filled her crystal blue eyes. “Damn-it, I knew I was going to cry,” she mumbled to herself- turning away to hide her feelings.
As Bill reached out to console her, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. “I’m so sorry. I guess I wear my emotions too close to the surface.”
“I know - but that’s what I respect about you,” Bill had replied.
She didn’t have to say any more as she awkwardly tried to wipe away her free flowing tears with the back of her hand. Then after several moments of complete silence, they both stood up and without saying a word put their arms around each other. Her soft body sent chills down Bill’s spine, as his hands carefully moved across her bare back. It took everything he could muster to keep his hands from moving any further, as he felt goose bumps rise on her back in response to his touch. Finally they released just enough to look at each other. There was no need for words as their lips touched briefly in a soft but affectionate kiss. It was apparent that neither one of them wanted to end their relationship as Mary backed away, still holding his hand tightly as she stared off into the distance.
“Bill, There’s much more that I need to say,” she finally continued, slowly letting go of his hand and again staring intently at him before they sat down.
“My respect and support for you has recently been deeply challenged, and as you probably know to well, it’s also difficult for Doc to do anything that would alienate his colleagues, or that damned code of silence you doctors all hold so dear. And to be very honest, he doesn’t want to be involved in what I’ve recently trapped myself into. That’s why he thought it best you and I discuss things before we eat, and then he wants to visit with you after we’ve had a chance to talk.”
Not knowing where this was heading, Bill recalled how uncomfortable he felt.
“You know Red Hinkley - don’t you?” she continued.
Nodding, Bill remembered saying, “Yes, I’ve played golf with him, and he’s eaten with our town house group at that Spanish Inn Restaurant.”
“Are you aware of his background, and my relationship to him?”
“I guess I’d have to say no. I had no idea you even knew him.”
“Bill, in a small town everybody knows everyone. And I feel it’s important you know about my past relationship with him, particularly if you’re going to understand what I want to share with you,” she’d whispered, again looking intently into his eyes. “I’ve been thinking about how I might tell you this and all I can say is I’m going to tell the truth in the simplest and most honest way I can,” she stammered uncomfortably. “I first met Red when I was a showgirl in Las Vegas. He worked as a dealer at Caesar’s Palace, but he had all kinds of other things going on with many of the other showgirls. At that time, he’d fly back to North Dakota to manage the entertainment and gambling for the annual golf tournaments at the country club, which he now does full time.”
“Yes, I’ve heard some pretty rough stories about prostitution and gambling in those upstairs rooms of that clubhouse. And I understand he pays the police to overlook his underground syndicate.”
“Yes - that’s not only true, but it’s probably much worse than you’d ever dream.”
Bill recalled how she paused, tilting her head as she drew in a deep breath to relax a bit. “I feel close enough to you, that I’m going to say some things that I probably shouldn’t, but you need to know where I’m coming from. My marriage to Doc wasn’t initially based on love, it was a marriage of convenience based on money. Doc had seen me in a show in Las Vegas, and because he knew Red, he’d asked him to introduce me to him. He’d recently lost his wife to cancer, and he and his children were devastated by her death, and he needed both a companion and a caregiver for his children - and of course a female relationship with what he perhaps considered some type of trophy wife.”
As she spoke, Bill remembered how she kept shaking her head from side to side.
“I was young and foolish, and to be very honest I was looking for someone with money. My goals were simple - I wanted someone to provide the things I never had, and I wanted to travel - and I saw that in him.”
Bill remembered how very uncomfortable he felt with what Mary was saying, since he had no idea as to why she was even telling him all this.
“Red was always helping some showgirl to make ends meet, as long as he could benefit from it. So, some ten years ago, he flew four of us to his annual golf tournament. The other girls did tricks, and Red split the money with them and paid all their expenses. Of course he brought me along as a surprise for Doc, and we were married shortly thereafter. Later I found that Doc paid Red a fee for arranging this get together.” As Mary talked, she stretched out her shapely legs, staring at her feet. “Bill, my first five years in North Dakota were not only a culture shock - they were a nightmare. Here I was, a show girl trying to raise three strange children who really didn’t accept me in the least, and we lived on a ranch that was so remote I almost went crazy. Finally Doc persuaded me to go back to school and train as a nurse, so I’d be able to help manage his office, and that’s what I did - and that was the only thing that kept me from going insane.”
Bill recalled how shocked he was at what she was telling him, “My God Mary, your life looks so stable from the outside. I hadn’t a clue,” he’d replied.
“Much of my happiness has been my challenge in nursing. And now I see so much more purpose in life having worked with you. To be very honest, money’s not the answer to happiness. I’d give anything to have placed love above money, even though I eventually grew to love and respect Doc over the years.”
Again taking a deep breath, she appeared visibly relieved to have this out of the way, but she still looked disturbed.
“Okay, let me get to the point as to why I’m telling you all this and why I wanted to talk to you.” Bill remembered how her eyes were even more determined, as she once again stared at him.
“Last week, Red asked to meet alone with me at the ranch. He said he needed to ask me a very important favor, and like a fool my inexperience trapped me. He wanted to know if you were working for the government, and I told him you were flying to Washington every so often, but I didn’t know what you were doing there. Doc tells me Red and Lanin are very close friends, and Red sets Lanin up for gambling, girls, and booze regularly on his wife-less trips to Las Vegas - and let me tell you, Red Hinkley isn’t the type of person you’d ever want to cross swords with. He’s been known to serve as the middleman, like hiring a torpedo to take people out of the picture. Doc’s been able to distance himself from Red, but Red keeps acting as if he did me a big favor. Recently, Lanin told him that you represent a real problem to what they call their Dinosaur Club. In fact, he and Lanin would’ve gotten rid of you a long time ago, if they didn’t suspect you were involved with the FBI or someone in Washington. Bill, he’s asked me to find out just why you came here. He wants me to learn more about you, even if I have to seduce you - and he’s willing to pay me if I can find out what makes you tick. Pausing she said, Bill, I just can’t sell you down the river to that leach - not for any amount of money, which I’m sure the Lanin clinic and his big international bankers would pay.”
With that she uncrossed her feet, and sat up straight. Then leaning closer she whispered, “Bill, I think you’re safe as long as they think you’re an informant for the government, but I get the distinct feeling your days are numbered if they learn you’re really here just to help these poor little Nuns.”
“Mary - Doc knows why I’m here, in fact he helped hire me. He also knows that
