'I locked your back door. You left it open.' He sounded as though he was accusing her of a crime.
'I sometimes forget to turn it. We don't worry about locking our doors in Bowen.'
'Was your clinic locked up tight?'
'Yes, it was.'
'From now on,' he said as he pulled the front door closed behind them and made sure it was locked, 'every door is secured. Okay?'
'Yes, okay,' she said as she put her medical bag on his backseat.
Theo was backing out of the driveway when he glanced at her and said, 'Think we could stop for-'
'No.'
'You don't know what I want.'
'Yes, I do. French fries, greasy burger-'
'Potato chips,' he said.
'Too much sodium.'
While she directed him down one unmarked road after another, he argued with her about nutrition. 'Don't you ever lighten up?'
'I'm a doctor, so I guess the answer is no.'
'Doctors aren't allowed to eat anything that tastes good?'
'I had no idea my houseguest was going to be such a whiner. Daddy likes junk food. You could move in with him.'
She was afraid she sounded belligerent. Theo gave her the opening to prove she wasn't a complete stuffed shirt or a prude when he asked, 'What do people do around here for fun?'
She shrugged. 'Oh, pretty simple things… go to the movies, swap fishing stories over a pitcher of beer at The Swan, have potluck dinners at the VFW hall, visit neighbors to compare tomato crops… and then, of course, there's the perennial favorite… sex.'
'What?' he asked, sure he hadn't heard her correctly.
'Sex,' she repeated innocently. 'They have sex. Lots and lots of sex.'
He laughed. 'I knew I was gonna like this place.'
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Here's Daryl's house at the end of the road,' Michelle said.
Theo would have parked by the curb, but there wasn't one. There wasn't a driveway either, and so he pulled up on the grassy slope and parked the car next to a battered old Chevy van. The two-story frame house was in desperate need of repair. The bowed steps looked as though they were about to cave in.
Daryl's wife, Cherry, was watching for them behind the screen door. As soon as they got out of the car, she came out on the porch and waved to them.
'Good of you to come by, Dr. Mike. DaryPs hand is giving him fits. He doesn't like to complain, but I can tell he's in considerable pain.'
Theo took Michelle's medical bag and followed her. She introduced him. After Cherry wiped her hands on her apron, she shook his hand. She was a rather plain woman with a weathered complexion, around the age of forty, Theo guessed, but when she smiled, she was quite lovely. The nickname, Cherry, obviously was due to her bright red hair.
'I've heard all about you from our oldest boy, Elliott. I don't think I've ever seen him so excited,' Cherry said. 'You certainly did impress him,' she added with a nod. 'Come on inside. I was just fixing to set the table for supper. Oh, before I forget to tell you, Mr. Freeland might be passing by to say his hello. He rang up about twenty minutes ago.'
'Mr. Freeland?' The name seemed familiar to Theo, but he couldn't remember where he'd heard it before.
'The music teacher at the high school,' Michelle said.,
Cherry led the way through the living room and dining area. The furniture was sparse and worn-out. The kitchen was small
and crowded with a long oak table and ten chairs, none of which seemed to match.
Daryl was waiting for them. He was seated at the head of the table feeding a banana to the baby in the high chair next to him. The little boy had more of the banana on his face and hands than in his mouth. The baby spotted his mother and broke out in a toothless grin. Then he saw Michelle and immediately clouded up. His lower lip trembled.
She kept her distance. 'No shots today, Henry,' she promised.
The toddler burst into tears. Cherry patted the baby's hand and soothed him with a handful of Cheerios she placed on his tray.
'Every time Henry sees me, I hurt him,' Michelle said. 'When I can afford it, I'm going to hire a nurse and let her give the shots.'
'Don't you mind Henry. He'll figure out you aren't here to mess with him in a minute or two,' Cherry said.
Daryl stood and put his hand out to shake Theo's as Michelle made the introductions. The man's left hand and arm were
bandaged to the elbow.
'Why don't you sit down next to Dr. Mike by that stack of papers,' Cherry suggested to Theo, 'while she has a look at Daryl's hand.'
Daryl wasn't too subtle as he shoved the papers closer to Theo. 'Big Daddy Jake thought you might find these papers of mine interesting… you being a lawyer and all.'
Theo knew a setup when he saw one. He nodded and sat down. Michelle knew what was going on as well, but she went through the motions of looking at Daryl's hand.
After checking the color of his fingers, she asked, 'Are you changing the bandage every day?'
'Yes,' he said, his gaze fully directed on Theo. 'Cherry changes it for me.'
'We've got enough of the gauze you gave us to last another week,' Cherry said. She, too, was watching Theo closely and was nervously twisting her apron in her hands.
Theo wasn't sure what was expected of him. Michelle decided to fill him in.
'Daryl worked for the Carson Brothers' sugar mill.'
'After the accident they let me go. Laid me off permanently is what they did,' he explained as he rubbed his chin.
'Did the accident happen while you were at work?' Theo asked.
'Yes, it did,' he answered.
'Daryl put in twenty-two years at that mill,' Cherry interjected.
'That's right,' her husband said. 'I started the day I turned seventeen.'
Theo did the math and was shocked when he realized Daryl was only thirty-nine or forty years old. The man looked ten
years older. He was as worn-out as his house. His hair was streaked with gray, he had deep calluses on his right hand, and his shoulders were stooped.
'Tell me about the accident.'
'Before or after you look through those papers?' Daryl asked.
'Before.'
'All right. I'll make it simple. I was operating a shredder, which is a big machine you just can't do without in a sugar mill, and
I told Jim Carson it wasn't working right and he needed to shut it down and get it fixed, but he wouldn't listen to me. He's hard
up for money, and I understand that, of course. Still, I wish he had listened. Anyway, I was doing my job, and all of a sudden the belt snapped and the whole darn thing came down on me. Crushed every bone in my hand, didn't
