deliveries there.'
'Did you recognize any of the others? What about the guy in the boat?'
'I didn't see his face,' she answered. 'He jumped into the water when you shot at him.'
'Did you kill
'No, I missed.'
John Paul looked incredulous. 'Why do you carry a gun if you don't know how to use it?'
'I do know how to use it,' he snapped defensively. 'I'll be happy to demonstrate.'
'He might have winged him,' Michelle said hopefully, then recognized the irony. She was supposed to be dedicated to saving lives, not destroying them. Getting shot at had certainly turned her moral code upside down.
'Yeah, right,' John Paul grunted with disgust. 'How far away was this guy?'
'We were getting fired at from both directions,' she said. 'And Theo was busy trying to shield me and shoot at the same time.'
John Paul ignored her explanation. 'Why do you carry a gun?' he asked.
'Because I've been ordered to carry one. I get a lot of death threats.'
'I can see that,' John Paul said.
'Will you stop fighting with one another? We're in a mess here. Theo, I think I know what's going on now. The man, or men,
who tore up my clinic were looking for a package. The guy who came up to me at the stadium said another employee of Speedy Messenger had delivered the wrong one to me, and he was trying to get it back. I called the staff secretary and told her to look
for it and give it to him. I sent him to the hospital, but never followed up to see if he got the package,' she said. 'Remember
Elena dropped that box of mail off earlier? I think the men who came to my house last night thought it was there. But I went through the box, and there was no special delivery in it. My guess is that they didn't find it at the hospital yesterday and they thought she brought it to me last night.'
'There's only one way they could have known Elena was going to drop anything off,' John Paul said. 'They tapped into her
phone line,' Theo said. 'Damn, why didn't I check?' 'I'll find it,' John Paul offered. 'Do you know what to look for?' Her
brother looked offended. 'Of course.' Theo thought for a second and then said, 'When you find it, leave it alone.' 'Why?' Michelle asked.
'Because I don't want them to know we're aware of it. We might want to give them some false information.'
'Tell me exactly what the guy said to you,' John Paul said, and Theo noticed he wasn't quite as antagonistic now.
'He said there was a mix-up at the delivery service,' Michelle said. 'Frank-that's the name he gave me-told me that another messenger named Eddie inadvertently switched labels on two packages he picked up. Whatever I got by mistake is obviously
what they're after.'
Theo shook his head. 'And you know it was a mix-up because…?' He didn't wait for the light to dawn. 'Nothing is true until
it's proven, and we aren't going to believe the package was misdirected until we open it and look inside.'
She nodded. 'Because the man shooting at us could have been lying.'
'Jeez, Mike. Use your head,' John Paul said.
'My head aches, John Paul.' Upset with herself because she'd been so slow, she sighed. 'Of course he was lying.'
'Not necessarily,' Theo qualified.
'You just said…' she snapped.
Theo smiled. 'He could have been telling the truth. It could be a misdirected package. When we find it, we'll see what it is.
Until then…'
'I understand,' she said wearily.
'You remember telling me you had the feeling someone was following you? I think you were right. Whoever he is… he's good.
I never spotted him, and I was looking.'
'Maybe they were watching the house,' Michelle suggested.
'What do you think about all this?' John Paul asked Theo.
'I don't know,' he admitted. 'When we find that package, we'll know what we're up against.'
'You're going home with me, Mike. I can protect you.'
'Are you saying I can't?' Theo asked, angry now.
'When I shoot, I shoot to kill. I don't miss.'
Theo was ready to punch him again, but Michelle put a stop to the hostility.
'Excuse me, gentlemen,' she snapped. 'I can and will protect myself. John Paul, I'm going to the hospital with Theo.'
'Mike-'
'That's the way it's going to be.'
'She'll be okay with me,' Theo said, and was surprised when John Paul didn't argue. Rubbing his brow, Theo added, 'Noah's in New Orleans. I'll want him to stay there and do a couple of things before he drives back to Bowen.'
'Noah is-' Michelle began, thinking to explain.
'I know who he is. FBI.' John Paul snapped the words out, his disdain apparent.
'So, in the meantime,' Theo continued as though neither one of them had interrupted his train of thought, 'you keep your dad close.'
Michelle dropped the bag of peas on the table. 'You think they'll go after Daddy?'
'I'm just covering every possibility I can think of until I have time to figure out what the next move should be.'
Theo finished his beer and set the bottle on the table. 'We should get going.'
Michelle asked, 'John Paul, will you get the pickup started? Daddy hasn't driven it in over a week now. He told me something's wrong with the starter, and he hasn't had time to get it fixed.'
'I'll get it started.'
Exhaustion was finally catching up with Michelle. She slowly stood. 'Then let's get going.'
Theo handed her the bag of carrots to put back in the freezer as he stood and tested his knee by slowly putting weight on it. The ice pack had helped. His knee didn't buckle, and it wasn't throbbing much at all now.
Michelle held the bag of peas against her forehead as she headed to the kitchen.
'We have to stop by the house first,' Theo reiterated.
'Because Ben will be waiting for us? I could call him-'
'No,' Theo said. 'Because I want to pick up my cell phone, and I need more bullets.'
He knew what was coming before John Paul opened his mouth.
'What do you need more bullets for?'
'I'm almost out.'
'Seems like a waste to me.'
Michelle had had it with her brother. Turning around, she said, 'Don't shoot him, Theo. I know you want to because my brother can be a real pain in the backside. But I love him, so don't do it.'
Theo winked at her.
John Paul scoffed, 'I'm not worried.'
'You should be,' Michelle said.
'Why?' John Paul asked. 'If he shoots, he'll miss.'
