table. You give her the medication, or you don’t live to see your next birthday. Your choice.”
“Fine,” Dr. Pelletier relented. “Only because I have a family and they need me.”
“Understood,” Dad said. “I have a family as well, and I’m going to make sure they’re protected from Wendy Madigan. That’s where you come in. You know she’s a dangerous person. I get that you think she can’t escape from the facility. You’ll have to trust my son and me on this. Wendy is capable of just about anything.”
“No one’s that smart.”
“She’s not just smart,” I said, finally adding to the conversation. “She’s shrewd and she’s cunning. I’ve had my lock changed half a dozen times, and she’s gotten into my home.”
Dr. Pelletier widened his eyes, shuddering. “Could you put the gun down now, Mr. Steel?”
“Fine.” Dad lowered his gun but didn’t replace it in the holster. “Don’t think we don’t appreciate this. You’ll be well compensated, once I see that you’ve upheld your part of the bargain, and no one will be hurt.”
“Except for the patient.”
“The needs of my family outweigh the needs of one mentally ill person,” Dad said. “She’s a bad seed. You’re doing a good thing, Doctor. Believe it or not, I don’t like pulling out my gun.”
Dr. Pelletier nodded weakly, saying nothing.
“Ready to go, Brad?” Dad said.
God, yes. I was more than ready. I still couldn’t quite wrap my head around what had taken place here.
“Good night, Doctor,” I said. “And thank you.”
Again Dr. Pelletier nodded.
“We’ll be in touch.” Dad walked toward the door. “Come on, Brad.”
I sat in a dive bar with my father. “I come here to think,” he said.
I never imagined my dad in a place like this. It was pretty quiet, though, situated in a seedy part of the city. A few regulars sat at the wooden bar. Dad ordered two whiskeys.
“Rotgut at its finest.” Dad took a drink. “Burns. In a good way.”
I took a sip. He wasn’t kidding. For a minute I thought I’d taken a drink of battery acid.
“I’m sorry you had to see that, son.”
I was still numb. “That’s not the first time you’ve done that.” A statement, not a question. I already knew the answer. My father had been way too comfortable to have never before been in a similar situation.
“Nope. And it probably won’t be the last.”
“So it’s true, then? Money can’t buy everything?”
“I won’t lie to you, Brad. Money can buy a damned lot of things. But when it can’t, a threat to a person’s life will get the job done.”
“You wouldn’t have…killed him. Would you have?”
“I haven’t had to take a life yet.”
I haven’t had to take a life yet.
Interesting words. They seemed to imply that he would take a life if he had to. I hoped like hell I was wrong in my interpretation.
“I meant what I said. I am sorry you had to see that, but you did have to see it. Do you know why?”
I shook my head. “I can’t even begin to imagine.”
“I won’t be around forever, son. You know my health situation. When I’m gone, you’ll be responsible for this family. Not just for your wife and kids, but for your mother also. My legacy will become yours.”
“I know that. I’m prepared to take all of that on.”
“I believe you are, which is why you had to see what happened at the good doctor’s office.”
I gulped down another drink of the burning liquor. It clawed down my throat, scorching a trail of ash in its wake. My father’s use of the words “good doctor” was blazingly sardonic. A good doctor wouldn’t have pulled strings with Wendy in the first place. When you’ve already sacrificed your integrity, it’s easier to do it again.
And again.
I regarded my father.
How far had George Steel gone? Doctor, I assure you I’ve gotten away with worse. Yet he said he’d never taken a life. What was worse than taking a life?
I suppressed a shudder.
“Are you saying I’ll have to do that someday?”
“Why do you think I taught you how to handle a gun?”
“Because it’s a good skill to have.”
“You’re right about that. I think I just proved it.”
“I want to be able to defend myself. Defend my family. I don’t plan to use a gun to threaten someone.”
“Don’t think of it as threatening,” Dad said. “Think of it as protecting your loved ones. That’s what I did. Wendy is a threat, and I protected you, Daphne, and your unborn child from that threat by making