Free Donovan Creed 11 - Because We Can! by John Locke Page A

Kathleen wanted to see you, after all those years. She wanted you to meet Addie.”
    “How is that any of your business?”
    “I try to help where I can.”
    “There’s a helluva lot more going on than you realize. With regard to me and Kathleen.”
    “I only did it because I thought I was helping her.”
    “Had I not just spoken to Trudy I would’ve bet money you set up the dinner date so you could make a play for Kathleen. You know, show her what a shit I really am, help her gain closure on our relationship. You’d be perfectly positioned to pick up the pieces afterward, have a chance to slide right into her life.”
    He pauses. “That’s actually very astute. To be honest, that was my original plan, exactly. But days after setting up the dinner date with Kathleen I met Trudy. When we became a couple, I tried to cancel the dinner date, since there was nothing in it for me. But Kathleen put a big guilt trip on me about Addie. Said Addie had her heart set on meeting you, and it wasn’t right to take that opportunity away from her.”
    “That sounds like Kathleen.”
    “Later on, when I realized you and Callie were a couple, I called Kathleen to cancel. But she said if I didn’t go through with it she’d tell the hospital board what I did.”
    “What did you do?”
    “It’s a bit embarrassing.”
    “Spit it out.”
    He whispers, “After performing the surgical procedure that saved Addie’s life I asked Kathleen if she’d reward me with a blow job.”
    “ What ?”
    “I did the surgery for free. She was very grateful. She said she had no idea how she could ever repay me. So I suggested a blow job.”
    I pull the phone away from my ear and stare at it. Did he really just say that? And did he actually do that?
    I put the phone back to my ear and say, “Whatever the reason, you could’ve royally fucked up my life. I had my phone on the whole time. Callie was listening from outside the restaurant.”
    “Well, that was bad judgment on your part. You can’t blame me for that.”
    “I thought I was being ambushed. She was my backup.”
    “Oh, please. I wouldn’t know how to ambush anyone. Not to mention you paid me a hundred million dollars to perform Callie’s surgery. Why on earth would I want to cause you harm?”
    “You obviously know nothing about my world, or the people who frequent it.”
    “Thank God for that.”
    We’re quiet till I say, “How old is Trudy Lake?”
    “She’ll be 19 on Friday.”
    “She sounds delightful. Is she half as good-looking as she sounds?”
    “She’s the sixth most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”
    “Why you?”
    “Right place, right time. Lots of luck.”
    “She sounds like a catch.”
    “Trust me. She is.”
    “It’d be a shame if anything ever happened to her.”
    “A shame ? It’d be a life tragedy! Wait. Are you saying—”
    “Stay out of my personal life, Doc. I won’t tell you again.”
    I hang up.
    Joe and I catch a cab across the highway and knock on Jill’s hotel door. When Frank Sturgiss lets us in I give him a cold look to let him know what I think about his lack of loyalty. Then I introduce Joe and myself to Jill and the sketch artist and ask to see what he’s drawn.
    “Nothing,” he says. “She refuses to talk.”
    I look at Jill.
    She says, “I’ll do the sketch when you kill Bobby.”
    I tell her Joe and I plan to blow Bobby to hell shortly after midnight.
    But that’s not good enough for her.
    “He’s just a kid,” she says, looking at Joe. “Do you have any idea how powerful Bobby DiPiese is?”
    “Bobby’s a pussy,” I say.
    She looks at Frank, who says, “If Mr. Creed says the kid can kill Bobby, you can go ahead and order the headstone.”
    I add, “Don’t forget I found Jack Tallow.”
    “Finding him isn’t the same as rescuing him.”
    “It won’t be easy getting him out of jail. He killed a guy.”
    “Can they prove it?”
    “I think so. He hung the dead body on the back of a tow truck and drove it