Tailspin(33)

“That’s a fitting analogy.”

He nodded. “Well, I don’t want you to be held up any longer. Why don’t I call this guy for you right now and give him the skinny?”

“The request might be better received coming from a law officer. It would seem more official.”

That must’ve stroked his ego. He smiled at her as he reached for his phone. “I’ll ask him to meet us at the dealership at eight o’clock. How’s that sound?”

“Perfect.”

He made the call. By the time he disconnected a few minutes later, a plan was in place. “He can leave right now. He’ll drive a car over here and pick you up, if you don’t mind dropping him back at the car lot on your way out of town.”

“Of course not. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Should take him fifteen, twenty minutes to get here. Then you’ll be on your way. You should let Dr. Lambert know. Relieve his mind.”

“Good idea.” She pulled out her phone and sent Nate a brief text.

After Wilson settled the bill, Brynn draped her coat over her arm and reached beneath the table for the box. “I need to use the ladies’ room, so I’m going to excuse myself. By the time I come out, the man should be here with the car. You don’t need to hang around any longer.”

He put up token resistance as he slid out of the booth, but she was insistent. At the door, they shook hands.

“Good luck with your patient, Dr. O’Neal. If I’m ever terminal, I hope my doctor is as dedicated as you.”

“That’s very kind of you to say.”

He put on his hat, brushed the brim of it with his index finger, and left.

Brynn followed a sign with a red arrow and the word “TOILET” stenciled on it. It led her down a long, barren hallway that ended with a right-angle turn. The restroom was on her left. She locked the door behind her.

After using the commode and washing her hands, she did what repair she could to her dishevelment by applying a lip gloss she’d stuck in a coat pocket before leaving Atlanta. The improvement was slight, but it was the best she could do. She picked up the box, lifted her coat off the hook on the back of the door, and flipped up the lock.

From the other side, the door was thrust open, and Rye Mallett barged in. He reached behind him, shut the door, and locked it.

Astonishment sent Brynn stumbling backward several steps. She dropped her coat but recovered immediately, and shock became outrage. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I want to talk to you.” He bore down on her until he had her backed up against the sink. “I want to talk to you about your father.”

“My father?”

“Dear ol’ dad. That Brynn! My, how you’ve grown scene had led me to believe you were well known because your old man was the sheriff or something. Turns out Wes O’Neal—”

“I know his name.”

“—is a thief! By trade.”

She took a series of short, shallow breaths. “Who told you?”

“Doesn’t matter. Point is, he’s a crook, in and out of county jail so many times, they considered putting a revolving door on his cell. You were a regular at the sheriff’s office. Staff there played dolls with you while waiting on CPS to send someone for you. You used to cry when they tore you away from people like Myra. You—”

“All right,” she snapped. “You’ve made your point.”

“Aw, no. I’m just getting started.”

Although she didn’t think he could possibly get any closer to her, he crowded in. To keep from touching, she had to arch over the sink. “Get back.” She pushed against his chest with her left hand. “I don’t know what you think—”

“What I think is that you’re following in Daddy’s footsteps, upholding the family tradition.” He thumped the lid of the metal box tucked under her right arm. “What’s in the box?”

“You saw what was in it!”

“What I saw, what Rawlins and Wilson saw, was a dog-and-pony show performed by you and your partner in crime, the self-esteemed Dr. Lambert.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Hell you don’t. I was watching you. When Lambert said, ‘accommodate them,’ you looked like you’d swallowed a bug. You were as surprised as the three of us when Rawlins raised the lid and all we saw were tubes of blood. If that’s what they are.”

“That’s exactly what they are, and I wasn’t at all surprised.”

“Right, more like disbelieving, holding yourself together while Lambert dazzled us with bullshit.”

“Everything he said was scientifically sound.”

“Deliberately scientific. Intentionally over our heads. Meant to distract.”

“You’re delusional. How do you know what I was feeling, thinking? Are you a mind reader?”

“Lip reader.”

“What?”

“Cockpits can be noisy. I learned to read a copilot’s lips. Nine, four, three, two.” He placed his hands on his hips, thrust his face to within inches of hers, and repeated the numbers in a taunting whisper. “Nine, four, three, two.”

She braced her hands on the ledge of the sink behind her in order to keep her balance. “The lock.”