“Oh, you mean sex.” He pretended to think for a
moment. “I think I could manage that.”
A car horn tooted as a vehicle went by. Josh waved.
He spotted Bob and Mitchell talking animatedly, fueled by alcohol. The topic: basketball and who would
make it to the playoffs. Nancy tried to ignore her husband and his colleague.
Then Josh’s life changed dramatically, wiping the smile clean off his face as if it had been a smudge. In response to Bob’s question, would the Sacramento Kings
make it to the playoffs, Mitchell stuck his arm out straight with his thumb up. Slowly, the Pinnacle Investments representative twisted his arm until his thumb
pointed down.
There was no mistaking the thumbs-down gesture.
James Mitchell was the man from the bridge.
CHAPTER TEN
Shock paralyzed Josh’s vocal chords. A cold wave
washed over his body, as if a transfusion of ice were being pumped into his veins. He’d entertained the man who’d tried to kill him. Mitchell had drunk his alcohol, ate his food and probably pissed in his toilet.
He had insufficient strength to stand unassisted. Josh slumped against Kate.
“Josh, are you okay? Do you feel sick?” Kate’s expression was a mask of concern.
“That’s him,” Josh said, staring at the vehicles leaving.
“He was here.”
“Who?” Kate looked at her husband, then at their
friends’ disappearing cars.
“The man on the bridge.” Josh became agitated and his voice rose in volume.
“Who? Where?”
“James Mitchell,” he barked, his impotent frustration spilling over.
“The guy Bob brought?” Kate said, incredulous.
“He did that thumbs-down thing, the same as he did on the bridge.” Josh’s frustration turned to rage. He jabbed a finger into the empty street. “James Mitchell tried to kill me.”
“For Christ’s sake, Josh. Calm down and come inside.”
Kate
dragged Josh, still babbling like a madman,
into the house. She got him into the living room, sat him down in an armchair and knelt in front of him.
With considerable effort, she held his flailing arms against his knees.
“Josh, you’ve got to get a hold of yourself. I’m not having you blow up at every little thing that reminds you of the accident. I know it must have been frightening, but I won’t accept that behavior. You shouted at
those cops in the hospital, you scared the shit out of that poor kid with the flowers and now you’re accusing a man you’ve just met of being a killer. Listen to yourself.
This is not the way Josh Michaels acts.”
She scolded him like she did their daughter. But it worked. Josh felt his hysteria pass.
Before he could respond, Abby called from the top of the stairs. The arguing had upset her.
“I’m coming, honey,” Kate said, and got to her feet.
She looked down at Josh. “I’m going to settle Abby down. I suggest you do the same yourself. Gather your thoughts. When I get back, tell me calmly why you think James Mitchell tried to kill you.” Her words were soft and comforting.
He watched her go. He sniffed and ran his hands
through his hair. “Get a grip,” he murmured. He
started to think through all the events leading up to the car crashing into the river. The images were all too vivid. Josh unpacked the jumble of events and repacked them in a neat order. He heard Kate returning from upstairs.
She took a seat on the arm of the chair and slipped an arm around his shoulders. “Do you want to start?”
Josh took a deep breath and started. “I know I didn’t see the guy’s face at the river, but he did the thumbs down thing like I was a vanquished Christian or something.
Just like I told you in the hospital.”
“Yeah, but I’ve seen lots of people do that. It’s nothing special.”
“I know, but not the way he did it. His way is different.
And trust me, baby, when I say it was identical to what James Mitchell did. I was there, in that car thinking I was going to drown and I saw the guy standing on the bridge. He was my only hope for survival and he did that.” Josh repeated Mitchell’s action.
Tears spilled from Kate’s eyes. She reached out and wrapped her delicate hand over his thumbs-down fist.
She pulled his outstretched arm to her mouth and kissed the knuckles of his clenched hand. “Oh, Josh.”
Josh’s love intensified for her. For days after the incident, preoccupied with his own problems, he’d ignored
his wife. Her support gave him the strength to get himself out of the briar patch he had fallen into. He drew her to him and hugged her tightly.
He spoke over her shoulder. “I’ll never forget what he did.”
“Nancy said Mitchell works for an insurance company.
What sort of an insurance guy would do that?”
“I don’t—” It struck Josh like an oncoming truck.
“The sort of insurance agent that works for the same insurance company that sent the wreath.”
Kate pulled away from him and stared at him incredulously.
“He works for Pinnacle Investments?”
“That’s what he said. I’ve only just realized.”
“What are you saying, Josh?”
“Mitchell forced me off the road and had his
company send me a wreath. Maybe he thought I was dead and has a sick sense of humor. It really doesn’t make sense to me. It’s like he’s zeroing in on me, but why?”
“I don’t know why and I don’t care. It’s not your job to find out. Talk to the cops. The ones from the hospital told you to contact them if anything develops, and it has.”
“They don’t believe me as it is. They think I was having a biggest dick competition with some idiot or I fell asleep at the wheel.”
“It doesn’t matter, Josh. You can give them something to go on. If this guy is a psycho, he might come
back for more.”
“I’ll talk to Bob. He knows this guy.”
“Josh, don’t call tonight. Bob’s already asleep by now. Don’t wake him.”
Josh frowned.
“For me, please. Sleep on it. Talk to him if you feel the same tomorrow, but call the police.” Kate emphasized the word “police,” reinforcing that it was their
job to track down criminals, not Josh’s.
Kate stood up and took Josh’s hand. “Let’s go to bed.”
“Happy birthday to me,” he said bitterly.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Josh picked up the cordless telephone in the hall of his home and hit the speed dial.
“Hello?” Nancy said.
“Hi Nancy, is Bob there?”
“Hi Josh. No, he’s still sleeping off last night. I can wake him if you like.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ve got to go off to the airport, but can you tell him that I called and that I’ll drop by
