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“I don’t care what you say. No bells. Don’t we hear enough bells around here lately?”
She followed him to his office door. “Don’t tell me Gerard’s stuck with two Scrooges here at the mission.”
“It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the crowds during Christmas season.” He pulled a thick briefcase from his office, locked up and held an arm out, indicating that she should follow him.
“I can’t stop thinking about that pistol you carry,” she said.
“You have pepper mace, I have the protection I’m most comfortable with.” Sean didn’t mention that Gerard also carried a concealed weapon. Gerard had insisted his key personnel carry protection on these dangerous streets, not only to protect themselves, but to protect the helpless ones who were stuck outside at the mercy of too many deadbeats.
“In a way, my brother has expanded your police force in Corpus Christi by adding a private security division,” Tess said.
“Who else is going to protect them? He protects his own, and that encompasses everyone in need.”
“Face it, my brother’s a hero. Is it any wonder I’ve seen our pretty doctor spending so much time with him lately?” Tess followed Sean down the stairs.
Sean smiled, but he wouldn’t mention that even Dr. Megan Bradley, who was working at the mission to pay off her med school loans, also carried a concealed weapon at Gerard’s behest. She took it with her when she and Tess had a girls’ day out.
“Or perhaps I should say, it isn’t any wonder why Gerard can’t seem to stay away from the clinic.” Tess cast a side glance at Sean. “She could win an international beauty contest.”
“I don’t think he sees that.” Pretty as Megan was, she held none of the mystique for Sean that Tess Vance held.
Tess groaned. “He’s a man, isn’t he?”
“I think he enjoys her company, but I’ve honestly never heard him remark on her physical attributes. You know your brother, he always looks at the heart first.”
Tess hesitated at the doorway in the rear of the kitchen, where several of the late workers, mostly Hispanic volunteers from the church three blocks from the mission, were sweeping the floor, emptying trash and having their dinner of leftover chili.
“All right!” Tess said, grinning at last. “The special is chili, and I haven’t eaten since my late breakfast.” She cocked an eyebrow at Sean. “How about it, Torrance? Gerard’s not here to challenge me right now, and Hans is always stuck up in Austin, watching over that manufacturing plant. Which of us can take it the hottest?”
“Hey, Señorita Vance,” called Angel Mancillas, the pastor from the church. “You’re welcome to join us, as always, and I brought your favorite habaneras sauce my Sandra makes.”
Tess rubbed her hands together and grinned at Sean. “If I remember correctly, you like hot stuff.”
He held her gaze. “Love it.” He pulled a chair out for her, then joined her, and for the next thirty minutes, she seemed to relax and think about something besides the footsteps in the upper hallway. If only he could always make her feel so safe.
TWO
The telephone awakened Tess long after dawn. She got a blurry look at the clock—it was eight—before she grabbed her cell phone. Caller ID showed it was the Vance Mission Clinic.
“What’s up?” she asked, pushing Gerard’s affectionate Dobermans from the bed. When had Romper and Roxie climbed under the covers with her?
“Tess, this is Megan. Are you okay?”
At the urgency in the doctor’s tone, Tess sat up and swung her legs to the side. “I’m fine. Why? What’s happened? Is Gerard—”
“Your brother’s perfectly healthy, long ago landed at Houston, but we appear to be having some kind of illness among the regulars. Since I’m not sure Gerard’s out of court yet, I decided not to call him about this.”
“What kind of illness?”
“Gastrointestinal symptoms. We’ve had six come in so far, and they’re feeling pretty rough. I’m trying to decide if it’s a virus of some kind, or if we’ve had some food go bad.”
“We’ve never had food poisoning in our kitchen. How many of them ate at the mission yesterday?”
“All six.”
“I ate breakfast and dinner there, even challenged Sean to a hot-sauce competition. Have you seen him?”
“He was in the kitchen cooking just now, told me to call you, but he’s feeling as healthy as always.”
“So am I, and I ate a sample of everything. Could it be a stomach virus?”
“It’s always possible, but that wouldn’t hit everyone all at once like this. Only food poisoning would hit everyone so suddenly, and these are some of our regulars. All of them had their flu shots this year. I saw to it.”
“We never have tainted food. We watch that closely.”
“I haven’t had time to take extensive histories. It’s possible they’ve all eaten elsewhere.”
“That’s most likely, since I’m not feeling a thing.”
“You’re healthier than most homeless people, Tess. And it’s likely you didn’t eat the same batch of food. These all ate early last night.”
“Are you taking samples?”
“Yes, and I’m getting bogged down.”
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“Uh-oh. Here comes another one.”
“I’ll call in some backup. Maybe some of our volunteer medical personnel will be off duty today.”
“Thanks,” Megan said. “I think I’ll have Mamie drive to the pharmacy for more supplies.”
“No, just call in your order and get Mamie to the clinic to help you. She mentioned the other day she was a volunteer medical aide in high school. I can pick up the order on my way.”
After hanging up, Tess pulled on a fresh pair of jeans and a sweater as the dogs fought each other for her attention. She kissed Roxie and Romper on their foreheads, scratched their ears and smiled at Roxie’s groan of contentment.
“Sorry, kids, gotta run. You want out?”
Of course, they did. She unlocked the door and watched them race each other through the doorway and out into the huge fenced yard, then, despite her watchdogs on alert, she locked the door again. How long since she’d felt safe when she was alone?
And the stress over the mission illnesses was making her worse. Often, people from participating churches would bring side dishes or desserts to help feed the hungry, but yesterday all the food had come from the Vance Mission kitchen, and they tested their raw meats and produce often. It had always been an obsession of Gerard’s to make sure the people he fed received wholesome, healthy food.
But Megan had said more than once that those living on the street were more susceptible to any illness that came along. They had weakened immune systems from exposure and often a history of poor lifestyle choices.
Despite the attempt to reassure herself, Tess felt the stress growing as she brushed her teeth and combed her hair. She grabbed her jacket and keys and rushed into the garage, where she parked her Cooper. As the garage door opened, she pressed the first phone number on her cell for nursing help.
She called herself all kinds of a fool on the drive to town. This was not her fault. Not her responsibility. She did not cause anyone to get sick…she couldn’t have caused this in any way…could she?
No. But she couldn’t get the sound of those footsteps out of her head from last night and the fear that, even in the absence of more of the threats she’d begun to receive ten months ago, someone out there still wanted to hurt her by hurting those she cared about.
By the time she reached the pharmacy, she had promises from a nurse and two techs to meet her at the mission. She drove to the pick-up window and exchanged friendly insults with Troy, the tech on duty, who had asked her out at least once a month since she’d arrived in Corpus Christi.
“Sounds like you’ve got an outbreak at the mission,” Troy commented as he heaved two big bags out the window to her. “Flu season has hit hard.”
“You’ve had a lot of orders like this?”
He nodded.
“But these patients had their flu shots.”
He raised his bushy eyebrows in surprise. “That’s weird. We’ve always got our rogue viruses, of course, but this year’s inoculations seemed to be hittin’ the bull’s-eye.”
She thanked him and drove to the mission as the tension knotted multiple times in her stomach.
Sean held an emesis basin for a man in his fifties who’d never answered to any name but Stud. Three more people had walked into the clinic after Sean traded kitchen duties for clinic duties at Megan’s request, and all of them looked miserable.
Megan had drawn blood, given eight shots so far for nausea and handed out multiple little envelopes of pills to help with the stomach cramps. She told Sean she wanted to do a blood draw on Stud as soon as she could get to him; he had a chronic alcohol history, and that could make him prone to electrolyte imbalances. She’d managed to collect some stool samples on the others and remarked three times in the past five minutes that she hoped Tess arrived soon.
And Tess did, looking harassed and pale, carrying in two large bags imprinted with the local pharmacy logo. Soon after she arrived, an RN who volunteered at the clinic two Saturdays a month walked in the door, pulling off her coat and wrapping her stethoscope around her neck.
“Feeling better, Stud?” Sean asked his patient softly.
The man nodded and used the paper towel Sean handed him. “Need to clean up.”
“Go get a toothbrush and toothpaste in one of the bathrooms down the hall and then go into the men’s dorm. Lie down and rest until the doctor can get to you for your blood test.”
Stud shook his head. “Got a job helping a man fix a fence a couple of miles out of town. I need the money.”
“At least rest until we have a better idea about what you’ve got. If it’s infectious, nobody’s going to thank you for showing up. Give me a telephone number, and I’ll call to let him know you didn’t bug out on him, but you need to be here for Dr. Bradley to check you out.”
“Got no number. How would I call? Really, I’m feeling better.”
“You have the man’s name? If the doc can get a diagnosis from your blood, you could be helping out a lot of sick people.”
Stud gave in, and Sean hunted down the phone number of Stud’s temporary employer and left the message. When he hung up, he caught sight of Tess, her large, beautiful eyes as haunted as they’d been yesterday when he’d found her in the corridor. The smudges beneath her lower eyelids seemed to have deepened overnight, and she’d lost the typical glow in her complexion.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, stepping over to him.
“Good. Did you sleep last night?”
“Off and on. I had a nasty wake-up call.”
“Tess, I can’t believe this is food poisoning.” He was just glad he had a strong stomach. He’d never signed up for clinic duty, and for a few moments, he’d thought he might have to hunt down his own emesis basin.
“Me neither, unless they all ate something elsewhere. Or unless it wasn’t the food itself that poisoned them.”
As soon as she spoke the words, she closed her eyes and bit her lower lip, long strands of her black hair falling over her forehead.
“So, what you’re saying,” he said softly enough that the others couldn’t hear, “is that you aren’t ruling out poisoning of some kind.”
Her shoulders slumped, and she nodded. “That’s what I’m saying.”
He stood up and took her arm, led her from the clinic proper for a moment. “You’re trembling.”
She put a hand over his. Hers was icy. “I’m sorry. Leftover post-traumatic stress disorder, I know. Also, I can’t get past Carlotta’s death two weeks ago.”
“That was ruled a natural death.”
“Easy for the authorities to do that when she’s homeless with no family.”
“You’re obsessing over it.”
“So sue me.”
“What you’re really anxious about is that Tanner’s killer is still out there,” Sean said, guessing at the direction of her thoughts.
Tess raised her hand from his and pulled her fingers through her hair. “I know it’s not all about me. But those notes, Sean, I can’t stop thinking about them, reading them, trying to figure out who might have sent them to me and what kind of person that might have been.”
“Vindictive.”
“Of course, but how vindictive?”
“You think enough to poison homeless people?”
“I’m thinking all kinds of things right now.”
“And you’re driving yourself crazy in the process.”
“I’m not crazy,” she snapped.
“You know that’s not what I’m saying.”
“Whoever wrote those notes threatened to hurt me or those I loved.”
“I know. I still have copies, and I’ve reread them a few times myself.” The paper and print had both been impossible to trace because they were so common. Sean knew how frustrated Tess had been when the police gave up searching for Tanner’s killer. Some of the officers had even suggested that Tess was imagining the attack, despite the solid evidence of tire rubber on the asphalt. As one officer had pointed out, that could have been done at any time.
“Something about the wording leads me to believe the writer was female,” Sean said.
Tess slowly raised her gaze to his. “You really are still on the case.”
Sean didn’t mention that her ex-cop brother was, as well. “Someone did die, Tess. Nothing’s happened since. Whoever wanted to get revenge on you got it with Tanner’s death.”
“So you’re saying I’m being unreasonable to think that same someone might try again.”
“I’m saying you need to stop torturing yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
“With guilt. You’ve been overwhelmed with it all these months.”
“He was crossing the street to see me when he was hit. I’m going to feel some guilt about that, Sean. It’s a human emotion.”
“You weren’t the driver.”
She rubbed her neck and turned away. “It wouldn’t be hard for someone to track me down with my last name matching the name of this mission, and someone did try to break down my door last night. You heard the noise yourself.”
Sean had known she’d been more shaken up by that intruder than she would admit to him. He’d thought she was doing better, and he had told Gerard to keep watch on the house last night.
Not only did Gerard have thoroughly vetted help on his small ranch, but he had a state-of-the-art alarm system and two protective Dobermans who lived indoors, adored Tess and would never let a stranger close to her. Romper, the male, would barely even let Sean close when he drove out to the house for a visit, though both dogs were affectionate with him, as well.
He put an arm around her and walked her farther from the clinic entrance and into the larger rooms toward the back. “There’s no reason to think a simple outbreak of food poisoning could have anything to do with Tanner’s death. It wouldn’t match the M.O. Poison would be a whole new profile.”
“Not necessarily. Didn’t you once tell me that sometimes a killer simply uses whatever’s at hand?”
Sean paused. “You know what we’ve discussed about Tanner’s reputation before,” he said quietly.
She gave him a querulous look.
“He was a rising country music star,” Sean said. “He had the bad-boy persona. You told me yourself that before the two of you became an item, he left a trail of broken hearts. That’s why you kept your engagement quiet. He also got into a few fistfights at some late-night establishments.”
“Staged. I told him not to do that, but he wanted that kind of publicity.”
“The multiple romances—often at one time—weren’t staged, were they?”
“You think he might have dated a killer?”
“At least he finally had the sense to know a good woman when he saw her,” Sean said, rubbing his knuckles over her cheek. “You’re an amazing woman, Tess.”
She swallowed daintily and looked up at him, her olive complexion deepening a shade. She didn’t say anything, just looked at him.
A woman walked past them toward the connecting secondhand store and drop-off facility, and the moment was gone.
Sean straightened. “But Tanner also aligned himself with unsavory people of both sexes, if you ask me.”
“Been reading the rags?”
“Let’s just say I did a few background checks.”
“While I was engaged to Tanner?”
He nodded. For a moment, he couldn’t bring himself to reveal what he’d discovered.
She tilted her head, obviously intrigued. “You never told me this stuff.”
“You weren’t the one who made enemies—he was.”
“The crime wasn’t solved, Sean.”
“An entertainer doesn’t behave the way he did without making enemies. You’re not being fair to yourself. I don’t like to accuse a man who isn’t here to defend himself, and I certainly don’t want to hurt you, Tess, but Tanner lived a self-indulgent life and he didn’t give two cents for who he hurt.”
“He cared about me.”
“His actions didn’t back up his words or the ring he put on your finger.”
“You’re saying he dated another woman when he was engaged to me?”
For some reason, she didn’t sound surprised. Had she guessed? She also didn’t sound devastated. “Women. Plural.” Sean studied her expression, confused. “I’m sorry, Gerard and I had decided not to burden you with some of the information we dug up about him, but in my opinion, the guilt is proving to be more destructive to you than a broken heart.”
But he saw no signs of a broken heart. What he saw was a brief whisper of, what—simple sadness?
“There’s no danger of that,” she said, confirming his suspicion. Intriguing.
More people walked past them. The drop-off and the store were getting busier.
“Want to go upstairs?” Sean asked. “Maybe we should discuss this further.”
“Megan needs help.”
“She has a very efficient nurse, two more techs just walked in to help Mamie, and you brought her the supplies she needs. I’m not saying there is any more danger from Tanner’s killer, but if there is we should see if we can get to the bottom of it.” Or at least divert her attention from the break-in and dial down the stress a few notches.
Tess hesitated, then sighed and nodded. “Don’t you dare tell Gerard I’m doing this.”
“Doing what? Struggling because you see people suffering?”
“Don’t tell him I’m being paranoid. Again.”
At least she was admitting it. Sean pulled two keys from his pocket, gave Tess one and used the other to unlock the door to the administration offices. “Changed the locks myself at first light this morning.”
She took hers from him, took his hand, looked up at him. “Thank you, Sean. How can you be so many places at once?” Her voice was suddenly soft, tremulous. Some light had returned to her eyes.
“Believe me, I wish I could be.”
“You’re always there when I need you. You always have been.”
His skin felt the warmth of her skin, and he couldn’t resist losing himself, for just a moment, in that vulnerable, dark gaze. “Ever think that’s a touch from God?” he asked.
She smiled, then nodded. “I think that’s exactly what it is.”
It seemed an appropriate time to reassure her. He pressed a light kiss on the top of her head. “Don’t want to miss my calling.”
Her smile widened. She pulled out her key ring. As they went up the steps, she switched the new key for the old one on her ring, and Sean watched her steps for her. He was being overprotective, and he knew it. She’d pick up on it soon if she hadn’t already, but doggone it if she hadn’t settled over his heart like moist, rich chocolate frosting on a dried-up cake.
He unlocked his door and drew her inside. His office was the largest in Admin, with extra chairs. This was where they held their meetings, and this was where he or Gerard interviewed potential employees. Gerard also insisted on background checks on those volunteers who might be working with the homeless for a long period of time. He was protective of his people, and he’d grown especially so since Tanner’s death. Sean suspected that Gerard also worried that there might be another attempt to hurt Tess.
“Have you heard anything about the straw and manure we found last night?” Tess asked.
“Yep. At first glance they decided it was straw, manure and mud. Sorry. Hard to be any more specific yet, but it’s most likely from a nearby barn lot. They’re running more tests at my request.”
“Did Megan send out any blood and stool samples yet?”
“She did. Mamie had Joni take some of them to the lab to get started,” Sean told her. “They’ll check for Norwalk virus and rotavirus since there are sick children—and salmonella, Shigella, and E-coli, as well as the usual intestinal parasites. Those are all the scientific words I can remember.”
“What about the food?”
“Volunteers are scouring through the stores of food we have right now.” As he talked, he was aware of the warmth of her beside him, the smell of her hair, and his hands still felt the touch of hers.
“They won’t find anything off in our kitchen. No one will,” Tess said.
“All seems fresh so far. Dates are good, freezers have worked perfectly, and if anything, the cooks overcook the food. The stomach pains seem to have hit the Hispanics harder for some reason.”
“You think this might be a racial thing?”
“Megan doesn’t see a reason for racial profiling. There just happened to be more Hispanic people in the line yesterday and Monday because Angel and Sandra did a great job of bringing in their church members to help, and word spread in their community.”
“I called Gerard on my way here and left a message,” Tess said. “None of this makes sense, though. If it isn’t a virus, and we’re sure it isn’t our food, then what?”
Sean allowed the silence to return as he watched Tess nibble at her lower lip. She was really obsessing over this. “Tess, we can’t go around second-guessing every action we take simply because we might accidentally make it convenient for some psychopath to commit murder.”
She sighed, resting her chin in her cupped hands.
“Just don’t jump to any conclusions yet, okay?” Sean bumped shoulders with her. “Hey. Okay?”
She leaned back, as if to leave some space between them. “A psychopath did kill Tanner, but that psychopath also sent the threatening notes to me, not to him.”
“You showed them to the police, to us, to Tanner. You’re off the hook completely.”
Tess held Sean’s gaze, looked down at her hands. “Remember last Christmas? When Mom and Dad took that cruise on the Mediterranean, and the rest of us came to Gerard’s for Christmas dinner?”
Sean hesitated. That was a sudden and uncomfortable change of subject. “Not willingly.”
“I’m sorry. I promise I don’t mean to bring up bad memories, I’m just trying to make a point.”
Sean took a deep breath and braced himself. He had brought a date—a sales rep from Houston—simply because he had known Tess would be there with Tanner, and he was a little too sensitive about that. His date turned out to be the biggest mistake of his life. If only he’d never met Kari Ann. He’d allowed things to go way too far. They’d used no protection. He didn’t find out she was pregnant until she’d already decided to abort.
Tess placed a hand on Sean’s arm. She was no longer ice-cold. “Kari Ann made her choices, too. You tried to stop her. I was here, remember? I saw how hard you tried.”
He took another slow, deep breath to control the fury-riddled frustration at the situation he’d helped create—and the grief over the abortion of his offspring. He’d have gladly raised his baby alone, if only Kari Ann had been willing to bring that helpless, beloved child to term.
All that rage and pain had brought him to his knees and to Christ, with Gerard’s support.
But today, Tess was the one in need of strength.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “What were you going to tell me about last Christmas?”
“Only that something changed in me during those days. I realized that I’d left my faith behind when I left my family and went out to make my own life.”