Mercy

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?'