Some time later, he awoke to the sound of water running, and realized with a start that he must have dozed off. The sun shone brightly through the windows. He tossed the empty beer can in the trash, and walked up the stairs to the bathroom, where Helen was in the shower.

The door swung open at his touch. He could see the silhouette of her naked body through the curtain.

“Mind if I join you?”

She jumped, and peeked out around the edge of the curtain. “God, you scared me.”

“It’s been a rough couple of days.” He stripped quickly out of his boxer shorts and T-shirt and climbed in. The water was scalding, steam rising in great clouds around them. “Are you feeling all right this morning?”

She sighed. “I guess. But still a little spooked.”

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close, her body warm and soft against him. His wounded palm stung as the water softened his skin. “It’ll get bet- ter,” he whispered into the steam.

She turned around in his grasp, her full breasts now pressing against his chest, and leaned her head on his shoulder. “It’s getting better already.”

He rocked her like that, saying nothing for a long time, letting the heat of the water wash over them.

They took a long shower, touching each other softly and slowly. After they had toweled dry and while Helen was getting dressed and checking on Jessie, he went downstairs to make some calls. He wanted to get in touch with a doctor first. According to the phone book, there was only one in St. Boudin, a guy named Eustice Mudd. Funny name for a doctor, he thought with a grin. But he called and set up an appointment for Jessie later that afternoon.

Next, he called the police department. There was a long silence when he told them that his pet cat died and he wanted to know how to get an autopsy; then he was advised, in a voice crackling with laughter, to try the local vet. The local vet’s name was James O’Leary. He was definitely Irish, which was a damned strange accent to hear after all the French and English of the past few weeks.

“Hello, my boy,” he said, after David introduced himself. “What can I do for you?”

David told him about the cat.

“You better get him in fast, then,” O’Leary said. “I can do it, but unless you keep him cold…”

David assured him he was quite cold.

“All right then, bring him by this afternoon, and I’ll take a look.”

David told him he would most certainly do that, and hung up, chuckling. It promised to be an interesting afternoon.