They had a wait of about twenty minutes. Dr. Ling tried not to overschedule, but he was always willing to spend a little extra time with any patient who needed it. While they waited, Kendall chatted with Miss Ady about the city, Halloween, the expected rise in tourism for the Halloween weekend, and MissAdy’s grandchildren. Anything and everything, so she didn’t keep thinking about the night that had just passed, as if thinking too much would ruin it. And she wanted to hang on to the way she felt for as long as possible, because she felt wonderful. Excited. As if she’d discovered something new, which, in a way, she had.
So she didn’t want to think about all that might be wrong with what she had done. He wasn’t exactly the easiest going guy in the world. And he had a real bone to pick with Vinnie, for some reason, and she loved Vinnie. Friendships could be more valuable than any one-night stand. Except she was hoping against hope it would be more than just a one-night stand. No matter how he rankled her, she just wanted to be with the man. Big mistake. They had met the wrong way. No matter what he said, he still disdained her for being a so-called psychic. And she resented him for thinking ill of her and was totally indignant that he could think badly of Vinnie. The rest of the world might suspect she was resentful of him for having inherited the Flynn plantation, while she honestly didn’t resent him or his brothers at all. He’d left that morning in a mood of grim retrospection, almost as if they were strangers again. The way he’d looked at her, she wondered if he wouldn’t have suspected her of planting the voodoo dolls if not for the fact that he’d been with her all night.
When she had needed him, though, he had come through.
“Girl, are you with me?” Ady asked her.
“What? Yes, of course, I’m sorry.”
“I’m going in now. You wait out here for Rebecca.”
“Don’t you want me to go in with you?”
“No, I would appreciate it if you would just wait here for Rebecca. I’ve been taking good care of myself for years, and I’m no coward. I know how to give all the right answers and ask all the right questions,” Ady informed her.
So Kendall was left with her own thoughts and worries once again. And she started to wonder if she hadn’t ruined Ann’s wild vacation, or if chasing down the young woman had even been the right thing to do.
Ady hadn’t been gone long before Rebecca arrived. Kendall stood to give Rebecca a big hug as the other woman looked at her anxiously and asked, “How’s Mama?”
“She just went in a couple of minutes ago.”
Rebecca searched her eyes. “Did she pass out? Do something that worried you?”
Kendall shook her head. “No.” She hesitated. “Rebecca, I’m sorry. I can’t explain it. Something just made me think she should come in for an exam.”
Rebecca might not have been sure Kendall’s instincts were correct, but she apparently believed her heart was in the right place. “Okay. We’ll wait and see what’s up.”
“You can go on in with your mom, if you want,” Kendall said.
“Lordy, no. She’s got a bit of a crush on Dr. Ling, I think. Anyway, she taught us never to lie. Whatever is going on, she’ll tell us both.” They sat on the sofa together. Rebecca gave Kendall’s knee a pat. “So how you doing, my friend?” she asked.
“Fine, thanks.”
“You still missing Miss Amelia?”
“Well, I’ll always miss her. We don’t stop missing people.”
“You should have gotten that plantation, not those wretched boys who came out of the blue!”
Kendall was surprised by her friend’s vehemence. “What would I do with a plantation?” she asked.
“Sell it, of course.”
Kendall laughed. “Actually, ‘those wretched boys’ are all right.”
Rebecca grimaced. “Not according to Dr. Abel!”
Jon Abel was Rebecca’s direct boss. There were a number of medical examiners for Orleans Parish, but Rebecca was one of Dr. Abel’s lab assistants. As she looked at her friend, waiting for an explanation, Kendall suddenly remembered the man she had seen at the bar the other night, the one who had looked familiar to her, though she hadn’t been able to place him at the time.
It had been Jon Abel.
“Why? What does Dr. Abel say?”
“He was so angry. Seems the Flynns came on like gangbusters, demanding that some old bones be given preferential treatment. Well, honey, he can be a pisser to work for at times, but I can’t say I blame him this time around.” Rebecca smiled then. “They sure are good-looking fellows, I’ll grant ’em that,” she said.
“You’ve met them?” Kendall asked curiously.
“I saw the oldest when he came into the lab. I didn’t actually meet him, just saw him aggravating Dr. Abel. Which I don’t like, ’cause then the doc gets all grouchy. I thought he’d be pitching a fit, wanting me to work harder and faster. But he just put those bones in a drawer—I think he got a kick out of that. And how that Flynn boy found a speck of blood in his graveyard is beyond me. He had his FBI friend bring that one in. It’s probably too compromised to give us much. But Abel didn’t even get on me over that. Said we should send it off to the folks up at the Smithsonian who do the work for Quantico, though I can’t see anybody up there getting all excited about a drop of blood when nobody’s even found a body.”
“Wouldn’t those bones be considered parts of bodies?” Kendall said.