Hothouse Orchid

by Stuart Woods

  “Okay, I buy that. Who’s your least favorite patient to treat?”

  “A rape victim,” he replied without hesitation. “That’s why I was so glad you weren’t raped.”

  “On behalf of rape victims, I thank you.”

  “You were raped before?”

  “No, but someone has tried twice. Daisy dealt with the would-be rapist the first time, and I got lucky the second, when that young couple arrived in time to scare the guy off.”

  “Ex-cop that you are, are you going to try to catch the guy?”

  “So far, I’m just keeping in touch with the investigation through old acquaintances,” she said. “I wouldn’t mind the opportunity to stick a nine-millimeter in his ear, though.”

  “Would you pull the trigger?”

  “Probably not, but my father would.”

  “Ham? That’s his name?”

  “Yep.”

  “He looked like retired military.”

  “An old first sergeant, tough as boot leather, but squishy soft if you work your way inside far enough.”

  “His wife seemed nice.”

  “Yes. Ginny taught me to fly.”

  “That’s something I’ve thought I’d like to try,” he said.

  “I’ll introduce you. She’s a first-rate instructor and has her own flying school at the Vero Beach airport.”

  “I’ll look forward to it.”

  “How’d you come to be working in Orchid Beach?” she asked.

  “Heard about it on the grapevine, liked the idea of a warm winter. With my skills, it’s easy to work wherever you want to. There’s lots of demand for good ER physicians. I’ve been here eight months, and I like it.”

  “Where do you live?”

  “I’m renting a house in Vero at the Orchid Island development. I have an option to buy.”

  “Good golf there.”

  “Yes, you play?”

  “Yes, but I haven’t had time for a few years. I’d like to play while I’m here.”

  “I’ll arrange it. How long will you be in town?”

  “My boss told me not to come back for a month.”

  They finished dinner, and Holly served them ice cream, then they took coffee in the living room. The door to the beach was still open, and they could hear the waves lapping at the beach.

  “Nice house,” he said.

  “I inherited it,” she replied, settling next to him on the sofa.

  “From whom?”

  “My late fiancé. He was a local lawyer. He went into a local bank the day before our wedding to get some cash for our honeymoon and wound up in the middle of a bank robbery. He got in the way of a shotgun.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “So am I, but enough time has passed that it hurts less than it used to.”

  “Were you ever married?”

  “No. How about you?”

  “Once, twenty years ago, to a nurse. Lasted three years.”

  They sat quietly, sipping their coffee, listening to the sea.

  9

  Holly felt his naked body slide down hers, until his head was in her lap, face down. His tongue did wonderful things, and then she climaxed.

  She woke alone, with Daisy sitting beside the bed staring at her. Josh had given her a prim good-night kiss the night before and had left her randier than he knew. It was the first wet dream she had ever had.

  The phone rang, startling her. She grabbed at the sheet to cover herself, in case Lance was on the line, then she picked it up. “Hello?”

  “Holly?” A woman’s voice.

  “Yes.”

  “It’s Annie Ryan.”

  Annie was a female officer on the Orchid Beach force, one Holly remembered fondly. “Hello, Annie, how are you?”

  “I’m not sure,” Annie replied. “Would you mind if I stop by this morning and talk with you?”

  “Not at all,” Holly replied. “Any time after, say, ten?”

  “Ten fifteen?”

  “See you then.” Holly explained about the gate and hung up. She showered, dressed, fed Daisy and let her out, then made herself some breakfast. She was still on coffee when the phone rang, and Holly saw the gate button light come on. She buzzed Annie in and found another coffee mug.

  Annie Ryan was a petite redhead, maybe five-two, who looked very good in her tailored uniform. Holly poured her a cup of coffee and sat her down on a counter stool.

  “I see you made sergeant,” Holly said, gesturing at the stripes.

  “Yes, last year. I’m a supervisor on the day shift now.”

  “I’ll bet you’re a good one, too,” Holly said. “What did you want to see me about?”

  “It’s this Colonel James Bruno,” she said.

  “Ah, yes.”

  “Jimmy Weathers told me about your experience with him in the army.”

  “Good. I wanted all the female officers to know about him.”

  “Well, I guess we do, now,” Annie said. “It’s just that we’re not quite sure how to handle him. I mean, the guy is our chief, after all.”

  “My advice is, be pleasant but not friendly; keep him at arm’s length, and don’t ever get into a car with him alone. Always have a witness.”

  “Does he have a thing about cars?”

  “Apart from having a shot at me,” Holly said, “which I was able to fight off, he raped a young woman lieutenant, and he did it in a car.”

  Annie was quiet for a moment. “If we do like you say, will that be enough to keep him off us?”

  “I think it will, if you never give him an inch, if you never let him cross the line without calling him on it. I realize you’re walking a fine line here, but you have to give him the respect of his rank while seeing that he returns that respect. Believe me, he will take any display of friendship or warmth the wrong way.”

  “How did this guy manage to spend thirty years in the military while getting away with that?”

  “My guess is that his problem was sublimated for a long time. He had a nice wife, and after she died of breast cancer he started to get too friendly with female soldiers. He played on the sympathy he got from his wife’s death, used that to get friendly with women, then abused them.”

  “Okay, I’ll have a talk with the other women.”

  “You can protect each other,” Holly said.

  “I guess that’s what we’ll do,” Annie said. The radio on her belt squawked, and she answered the call. “I’d better get going,” she said. “One of my shift has arrested two men on a drug charge after a traffic stop, and I need to cover that.”

  “You go ahead,” Holly said, “and feel free to call me if you need to talk.”

  Annie got back into her patrol car and headed back up the driveway.

  Holly was glad to have talked to her. She wished she had had somebody to talk to when she was dealing with Bruno.

  She cleaned up the kitchen, polishing the copper risotto pan she’d used the night before, then realized that, in spite of her shopping trip for dinner, she had little else to eat in the house. She made a list and drove into Orchid Beach to the market.

  Holly had been in the store for a minute when she heard a woman’s voice behind her.

  “Major Barker?”

  She turned and saw a young woman with short, blond hair, wearing the Florida State Patrol uniform with sergeant’s stripes. “Yes?”

  “You don’t recognize me, do you?”

  Suddenly, the penny dropped. She was the lieutenant James Bruno had raped-Lauren Cade. “Lauren!” Holly said. “I’m sorry, the uniform and the haircut threw me off, and nobody has called me major for a long time.” They shook hands.

  “I’d heard you were chief in Orchid Beach after you retired,” Lauren said, “but I thought you had left town.”

  “That’s true,” Holly replied. “I’m working in Virginia now; I’m just back for a little while on vacation. I still have a house here.”

  “I left the army a year after you did,” Lauren said. “I
came to Florida for the weather, had a couple of nothing jobs to pay the rent, then I applied to the State Patrol and was accepted. I made sergeant a few months ago.”

  “Congratulations,” Holly said.

  “I just came in here to get a sandwich for lunch.”

  “Why don’t we have lunch together, if you have the time?” Holly said.

  “Thanks. I’d like that.”

  They went to a deli a couple of doors down from the market, found a table and ordered sandwiches.

  “Is Orchid Beach a regular part of your patrol duty?” Holly asked.

  “Yes, I’m through here every day.”

  “Lauren, have you heard the latest about Jim Bruno?”

  Her face hardened. “Do I want to?”

  “I think you’d better hear this; he’s the new chief in Orchid, my old job.”

  Her face fell. “No, I hadn’t heard that.”

  “I thought it best to tell you before you ran into him.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it. I’m sorry to hear he’s in the state, let alone on my beat.”

  “I’d hate to see you have to transfer somewhere else just to avoid him,” Holly said.

  “Not likely,” Lauren replied. “I just bought a house; I’m dug in here. I’ve applied to a new investigative unit that’s going to be based in Vero Beach. Haven’t heard anything yet.”

  “The one that Hurd Wallace is running?”

  “Yes, that’s the one. Do you know him?”

  “He was my deputy chief when I was in Orchid. I’d be happy to put in a word for you, if you like.”

  “Oh, yes, that would be great!” Lauren said. “What’s Captain Wallace like?”

  “Good guy; no worries there. He came to see me to tell me about Bruno, said he would have done what he could to block his appointment if he’d known earlier who he was.”

  They changed the subject and chatted through lunch, then Holly said goodbye and went back to the market to complete her shopping. When she was back in her car, she called Hurd Wallace and recommended Lauren Cade highly. He said he’d interview her.

  10

  Holly awoke early the next morning, fed Daisy and herself, then took them both for a walk on the beach. Daisy ran freely among the dunes, as she always did, looking for just the right spot, then she returned to Holly with a stick of driftwood in her mouth, demanding that Holly throw it. Holly obliged, and Daisy dutifully retrieved the stick and returned it to Holly, wanting more. They made progress up the beach as Daisy retrieved, then Holly threw it once more, and Daisy stopped after a few feet and sat down on the sand.

  “What’s the matter?” Holly asked, catching up with her. “You tired already? You haven’t even worn me out yet.”

  Daisy made an urgent rumbling noise in her throat, then got up and began to walk up the beach, this time very slowly. Holly watched her, mystified. In their time together she had never seen Daisy behave this way. She followed the dog at her pace, and after another hundred yards Holly saw something in the surf ahead.

  Daisy trotted ahead a few yards, sniffed at what seemed to be a lump on the sand, then sat down beside it and barked. Holly began to jog toward her. She was ten feet away when she recognized the lump. It was a body, female, naked, with long blond hair, lying face down in the sand. One ankle had a length of rope tied around it. Holly stopped, called Daisy back, then reached for her cell phone.

  The sun was well up now, and a small knot of people was gathered inside a taped-off area on the beach. Holly sat on a dune with Daisy, watching them, thinking. She heard a car door slam behind her, and she turned to see James Bruno trudging through the dunes toward the taped-off area. He joined the group inspecting the body, chatted with them for a few minutes, then turned back toward his car. Then he spotted Holly.

  He walked slowly toward her, as if to ascertain her identity, then he stopped a few steps away. Daisy was already on her feet in a guarding stance.

  “Good morning, Holly,” Bruno said.

  “Is it?”

  “Will your dog attack?”

  “I haven’t decided yet.”

  Bruno thought about that and decided to stay where he was. “I understand you found the body.”

  “My dog did. I never got closer than ten feet to the woman.”

  “Do you know her?”

  “She was face down in the sand.”

  He nodded. “If you’ve formed any opinions, I’d appreciate hearing them.”

  Holly stared toward where the body was being loaded into the coroner’s wagon. “White female, mid- to late twenties, five-five or -six, a hundred and thirty pounds. No deterioration, just some puffiness associated with being in the water, so she was probably put into the sea last night from a small boat with an outboard engine and with a weight tied to her ankle. Her killer was clumsy, and his outboard cut the rope. She came ashore with the tide, and when it went out, it left her there.”

  “That’s very good,” Bruno said.

  Holly didn’t reply, just stared out to sea.

  “Cause of death?”

  “Unless there were wounds on the front of the torso, strangulation. There was a faint mark on the back of her neck. You’d be wise to order a tox screen from the state lab. Hurd Wallace could hurry it up for you, if you call him.”

  “Why a tox screen?”

  “You’ve probably heard that a serial rapist has been operating locally over the last six weeks.”

  “Yes, but he hasn’t killed anybody.”

  “Maybe he’s graduated to bigger, more satisfying acts,” she replied. “Maybe rape isn’t doing it for him anymore; maybe he’s decided to become a serial killer.”

  He was quiet for a moment. “I understand you’ve had some communication with some of my female officers. I don’t appreciate that.”

  “You think I care what you don’t appreciate? What did you expect me to do? Get you dates?” She looked at him and saw him go red.

  “Good morning,” he said finally, then he started across the dunes toward his car.

  Holly thought of siccing Daisy on him, just for the fun of it, but she didn’t. She got up, dusted off the sand and went back to the house. She found Hurd Wallace’s number and phoned him.

  “Captain Wallace.”

  “Morning, Hurd. It’s Holly.”

  “Good morning, Holly.”

  “I thought you ought to know, about an hour and a half ago Daisy and I discovered the body of a woman washed up on the beach, not far from my house.”

  “Who’s investigating?”

  “Orchid Beach. Jim Bruno turned up an hour late and asked for my impressions.”

  “Which were?”

  She repeated the assessment she had given Bruno. “I also think that if you search the garbage cans at the nearest marinas you might find her clothing and handbag.”

  “Did you tell Bruno that?”

  “No, I thought it would be more fun for someone else to discover what he had overlooked.”

  “Is this the first time you’ve seen him since…”

  “Yes. He’s lucky I wasn’t armed.”

  “I understand. By the way, I had a talk with Lauren Cade late yesterday afternoon. I’m going to offer her a job. It’s good that she’s already on the state patrol; it will just take a transfer, not all the rigamarole that would be involved if I were hiring her off the street. I’m grateful for your recommendation.”

  “You’re welcome, Hurd.”

  “Thanks for the tip about the murder. I’ll get somebody on it.” He said goodbye and hung up.

  Holly tried to remember if she had told Hurd that James Bruno had raped Lauren Cade. Probably not; it wasn’t relevant.

  11

  Holly had just hung up after talking with Hurd Wallace when her phone rang. “Hello?”

  “Good morning, it’s Josh,” he said.

  “Good morning.”

  “I’m coming back for more; would you like to go out to dinner tonight?”

  “Yes, I would,” she r
eplied without hesitation.

  “Where would you like to go?”

  “You choose; I’m easy.”

  “I hope so,” he said, laughing. “I’ll come and get you at seven.”

  “That’s good,” she said.

  “See you then.” He hung up.

  He appeared at her door on time, and she let him in. “Would you like a drink before we go?” she asked.

  “I’m hungry; let’s have a drink at the restaurant.”

  “Okay by me.” She patted Daisy on the head. “Guard the place with your life, and you can sleep on the bed while we’re gone.”

  Daisy turned and trotted upstairs. Holly secured the house and left with Josh, who was driving a newish Mercedes convertible, top down.

  “Nice car,” she said, when they had cleared the gates. “How do you afford it on a public hospital salary?”

  “The money isn’t all that bad, really,” Josh said, “especially if you don’t have to buy a wife a car, too. It isn’t as good as my general-surgery practice, but then I don’t have to support an office and a staff. How does the CIA pay?”

  “It’s civil service pay, but I’ve been operating at a fairly high grade, and now that I’ve been promoted to the executive level, I’ll do even better. To tell the truth, I was afraid to ask how much better. I’ll find out when I get back to work. Where are we dining?”

  “At the Ocean Grill in Vero Beach,” he replied. “Do you know it?”

  “One of my favorites,” she said, “and I’m in the mood for seafood.”

  They were halfway through their first drink when he changed the subject.

  “I got your tox screen back,” he said.

  “I thought that could take weeks,” Holly said.

  “Not if you have a friend in the lab and not if you ask for a specific test.”

  “And?”

  “It was a benzodiazepine, trade name Rohypnol.”

  “I know about that,” she said. “It’s a date-rape drug. But doesn’t it take fifteen or twenty minutes to take effect?”

  “If you’re ingesting it in a drink, yes. But the perpetrator probably dissolved it in alcohol and injected it, so it would work much faster. I’m very pleased with myself for taking your blood as soon as you were admitted. The body metabolizes the drug quickly, and if we had waited, we might have gotten a negative result on the test. As it was, only a very small amount was detected.”