Felicity peered at him, confused as to why the other vet’s route was relevant. Or was Harvey just rambling?

“Or you can always come back tomorrow. Dr. Cooper has a clinic day for walk-ins. Just does patch-up jobs in here for animals with minor matters. The more major injuries we send on to other clinics and hospitals.”

Definitely rambling.

His eyes darted back to Felicity’s. “Feel free to skip that, though. Clinic days can be a bit… Well, not for everyone.” He brightened. “But on Wednesday there’s a huge open day for homeless in the park where all the services come together to help them out. My wife and Dr. Cooper will be representing Living Ruff. You can see most of what we do then. What will it be?”

His tone of voice told her either way this meeting was over. She had no interest in riding around visiting more hard-luck cases. Doing it for three hours had been more than enough. “Tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll attend clinic day with Dr. Cooper.”

The thought of skipping a day in Cooper’s company felt strangely unsettling. She absolutely refused to analyze that feeling further.

“Your choice. Clinic opens at eight here. It’s excellent that you’ll see all the good we do. I hope you’ll convey that back to Ms. Bartell.” He rose and extended his hand for her to shake, which she did. “A pleasure meeting you.”

And with that, she was practically bundled out his door.

* * *

That night, Felicity was restless. She barely tasted her low-fat vegetable lasagna or the small glass of red wine she’d washed it down with. Even her guilty pleasures failed to amuse her: Game of Thrones repeats, crime shows, and her beloved wildlife documentaries.

No matter how she turned over her conversation with Harvey, thought about the basic van, and even more basic office supplies, she couldn’t square it away with a charity suddenly flush with cash. She needed to talk to someone who knew Harvey Clifford, someone who could give her a bead on him. A vision of a particular towering vet filled her mind before she could stop it, and she glowered.

No, someone else. Besides, she couldn’t tell Cooper that she thought the woman’s charity director might be shady. She was clearly loyal.

Finally, she decided to call one person who might have some insights, even though she generally didn’t like asking Maddie for anything. It was just too embarrassing to need someone who would only tease the hell out of her for it.

“Felicity?” came Maddie’s perky Australian accent. “This is a surprise. I thought you’d rather have water torture than call me.” She laughed.

“Yes, well,” Felicity said primly, “I have business to discuss.”

“Really? I’m all ears. I can’t think what I could know that you don’t already.” She paused. “Maybe teacup hurling. Trajectories and the like.”

“Don’t make me regret telling you about that. God!” Felicity rolled her eyes, even though the annoying woman couldn’t see her.

“I’d have thought getting promoted for it would make that a fond memory.” The smile in Maddie’s voice was clear.

“You’d be wrong. Now, can we stop with the small talk? I need your help.”

“Go on.”

“You did a story last year about a charity, Living Ruff New York. Do you remember it?”

“How could I forget?” Warmth filled her voice. “I looked at every aspect of it and met so many amazing people. And don’t get me started on that gorgeous vet.” She chuckled. “Wow.”

Right? Felicity wanted to say. It wasn’t just her who appreciated the aesthetics of Dr. Sandy Cooper, but damn if she’d admit it to a living soul. “Yes, well, I’m sure Dr. Cooper’s gorgeous, but I need to ask you about Harvey Clifford.”

“Who mentioned Cooper? She’s not the only vet there.” Amusement filled her voice. “So you noticed her, too? How interesting.”

“Can we please focus? This is important. I need to know about the charity director. Is he honest? Aboveboard? How deep did you go into researching him?”

“Pretty deep,” Maddie said, sounding more serious now. “He dotted his i’s and crossed his t’s on everything. He was really honest about anything I asked about. He’s so passionate about his charity, it’s not funny. And then there’s his wife…” She made a faint choking noise.

Felicity frowned. “What about her?”

“She’s…” Maddie paused. “Let’s just say Rosalind Stone is definitely the brains of the foundation. And she’s not easy to forget.”

“Why not?”

Maddie laughed. “She’s like Elena, if Elena were a kick-ass socialite with a sole mission to help animals.”

“Oh. I see.” Well, now Felicity had to meet her. “Back to Harvey. Did he mention being interested in starting a new program? Even just as an idea?”

“No. What sort of program?”

“He won’t say. He’s very tight-lipped about it.”

“That’s odd. He was upfront about everything with me. Maybe it’s just too new to discuss?”

“Maybe.” Felicity was unconvinced.

“May I ask why you’re digging around some charity I wrote about once?”

Maddie didn’t know? Well, if Elena had wanted her to know, she’d have told her. “It’s just something on the side for work. I need to know if Living Ruff is on the level.”

“They’re good. Really good. The homeless adore them. The local government supports them. Other charities say they’re exceptional. If you’re thinking of donating or Bartell Corp is, I can’t think of many better causes.”

A muffled voice sounded in the distance that wasn’t Maddie’s. Felicity frowned. Oh. She hadn’t even asked if Maddie had company. She glanced at the clock and did a quick mental calculation, then gasped. “Oh! I’m sorry I called so late, Sydney time. What was I thinking!”

“Hey, relax. I’m not in Sydney. I’m in New York this month.”

“You are?” Felicity blinked. “Why?”

“Visiting an old friend.” Maddie laughed. “Well, I better not call her old. Anyway, I think you might know her quite well.”

“I suspect she probably does,” an unmistakable voice said in the background.

Elena? Elena was with Maddie? At…ten in the evening?

“Why is Elena there?” Felicity blurted out.

“She lives here. I’m visiting her, remember? Netflix night. I wanted to see her movie pick. You’ll never guess.”

Oh, Felicity was quite sure she’d never guess. Elena had been a mystery to her for years. “I have no idea,” she said faintly.

More murmuring sounded in the background.

“Okay, I’ve been instructed not to tell you to maintain Elena’s mystique.” Maddie laughed. “I better go. Popcorn’s getting cold. Hope I helped. ’Night!”

Felicity mumbled a goodbye, then stared at her phone.