Well, shit, John thought. The rumor mill must have been working hard on that one, or at least the turd ball over at Cocalatchee General must have had a real hair up his ass. Either way, this was trouble, and Russ was someone John really would rather not have trouble with. There was no point in lying to him, either, although perhaps he could be a little selective of the truth.

“Unfortunately,” he admitted, “I know more about it than I really want to. Did what’s-his-face over at General tell you they were trying to hold the kid hostage over the bill?”

“He didn’t say anything like that.”

“Well, they were,” he said, letting some of the anger he still felt show through. “At least that’s how the mother saw it. Some asshole administrator told her they couldn’t let the kid go without a down payment on the bill. It’s going to be a charity or Medicaid case, but they seemed to want at least part of their payment up front. So the mother took the kid and left.” John left it at that, deciding that Russ didn’t need to know the part he and Warren had played in liberating the kid, and that he also didn’t need to know where Sally and Teresa were right now.

“That’s not anything like what was told to me,” Russ replied. “The way it was put to me was they were concerned because the kid hadn’t been formally released, and just disappeared.”

“Formally released probably involving a check,” John snorted. Perhaps it was a simple misunderstanding somewhere along the line, although he doubted it. He decided to try changing the subject. “Unfortunately for them, the mother doesn’t have two nickels to rub together, and she’d have even less if the fucking towing company had their way. They tried to rip her off for the contents of the car, claiming that it was part of the deal when the car was released.”

“Now, that I believe,” Russ nodded. “I’ve heard there are people pulling that stuff. Unfortunately they seem to be getting away with it, because no one will find a lawyer and kick them in the teeth. I think someone has to be on the take somewhere, because I’ve heard of that happening half a dozen times or more, and nothing seems to happen.”

“And it’s always on people too damn poor or too damn dumb to call a lawyer in the first place,” John retorted. “Let’s just say that there are some similarities to what appeared to happen at the hospital, so I don’t blame the gal for taking the kid and blowing the place.”

“You wouldn’t mind me letting someone higher up at Cocalatchee General know that side of the story, would you? Something about it doesn’t sound quite right to me.”

“So long as you keep my name out of it, go ahead,” John told him. “Just between you and me, my own guess is that someone well down the pecking order is trying to either win his spurs, or has figured out a way to pick up a little cash on the side. That’s just a guess, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they were related to those bozos out at the towing company. They have the same sort of morals, which is to say, find poor people and kick ’em while they’re down.”

The discussion might have gone on a while longer, but a call came in and John had to run for the ambulance. On the way to the call, he thought about the conversation and realized Russ might well throw the ball back in the other court, at least for the hospital. It wouldn’t solve the situation, but might put a little different twist on it.

Damn it, he thought, one of the things he’d needed to do this afternoon was arrange for a lawyer to deal with both those issues, and he’d at least wanted to move off dead center with the Tomtucknee Regional bid. Well, neither of those had happened, and both of them were getting to be pretty high priority. While he might be able to work on the Tomtucknee Regional business tomorrow, lawyers tended to keep, well, lawyer’s hours, which were pretty close to banker’s hours. The chances of getting hold of anything but an answering machine were pretty limited, although a real shark might be ready to go when the hunting was good. Gonna have to get to setting some priorities, he thought. I just can’t let myself go on getting sidetracked at every little thing.

As luck had it, he and Chad were out on a run when quitting time came. The run itself was mundane and went quickly, but for some reason the paperwork at Manatee Memorial took longer than normal. It was well after five before the two of them got back to Bradenton Muni. While John needed to use the rest room, he didn’t really want to get back in the discussion with Yager, so he didn’t waste any time checking out, getting in his car and getting on the move.

He was out on the highway when the thought crossed his mind that he ought to check in with Sally while he was still out and about. He wasn’t in the mood to do much cooking and didn’t know how she was at it, but the thought crossed his mind that everyone might enjoy a pizza. Thoughts of an old fashioned thin-crust all-meat pizza made his mouth water, anyway.

He pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and turned it on, but it rang before he could start to dial the number. Now what?

The call proved to be from Sally, who sounded frantic. “John, thank God you answered! I’ve tried for you several times now. Where have you been?”

“In a place where I couldn’t have the cell phone on,” he told her. “What happened?”

“There was a man here from the tow company demanding his stuff,” she said. “He meant my stuff. He was really being an asshole about it, too.”

“Did you let him have it?”

“No, thank God, your neighbor Max was here. He took care of it. John, he had to pull a gun on the guy to drive him off.”

Oh, shit, John thought. Hopefully Max hadn’t shot the fucker, even if he deserved it. That would cause all kinds of trouble. But, maybe not; while he hadn’t been paying much attention to the emergency service radio, he thought he probably would have noticed if there had been a call to a gunshot wound in his subdivision. But then, if Max had shot him, he probably was smart enough to dump the body in some swamp where gators hung out; there were some not far away.

Right about then John wished he were in an ambulance with a working siren and light bar; traffic was heavy and it was filled with senior citizens who by God were going to drive no faster than they felt like and would never give anyone the right of way. This was one of those times that John couldn’t help but wonder what had ever made Mandy and him think they’d like living in Florida. This had been one of those down sides they’d never considered.

He was smart enough to get off the main road and onto some side streets as soon as taking a short cut was worthwhile. There may have been more lights and stop signs on this route but it was a lot better than the near traffic jam he’d been going through on the highway. He tore up the final couple miles of side street at well over the limit, roared through the subdivision, and was hitting the garage door opener as soon as his house came into sight. He drove right into the garage, only then noting that things seemed pretty quiet.

John was still unbuckling his seat belt and getting out of his car when the door to the kitchen opened. He looked up to see Max standing there, a grin on his face. “You didn’t have to shoot the bastard, did you?” John asked. If Max had, it was going to be a pot load of trouble.

“No,” Max grinned. “Some people don’t like looking right up the business end of a genuine Stevens open-choke 12-gauge shotgun. He sort of decided that it might be better to take his monkey business elsewhere.”

Just then Sally appeared in the door behind Max. “Thank God you’re home,” she said. “John, that was scary! Max was so cool, though!”

“Looks like everybody’s all right and I won’t need my EMT gear,” John sighed in relief. “Now, will someone tell me what happened?”

“Well, this guy came to the door demanding I give him the stuff that got stolen from him,” Max laughed. “He was really being an asshole about it, too. I told him I wasn’t John Engler, and I hadn’t stolen any stuff from him. He acted like he wanted to get violent, so I sorta had to raise the old double-barrel a little to make my point. So he left. Quickly. In fact, that’s what those burned rubber marks out on the street are all about.”

“Good enough,” John nodded. “What were you doing over here in the first place?”

“Well, I happened to meet Sally outside earlier, when I was edging my lawn,” Max explained.

“I saw him outside and decided to go over and say hello, so he’d know what I was doing here,” she added.

“Next thing you know she invited me in for a cup of coffee. Just being neighborly, you know. I remembered what you said about keeping an eye on the place and figured I’d better get to know my new neighbors. We wound up talking for quite a while.”

“And you just happened to have your shotgun with you?”

“No, that was earlier,” Max explained. “That was when Sally explained about the trouble you’d had with the tow company. Well, I know you don’t keep any guns in the house, so after I got home I got to thinking about it, and decided I’d loan you a shotgun till this blew over. I’d just delivered it and was shooting the bull with Sally some more when this bozo pulled up in a tow truck and started making an ass of himself, so I figured it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to answer the door with it in my hand. I was right, too.”

“My God, it scared me,” Sally said, still visibly shaken. “John, if they know where we are, maybe I’d better not stay with you after all. I don’t want to cause any more trouble for you.”

“No big deal,” John said. “Wouldn’t solve anything anyway. Did the guy actually see you?”

“No, I only got a glimpse of him through the window before I went into the bedroom with Teresa and locked the door.”

“Good move,” John sighed. “With any kind of luck he’ll think he got the wrong address. I mean, thanks to Max, really got the wrong address, and that might mean he won’t be back. We can hope, anyway. I’ve got to get hot about getting a lawyer, though. Thanks, Max. Not only do I appreciate the protection, I appreciate the quick thinking.”

“Does that mean you’re going to keep the shotgun around for a while?”

“Might not be a bad idea till we’re sure this has blown over,” John nodded. “Hopefully it won’t take long. You sure you want to give up one of your collector guns for a while?”

“That’s not a collector gun,” Max explained. “It’s just old, back from when I used to go hunting. It really was a pretty cheap shotgun, but I decided I needed something I wouldn’t get too upset about if I happened to drop it overboard when I was out duck hunting. A shotgun is pretty good for a home defense weapon since you don’t have to aim real good.”

Of course they had to stand around and talk for the next fifteen minutes, which, except for his increasingly urgent need to use the bathroom, John didn’t mind at all. If that was the payment Max wanted for his service, John was more than willing to give it to him. Max promised to continue to keep his eye on things, especially if a tow truck pulled up outside.

Finally, Max said he had to be getting home for supper, even though it still took another few minutes for him to leave. “God, I’m glad he was here,” Sally said as soon as they’d closed the door behind him. “That was lucky!”

“Sure was,” John said, “and now I’ve got to use the bathroom so bad it isn’t funny, but after I do, we’ve got things to talk about.”

“About Teresa and I leaving?” Sally asked, a little downcast.

“No,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

It only took John a couple minutes in the bathroom to tap a kidney, but he felt much better when he was done. He came back out of the bathroom, to find both Sally and Teresa sitting in the living room, the latter in her wheelchair, of course. “John,” Sally said, “I can’t help but think maybe we’d better go anyway. I don’t know where we’ll go or how we’ll get there, but I don’t think we should be dragging you into our troubles.”

“Too late for that,” John said. “I’m in them, now. Like I said, it wouldn’t solve anything. After all, they were looking for me, not for you. It was just good luck that Max was here, and I trust him a lot. I guess we’re stuck with having Max’s shotgun here, and I figure on leaving it by the front door, just in case. Are you both all right with that?

“No problem,” Sally nodded. “I know what a gun is, after all. Teresa, what about you?”

“Sure, Mom. It won’t be the first time we’ve had a gun around.”

John couldn’t help but wonder about that statement, but he didn’t think he should ask about it, if for no other reason than he was pretty sure he might get an answer, and if he did he probably wouldn’t like it. “All right, Sally,” is what he did say. “If the two of you are here by yourselves and someone comes to the door, you’d better be pretty darn sure you know who’s on the other side before you open it, and have the shotgun in reach, anyway. There’s a good alarm system, the cops come when called around here, and Max still has that antique machine pistol of his that I think he’d like to try out on somebody. That dork from the tow company is just looking for a chance to steal anything he can, and he’s dumb enough to think that acting like an asshole will let him get away with it. Hell, you’ve been around the block enough to know that.”

“I sure have,” Sally said, “and I’ve met more people like him than I want to think about.”

I’ll just bet you have, John thought. He had little doubt that Sally had a pretty good understanding of the way the underside of things work; even the limited amount she’d said about her past more than proved it. “I hope I’m not included on that list,” he said lightly.

“Oh, no,” Sally shook her head. “I still can’t believe how nice you’ve been to us.”

“Yeah,” Teresa agreed. “Mr. Engler, you have a real nice house. I can’t believe how nice. It’s wonderful that you’re letting us stay here. I just wish I didn’t have these casts on my legs, because I’d love to try out that pool.”

“Well, at least you understand why you can’t use it,” John smiled, “but if you’re still around when you get the casts off, I’ll see that you get the chance.” He glanced at Sally and continued, “That’s something we need to talk about pretty soon. We need to think about what we’re going to do to get the two of you back on your feet. I realize the opportunities are going to be limited with Teresa needing someone around all the time, but at least we have time to think about it a little.”

“I thought about going out and looking for a job, just to help out a little,” Sally said, “but since someone has to be here with Teresa, that leaves me a little limited.”

“Let’s not be in a big rush about it,” John told her. “Let’s at least let things stabilize for a few days so we can get comfortable having you here. Then maybe I can pull a few strings and find you a temporary part-time evening job, so I can be here to look after Teresa while you’re gone. It’ll mean I’ll be spending a little less time on the road, but that’s something I can handle.”

“John, it seems like we’re asking an awful lot of you. Like I said, you’ve been very nice to us, but I feel like we’re taking advantage of you.”

“If I start to think you’re taking advantage of me, I’ll let you know,” he said firmly. “Now, before this all blew up, I was thinking about ordering a pizza for dinner.”

“Great!” Teresa piped up. “I’ve been hungry for a pizza, a thick crust one, just loaded down with everything!”

Oh, well, John thought, the vision of one the way he liked it fluttering off into the great unknown on wings. If it makes the kid feel better, I guess I can stand it.

It only took a few minutes to get the pizza ordered. John knew his favorite Pizza Hut was very quick on delivery, so thanks to a pimply faced girl in a funny cap who didn’t look old enough to drive, in half an hour or so the three of them were gathered around the kitchen table attacking it. Teresa seemed very hungry, but she only managed to get through a couple slices of the thick, tasty pizza. Both John and Sally tied into it with enthusiasm, too – the burger from the Hob Nob hadn’t stuck with John very well, and he’d had a busy afternoon. Even though Sally had only been with him a few days, she seemed to be getting an appetite back and was looking better, to boot. Eating regularly will do that to you, he thought.

Soon, all there was left of the medium pizza was a few crusts and an empty box, along with a couple pieces of silverware. “I’ll do the cleanup,” Sally offered. “We had a couple dishes from earlier that need to be rinsed and put in the dishwasher.”

“Well, I’ll help,” John said. He picked up the box and the other paper trash as he got up, and headed for the garbage can in the garage. It was getting full, after Sally’s cleaning, and the trash pickup wasn’t until Monday, so he did his best to pack things down in the plastic can a little.

He was just walking back into the kitchen when Sally threw a concerned look at him and said, “John, something’s wrong with the sink.”

John glanced toward the sink, and it was clear she was right. There was water dripping out of the cabinets under the sink. Now what the hell?

He walked over, popped open the cupboard doors and squatted down, to see water streaming from the garbage disposal. “Did you use the disposal?” he asked Sally.

“Yes, just for the pizza crusts,” she said. “Was I not supposed to?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” he said, shaking his head. Whatever happened, it was coming from inside the disposal somewhere. That looked like serious trouble to him.

He stood up and turned to Sally. “Mister Home Handyman I’m not,” he told her. “I can change a light bulb if I need to, but that’s about the limit. Guess I’m going to have to call a plumber.”

“You’re going to have a hell of a time finding one on Friday night,” Sally said flatly.

“You’re probably right,” he agreed, heading for the phone on the kitchen wall. There was a phone book nearby; he glanced at the back cover, to see an ad for Goodall, Goodall, and Goodall, Attorneys at Law, advertising twenty-four-hour service. There was a photo of three guys who looked like brothers. Bunch of Goodall boys, he thought wryly. Realizing that he still needed to call an attorney, he thought those guys might be able to do the job but finding an attorney at the moment was secondary.

Flipping to “plumbers” he found several places that offered twenty-four-hour service. Somehow, he thought that he’d trust an off-hours plumber more than he’d trust an off-hours attorney. There was nothing he could do but start calling.

Twenty minutes later he was still calling. Not one human being had actually answered the phone – the only replies he got were bright-sounding voicemail messages promising to call back as soon as possible. Not one human being! As he ran out the list, his best guess was that if he got one actual call back out of four voice messages, he’d be doing well. “Looks like we’re not going to be using the sink for a few days,” he said glumly.

“It could be worse,” Sally tried to buck up his spirits. “Teresa and I have stayed a couple places where the sink never worked at all.”

John wanted to ask how she could put up with that stuff, but then realized it was because she had little other choice. It just drove home how rough things had been for her. “Well, I don’t want to put up with it,” he told her. “I’ve got enough other shit to deal with right now.”

Realizing that he was a prisoner of having to wait around until someone was sober enough to call him back, John was not a happy camper. This was ridiculous. There had to be some other way . . . then he remembered his discussion with Annamaria earlier in the day.

He didn’t have to look up her home number; it had been firmly in his memory for years. He knew it even better than he did his own number – since he never had reason to call home, he had to stop and think about it when someone asked. “Annamaria,” he asked as soon as she answered the phone, “you have a cousin who’s a plumber, don’t you?”

“Well, not a cousin, a nephew,” she told him, “and he’s not a master plumber, he just knows how to do most plumbing stuff. He runs a sort of off-the-books business for people who can’t pay the arm and leg that real plumbers charge.”

“Sounds like just the guy I need to talk to,” he said. “Any chance you could get him over here this evening? My garbage disposal is leaking like the Titanic.”

“I’ll see,” she replied. “I’ll let you know in a few minutes.”

“OK, I’ll be here,” he said, and hung up the phone. He turned to Sally and said, “Hell, I should have thought of that first.”

Five minutes later Annamaria called back. “Gloria says Raul is out on another call, but she called him and he’s almost done. He should be there in half an hour, give or take.”

“Good deal, Annamaria,” he replied. “What would I do without you?”

“You’d be well up that well-known brown creek,” she laughed. “Carlos said he’d be happy for the computer business, too. He said he ought to have something tomorrow afternoon.”

“Good deal. Let me know if I can be any help.”

About forty-five minutes later there was a knocking at the door. “That was quick service,” John said, heading for it.

Just to be on the safe side, he glanced out the window to confirm there wasn’t a tow truck sitting there before opening the door, to get a shock. It wasn’t Raul; it was Mandy, with a huge shiner on her face. Now what the hell?

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