Chapter 72

“Ow-w!”

Joe heard the howl through the cell phone. “What is it, Sherm?” You okay?”

“Yeah. It’s my nurse, Jenna. She’s killing me, pulling this damn dressing off my leg.”

Joe could almost see the scene in Sherm’s room at the Mass General Hospital. He could imagine the look of incredulous surprise on the nurse’s face when she realized that the giant in the bed was actually a big baby.

When it came to Sherman, stoicism hadn’t come with size. Joe flashed-back on their football years and had to cover the phone to muffle his laughter.

Their conversation turned serious again as soon as the nurse left the room. Sherman finished telling Joe about the raid on the drug lab in Waltham.

“I never saw so much blood come from one guy, Joe. I was right behind him. He got one in the neck and the blood was just pumping out…

“Anyhow, Next thing I knew I was in the back of an ambulance.

“My Kevlar vest took two hits...bruised the hell out of my chest...but I’m not complaining about that. Thank the Lord for it! It was the one that went through my thigh that landed me in the hospital. It nicked an artery, and I lost a lot of blood. It’s getting better, though. I’m doing good.”

“Have you talked to Sondra and the girls?”

“Yeah. I told them not to bother coming up here. I’m going home tomorrow.”

“That’s great news. Hey, look, buddy. I’m sorry I got you mixed up in all this...sorry you got hurt.”

“Joe. Forget it. It’s my job. And being in on that bust is going to look real good in my file.”

“All right, man, as long as you’re okay. Thanks for everything you did, Sherm. I’m glad you’re going home. Julie and I are headed home today, too.”

“I read what happened down there in Key West, with that Susan Dwyer. How’s Julie doing?”

“Julie’s great, Sherm. She’s an amazing woman, stronger now than she was before. She’s made her peace with Marc Solomon’s death,” said Joe, “although we were both disappointed to hear that Avram Solomon slipped through the net up there.”

“Yeah, you and a lot of other people, including me,” said Sherm. “The guy just vanished. No cars were missing, so he must have left the dealership on foot. They checked all the cabs, the airlines, nothing. You can’t pull off something like that without planning, Joe. That bastard was ready.”

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