Michelle hesitated.
“Ten. I’m sure you’ll get a lot out of it. And it’s only thirty minutes long.”
“Fine, let’s just get it over with,” Michelle said sharply.
“That’s not the proper attitude to have,” the woman said in a scolding tone.
“Lady, right now it’s the only attitude I’ve got.”
A male doctor Michelle had never seen before was leading the session.
The only saving grace for Michelle was that Sandy was there. She made a beeline for the woman and sat next to her. As soon as Michelle did so the door opened and Barry came in. He stood in the back against the wall.
Every time Michelle felt his gaze on her, her skin prickled. That jerk had seen her
While the doctor was handing out some materials, Sandy looked over at Michelle and saw her expression of misery. “You okay?”
“No, but I’ll tell you about it later. How does this session work?” she whispered.
“Just follow my lead. It’ll be okay. This shrink isn’t bad. He means well, but he’s totally clueless to what goes on in the real world.”
“That’s inspiring,” Michelle said.
After the session was over, Michelle pushed Sandy’s wheelchair past Barry.
“You ladies have a nice day,” Barry said, holding the door for them and smiling broadly.
“Go fuck yourself!” Michelle said loud enough for him and everyone else to hear.
Sandy screwed up her face. “Oh, honey, please, that conjures up such a nasty vision and I just had my lunch.”
Barry stopped smiling.
On the way back to Sandy’s room Michelle filled her in on Barry’s actions.
“I’ve heard he listens for the showers to go on and off in the good-looking women’s rooms and then slips in for a little peek.”
Michelle looked outraged. “If the bastard has an MO that people know about why hasn’t he been fired?”
“People are afraid to speak up. Face it, most folks are here because they’re messed up, vulnerable. They’re not in the best position to defend themselves against assholes like that.”
“I’d love a few minutes alone with the guy. His face would be even uglier than it is now.”
“That would be hard to do,” Sandy replied.
Michelle wheeled Sandy into her room and saw the large bouquet of flowers on the nightstand. “You have a secret admirer?” she asked.
“Don’t all women?” Sandy fingered a rose petal. “Speaking of admirers, who was that tall, gorgeous man I saw you talking to when you first got here?”
“Sean King. We’re partners.”
“Partners? So no ring yet?”
“No, we’re partners in a detective agency.”
“You’re a detective?”
“And ex-Secret Service.”
“I wouldn’t have pegged you for being a fed.”
“Why, are we supposed to have a certain look?”
“No. But I’m usually pretty good at telling the goodies from the baddies.”
“You’ve had a lot of experience with both?”
“Let’s just say I’ve had lots of experience
“Now you sound like my shrink.”
“Is he as good inside as he looks on the outside?”
“Even better actually.”
“Then honey, can I ask why you don’t have a ring on your finger?”
“We’re business partners.”
“There’re lots of ways to make a living. But it’s been my experience that handsome men with hearts of gold are as rare as a woman leaving a bar without getting her bottom grabbed. Find one like that, you better reel him in or someone else will.”
Michelle thought of Sean and Joan working together again while she was stuck in here having a fight for her soul with Horatio “Harley-Davidson” Barnes and getting peeped on by Barry the Dickhead. “It’s not that simple,” she finally said.
“Oh, women tell themselves that all the time. That’s partially because nothing for women is simple. It’s only simple for men and that’s because, God love the little bastards, they just can’t see any higher than they can grope.”
“Sean is different.”
“Then you’re just making my point for me. Screw the complex and keep it simple. A ring on the finger. That’s all it takes.”
“Assuming for argument’s sake that I’m willing, what if he’s not?”
Sandy ran her gaze over Michelle. “Then, frankly, he needs to be in here more than you. He might be a cut above most men, but I’m assuming he still has a zipper and something behind it.”
“Relying on physical attraction doesn’t work long term.”
“Of course it doesn’t! But you bait them with the curves, haul them in and use the time till your looks fail to train them properly.”
“Have you ever been married?”
“I was. For about ten minutes.”
“Quickie divorce?”
“No, I was shot on my wedding day and ended up like this. My husband of ten minutes wasn’t so lucky.”
“My God, he was killed? During your wedding!”
Sandy nodded. “The wedding planner was pretty much speechless. She’d been fussing about the shrimp and the ice sculpture. She didn’t have a clue how to do triage.”
“How did it happen?”
Sandy nimbly lifted herself out of her chair and onto the bed. She had on a short-sleeve shirt and Michelle saw the ripple of triceps muscles and the veins down both the woman’s biceps. Sandy sat back on the bed. “What it was, was a long time ago. I only had the love of my life officially for ten minutes. But let me tell you I wouldn’t have traded it for a lifetime with anyone else. So you think about your Mr. King. You think long and hard. And realize he won’t always be there. Because there are lots of women out there who could give a damn about complex. They just take what they want, sweetie. They just take what they want.”
CHAPTER 20
SEAN HAD SPENT HIS FIRST NIGHT at Babbage Town alternating between trying to sleep and looking out the window at the darkened grounds. His room was in the mansion on the second floor overlooking the side of the property close to where Champ Pollion’s house was and also within sight of Hut Number One run by the very blunt and very one-legged Alicia Chadwick. The mansion’s decorations had a European flavor, and each guest room, he’d quickly discovered, came equipped with its own computer and WiFi high-speed Internet connection.
Around two A.M. Sean saw some movement near Champ’s house. He thought it was the physicist he’d seen climbing the steps to the front door and going in, but the moonlight was weak and he couldn’t be sure. Then Sean heard a noise that took him completely by surprise. He flung open his window and looked out.
It was a plane coming in, and not just any plane. It was a jet, a large one judging by the sound of the engines, and from the level of noise, the damn thing was landing. He leaned out the window but saw nothing, not even a blink of lights against the black sky. He listened for a while longer and heard the plane’s engines being thrown into reverse to stop the aircraft after it touched down. Yet where had the plane landed? Camp Peary? The Naval
