Brandon stood up as well. Nate couldn’t help noticing the way the little man cringed at the tone of Brandon’s voice. “Actually, there is.”
“What’s that?”
“Tomorrow, I want you to have everyone who was in the office that day assemble at the Reed County Sheriff’s Station by twelve o’clock.”
Tatum started to stammer. “But. . .but tomorrow’s Sunday. You can’t expect my people to come in on Sunday.”
Nate could tell by the color rising in Brandon’s face that he was getting angry. “Look, Mr. Tatum. Your office screwed up, so I expect you and your employees to do whatever it takes to rectify this situation. Are we clear?”
Ralph Tatum looked like he was ready to faint. “Yes, we’re clear.” He was clutching his briefcase to his chest like a shield. “If you’ll excuse me, I should really be going.”
Nate got up and said, “I’ll walk you out.” When Brandon started to follow, Nate put his hand against his chest. “You stay here and cool down.”
When Nathan got done with Tatum, he came back to find Brandon still fuming. He sat down beside him and took his hand. “Want to tell me why you nearly took Tatum’s head off?”
Brandon ran his free hand through his hair in a gesture of frustration. “Because the little runt didn’t want to co-operate, that’s why. Hell, Nate, his office let some guy come in and cash in all your policies, and he acts like it’s no big deal. Well it is, damn it.”
“I know, but getting mad about it isn’t going to change anything. Why do you want them all at the office tomorrow, anyway?”
“I’m going to show them Wilson’s picture and see if he was the one who posed as you. It’s all we’ve got to go on right now, anyway.”
Nate leaned back against the cushions and closed his eyes. “What about the different signatures on the cancellation agreement and the check?”
“I’ll have a handwriting expert look at it, but the signature on the check has been blurred so badly, it’s gonna be hard to tell.”
Nate sighed. “He really messed up by not killing me in the bombing, didn’t he?”
“What do you mean?”
Nate turned his head so that he was staring Brandon in the face. “Wilson and whoever was paying him cashed in my policies a week before the bombing. If I had died in the explosion, no one would ever have known I didn’t cancel the insurance myself. I guess they figured they could use the money to have a big ole’ ‘Nate’s dead’ celebration.”
Brandon reached over and smoothed back Nate’s hair. “It’s almost over, Nate. At least one of the key players is dead, and Howard is pretty sure we’ve got the other one in custody.”
“My father.”
“Yep. He’s sitting in a Georgia jail without bond waiting to be extradited to Illinois.”
Nate closed his eyes again. “And what if he isn’t guilty, Bran? What then?”
Brandon pulled him into his arms and said, “Then we’ll find the guy who’s responsible, babe. You trust me, don’t you?”
Nate nodded. “Right now, angel, you’re the only one I do.”
* * *
Nate sat in Brandon’s office while he questioned the employees of the Chicago Security Insurance Company in the interrogation room. After about an hour, Brandon came back in, grinning from ear to ear.
“Both the guy who handled the cancellation and the secretary who wrote the check positively identified Wilson from his picture. You should have seen the look on Tatum’s face. He’s ready to settle the claim whenever you are, by the way. I think he’s afraid you’re going to sue his ass.”
Nate shook his head. “It was never about the money, Bran. You know that.”
Brandon nodded. “I know.” He turned his head to the side and studied Nate for a minute. “You look awful cute sitting behind my desk, curled up in my chair like that. Ever thought of going into law enforcement? I’d love to show you how to use a pair of handcuffs.”
Nate laughed. “You and your bondage fantasies.” He got up and motioned for Brandon to have a seat. When he did, Nate sat down on his lap, one of their favorite positions for talking. “I would like to talk to you about my employment situation, though.”
Brandon wrapped both arms around him. “Go ahead.”
“I don’t think I want to open up another practice.” He gave Brandon a good looking over and said, “How would you feel about me trying to get a staff job at Chicago General?” Brandon started to speak, but Nate cut him off. “Before you answer, you should know that my hours will be erratic, and I’ll be on call a lot more. It won’t be as bad as it was when I was a resident, but I won’t have anything near regular hours.”
Brandon said, “You know I want whatever will make you happy. I assume you’ll be working with premature babies again?”
“Yeah. Keith just happened to mention that Chicago General has an opening for a pediatrician in the NICU.”
Brandon grinned. “I’ll just bet he did.” Brandon reached up and cupped Nate’s chin with one hand. “Irregular hours don’t bother me. God knows you’ve put up with enough of them out of me lately. Whatever you want to do, I’m behind you one-hundred percent.”
“I think I’m ready to go back into hospital medicine again. When I came up here from Atlanta, I wanted a break, and the idea of working with Amy was a dream come true. Private practice won’t be the same without her.”
“What about the patients you have now?”
Nate said, “One of the doctors who’s been handling my calls since. . .well, you know. Anyway, Dr. Brandt is his name. He has a wife and two small children and wants to move them out of Chicago. He mentioned last week that he’d like to start a practice in Reed. I think he’ll do well here.”
Brandon nodded. “If this is what you want, then I’m all for it.” He lifted Nate up and sat him on the edge of the desk.
“Bran, what are you doing?”
Brandon grinned. “We’ve just made some major decisions about the future here. I think that’s cause for
celebration.”
Nate looked at him through narrowed eyes. “What did you have in mind?”
Brandon made a grab for his zipper. “Ever gotten a blow job in the sheriff’s office before?”
Nate tried to swat his hand away. “No, and I’m not going to now. What if someone comes in? The door isn’t even locked.” And damned if he wasn’t getting hard.
Leaving Nate right where he was, Brandon said, “I can fix that.” He was halfway to the door when it opened to reveal Agent Howard standing on the other side.
Howard took one look at Nate perched on the desk with a hard-on and started to grin. “I feel like I’ve just walked onto the set of a porn movie calledDoc does the Sheriff. Hang on and let me grab some popcorn and a Coke.”
Nate knew his face was flaming red, but at least it couldn’t get any worse. That’s when Brandon said, “Damn, what’s a guy got to do to get a little dick around here?”
Howard laughed like a lunatic when Nate got down and popped Brandon on the arm. Howard took one of the chairs on the other side of the desk. Nate started to do the same, but Brandon grabbed him and pulled him back onto his lap. At first Nate was uncomfortable, but Howard didn’t seem to be bothered by it, and he soon felt himself relax.
Howard wasted no time getting to the point. “Autopsy’s back.” He slanted his head to the side and his eyes locked on Brandon’s. “Damned if you weren’t right, Nash. Massive heart attack. The medical examiner said it looked like the damn thing exploded.”