Free The Daisy Ducks by Rick Boyer Page A

four-thirty. She loved the gifts.
That was a real smile on her face. But somehow, the feeling that
usually came out at me through her eyes didn't. It wasn't there.
    Dinner would cheer her up. I had been marinating lamb
shanks in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, wine, and crushed herbs and
mint leaves. These I browned in oil, then baked in a covered pan with
some of the marinade still in the pan, which was, in effect, braising
them. I served them on a bed of rice pilaf with a Greek salad and a
carafe of red. We sat in the kitchen nook, watching the news as we
ate.
    "What are you thinking?" I asked.
    "I don't know," she said absently. "I
guess I feel rather unfulfilled lately. Did I tell you I'm going to
visit my mother next month?"
    "No. First I've heard of it. Want me to come
along?"
    "Won't you be busy?"
    "Actually, the office is being redone. Remember?
I think I'll have about a week."
    "Oh, I don't know . . ."
    I suddenly felt she was a million miles away. I felt
all alone: the boys were back at school, not to return again until
semester break. We cleaned up and Mary went into her pottery workshop
while I returned to the study. I sat at my desk and looked at the
rows of books in their shelves . . . out the window at the bare apple
trees. Mary, I thought, I'm smothering in your distance. Drowning in
your coldness. If it's just a game, please don't play it anymore. It
hurts.
    Fred Kaunitz called me at seven o'c1ock, six Texas
time. I keep thinking that Texas is way out West. Not so; it's way
down South, at least the eastern half, and in the Central Time Zone.
His voice was deep and confident, with a relaxed drawl reminiscent of
Don Meredith.
    "So you know Roantis. Is he still in trouble?"
    "Uh-huh. With practically everyone."
    There was a dry chuckle at the other end.
    "Figures. He was a hell of a good team leader
though. I'll never forget Liatis, though I'd like to forget those
days entirely. Still have some bad dreams about 'em. He tell you what
we did over there?"
    "Yes. He's anxious to find Ramon Vilarde. I
guess you called him Ken."
    "Yeah. Well, I don't know where he is, Dr.
Adams. You know, those guys in the Ducks were a strange breed. They
could be anywhere, doing anything. We were like coati bears over
there. Roaming around getting into all kinds of trouble, living off
the land . . . destroying as we went."
    "Fred, do you have the faintest hunch where
Vilarde might be?"
    "No. I'd think Liatis would know better than
anyone since they were close. I think Ken was also close to Jesus
Jusuelo. Last I heard, he was going to be a lifer."
    "Right. But then he got divorced, and quit the
army, too. He was last living in DC. About two months ago he called
Roantis to say he was flying up to meet him. Then he disappeared."
    "Maybe he just changed his mind. Who knows?
Maybe an overseas job came up. Does Roantis think something bad
happened to him?"
    "Frankly, yes. Do you know anyone, in the Ducks
or otherwise, who had it in for Ken?"
    "Nope. But that sure doesn't mean there weren't
any. Not in that line of work."
    I finished the conversation by asking Fred Kaunitz
three questions. The first was whether or not he had any desire to
see his old team commander again. He answered sure, but he wouldn't
go far out of his way to see Roantis, saying he wished to put as much
of that part of his life behind him as possible. The second question
dealt with Siu Lok's loot. Did Fred get any of it? What did he do
with it? He took his share of the gold and silver and emeralds and
cashed it in at a Tokyo shop. He spent the money on books, artwork,
and three Japanese swords. The third question was whether he would be
willing to meet with me for a few hours in early March, when I'd be
in Texas for the annual convention of the College of Oral Surgery. He
said fine, and that ended it.
    I lighted a pipe and sat at my desk looking at the
list of Daisy Ducks. Jesus Jusuelo. What sort of fellow was he?
Roantis had said the best of the best as far as