Rumble on the Bayou (34 page)

Richard paced the floor back and forth a few times and finally came to rest on the couch next to Dorie. "You okay?" he asked. "All things considered, I mean."

Dorie shrugged. "I guess I'm as good as I'm getting for the moment" She looked at him and tried to control the wavering in her voice. "I never wanted to do this again. Sit at the hospital, wondering whether he would live or die."

Richard took her hand and held it in his. For a moment, she felt better, the strength of the man beside her coursing through every nerve in her hand.

"He's going to be fine," Richard said. "I'm sure of it. He's a tough guy, you know that. Pretty soon he'll be out of that bed and raising hell again, just like before."

Dorie shook her head. "Not just like before. Something's got to give. If all of this turns out all right, Dad has got to quit law enforcement altogether."

He stared at her and finally nodded. "If you're worried about the cost of his care, I can pull some strings. I heard about your education, and I know the DEA would love to have you on board. The salary would more than cover your expenses and help take care of your dad."

Dorie was momentarily taken aback at Richard's comment about her education, but it only took a second to realize her dad must have spilled the beans. She lowered her head and looked at the floor, desperately wishing for the first time in her life that things could be different-that she could be different. "I appreciate the offer, really I do, but I can't leave here."

"Why not? You only came home to take care of your dad. If you can do that somewhere else and better your position at the same time, why wouldn't you?"

She looked him straight in the eye and whispered, "Because I can't breathe anywhere else."

Confusion was written all over Richard's face. "What do you mean?"

Dorie blew out a breath and scanned the room. She'd managed all these years to hide it from everyone else, and Richard had already witnessed entirely too many of her breaking points in only a few days time.

But it also wasn't fair to let him think there was even the slimmest possibility of her leaving Gator Bait. And even though he'd mentioned the job offer casually, Dorie could see the expectant, hopeful look in his eyes.

"Dorie?" Richard said gently.

She looked back at him and tried to hold back the tears threatening to flow. "The whole time I was at school, I was miserable. Oh, I was a great student. All my professors thought I was going to go on to a prominent career with a national agency, but I just couldn't."

She took a deep breath and continued. "I think it really hit me when I did an internship with a local police department. I couldn't take the misery of the victim's families, the sheer evil that one human being could perpetrate on another. It was all so senseless, so wasteful, and I knew I'd never be able to handle all of the sadness that the crimes created. It pressed on my chest until I felt like I was suffocating from the pressure."

"A lot of people feel that way at first, Dorie," Richard said. "I promise you it gets easier."

She shook her head. "I knew then that I wasn't cut out for that line of work. Here in Gator Bait is one thing. Until this Roland problem, we didn't have much going on here. And besides, being back here I got to work in the preserve with the animals. That's what I really care about."

Dorie rose from the couch, walked to the window across the room and stared outside. "When I received the phone call of my dad's heart attack, do you know I was actually relieved? How horrible is that? But finally I had a reason to chuck the city and return to Gator Bait. A reason that no one could argue with."

"It's not terrible," he replied and gave her a sad smile. "I think it's sort of wonderful that you have a place where you belong so absolutely. I've never had that."

She turned from the window to face him. "Why not?"

He shrugged. "You know how big cities are. People are so absorbed in their own lives, their own problems. They don't take the time to get to know anyone else's."

Dorie nodded. "I guess not."

He grinned. "Hell, until I came to Gator Bait, I didn't even know a place like this existed-where people actually looked out for their neighbors and considered the whole community family. It's really nice. A little too personal sometimes, but still nice."

She smiled back at him. "Yeah, it's hard to keep a secret in this town," she said, but even as the words left her mouth, she thought of all the secrets that had been kept. Secrets that had caused the trouble they were in now.

***

An hour passed, and Dorie and Joe were still waiting at the hospital. Richard, under much protesting, had finally gone back to the station to get the satellite photos from his friend. As soon as Dorie was sure her dad was all right, she and Joe would head out and meet him at the station. Joe had called Jenny and asked her to come to the hospital and sit with the sheriff after surgery, and she'd agreed to close the cafe and hurry to Lake Charles. She arrived at the same time the doctor came out of surgery.

"He came through just fine," the doctor said, immediately putting their fears at rest. "His heart is stable and showed no signs of stress during the procedure. There was no damage to his internal organs, so the worst thing to watch for is infection. I closed the entry wound and the stitches will dissolve; however, I still want to see him back here a week after he is discharged. And he should have someone watching him."

Dorie nodded, relieved at the doctor's words. "He lives at Southern Retirement. I'll give one of the women there a little extra to ride herd over him."

The doctor smiled. "That's about the best setup I can imagine." He put one hand on her shoulder. "It was nice meeting you, Ms. Berenger. I've heard a lot about the work you and your father have done. I'm glad he's okay."

He walked across the room and started to push the doors open, but paused a moment. "Don't feel guilty, Ms. Berenger, if you need to leave. Your father is in excellent care, and I'm sure there's a more pressing matter you need to see to. Perhaps before I notify the Lake Charles police of a gunshot wound?" He gave her a smile and left.

Dorie hugged Jenny and thanked her again for coming. "Are you sure you're okay with this? I don't want to cause you any problems down at the café."

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Dorie Berenger, you are not causing me problems. Now, get the hell out of here and get that bad man out of town. I'm getting a little tired of this nonsense, and since Joe has finally agreed to go out with me, I'd like to manage at least one date before the year is over."

Surprised, Dorie looked at Joe and saw a slow blush creeping up his face. Jenny leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, causing him to blush even more.

"Go on and get out of here," Jenny said and gave them a shove. "And Joe, you better watch Dorie's back or you'll have to answer to me," she shouted as they were walking out the door.

"I didn't know you and Jenny were dating," Dorie said as they pulled out of the hospital parking lot.

"We're not really dating," Joe said. "Haven't exactly had a chance."

Dorie grinned. "Are you trying to tell me this investigation is cramping your life? You're going to have to learn to work your way around that if you want a relationship with Jenny. The job is not going to stop, although, I admit, something this bad will probably never happen again."

"You mean I should be more flexible, like you?" he asked dryly.

She knew he was referring to her relationship or whatever with Richard, but she wasn't about to get into that discussion. Not now. Probably not ever. And definitely not with Joe, who wouldn't understand the turmoil she was feeling. Joe thought love made everything better. And although Dorie wasn't convinced that what she felt for Richard was love or even the beginning of it, she was sure it wasn't a passing fling. No, from where Dorie was sitting, love or the possibility of it only made things complicated and stressful.

"Maybe flexible isn't the worst thing to be," she finally said. "If this entire mess has shown me anything, it's that nothing is forever and you better get the good stuff in before you run out of time."

"Yeah, but when the bad guy is locked up and the adrenaline rush is over, what do you have?"

She stared out of the truck and down the highway. "I guess that remains to be seen."

***

Richard looked up when they walked through the door of the sheriff's office. "How's your dad?" he asked, an anxious look on his face.

"He's going to be fine," Dorie replied. "Jenny will let us know if there's any change, or if he says anything else once he's awake. I lied and said she was family so she could get into his room."

Richard gave her a small smile. "Not really much of a lie."

"No, not much," she said, his words making her feel a bit better.

He pointed to the printer where photos were spitting out. "Your timing is great," he said. "I just sent all the photos to print. We have a total of twelve, covering from Gator Bait all the way to the next town, in every direction, and the gulf."

"I'll get the preserve maps," Joe said and stepped into the back office, returning a minute later with a thick set of rolled documents. Richard grabbed the printouts, Joe unrolled the maps, and they all hunched over the desk to look.

The first ten photos were fine, nothing out of place, and Dorie grew more anxious each time Richard turned to another photo.
We can't be wrong about this. We just can't be.

Richard shook his head and continued to flip through the pictures. "Whoa," he said. "What is that?" He pointed to an area on the photo that contained a cluster of black dots. "Is there anything solid in this section that you are aware of?"

Dorie scanned her preserve maps for the coordinates and pointed to the matching area. She looked at Joe and saw that he understood immediately what she was pointing to. Looking back at the photo, she pointed to the white spots that outnumbered the black spots ten times over. "There's not supposed to be anything solid in that area of the preserve, unless you want to count all of those white spots."

Richard looked at the photo again and frowned. "There must be at least a hundred white spots on here. What the hell is this place?"

“
Breeding ground," Joe said. "That's where the alligators go to lay their eggs."

***

Richard stared at the two of them in horror. "Breeding ground. You've got to be kidding me." But the look on their faces told him they weren't kidding at all. "But that's crazy," he protested.

"It's more than crazy," Joe said. "It's suicide. Someone must have made a mistake with the drop. We may not have to worry about this Roland if he tries to pick up his shipment in this location. Of course, we'll never find evidence of his death, either, which might be a problem."

"That's not even the beginning of the problems," Dorie said, her voice beginning to rise. "What about the possibility of hundreds of high gators if someone doesn't get those drugs out of the marsh? Jesus Christ!"

"Holy crap," Joe said. "We can't have this, Dorie. There's no telling what those gators are capable of if they haul any of these bags out of the preserve and bite into one."

"I know," she said and looked at Richard. "No one understands more than I do how much you want to catch Roland, and believe me, I want to catch him, too, but I have to get those drugs out of the game preserve right now, even if it means we blow our chance."

Richard nodded. "I understand. And as much as I hate it, I agree. This entire town would be at risk. I want Roland, but that's one risk even I am not willing to take." He blew out a breath and slammed one fist down on the desk. "Damn it! I was so close this time."

Dorie placed her hand on his arm. "We'll get him. I'll help you, even if it means leaving Gator Bait. This is one part of my past that I want shut away permanently."

Richard looked at her, surprised, but then took a moment to think about her words. Dorie had as much of a stake in Roland's capture as he did. Roland didn't leave loose ends, and he would consider both Berengers a liability. The real irony was Dorie was trying to capture her father to protect her dad.

The weight of that fact grew heavy in Richard's mind. He should never have agreed to keep the sheriff's secret. The way things stood now, it might be awhile before the sheriff could live up to his end of their bargain and tell Dorie the truth. Dorie was never going to forgive him for withholding this, and there was no way he could blame her.

"What about the town?" he finally managed to ask. "If you leave, who'll take care of everyone?"