Equal Access (33 page)

As Shad and the boat approached each other,
Shad began swimming toward the surface. He felt more than saw the
boat start passing over him. Shad kicked to the surface and broke
through directly beside the boat. Even as Vic swung the pistol
toward him, Shad grabbed the side of the vessel and pushed it down
by raising himself.

The boat capsized and spilled Vic into the
river while Shad was busy trying to avoid them both. He dove
underwater, resurfaced again a couple of yards from the boat, and
saw Vic sputtering and starting to swim toward the bank. It didn’t
look like Vic still had the pistol.

Shad took a few strokes toward Vic and dove
again. He plunged underneath the man and then with as hard a kick
as Shad could muster, breached beside Vic with a momentum that
would probably make whales burst into laughter and threw himself on
top of the man.

Shad managed to gulp more air before they
both went under. Still on Vic’s back, Shad tightly wrapped his arms
around the other man, pinning Vic’s arms to his sides. Their
combined weight kept pulling them down. Vic struggled, and Shad did
get his legs buffeted by the man’s shoes, but the density of the
water dulled the blows.

Shad believed there was nowhere on his body
that didn’t hurt, especially his lungs. He and Vic touched bottom,
and Shad couldn’t see a thing but there was no question Vic
continued to franticly struggle. Shad was good at holding his
breath for a long time when he had the chance to prepare for it,
but his already straining lungs felt like they were trying to
burst. Shad released a slow, partial exhale, and in the back of his
mind took comfort in the fact that if he drowned soon, at least
Charissa should be safe. Perhaps because his brain was starved for
oxygen Shad also thought of the joke “Do you know how to save a
drowning lawyer? No? Good!”

Vic suddenly stiffened, jerked, and then
trembled.

That was enough for Shad. Crooking one arm
under Vic’s, Shad kicked to reach the surface. Vic was much heavier
than Charissa, and for a couple of seconds Shad considered leaving
him at the bottom so Shad could breathe before he blacked out.

But they were only a few feet below the
surface. Shad broke through, noisily gulped air, and coughed and
sputtered as he dragged Vic toward the bank. By the time his feet
were able to touch bottom, Shad was grateful to have the water to
buoy him even as it pushed against him because he wasn’t sure he’d
be able to stand on his own.

The rocks cut into his feet as Shad dragged
Vic toward the brushy land. Shad didn’t even get Vic all the way
out, but was able to lay the man’s head on a rock sticking out from
the shallow water just before Shad collapsed to his hands and
knees.

Gasping, coughing, blessing every breath that
filled his lungs, Shad tried to take as little time as possible to
pull himself back together. He looked over at Vic, and too weary to
groan, Shad forced himself to stand and pull the man farther up on
the bank. Once he had Vic laid out, Shad began chest
compressions.

He was actually relieved that Vic started
gagging and coughing after only a few compressions. Shad wasn’t as
motivated to go through life-saving heroics this time, but he knew
he wouldn’t want the man’s death on his conscience either. Shad
rolled Vic to his side to cough up water, and quickly decided he’d
better find a way to detain the fellow.

Still kneeling beside Vic, Shad glanced up
and down the bank, not really expecting to find anything. He did
see Charissa about forty yards upstream. She was still partially
lying on her side and looking their direction.

Shad waved one arm. “It’s okay,” he
croaked.

Since there were no convenient coils of rope
lying around, Shad unbuckled his belt and pulled it free from the
loops of his shorts. He immediately realized that a belt cut for a
thirty-two inch waist wouldn’t be enough length to bind Vic’s hands
securely, so Shad used it to shackle Vic’s feet together. Shad then
ripped off his shirt, possibly popping off a button or two, and
twisted it into a ropey form. As he tied Vic’s hands behind his
back Shad realized he was going to owe Pap a new shirt.

When he finished restraining Vic, Shad rested
his hands on the ground to keep himself propped up. His head
throbbed, his sides ached, his legs were sore, his feet were cut
up; Shad wanted to just collapse on the bank and pass out for a
while.

“Mr. Delaney!”

Shad looked up. Charissa was stumbling toward
him, tripping over some of the brush. Still on his hands and knees,
Shad staggered more than crawled in her direction.

“Take it easy, Charissa. Don’t hurt
yourself.” His voice was still hoarse and raspy.

Charissa was easily covering more ground than
Shad. He had floundered only a couple of yards when she reached
him. Shad managed to sit up to a kneeling position and Charissa
threw her arms around his neck.

“It’s all right,” Shad croaked as he wrapped
his arms around her and patted Charissa’s back. “It’s over.”

She was snuffling but not fully crying.
Charissa clung to him as though her life still depended on it, and
Shad only had enough strength to keep patting her while he watched
for red and blue flashing lights to finally appear at the house
upstream.

The deputy called in an ambulance, and while
the EMT ministered to the cut above Shad’s left eye, Charissa
informed him that he was rehired. Shad’s first thought was that
Demetri’s counsel was going to have a field day with the fact Shad
had nearly delivered Charissa to a sex offender.

He accompanied the girl to the hospital in
order to keep Charissa company, not because of the EMT’s insistence
Shad should get that cut stitched. It was just an inch long slash
on the corner of his brow, so the only good stitches would do was
prevent a scar. Shad decided the butterfly bandage would be good
enough. One more scar was the least of his worries.

Tess, Eliot, and Monica arrived at the
hospital to see Charissa. That was Shad’s cue to leave with the
sheriff and answer a few questions – this time as a witness instead
of a suspect.

So Shad was able to get some information.
Wally, back in St. Louis, apparently figured he wasn’t going to go
down alone and was readily naming names. The sheriff already had
the hit man in custody. He worked in security at the mall, which
Shad found rather scary. When Dulsie winged him along the jaw, the
would-be murderer hightailed it to Vic to get patched up. That was
when Vic learned the identity of Wally’s target.

It was late evening by the time Mam and Pap
picked Shad up in Jefferson City after he dropped off the rental
car. Still sore and bruised, he couldn’t be very exuberant about
getting to see them again, but Shad was more grateful than he was
able to show. It had been a long two weeks.

And he still had one more matter to take care
of.

Hence a man leaves his father and mother and clings
to his wife, so that they become one flesh.

--Genesis 2:24

When Shad parked the Buick in the Wekenheiser
home’s driveway the next morning, his fluttering stomach was just
another item to add to his list of ailments. Shad drew that
well-practiced deep breath to steady his nerves, and walked up the
driveway and onto the front porch.

He was wearing a lime green button-down shirt
and blue jeans – because of Shad’s bandaged brow, black eye, and
busted lip, Shad figured his face was enough of a distraction
people didn’t need to see the scrapes and bruises on his legs, too.
Shad knocked on the door.

In a few seconds Karl opened the door. He
didn’t try very hard to conceal his surprise when he saw Shad’s
face.

“I see you’ve taken up sorting wildcats,”
comprised Karl’s greeting.

“Something like that.” Shad nodded. “I came
to see Dulsie.”

Karl broke into a grin. “You can do more than
that, you can even talk to her.”

Karl stepped aside so Shad could walk into
the living room. Karl shut the door behind him.

“She’s in the kitchen.” Karl nodded toward
the rear of the house. “Jill took off to get her some things. She’s
kinda reckoning Dulsie’s gonna stay here for a while.”

Not if he could help it, Shad thought.
“That’s ... nice of her.”

Karl regarded him a bit curiously, and Shad
wasn’t sure exactly what that was in response to. “
Uh-huh
.
You know, you’ve always been my favorite son-in-law. I figured on
keeping you around for a while.”

Karl almost sauntered through the kitchen
doorway, and his voice was cheerful when he spoke up.

“Dulsie, you’ve got a visitor.”

Dulsie was sitting at the small kitchen table
that Jill and Karl used for everyday dining. Her left arm was
bandaged in a navy blue sling across her chest, and her right hand
was resting upon the newspaper she was reading. Dulsie was wearing
an untucked button-down blouse and jersey shorts in differing
shades of blue. She looked up as Shad followed Karl into the
kitchen, and Dulsie raised one eyebrow when she saw Shad’s face.
Other than that, her expression remained impassive.

Shad’s heart drummed harder for a few beats.
“How are you doing?”

“Not too bad.” Dulsie sounded perfectly
normal. “Considering this time I wasn’t faster than the speeding
bullet.”

Guilt surged through him again. “How’s the
baby?”

“Hanging in there.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to stay longer at the
hospital. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to see you again before
now.”

Karl suddenly coughed and started heading
toward the back door. “I’d better go count the turkeys, make sure
they’re all there. It’s gonna take me a while ‘cause I gotta take
off my shoes after I run outta fingers.”

One corner of Dulsie’s mouth twitched upward,
but Shad knew it was for her dad and not him.

Karl stepped out and shut the door without
another word and Dulsie continued to regard Shad with an expression
that was so neutral his heart began to hammer harder. She was the
first to speak, however.

“Did the dogs drag you out from under the
porch?”

Shad stepped closer to the table. “I had a
busy day yesterday.”

“Going for the understatement, aren’t you?”
Dulsie tapped her forefinger on the newspaper. “They actually got
some of your story in here already.”

Shad started to raise his eyebrows, but that
hurt just enough to make him quit.

“Don’t worry.” There was something rueful in
the slight smile that finally formed on her lips. “They don’t
mention you at all. It’s just a little article buried inside about
the arrest of the guy who shot me.”

“There’s a lot more that happened.” Shad
rested his hands on the back of the chair next to Dulsie. “There’s
a lot I need to tell you.”

“Sit down, then.” Dulsie motioned toward the
chair where he was standing. “I can tell this is gonna take a
while.”

Shad told her everything that happened
yesterday, even including his darkest moment when he was ready to
reduce Wally to a grease spot on the concrete. Dulsie listened but
didn’t say much except to ask a couple of questions for
clarification. Shad finished with describing how he comforted
Charissa on the riverbank while they waited for law enforcement to
arrive.

“I was already back home with Mam and Pap
before I realized what had happened.” Shad looked down at his hands
clasped together on the table. “I had the wrong feelings about this
girl only last week. But nothing like that happened yesterday.” He
looked back up at Dulsie. “I know I was exhausted, I know I was in
agony, but I would like to think something ... paternal ...
asserted itself instead. I’m not gonna claim this thing’s gone back
into latency, because it just isn’t that easy. But I have hope
again that I haven’t had in many days.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” But Dulsie’s voice
matched her expression.

“We know this is gonna haunt me for the rest
of my life, but it doesn’t have to haunt you. I’ll go into therapy
if you want me to. If we have a daughter and it makes you feel
better, we’ll establish some ground rules about what I’m allowed to
do. And if you feel comfortable enough to leave her alone with me,
I promise I won’t even have so much as one beer. I’m at your mercy.
What you say is law.”

Shad reached out to place his right hand upon
Dulsie’s left, but as soon as his fingertips touched her, Dulsie
pulled her hand away. Shad left his hand where hers had been and
stared at Dulsie.

“I came to take you home.” A hush had settled
on his voice. “Actually, we’re going back to my parents’ until our
house gets cleaned up.”

Dulsie gazed at Shad with his beat-up face
and realized she was still having trouble accepting what she had
learned about him. What she said next was painful, but it was the
truth.

“I can’t. At least, not now. I need more
time.”

Shad studied her face for a few seconds
before speaking in a calm and quiet voice. “I’m not leaving here
without you. We need to talk. We need to work this out. We can’t do
this each on our own any more. I know I’m the one in the wrong but
we need to start now on patching things up.”

Dulsie’s gaze slid down to the hand she had
pulled away ... the one with her plain gold wedding band. Shad was
saying all the right things, but she still wasn’t able to shake off
or subdue the repulsion that lingered despite everything else she
knew and felt.

“I know you’re right.” Dulsie looked back up.
“But I’m just not ready. I need more time. I am trying to come to
terms with this, but ... it’s not easy.”

They both heard the front door open abruptly.
Dulsie could immediately tell that wouldn’t be her dad.

Mom, grasping a few plastic bags filled with
various supplies, strode into the kitchen with a scowl on her face
that anybody could interpret. She locked her gaze on Shad the
instant he came into her line of sight, but for a split second
looked startled by his appearance.