Mercy (Buchanan-Renard #2)

Mercy (Buchanan-Renard #2) Page 21

“It was a one-man operation. I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am. There was a pattern.”

“I don’t understand. What do you mean by ‘a pattern’?”

“There was order to the chaos. He came in through the back door —”

“But the window in the reception area was broken.”

“He broke it while he was inside. That was easy to figure out. The glass fragments prove it.”

“What else?”

“I don’t do this kind of thing for a living,” he said. “I prosecute. But if they were kids looking for drugs, as your dad and your friend Ben Nelson believe, then how come the examination rooms were barely touched?”

“The glass and the locks were broken in the medicine cabinets.”

“Yes, but the needles and the prescription pads were still there. And what about the files, Michelle? Why would someone take the time to go through boxes of files?”

“Maybe they were just throwing things left and right.”

“This didn’t look like a simple case of vandalism to me. Kids who set out to vandalize . . . they bring along their own fun equipment.”

“Like what?”

“Spray paint,” he said. “The guy who did this used your paint to mess up the rooms. Makes me think he didn’t come prepared to tear things up. And the trash bags in the yard looked like someone had gone through them. There wasn’t a scratch on the lock on your back door, which tells me that he had the right tools and knew how to use them.”

“As in a professional?”

He didn’t answer. “Noah’s going to be here tomorrow. If you don’t mind, I’d like you to leave the clinic the way it is until he’s finished looking around.”

“Just tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” she agreed. Her friends weren’t coming to help until the day after. She could wait until then. “What does Noah do for a living?”

He didn’t give her a specific answer but said, “He’s FBI,” and left it at that.

“FBI?” She couldn’t hide her alarm. “Then you must think —”

He interrupted her. “Don’t jump to conclusions. Noah’s a family friend, and I thought it would be a good idea to let him look at the clinic. Get his opinion. Besides, he’s over in Biloxi, and he loves to fish. A day or two in Bowen will be a vacation for him.”

“I will appreciate his help . . . and yours too, but I wonder if maybe we aren’t making a mountain out of what could have been just a random act.”

“You don’t really believe that, do you?”

She rubbed her temples. “No, I guess I don’t. I don’t think Ben believes kids did it either,” she admitted. “He walked around the clinic with me, and we both noticed there weren’t any footprints outside the window. The grass was still soggy. It had rained hard the night before. There should have been footprints.”

“So why did you argue with me about how he got in?”

She shrugged. “I guess I just wanted it to be easy and make sense. Do you know the first thought I had when I saw my office?”

“What’s that?”

“Someone really hates me. It scared me,” she said. “I’ve been racking my brain trying to come up with a name, but honestly, I haven’t been back in town long enough to make enemies. Give me a couple of months, and I’m sure I’ll have a list as long as my arm.”

“I doubt that,” he said. “The man was definitely out of control in your office. Noah will have some ideas for us.”

He popped another Triscuit in his mouth. Without some squirty cheese or peanut butter, the crackers tasted like sawdust to him, but he kept eating them anyway.

“Men like Noah catch criminals, and you put them away.”

“Something like that.”

“At least you don’t have to worry about people shooting at you.”

“That’s right.” His quick agreement was a lie, of course. Hell, he’d been shot at, kicked, bitten, punched, and spit on while he was doing his job. He’d even had a contract taken out on him — twice now that he recalled — and when he went after Leon’s family, he received daily threats.

“I have a theory,” she said.

“Let’s hear it.” He was digging into the bottom of the box, searching for one last piece of sawdust he could eat.

“One of Dr. Robinson’s patients was trying to steal his file.”

“What would his reason be?”

“I don’t know. I thought that if he had some contagious disease or some diagnosis he didn’t want his insurance company or his family to know about, then maybe he might want to steal his file. I know I’m reaching, but that’s the only theory I can come up with as to why the files were all torn apart.”

“Did Robinson give you a list of his patients?”

“Yes, he did. There was a printout in a manila envelope taped to one of the boxes. He didn’t have a big practice considering the length of time he worked here. From what I’ve heard, Dr. Robinson needed to take a couple of sensitivity classes. He offended his patients.”

“Which is why he didn’t have a big practice.”

“That’s right.”

“After Noah goes through the clinic and tells us what he thinks, you’re going to have to match the files with the list of names to see if anyone’s chart is missing.”

“Assuming that list wasn’t destroyed.”

Theo nodded. “I also think you should call Robinson and ask him if there were any difficult patients. You’ll know what to ask.”

“Yes, all right. He probably has a copy of the patient list anyway if we need it.”

He noticed she was rubbing the back of her neck. “Are you getting a headache?”

“Sort of.”

“Maybe I can ‘sort of’ fix it.”

He got up and joined her on the sofa. Then he put a pillow on the floor between his bare feet and told her to sit there while he worked the kinks out.

The offer was irresistible. She got settled between his knees and stretched her legs. He put his hands on her shoulders, then pulled back.

“Take your robe off.”

She unbuttoned the robe, untied the belt, and slipped the robe off.

“Now take your pajama top off.”

“Nice try.”

He grinned. “Okay, then unbutton the top buttons.”

She had to undo three buttons so his hands could get to her skin.

Too late, she realized what she was doing. His big, warm hands were touching her bare skin, and, oh, Lordy, did it feel wonderful.

“Your skin’s soft.”

She closed her eyes. She should make him stop, she thought. How crazy was this? Theo was the reason she was feeling so tense, and now he was making it blissfully worse. Oh, yes, she should definitely make him stop. She turned her head to the side instead so he could rub the knot on the column of her neck.

“You know what I thought when I first met you?”

“That I was irresistible?” she teased. “So irresistible you had to throw up on me?”

“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

“Probably not.”

“I was out of my mind with pain then,” he reminded her. “And that’s not what I was talking about anyway. After the surgery, when you came into my room and you were telling me about Bowen and your clinic and the people who live here . . . you know what I was thinking then?”

“That you wish I’d stop talking and let you get some sleep?”

He tugged on her hair. “I’m being serious here. I’m gonna tell you why I really came to Bowen.”

His tone of voice indicated he wasn’t teasing. “I’m sorry. What were you thinking?”

“That I wanted what you had,” he said.

“Oh?”

“I saw something inside of you I had when I first started out, but somewhere along the way, I lost it. That never bothered me until I met you. You made me want to find it again . . . if that’s possible.”

“What was it you saw?”

“Passion.”

She didn’t understand. “Passion for my work?”

“Passion to make a difference.”

She paused for a moment. “I don’t want to change the world, Theo. I’m only hoping I can make a difference in a little corner of it.” She got up on her knees and turned around to face him. “You don’t think you make a difference?” she asked, astonished.

“Yeah, sure I do,” he said very matter-of-factly. “I’ve just lost my enthusiasm for the job, I guess. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me. The men I put away . . . they’re like rodents. Every one I lock up, three more take his place. It’s frustrating.”

“I think you’re experiencing burnout. You’ve been working long hours since your wife died. You don’t allow yourself time to play.”

“How do you know that?”

“You told me you loved building things with your hands, but you also said you haven’t had time for the hobby in four years. In other words, since your wife died.”

She could tell he wanted to interrupt her, and so she hastened to add, “And fishing too. You told me you used to love to fish, but the way you said it was as though you were talking about a past life. You’ve been punishing yourself long enough, Theo. You have to let it go.”

His immediate reaction was to tell her he hadn’t come to Bowen to get analyzed and that she should leave him the hell alone. She’d hit too close to the bone . . . but she’d only told him what he already knew. For the past four years he’d been running as fast as he could so he wouldn’t have time to think about his failure to save his wife. The guilt had been eating at him for a long time. It had taken his energy, his enthusiasm, and his passion.

“You need to kick back and let life pass you by for a couple of weeks.”

“Doctor’s orders?”

“Yes,” she said. “You’ll feel rejuvenated. I promise.”

She was worried about him. He could see it in her eyes. Lord, she was sweet. And what was he going to do about that? He was beginning to like her a hell of a lot more than he’d anticipated.

“And if you decide to go back to Boston, you’ll have a new attitude.” “If I go back?”

“I meant when you go back,” she corrected.

He didn’t want to think about Boston or work or his future or anything else for that matter, and that was so unlike him. He was a planner, always had been for as long as he could remember, but now he didn’t want to plan anything. He wanted to do exactly what Michelle had suggested. Kick back and let the world pass him by.

“It’s funny,” he remarked.

“What is?”

“You . . . me. It’s like fate threw us together.”

She smiled. “You’re a contradiction, Theo. A lawyer with a romantic side. Who would have thought that was possible?”

Theo decided to lighten the mood. Michelle was so easy and fun to tease and gave as good as she got. He liked embarrassing her. The esteemed doctor could blush with the best of them.

“You know what else I thought when I met you?” he asked with a playful grin.

“No, what?” she asked suspiciously.

“You were sexy. Real sexy.”

“Oh.” The word came out with a sigh.

“‘Oh,’ what?”

Oh, boy. “The baggy green surgical scrubs, right? The outfit’s a real turn-on.”

“That cute little mask hid your best feature.”

“My freckles?”

“No, your mouth.”

Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Theo certainly knew how to flirt. He could make her squirm and pant at the same time.

She smiled sweetly. “You haven’t seen my best feature yet.”

He raised an eyebrow in that wonderful Cary Grant way she loved. “Yeah?” he drawled. “Now you’ve got me curious. You’re not going to tell me what your best feature is, are you?”

“No.”

“You want me to spend half the night thinking about it?”

She hoped he would. She hoped he’d squirm a little too, just the way she did every time he looked at her. She knew she wasn’t going to get much rest tonight. Why should she be the only one sleep-deprived? Tit for tat, she thought. She was suddenly feeling quite pleased with herself. Theo might have been the master at sexual banter, but she was finally feeling as though she was holding her own. She wasn’t such a neophyte after all.

You mess with me and you pay the consequences.

“You want to fool around?” he asked.

She laughed. “No.”

“If you’re sure . . .”

“I’m sure.”

“Then maybe you’d better button your top.”

She glanced down at her chest and let out a loud groan. The silk pajama top was completely undone. Damn those silk buttons. They never stayed put. Her br**sts were covered, though just barely. Mortified, she frantically rebuttoned.

Her face was bright pink when she looked at him. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“Are you kidding? Why would I want to do that? I liked it. And don’t look at me that way. I didn’t unbutton the thing. I’m an innocent bystander.”

She sat back on her heels while she put her robe on. “I’m going to bed. Thanks for the massage. It helped.”

He leaned forward, cupped the sides of her face and kissed her. Her mouth was so soft and warm and sweet. She tasted like peppermint. He took his time coaching a response, trying not to rush her.

There hadn’t been time to prepare. She hadn’t realized he was going to kiss her until his lips were touching hers. She didn’t resist. She should have, but she didn’t. Her lips parted, and then he deepened the kiss and she went limp.

She was his for the taking and both of them knew it.

He abruptly pulled back. “Sweet dreams.”

“What?”

“Good night.”

“Oh. Yes, I’m going to bed.”

There was a definite twinkle in his eyes. He knew what he’d just done to her. She’d all but melted in front of him. Lord, what would happen if they made love? She’d probably have a complete mental breakdown.

How could he turn it on and off so quickly and efficiently? Experience and discipline, she decided as she stood and walked out of the room. Years and years of experience and discipline. She, on the other hand, apparently had the discipline of a rabbit. One kiss and she was ready to have his babies.