Mercy (11 page)

“Is that any way to treat a guest, asking questions like that?” her father said.

She couldn’t get past the shock of finding Theo there. “Did you call him and ask him for his help?” she asked her father with an accusing scowl.

“No, young lady, I did not. Now, stop giving me that glare and remember your manners. When Theo was resting up in the hospital, I invited him to come fishing with me.”

“Daddy, you invite everyone you meet to come fish with you,” she said.

She turned back to Theo. “You really came to fish?”

“Actually, I —”

Jake interrupted. “I just told you he did, and you know what I just decided? I’m gonna let Theo partner with me in the tournament next weekend.”

“How are you feeling?” she asked Theo, retreating to the comfortable, safe role of physician. “Any complications?”

“I’m as good as new thanks to you. That’s one of the reasons I drove out here . . . besides fishing. I wanted to pay you for the dress I ruined, but mostly I wanted to say thank you. You saved my life.”

“Isn’t that nice to hear, Mike?” Jake was beaming like a neon road sign. “It’s why you went into medicine, isn’t it? To save lives?”

“Yes, Daddy,” she said.

“Are you hungry, Theo?” Jake asked. “It’s past noon, and I’ll bet you haven’t had lunch yet. I’ve got some gumbo simmering in the pot. Come and sit at the bar and pass the time while I finish up. Mike, why don’t you get Theo a nice cold beer.”

“Water will be fine,” he said.

He followed Michelle to the bar, noticing that her lopsided pony-tail bounced with each step she took. Just how young was she? God, maybe he was going through a midlife crisis. Yes, that was it. Michelle made him feel young again. Except that he was only thirty-two. Wasn’t that a little early for a midlife anything?

Jake placed a big bowl of thick gumbo in front of Theo and handed him a napkin and a spoon. “Be mindful,” he warned. “It’s hot.”

Theo thought he meant that the gumbo needed to cool for a minute. He stirred it and took a big bite. He swallowed. Two seconds later his eyes were tearing, his nose was running, and he was coughing and trying to catch his breath at the same time. He felt as if he’d just swallowed molten lava. He grabbed the glass of water and gulped it down.

“I think you made it too hot this time,” Michelle said. “How much of your special hot sauce did you add?”

Jake handed Theo another glass of water and watched him try to drink it while he was still coughing. “I just added one bottle,” he said. “It seemed a little bland to me when I sampled it. I was fixing to add some more.”

Michelle shook her head. “He comes here to say thank you, and you try to kill him.”

Theo still couldn’t talk. Jake had reached across the counter and was vigorously pounding him between his shoulder blades. Theo would have told him to stop, but he was pretty sure his vocal cords had just been cremated.

Michelle handed him a crust of French bread. “Eat this,” she ordered. “It will help.”

“I’ll bet you’re ready for that cold beer now, aren’t you?” Jake asked as soon as Theo swallowed the bread.

Theo nodded, and after he had taken a long drink of the Michelob that Jake had handed him, he turned to Michelle and said, “I saw Dr. Cooper this morning.”

“I thought you were doing all right,” she said. She’d gone behind the counter and was stacking glasses.

“I am,” he answered. “But I didn’t keep the first appointment. I flew home to Boston a few days after the surgery, but they rescheduled my speech, so I came back. Better late than never,” he added.

“You must have felt half dead by the time you got home,” she said. “Playing the tough man can kill you.”

He nodded. “It about did,” he admitted. “Anyway, Cooper told me about the vandalism at your clinic.”

“Do you see, Mike? I didn’t call him,” Jake asserted emphatically. “I suggested calling you,” he admitted to Theo, “because you’re the only FBI man I’ve ever met.”

“I work as an attorney in the Justice Department,” he corrected.

“Still, the FBI is part of the Justice Department, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” he said, “but —”

Jake wouldn’t let him explain. “Which is why I wanted to call you. I thought maybe you could look into the matter, but Mike wouldn’t hear of it. You know what else those boys did to her clinic? They sprayed those pretty white walls with black paint. Words I’m not going to repeat. They tore up her files too, and contaminated her supplies. Michelle’s got to start all over again. Don’t you, honey?”

“It will all work out. The timing’s good anyway. I’ve got the next two weeks off to get the clinic cleaned up. That’s plenty of time.”

“But that was supposed to be your vacation time. You were going to rest up and do some fishing.” He turned back to Theo. “My daughter has always been an optimist. She gets that from me. Now, Theo, what do you think we ought to do about this situation?”

“You did call the police, didn’t you?” he asked Michelle.

She looked exasperated. “Yes, I did. Ben Nelson, the chief of police in St. Claire, took the report. He’s investigating, and like my father, he thinks it was kids looking for drugs. Hopefully, word will get out that I don’t keep any there, and this will be an isolated incident.” “I’m not sure I can do anything constructive . . .”

Jake disagreed. “You work for the government, and you carry a gun. I figure those folks in Justice wouldn’t give you a weapon unless they had trained you to use it.”

“Daddy, you sound like you want him to shoot someone.”

“I’m just saying he’s an expert. Ben Nelson is a fine chief of police. We’re lucky to have him,” he said. “But two heads are better than one. Isn’t that right, Theo?”

“I doubt that the chief would want me to interfere in his investigation.”

“You wouldn’t be interfering, and I think he’d be happy for your assistance.”

“For heaven’s sake, Daddy. It was just vandalism. Ben will catch the kids. Give him time.”

“Mike, honey,” Jake said, “why don’t you go get me a glass of cold milk from the refrigerator.” The minute she was out of earshot, he turned back to Theo, leaned closer, and lowered his voice. “Pride’s going to be my daughter’s downfall,” he said. “She’s stubborn and so independent she thinks she can take on the world by herself, but she’s got enough on her plate being a doctor. Maybe it was vandalism. Maybe it wasn’t. But since you’re going to be passing time with us for a few days, I think you ought to look into this situation. Besides, she saved your life — you said so yourself — and you owe it to my daughter to watch out for her while you’re here.” He glanced over his shoulder before whispering, “I’m thinking it might be a good idea if you stayed at her house.” He saw Michelle walk out of the kitchen and quickly added, “Don’t let her know I said anything to you.” As Michelle was handing her father the glass, Jake said emphatically so that both could hear, “Yes, sir, I think Ben could use another opinion. I’ve had my say and that’s the last you’ll hear about the subject.”

Michelle grinned. “For how long?”

“Don’t you sass your daddy. I just thought Theo might like to help out.”

“I’d be happy to take a look at the clinic,” Theo offered.

“Good. Mike can take you there now, and then tonight you can stay at my place . . . or with Mike,” Jake said with a conspiratorial glance at Theo. “We’ve both got extra bedrooms. I won’t hear of you staying at some motel. You’re my partner in the tournament, so you’re also my guest, and you can eat all your meals free here at The Swan.”

“No, that’s all right.”

He said it so quickly Michelle laughed. “I don’t think Theo likes your gumbo.”

She gave him that smile again. That incredible smile. What the hell was he getting into? This fishing trip was getting complicated. “I forgot,” he said. “Cooper sent another box of supplies for you. It’s in the trunk of the car.”

“That was nice of him.”

“He’s wooing her is what he’s doing.”

“He’s a married man, Daddy.”

“He’s wooing you to join his practice and move to the big city. That’s what I meant.”

A knock sounded at the door interrupting the conversation. They all turned as the door opened wider and a teenage boy stuck his head inside. The kid was huge. He had a buzz haircut and looked as if he weighed over two hundred fifty pounds.

“Mr. Renard?” His voice cracked when he called out Jake’s name. “Since you’re not officially open for business, would it be all right if I came inside?”

Jake recognized the boy. His name was Elliott and he was the oldest of Daryl Waterson’s brood. Daryl and Cherry had eight strapping boys, all healthy and fit, but the family was in a bad way financially, ever since an unfortunate shredder accident at the mill. The older boys were working part-time jobs to help feed the family until Daryl could get back on his feet.

“Elliott, you know my rules. No one underage steps foot inside The Swan anytime, day or night. You don’t want me to lose my liquor license, do you?”

“No, sir, I sure don’t.”

“You looking for work?”

“No, sir. I got a good job over in St. Claire with the packing company unloading boxes on weekends. We were all just wondering how long — ”

“Who exactly is
we?”
Jake demanded.

“Some of the guys.”

“Are they all underage too?”

“Yes, sir, I guess they are, and the girls too, but they — ”

“Shut the door after you, son. You’re letting the flies in. You be sure to give my best to your folks, and tell Daryl I’ll be over Sunday to pass the time with him.”

Elliott looked confused. “Yes, sir, I will, but —”

“Get going now.”

“Daddy, don’t you think you ought to find out what they want to see you about?” Michelle asked.

Theo started for the door. “Maybe one of them knows something about the vandalism at your clinic,” he said. “We ought to talk to them.”

“Maybe I was too hasty,” Jake admitted. “Is somebody sick or hurt, Elliott? Mike, maybe you ought to have a look.”

Elliott was frantically shaking his head. “It’s nothing like that,” he said. “I mean no one’s hurt.” He turned around, leaned out the door, and shouted, “Hey, you guys, he wears a gun. Is that cool or what?”

The teenager whirled around again just as Michelle walked forward. He glanced at her legs and quickly looked away. “No, ma’am, I mean, no, Dr. Mike, no one needs to see you. I mean we all like looking at you . . . no, that’s not what I mean. I’m just saying no one’s sick or nothing. Honest.”

Elliott had turned three shades of red. Staying coherent in the presence of a beautiful woman was obviously beyond him. Theo had great empathy for the kid.

“Do you know something about the vandalism?” she asked.

“No, ma’am, I don’t, and I did ask around just like your dad told my dad to tell me to do. No one knows anything, and it’s kind of odd ’cause usually if kids do something like that, they like to brag. You know what I mean? Only no one’s bragging. Nobody I talked to knows anything. Honest.”

“Then why are you here, Elliott?”

He couldn’t quite bring himself to stop staring at Michelle, but he was able to point at Theo. “Uh . . . we were all just hoping . . . uh, that is, if he doesn’t mind . . . uh, maybe Coach Buchanan could come outside now and meet some of the team.”

Michelle was sure she hadn’t heard correctly. “What did you just say?”

“Maybe Coach Buchanan could come out and meet some of the team.”

She blinked.
“Coach
Buchanan?”

Theo was at a loss for words. Where in God’s name would Elliott get the idea . . . Then it clicked and he started laughing. “There was this kid —”

Elliott interrupted his explanation when he shouted outside, “Coach is coming out. Everybody get ready.”

Jake was nudging Theo between his shoulder blades. “Might as well step outside, son, and find out what all the ruckus is about.”

“This is all a misunderstanding,” he said as Michelle walked to the door. Theo followed her and was about to explain, but the second he stepped out into the sunlight, a resounding cheer went up. He looked around in amazement. The parking lot was filled with cars and pickups and kids, at least forty of them, and every single one was shouting and whistling.

Four young, perky, blond-haired girls moved forward in unison. They were all wearing the same outfit, white shorts and red T-shirt. One of them had a pair of red-and-white pompoms, and she led the others in a cheer.

“Give me a
B
,” she shouted, and was aptly rewarded with a screeching,
“B!”
“Give me a
U,
give me a
K,
give me an
A,
give me an
N,
give me an
A,
give me an
N.
What’s that spell?”

“Beats me,” Theo said dryly.

“Bukanan!” the crowd roared.

Michelle burst into laughter. Theo put his hands up, trying to quiet the mob. “I’m not your coach,” he shouted. “Listen to me. It’s all a misunderstanding. This kid —”

It was hopeless. No one paid any attention to his protest. The exuberant teenagers came running toward him, all shouting at the same time.