“What are you giving him?” Jeri asked warily.
“A mild sedative,” the man mumbled as he tucked the empty syringe back into his pocket. “It’ll keep him asleep and allow his throat to rest. Some things heal better when the mind isn’t in a state of panic.”
“Are you a doctor?”
“Could I have a glass of water, please?” the man asked.
Jeri lowered the pistol and quickly filled a glass with water before pushing it across the bar towards Chip. Chip handed it to the man.
“Thank you,” he replied as he placed the glass on the floor next to Tom.
“No… thank you,” Jeri replied, shaking her head. “I thought for sure he was dead.”
“Yeah, well, you’d be amazed how many times I hear that one.” The man stood and faced Jeri, his handsome, friendly face stretched with a smile. He pulled back the hood of his jacket and ran a hand through his short, curly black hair before leaning against the counter. His dark eyes narrowed with amusement as they stared into hers. “But then, nothing is ever what is seems, is it?”
Jeri stepped back from the counter, too stunned to speak. She immediately knew the face staring back at her. It was the same face that had been maddeningly hidden from view since the first letter and Polaroid photo arrived over two months ago. “It’s you,” she finally whispered, gazing at her Mysterious Joe’s Last Stand Guy in disbelief. “You’re here.”
“That’s right… I’m here,” he replied, glancing curiously at Chip. “I just hope I’m not interrupting something.”
“Not at all,” Chip replied, patting him affectionately on the shoulder. “We were just having a little chat. But where are my manners?” He turned and grinned at Jeri. “Jeri I’d like to finally introduce you to the handsome young man standing next to me. Jeri, this is Chilly. Chilly, this lovely young woman is of course Jeri.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Jeri.” Chilly said, reaching out his hand.
Jeri stared back at the man’s outstretched hand barely an arm’s length away and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you too, Chilly,” she replied, slowly raising the pistol and pointing it at his chest.
“Now have a seat.”
56.
“I hope I didn’t travel all this way just to get shot,” Chilly said calmly, glancing at the barrel of the pistol. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to field dress your own bullet wounds?”
“No, I don’t,” Jeri replied, waving the gun at the barstool. “Now sit down.”
Chilly sat down next to Chip and looked over at him dejectedly. “I thought you were going to explain everything to her before I got here.”
“Well, I told her most of it,” Chip replied, shrugging defensively. “Just not the last part. I’m an old man now… my timing isn’t what it used to be.”
“Right, sorry,” Chilly replied, patting him on the arm. “How about I tell her?”
“Tell me what?” Jeri interjected angrily.
“The best part, of course,” Chilly answered, reaching out his hand. “But first I’m going to need that gun.”
“No chance.”
“Those are my terms. Give me the gun, or we can all just sit here patiently until our other guests arrive. And I can promise you one thing – they’ll have much bigger guns than yours.”
Jeri glanced over at Chip. The older man nodded his head.
“You can trust him, Jeri. He’s with me.”
“That’s exactly why I don’t trust him.”
“Jeri, listen to me,” Chip said calmly. “I realize none of this makes any sense right now. But if you believe what I’ve already told you, then you know you can trust me. I once gave up everything I had to save your father’s life. I would hope that’s enough reason to trust me now.”
“You could’ve made that story up for all I know,” Jeri replied sharply.
“Perhaps,” the older man responded. “But what if I could prove it? Would you trust me then?”
Jeri looked at him skeptically. “It depends. Where’s your proof?”
Chip pointed at her gun. “You’re holding it.”
Jeri glanced at the gun in her hand before narrowing her eyes on Chip.
“What are you talking about?”
“I gave your father that gun shortly after we arrived in Flagstaff. It was my service arm when I was in the NSA. I was required to know everything about that damn gun, including the serial number. There’s no way for me to see it from here, but if you look on the right hand side you’ll find it just above the trigger.”