Heartbreaker

  “Wesson found the detonator. It was inside a garage door opener,” Nick said when he returned.

  “What about the bomb?”

  “The abbey’s blocked off, and the bomb squad is coming in by helicopter.”

  “You know, Nick, we’re fortunate that no one else was hurt.” He was trying to keep his friend occupied because he knew Nick had about had it with waiting. He didn’t want him to go charging into the exam room.

  “Why is the doctor taking so long?”

  “He’s being thorough.”

  “You’re awfully damn calm.”

  “One of us has to be.”

  “You’re her brother, and you saw what she looked like. If I were you and it was my sister in there, I’d be going nuts.”

  “Laurant’s a strong woman.”

  “Yeah, she’s strong, but a body can only take so much.”

  The curtain parted, and the nurse who had been assisting the doctor came out. She went to the desk and picked up the phone.

  The doctor stayed with Laurant. One-on-one with his patient, his bedside manner had vastly improved. He was kind, soft-spoken, and gentle. He numbed the arm and cleaned the wound. Then he wrapped it in gauze to keep it protected until the plastic surgeon arrived to stitch it. He probed the area around her left eye but stopped when she winced. “You’re going to have a doozy of a shiner.”

  The doctor told her he was sending her to radiology. The swelling at the base of her skull worried him, and he wanted to make sure she didn’t have a concussion.

  “We’re going to keep you overnight for observation.”

  He put another strip of tape on the gauze to hold it in place as he remarked, “I heard what happened at the church. Bits and pieces anyway. You’re lucky to be alive.”

  Laurant felt numb and a little disoriented. She was finding it difficult to concentrate. She thought the doctor had asked her a question, but she wasn’t certain, and she was too weary to ask him to repeat it.

  “The nurse will help you get into a hospital gown.”

  Where was Nick? Was he out there with her brother, or had he left? She wanted him to take her in his arms and hold her. She moved her leg and bit her lip to keep from crying out. It felt like it was on fire.

  The doctor was turning to leave when he heard her whisper, “I think it’s bleeding again. Could I have a Band-Aid, please?”

  Benchley turned around. “You need stitches in your arm. Remember I told you that the plastic surgeon was on his way?”

  He was talking to her as though she were a child. He held up two fingers and asked her how many she saw.

  “Two,” she answered, squinting against the penlight he was shining in her eyes. “I was talking about my leg,” she explained. “I fell down, and it’s bleeding.”

  The queasiness was getting worse, and deep breaths didn’t seem to be helping.

  Benchley lifted her skirt and saw the blood on her slip. “What have we got here?” he asked as he gently pushed the slip up over her knee and then lifted her leg. He examined the bloody wound.

  She couldn’t see the injury. The skirt was in her way. “I just need a Band-Aid,” she insisted.

  “You sure do,” he agreed. “But first we’re going to need to remove the bullet.”

  The surgeon had a busy evening. Pulling his cap off, he walked into the waiting room to report that Noah was in recovery. He assured Nick and Tommy that there hadn’t been any surprises or complications and that the agent was going to be fine. Then he turned around to scrub again and operate on Laurant. While he worked on her leg, the plastic surgeon stitched her arm.

  A nurse gave Tommy his sister’s watch and engagement ring. Without a thought, he handed them to Nick.

  Laurant wasn’t in the operating room long, and for a short while she and Noah were in recovery together. She was still unconscious when she was wheeled into a private room.

  After checking on Noah, Nick went to Laurant’s room and stayed with her all night. As soon as Noah was taken to ICU so that he could be closely monitored, Tommy went back to the abbey to change clothes. Then he returned to the hospital and sat with Noah.

  Pete Morganstern arrived around two in the morning. He went to see Noah first. Tommy had fallen asleep in a chair, but he woke up as Pete was reading Noah’s chart. They went out into the hall to talk, and then Tommy told him where he could find Laurant and Nick.

  Laurant slept fitfully. In those random moments of consciousness she called out to Nick. The anesthetic was slow to wear off. She couldn’t quite manage to open her eyes, but she felt him taking hold of her hand, and she would fall asleep again comforted by his soothing voice.

  “Nick?”

  “I’m right here.”

  “I think I threw up on Dr. Benchley.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  Another hour passed. “Nick?”

  “I’m still here, Laurant.”

  She felt him squeeze her hand. “Did you tell Tommy we slept together?”

  She heard a cough, and then Nick answered, “No, but you just did. He’s standing right here.”`

  She fell asleep, but this time she didn’t have any dreams or nightmares.

  When Pete walked into the room, he saw Nick bending over Laurant. He stood there and watched him slip the engagement ring on her finger and then clasp the watch around her wrist.

  “How’s she doing?” he asked, his voice low so he wouldn’t disturb her.

  “She’s okay.”

  “What about you?”

  “Not a scratch on me.”

  “That isn’t what I was asking.”

  They walked into the hallway to talk. Pete suggested they go down to the cafeteria, but Nick didn’t want to leave Laurant. He wanted to be there in case she called out to him again.

  And so they sat together in the hallway in chairs Pete carried over from the nurses’ station.

  “I came here for two reasons,” he began. “First was to see Noah, of course.”

  “And the other reason?”

  Pete sighed. “To talk to you and to apologize.”

  “I’m the one who messed up.”

  “No, that’s not true,” he said emphatically. “I messed up, not you. I should have listened to you. When Brenner was arrested, you told me it didn’t feel right to you, and how did I respond? By ignoring everything I trained you to do. I was so certain you couldn’t see the forest for the trees because of your personal involvement in this case. I ignored your instincts, and that was a mistake I won’t ever repeat. Do you realize how close to disaster we came this time?”

  Nick nodded. He leaned back against the wall and stretched his legs out. “A lot of people would have been killed if that bomb had gone off.”

  Pete began to question Nick then and didn’t stop until he had heard every detail and was satisfied.

  “Reading the article in the paper . . . yes, that’s what set him off,” Pete said.

  “I guess so.”

  “His wife was almost perfect. That’s what you heard him tell Laurant?”

  “Yes,” Nick said. “Stark’s wife had to have known what was coming. Once Stark decided she couldn’t get any better, that she was as perfect as she could be, he was going to kill her, just like he killed his mother. Knowing all the facts now, I think maybe her mind did snap, and that’s why she took the little boy.”

  “We’ll never know what her motive was,” Pete said. “If I were to speculate, I would suggest that perhaps she thought a family would change things.”

  “Turn him into a doting father?”

  “Something like that.”

  “I think maybe she wanted to end it . . . let us get her instead of him.”

  Pete nodded. “You could be right. What about Laurant?” he asked then.

  “The doctors say she’ll be okay.”

  “Are you going to be staying around?”

  Nick knew what Pete was asking. “I’ll stay long enough to tell her how sorry I am I got her into all of th
is.”

  “And then?”

  “I’m leaving.” His mind was made up.

  “I see.”

  He glanced over at Pete. “Damn. I really hate it when you say that. You sound like a shrink.”

  “You can’t shield your heart, Nick. Running away won’t solve your problem.”

  “And you’re going to tell me what my problem is, aren’t you?”

  “Of course I am,” he agreed smoothly. “Loving Laurant makes you human, and that’s what’s frightening you. It’s that simple.”

  “I’m not running away. I’m going back to work. What kind of a life could I offer her? She deserves to be happy and safe, damn it, and I can’t guarantee that. Stark used her and Tommy to get to me. It could happen again. God knows, I’ve made enemies since I started working for you. What if another creep comes after her? No, I can’t let that happen. I won’t take that chance.”

  “So, you’ll isolate yourself even more than you already have? Is that it?”

  Nick shrugged.

  “You’ve made your mind up?” Pete pressed.

  “Damn right.”

  Pete knew he wasn’t going to win this argument, but he felt compelled to interfere a little more. “Psychiatrists are trained to notice little things. We observe.”

  “So?”

  “When I walked into Laurant’s room, I noticed you were putting the engagement ring on her finger. I found that very curious.”

  Nick couldn’t explain his actions. “I didn’t want her to wake up and think she’d lost it. She can take it back to the store and get a refund. That’s all there was to it. Now let it go.”

  “Just one more comment, and then I’ll stop hounding you. I promise. Actually, it’s a question.”

  “What?” he asked. He sounded miserable.

  “Where are you going to find the strength to leave her?”

  CHAPTER 38

  Aweek had passed since Noah was shot. The agent was recuperating at the abbey, but he was getting very little rest, what with the anniversary celebration and the constant stream of visitors, most of whom were women bearing gifts. The abbot was thrilled. They had enough home-cooked food to last a month.

  Tommy had just walked one of the parishioners to the door, thanked her for the casserole, and returned to the den where Noah was sprawled out on the sofa. Tommy dropped down in the easy chair and put his feet on the ottoman. He was catching Noah up on the latest developments, but he kept getting interrupted.

  “Okay, where was I?”

  “You were telling me what happened with Laurant at the hospital.”

  “Yeah, that’s right. Neither Nick nor I knew Laurant had a bullet lodged in her leg. So, the doctor comes out and tells us she’s been shot. Nick goes crazy then.”

  “Love will do that to a man.”

  “I guess so,” Tommy agreed. “He was already acting nuts, but this news pushed him right over the edge.”

  “Yeah?” Noah asked, smiling. “I wish I could have seen it. He’s always so cool and calm. What’d he do?”

  “He starts shouting, ‘What the hell do you mean she was shot? What kind of a place are you running here?’”

  Noah laughed. “Who was he yelling at?”

  “Dr. Benchley. You met him, didn’t you?”

  “Yes. He’s a real charmer.”

  “He’s shouting back at Nick, ‘Hey, Buddy, I didn’t shoot her,’ but Nick’s out of his mind now, and I start to worry he’s going to shoot Benchley.”

  “So, then what happened?”

  “Nick wouldn’t leave her side. He stayed with her all night, but he told Pete and me that, as soon as she woke up, he was going to say good-bye. He did too. He shook her hand.”

  Noah burst into laughter. “What’d she do?”

  “She called him an idiot and went back to sleep.”

  “I do love your sister, Tommy.”

  “Nick was real determined. He had a lot of follow-up work to do, and that kept him in Nugent a few days. They found Lonnie holed up in a motel outside of Omaha. He’s been charged with arson.”

  “What about Brenner? Did they find the bank account the sheriff told Laurant about?”

  “Yeah, they did. Brenner was altering the books and stealing from Griffen, the developers. Steve’s going to be going away for a long time. Hey, did I tell you what Christopher did?”

  “The groom?”

  Tommy nodded. “While he and Michelle were in Hawaii on their honeymoon, he spent a lot of time on the phone putting together a deal. He convinced Griffen to buy another parcel of land the city owns and leave the town square alone. The way he worked it out, some of the profits will go to renovating the square and bringing in new businesses. Christopher’s done a very good thing for this town. As soon as he gets settled, he’s going to hang his shingle two doors down from Laurant’s store. When the store opens, Michelle’s going to manage it.”

  “What will Laurant be doing?”

  “Painting.”

  Noah smiled. “That’s good.”

  “It’s time for you to take another antibiotic.”

  “I’ll wash it down with a beer.”

  “It’s ten o’clock in the morning. You can’t have a beer.”

  “You priests are too damned strict.”

  Tommy got him a Pepsi and sat down again. “I heard that Wesson is thinking about resigning.”

  The smile left Noah’s eyes. “He should be encouraged to quit.”

  “You should cut the guy a little slack,” Tommy said. “Nick told me he made himself a target in the cabin, trying to divert Stark and help Nick get a clear shot.”

  “It was too little, too late. I don’t want to talk about Wesson. Pete already filled me in on what went down. So, tell me,” he continued, “did Nick leave her or not?”

  “She left him.”

  “No kidding. Where’d she go?”

  “To Paris.” Tommy was beaming when he added, “She won the lawsuit. She got every penny of Grandfather’s money back, plus a heck of a lot of interest. She had to fly over to sign some papers.”

  “All’s well that ends well.”

  “I didn’t tell Nick why she went.”

  Noah raised an eyebrow. “What did you tell him.”

  Tommy shrugged. “That she went to Paris.”

  “Implying it was permanent?”

  “I might have.”

  “There’s no way in hell he went after her. Getting on a transatlantic flight. He’d never do that, not in a million years.”

  Tommy looked at his watch. “He should be landing in Paris any minute now.”

  Noah laughed again. “He is nuts. It was okay for him to leave her, but he couldn’t stomach the notion of her leaving him?”

  “Actually, he got to Des Moines before he turned around and drove back. Then I had to tell him she was gone.”

  “Forever.”

  Tommy nodded. “Tough love,” he explained. “I love Nick like a brother, but I had to get tough.”

  “You mean you lied to him.”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I’ll be damned. I think you just committed a sin. Want me to hear your confession?”

  Laurant was exhausted. She cried most of the way to Paris, and when she wasn’t weeping, she was fuming because she had fallen in love with an idiot. She didn’t get any sleep at all, and as soon as the plane landed, she had to go directly to the law firm’s offices to sign the papers.

  They wanted to celebrate. She wanted to go to Boston and find Nick, but couldn’t make up her mind what she would do once she found him. One minute she thought she would kiss him, and the next she thought she would give him a piece of her mind, but then, she didn’t know her mind anymore. She used to be such a practical, down-to-earth sort of woman, but Nick had changed her. She couldn’t sleep, she couldn’t eat, she couldn’t do anything but cry.

  She checked into the hotel and took a long, hot shower. She had packed a pretty nightgown, but she put on the red T-shirt with the o
pen-mouthed bass on the front instead.

  How could he leave her? The tears started flowing again, and that made her angry. She remembered his reaction when she’d told him she loved him. He’d looked horrified. She thought it was because she was complicating his life, but now she stopped fooling herself and accepted the truth. He didn’t love her. It was that simple.

  Laurant grabbed a Kleenex, got into bed, and called Michelle to cry on her shoulder.

  Michelle answered on the first ring. She sounded sleepy. “If you’re calling to tell me how sorry you are about the wedding, I forgive you, just like I did the last three times you called me in Hawaii. None of it was your fault. Okay? Mother forgives you, Daddy forgives you, and so do Christopher and I.”

  “He left me, Michelle.”

  Her friend was suddenly wide awake. “What do you mean, he left you? Nick? Where are you anyway?”

  “Paris,” she answered, sniffling.

  “You’re crying, aren’t you? You lost the lawsuit. Laurant, I’m so sorry.”

  “I didn’t lose.”

  “You mean you’re rich again?”

  “I suppose so.”

  “You don’t sound very happy about it.”

  “Did you hear what I said? Nick left me. I didn’t tell you the last time I called, but he left me the day after the wedding. He shook my hand, Michelle, and then he left. He doesn’t love me.”

  “He shook your hand?” Michelle burst into laughter.

  “It isn’t funny. This phone call is costing money, so be sympathetic and be fast.”

  “Okay,” Michelle said. “There, there. It will be all right.”

  “Now you’re being sarcastic.”

  “Sorry,” she said. “What are you going to do about him?”

  “Nothing. He doesn’t love me.”

  “I saw the way he was looking at you while you were dancing at the picnic. It’s the same way Christopher looks at me when he wants . . . you know.”

  “That’s lust, not love. I scared him.”

  “Oh, dear. You do have a knack for doing that. There’s only one thing left to do,” she advised. “You’re going to have to go after him. Hunt him down.”

  Laurant sighed. “You aren’t helping. I’m feeling miserable. I hate being in love.”