Determined not to dwell on that now, she went about her business as usual at the hospital.
She made her rounds, turned the envelope, stockings and card over to Julie, covered the overload in the E.R. and even sat in on one of Charlies clinics for twenty minutes during an afternoon break.
The man was amazing. She knew serious skeptics who were willing to give his methods a try.
Hes a whacko genius. Julie came up behind Meliana, whod paused in the doorway to observe Charlies newest group. Do you think he does hypnotism?
I doubt it. Meliana swiveled her head. Are you looking to get hypnotized?
No, Im looking first for you, whom Ive found, and second for Sam, whos been complaining of headaches again.
Sam Robbins was Julies stepbrother, a quiet young man with a talent much more freakish to Melianas mind than Charlie Lightfoots. He was one of those rare people who could scan a page in a phone book and memorize it instantly, names and numbers.
Sams probably downstairs unloading food trays. Meliana gave Charlie a quick wave before closing the door. Ill talk to Elizabeth Truman in Neurology. Maybe she can schedule a round of tests. It could be that Sams brain takes too much in at one time and cant cope with the overload of information. Tell him to stop reading for a while.
Maybe Ill send him fishing with Johnny up at Blue Lake. No praise intended, and no idea why, but Johnnys really good with Sam. Must be a big-brother thing.
Youre worried about him, arent you?
A little. Dont forget, his father died of a brain aneurysm.
Ill talk to Liz, Meliana promised. So whats the deal with the stockings?
Zip so far. Whoever this guy is, hes taking all the necessary precautions. Is Johnny still around?
He went back to Blue Lake. Broken pipe in the downstairs bathroom. Eileen Crawford found it when she came to clean. She nodded forward. Theres Sam now.
With an overstuffed cart as usual.
Its a long way down to Food Services. Meliana grinned. Hes saving himself a trip.
Sam! Julie called.
He halted so abruptly he almost rolled the cart into a housekeeping trolley.
Head in the clouds, Julie muttered.
Hi, Sam, Meliana greeted. She saw him press his temple under a messy cap of dark curls. Headache?
They come and go. He sent her an affable grin. Julie says its all the junk food I eat. The smile faded and he stared at her lab coat. Your pagers going off.
It is? Surprised, Meliana felt her pocket. I dont hear it.
He regarded her with innocent brown eyes. Thats because it hasnt
When the device began to beep, Meliana and Julie both frowned at him.
It justcame to me, he said and checked the cart for slippage. I need to get this downstairs. Later, okay?
Meliana started for the nurses station. This is a new thing, right?
I have no idea. Julie strode along beside her. Do you thinkHe couldnt be, like, psychic or something, could he? I mean, we use psychics from time to time on impossible cases. My captain half believes theyre for real.
That seemed pretty for real to me, Meliana said. Problem? she asked the duty nurse.
Youre needed in Emergency, Dr. Maynard. Weve got a four-car pileup with injuries.
On my way. Try not to see it as a burden, she said to Julie as they took the elevator down. Call it a gift, and let Neurology check him out.
Yeah, sure. Mel. Julie caught her wrist as the door opened. Im only a little spooked about Sam. Im worried about you. This rose guy could be totally deluded. At the very least hes got a big problem. And youre sitting right at the heart of it.
IM ANGRY. Ive been that way for days now. Its not Melianas fault, its her ex-husbands. Except he isnt her ex yet, which is partly why Im angry.
I warned him to stay away from her. He didnt listen. Im going to make him listen.
Meliana will understand. She has to. I dont know why she lets him into her house. Its her house, not his, not anymore. Theyre finished. Melianas mine now. My dream will come true.
I wont let him come back into her life. I hope she understands that. I cant believe shed want him back.
I think I might have to hurt him.
Chapter Four
Ive heard about Blue Lake. Nick followed Meliana out of the O.R., whipped off his cap and held her Ella Fitzgerald disk up between two fingers. I burned this a couple nights ago, along with Coldplay and Janice Joplin.
Thats quite the combo, Nick.
I have eclectic taste. But actually, I did Janice for Dr. Lightfoot. Thats why I mentioned Blue Lake. Word is, hes thinking of buying a retreat outside the city, and he knows you have one there.
Bit of a story attached to that, but yes, I do.
Can I ask you a personal question?
Sure. She slid her gaze sideways. I might not answer it, though.
Are you and your husband together or separated?
It hurt more than it should by now. Were not together, Nick.
He beamed. Thats twenty bucks to me.
Meliana wasnt surprised. Bets based on gossip flowed more freely around the hospital than tap water. Whos the loser?
A guy in Administration. SoIm having a wine-tasting party next weekend. Youre invited. I plan to cover California, France, Italy and Australia.
If Im off the duty roster, Ill think about it. She paused outside her office. Do you know Sam Robbins?
Only through you.
Have you ever sat and talked to him?
Once or twice. He seems a bit Forrest Gumplike to me, but I know he shot through business administration in college.
Hell be running Food Services in a few years, Meliana predicted, whether officially or not.
Do you want me to invite him to my party?
I want to know what it is about him that makes his memory so instantaneous and so incredible.
Ah, youd like me to ask my grandfather what the deal is with someone like him. Nick tugged on his spiky hair to straighten it. No problem, but Im not sure, even with all the studies hes done on the human brain, that Granddad will have an answer for you. Sometimes life just throws people a weird curve. Like Dr. Lightfoot and his touchy-feely stuff. Granddad thinks Lightfoots a quack. But Ill ask about the memory thing for you. Next Saturday night, okay?
Ill do my best.
They parted company at the elevator. Inside, Meliana checked her watch. It was after seven. Shed been working steadily since 9:00 a.m. She could handle that. However, she hadnt been able to reach Johnny at Blue Lake since yesterday, and that was a worry.
She could call Eileen or Zack or even the sheriff, but if he was simply looking for down time, Johnny wouldnt appreciate being monitored.
She mulled it over and decided to try one more time. In her office she picked up the phone and punched his number. Twenty rings later, she stared at the handset and sighed. Where the hell are you, Grand? Vexed with herself more than him, she skirted her desk. Why do you care, Meliana? Separated, remember? Time to let go.
Her chair was rolled partway out, angled toward her computer. She swung it around, then hissed in a breath and took a quick backward step.
A single white rose lay crosswise on the seat.
SHE MADE IT TO THE HOUSE at Blue Lake before 9:00 p.m. Only one light burned inside, a lamp on a table next to the front door. Meliana considered, then knocked. Johnny?
There was no answer. At her side, Lokie and Shannon barked.
She tried again, louder. Johnny, are you here?
Yes, Im here.
His voice came from behind her, and she spun. Whatever shed planned to say dissolved in her throat. He was covered with mud and grease, he had a rag wrapped around his right hand and he looked thoroughly out of sorts.
It had to be the expression on his face that caused her lips to twitch. Problem? she asked in her most ingenuous tone.
The look he sent her had a decided bite. Where do you want me to start? With my truck, the gusher in the toilet, or the fire?
Fire? She grabbed the dogs collars to keep them from jumping on him. She sniffed, but smelled nothing except trees and lake water. Where?
In the shed.
She glanced around his arm. It looks fine from here.
Check out the far side, Mel. Its toast.
She kept a firm hold on the dogs. How did it start?
Local fire chiefs gonna let me know that when he figures it out, which should be by next Easter. Until then, Im guessing arson.
Something twisted in her stomach. Arsons a pretty drastic conclusion, Johnny. It couldve been someone smoking in the woods.
It could also have been a gas bomb.
Right. Meliana gave up. What happened to your truck?
Two flat tires, with only one spare to replace them. And it wouldnt start.
Someone got under the hood.
Unless a squirrel made off with three of my spark plugs and disabled the carburetor.
Meliana pushed both dogs to a sitting position. They wanted to hunt the bullfrogs that were croaking in the reeds by the lake. Stay, she ordered and had to trust that Lokie would follow Shannons lead. This days really not improving. What about the gushing toilet?
Johnny blew at the hair in his eyes. That could have happened on its own. The plumber who fixed the broken water pipe Eileen discovered also runs Eddys Spaghetti House. He had a party of twenty booked in for dinner last night. I sensed his mind was on his meat sauce while he was here. He capped the geyser and told me to use the upstairs bathroom until he can get a better look at the problem.
Right. Fire, spark plugs, toilet. Now tell me why your answering machine and cell are turned off? Ive been calling since last night. I even e-mailed you this afternoon.
He rubbed his grimy hands in distaste. My cells dead, Eileen moved the answering machine so I walked through the cord and tore it out of the wall, and you never use e-mail to contact me so I tend not to check it. I called you twice at the hospital today. Despite the usual runaround, I got the impression you were in surgery pretty much nonstop. That meant you were okay, so I didnt leave a message. Concern crept in as he cocked his head to survey her. Did something happen after my last call? Has Chris?
She waved him off. Nothing like that. Chris is out of town until Monday.
Some hero.
I dont need a hero, Johnny.
He took a step toward her, a dangerous step, to her way of thinking.
I got another rose, she told him. At the hospital, in my office. Sometime between four and seven this evening.
His head fell back, and he gave a humorless laugh. Not in tune with the cosmos at all, are we?
I thought you didnt believe in that sort of thing.
What I dont believe is how easily this guy slips in and out of your world. Home, office, car. No one sees him. He stopped. No one saw him, right?
I asked all around the seventh floor. No one noticed anything unusual.
So either hes ridiculously lucky or he sees all and knows exactly when to leave his goodies. Or steal them, as the case may be.
For the first time, Meliana detected the smell of scorched wood. Her gaze traveled around the open yard to the shed. You think the rose guy burned the shed and disabled your truck, dont you?
I think its very likely.
So do I. The knots in her stomach tightened. Hes watching me, Johnny, and he doesnt like you. You need to stay here, and let Julie do what she can in Chicago.
I know cops, Mel. He closed in on her, but was thankfully too dirty to touch. Julies a cog in a big regulation wheel. She wont be able to do much, no matter how good her intentions. Flowers and petty theft dont amount to a great deal in the eyes of the police.
Julies a friend.
Im your husband.
She lifted her hair from her neck so the lake air could reach her skin. Were separated, Johnny, and youre not supposed to be involved in any kind of investigation right now. On a more dangerous note, youre also supposed to be discreet about any action you undertake, in case someone you were involved with as John Garcia did happen to make you.
He used a knuckle to tip her chin up. Youve been talking to Blackburn, havent you?
Not about you. She let her hair fall. I watched you change over time, from the man I married to a man I stopped recognizing as my husband. I didnt grow up in a bubble, Johnny. Ive seen people get sucked into bad situations. With you, I saw an evolution. It wasnt healthy, and it certainly wasnt pretty. You seem so much better these days. I dont want you to slide backward.
I wont.
You could. John Garcias a part of you now. You created a persona, and for two years it became your reality. You lived it, breathed it, worked it. When they pulled you out, the FBI considered putting you in a witness protection program. They would have if you hadnt been so adamant that your cover hadnt been blown.
I didnt think it had.
But now youre not sure. Enrique Jago might be out there looking for revenge. And what would he do? Hed stalk me. Hed distract you. Hed make you look in my direction when really its you he wants.
Johnny lowered his lashes. He was silent for a moment. Then, with his mouth mere inches from hers, he said, This stuffs coming off the top of your head, isnt it?
Absurd amusement rose in her throat. It had to be his delivery coupled with his speculative expression. Hed always been able to make her laugh at the most inappropriate moments.
This isnt funny, Johnny. Although she had invented most of what shed said on the fly. Suddenly, though, she couldnt remember why or think of anything other than the fact that she wanted to jump him.
The knuckle under her chin slid along her jaw until all of Johnnys fingers were wrapped around her neck. Tell me again how I get sucked into bad situations.
She felt a shiver work its way upward from her belly. Youre the worst possible situation for me, Johnny. We agreed on that six months ago.
His lips grazed hers. And your point is?
Impulse kicked in. Knocking reason aside, Meliana grabbed him by the front of his shirt and yanked him against her. I hate you, Johnny Grand.