Bonnie

by Iris Johansen

  “Ted!”

  Danner ignored Father Barnabas’s shout as he ran out of the church and down the stone steps.

  He shouldn’t have come. He was hurting, and Father Barnabas had not been able to heal him. No, that was not true. The priest could do anything, his powers were without limit. He had not wanted to heal him. He had only wanted to tear aside the scabs of Danner’s wounds and watch him bleed.

  As his hand had bled when John’s knife entered it.

  He looked down at his bandaged hand, and the tears stung his eyes once more. Pain. Broken bones. Not John’s fault. John would never hurt him.

  He must have demons whispering in his ear, too.

  Catherine Ling. The Delilah.

  He had recognized that quality in her when he’d first seen her earlier that night at the casino, when she and John had taken Jacobs captive. Beautiful, exotic, a sorceress weaving her spell. As John and the woman had hunted down Jacobs, so had Danner followed and stalked them, waiting for his chance. He had watched, listened, finding out what he could about her. He had thought that perhaps she could be spared, that she was only a temptress that John was using for pleasure. Then later, when she’d been stalking him at the bayou, he’d known that she had to be destroyed.

  He cradled his torn, broken hand. He’d have to change bandages soon. He had taught John how to throw that knife with deadly accuracy at the cabin in Wisconsin, when John was only a boy. They had laughed and made bets, and for a little while, Ted had felt whole again.

  Not John’s fault. It was the demon.

  It was Delilah.

  * * *

  HE WAS GONE.

  Father Barnabas stood on the top step and gazed out in frustration at the empty street.

  He should have been quicker. He should have sensed how close Ted Danner was to breaking and running. He had been concentrating on how to tear through the wall around Danner and reaching him and had not realized how tightly the man was balanced.

  And he knew how dangerous Danner could be when he was upset like this. Before he had been able to control him and he had thought that when Danner had come to him pleading for help with the child, he could lure him back to him. What had set him off this time?

  Well, he wasn’t about to find out anytime soon unless he was able to give him what he wanted. He had become the enemy to Danner. He had felt the vibrations, the guilt, the searing rage that was fueling the man. He had been bracing himself for possible attack.

  Danner was changing, becoming dangerous. Could he control him? Control was of the utmost importance with Danner.

  He could do it. He had done it before through the years. All it took was perseverance and subtle manipulation. Danner regarded him as the only light to overcome the darkness that was trying to take over his soul.

  As long as he kept thinking that was true, the control would be rock solid.

  * * *

  “THIS IS A FAR CRY from a VA hospital,” Eve said as Gallo pulled into the parking lot of the San Antonio Medical Center. It was a small brick-and-glass building that appeared sleek, modern, and affluent. The lot was occupied by a BMW, a gray Lexus, and a small red sports car. The neighborhood in which the medical center was located had the same air of prosperity as those luxury vehicles. “It seems Dr. Temple has moved up in the world.”

  “Or down,” Gallo said grimly. “It depends on who you ask. I’ve met a couple of doctors who take care of servicemen and there are none better.”

  “Everyone has a right to improve their lot in life,” she said as she got out of the car. “It’s the capitalist system.”

  “You defend it, but how much do you charge for your forensic reconstructions?”

  “Enough to make a living.” She waited for him at the plate-glass door. “I’m no martyr, John. I can’t be—”

  “Excuse me.” A tall, tanned man in his early fifties had come out of the door. He was dressed in white shorts and T-shirt and gave Eve a dazzling smile. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?” He jumped into the red sports car and the next minute had roared out of the parking lot.

  “Dr. Temple. I couldn’t reach—” A blond woman in a nurse’s uniform had run out of the building and was staring in exasperation at the sports car disappearing down the block. “Dammit to hell.”

  “That was Dr. Temple?” Gallo asked. “We need to see him.” He glanced at the badge on her uniform. “Ms. Dawbler.”

  “Stand in line,” the nurse said sourly. “He’s booked solid for the rest of the day.” Then she forced a smile. “He had an emergency, and I’ve had to cancel everything for the afternoon. I couldn’t reach his noon appointment, and I was trying to tell him before he left. If you’ll come inside, I’ll try to set you up for tomorrow.”

  “Emergency?” Eve repeated. “He didn’t look as if he were rushing off to the hospital.”

  “I can’t help how it looked,” she said shortly. “Dr. Temple told me it was an emergency. Would you like to make an appointment or not?”

  “He had a golf bag in that sports car,” Gallo said. “Does he play at a local country club?”

  She started to nod, then repeated, “It was an emergency. Excuse me, I have to go back inside and phone him.” She turned and went back into the medical center.

  “What a charming man,” Eve murmured ironically. “It’s a beautiful day, and he ditches all his patients and takes off.” She headed back to the car. “But I have no intention of waiting around to see him tomorrow. I’ll check out all the country clubs in this general area on the computer, then start calling. I’d bet it’s not too far from the medical center. He impressed me as a man who wouldn’t want business to interfere with pleasure.”

  Twenty minutes later, she turned to Gallo and handed him the number she’d scrawled on a notepad. “Diaz Country Club. It’s near the river. About a fifteen-minute drive.”

  “Right.” Gallo started the car. “You did the search. Now I’ll do the interrogation. Okay?”

  “I’ll see when we get there.” She was thinking of what Gallo had told her. “When did Temple leave his job at the VA hospital?”

  “Three months after he signed the death certificate for my uncle.”

  “What a coincidence. How convenient. And then he came here and settled down in the lap of luxury.”

  “A payoff? Look, my uncle had no money. He couldn’t have even had treatment if it weren’t paid for by the government.”

  “But Nate Queen and Thomas Jacobs had money to burn with all the drugs and smuggling they were doing. And Ted Danner had some connection to them, or he wouldn’t have killed Jacobs.” She glanced at him. “So we have to look for that connection, John.”

  He shook his head. “Uncle Ted wouldn’t have—” He stopped. “Okay, I’m in denial. But it doesn’t make sense.”

  It didn’t make sense to Eve either. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t true. “Then prove me wrong. Heaven knows that I feel like I’m walking through a maze. I’m just trying to follow the trail and hope I get a break.”

  * * *

  “DR. TEMPLE?” EVE ASKED. “Could we have a moment?”

  “No, can’t you see I’m busy?” Lawrence Temple frowned as he glanced up at Gallo and Eve, who had pulled up in a golf cart next to where he was teeing off. He looked down at his ball again. “Who told you where to find me?” Then he glanced back at Eve. “Didn’t I see you at my office?”

  “Barely. You were in a hurry.”

  “Make an appointment.”

  “I don’t think so,” Gallo said. “We’re in a hurry. Answer our questions and we won’t bother you again. I want to know about a patient, Ted Danner, you had at the Atlanta VA Medical Center shortly before you came here.”

  Temple stiffened warily. “I don’t have time for past history. Please leave, or I’ll call security.”

  “That might not be a good idea. Falsifying a death certificate is a criminal offense. Your new patients might not appreciate being treated by a doctor who might be picked up by the police at an
y time.”

  Bingo, Eve thought. Temple had turned a little pale beneath that golden tan.

  But he recovered quickly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’d caution you not to risk a lawsuit by this nonsense. I know how to protect myself.”

  “I imagine you do,” Gallo said softly. “But I have no intention of bothering with bringing you up on charges. I don’t have the time. I think we’ll just go to my car and have a discussion. Then, if I like your answers, I’ll let you walk away.”

  Temple moistened his lips. “I’m not going anywhere with you. Who are you anyway?”

  “John Gallo. Theodore Danner is my uncle.”

  “Was,” Temple said. “He died of pneumonia. I regret your loss, Mr. Gallo.”

  “My uncle was seen in Louisiana only yesterday. We’ve verified his fingerprints. Which means that you’re in trouble, Temple.”

  “That’s not possible,” Temple was no longer pale but flushed with anger. “It’s some sort of a mistake. You can’t pin anything on me.”

  “I’m not going to argue with you,” Gallo said softly as he crossed to stand before Temple. “I’m only going to listen to you. I’m very angry, you know. I loved my uncle, and I have an idea he was victimized. You can either prove you weren’t the one who did it or face the consequences.” He stared him in the eye. “You’re a doctor. You know how easy it is to cause a massive hemorrhage if you know what you’re doing. I do know what I’m doing. It would take me less than fifteen seconds.”

  “It’s broad daylight.” Temple said hoarsely. “There are people all over the green. You wouldn’t do it.”

  “Fifteen seconds. And no one is noticing anything but their own games. I’d put you in that golf cart and just walk away.” He took a step closer. “Look at me. Then tell me I wouldn’t do it.”

  Eve inhaled sharply as she looked at his expression. She had only seen that raw ferocity once before in Gallo, and it was truly intimidating.

  Temple jerked his gaze away. “You asshole. I think you’d do anything.”

  “Get in the cart, Eve,” Gallo said. “You drive us to the parking lot, and I’ll sit in back with Dr. Temple.”

  “You’re going to let him do this?” Temple asked Eve. “It’s kidnapping, you know.”

  “No, it’s an invitation to join us in our car for a drive and have a discussion,” Eve said as she got in the cart. “Anything else is entirely in your court.”

  Temple hesitated, then moved jerkily toward the cart. “It’s all a mistake. I’m innocent of any wrongdoing.”

  “Pat phrase. You sound like you’re in a court of law already,” Gallo said.

  “You can’t prove anything.” Temple got into the cart. “And Danner would be a fool to testify that I was guilty of anything. He’d be convicting himself. They came to me. He was supposed to just disappear, dammit.”

  “You may be right.” Gallo got into the cart. “You may not be worth our while. We’ll take a little drive along the river, and you can convince us.…”

  * * *

  “LET ME OUT HERE, AND I’LL forget this ever happened,” Temple said, as they cruised by the river thirty minutes later. He turned to Gallo, who was sitting next to him in the backseat. “I have a decent amount of money. We can make a deal.”

  “I believe you’ve already made a deal,” Eve said over her shoulder from the driver’s seat. “Who approached you? Danner himself?”

  He hesitated. “Look, I can’t talk about this. I was warned that it could mean—” He broke off. “I didn’t do anything to harm anyone. I just signed the damn death certificate. Nobody cared whether Danner lived or died.”

  “I cared,” Gallo said. “Who paid you off?”

  Temple was silent. “You wouldn’t really cause a stir and tell everyone that I committed a crime? That would be … awkward for me. I have a reputation here.”

  Eve couldn’t believe it. Temple was sitting next to Gallo, who was angry and probably the most dangerous man he had ever met, and he was worried about his reputation? Either his vision or his priorities were seriously awry. “We don’t care about your reputation, Temple. Give us answers, and you just might survive to play another golf game.”

  He frowned. “Golf is important. It’s not only a game, it’s a way to cement my status in the community. I realized as soon as I got here that an affluent practice could be just a stepping-stone to get me where I want to be. I have a chance to run for lieutenant governor next year.” He gazed warily at Gallo. “You can see that I can’t let you libel me.”

  “Talk to me,” Gallo said. “Who gave you the money to declare my uncle dead?”

  He hesitated. “You’ll protect me? It’s not as if I did anything really wrong.”

  Gallo put his hand on Temple’s throat and squeezed. “Talk.”

  Temple gasped, and Eve could tell that the lethal danger of the situation had finally become real to him. “You’re crazy. Jacobs told me that this wouldn’t happen. He said nobody cared about Danner.”

  “Then you should have asked him why he was trying to cover his tracks.” Gallo’s grasp loosened. “It was Thomas Jacobs? How? Why?”

  “I don’t know why. It didn’t matter to me.” He added bitterly, “Just because I was near the bottom of my class at med school, I was stuck in that hospital treating a bunch of vets. Do you know how much I made there? Guys I went to school with had jobs on easy street. I deserved better.”

  “Those vets deserved better,” Eve said. “I’m beginning to be glad Jacobs bribed you out of there.”

  “Jacobs didn’t mention why he wanted Danner declared dead?” Gallo asked.

  Temple shook his head. “He just said he wasn’t important, and no one would follow up if there was a certificate that stated Danner was dead.”

  “He was a patient at the hospital? You were his doctor?”

  “No, he had been discharged after he’d been treated for pneumonia. I’d never met him.” His hands clenched. “At first I thought maybe Jacobs had helped Danner to cross to the other side because of insurance or something. I was scared I’d be an accomplice. But I checked the hospital records, and Danner didn’t have insurance. So I thought it was safe to take Jacobs’s money.”

  “Pretty flimsy,” Gallo said. “There are other reasons than money to kill a man.”

  “I wanted that money. I had to have the money. It was my chance.”

  “So you scrawled your name and took the cash.”

  “I didn’t hurt Danner. I didn’t hurt anyone. Jacobs promised me that Danner was safe, and he just wanted to disappear. He said it was sort of like the witness protection program. After all, Danner was an ex-Ranger. It could have been true.”

  “And you didn’t give a damn if it was or not.”

  “No.” His lips curled. “But if Danner’s still alive, as you said, then maybe Jacobs was being up-front about it after all. Go find Jacobs and ask him.”

  “I found him. So did Danner. Jacobs ended up with a knife in his chest.”

  “Oh, shit.” Temple moistened his lips. “That’s not good.”

  “Yes, it might interfere with your political plans.”

  Temple recovered immediately. “You can’t prove I had anything to do with it. Jacobs paid me in cash and told me that it wouldn’t be smart for me to mention his name again. I never saw him after that. Why would I? I had what I wanted.”

  “But maybe you wanted to eliminate a possible roadblock in your political plans?” Eve suggested. “The police might be interested in your—”

  “No!” His chest was rising and falling. “You can’t do this to me. I never saw Jacobs after the night he gave me the money.”

  Eve was not sure that they hadn’t plumbed the extent of Temple’s knowledge. “You said you checked the hospital records. Was there anything in them that—”

  “I was only checking for insurance. I didn’t care about anything else. I’ve told you everything I know.” His teeth bit into his lower lip. “Jacobs is really dead
?”

  “Very. Did Jacobs tell you where this witness protection program was going to send Danner?”

  “I didn’t ask.”

  “Of course you didn’t. You wanted to erase him from your mind. Just a signature, then off you went. No forwarding address in Danner’s records?”

  “No.”

  It was like pulling teeth. “Who were his doctors at the hospital?”

  “That was years ago. You expect me to remember? I didn’t care who was treating him. Probably some loser. What difference does it make to you? He’d been released.”

  “But he might have kept in contact with his doctor or nurse if they had developed a relationship.”

  “With our caseloads, we didn’t have time to develop relationships. We had to get them in and out.”

  At least, that had been Temple’s philosophy, Eve thought. “Nothing struck you as unusual in his records?”

  He shook his head. “I keep telling you. It didn’t matter. He was just another vet. None of them mattered.”

  And it didn’t matter that those vets had given their bodies and lives to keep parasites like this walking the earth, she thought bitterly. She didn’t know how Gallo was keeping his temper. He had spent seven years in that prison in Korea because he’d thought it was his duty as a soldier to protect his country.

  “Pull over, Eve,” Gallo said softly. “Temple and I need to take a walk together.”

  Her gaze flew to his reflection in the rearview mirror.

  He was not keeping his temper as she had thought, she realized. His dark eyes were glittering in his taut face.

  Shit.

  “I’ll pull over,” she said. “But Temple is the only one who takes a walk. We’re through with him, and I won’t let him interfere with what we have to do.”

  Gallo’s gaze never left Temple’s face. “He wouldn’t interfere. I’d be very quick.”

  “No, John. He’s scum, but I’m not letting you leave a trail of bodies behind us. He’s not worth it.”

  “I agree. That’s exactly why we should take a walk.”

  “Body?” Temple’s eyes had widened in alarm. “You’re talking about killing me? Why? I only told you the truth. Everyone knows that you—”