One wrong step…”
“You’re overreacting, Lyd. What we’ve done is totally defensible. We thought the kid’s mom was coming back, so we looked after him for a few days. Nobody’s going to bust chops for that.”
“Not if we call Family Services tomorrow. But I know what
a few days
means to you.”
“You’re—”
“I’m not your mother, you know—I had enough playing mother with Lucho and Linda. I don’t want to be mad or lecture you or make you feel bad—but you scare me sometimes. You’re a damn good doctor—and you know I don’t say that easy. You’re smart and you’ve got a good eye; you’re a hell of a clinician. And you’re very careful, at least when it comes to the patients. Never sloppy, never lazy—you care about them, doctor, I know that. You got good medical sense, but it’s the rest of your sense I worry about.”
“My sense is fine.”
Lydia shook her head. “I’m not a complete idiot, doctor. I don’t know what you get up to with your pirate friend, but I notice what happens to the bank account after—those cash deposits. I don’t know the details, and I don’t want to—but I know bad judgment when I see it.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Lyd. We—”
She held up a hand again. “I don’t know how many more years I’m gonna do this, doctor. Tell the truth, I’m surprised I’m still doing it, after all the time at the jail. But Dr. Carmody—
dios mío,
he could talk—am I right? He had
pasión.
He talked me right into the clinic.”
Lydia drank more coffee. “Junie’s mother died six months ago,” she said. Junie was a nurse from the jail hospital—her boyfriend, maybe, though she never said. “So he has her place in the desert now, way out there. He’s fixing it up for retirement. He wants me to go with him, maybe. A few years, and I might. Until then, I don’t need explanations from you. I just need peace and quiet.”
I nodded at her and smiled, but could make no promises.
CHAPTER 12
According to the street girls Sutter shmoozed, Troop wouldn’t show up at the Harney until two on Sunday afternoon, so we hid from the heat and ate tacos at a stand on Fifth Street. We could see into the kitchen from the counter, and a black-haired woman there was smiling at Sutter.
“I can talk to this guy myself,” I said around my taco. “You don’t have to be here.”
Sutter laughed and drank his lemon ice. “Talking, you’ll do fine. It’s what comes after I’m worried about.”
“The guy’s an MI waiting to happen. I think I can manage.”
“The trick is not to have to. Plus, Mr. Coronary has friends.”
I shrugged. “You got more work coming up for me?”
“You know I can’t predict. I get a call when I get a call, and then I call you.” Sutter drank more of his lemon ice. “The wolf at the door?”
“Constantly. I’m not close to what I need for the building.”
Sutter looked contemplative, as he did when opining on anything involving logistics, tactics, small arms, or real estate. “Downtown’s too hot a market now.”
“As I keep pointing out: it’s not downtown, it’s fucking Skid Row.”
“It’s just a matter of time before they rename it Downtown East or something. Check out the Valley, brother. I picked up a couple of short sales there—nice ranches—had them renoed and rented in no time.”
“Your real estate empire grows ever larger.”
“You should try it—putting down some roots. I’m closing on a little apartment complex in Chatsworth next week. I could set you up. It’s got a pool and a nice laundry room.”
“I don’t think so.”
“You moving in with Nora?”
“What?”
“Don’t look so surprised. You spend a lot of time there, and she doesn’t seem to mind.”
“Houseguest is one thing, playing house is another.”
“Who said anything about playing?”
“Nora’s not interested in more than what we’ve got, and I’ve had my fill of marriage. One was more than enough.”
Sutter
“You’re overreacting, Lyd. What we’ve done is totally defensible. We thought the kid’s mom was coming back, so we looked after him for a few days. Nobody’s going to bust chops for that.”
“Not if we call Family Services tomorrow. But I know what
a few days
means to you.”
“You’re—”
“I’m not your mother, you know—I had enough playing mother with Lucho and Linda. I don’t want to be mad or lecture you or make you feel bad—but you scare me sometimes. You’re a damn good doctor—and you know I don’t say that easy. You’re smart and you’ve got a good eye; you’re a hell of a clinician. And you’re very careful, at least when it comes to the patients. Never sloppy, never lazy—you care about them, doctor, I know that. You got good medical sense, but it’s the rest of your sense I worry about.”
“My sense is fine.”
Lydia shook her head. “I’m not a complete idiot, doctor. I don’t know what you get up to with your pirate friend, but I notice what happens to the bank account after—those cash deposits. I don’t know the details, and I don’t want to—but I know bad judgment when I see it.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Lyd. We—”
She held up a hand again. “I don’t know how many more years I’m gonna do this, doctor. Tell the truth, I’m surprised I’m still doing it, after all the time at the jail. But Dr. Carmody—
dios mío,
he could talk—am I right? He had
pasión.
He talked me right into the clinic.”
Lydia drank more coffee. “Junie’s mother died six months ago,” she said. Junie was a nurse from the jail hospital—her boyfriend, maybe, though she never said. “So he has her place in the desert now, way out there. He’s fixing it up for retirement. He wants me to go with him, maybe. A few years, and I might. Until then, I don’t need explanations from you. I just need peace and quiet.”
I nodded at her and smiled, but could make no promises.
CHAPTER 12
According to the street girls Sutter shmoozed, Troop wouldn’t show up at the Harney until two on Sunday afternoon, so we hid from the heat and ate tacos at a stand on Fifth Street. We could see into the kitchen from the counter, and a black-haired woman there was smiling at Sutter.
“I can talk to this guy myself,” I said around my taco. “You don’t have to be here.”
Sutter laughed and drank his lemon ice. “Talking, you’ll do fine. It’s what comes after I’m worried about.”
“The guy’s an MI waiting to happen. I think I can manage.”
“The trick is not to have to. Plus, Mr. Coronary has friends.”
I shrugged. “You got more work coming up for me?”
“You know I can’t predict. I get a call when I get a call, and then I call you.” Sutter drank more of his lemon ice. “The wolf at the door?”
“Constantly. I’m not close to what I need for the building.”
Sutter looked contemplative, as he did when opining on anything involving logistics, tactics, small arms, or real estate. “Downtown’s too hot a market now.”
“As I keep pointing out: it’s not downtown, it’s fucking Skid Row.”
“It’s just a matter of time before they rename it Downtown East or something. Check out the Valley, brother. I picked up a couple of short sales there—nice ranches—had them renoed and rented in no time.”
“Your real estate empire grows ever larger.”
“You should try it—putting down some roots. I’m closing on a little apartment complex in Chatsworth next week. I could set you up. It’s got a pool and a nice laundry room.”
“I don’t think so.”
“You moving in with Nora?”
“What?”
“Don’t look so surprised. You spend a lot of time there, and she doesn’t seem to mind.”
“Houseguest is one thing, playing house is another.”
“Who said anything about playing?”
“Nora’s not interested in more than what we’ve got, and I’ve had my fill of marriage. One was more than enough.”
Sutter
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