When Pete walked into the room, he saw Nick bending over Laurant. He stood there and watched him slip the engagement ring on her finger and then clasp the watch around her wrist.
'How’s she doing?' he asked, his voice low so he wouldn’t disturb her.
'She’s okay.'
'What about you?'
'Not a scratch on me.'
'That isn’t what I was asking.'
They walked into the hallway to talk. Pete suggested they go down to the cafeteria, but Nick didn’t want to leave Laurant. He wanted to be there in case she called out to him again.
And so they sat together in the hallway in chairs Pete carried over from the nurses’ station.
'I came here for two reasons,' he began. 'First was to see Noah, of course.'
'And the other reason?'
Pete sighed. 'To talk to you and to apologize.'
'I’m the one who messed up.'
'No, that’s not true,' he said emphatically. 'I messed up, not you. I should have listened to you. When Brenner was arrested, you told me it didn’t feel right to you, and how did I respond? By ignoring everything I trained you to do. I was so certain you couldn’t see the forest for the trees because of your personal involvement in this case. I ignored your instincts, and that was a mistake I won’t ever repeat. Do you realize how close to disaster we came this time?'
Nick nodded. He leaned back against the wall and stretched his legs out. 'A lot of people would have been killed if that bomb had gone off.'
Pete began to question Nick then and didn’t stop until he had heard every detail and was satisfied.
'Reading the article in the paper… yes, that’s what set him off,' Pete said.
'I guess so.'
'His wife was almost perfect. That’s what you heard him tell Laurant?'
'Yes,' Nick said. 'Stark’s wife had to have known what was coming. Once Stark decided she couldn’t get any better, that she was as perfect as she could be, he was going to kill her, just like he killed his mother. Knowing all the facts now, I think maybe her mind did snap, and that’s why she took the little boy.'
'We’ll never know what her motive was,' Pete said. 'If I were to speculate, I would suggest that perhaps she thought a family would change things.'
'Turn him into a doting father?'
'Something like that.'
'I think maybe she wanted to end it… let us get her instead of him.'
Pete nodded. 'You could be right. What about Laurant?' he asked then.
'The doctors say she’ll be okay.'
'Are you going to be staying around?'
Nick knew what Pete was asking. 'I’ll stay long enough to tell her how sorry I am I got her into all of this.'
'And then?'
'I’m leaving.' His mind was made up.
'I see.'
He glanced over at Pete. 'Damn. I really hate it when you say that. You sound like a shrink.'
'You can’t shield your heart, Nick. Running away won’t solve your problem.'
'And you’re going to tell me what my problem is, aren’t you?'
'Of course I am,' he agreed smoothly. 'Loving Laurant makes you human, and that’s what’s frightening you. It’s that simple.'
'I’m not running away. I’m going back to work. What kind of a life could I offer her? She deserves to be happy and safe, damn it, and I can’t guarantee that. Stark used her and Tommy to get to me. It could happen again. God knows, I’ve made enemies since I started working for you. What if another creep comes after her? No, I can’t let that happen. I won’t take that chance.'
'So, you’ll isolate yourself even more than you already have? Is that it?'
Nick shrugged.
'You’ve made your mind up?' Pete pressed.
'Damn right.'
Pete knew he wasn’t going to win this argument, but he felt compelled to interfere a little more. 'Psychiatrists are trained to notice little things. We observe.'
'So?'
'When I walked into Laurant’s room, I noticed you were putting the engagement ring on her finger. I found that very curious.'
Nick couldn’t explain his actions. 'I didn’t want her to wake up and think she’d lost it. She can take it back to the store and get a refund. That’s all there was to it. Now let it go.'
'Just one more comment, and then I’ll stop hounding you. I promise. Actually, it’s a question.'
'What?' he asked. He sounded miserable.
'Where are you going to find the strength to leave her?'
Chapter 38
A week had passed since Noah was shot. The agent was recuperating at the abbey, but he was getting very little rest, what with the anniversary celebration and the constant stream of visitors, most of whom were women bearing gifts. The abbot was thrilled. They had enough home-cooked food to last a month.
Tommy had just walked one of the parishioners to the door, thanked her for the casserole, and returned to the den where Noah was sprawled out on the sofa. Tommy dropped down in the easy chair and put his feet on the ottoman. He was catching Noah up on the latest developments, but he kept getting interrupted.
'Okay, where was I?'
'You were telling me what happened with Laurant at the hospital.'
'Yeah, that’s right. Neither Nick nor I knew Laurant had a bullet lodged in her leg. So, the doctor comes out and tells us she’s been shot. Nick goes crazy then.'
'Love will do that to a man.'
'I guess so,' Tommy agreed. 'He was already acting nuts, but this news pushed him right over the edge.'
'Yeah?' Noah asked, smiling. 'I wish I could have seen it. He’s always so cool and calm. What’d he do?'
'He starts shouting, ‘What the hell do you mean she was shot? What kind of a place are you running here?’'
Noah laughed. 'Who was he yelling at?'
'Dr. Benchley. You met him, didn’t you?'
'Yes. He’s a real charmer.'
'He’s shouting back at Nick, ‘Hey, Buddy, I didn’t shoot her,’ but Nick’s out of his mind now, and I start to worry he’s going to shoot Benchley.'
'So, then what happened?'
'Nick wouldn’t leave her side. He stayed with her all night, but he told Pete and me that, as soon as she woke up, he was going to say good-bye. He did too. He shook her hand.'
Noah burst into laughter. 'What’d she do?'
'She called him an idiot and went back to sleep.'
'I do love your sister, Tommy.'
'Nick was real determined. He had a lot of follow-up work to do, and that kept him in Nugent a few days. They found Lonnie holed up in a motel outside of Omaha. He’s been charged with arson.'
'What about Brenner? Did they find the bank account the sheriff told Laurant about?'
