Orchid Beach (Holly Barker 1)

“How come you left the army after twenty? Why didn’t you stay for the whole thirty?”

“I decided my career was pretty much at an end.”

“How come?”

“I accused my commanding officer of attempted rape and sexual harrassment. He was acquitted at the court-martial.”

“He really tried to rape you?”

“He tried real hard. It all started with his asking me out. When I wouldn’t go, the…re

marks began, and that degenerated into grabbing. I asked him to stop; he wouldn’t. Finally, one day, he grabbed me and I hit him. I hit pretty good. That’s when he started tearing my clothes off.”

“You fought him off?”

“I got a knee into his crotch, and he seemed to lose interest.”

“So you turned him in?”

“Not until I found out he’d been giving a young lieutenant in the outfit a hard time. I figured, with the two of us to testify, we’d have a case. I was wrong.”

“He got off scot-free.”

“He did.”

“Looks like you and I are sort of black sheep, doesn’t it?” he said.

“You could say that.” They plunged into the barbecue. It was sensational. “This is sensational barbecue,” she said. “Best I’ve ever had.”

“I know a guy,” he replied.

“So tell me about law school.”

“I applied at a dozen places, all out of state. They all liked my academic record—I had a degree from Florida State—but they didn’t like the idea of a thirty-two-year-old first-year law student. I finally got into the University of Georgia Law School, after I hinted that I might sue for age discrimination if I didn’t get in.”

“How’d you do?”

“Third in my class; edited the law review.”

“So how come you’re not practicing corporate law in some glass tower somewhere?”

He smiled sadly. “I like criminals. I mean, I understand them, somehow—what makes them do what they do. It makes it easier to defend them. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever defended an innocent man until today. And, of course, ol’ Sam possessed an unlicensed weapon and some drugs, so I guess he wasn’t innocent, after all.”

“I just said good-bye to Sam,” she said. “Right before I got home.”

“He’s going somewhere?”

“At my suggestion. We don’t need him around here.”

“I can see it’s going to be tough to make a living in Orchid with you around.”

She laughed. The phone rang. She got up and went into the trailer. “Hello?”

“Ms…. Chief Barker?”

“Yes.”

“It’s Dr. Green, at the hospital.”