Chapter 55

“Mick, there’s absolutely nothing for you to do. You’d be sitting around, waiting all day, and you’d be bored to death. I’ll be okay.”

“If you say so.”

“I do say so.”

They walked Ted as far as the Clarks’ driveway and watched until he was safely on their front porch; then they headed for Mickey’s car. The drive to the Mayo Clinic was fairly pleasant once they were across the river and away from the downtown area. Mickey exited I-95 at Butler Boulevard and followed it all the way to the exit that led directly to their objective. Before Mickey dropped Chris off at the clinic entrance, they kissed briefly. Then Chris exited the car and went inside the building. All of the necessary paperwork had been taken care of ahead of time, so it didn’t take long for Chris to find himself in a room wearing a standard hospital gown. Let the games begin, he thought.

He dialed Mickey’s number at noon.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Mick, it’s me.”

“Yes, I know. Your name came up in the display. How’s it going?”