Mirror Image by Dennis Palumbo Read Free Book Online

mouth shut.”
    Elaine bristled. “Don’t blame Kathy. Blame the married prick she’s sleeping with. He told her.”
    Ignoring them, Riley took a step toward me. “You know what that means, don’t you? I objected to your treatment of Kevin from the start. ‘Twinship yearning,’ my ass! Try clinical incompetence!”
    He raised a finger, stabbing at me with liquor-fueled conviction. “I was right, I knew I was right, and now the kid’s dead!”
    Garman looked up. “Brooks, for God’s sake—”
    But Riley was on a roll. “His family ought to sue, you know that? Even if they don’t, I’m going to see to it you get your license revoked!”
    He took another step toward me, glowering with anger.
    “Back off, Riley.” I placed my palm against his chest. “You don’t give a damn about Kevin. You’ve had a hard-on for me since you showed up at Ten Oaks, and now you’re seeing your chance to burn me. So fuck you.”
    “Oh, this is priceless,” Elaine said. “Three of our city’s finest mental health professionals—”
    “Look,” Garman said hoarsely. “Elaine’s right…”
    His wife turned and stepped off the sidewalk. “Hell, I’m going to wait in the car. Have fun, boys.” With that, she hurried away across the dark, rain-slicked parking lot.
    Riley made a little side step, more like a lurch, then righted himself. No question, an amateur drunk.
    I turned to Garman. “Get him out of here, will you, Bert? For his own good.”
    But Riley swung his head up, eyes red and angry. “You don’t get it, do you, Danny boy? You blew it! The famous specialist screwed up!”
    Again, finger poking me. Hard, jabbing. Eyes sheened with bleary indignation. And something else. The thrill of liquor-fueled bravado, carelessness. Unused to the alcohol coursing through that blue blood.
    I saw all this. I should have known. And yet I still said it: “You poke me one more time with that finger, I’m gonna feed it to you.” Then I batted his finger away.
    That’s when Riley and I each made a stupid mistake: He took a swing at me, and I did something about it.
    I didn’t mean to hit him so hard, but suddenly he was sitting on the wet pavement, hand covering his mouth, blood dribbling through his fingers. On the sidewalk next to him, like a pair of thrown dice, were two of his teeth.
    “Oh my God!” Garman stared, wide-eyed in disbelief, first at me, and then down at his chief psychiatrist.
    “Shit,” I said, more or less under my breath. My right fist stung from the blow. I hadn’t struck anyone, or any thing , without a glove since I was twelve years old.
    “You lunatic.” Riley’s thickening lips found it hard to form words. “You hit me! Now I’m gonna sue you!”
    “Go ahead. But Bert here’s a witness. It was self-defense. You swung at me first.”
    “A witness?” Garman could barely form words himself. “What are you talking about? We’re doctors , for Christ’s sake. We don’t brawl on the street.”
    “Right outside of a riverfront bar, don’t forget,” I added. “Ought to make a nice picture for the evening news.”
    “Go to hell!” Riley was struggling to get up, angrily waving away Garman’s offer of assistance.
    “You’re both insane,” Garman barked at me over his shoulder. “I don’t believe this!”
    Just then, behind us, the door opened and Noah stood on the sidewalk. In his hand was a Louisville slugger.
    “Do I gotta start bustin’ skulls or what?” he said, raising the baseball bat over his head. I realized with a start that he wasn’t kidding around.
    “Sorry, Noah,” I said.
    “I run a nice place here. If you shrinks can’t behave yourselves…”
    “I mean it, we’re outta here.”
    Garman looked as though he were about to explode, but Noah had already turned and shuffled back inside.
    I glanced over at Riley, leaning against the wall. The lower half of his face sagged, and the handkerchief he held against his mouth was soaked with blood.
    “Look, Riley,