Paying The Piper - 35. Chapter 35

Drew looked at Steve in shock. "Stuart? Are you kidding?"

Steve shook his head in exasperation. "You don’t know him," he insisted. "You never knew him when he was younger. He seems all together now, but he’s not. He’s not," he said more firmly in response to the disbelief in Drew’s eyes.

Drew shook his head. "I’m sorry, Steve. I just can’t believe that. Stuart is…" he floundered, "a doctor." Steve snorted and Drew winced at how inane he sounded. Being a doctor didn't preclude someone from being a psychopath.

He sighed and sat back. He pinned Steve with his most unfriendly assessing gaze, but Steve never flinched. He stared at Drew and didn’t look away. After a long moment, Drew pushed his chair back and stood. Steve sat up straighter in his chair. "Are you leaving? I have more to tell you."

"Steve—" Drew began.

"Please," Steve pleaded. "You’ll want to hear this."

"I’ll be back later." He signaled Cale with his eyes and started toward the door. Cale opened it and stepped through, but before Drew could follow, Steve called out to him. "Don’t be fooled by a sweet smile and nice table manners, Marcus. Did you ever think Jim could be a cold-blooded killer?"

Drew stopped dead in the doorway, but he didn’t turn around. Steve leaned forward, eyes intense. "Well? Did you?"

**********

Drew was deep in thought as they left the station. Cale, sensing his disquiet, remained silent. They passed Rob without comment and the deputy returned the favor. Just as they were about to leave, however, Drew spun back around. "Rob," he said.

Rob cautiously lifted his eyes to Drew. "Yes?"

"You went to school with Stuart Cobb, didn’t you?"

Rob blinked and his brow furrowed. "I did. He was a year younger than me."

"Younger?" Drew said in surprise. "He’s come a long way in a short time. He rules the roost over at the hosptial, doesn’t he?"

Rob shrugged. "He was always really smart." Cale made a wordless sound of agreement.

Drew chewed his lip as he thought. "Thanks." Cale pushed the door open and walked out. Drew started to follow, then ducked back in at the last second. "Hey, Rob," he said.

Rob sighed in exasperation. "What?"

"You ever play word games?"

Rob blinked. "What?" he repeated.

Drew smiled. "You know, word games. Like word association."

Rob shook his head. "What the fuck are you talking about, Marcus?"

"You’re sounding more like Quent every day."

"I am?" Rob asked, pride leaking into his voice.

Drew nodded, and Rob preened. "Just indulge me, okay?" Drew asked. When Rob nodded carefully, Drew slipped half-way back into the building and leaned against the open glass door. He gestured at Cale to wait. "When I say a word, you say the first thing that comes into your mind. The first thing," Drew said with emphasis.

Rob nodded. "Okay."

"Hand."

"Foot."

Drew smiled. "Good."

Rob warmed a little more. "Really?"

"Yeah, but there’s no right or wrong answer. I just want you to say the first thing that comes into your head."

Rob shrugged. "I can do that."

"White," Drew said.

"Braden," Rob shot back. Then he frowned. "That’s not right, is it. I should have said black."

Drew was looking at him with a strange expression. "No, you’re doing fine. Don’t worry about what you think I want to hear. Just blurt out the first thing you think of. Ready?"

Rob nodded.

"Sun."

"Moon."

"Candy."

"Sweet."

Drew hesitated briefly. "Elizabeth," he said.

"Love," Rob replied. Then he blushed.

Drew didn’t give him time to think.

"Quent."

"Prick."

Drew snorted. "Blood," he said.

"Death."

Drew processed that. Not an unusual response considering recent events.

"Stuart."

"Creepy," Rob said immediately.

Drew stopped. "Creepy?"

Rob looked puzzled. "Yeah, I guess." He squinted in thought. "That’s back from when we were in school, I think. He was a bit creepy. Always walking around with that huge grin on his face, acting like nothing in the world bothered him. Of course, he had the last laugh, didn’t he? Became a doctor. Basically took over the hospital. He’s hot stuff these days."

Drew frowned. "Did he like Cynthia back then?"

Rob nodded. "Oh yeah, he was always slinking around after her. Harmless, but annoying. That’s what Cynthia used to say."

Drew chewed his lip again. "Thanks," he said. He joined Cale outside.

"What was that all about?" Cale asked as the walked back to the car.

"Didn’t you hear any of it?" Drew asked.

Cale shook his head. "I didn’t want to intrude."

Drew smiled and stepped closer causing their arms to brush as they walked. "Any other time I would have said you were being stupid."

Cale raised an eyebrow and they reached Drew’s jeep. "But not this time?"

Drew swung into the driver’s seat and started the engine. "No. I want to try the same thing on you later."

Cale smiled slyly. "That’s fine. But there are a few things I want to try out on you first." He slipped his hand onto Drew’s thigh.

Drew groaned softly as his body responded to the tentative touch. He wasted little time in getting them home.

***********

Rob stared at the door a long time after Drew and Cale left. His conversation with Marcus had left him unsettled for some reason. He contemplated picking up the phone to call Elizabeth, but fought the compulsion. He promised he wouldn’t crowd her and he meant to keep that promise.

Instead, he picked up Steve’s file and turned to the first page. Quent has sprawled some nearly ineligible notes near the top. Rob was able to make out the words "psych", "eval" and "Cobb." Pretty straightforward.

Rob picked up the phone and dialed the Hospital. When the nurse answered. Rob asked to speak to Dr. Cobb but balked when she pushed him for the reason behind the call. They went back and forth for some time before she finally went to fetch Stuart.

"Quent?" Stuart asked when he came on the line.

"No, it’s Rob Skinner," Rob said.

"Oh. The nurse said it was police business. I just assumed…sorry, Rob. What can I do for you?"

Rob let the unspoken insult pass. He'd been Quent’s deputy for four years, but people assumed all he did was file and scrub the station’s three bathrooms. He cleared his throat and tried to regain the good feeling he’d had when Marcus had said he was like Quent. It wouldn’t come.

"I have Steve Mullen here in a holding cell. He tried to attack Quent this afternoon. He’s acting all crazy and the boss wanted to find out about a psychological evaluation for him."

Stuart’s voice turned concerned. "Oh, no. The stress of losing Cynthia finally did him in?"

Rob frowned. "I guess," he answered.

"Is he calm now?" Stuart asked.

"Pretty much," Rob answered. "He was going on and on earlier, when I brought him in, but there’s no one to talk to now, so he’s quiet."

"What was he going on and on about?" Stuart asked curiously.

Rob laughed. "Oh, you’d love it if you heard it, doc. He keeps saying he knows who murdered Cynthia – and it wasn’t Jim."

"No?"

"No," Rob laughed. "In fact, he says it was you."

"Imagine that," Stuart responded after a long silence. "I wonder why?"

Rob snorted. "Who knows? But he seems to have it all worked out in his head. So what’s the procedure here? As you can probably guess, I have no desire to call Quent and ask him. It’d be like poking an angry lion with a stick."

Stuart’s laughter was forced. "Yes, it would be. No, no. No need to bother him. I’ll be by to see Steve. Based on a short visit, I should be able to determine what needs to be done."

Rob grinned into the phone. "You made my day, doc. I thought this would involve all sorts of paperwork and stuff."

"No, no," Stuart insisted. Rob heard him take a deep breath. "Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything."