Once she pronounced that he could safely stand up, he cautiously rolled on his side and managed to push himself to a half-sitting position without setting off the muscles in his neck again. With her on one arm and Dan on the other, he got all the way to his feet. He had a headache, but nothing else. “I’m glad you went easy on me,” he said, hoping to relax the worried look on his two helpers’ faces.
Lucy’s frown deepened. “Part of my reflex. If I hadn’t held back, you would have been dead.”
From the matter-of-fact way she said it, he thought she must be kidding. But her expression remained all business. In fact, she appeared downright calm for someone who’d just clobbered her teacher-to-be. He liked that, figuring she didn’t rattle easily. And now that he was upright, he also realized how petite she seemed, her head coming up only to his shoulders. Of course her being in bare feet and still clothed in an oversize bathrobe helped make her look tiny. But there had been no mistaking the strength he felt in her hands and arms as she supported him. “Now let’s see if you can walk on your own,” she said, very much in charge.
He made it to the doorway, no trouble. “How long was I out?” he asked, pivoting around to make the return trip. The general rule was that anyone who remained unconscious more than twenty minutes after a blow to the head warranted special observation for subsequent damage, including a CT to rule out a fracture or bleed.
“Don’t worry. I’d say five minutes, tops. No need for a CT. But I’ll wake you on and off tonight, just to be sure.”
This woman knew her stuff. “Thanks, but I don’t think that’ll be necessary – oh, shit.”
“What?” the two said in unison. Alarm creased their faces as they rushed to his side.
“Whoa! I’m fine. I just realized I hadn’t made arrangements for where you were to stay yet. Normally male residents stay with me, but the women I billet with a local family-”
“Dr. Roper!” Lucy’s concerned look vanished with a laugh, and her eyes lit up like sun-kissed earth. “For a young-looking guy, you’re certainly old-fashioned. I’ve been living in coed quarters for the last seven years, plus I grew up with four brothers, so if it’s okay with you, I’ll be fine right here.”
Mark felt at a loss for words. “Of course, if you like, you’re most welcome…” He trailed off at the sight of Dan rolling his eyes toward the ceiling and smirking at him.
“Great,” Lucy said, looking around the room. “I loved the feel of this place the minute I stepped inside. There’s a real sense of home in these old wooden houses. Reminded me of where I grew up outside Montreal.”
“Oh, you’re Canadian?” Mark said, all the while thinking he might not be old-fashioned, but Hampton Junction sure was. Nell would bust an artery spreading the word about this one. Dan, still behind Lucy’s line of sight, didn’t help matters any, shaking with laughter, his face red from trying not to make a sound.
“Originally,” she replied, “but I’ve been so many places, especially in the last seven years, I don’t know what I am anymore. Maybe a citizen of the world? Say, I checked out your kitchen. You obviously don’t eat in much, but there’s the makings for tea. I’d prescribe a cup for all of us. You two go downstairs and get it ready while I change.”
Obediently following her orders, Mark led the way. He used the opportunity to inform Dan of his ordeal.
“Jesus!” Dan responded, after hearing the story. “You could have been killed. And not just by that yahoo. Those poachers get so tanked up they’re liable to fire off a shot if a leaf rustles. You tearing up the ridge must have sounded like a whole herd of deer.”
“I don’t think it takes much guesswork to finger who it was-”
“Now, Mark-”
“My question is, what are you going to do about it?”
“One thing I’m not going to do is go into the Braden estate leveling accusations against Chaz without a shred of evidence.”
“Shred? Who the hell else would want me out of the way? Admit it. Or are you too afraid of them?”
Dan bristled, and his face went livid. “You’ve no cause to say that.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“No problem! I’m always careful not to go off half-cocked with unsubstantiated allegations.” His tone of voice had turned icy. “But I learned long ago to be very cautious about taking on some people more than others.”
The hurt in his baggy eyes bothered Mark. But he wasn’t in the mood to pamper bruised feelings or allow reelection worries to sidetrack going after Chaz. “ ‘Unsubstantiated allegations!’ You saw how the guy went toe-to-toe with me in your office.”
“Any witnesses tonight?”
“Well, no.”
“Can you identify this figure you saw in the woods?”
“Of course not. He was too far away. With his hood plus cap-”
“So it could have been any drunk taking a potshot-”
“But he came after me.”
“Did you see him then? Maybe he realized he’d crossed the line, wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt?”
“Jesus, Dan, can you hear yourself?”
“It’s what Braden would say, or at least the army of lawyers he’ll hire would. What do you expect? I repeat, there’ll be no accusations against the likes of that family with nothing but your word against his. At least not by me!” Dan’s voice held rock steady despite the anger in it.
“Okay, so what are you going to do?”
“I’ll get two men out there tonight and make sure what’s left of your Jeep stays a secure crime scene. We’ll also take a look at the tracks you and he left, but just along the highway. I still have to consider the possibility it isn’t Chaz Braden we’re after, and won’t risk anyone else’s life by asking them to go into the woods after an armed drunken maniac who’s bored with deer and wants a crack at two-legged prey-”
“You’re not telling me you really believe this could be anyone but Chaz-”
“I’m telling you it’s my job to take into account every possible scenario just as you do when making a differential diagnosis as a doctor. What’s more, if you were thinking clearly, you wouldn’t want me to act rashly about Chaz Braden. I don’t know what it is between you and him, but you’re not exactly rational about the guy.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re always on the edge of losing it around him. I thought you were nearly going to go at him in my office.”
Mark said nothing, but felt his own face grow warm. He fought off the urge to tell him he was full of shit.
“We nail him, it’s got to be done by the book, understand? It’s not fear that makes me more careful around the likes of him. It’s a fact of life you need a better case against Braden-type money. Otherwise, those lawyers will have Chaz free in a heartbeat, even if we do get evidence he’s the one. That’s American justice, bucko, so get used to it. Cool your jets, Mark, and let me do my job. You got no cause to think I won’t. And in the meantime, I suggest you take care of your own hangups about that family. They’re clouding your judgment.”
The burn in Mark’s face increased. “I just want a crack at him, to tell the son of a bitch that I know it was him. That ought to make him think twice before any other anonymous ‘hunters’ take a shot at me.”
“Will you listen to yourself? I’ve never seen you so readily jump to conclusions on a case before.”
His cheeks felt on fire. He didn’t often have disagreements with Dan, but when he did, the man could be a frustrating, stubborn opponent, especially when what he said had the sting of truth. He had to admit, the Bradens brought out the worst in him. He couldn’t just pin it on their preoccupation with the business and political side of medicine, though that did grate. But similarly inclined doctors elsewhere didn’t skewer his professional objectivity and make him run around “half-cocked.” No, this ran deeper. Just being around them got him on edge, yet he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Nevertheless, he’d have to rein in those feelings if he was going to do his job as coroner. “Sorry, Dan. You’re right. I was out of line.”