Kendrick was the first woman Shelby had felt comfortable around and to talk with since Mary had died. As they ate and talked, he learned that she had been married but divorced three years earlier.
“I thought I’d found the perfect life,” she said. “A match made in heaven that turned into a living nightmare when Shawn, that’s my ex-husband, got hooked on drugs. I met him in medical school and everything was wonderful until he…I’m sure you’ve seen a million junkies.
“I tried everything to help him, but he only got worse. Violent. When he broke my nose and cracked my jaw, I left and haven’t looked back. He’s in a federal drug rehab treatment center in Kansas. Got caught forging prescriptions to keep his habit alive. I feel sorry for him, but any love I had for him died three years ago.”
“You were both doctors?” Shelby asked.
“Both doctors. I completed my medical residency in New Orleans and was immediately hired by the Disease Control Center in Atlanta. It’s a good job and a chance for me to do what I enjoy best about medicine, investigation and research.”
“What’s that?” Shelby asked.
“A chance to discover the root causes for so many illnesses that are spread by contaminated food, water, and careless people. I know that may not seem like much, but early in medical school, I found that I was not cut out to poke and probe around in people. Even though I tried to force myself, I was miserable until finally I accepted the fact that I would never practice medicine as I’d planned. My dreams of being a family doctor in the rural south were over. I just didn’t have what it took.
“For a while I even thought about dropping out of medical school and becoming a lawyer, but then I met Shawn. He was a first-year resident and the most handsome man I’d ever met. Gosh, he was funny, witty, and, as he so often said, he was going to be ‘the best surgeon in the whole world’.” Kendrick looked down at her plate, thinking. When she looked back up, she was smiling. “Suddenly, I was in love and determined to be the second-best surgeon in the whole world. All of that was before he decided he needed a little pick-me-up from time to time, and way before he became a mainline junkie.”
She went on to tell him that even though they had been married for two years, Shawn had encouraged her to take the job in Atlanta. “He said it would only be for a while and if necessary, he’d move his practice to Atlanta. ‘After all, they’ve got operating rooms in Atlanta,’ he’d said. He promised he’d fly down every other weekend. Said it would be like we were still on our honeymoon every two weeks.
“I was apprehensive, but Shawn made it sound so good, and it was something I really wanted to do. I noticed Shawn had become moody, but still I had no idea that he was already hooked on drugs, and I certainly didn’t know about Tommy. He was Shawn’s homosexual lover.”
“He had a male lover?”
“It was thirteen months after I’d taken the job in Atlanta when my little playhouse caved in. My whole world came tumbling down. I knew something was wrong even before that horrible day in July when Shawn called me. He’d already stopped coming every other weekend and usually discouraged me when I told him I’d catch a plane to New Orleans to be with him.
“I can hear him now. ‘Maybe you ought to get yourself tested for AIDS,’ he told me callously that July fourth. I was confused and kept asking him why. That was when he told me that his friend Tommy had AIDS. He said he was going to be tested the next day and that I should also.
“I was such a fool. It took awhile for me to finally understand what he was telling me. When he said, ‘Heather, you need to understand, Tommy and I are lovers,’ I thought I’d die. I couldn’t breathe. I just collapsed right there on the kitchen floor.”
Shelby watched in silence as a tear rolled down the side of Heather’s face. She took a deep breath and continued. “The next day I flew to New Orleans to confront Shawn. That was when he almost beat me to death. I can tell you the next few months were the worst of my life. The HIV tests, the divorce, and then Shawn’s arrest for forging prescriptions to get his and Tommy’s narcotics.”
She told Shelby that she had thought she wasn’t going to make it. “But somehow I did. Thank God, neither Shawn nor I had the HIV virus,” she said. “I heard Tommy died two years ago and Shawn’s in a rehab center for drug dependency treatment.”
Abruptly, Kendrick changed the subject and for the next two hours, they talked about everything but Shawn. They ate and they laughed. Finally, Shelby pushed his plate away and said, “These ribs look like buzzards have had a picnic. We’ve polished the bones.” He was in a wonderful mood. Stuffed with barbecue and being with someone he enjoyed, he had almost forgotten about the dark Lincoln.
Outside, Shelby peered into the night, watching the shadows as they walked to the car. Nothing, maybe I was wrong about that Lincoln. The moon had risen and cast a bright yellow glow over the parking lot as he unlocked the car door and opened it for Kendrick. Most enjoyable meal I’ve had in years.
The radio was alive with radio traffic. “We’ve got a patrolman shot. Get an EMS unit and hurry!”
“What’s his condition?” the dispatcher asked.
“Shot in the head. He’s still sitting in his patrol unit. I think he’s dead.”
“EMS and a sergeant’s on the way.”
“He’s dead. No pulse.”
“His unit?”
“I was just driving by and saw his overhead flashers going and stopped to see what was the matter. It’s Ten-Henry-seventy.”
Shelby felt real terror race through every nerve in his body and then there was anger and sorrow. He locked the door from the inside and drove away, his eyes on the rearview mirror.
Kendrick was silent. He knew she heard and understood what was happening. He waited for her to say something and then he saw it…they were being followed again.
Chapter 6
Shelby’s voice sounded loud and yet far away. “Heather, do you know how to use a handgun?”
“Yes. I grew up on a farm and my dad was a gun enthusiast. I don’t like them, but I know how to use one,” she stated matter of factly, as she turned to look out the rear window.
She’s cool as a cucumber. I don’t think she’d be afraid to dance with the devil. “Here’s the glove box key, open it. There’s a .45 automatic in there. Have you ever shot an auto?”
“I’m familiar with a .45. Have you got any binoculars in here? Maybe I can get the license plate number.”
“Won’t work. Too much glare from the headlights. I’ve tried it too many times.”
He followed the access road and turned onto the eastbound lane of the Southwest Freeway. “I’m not really sure just what we ought to do. Any suggestions, Doc? This could be the real deal here. If it’s the same car that followed us earlier, then he’s probably the person who shot Ten Henry seventy. Could be several people in the car, probably are.”
Kendrick was calm. “And we know they’re monitoring your radio.”
The traffic was light and the dark car stayed well back. “At least they don’t seem too anxious to attack,” he said, trying to shake a feeling of impending doom for himself and his new friend. “Give me the cell phone. We’ll drive to the police station and see if we can lead this yo-yo into a little trap.”
The exits rushed by; they had just passed under Mandell when the Central Office answered. Shelby explained his situation and negotiated the turn from Southwest Freeway onto I-45. He was heading downtown when he hung up the cell phone and slowed the car. Shelby was quiet for a second, then he said, “It’s one of my men.”
“Excuse me?”
“They were worried about us and planted a stakeout