After a long last look, Royal holds out his hand to shake, but I can’t bring myself to go that far. “I’ll give you my cell number,” I tell him.
The old man gives me a haughty look and withdraws his arm. “Don’t worry about it. I can find you anytime I need you.”
“I hope so. The clock’s ticking.”
As I turn to make my exit, the door flies open and slams against the wall. Randall Regan fills the doorway, a large purple bruise covering his throat. He looks like he rear-ended someone and slammed into the steering wheel.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he demands, starting toward me.
For the first time I remember the straight razor in my back pocket.
“Easy, Randall!” Brody barks, raising his hand to stop the charge. “Mayor, I believe you know Randall Regan, my son-in-law.”
“We’ve met.”
“Screw this,” Regan hisses. “I’m done playing with this guy, Brody.”
Regan takes another step toward me and reaches for my throat, but just then a soft yet commanding voice says, “Hold it, ace. Listen up a sec.”
Regan’s hand stops within inches of my throat, and he turns his head enough to locate the speaker. “Who the fuck are you?” he asks Kirk.
“Just an interested bystander.” Kirk faces Regan from an angle, as though prepared to throw him across the room if necessary. “But I’m not going to let you hurt anybody. Strictly for informational purposes, if you touch the mayor, you’re going to wake up in the ICU next to your wife.”
Regan’s eyes rake up and down Kirk Boisseau’s frame, estimating his speed and power.
“Randall?” Brody says, “I appreciate you coming to check on me, but you ought to get back with Katy. The mayor and I have come to an understanding.”
Regan straightens his jacket, his jaw working as he tries to ratchet down his fury. He’s had a hell of a day, and the idea of beating me senseless must be tempting. But Kirk looks a little too much like a spoiler to risk that. Regan holds his ground for a few face-saving seconds, his left cheek twitching, but at last he turns and stalks out, leaving the door wide open.
Brody is looking intently at Kirk. “I know you,” he says at length. “You’re Marguerite Boisseau’s boy.”
“That’s right.”
Royal laughs softly. “You owe me for a bulldozer, don’t you?”
Kirk rolls his eyes with resignation.
“Don’t worry about it, son. Seeing that little standoff was worth the balance of your loan. Now, you boys get out of here and let me tend to my daughter.” He points his forefinger at my chest. “I’ll call you later. Don’t let your girlfriend do anything stupid before you hear from me. I’m not the forgiving type.”
OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL, KIRK and I stop between our vehicles, each digging for our keys. I’m glad I decided not to show Pithy Nolan’s straight razor to Brody after all. The last thing that old woman needs is that bastard angry at her.
“I feel like I need a shower after that,” Kirk says. “I knew a son of a bitch like Royal in the corps. A colonel. He covered up a blatant rape by a buddy of his. Buried the whole mess, and the girl was really messed up, too. But they never even thought twice about it.”
“The world’s full of bastards like him,” I mutter, just wanting to get away from this place. “Hopefully they’re dying off. Can you follow me to the newspaper office?”
“No problem.”
My ride across town is quick and uneventful, but about halfway to the Examiner, I remember that I never stopped by Edelweiss to see Mom and Annie as I promised. I told Mom to tell Annie I’d be back by dark, and I’ve gone many hours past that deadline. For a moment I consider stopping by, but Caitlin is waiting to hear the result of my meeting with Royal, and the longer I take to bring her the news, the angrier she’s going to get. I’ll wake Annie when I’m done arguing with Caitlin.
After I park in the rear lot of the Examiner, Kirk pulls in behind me, then gets out to shake hands. I’m glad to see a cop guarding the back lot, and I make a mental note to thank Chief Logan for this courtesy. Kirk greets the policeman, then peers into my eyes with a measuring gaze. Kirk is too good a friend to question my character outright, but his doubts are plain enough.
“I heard a lot of what you said up there,” he says. “You didn’t sound much like the guy I remember.”
“I know. I didn’t much like doing that. But I’d deal with the devil to save my father. I guess I just proved that.”
Kirk nods philosophically. “Do you think Royal can do what he claimed?”
“If he can’t, neither of us is likely to see my dad again.”
Kirk stares into my soul a little longer, then squeezes my left shoulder. “Call me if you need me, bud. I’m here for you. You and your father.”
“Thank you.”
The ex-marine climbs back in his truck and gives me a crisp salute. “Oo-rah, brother.”
“Oo-rah,” I echo dispiritedly, already dreading my conversation with Caitlin.
CHAPTER 86