All Roads Lead Home Page #6

- Bye.

Hey, Nat.

What?

Oh, no.

We got another one.

Checked and rechecked, nada.

Toxicology from K State?

Not.

Blood work, stool,

pathology report

from KSDVM?

Nein, nyet and no way, dude.

There's nothing here.

There has got to be a link.

I just know there has

to be some link.

You...

Me what?

You! You're the only link.

You are

the common denominator.

Your clients, your dogs,

your care and prescribed treatment.

Your meds, diet and...

Oh my God.

Do you think that's true?

You are the kiss of death,

Dr. Lillian Cole.

I'm kidding.

Don't do that.

- Mr. Peepers is getting cranky.

- No, stop.

Well, when is the food

gonna arrive?

Every now and then

you should eat a little something

that won't turn your heart

into a hockey puck.

Belle,

what about these changes?

There's no such thing

as culling a litter anymore.

If a pup isn't fit to be sold,

we'll just have to find a home for it.

That's gonna make a lot

of extra mouths to feed.

I'll pay for it.

You will?

You can deduct it

from my raise.

We'll need special pens

for Basham's critters

that have access to the pond

and pasture.

Who's gonna pay for that?

Basham will.

You can deduct it

from his raise.

You know,

this is all well

and good for a time, honey.

But I seriously can't sustain

the expense

of husbanding animals

that don't return a profit.

And neither can you.

And neither can Basham.

There's a reality out there

that you just have to accept.

And it's not about the money.

I know that, Grandpa.

But for a time,

until I think of something else?

Yeah, for a time.

Now about Apache Wind.

What about him?

He's not for sale.

What we should do is...

Did you double his stud fees?

Nope.

I tripled 'em.

- And...

- Scout.

- Calpurnia.

- Calpurnia.

No, this is Miss Maudie.

Calpurnia has a little white spot

on her left foot.

Let's start over.

That horse's name is...

Olivia.

Woman I know.

You knew a woman?

My mother!

Well...

- Olivia.

- Olivia.

You know, if we could

change that hedge line

to the berm, we could cut down

on some of that store-bought feed...

Your mother loved animals.

She loved animals

more than life itself.

And with the price of hedge

going for 140 bucks a cord.

Hey, Lil, you okay?

- It's aflatoxin.

- Gesundheit.

No, it's aflatoxin.

I know what killed those dogs.

I figured it out.

We gotta go.

Come on.

I chose those dogs' diets.

But there's no way

all my stock was tainted.

It would have to be something

occurring to the food.

Something that occurs

haphazardly

that affects one batch

and not another.

Hence, the reason it was

so difficult to trace and isolate.

- Aflatoxin?

- Mm-hmm.

No no, it's not your food, sir.

Aflatoxin is a mold that's inherent

to all grain-based feeds.

I know all about aflatoxin,

but it can't survive the heat

of our extrusion process.

If that process is less than 10%

moisture in the final product, correct?

- Well, yes.

- Even 1% above that, and you have...

- Food poisoning.

- Exactly.

So what you're saying is if one

of my temperature gauges is off

- by even just a little bit...

- Yes yes.

But it can't be all that much off.

The incidents, the deaths

were fairly localized,

and if you have

even 1% more...

Get me security.

Drop the gates.

Stop the run.

That's right.

Yeah, the entire run.

Atticus, shh!

- Shh, no!

- Easy now, boy.

Atticus, stop, no!

Atticus, stop!

Easy now.

Atticus, no!

- Stop, Atticus!

- I said heel!

Atticus, no!

My understanding is that the attack

was totally unprovoked.

Yeah, it was.

It's her dog?

It's her...

it's our dog.

Hock, this has gotta go

a certain way.

Yeah.

Give me a minute.

Hey, Belle.

We got a decision to make.

I know.

What's gonna happen now

is Brent's gonna take

the dog down

to the pound

and it's gotta stay there

until the judge

makes a determination.

But from what he tells me,

it's pretty much

a foregone conclusion.

We're gonna have

to put him down.

How long will he

have to stay at the pound?

Days. Maybe weeks.

What if no one

presses charges?

Well, it doesn't work

like that, honey.

It's out of our hands unless...

Unless what?

Unless we take care

of things ourselves

and we just keep it

in the family.

Honey, why don't you let me

make this decision?

No, Grandpa,

this is my decision.

No pound.

For Atticus,

that could be an eternity.

Okay.

So if you leave the dog here,

we'll put it down.

That'd be fine.

Just no later than tomorrow.

- Okay, appreciate that. Thank you.

- Yeah.

Natasha tries to get me

out here once a week.

And do you go?

Not till now.

Why not?

I don't know.

I guess it just reminds me

of all the things I'm not,

all the things I'm missing,

all those bright, pretty things.

There is not a light in this city

that shines brighter than you.

Wow, I never pegged you

for a romantic.

I have my moments.

They're few and far between,

but I have my moments.

So...

we have a good night?

No, we had a great night.

A little dinner, a little music,

a little dancing,

a little...

I'm sorry.

It's okay.

Hello.

Hock.

"When he was nearly 13,

my brother Jem got

his arm badly broken

at the elbow.

When it healed

and Jem's fears

of never being able to play

football were assuaged...

Maycomb was an old town,

but it was a tired old town

when I first knew it.

Somehow, it was hotter then:

A black dog suffered

on a summer's day.

Bony mules hitched

to Hoover carts

flicked flies in the sweltering shade

of the live oaks

on the square...

There are clearly no defined seasons

in South Alabama.

Summer drifts into autumn,

and autumn is sometimes

never followed by winter...

Reverend Sykes's voice

was as distant

as Judge Taylor's,

'Miss Jean Louise, stand up.

Your father's passing...'

Jem said he would take me.

Thus began our

longest journey together...

He turned out the light

and went into Jem's room.

He would be there all night.

He would be there

when Jem waked up

in the morning."

How this works is the first shot

will put him fast to sleep.

And the second shot

will stop his heart.

And then he'll be gone.

I understand.

He won't feel any pain,

not even the shot.

I understand.

This might not be

the right time,

but I could not

be more proud of you.

Ready?

Yeah.

After the second shot,

I'd like to be alone with him.

I think he'd like that.

Oh, I don't think

that you should...

Okay.

I didn't ask for this!

I don't want this!

This ain't right.

It ain't up to you, Basham.

Now get out.

Don't make it worse than it is.

Ain't but a scratch.

Stand aside, Belle.

Basham!

Clayton...

I need you to be strong

for me now.

No 4H Club.

Oh no, Belle.

No way.

Well...

Hold on.

Was that the feed

that you were

feeding Apache Wind

whenever Atticus attacked you?

It was.

That's CW feed.

- A dog knows.

- Don't he?

Belle, honey.

What in the Sam Hill

is going on?

There's a... it's a grain-based

mold that's coming

in this brand of feed right now.

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