Head to Head by Linda Ladd

Author:Linda Ladd [Ladd, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, Thrillers, Crime, Suspense
ISBN: 9780786027316
Google: YnyosaETrUkC
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Published: 2006-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

Somewhere in the never-never land of my mind, I could hear a phone ringing. It was playing the “Mexican Hat Dance.” Hey, that’s the tune I set my phone on. Groggily, I reached for my belt, where I clipped my phone. I couldn’t find it. I heard an unfamiliar voice.

“She’s still asleep. This is Nick Black. May I take a message?”

Nick Black, I thought; then I thought, Nick Black? I sat up and looked around. He was sitting behind his desk, holding my canary yellow cell phone in his hand. “She’s okay. She came out here to interview me last night and fell asleep on my couch. I’ll have her call you back.” He punched off and laid the phone on the desk. He was dressed in a starched white shirt and blue tie, clean-shaven and obviously dolled up for an important meeting. He smiled. “You’re a popular lady. That’s the third call I’ve answered for you.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Actually, I tried. Whatever your friend put in your drink was potent enough to knock you out like a light.”

“How did you know Dot fixed me a toddy?”

“I was waiting outside for her to leave so I could get you alone.” He walked to a sideboard with a silver coffee urn. He filled a cup and brought it to me. “You like it black, if I remember correctly.”

I took it and shoved my hair back off my face. I was at a disadvantage, but the strong black coffee helped. “What time is it?” I asked, noticing how the sun was glittering off the water outside the windows. “How long did I sleep?” Then, “Who called me, and who the hell said you could answer my phone?”

Black laughed and refilled his own cup. He leaned against the black granite counter and took a sip. He was always so calm, so collected, even when he’d been lying facedown on my dock, arms and legs spread. I wondered if all psychiatrists were like that. He shot out an arm and looked at his big, gold, expensive watch. “It’s almost noon. That means you’ve been asleep almost ten hours, and I answered your phone because I knew whoever was calling would be worried.”

“You should’ve given me the phone.”

“I shook you, and you didn’t stop snoring. I assumed you needed the sleep.”

“I don’t snore.”

“It was a joke.”

“You’re not funny.”

“Give me a chance. Sometimes I’m a real card.” Deadpan.

I frowned, but it hurt my bruises.

“See?” he said.

I remained sober. “Who called?”

“Sheriff Ramsay. I assured him that you were all right and I wasn’t a danger to you. Then Dottie called, and I assured her that you were all right and I wasn’t a danger to you. She said she made her potion extra strong so you would sleep through the night, and I asked for the recipe. Then some guy named Bud called, from a plane on his way home from grilling my ex-wife in New York, and I assured him that you were all right and I wasn’t a danger to you.

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