“I thought I loved him,” she said quietly. “He seemed to be kind and considerate…but the first date we had, he kicked my cat. I should have known then. Kind people aren’t cruel to animals, ever. I found out later that he’d been abusive to at least two other women he dated, but they were too afraid of him to press charges.” She smiled wanly. “Well, so was I. But Kell insisted. He said that Frank might end up killing someone if I didn’t have him prosecuted. Then I’d have it on my conscience. I just didn’t realize that it might be me that Frank killed.” She put her face in her hands. “It won’t ever end. Even if he goes back to trial, he could get off, or they could release him for good behavior, or he could break out… I’ll never be free of him as long as I live.”
“Don’t talk like that,” he said softly. “I won’t let him hurt you.”
She took her hands away. She looked older. “What if he hurt you? What if he killed you? Anybody around me will be a target. I almost put Brenda in danger without even realizing it.”
“I’m not afraid of the little weasel,” he told her. “And you’re not going to be afraid of him, either. That’s how he controls women. With fear. Don’t give him a foothold in your mind.”
She bit her lip. “I’m just scared, Bentley.”
“Yes, but you did the right thing. And you’ll do it again, anytime you have to. You aren’t the type of person who runs from trouble, any more than I am.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
She searched his eyes. “I was scared to death of you, at first. Then I was in a wreck and you drove me home.” She smiled. “You aren’t as horrible as you seem.”
“Thanks. I think.” He smiled back.
“Okay. I’ll stick it out. If Frank escapes another jail sentence, maybe I can get Rourke to hide him in a jungle overseas, so deep that he’d never find his way out.”
“Ahem,” her purse replied, “I do not kidnap American citizens and carry them out of the country for nefarious purposes. Not even for pretty women.”
“Spoilsport,” she told him.
“However, I know people who would,” he added, with a smile in his voice.
“Good man,” Bentley said.
“Why don’t you marry him?” Rourke asked. “At least he’d make sure you were never in harm’s way.”
“If you’ll give me your boss’s telephone number,” Bentley told the purse, “I’ll call him and give you a glowing recommendation.”
“What a pal!”
“I always…”
Bentley stopped talking because three people were standing at their table with open mouths, watching him speak into Cappie’s purse. He cleared his throat. “There, the radio’s turned off now,” he said in a deep, deliberate tone. He handed her back the purse.
The three people looked sheepish, smiled and left the cafeteria in a bit of a rush.
Cappie burst out laughing. Bentley’s cheeks were the color of bubble gum.
“Quick thinking, there, Dr. Rydel,” Rourke called over the radio. “Want to come work for us?”
“Go away,” Cappie told him. “I am not going to consider marrying anybody in your line of work.”
“Spoilsport,” Rourke said. “Shutting up now.”
Cappie met Bentley’s eyes, and they both laughed.
* * *
Kell was groggy and quiet. The pain must have been pretty bad, Cappie thought, once the anesthetic wore off. He was much less talkative than he’d been when he was just out of the recovery room. He was pale and he looked as if it was an effort to say anything at all. They only stayed a couple of minutes. Kell was asleep before they got out the door.
“Do you think it would be safe to step outside just for a minute and get a breath of air?” Cappie asked. “There are people everywhere.”
“I don’t know,” Bentley said, his eyes roving.
