Winner The Crystal Awards 2016, Best Multimedia Story (3d Place).
A spinster doctor rents her spare room to a brain-damaged patient who doesn't know he is a former undercover agent targeted for execution by a powerful criminal.
~o~ ~o~ ~o~
...
Jean has been kidnapped at gunpoint by his old enemy, Iturralde Iglesias. Now, while Jean tries to stall his captor in various ways, Mitchell is forced to deal with Frank Stone in order to attempt a rescue.
Enjoy Chapter 26, "Reconnection," part 2, from DUBY'S DOCTOR.
~o~ ~o~ ~o~ ~o~ ~o~
When Mitchell arrived at Commodore Plaza, she had to park nearly two blocks away from the Barnacle . The street nearest the gallery was packed with squad cars, a crime scene investigation van, and Frank Stone's nondescript old sedan. The draperies remained closed at the gallery, but the front door was ajar and investigators were coming and going at intervals.
Mitchell sprinted from her parked car to the gallery and burst through the door just as Frank Stone looked up from the computer on the clerk's desk, where he was viewing security camera footage.
"I know him," Stone said in answer to her raised eyebrows. The way he said that, it didn't sound like good news.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Iturralde Iglesias was learning more than he wanted to know about sailing, and he was still nowhere near the boat. Jean had reasonably pointed out that certain items were necessary before they could float off to another country in the Do Bee 2.
They stopped at a nautical supply house to obtain maps and charts of the Florida Straits and the coast of Cuba. Jean doodled on a receipt some customer had left behind, while the employees retrieved all the charts he requested.
After a few minutes of waiting, during which Iglesias glared and fidgeted an arm's length from Jean's shoulder, a tanned, muscular young man in a "Divers Do It Deeper" tee shirt arrived from a back room and dumped an armload of maps and charts on the counter beside the cash register.
"See if that'll do it," Dive Shirt said with a smile.
Jean flipped through the maps and charts, and agreed they covered all the area he required.
Dive Shirt began to ring up the purchase on the computer/register, saying, "You want to partner up for the spearfishing rodeo this year? We used to be a pretty radical team, you and me."
"Thanks for thinking of me," Jean said casually, "but I will be partners with Frank."
Dive Shirt looked confused. "Frank? Frank Stone?"
"Oui."
"You're entering the spearfishing rodeo with Frank Stone."
"Oui. I know he looks like a manatee in a wetsuit, but he can really shoot straight. And, you can tell him I said that. I would say the same if he was standing right behind me."
Dive Shirt glanced at the man who was, at that moment, standing right behind Jean. "Okay," he said. "Just don't come cryin' to me when you come in second, 'cause this year's blue ribbon is goin' home with yours truly." He told Jean the total amount of the purchase.
