He nodded. “Maybe. Just be careful… and stick to your story.”
“I will,” she answered. She studied him for a minute, thinking how thoughtful it was of him to try to protect her; then she asked, “Could you get into trouble for telling me about the other investigation that fell apart and about those witnesses?”
“No, I’m not giving away confidential information. You would have to spend a little time on the Internet searching for articles, but you could find out all about that case. It was in the newspapers.”
“Do you think those two witnesses who disappeared are still alive?”
“I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “I think they may have gotten spooked when they heard about the hit-and-run, and they took off.”
Who could blame them? she thought. She took a breath and said, “Thanks for telling me.”
“Just promise you’ll be careful.”
“I will.”
He picked up his menu. “Are you ready to order?”
“I’m not very hungry.”
Max read through the menu, and when he glanced up at Ellie again, she was staring into space, lost in thought, absentmindedly turning her spoon over and over on the table. He should have stuck to his guns and waited until after dinner to tell her about the Landrys, but she’d been too perceptive and forced him to give her the news sooner than he’d planned. Way to go, Daniels, he chided himself. Here he was, sitting across from a gorgeous, sexy woman, and all she could think about was the danger that threatened to uproot her life.
Determined to change her mood, he said, “Tell me something.”
“Yes?”
“On a scale of one to ten, how’s the date going so far?”
SEVEN
As soon as the waiter had taken their orders and left,Max said, “I think every man in here is staring at you.”
The comment surprised her, and she looked around. “You’re exaggerating.”
He wasn’t. Ellie was stunning, and even he, as cynical as he had become, was a bit in awe of her. After spending a short time with her, however, he’d come to realize her appearance didn’t define her.
Ellie said, “Do you know, when I walked out of ICU and saw you waiting in the hall, I thought you looked so relaxed. I almost envied you.”
“I was relaxed.”
She didn’t argue, yet the look she gave him indicated she didn’t believe him.
“Okay, I was worried about Goodman,” he admitted. “And I was angry.”
“About the shooting.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Yes, of course the shooting, but I was also furious that the Landrys got away. We should have had them.” And with what was supposed to be an airtight case this time, he thought.
“What did Agent Hughes have to do with the investigation?” To clarify, she said, “You and Ben were talking about him when you were at my apartment.”
“Hughes flew down from Omaha to take charge when he heard the Landrys were involved. He’s been chasing them for about four years now.”
“You don’t like him much, do you?”
He shrugged. “Our methods are different.”
Tommy strolled over to their table, refilled their glasses, and handed the pitcher of ice water to a hovering waiter.
“Did you tell Max about the golfers yet?” he asked Ellie.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Come on, it’s a good story. She’s humble,” he told Max. “She won’t tell you how it really went down, but I will.”
“What happened?”
Both Tommy and Max turned to her. There was no getting out of it, she knew.
“It turns out I have a bit of a temper when I’m pushed,” she began. “I’m not proud of that.”
“No, you kept your cool,” Tommy insisted. “It was that jerk you were with who lost his temper. The guy had an ego the size of Nevada.” To Max he said, “And all she did was try not to embarrass him.”
“Up to a point,” she interjected.
“See, here’s what happened,” Tommy continued. “There were four men, all of them in their fifties, I’m guessing, sitting at a table across my restaurant from where Ellie and the deadhead were sitting. The golfers were a loud bunch but not offensive. They were just having some fun, and they weren’t bothering any of my other customers. They’d had a lot to drink before they got here. Who could blame them? It was a real pisser out there that day, over ninety degrees.” He turned to Ellie. “Are you gonna help me tell it?”
She laughed. “All of them had ordered steaks,” she explained.
“Grade A prime. Meat that will melt in your mouth,” Tommy crooned. “I only serve the best.”
“I happened to look over just as one of the golfers took a bite of his steak.”
“It was a twenty-one-ounce porterhouse,” Tommy interjected. “One of the customers’ favorites.”
“The man stuffed a piece the size of a small roast into his mouth. I couldn’t believe it,” she added. “I watched him, hoping he’d keep chewing.”
“But he didn’t,” Tommy said, grinning.
“I’m guessing it didn’t melt in his mouth,” Max said.
“No, it didn’t.” Ellie continued, “He swallowed and, of course, began to choke. He tried to stand, then crashed to the floor.”
“I didn’t get to see any of this,” Tommy said. “I was busy in the front, but I heard the guy’s friends shouting for help and yelling that their friend was having a heart attack. I ran over to see for myself, and I saw him on the floor. The guy’s face was getting red.” Turning to Ellie again, he said, “Go ahead, you tell what happened next.” Tommy’s enthusiasm was comical.
“My date, Dr. Dwight Parish, said, ‘I’ve got this,’ and ran over to the golfer, whose name I later found out was Chuck,” she said.
“Chuck the Choker is what I dubbed him,” Tommy added.
“What did you do?” Max asked Ellie.
“I started the clock the second Chuck tried to swallow the meat-”
He interrupted. “What do you mean, you started the clock?”
“Oxygen deprivation,” she explained. “There was plenty of time, but I always start the clock, which means I note the time down to the second.”
“The deadhead announces he’s a doctor,” Tommy said, “and he kneels down beside Chuck and starts pushing his chest, giving him CPR. He, too, believed Chuck was having a heart attack. The jerk acted like he was running a seminar or something, talking to the crowd while he pumped Chuck’s chest.”
“Then what happened?” Max wondered.
“I tried to explain to Dwight that the man was choking,” Ellie said.
“Yeah, she did,” Tommy agreed. “I stood beside her. She was real nice about it, but the deadhead wouldn’t listen, even after she told him she’d seen Chuck try to swallow a hunk of meat. Deadhead was too busy dazzling the crowd to pay attention. And all that pumping didn’t dislodge the meat, did it?”
“No, it didn’t,” Ellie said.
“And I’m watching, getting real worried. It’s bad for business when a customer dies in your restaurant.”
Max had to agree. “Yeah, that would be bad.”
“I didn’t know the kid was a doctor then,” he added. “But she was trying to convince deadhead that Chuck wasn’t having a heart problem-”
“Had anyone called nine-one-one?”
“Oh yeah, of course. So tell him what happened next,” Tommy urged.
“I was watching the time,” she said. “And I politely asked Dwight to get out of my way.”
Max raised an eyebrow. There was something about the way she made the comment that told him she wasn’t quite telling the truth. “Politely, huh?”
“I thought so.”
“Before you go on, tell me, what kind of doctor is Dwight?”
“He just finished his residency.”
“In what field?”