Hatfield and McCoy

by Heather Graham

  Then the waitress chatted, pointing out the different specialties, making suggestions. Julie kept smiling politely, wishing with all her heart that the waitress would go away.

  “What do you think? Cajun chicken salad and gumbo sounds intriguing.”

  “It sounds just great,” Julie said. Anything sounded great, just so long as the waitress would disappear.

  “I don’t know. I’m still wavering between that and the Hawaiian Caesar,” Brenda murmured. “Or then there’s the taco salad—that looks great, too.”

  “Oh, the taco is super!” the waitress said.

  “Let’s make it tacos, then,” Julie said enthusiastically.

  To her relief, Julie saw that she had won Brenda over. They both ordered iced tea, too, and then the young woman left them. Julie leaned forward, waiting expectantly.

  “Okay, Brenda, please! Explain to me your brother’s big problem with psychics!”

  “Well, you see, he was married,” Brenda began.

  “Married!” Julie murmured.

  “She was beautiful, really sweet. Serena was a Californian. He met her at George Washington University. They were really perfect for one another.”

  Julie shook her head. “Brenda, what would your brother’s marital status have to do with psychics? Oh! Did they have problems because of an astrology reading or something?”

  “Oh, no!” Brenda exclaimed. Then she fell silent, smiling. Their iced tea had arrived.

  The waitress left them once again.

  “Oh, Julie, if only it were something that simple!”

  “Then …”

  “You really do care a lot about him, don’t you?” Brenda asked her.

  “I—yes,” Julie admitted flatly.

  “Umm. And you’re sleeping with him, huh?”

  “Brenda, I—”

  “Never mind, don’t answer that. It’s none of my business, and it was an awful question.” But she smiled. “Especially when I know the answer.”

  “Brenda!” Julie moaned. “Will you please tell me what happened with the psychic?”

  “I am sorry. Well, it had to do with his work,” she began, then she broke off abruptly, frowning. “I don’t believe it!” she said, looking over Julie’s shoulder through the glass window and out to the parking lot.

  “What?” Julie demanded. She swung around. To her amazement, she saw McCoy’s big Lincoln parked next to his sister’s BMW.

  And McCoy was coming through the door.

  He stopped as the hostess addressed him, but Julie saw him pointing toward her and Brenda. She couldn’t begin to read his thoughts because it was another black-leather-jacket-and-dark-sunglasses day. He seemed casual enough, clad in jeans, his hands in his pockets. But Julie sensed a tension about him that hadn’t been there before.

  Certainly not last night. When she had been so unreasonably frightened, he had been like a rock. He hadn’t ridiculed her, but she had been certain that he hadn’t put any credence in her belief that they were being watched.

  What was he doing here? she wondered. Was he looking for her, or for Brenda?

  And why had he shown up just when she had discovered that he’d had a wife, and that something had happened to her?

  Something that had had to do with a psychic.

  “Robert!” Brenda said, her voice echoing the amazement Julie was feeling that he could have stumbled upon them.

  Had he sensed that she planned to talk to his sister, trying to delve into his life?

  Perhaps. His tension seemed like anger when he reached the table and sat beside Julie. He scarcely gave her a chance to move over. With him next to her, she felt his tension more keenly.

  “Things slow down at the station?” Brenda asked, trying for a smile. Maybe she was feeling a bit guilty, too. As if he might have known that she was waiting to spill the beans about him.

  “No, things were not slow at the station,” he replied, scowling. “I was looking for Julie.”

  “Why?” Julie asked, surprised.

  “Because I’ve got something for you.”

  “Really?” Julie said. He had something for her. He had that look that he had worn when they had first collided. It was not a look she expected to see on the face of a man who wanted to give her a present. “What is it?”

  “It’s in the car,” he began.

  “How did you find us?” Brenda demanded.

  Intuition, Julie thought suddenly. Simple intuition. He denies it, but he has a certain power all his own.

  “Easy. She wasn’t home—I couldn’t find you at home or at your office. And I know that women love to gossip.”

  Brenda wrinkled her nose at him. “Julie is going to think you’re incredibly rude.”

  “Julie knows he’s incredibly rude,” Julie said.

  She felt the sharpness of his silver gaze, right through the darkness of his glasses. “You should keep that in mind, Miss Hatfield,” he murmured.

  She didn’t have a chance to wonder what he meant, for the waitress was back with their salads. McCoy looked at the giant shells piled high with lettuce and ground beef, olives, salsa and sour cream.

  “What is it?”

  “Something green,” Brenda said. “I don’t think you’d care for it. They do have hamburgers.”

  McCoy shook his head and waved over the waitress. “I’m not hungry—but I’ll have a cup of coffee,” he told the young woman.

  “How did you find us?” Brenda persisted.

  McCoy sighed. “I figured you might be together.”

  “Almost as if you had second sight,” Julie murmured innocently.

  He made a not very delicate snorting sound. “Once I knew you were together, it was easy. I just needed to think of a place where the food was all green. And I knew this place was here, near Brenda’s, and new. It has nothing to do with second sight. It has everything to do with logical thinking,” he said. His tone was almost fierce.

  Julie stared at him, startled by his tone, wondering what had happened to cause the change in him since he had left her that morning.

  “Well, you’re a great lunch companion,” Brenda said, attacking her salad. “If I’d had any idea you were going to be so charming, I would have called and invited you.”

  He drummed his fingers on the table, eyeing his sister. “Why? Am I disturbing you?”

  Yes! Julie wanted to shout. She had just been on the verge of finding something out. And now …

  “Why did you have to hunt us down?” Brenda demanded.

  “I told you—I have something for Julie.”

  “Well, couldn’t it wait?” Brenda demanded, exasperated.

  He shook his head. “No, Brenda, it couldn’t wait. It’s not even going to make it through that salad if you don’t hurry up!”

  The waitress brought McCoy his coffee.

  “I’m chewing, I’m chewing,” Brenda said.

  McCoy looked into Julie’s bowl. “That’s red meat in there,” he warned her.

  “I do eat red meat, McCoy,” she reminded him.

  It didn’t matter. Since he had arrived, Julie had lost her appetite. Her nerves felt all twisted into knots. He was angry, he was tense. She didn’t think that his anger should have been directed toward her, but somehow she was receiving the brunt of it.

  And he had something for her …

  Brenda’s mind was moving in the same direction. “Isn’t it wonderful to receive gifts from nice, handsome, charming men?” she commented sweetly.

  “Eat, Brenda,” McCoy said.

  “I know!” Brenda exclaimed. “It’s a diamond!”

  They both glared at her. Brenda chuckled softly. “Well, is it intimate? Should I slink out and leave in my own car?”

  “Brenda, you should finish your lunch,” McCoy said flatly.

  Julie could see the steam issuing from his coffee, but he managed to gulp it down anyway. He noticed that Julie was finished with her lunch, and he turned his attention to Brenda.

  “Aren’t you done
yet?”

  “Well, yes, I suppose, if you want me to be!” Brenda exclaimed.

  “You know, McCoy, this better be good,” Julie warned him, her eyes narrowing at his impatience with his sister.

  “It just can’t wait in the car any longer,” McCoy said. “Come on.”

  “Gee, let’s remember not to invite him to lunch anymore, shall we?” Julie said to Brenda.

  “Never,” Brenda agreed solemnly.

  “Would you just—”

  “We have to pay the check!” Julie said. “They frown on people who eat and leave without paying. They might even call in the police!”

  Brenda said she’d leave a tip, and Julie pushed past McCoy, catching their waitress by the cash register. When she turned, McCoy was waiting at the door. He was holding it open for her.

  Julie watched him as she walked out the door, wondering how someone could seem so furious with her and be so determined to give her a gift.

  “Will you please hurry?” he demanded.

  “I’m here now!” she exclaimed. “But what can make you so impatient I can’t begin to—”

  She broke off because she suddenly saw why he hadn’t wanted to stay in the restaurant.

  His gift, waiting in the Lincoln, was panting.

  Just as she came outside, the creature stuck its huge head out of the window.

  She’d never seen such a large head on a dog, nor had she ever seen a dog quite like this one. For a moment she wondered if it was beautiful—or the ugliest dog she had ever come across.

  It was certainly the biggest.

  “You’re giving her a monster?” Brenda demanded incredulously.

  “He’s not a monster,” McCoy said indignantly. “He’s half shepherd and half Rottweiler.”

  Julie stared blankly at McCoy. Of all the things she might have expected, it was certainly not a dog big enough to eat her out of house and home.

  She searched her mind frantically. Had she ever given him the slightest reason to think that she had wanted a dog? No … she was certain that she hadn’t. And if someone had asked her to please think about what kind of dog she’d like, she’d have probably said that her favorite might be a beagle or a Scottie, or something fairly small—and cute.

  This dog could never, never be described as cute.

  “You’ll get to like him,” McCoy assured her. He walked to his car and opened the back door. The creature hopped out. His head came nearly to McCoy’s hip.

  “He’s bigger than Julie is,” Brenda stated. Brenda seemed convinced that her brother had lost his mind. “Actually, Robert, it might have been a bit premature, but personally, I think that the diamond would have been a better idea.”

  McCoy ignored her. “His name is Rusty,” he told Julie.

  “Rusty. Nice name,” Julie murmured. She stared at Rusty. He cocked his head at her, as if he knew he was being judged. A massive, shepherdlike tail began to wag, and Rusty gave a little whine.

  He had great eyes, Julie decided at last. Big, brown, mournful eyes. He looked at her as if he knew that she was supposed to be his master, as if he knew it was necessary for her to like him.

  “Rusty, Julie,” McCoy said. The dog trotted forward a few steps to Julie. He pressed a cold nose against her hand.

  “Hi, Rusty,” Julie said.

  “Robert, this is a restaurant parking lot,” Brenda reminded him. “We’re going to scare away all the clientele with that monster.”

  “He’s not a monster.”

  “He’s ugly as hell!”

  “He was the best in his class,” McCoy retorted.

  Julie stared at him again, her eyes narrowing. “Maybe we should head back to Brenda’s,” she murmured.

  “Rusty’s not getting in my car!” Brenda said with a laugh.

  “No, he’s not, he’s getting in mine,” McCoy told her. “And don’t you ever beg me for a fine dog like Rusty, little sister, because after this, you’ll never get one from me!”

  “Thank God!” Brenda said, laughing. “Julie, you go ahead with that new creature of yours. Or both those creatures of yours. I’m going for my kids. I’ll meet you at my house.” Brenda waved and started for her car.

  “Come on, Rusty, let’s go,” McCoy told the dog.

  As obediently as if he understood every inflection of every word, Rusty turned and hopped into the backseat. Julie walked around to sit next to McCoy in the front passenger seat.

  As they headed out of the parking lot, she exploded with a, “But why?”

  He hesitated, as if he didn’t want to answer her. Then he smiled. “Didn’t you always want a big old dog?”

  “No, not really,” she admitted, but she had to smile. He was trying. She’d give him that.

  “How about a thank-you gift?” he said huskily.

  “Flowers would have done fine,” she said.

  He was silent for just a second. “Julie, the kidnapper called me today.”

  “What?” she gasped, turning to him. Despite his dark glasses, she could see the gravity in his features. She bit her lower lip.

  The kidnapper had called him. Was that the danger she had seen in the dream that had become reality now?

  “What—what did he say? How did you know it was him?”

  McCoy shrugged. She wondered if he was hedging. “He didn’t say too much of anything. I knew it was him because I’ll never forget his voice. Julie, he knows me. He knows what is going on around me. I’ll just feel better if you’re not alone.”

  She looked at her hands. They were shaking. She clenched them, determined that he wouldn’t see she had suddenly felt a terrible sweep of fear come rushing over her.

  “McCoy, I keep a gun. It’s a little ladies’ Colt. Petty taught me how to use it. I’m actually pretty good at a firing range.”

  He turned to her, a wry smile twisting his lips. “Is poor Rusty really that ugly? I thought he was a great-looking dog. I spent hours with the trainer before making my final choice. He was on special request for a cop in the D.C. area, but I convinced the guy I needed him more. He’s perfectly housebroken. And he’ll obey every command you give him.”

  “A dog is better than a gun?” Julie said.

  “A dog senses things when you’re asleep. Can a gun do that?”

  Julie laughed softly. “I guess not.” She was suddenly touched. McCoy had taken a lot of effort to get the dog for her. He had probably done some heavy-duty bargaining. And a dog like Rusty had probably been a very expensive investment, too.

  Maybe more than a diamond—a small diamond, anyway.

  She turned to look at Rusty. His face was a perfect cross between Rottweiller and shepherd, with shepherdesque markings. Those huge brown eyes looked at her soulfully. He wagged his massive tail, and barked once.

  “He’s … he’s great,” Julie said.

  She saw McCoy smile, and was convinced that he thought she was merely humoring him. It didn’t seem to matter.

  Just so long as she kept the dog.

  Julie sat back as he drove. “It’s very strange, you know.”

  “What’s so strange?”

  “Well, you don’t seem to have any problems thinking that a dog can have a sixth sense.”

  She watched as his fingers tightened around the wheel. “I never said that a dog had a sixth sense. A dog has an excellent sense of smell and very acute hearing. And this fellow should scare away almost anyone.”

  Julie couldn’t argue with that.

  They pulled into Brenda’s driveway well ahead of Brenda. McCoy said that she needed to get to know Rusty. And although Rusty might be one of the most obedient dogs in the world, McCoy seemed determined to teach her how to give instructions. So out in front of Brenda’s farmhouse they worked with Rusty. Julie told him to come, to heel, to lie down and to play dead. She told him to bark, and she told him to be quiet.

  “Is that it?” Julie asked McCoy.

  “Not quite,” McCoy said grimly.

  “Well?”

  “You c
an tell him to attack,” McCoy said very softly. “Just remember that if you do, he’ll take hold of the person by the throat and throw the full force of his weight upon him.”

  “Will he …”

  “No, he won’t rip the throat out, he’ll just stay there, forever if need be, until he’s told to get off. I watched him working with the dummy. If a fool tried to fight him, the fool could be pretty well ripped up.”

  Julie turned away uneasily.

  McCoy spun her around. “Julie, this man has tried to kill three times. We can only assume that he succeeded once, since only one young woman has never been found. He tried to kill a child, Julie.”

  She nodded. “Yes, I know.”

  Brenda’s car pulled up the drive. She had barely braked it to a halt before Taylor and Tammy leaped out and ran to McCoy. “Uncle Robert, Mom’s been telling us about the dog for Julie!” Taylor called out. Then he saw the dog. “Oh, wow, he’s great!”

  “He’s not as ugly as all sin, Mom,” Tammy cried, puzzled as she studied poor Rusty.

  “Well, maybe he’s only as ugly as half of all sin!” Brenda called out cheerfully. Then she became somber as she stepped out of the car. “Robert, Rusty won’t hurt the kids, will he?”

  “Definitely not,” McCoy said. And it was a good thing, of course, because the kids were already on the ground with Rusty, shrieking with laughter as they rolled over and over with the giant canine. Brenda, coming up to stand between McCoy and Julie, gave her grudging approval at last.

  “Well, he is quite a creature, isn’t he?” she said. “Julie, before you leave, I thought of a few things my brother didn’t. I have some bowls and a twenty-five-pound bag of dog chow in my trunk. That’ll last you until at least tomorrow.”

  Julie smiled. “Thanks.”

  “And since my brother decided not to let anyone enjoy lunch, I picked up some burgers to barbecue.”

  “Brenda, I have to go back to the station,” McCoy began.

  “Oh, you have another hour, I’m sure.”

  “They’re turkey burgers, Uncle Robert,” Tammy said.

  McCoy groaned. “I don’t think I have an hour—”

  “You weren’t supposed to tell him!” Brenda moaned.