My Brother’s Keeper - 24

“Drive around the block,” Roy said tersely as he scanned the area around the soup kitchen.

“You think Daws could be here?” Tad asked while he did as Roy said.

“It’s always a possibility. He can’t be everywhere but with our luck…” Roy shrugged.

Tad nodded then made a decision. He kept going straight as he took out his cell phone. When Jerry admonished him that he shouldn’t use it while driving he pulled over into a vacant parking space.

Roy sighed, certain of the answer but still asking, “What are you doing?”

“Calling my doctor.”

“On a Sunday? He’s not going to be there.”

“Damn, yeah, didn’t think of that.” Pocketing his phone, Tad pulled out onto the street again. “All right, I guess it’s the clinic for now.” When they got back to it he drove slowly around the block while Roy and Jerry watched for any sign of Daws or his gang. When they deemed it safe, he pulled into a parking lot two doors down from the soup kitchen.

With every sense alert for trouble, the trio made it to the church. As always when it was mealtime the soup kitchen was crowded. The waiting room for the clinic was almost as full as the last time Roy and Jerry had been there so the three of them settled down, expecting a long wait. They were surprised when the doctor who had seen Jerry the last time appeared, obviously looking his next patient. He spotted them and came over.

“You were supposed to come back long before this,” he admonished Jerry in a kindly tone of voice. Jerry shrugged and nodded. “All right, come on, lets go inside and see how you’re doing.”

Amid much grumbling from people who had been there when they came in, Jerry and the others followed the doctor. Once they were in the exam room, Jerry told the doctor about seeing blood in the mucus as he took off his shirt so he could be examined. The doctor frowned but otherwise didn’t seem overly concerned for the moment. When the examination was finished, which included his having Jerry cough so he could get a mucus sample which this time was clear of blood, the doctor told Jerry to get dressed again.