AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Please let me know what you find out, okay? And say hi to Thea for me. Has she said anything about how Dad is doing?”
Rafe regarded her with troubled eyes. “I think his heart problems are worse, but if we say one word, he stalks out of the room. Thea says he got off his horse yesterday, bent over andjust gasped for breath. He practically bit her head off when she wanted to bring him to your clinic again.”
Pride and determination might have made their dad a success, but they were also probably going to kill him.
“If he gets worse, tell Thea to ignore his protests and call for an ambulance.”
“She will.” Rafe reached forward and gave Jolie an awkward one-armed hug, then stepped away. “Don’t worry too much. I’ll ask questions around town, and tell folks that I’ll be cruising around by your clinic and the alley several times a night. Gossip about the surveillance might discourage any locals from making another move.”
“Thanks, Rafe.”
“People notice any strange cars or new faces that linger. If anyone sees anything else unusual around here, I’ll hear about it.”
It was true—word traveled fast, and secrets were impossible to keep in Garrett Bluff.
As she watched Rafe walk out to his patrol car, Jolie wondered which would be worse: a stranger—anonymous and unpredictable—looking for drugs or someone she knew who wanted to scare her.
Jolie closed her eyes, but the image of that doll withDEADwritten across its chest stayed with her.
AS EXPECTED, THElatent prints Rafe lifted from the doll matched nothing in the local files.
Jolie had met with him, considering and dismissing every possible suspect she could think of.
None of them seemed like logical choices. Dan Aiken’s family needed Jolie’s services. Mandy’s dad surely wouldn’t threaten the only Maxwell to take his daughter’s side.
Bobby’s friends were wild, but would they go so far as to leave a macabre, bloodied doll?
After the incident, Matt had answered his cell phone and arrived within the hour to replace the shattered windows, then started calling Jolie several times a day to check on her. Rafe cruised past the clinic at random times day and night.
By Friday morning, it all was getting a little old.
“It’s your friend, honey.” Irene’s mouth curved into a big smile. “Worrying about you again.”
“I’ll take it in my office.” Jolie spoke through clenched teeth. “Look,” she said when she picked up the phone. “There are three of us here all the time. We’re fine.Believeme. And I promise to look into security systems as soon as I can afford a good one.”
“Good.” Matt’s voice was laced with amusement. Through the receiver she heard the steady pounding of nails and the whining of a saw. “But I called this time because I need to talk to you before Annie’s appointment this afternoon. I’ve been looking at the numbers on her glucose meter when she tests in the evening, and they’ve been in the three hundreds again.”
Jolie sank into her chair and rubbed her eyes. She had planned to phase Annie into less frequent visits, but that wouldn’t happen now. “So things aren’t going so well.”
“She becomes defensive whenever I try to talk to her. She says, ‘Everything is fine. Just leave me alone!’ and walks away. Suddenly, the numbers in her record book for yesterday are all in the normal range. I figured maybe she started writing down what Ihopeto see, but when I asked her, she was furious.”
Jolie could well imagine the self-righteous anger of a young teenager at being questioned. Especially if her dad was right.
“I’ll show you how to check the data history on her glucose meter, so at least you’ll know for sure. Is she eating properly?”
“We’re doing okay at breakfast and supper. I check what she packs for lunch—she won’t take the hot lunch at school anymorebecause she doesn’t want the kids to notice that she’s given fruit instead of desserts.” Matt gave a deep sigh. “What she does otherwise, I just don’t know. She says she’s careful, but why would her blood sugar be so high?”
“We might need to make further adjustments to her insulin. She could be eating the wrong things, or she could be one who is simply hard to regulate. I think we need to talk to her about a continuous glucose monitor that will send constant glucose updates to her phone, twenty-four/seven...and to yours, as well. She’d have continuous feedback on what she consumes. And we may need to consider an insulin pump as well. “
“This is...overwhelming. Millions of people may be diabetic, but that doesn’t make it any easier for Annie. And if she doesn’t take care of herself...”
Managing Annie’s diabetes was proving to be a battleground between father and daughter. Jolie wished she was standing next to him right now and could lay a comforting hand over his. “We’ll get this under control.”
She heard only the sounds of building construction in the background for a minute. “I was just wondering,” he said after a long pause. “That is—the kids and I were wondering if you’d like to stop by for supper tonight. Maybe six-thirty?”
Jolie glanced at the photocopy of today’s schedule that Irene—bless her—placed on Jolie’s desk every morning. Six appointments today. A record, though getting away in time for supper would be no problem. “And Mandy, too?”
“Of course. Annie would enjoy seeing her again.” His voice lowered. “I...we’ve missed you this past week.”
