Chapter THIRTY-EIGHT
I figured I was in for a long morning. Living with a really angry woman can be trying. But J.D. seemed to accept the wisdom of Sharkey’s decision to get her out of the line of fire for the time being. She was quiet, pensive, as if she had a lot on her mind. She’d had a tough week and seemed to want some time with her own thoughts. I read the paper and watched the rain and stayed quiet. At some point, she called the hospital and canceled her meeting with the doctor, telling them that she’d reschedule.
Jock stayed at Gene’s house, working his phone, talking to his director and who knew who else. It was nearing noon when he called. “I’m leaving in a few minutes. I’ll stop for sandwiches on the way to your place. What do you guys want?”
I turned to J.D. “Jock’s going to pick up some sandwiches. What do you want?”
“I’d prefer to go out,” she said. “What about Moore’s?”
I told Jock to meet us there and hung up.
J.D. grinned. “I think I’ll be safe with two big brave men babysitting me.”
“Sarcasm does not become you,” I said.
“Sorry. I don’t like being benched.”
“I know. But in this game, you’re the football.”
She frowned. “Football? I think we need a new metaphor.”
“Let’s go eat,” I said.
At Moore’s, we took a table by the windows overlooking Sarasota Bay. The rain was still falling and our world seemed small and isolated. Sister Key was barely visible through the mist and the homes that hugged the shoreline of the little lagoon on which the restaurant sat were draped in opacity. The bay was gray, somber under the lowering clouds, its surface ruffled by little whitecaps dancing in the wind. Halyards rattled on the sailboats anchored nearby as they rocked in time with the feeble gusts of the dying front. Springlike weather would come with tomorrow’s sun, returning our island to its natural state. Winter was not a welcome visitor, but we would see more of it in the coming months. The fronts, weakened by their passage across the landmass of America, would make their way down the peninsula, bringing cold air and rainy days. Then, as suddenly as they’d come, they would dissipate in the warm currents of air moving north from the tropics and our key would resume its life in the sunshine.
J.D. shivered. “Sometimes, I feel like I’m a long way from Miami.”
“Miami doesn’t have bad weather occasionally?”
“Yeah, but I’m not really talking about the weather. If we were in Miami, I wouldn’t have to have a babysitter.”
“Okay,” I said, an edge creeping into my voice. “I’m getting kind of tired of this babysitter crap.”
She reached out and covered my hand with hers. “I’m sorry, Matt. I don’t mean to take it out on you, but this little island is starting to stifle me.”
“How so?”
“I can’t do anything here that isn’t the subject of common gossip within hours. I’m already getting stares from some of our locals who’re damn sure I’m not sleeping in the guest room at your house.”
“I think you’re picking up the wrong signals. I doubt that any of the islanders care if we’re sleeping together. In fact, I’d bet if you took a vote, most of them would vote in my favor.”
“Your favor?”
“Sure. You know, so that I could enjoy your favors.” I was trying to jolly her out of something rarely seen: J.D. in a bad mood.
She smiled and squeezed my hand. “Well, I guess if the island voted for it—” Her voice trailed off.
“What else is bothering you?”
“I’m cramped here. Miami is a big, sprawling city. If somebody was after me down there, I’d still be able to work. I’d get lost in the crowd. Here, I feel like a sitting duck. If somebody wants me, they don’t have to look very far.”
“Is this something new or have you been feeling this way for a while?”
“Look, Matt, I love this place, but I was thinking this way before the killings started, if that’s what you’re asking me.”
It was what I was asking. “Are you thinking about leaving? Going back to Miami?”
“I don’t know. It’s crossed my mind. The chief of detectives down there made it clear he’d take me back. Maybe I made a mistake coming here in the first place. I guess I was looking for a little refuge from the big city. Maybe a new life.”
“You found a new life. Aren’t you happy with it?”
“I am,” she said. “It’s not that. Sometimes I feel an overpowering sense of ennui here. Miami always made me feel like I was on steroids.”
“Maybe it’s just what we call island fever. It hits us all sometimes. We get off the key for a few days and it goes away. We’re always glad to get back.”
“Maybe that’s what it is. I feel like I’ve been on vacation, and now I’m ready for it to end so that I can get back to work.”
“Do I fit into this scenario?”
“You may be the only reason I’m still here.”
“Tell me,” I said.
“It’s not easy to figure out, Matt. I have feelings for you, maybe more than I have a right to, but I’ve kept you at a distance because I don’t want to get trapped on this island if it isn’t working out for me.”
“How would I trap you?”
“Would you leave here?”
“Probably not.”
“So if I fall in love with you, and you won’t leave the island, I’ve either got to stay here or lose you. It’s a trap.”
“It’s a trap for me as well,” I said.
“How?”
“If I’m in love with you and you decide to leave, I’ll either have to go with you or stay here without you. Either way, I get a broken heart because I had to make a decision which of my two loves, LBK or J.D., I’d have to give up.”
She grinned. “Damn. Everybody says you were a great lawyer.”
“Were?”
“Are, I guess. You make a heck of a case.”
“But do I get the verdict?”
“Which verdict?”
“The one where you stay here and take up with me.”
“Here comes Jock.”
“And the verdict?”
She patted my hand, withdrew hers, and smiled. “We’ll talk.” Her mood seemed to have lifted a bit.