Semiautomatic Marriage by Leona Karr

Author:Leona Karr
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Suspense
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2003-10-06T05:00:00+00:00

“Do you know who they were, Nick?”

“Didn’t see…clobbered me…from behind.”

When the ambulance arrived, Nick was still swearing and clutching his stomach. Carolyn was concerned that some internal organs might have been damaged and gave a quick report to the paramedics.

One of them recognized her from the runs he made to the Friends Free Clinic to pick up a patient who needed to go to the emergency ward.

“Dr. Leigh, you making house calls in parking lots now?” he asked with a boyish grin.

“Anytime, anyplace,” she quipped.

He just laughed and quickly loaded Nick into the ambulance. They followed the ambulance at a slower pace to the University of Washington Hospital. By the time they got there, Nick was already on a stretcher and inside.

Carolyn’s professional status gave her immediate access to what was happening. The examining doctor’s findings were very much what Carolyn had determined, and he ordered immediate diagnostic tests to determine any internal injuries.

“I’m going to call Nellie Ryan,” Adam told Carolyn when she returned to the waiting room. “She’s listed in the telephone directory, and I think she should know what’s happened to Nick. There’s always a chance that she may be able to shed some light on this whole thing.”

When he closed his cell phone after talking to Nellie, he said, “She’s on her way.”

Twenty-five minutes later, Nellie burst into the emergency waiting room, flushed and breathless. Now that she wasn’t wearing a cap to cover her hair, they saw that she was a fiery redhead. “What kind of accident did Nick have? Is he all right?”

Adam knew from Carolyn’s sharp glance that she was startled he’d labeled Nick’s beating an accident. He’d purposefully given Nellie the wrong impression because he wanted to witness her reaction when she learned the truth. Maybe the woman’s surprise would be honest and maybe it wouldn’t. The fact that Nick had showed up at the Galloping Goose alone, instead of with her, might mean something.

Adam watched her carefully when he explained that Nick had actually suffered a vicious beating. Her gasp of “Oh, no,” could have meant anything. His gut feeling told him that Nellie Ryan wasn’t totally surprised.

“The doctors are determining the extent of his injuries now,” Carolyn offered as Nellie dropped into a chair and stared at the floor.

Adam sat down beside her. “Do you have any idea who might have done this, Nellie?”

She was silent for a long moment, and Adam didn’t know if she was carefully fashioning a lie or was hesitant to tell the truth. Finally she said, “It’s his gambling. He’s been losing—a lot. I guess someone is trying to collect.”

“He must be in pretty deep,” Carolyn murmured as if Nellie’s explanation made perfect sense to her.

Adam wasn’t so sure. Nick could have been roughed up because of default on a gambling debt. On the other hand, he could have been beaten as a warning not to talk about what he knew was going on at Horizon.

When the doctor came in to report on Nick’s injuries, the news was good.

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