Lake’s Legacy (Demon Dawgs MC: New Orleans #3)

Chapter Thirteen Lake

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: LAKE

The clinic is south of the town center, closer to those who require its services. Its location in the bayou, with only trees and wildlife as neighbors, makes it easy to understand how the men who attacked Dr. Sinclair and ransacked the building could do so without getting caught.

“How long before someone found Dr. Sinclair?” I ask Toff when we step out of the SUV.

“Two hours,” Toff says, making me wince. “He’s lucky he didn’t bleed out. Doc was able to patch his wound. The assholes stole his cell phone and the office phone so he couldn’t call for help.”

Walking around the outside of the building, I see where someone tried to paint over something on the side wall. Stepping forward, I can make out a swastika. It will take several more coats of paint to cover it completely. But it tells me we’re dealing with white supremacist trash. The current political climate has not only increased racism, but it has given the racists free reign to attack anyone different. While I continue my examination outside, Olivia and Annette go inside with Toff.

Behind the clinic is a small patch of muddy land, making spotting the motorcycle tracks easy.

I follow the tracks through the bayou and out the other side next to a road that leads into the main thoroughfare. Whoever these assholes are either scouted the area before the attack or someone told them about the shortcut.

Returning to the clinic, I went inside to assess the damage. Whoever cleaned up took more care to cover up the damage inside. Several coats of paint covered what I’m sure was more racially charged graffiti.

I toured the clinic when it first opened. I can see the damage they inflicted. The waiting room once had a wall of comfortable seats, but now it is empty except for two hard plastic chairs. The counter that once separated the waiting room from the rest of the clinic is gone. They gutted the first room, so I can imagine what they’ve done throughout.

“The walls had holes in them, and the graffiti was nasty,” Annette explains.

“Do you have pictures of the damage?” I ask her.

“Toff does. We needed it for insurance.”

“Good, I’ll get him to send them to me. How much damage did these guys cause? Lose any equipment?”

“Just the furniture, the exam tables, and most of our basic supplies. Like tongue depressors, gauze, and bandages. They couldn’t get to the medicine or the expensive equipment.”

I follow Annette as she guides me through the clinic. I smell evidence of fresh paint in every room. The breakroom and the bathrooms have brand-new fixtures. Same for the exam rooms. The exam tables appear unused. At the end of the hallway, we stop at a closed door. Annette takes a keychain out of her pocket and unlocks the door. On the far side of the room sits various bulky equipment, including an X-ray machine, a CT scanner, and a mammography unit. Near the door is a locked medicine cabinet.

“When they built the clinic, they planned on adding the lead paneling to the walls surrounding this room to protect against radiation. However, Dr. Sinclair suggested adding steel paneling to keep out thieves. He knew the clinic was away from civilization, and we don’t have any police presence.”

“Smart move,” I say. Looking through the glass on the medicine cabinet. “Do we have everything we’ll need for the patients today?”

“We should. Most of those coming in only need vaccinations. Which we have.” I follow Annette out of the room as we return to the breakroom to find Toff making coffee. “We might get someone coming in with an injury. If they do, we have antibiotics and pain medication. The only patients scheduled to come in are Muriel Oxbridge and Celeste Billiot. They’re both pregnant and coming in for check-ups, including sonograms, which we can handle. Muriel is only four months in, but Celeste is due any day now. Dr. Sinclair was worried about her because the baby hadn’t turned yet.”

She chuckles when I grimace. “Looks like you and I will be handling them, Olivia.”

“Can imagine you don’t get much call to deliver babies in the Army or as a member of the Demon Dawgs,” Olivia teases me.

“Hey, I’ve delivered a baby before. Once. We were in a village in the Middle East. The poor woman went into labor just as we were trying to evacuate the village. I’m proud to say she and the baby survived. However, I honestly can’t remember much of the experience, what with bombs going off and bullets flying around us. As I recall, she did most of the work.”

“That about sums up childbirth,” Olivia says with a grin.

“We can take care of the mothers and the vaccinations. You can handle anyone else who comes in,” Annette tells me.

I agree with their plan since it leaves me free to talk to the people Toff said were victims of harassment.

We hear the front door open and someone calling out. I step outside to see who has come in. In the waiting room is a man several years older than my father. He’s holding an adorable little girl with big brown eyes. She’s clutching a doll to her chest as she stares at me with suspicion. I guess her to be about five years old. Next to them is a young woman with the same dark eyes and hair as her daughter. She’s holding a protective arm around her middle. I recognize the older man as Pieter Oxbridge. So, this means the young woman is either his wife or daughter-in-law. I remember Pieter’s wife having died a few years back. Pieter has two sons. His oldest, Stefen, is my age, while his youngest, Manuel, is a few years younger than Toff.

“Pieter, good to see you,” I say, holding my hand out to shake his.

“Lake. It’s been too long.” He shakes my hand before gesturing toward the young woman. “My daughter-in-law, Muriel. She’s married to Stefen. And this little cutie is Marie. She’s Steven and Muriel’s oldest.”

I smile at Muriel before turning my attention to Marie. “Hello, Marie, who do you have there?”

Marie drops her head on Stefen’s shoulder as she turns away from me. The older man jiggles his arm until she turns back. “Her name’s Sutton. I don’t want a shot.”

“Marie’s starting school in the fall. She needs her vaccines,” Stefen explains, lowering his granddaughter to the ground.

“I see,” I say as Olivia and Annette join us.

“I hear you’re starting school soon. Are you excited?” Annette asks, taking the girl’s hand and leading her away.

“They’re in good hands,” I assure Pieter, who watches them walk away as if he thinks he’ll never see them again.

“We’re keeping a close eye on both those girls,” Pieter says. “We’ve had some trouble, and I’m not taking any chances.”

“What kind of trouble?”

Pieter looks at Toff. “Did you tell him?”

“I told him outsiders are harassing some of our people, but I wanted him to hear you tell it. Joseph and Celeste are coming in later. I already told Joseph I want him to fill Lake in on what happened to him.”

Pieter nods. “Two weeks ago, I heard several motorcycles pull up outside my house. I went out and found two young punks straddling their bikes. I told them to get off my land. They laughed at me and told me to return to where I came from. That spics weren’t welcome. Before I could tell them off, the door opened behind me, and a third man dragged Muriel and Marie behind him.”

“Fuck!” I explode, glaring at Toff for not telling me sooner. “What the fuck happened? Did they hurt them?”

Pieter shakes his head. “No, but only because they didn’t get a chance. Stefen and Marcel came back and threatened to shoot them. The men hopped on their bikes and took off. Since then, Marcel’s been staying home while Stefen does all the work. We’re falling behind on our orders because he can’t keep up, but they won’t leave the girls and me home without backup. It’s why I volunteered to bring the girls here today. That way, Marcel can help Stefen out.”

“Did you tell my dad and Crow about this?” I ask.

“We did. The trouble is, no one knows where the assholes hang out or where they’ll strike next. They attacked Joseph a few days after they came after me; then, they took out the clinic. They ride those fucking bikes so they’re able to cover terrain cars can’t.”

I nod as I consider the situation. “Did you get a look at them? Do you think you’d recognize them again?”

“Fuck, yeah.”

“You said they rode motorcycles. Did they have on kuttes?” When Pieter gives me a confused look, I thumb my kutte. “Like this? A leather or denim vest with a logo on the back?”

He nods slowly. “Yeah. They were all wearing denim vests. Had a bald eagle on the back.”

“Anything else?”

Pieter shakes his head. “I didn’t get a good look. I was too busy comforting Muriel and Marie. Maybe Marcel or Stefen saw more.”

“I’ll ask them. Okay, thanks, Pieter. Dad and Crow will probably hunt them down first, but I’ll have my club look into it, too.”

“I only came out of the house because I thought it was you and your club,” Stefen admits. “You guys are the only bikers we know.”