Sea of Heartbreak by William Nikkel

Author:William Nikkel [Nikkel, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Suspense Publishing
Published: 2018-07-24T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 45

Jack made his move to the new room. Nice, clean, small, with a view of the surrounding rooftops. A stark contrast to the suite. He unpacked, taking all of a minute and a half, and drove to the hospital feeling restless.

“You look perky,” he said to Robert.

“And you look tired,” Robert said. “As well you should. You had a rough day yesterday.”

“I assure you I’m much better than I ought to be.”

“Now you’re grinning like a Cheshire cat. I suppose you have good reason.”

“That’s a marvelous cliché. Though I’m not sure it entirely fits.”

“It has to be a woman,” Kazuko said.

Jack didn’t answer.

“I bet it’s a tall dark-haired tourist from Omaha,” Robert said. “He probably picked her up in the hotel bar.”

“What if I did?”

That’s as much as he planned on telling them.

“It’s a perfectly normal reaction,” Robert explained. “When people experience a traumatic loss outside the normal range of their daily experiences, the stress of dealing with the aftermath of such a tragedy can overwhelm normal coping abilities. Although everyone reacts differently, loneliness is a common emotional reaction.”

“Sex after funerals?” Jack said.

“Exactly.”

Jack stepped to the side of the bed. “I think you’re healing just fine.”

“Now that you’ve had a pretty young lady relieve some of your pent-up anger, I don’t suppose you’ve changed your mind?”

“Not hardly.”

Kazuko asked. “Are you staying in your hotel, or going back to the ohana at the house?”

“Staying,” he said.

“And if I offer to cook you dinner?”

“Bribery. I love it.”

“Well?”

“I’ll have to take a raincheck.”

She sighed. “Why’d I waste my time asking?”

Jack chuckled. “Because you know how much I enjoy superb Japanese cooking. And the ploy might have worked.”

“But it wouldn’t have kept you from doing what you plan to do.”

A nice-looking coffee-skinned nurse carrying an I.V. bag stepped into the room saving him from having to explain further. He winked. “I think the nurse brought Robert’s breakfast.”

Kazuko narrowed her dark eyes at him. “He’s already eaten. So have I. And you’re going on my naughty list this year.”

He laughed. A clear victory for her.

And he’d let her have it.

He stood back and watched the nurse change out one of the bags suspended from the stainless steel pole next to the head of the bed. She got the line running, checked the I.V. catheter in the back of Robert’s hand, and asked, “How’s the pain?”

Robert frowned at her and nodded. “It’s okay right now.”

She smiled. “Buzz if you need something.”

When she walked out of the room, Jack asked Robert, “Any word on when you’ll be going home?”

“The doctor says he wants to keep me at least one more day. So tomorrow or Monday. I’m guessing Monday.”

“Don’t be in a rush.”

“Easy for you to say. And speaking of being in a rush, let me ask you a question. You’re going after these guys. Do you even know what they look like?”

“Michael, I do. Of course he’s dead. And Terry, there’s no way I can forget his face. But I haven’t gotten a look at Hal that I know of.

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