“It’s you I want,” she said, using her most seductive voice. “I want you right now.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Frank said, but he didn’t push her away “We have work to do. When do you think Carl will be out of the hospital?”
“Soon.” She continued kissing, making her way to his head, nibbling his earlobe. “Like I said, the injury was minor.”
“But as soon as he’s discharged, the police will lock him away. And then we’ll never be able to get to him. Unless we can figure out some way for him to escape.”
“Escape?” she whispered, blowing gently into his ear. “Is that wise?”
“It’s the only chance we have. If they get him back into custody, we have no chance.”
“I see.” She was snuggling closer, pressing herself up against him. “You’re so smart, Frank. So damn smart.”
“Once he’s free, we can lure him back to the house and finish what we started this afternoon.”
“Is that possible?” She wrapped her right leg around him and squeezed. “He may be a drunk, but he isn’t stupid. He’ll never come back here after what happened today. No matter what crock I feed him over the telephone.”
“He probably won’t come back for you, true.” Frank’s hands were beginning to move, smoothing the curves of her body, searching for his favorite soft spots. “But you’re not the only ace in the hole we have with that idiot. He’ll come. And as soon as he does-” He raised his voice and adopted a near dead-on facsimile of Bonnie’s voice. “I didn’t know what to do, Officer. He was acting crazy, threatening me, hurting the boy. I had to shoot.”
“Hey, that’s pretty good,” Bonnie said. “I had no idea you were so talented.”
“Darling, you haven’t even scratched my surface yet.”
“But even if you do manage to set Carl up, won’t everyone else be suspicious? The neighbors, the police? If he comes here again, even the cops might begin to suspect a frame.”
“Not if they see him beating the kid.”
“But Carl? He would never-”
“Trust me, dear. I can arrange everything.”
“You are so bad.” She pressed herself forward, jerking his shirt free of his pants, unfastening the buttons. “And you’re so sexy when you’re bad.”
Frank smiled, wrapped his arms around her, and rolled her over. A moment later their minds were on a different subject altogether.
16
“Look, lady, if you’re not his wife or kid or close relative, you’re not getting in to see him.”
“But it’s very important.”
“There are cops on duty.”
“I’ve spoken to them. They said if I could get your okay, they’d let me in.”
“But you don’t have my okay.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here.”
Megan pressed her hand against her brow. She hated bureaucracy. There was nothing worse. She had always thought that courthouse protocol was the most abysmal, but she was beginning to alter her opinion in favor of hospitals.
For fifteen minutes now, she’d been trying to get in to see Carl Cantrell, but she’d come smack-dab up against the Iron Maiden of nurse-receptionists. Normally she tried to stay as far away from child-napping poisoners as possible, especially when they were on the other side of a case. But she had business reasons for wanting to get in there. It wouldn’t take long. It would be over in minutes. If she could just get Nurse Ratched here to give her the thumbs up.
“Look,” Megan implored, “this is critical. A woman’s life may be in danger. And that of her son.”
“Because you can’t get in to see a patient? I don’t think so, honey.”
Megan drew herself up. “I want to take this up with your superior.”
“Good luck finding my superior. Or my inferior, either. Lady, do you not understand that this is Christmas Eve?”
“I don’t see what-”
“Most people are at home with their families. We’re on a skeleton staff here, barely enough people to keep the place running.”
“Nonetheless-”
“I’ve been on duty since four A.M., and won’t get to go home until midnight. I’ve had no relief, no coffee breaks. No chance to lie down and take a nap. I haven’t even had a chance to brush my teeth. My breath smells like death warmed over-”
“Lucky I happened by.” Megan opened her shoulder bag and rummaged around until she found the bottle of mouthwash she’d gotten from the woman at the courthouse. “Duck into the bathroom and have yourself a gargle.”
“You carry jumbo-size mouthwash in your purse?” Her eyes narrowed. “What are you, some kind of bag lady?”
“It was a Christmas present.”
“Some friends you got.”
“It was-you know-a joke. From an office party.”
“Oh, right.” Her stern exterior softened a bit. “I got one of those, too.” She reached down to the shelf beneath her station, then plopped a hardcover book onto the counter, “This was mine.”
Megan read the dust jacket.
“Yeah, right. A friendly commentary on my winning personality.” She grasped the big green bottle. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll take the mouthwash. You keep the book.”
“Deal,” Megan said, looking up expectantly. “And …”
“I suppose it’ll be all right if you go in there. But don’t stay too long. I don’t wanna get in trouble.”
“Understood. I’ll be brief.”
The nurse raised the mouthwash bottle and made a little salute. “Merry Christmas.”
Megan smiled back. “Ho, ho, ho.”
After the receptionist gave them the high sign, the two cops on duty outside the hospital room waved Megan through.
He was sitting upright in bed, eyes open wide. Megan was startled. She halted, staring at him. Somehow, in her mind’s eye she had imagined he would be sleeping or drugged or hooked up to a million tubes or otherwise incapacitated. Instead, he looked little different from when she had seen him in the restaurant, except that his right arm was bandaged and in a sling. Nonetheless, he looked as if he might leap out at her at any moment.
Megan felt her mouth go dry. In her days as a priest, she had been forced to spend time with all kinds of unsavory characters. But she couldn’t think of an instance when she’d been this close to a killer. This close to someone who had cold-bloodedly tried to murder his own son.
“You were at The Snow Pea,” Carl said, breaking the silence.
“That’s right. I was.”
“Who are you, anyway?” His lips curled a bit. “One of Bonnie’s friends, I suppose.”
“That’s, um, right.” Megan cleared her throat. “Actually, I’m her attorney.”
“You’re not the chump who got her divorced.”
“No, I’m … new.”
“Wonderful. And to what do I owe the honor of this visit?”
Megan wished she had a glass of water. Her throat was so parched she could barely speak. “I’m glad to hear you’re going to be all right. They told me the bullet didn’t do any permanent damage. That the previous wound to your arm did more damage than the bullet.”
