“Because other people have died,” he said gently.
She stared at him, shocked at first, then nodded. “Of course. It’s not like this asshole has changed his colors.”
“Exactly. While we’re there, do you want to speak with anybody on the board?”
“Nope, I sure don’t,” she said. “They had their chance five years ago.” He studied her for a long moment, and she glared at him. “Why would I go back and face all that nonsense, when I can just go to the bank, pick up what I want, and leave. I don’t even have an apartment there.”
“Well, I think a detective would like to talk to you.”
“A detective?” She stopped and stared. “Why would a detective want to talk to me now?”
“Because the other doctors have brought in law enforcement.”
She snorted. “And they’ll just want me to go through all that bullshit again,” she said. “It was a cover-up, and nobody gave a shit. If they’ve got new murders, they can deal with those.”
“And I get that,” he said. “Really I do. I also get that this isn’t what you want to do, but we’re trying to make sure this Leo guy can’t go kill anybody else.”
“Well, I would be happy if the entire board lost their jobs,” she said stiffly. “Not to mention a few of the other doctors, who seemed more than happy to throw me to the wolves.”
“Give me their names,” he said coolly, “and I’ll make sure it happens.”
She stared at him in shock. “You can’t do that,” she said.
He smiled. “Honey, if you want heads to roll, I can make sure they roll,” he said. “You want jobs to be lost? I’ll make sure they’re lost.”
“Can you do that?” She didn’t even know how she felt about somebody having that kind of power.
“I can,” he said calmly. “The fact that you are justified in how you feel and that they let a murderer run loose to kill more people is absolutely something they need to pay for.”
“They won’t do anything,” she said. “They’ll brush it all under the rug.”
“And maybe not,” he said. “For you, sweetie, I would do anything.” And, with that, he turned and walked back out, calling out to her behind him, “We’ve ordered food and coffee. It should be here in about ten minutes.”
With that, she slowly stood and got dressed. She took a moment to brush her wet hair and put it into a long braid. Her sun-bleached blond hair had been looking a little worse for wear, but, after the shower and a shampoo, it had returned to its former silky state. But she didn’t want to leave it flying around. So, with it plaited down her back, she rehung her towels and the robe, and stepped out, suddenly aware of the onslaught of men. As one, they all turned to look at her. She frowned. “So,” she said a little stiffly. “Do I pass inspection?”
Bullard snorted. “Don’t mind them,” he said, as he walked over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Facing them, he said, “They all know what’ll happen if they give you any trouble.”
The men all snorted and chuckled among themselves. “We don’t have anything but our thanks to give her,” Fallon said. He walked over, introduced himself, and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Leia. Thank you for saving Bullard.” Then one by one, every single one of the men followed in line and did something similar.
By the time they were done, tears were threatening to spill onto her cheeks. “You do know it was just luck that I found him, right?”
The men grinned, made teasing comments about their boss.
“Seriously, I was out one day and saw him floating, caught up in the weeds. He was just too damn big and ornery to leave there. He lifted his head and looked at me. Then he passed out, and I knew I had to help him.”
“And you stayed hidden all that time? Was it partly because of the damn doctor?” Fallon asked.
She took a long slow breath and shook her head. “No, I thought I had dealt with all that years ago by moving out of the country and living in my sanctuary. But I felt strongly that Bullard was in danger,” she said, “and I had no idea who or how to contact anyone, so I did hang on to the news of finding him for a long time, waiting for his memories to return. Keep in mind, he was in very, very bad shape, and it would have been very risky to move him at that point anyway.”
With a sideways glance at Bullard, she went on. “But once he started getting up and moving around outside, the islanders asked me more and more questions, and I knew the news would get out. By the time Bullard remembered enough to tell me who the good guys were, and we got a cell phone, his news was well and truly around the globe already.” She grinned up at him. “You sure look different now, compared to the way you did when I dragged you onto my skiff and in the weeks following.”
“I can’t even imagine how you managed to get me on there,” he said, “or into that little hut.”
“Well, the hut was my yoga platform originally although I had to expand and modify it for you,” she said. He stared at her in shock, as she shrugged. “The floor was already there. It was a little bit of a dock, so first I built a bed and filled it with lots of straw and fronds, then I managed to drag you up onto that, one foot at a time, and that’s where you stayed. I put the supports around the sides to keep you from falling out, and the netting around it afterward.” He stared at her in shock. She said, “What the hell was I supposed to do? I weigh 118 pounds, and what are you, two-fifty?”
“Two-fifty now,” he said, with a nod. “An easy three hundred before.”
She nodded. “So, no way in hell I could get you up to my hut. But that platform was already there, so I just turned it into your own little space. Then, of course, came the surgery.” Her voice dropped at that.
“That all just makes a lot of sense on so many levels,” Bullard said, studying her contemplatively. “You have my gratitude for keeping me alive, and now this team will do our best to keep you alive.”
“I didn’t think my life was in any danger,” she murmured. “But now I’m not so sure.”
“Well, we know quite differently now,” he said. “Your life is absolutely in danger. We just don’t know how much effort the doctor will put forth to take it.”
“And I just don’t understand why,” she said. “Even if there’s already an investigation, maybe it would make sense if I were a key witness or something, but obviously I’m not.”
The men looked at each other, and one of them cleared his throat and said, “You actually could be.”
“No,” she said, “I won’t be. They put me through hell back then, and I have no intention of going back into that zoo.”
“Maybe not, but you could be called as a witness regardless.”
She frowned at him. “In that case, I’m going back to my island.”
“What we won’t do,” Bullard said, “is panic. We’ll talk to the detectives and see what it is they need from you.”
She glared at him. “Or not.”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s nuts we’re even having this conversation.”