dark-haired girl behind the bar. There was a blank expression on her face as she put the beer in front of him, a wedge of lime stuck in the bottle’s neck.
“Thanks,” he said. He handed over the money and a dollar tip. He pushed the lime wedge down into the bottle, then extended a hand. “Lucas Berry.”
“I know who you are,” the girl said.
He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
She nodded and really looked at him for the first time. “Jack said you’d probably be stopping by.”
Lucas looked around. “Where is Jack, anyway?”
“I fired him,” she said.
“Ah,” Lucas replied. He took a sip of his beer.
“What does that mean? ‘Ah’?” she demanded.
He smiled. “Sorry. I’m a psychiatrist. It’s a habit.” He scanned the bar. “Is there somewhere we can talk for a few minutes?”
“About Jack?” she said.
“Yeah.” I want to see what’s got you so riled. He thought he knew the answer.
She jerked her chin at the men at the bar. “I got customers. And now I’m shorthanded.”
He took out his wallet. “Set ‘em up a round,” he said. “On me. That’ll give you a few minutes.”
She hesitated, then jerked the beers from the cooler. She set them in front of the men at the bar. Their faces lost the closed and suspicious look they had worn since he entered. “Thanks, pardner,” the younger of the two said.
“No problem,” Lucas said.
The girl carried the other two beers over to the men at the pool table, then came back, wiping her hands on a rag. “We can sit over here,” she said, indicating a booth.
Lucas took his seat. “So,” he said. “Looks like you’ve got the advantage of me.”
“What?” she replied. “Oh. The name. Sorry.” She stuck out a hand. “I’m Jules.”
Lucas took it. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “So, what’s got you so pissed off at Jack Keller?”
“How’s that your business?”
He shrugged. “Well, since he’s my patient…”
Her expression changed to one of alarm. “Your…wait, has he got some sorta disease? Is he some kinda escaped mental case?”
He chuckled. “Nothing that bad.” He eyed her shrewdly. “But I think you’d know if he was really dangerous.”
She glanced down at the table. “He still having the nightmares?” Lucas asked casually.
She looked up. “How’d you know about—” She stopped, then shook her head. “You got me,” she said. “You’re pretty good.”
He grinned. “I get by.”
The smile seemed to disarm her. “Yeah,” she said. “He has them.”
“Any odd behavior during the day? Times he seems to sort of go away?”
She nodded. “Once in a while.”
He paused. “Violent outbursts?”
She shook her head. “He’s never raised a hand to me,” she said firmly.
Berry nodded. “And I don’t expect he ever will. What about other people?”
She bit her lip. “Well…” she sighed. “Actually, that’s kind of how we met.”
“Go on.”
“A couple of bikers were hassling me. Guys from away. Not regulars. A couple of the local guys tried to stand up for me. I grew up around here, and a lot of the regulars are like family. The bikers beat up Glen and Jeff. They tore the phone off the wall. Then they started getting real ugly. Talking about how they were gonna take me across the road and call all their buddies to break me in.”
“And that,” Berry said, “is probably where Keller stepped in.”
She nodded. “Yeah. ‘Til then he was just this guy who sat over in the corner. Never said much to anybody, just drank his two beers and left.”
“But not then.”
“No, not then. It was like he was a different person. He went flat berserk on those two. If a couple of the guys hadn’t pulled him off, he mighta killed one of ‘em. As it is, they both ended up in the hospital.”
“They got lucky,” Berry observed.
She went on as if she hadn’t heard. “But then it was like turning off a switch. Next night, he was back, quiet as ever. He even paid for the chair he broke over the one guy’s head.”
“And you started seeing each other.”
“Yeah,” she said. “He started working here. I needed the help. He moved in with me after a few weeks.” She lifted her chin defiantly. “I been alone since my daddy died and left me this place. I ain’t apologizin’ to nobody.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
Her defiant stance crumpled. “Sorry,” she said. “It’s just…”
“I know,” Lucas said. “Small town, small minds.”
“Yeah.” She traced invisible lines on the table with her index finger. “He’s really been through some shit, hasn’t he?” she said quietly.
Berry nodded. “You can say that.”
“And that lady across the street,” she said, “is she about to put him through some more?”
“We don’t really know what happened to our friend. It may be nothing.”
Jules sighed. “But if he doesn’t go and find out,” she said bitterly, “I’m going to be seeing that damn look in his eyes until I get sick of it and throw him out anyway. That look like he wants to be somewhere else. That look of wondering what he could have done…well fuck that. He wants to go, he can go. What’s the old saying…”
“If you love something set it free,” Lucas quoted.
“And if it don’t come back, then fuck it.” Tears started in her eyes. “Goddamn it,” she muttered. “I can’t cry now. I got a business to run.”
The door opened. Keller stepped in. There was a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He spotted Jules and Lucas sitting together. He walked over.
“I’m ready,” he said. “Just give me a couple of minutes.”
“Okay.” Lucas got up and walked
