Janet Evanovich - Full Tilt

Max and Duncan exchanged looks.

"Don't lie to me," Jamie said. "I want the truth."

"I think it was just a scare tactic," Duncan told her, "but dogs make noise, and this person isn't going to risk a barking dog."

"So the answer is yes," Jamie said.

Max shifted in his chair. "I don't think we can automatically assume the dog is dead, Jamie, but we need to be prepared for the worst."

"Like what?"

Duncan didn't look up from his coffee cup. "We could receive a body part."

Jamie heard a gasp and realized it had come from her own mouth. She felt sick. Tears stung her eyes. "Oh, God."

Max took her hand and squeezed it. "He's giving us the worst-case scenario, Jamie."

She met his gaze. "Promise me—"

"Deedee will never know," he said softly. Max looked at Duncan. "I'm counting on you to see that nothing comes into this house until it's checked carefully."

* * * * *

It was after three a.m. when Beenie pushed through the swinging door that led inside the kitchen where Choker sat at the kitchen table reading a wrestling magazine. His gun lay on the table. Beenie shivered. "You must be on the night shift."

Choker didn't respond.

"I couldn't sleep," Beenie said.

"Then be quiet so the others can," the man replied without looking up.

"I need air."

Beenie opened the back door and stepped outside. A security guard stood nearby. "What the hell are you doing out here again?" the man said. "We've got enough problems on our hands without you wandering all over the grounds this hour of the morning looking for some stupid mutt."

"I'm going to do one last search." Beenie left the back steps and walked along the hedges. "Choo-Choo," he whispered. "Come to Papa. I know you're hiding because you're scared of all these strange men, but it's okay to come out. Your mama misses you terribly." Beenie peeked into the hedges. "Come on, sweet boy. Uncle Beenie will take care of you."

Beenie continued searching. He rounded the house and came to an abrupt halt when a man stepped from the shadows. "What are you doing out here?" the man whispered in a menacing tone.

"I'm looking for Choo-Choo." Those were the last words out of Beenie's mouth before the butt of a pistol slammed against his skull. He fell to the ground with a thud.

* * * * *

Max walked into the kitchen a few minutes later. "Ready for me to relieve you?"

"I'm okay," Choker said. He shifted in his chair. "Beenie has been out looking for the dog again. He's been down several times already. Driving me crazy. He came through about ten minutes ago."

"I'd better go out there," Max said. He started for the door. It was flung open before he could reach for the handle.

"Hold it right there!" Choker said, aiming his weapon. He lowered it at the sight of one of the security men.

"We've got trouble," the guard said. "That Beenie fellow—"

Max pushed past him and raced outside. He followed the sound of voices and hurried around to the side of the house where he found Duncan and several others kneeling beside Beenie.

"He looks bad," Duncan said.

Max pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed nine-one-one.

Jamie sat on one side of Deedee, Frankie on the other, as they waited in the visitor's lounge of the ER for word on Beenie. Deedee had cried on and off since the ambulance had awakened her to more bad news.

"I'm so scared, Frankie," she said. "I can't lose Beenie. He's like a sister to me."

Max almost smiled in spite of the seriousness of the situation. "He's got a lot going for him, honey. He's young and healthy. That helps."

"We'll find the person responsible for this," Lamar said, having arrived at the hospital only minutes after Beenie had been taken into the emergency room.

Deedee turned to him. "You haven't done anything useful so far," she snapped. "My husband is the one who has hired all the security. What the hell are you people doing? Do I have to arm myself in order to be safe in my own house?"

"We're following leads, Mrs. Fontana. I have extra men working the case."

The metal doors leading inside the emergency room suddenly opened, and a young doctor came through. Everyone stood, waiting for the worst.

"I'm Dr. Cox," he said.

"Is Beenie dead?" Deedee blurted.

The doctor looked surprised. "No, ma'am. He's going to be fine. He has a moderate concussion, but we found no signs of swelling around the brain. His injuries are superficial; he looks worse off than he really is."

"Oh, thank God," Deedee said.

"I'll have to warn you, though, he's got one heck of a headache, but I don't want to give him any pain pills because he needs to stay awake for the next twelve hours."

"Oh, Jeez," Frankie said. "Can you give us anything to take?"

Cox smiled. "I'm going to release him, along with a treatment plan, but you have to understand he's confused and disoriented right now." The doctor smiled. "Don't worry. He's on the mend. He's flirting with all my nurses. In fact, I think he has a date with one of them tomorrow night."

"With a nurse?" Deedee asked. "A female nurse?"

Dr. Cox chuckled. "We do have some pretty nurses here." If he noticed the group was staring at him in disbelief, he didn't say anything. "He should be ready to go in an hour."

* * * * *

"What I need right now is a rare steak and eggs," Beenie announced once he was settled inside the limo, flanked by Deedee and Frankie. Jamie and Max sat across from them.

Deedee blinked. "You don't eat red meat, Beenie. And why are you talking in that John Wayne voice?"

He looked at her curiously. "Why do you keep calling me Beenie? Sounds kinda fruity if you ask me."

Max studied him closely. "Have you forgotten your name?"

He paused. "Please tell me it's not Beenie."

"It's just a nickname," Deedee said. "Do you know who we are?"

He looked at her. "No, but I like the car, and the fact I'm sharing it with two drop-dead gorgeous women." He looked from Max to Frankie. "No offense intended."

"He has amnesia," Max said.

Beenie looked startled. "I do?"

"Maybe we should take him back to the hospital," Deedee said.

"No way am I going back there."

"I don't think he's in any physical danger," Max said. "His MRI looked good. Like the doctor said, he has no internal bleeding or swelling. The amnesia's probably temporary. There's not much they can do to treat it." He grinned. "I vote we just take our patient home. I suspect he'll be back to his old self again soon enough."

"You guys are confusing me," Beenie said. "Why are you grinning like that? Someone obviously tried to kill me from what I understand Shouldn't we start a manhunt? I demand to know who did this, and as soon as I find out there's going to be some serious ass-kicking."

* * * * *

"I need to go by the office," Jamie told Max an hour later. Beenie had wolfed down a hearty breakfast while talking about wrestling to Big John and Snakeman, who listened without comment. They simply sat at the table, heads cocked to one side, mouth agape, as though waiting for the real Beenie to stand up.

"I'll drive you," Max said.

"Will you be okay?" Jamie asked Beenie.

"Damn right." He pulled a baseball bat from beneath the table. "I'm going to hang around and make sure there's no trouble."

"I can't take any more," Deedee said. "I've lost my dog and my friend."

Beenie was still entertaining the wrestlers. "Either of you guys got wrestling groupies?"

* * * * *

Jamie arrived at work and found two security guards at the front door and Vera discussing paint samples with one of the painters. "What do you think of this color?" she asked Jamie. "It's called Sand. It would make the room look larger, and fingerprints won't show as badly."