Tough Customer

Berry.'

'He's not just a goof spouting off?'

'On the contrary, Berry says he's brilliant.'

'Brilliant people go crackers all the time,' he said. 'Get mad, get jealous of competitors, say things they don't mean.

I'm gonna kill you! They rarely follow through, Caroline. If all the people who said, 'I'm gonna--''

'All right,' she snapped. 'I see your point.'

He waited. She said nothing. He glanced over his shoulder. They were the only two customers left in the tearoom. The server hadn't reappeared since she'd brought their order. Coming back around, he said, 'This is the last time I'm asking. What do you know that you haven't told me?'

'Nothing. I swear.'

'Okay, then tell me what you suspect.'

Her back stiffened. 'That's a policeman's word.'

'A word that got a defensive reaction from you. Which indicates to me that I hit the nail on the head.'

'You're that smart?'

He banged his fist on the table, softly, but with enough force to make the china rattle. 'Apparently you think so, or you wouldn't have called me in the middle of the night, asking me to drop everything and haul ass down here, which I was stupid enough to do and am coming to regret.'

Her eyes sparked angrily again. He was gifted in ways to make her angry. In a tight voice, she said, 'Berry is a lot like me in many ways.'

'Dandy. The world can be grateful for that. What's the problem?'

'The problem is...' She hesitated, then said the one thing that she knew would make him stay. 'She's even more like you.'

Berry was leaning against the wall of the hospital corridor, staring into near space, when out of the corner of her eye she saw Ski Nyland.

He was consulting with a nurse at the central desk. The nurse inclined her head in Berry's direction. He turned and, holding Berry's gaze, absently thanked the nurse and started toward her.

Every time he looked at her, she felt exposed and under scrutiny. What were those razor-sharp gray eyes looking at, looking for? Defensively, she fired the first volley.

When he was within earshot, she asked, 'Any progress?'

'Like what?'

'Has Oren been spotted?'

'No, ma'am. At least no spottings have been reported.'

She didn't miss his tongue-in-cheek tone, and it annoyed her. 'Why do you do that?'

'What?'

'Patronize me.'

He didn't deny it. In fact, he seemed about to answer when he changed his mind and motioned at the hospital room's closed door instead. 'I'd asked them to notify me as soon as Lofland was moved from recovery into a regular room.'

'They just brought him up.' She called his attention to the empty metal bracket on the door. 'They haven't even had time to get his name card in place.'

'Have you talked to him?'

'Not yet. A nurse is helping him to get settled.'

'Where's his wife?'

'Her name is Amanda. She's in there, too.'

'Let's have a chat.'

It wasn't a suggestion or an invitation but an order. However, Berry figured it best not to make an issue of it. He ushered her halfway down the corridor to a small waiting room. As she entered it, she remarked on his familiarity with the hospital.

'My mom was a patient here for a couple of weeks. I catnapped in this room the night she died.'

Berry stopped and turned to face him. 'I'm sorry,' she said, meaning it.

'Thanks.'

She looked into his face, expecting elaboration. None was forthcoming. He indicated a love seat that turned out to be as unyielding and uncomfortable as it looked. But it was the largest piece of furniture in the room, and she wondered if it was what he'd napped on that night.

He caught her looking at him speculatively. 'What?'

'Nothing.'

'You were going to say something.'

'Just that ... I'm sad for you.'

'Sad?'

'I can't imagine life without my mother in it. Were you and yours close?'

'Yeah. She was great. But she was suffering.' He coughed into his fist, an unnecessary, self-conscious gesture. For a moment his eyes lost some of their hard glint, leaving Berry to wonder if there wasn't a feeling human being behind them after all, if there was actually room for sentiment in their narrow gaze. Perhaps he wasn't as tough as he wanted everyone to believe.

He dragged a chair across the low pile carpeting and sat down facing her. When he did, he spread his knees wide to avoid touching hers, causing her to speculate further. Was he just being gentlemanly, or did that purposeful avoidance signify a vulnerability?

Which, of course, was a silly thing to think. He held all the advantages here. Why would he be reluctant to touch her, even accidentally?

He said, 'Before I interview Lofland, I wanted to ask you some questions about Oren Starks.'

The personal moment had passed, and he was down to business. As he should be. She said, 'Mr. Carlisle would insist on being here.'

'Call him if you want, but it's unnecessary. What I have to ask you is really background stuff on Starks. His character. Habits. Stuff like that.'

Berry deliberated, then said, 'All right. I'm happy to answer your questions if I can. I'm sure Ben will be equally cooperative when you talk to him.'

'He doesn't have a choice. He's a material witness. I need to hear his version of what happened.'

'His version? You think I'm lying?'

He remained unflappable. 'I think two people can see the same incident from entirely different perspectives.'

'Very diplomatically put, Deputy.'

He shrugged. 'Lofland may shed new light, give me some ideas as to where Starks might have gone.'

'He could be miles from here by now.'

'He could. But if he's hurt, he may not be up to traveling. He could be lying low, somewhere in the area, someplace close.'

'Someone could be sheltering him.'

'Like friends? Family? You tell me, Ms. Malone. Do you know of any?'

'Honestly, no.'

'Well, we don't, either,' he said. 'Houston PD is helping with that angle, and