“We’ll be searching, ground and air. If he shows the tip of his dick, we’ll pull him in.”

“Have you had any reports of anything stolen from campers, hikers, houses, stores?”

“There’s always some. I’ll look over everything for the last six months. Maybe you’d let me deputize you, for the short term.”

“No. I don’t want a badge again.”

“One of these days, Coop, you and I are going to have to sit down over a beer so you can tell me why that is.”

“Maybe. I need to get to Lil’s.”

“You swing by, pick up those pictures. Badge or not, I’m going to use you.”

This time when Coop arrived at Lil’s he wore his 9mm under his jacket. He carted his laptop, the files Willy had given him, and three spare clips into her cabin. After some debate, he shoved one of the clips into his pocket and stowed the other two in one of her dresser drawers.

And with an eyebrow cocked, drew out a short, silky black gown with very sheer lace in interesting places.

He wondered why she always seemed to wear flannel.

He poked at something red and virtually transparent, shook his head, and dropped the black number back into the drawer.

In the kitchen he set up his laptop on her table, dug a couple of bottles of water out of her supply, then went out to take a look at the progress on her security system.

He spent a little time with the head installer out of Rapid City, and made his escape after the man figured out he knew something about security-and before he could get roped into helping with the wiring.

The good weather brought people out, he noted. He counted three groups making the rounds of the habitat. And the big yellow school bus indicated there were more on the property. Education center, he surmised.

She was keeping busy, and that was good. It was also too bad, or so she might think. But there were only a few hours of daylight left-and they had an appointment.

He hooked her horse trailer to his truck, loaded the horse he’d sold her onto it. He chose the younger and larger of the horses left in the stable, then secured that one in the trailer.

It amused him that no one questioned him. Either he was too familiar or too forbidding, but the interns went about their business-and from across the compound, Tansy sent him a friendly wave.

A single question to a passing staff member gave him Lil’s location as her office. He drove the trailer over to the cabin, then went in to get her.

“Coop.” Mary gave him an absent nod of greeting from her desk. “She’s on the phone, but I think she’s wrapping it up.” She glanced toward the office, lowered her voice. “Have you heard about the murder? Do you know if it’s true?”

“Yeah, it’s true.”

“That poor man. His poor wife. Come out here for a little holiday, and go home a widow. Every time I think people are basically good and decent, something happens that convinces me too many of them are no damn good.”

“You’re right, both ways.”

“That’s the problem, isn’t it? Oh, your friend-the alarm system man-he’s been in touch.”

“I talked to him. He should have you fully secured in another two days.”

“Glad to hear it, and that’s a shame, too. That we have to go to all this trouble and expense because some people are no damn good.”

“It’s the right investment.”

“Well. There, she’s off the line. Better get in there before she calls somebody else.”

“Mary, do you have any problem with me taking Lil off for a couple hours?”

“Not if it’s somewhere that doesn’t involve work and worry, which is all she’s been doing the last few weeks.”

“That’s a deal.”

“Don’t let her say no,” Mary ordered, as he walked to Lil’s office.

She sat angled toward her monitor, fingers on her keyboard.

He wondered if she had any idea how pale she was, or how shadowed her eyes.

“I’ve got a line on a tiger.”

“Not a sentence you hear every day.”

“Boris is lonely. Strip joint in Sioux City used a Bengal as part of an act.”

“Did she strip?”

“Ha ha. No, they kept her caged, or chained. Finally got shut down for animal abuse. She’s been declawed and drugged, and God knows. We’re going to take her.”

“Good, go get her.”

“I’m working on having her brought to us. A lot of red tape to wind through. I’m pushing for donations. She’s made some media outlets, and I can use it to beef things up. I just need to-”

“Come with me.”

He watched her tense. “Is something wrong? Something else?”

“For the next hour or two, no. The tiger can wait. Everything can wait. We’ve got daylight.”

“Cooper, I’m working. There’s a busload of middle-schoolers in the ed center, a bunch of people roaming around hooking up alarms. Matt just finished sewing up a fawn that got clipped by a car, and I’m working on getting Delilah here by early next week.”

“I assume Delilah’s the tiger, not one of the dancers. I’ve got work of my own, Lil, and it’ll be here when we get back. Let’s go.”

“Where? God, Coop, some poor man was killed and dumped in the Spearfish. I can’t think about taking a walk with you and discussing… whatever.”

“We’re not walking. And I guess we do this the hard way.” He came around the desk, pulled her up out of the chair, and boosted her over his shoulder.

“Oh, for God’s sake.” She gave his back a thump with her fist. “Cut it out. This is ridiculous. Don’t! Don’t you walk out of here with…”

He grabbed her hat on the way. “We’ll be a few hours, Mary.”

With her eyes laughing, Mary gave them a sober nod. “All right.”

“You okay to close up if we’re not back?”

“Not a problem.”

“Stop it. This is my place. You don’t tell my staff-Don’t you step outside this building. Cooper, you’re embarrassing both of us.”

“I’m not embarrassed.” He walked outside, continued toward the truck. “But you will be if you don’t sit where I put you, because I’ll just catch you and put you back again.”