Flame Series #18: Physician Heal Thy Self

CHAPTER 14

Best Laid Plans

Darcy was so excited, he took the stairs—two at a time. "Phoebe, wait til I tell…you." His words trailed off, as he realized the room was empty. "Humph. Where the heck is she?" With a shrug, he took off his jacket and hung it up on the coat tree. The image of the little Dillon girl falling into the water, played over and over in his mind. A gleeful smile erupted, as he imagined the horror the old man would feel, when he realized what had happened. And the marshal and his wife…! They would be devastated, maybe even angry enough to physically harm the old man. The images were so strong, so real, that he failed to hear Phoebe enter the room.

"Darcy, I have to tell you-"

"Oh, Phoebe, it was wonderful!" His words were accompanied by hands, waving about with excitement. "You should have seen it!"

"Darcy, listen to me."

The handsome young man pulled her by the arms into a dance of joy. "No, first I have to tell you what happened. It's done. His precious granddaughter is dead. Drowned, while he sat under a tree, too drugged to move."

Phoebe pulled out of his embrace. "What? You drowned Calleigh?"

"Calleigh?" Darcy sounded almost annoyed at his wife, that she couldn't keep up with his story. "No, not Calleigh. His granddaughter."

"Calleigh IS his granddaughter, Darcy." Fear surged through Phoebe's body, causing her heart to race. How could he have misunderstood? He had to realize that killing a child was not going to be something that would just go away. With Vince Morgan in town, Dillon would surely discover the truth and they would crucify her beautiful husband.

"The little one. Why would I kill Calleigh? Letting the child die while under his care will destroy him. The whole town will turn against him and probably his family as well." Darcy chalked up his wife's silence to excitement. "It's perfect. I wish you could have been there."

"Are you sure she's dead?"

"Well, I watched her leaning over the edge of the water as I rode away, so I'm pretty sure she fell in. She was wobbling all over the place. You know how clumsy kids are." He flopped down on the bed, as the adrenaline began to ebb away. "Wow, I'm exhausted. What was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Nothing. It's not important now." Phoebe smiled at the man she adored. The damage was done, it was time for her to do the clean up, as usual. "I am going to go get us a bottle of wine to celebrate. You have waited so long for this victory." She kissed him on the cheek, before leaving the room. "I'll be right back."

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Vince never thought it possible for his bony, thin legs to reach the speed needed to get him to the pond in time.

He had kept a low profile when he arrived in Dodge. At first, he was going to contact the marshal, but he didn't have any concrete evidence against Darcy Cannon. Everything he had dug up was circumstantial. Still, he felt it was worth his time to tail the slippery young doctor.

Festus Haggen was probably the best tracker in the world, but Vince Morgan could equal the hill man when it came to shadowing someone. The gangly, middle-aged man could virtually blend right into the surroundings. When he watched Darcy follow the old doctor—first out of the restaurant and then out of town—Vince knew something was up.

Settling into a patch of tall prairie grass, the investigator had a bird's eye view of both the predator and his prey. Vince watched the old man spread out the blanket and settle himself and the toddler down for a bit of lunch. He was close enough to hear the doctor and the little girl. Despite his professionalism, the tiny redhead's chattering was able to coax a smile onto the normally impassive face.

Vince's pale-blue eyes flashed back and forth, unable to anticipate Cannon's intention. It wasn't until he noticed the old man becoming dazed after drinking something from a flask, that a clear picture began to form. After the research he had previously done for Cannon, it was doubtful that Dr. Adams would be drinking liquor while the child was in his charge. Vince shook his head in response to his own summation. Cannon had slipped something into that container.

Much to the investigators shock, Cannon suddenly shot up out of his hiding place. With a vicious grin, his head bobbed back and forth, much like one of those hideous clowns that lurked in a child's jack-in-the-box. It was at that moment, that Vince realized what had inspired the young man to risk being seen.

The old doctor had slumped over and the toddler was heading down to the pond—alone. Vince watched Adams struggling to go after the girl. He watched him rise to his feet, only to fall back again. Desperation forced him to crawl down the bank, dragging himself toward the child. It took a moment for Vince to process the horror that was unfolding in front of him. Cannon had already ridden away and was no longer an issue, as the wiry detective bolted from his own hiding place.

He saw the girl lose her balance and fall head first into the water. Seconds went by before the weathered old hands of the physician reached into the murky water jerking the choking baby into his arms.

Vince dropped to his knees beside the soaking wet child and terrified man. " , she's all right. Doctor." Vince grabbed the man by the shoulder. "Doctor you need to let go of her. DR. ADAMS!" Doc clutched the crying child to his chest, unaware that he was squeezing the breath out of her. "Sir, she can't breathe!"

Nothing Vince said was penetrating the terror in Doc's mind. It was Hadley's frightened voice, gasping for air and calling for her Poppy, that brought him back to reality. He eased his grip and stared down at the bedraggled, wet child. Doc brushed the muddy red curls from her face and covered her with kisses. "Are you okay, baby girl?"

Hadley coughed again and spewed out a mouthful of nasty water. The freckles across her nose pulled together in a tiny grimace. "Yuchy, Poppy."

Relief passed between the two men and both gave a silent word of prayer for the miracle they had just witnessed. Vince was the first to break the silence with a gentle hand to Adams' shoulder. "Can you stand?"

Doc shook his head. "I don't think so. Not yet, anyway, I'm still pretty weak." Hadley pressed her face into her Poppy's chest. She had stopped crying, but was still too frightened to pull away; not that he would have let her go. "There was something in that coffee."

"I figured that," Vince confirmed. "Let me help you back over to your blanket. I really thought you were down for the count."

Doc held the baby to his chest, as her tiny arms wrapped tight around his neck. The stranger slowly walked them both back to the shade tree. "I noticed it had a funny taste. I had swallowed enough to make me dizzy, but not to pass out." He settled down on the ground, resting back against the tree. Doc felt the need to kiss the wet mass of curls under his chin again. "I tried to call out to her, but I just couldn't. If you will go over to my wagon, you'll find some clean rags under the seat."

Vince quickly rose to his feet. "I have a canteen. I'll get that too."

Hadley watched the stranger walk away. She pulled back enough to look up at her Poppy. "You afwaid?"

Doc smiled and kissed the girl again. "Not anymore, baby girl." He reached up, taking a clean cloth to wipe her dirty face. "Thank you…uh…I didn't get your name." Doc paused for a moment and stared at the man taking a seat beside him. "How did you know my name?"

Vince handed Doc the blanket to wrap around the girl. "My name is Vince Morgan. I'm a private detective. Darcy Cannon hired me to check out Matthew Dillon. He suspected that Dillon was his biological father."

Doc's eyes flew open as if he had been struck. "Father!"

Vince chuckled at the outrage coloring the old man's face. "That…that…no good…!. No, he is not Matt Dillon's son. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Why he's-"

"Dr. Adams." Vince chuckled, as he laid a calming hand to the older man's forearm. "I found nothing to corroborate his suspicions. He actually seemed more interested in you, than the Dillons. I think he used that story as a smoke screen, so I wouldn't know that it was really you he was interested in. You are such an integral part of the Dillon family. I'm afraid I gave him all the information he wanted, or needed."

The ordeal had taken its toll on the toddler. Hadley had fallen asleep and was safely nestled in the blanket, in her Poppy's arms. Doc pressed a kiss to her forehead, then looked up at the stranger. "What brought you out here today?"

"The world of a private detective—a good one," he added with a touch of pride, "—has contacts everywhere and hears everything. I got suspicious when it came to my attention that a Boston lawyer, by the name of Madsen, was making inquiries into Cannon's past. I knew something was wrong with that man, so I started my own investigation. I think we need to get back to town and talk to the marshal. What I have to say concerns your whole family."

TBC