Jack_ Secret Vengeance - F. Paul Wilson [55]
“Good,” Toliver said. “See that you keep it that way.” He reached for the gearshift, then looked back at Jack. “Hey, I’ve seen you around.”
Yeah, Jack thought. I’m the guy who showed you up at the circus last month.
“I go to SBR.”
“Right. A frosh. You pal around with Weezy Connell.”
You mean “Easy Weezy”? Jack wanted to say, but bit it back. Couldn’t risk giving his feelings away. So he simply nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Where’s she been lately?”
“Home.”
“Yeah?” His stare bored into Jack. “She ever talk about me?”
“Now and then.”
“Really? What she say?”
“Not much, except she used to think you were a great guy.”
Toliver looked gut-punched for an instant, and Jack wondered if it was because he regretted what he’d done to her, or because after the locker episodes and the blown game, lots of other kids in school might be feeling the same.
But he recovered quickly and gave a who-cares shrug. “That’s life, I guess.”
Jack wanted to punch him. Instead he decided to rub it in a little.
“Want me to say hello for you?”
“Don’t bother.” He pointed to the bottle of applejack on the passenger seat. “And don’t bother saying anything about this either. Or else.”
Jack felt his anger rise. He wanted like crazy to say, What’s that red spot on your hand? Could it be … blood? But that would be stupid. That would give everything away.
Instead, he said, “Or else what?”
Toliver’s smile was cold. “Or else I make your first year in SBR a living hell. And if you don’t think I’ll do it, try me.”
With that he hit the gas and roared off.
Jack watched him go, wondering how he could have felt even a little bit sorry for the guy.
Let him off? Let him have his little victory on Monday?
No way.
Jack had been ready to declare a truce, but now he was back in full war mode.
But to win the war he had to get past Toliver’s latest lock. And to do that he’d need another close look at it.
That meant another trip to the school. Tonight, most likely.
6
Later that afternoon, as Jack was pedaling away from USED along Quakerton Road, he heard a car toot. He looked and saw Kate waving as she passed.
He started to wave back, then remembered the piece of paper folded in his back pocket.
“Kate!” he cried, releasing the handlebars and waving with both arms. “Kate!”
As she slowed and pulled over, Jack hopped off his bike and leaned in the passenger window.
“I need to talk to you.”
“I’m headed home. We can talk—”
“I can’t talk to you about this at home.”
She frowned. “Are you in some sort of trouble?”
“Nothing like that.” He pulled the medical bill from his pocket and hopped into the passenger seat. “But you can’t tell anyone about this.”
She cocked her head. “I don’t know…”
“Please, Kate. It’s nothing bad. It’s just … you just can’t let Mom and Dad know I found this.”
She held out her hand. “No promises until I see it.”
Jack hesitated, then figured if he couldn’t trust Kate, who could he trust? She’d be cool with it.
He handed it to her. “I found this at home.”
Kate looked it over, a frown deepening as she read it.
“Where’d you get this?”
“Can we just say I was somewhere I probably shouldn’t have been, and leave it at that?”
She glanced at him. “More like ‘definitely’ shouldn’t have been, I’m sure.” She reread the paper. “This is very personal.”
“I know. I just want to know what it means.”
“‘Repair of spontaneous recanalization of right vas deferens post 1962 vasectomy,’” she said, reading. “I have an idea what it means but I’m not sure.”
“But you’re in medical school.”
She laughed. “For a little over a month! I’ve got four years of studying ahead of me before I can qualify to be even an intern. But Jenny’s in her second year. Maybe she can clear it up.”
“When can you call her?”
“I’ll have to wait till no one can overhear, but I’ll get to it as soon as I can.” She looked at the paper again. “I’d like to know what this is about too.”
7
“Dad, you were a soldier, right?” Jack said as he helped Mom clear the table before dessert.
His father and mother were still in their tennis clothes—they’d beaten the