, “I’ve found me a new love!” He pushed the door open wide and in walked a chimpanzee dressed in dark shorts and dragging a white towel behind her. She waddled straight for Letta and politely handed over the towel.

      “Thank you, Roz.” Letta tossed it in a hamper.

      Her morning chore complete, the monkey went to Miranda and gazed up in avid curiosity.

      “Meet our reigning Queen of Katanga,” Letta said as she lifted Roz to the recently cleaned exam table. “She’s a permanent resident and convinced this place revolves around her.”

      The monkey rolled her lips back in a charming grin. Miranda smiled back and extended her hand palm up in a gesture of friendship. Roz patted her hand in acceptance, then brought her hand to her forehead and down in a way of greeting.

      Miranda blinked in surprise. “She knows sign language?”

      “We taught her limited ASL,” Letta replied. “With the free reign she enjoys, we needed a way to communicate.”

      Miranda returned Roz’s gesture, the sign for hello.

      “You’ve kept journals of the process and her interactions?” Jason asked.

      “Of course,” Letta replied. “You may read them if you like.”

      “Absolutely.”

      Roz grabbed Miranda’s wrist, her large watchband a subject of intent monkey fascination. When she began tugging on the clasp, Miranda wiggled her arm loose.

      “Keep an eye on that one,” Letta warned. “Anything catching her fancy ends up missing. No one can find her hiding spot either. Somewhere on the grounds there’s a sizable cache of stolen loot.”

      “Amazing,” Jason exclaimed. “Cute, full of personality, and an eye for wealth.” He chucked Roz under the chin. “Easily Gaborone’s most eligible bachelorette.”

      They shared a round of laughter and Roz preened at the attention, gracing them with another big-lipped smile.

      Signing the word “doctor,” three fingers on an upturned wrist, Miranda gave Roz a questioning look, and the chimp snuffled in good-natured agreement.

      “Good girl,” Miranda cooed. “Let’s have a peek at those pearlies, shall we?”

      With a little encouragement, Roz opened her mouth, and Miranda did a quick inspection. “Healthy gums, no indication СКАЧАТЬ