'You look like you fell in a garbage truck,' she said. 'What the heck happened to you?' 'Fell in a garbage truck.'
Another nurse named Frances looked up from behind the nurses' station. She was also young, but had earned the nickname 'Grannie' because she acted like a ninety-year-old. Michelle told her she needed a tray prepared for stitches.
Frances got up and hurried around the counter. Her rubber shoes squeaked with each step she took.
'You stay here, Theo,' Michelle said. 'I'm going to go into the doctors' lounge and take a shower.' 'I'm going with you. It's quiet there, isn't it?' 'Yes'.'
'Good. I've got to call Noah.' Megan was wide-eyed and gawking as they walked past her. Michelle noticed her full attention
was directed on Theo now.
Michelle led the way into the spacious lounge. There were lockers against one wall, a sofa and coffee table on the opposite side
of the room, a couple of recliners, and a desk. Just inside the door was a narrow table with a coffee urn and plastic cups. In the corner sat a refrigerator.
A narrow hallway led to two doors. While Michelle was getting clean clothes out of her locker, Theo opened both doors to see what was inside. Each was a fully equipped bathroom with a shower.
'Nice setup,' he remarked as she passed him on her way into the bath. Grabbing a container of bottled water out of the refrigerator, he sat down at the desk and dialed Noah's cell phone. A second later he was listening to Noah telling him to leave a message. He had a pretty good idea where Noah was, but he would have to wait until Michelle finished showering to get the phone number.
Next, he dialed the hospital operator and asked her to page Elena Miller. He heard the sound of papers rustling in the background, then the operator told him that Elena wasn't on duty yet. Although she refused to give Theo the woman's home number, she finally agreed to dial it for him. Elena answered on the second ring, and after identifying himself, Theo asked her to describe the messenger who had come by the hospital to pick up the package on Wednesday and to tell him what the man had said.
Elena couldn't wait to tell Theo all about the rude man. 'He had the gall to shout at me,' she said.
Theo made notes on a notepad he found on the desk and asked her several questions. When he was finished, he hung up, then looked up the phone number of the Speedy Messenger Service in New Orleans in the yellow pages he found in the bottom desk drawer and called them. Three people later, he got to the supervisor. The man sounded frazzled and didn't want to cooperate until Theo threatened to send over a couple of policemen to get the information. The supervisor was suddenly happy to help. He explained that all the deliveries were kept in the computer. He typed in Michelle Renard's name and told Theo when and where the package was delivered.
'I want to know who sent it,' Theo said.
'Benchley, Tarrance, and Paulson,' the supervisor replied. 'The package was signed for at the St. Claire Hospital at five-fifteen according to my records. You want me to send you a copy?'
'That won't be necessary,' Theo said.
By the time Michelle had showered and washed her hair, she felt pretty good. She thought she looked like hell, but she felt good, and right now, that was all she cared about. She got dressed, combed her hair, wincing when she accidentally hit her tender scalp. Tucking the strands behind her ears, she decided to let it dry on its own. She was walking toward Theo, pulling the drawstring
tight on her pants and tying it, as he turned to her.
'Did you talk to Noah?' she asked.
'Not yet,' he answered. 'I did talk to the supervisor at Speedy. Guess what?'
'There's no Frank or Eddie, right? God, I feel like such an idiot.'
'No, there isn't any Frank or Eddie, but why would you feel like an idiot? There was absolutely no reason for you to be suspicious.'
'Theo, I'm telling you, I've seen that man before. I assumed I had run into him at the hospital, but that obviously isn't the case.
So where did I see him?'
'It will come to you,' he said. 'Try not to force it, and when you're thinking about something else, that's when you'll remember. You know what else the supervisor told me?'
Michelle crossed the room to the sofa, sat down, and bent over to tie her shoelaces.
'Tell me,' she said.
'The package was sent from Benchley, Tarrance, and Paulson.'
'Addressed to me?'
'Yes,' he answered. 'I called the firm, but no one is going to tell me anything over the phone, so I'm sending Noah over there.
Oh, and I also talked to Elena Miller. She was on a tirade.'
Michelle nodded. 'Elena's always on a tirade about something. What did she say?'
'The messenger was hostile.'
'We already know that.'
'When she couldn't locate the package for him, she said he started shouting at her. He threatened her too. She was so furious
she was going to call the messenger service and report him, but she got busy and forgot about it.'
She stood and walked over to the desk. Noticing the way he was staring at her, she asked, 'What's the matter?'
'I just noticed how tired you look.'
'I'm okay.'
'I'm worried about you. You look like you're about to fall over.'
'I'm fine,' she insisted.
She didn't look fine. Her complexion was pale and she was tense. She needed to take a couple of minutes to chill out, he
thought. Her nervous energy was going to run out, and then she would crash.
'Come here.'
'Theo, we have to get moving. I've got to stitch your arm and find that package.'
'The stitches and the package can wait a few more minutes. Take a deep breath and try to unwind. You want something to
drink? A cola or something?'
'No, thanks.'
'Come here.'
'I am here.'
'Closer.'
She took a step to the side of the desk. 'Theo '
'Closer.'
The man was irresistible. She knew she shouldn't allow him to sidetrack her. They both had too much to do. Folding her arms across her chest, she frowned at him. 'Now isn't the time to fool around.'
He pulled her onto his lap. 'Why do you think I want to fool around?'
His hand had moved to the back of her neck, and he was slowly pulling her toward him.
'I don't know… it's just a feeling I have that you might want to kiss me,' she said as she placed her hands on his shoulders.
'The thought never entered my mind. We can't fool around now, sweetheart. We've got too much to do.'
He was nibbling on her neck. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side so he could kiss her earlobe.
'Then I must have misread the signals,' she whispered.
'Must have,' he agreed a scant second before his mouth captured hers for a long, scorching kiss. His tongue slid inside her
warm mouth, and, oh, God, the slow, lazy penetration drove her wild. He teased and tantalized until she was
