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  Dane emerged from the ER cubicle an hour later, his shirt partially unbuttoned and his jacket draped over his arm. Annie ran to him, but stopped before throwing her arms around him. She reached up, caressed his face and smiled.

  “I’m okay,” he told her, then nodded to the police chief. “We have to keep the bandages changed and the wound cleaned and I get the sutures out in about a week.”

  “Annie told me that she didn’t get a good look at the shooter,” Milton Holman said. “How about you, Carmichael?”

  “He never lowered the window enough to enable me to get a good look at him. All I saw was the rifle.”

  “Well, we questioned your neighbors, Ms. Kimball and Mr. Porter,” Chief Holman said. “They heard the rifle shots and came outside just in time to see the car speeding away. I just wish somebody had gotten a look at the guy’s face.”

  Dane wasn’t a hundred percent sure Jason Webber had been their attacker the night at the lake cottage or today, but his gut instincts told Dane that it had been Webber. And if he was right, then someone was giving Webber his orders? Who? Dickie Hughes? Maybe Royce Layman? Or even Richard?

  “I’ll keep y’all posted,” Holman told them. “Sheriff Brewer and I want to find the person who’s been using y’all for target practice. I’m going to put more men on the case and I’ll suggest to Dwight he do the same. Together we’ll crack this case.”

  Chief Holman escorted them home and made sure they were safely ensconced inside, then he posted one of his men outside and told Annie that he could spare the man for twenty-four hours.

  Dane shook hands with Holman and thanked him. “I’ll have another Dundee agent here by morning.”

  Annie snapped her head around and stared at Dane. “Another agent? Why? Besides, I didn’t think anyone was available.”

  “Until this wound heals, I won’t be a hundred percent effective. Ellen can get in touch with Sam and, if necessary, he can round up one of his former agents to help us out. He can either come here or he can take over the office for Ellen so she can fly in tomorrow.” Dane walked through the kitchen and into the den. He laid his coat across the back of the sofa and sat.

  “We’ll keep a man posted outside until you get reinforcements, Carmichael.” The chief held his hat in his hand and shifted his weight from foot to foot. “We have to get this case solved as soon as possible. The newspapers and television stations will have a heyday with this one. They’re still making a big deal out of the lake house shooting.”

  “Find out just where that car was stolen from and when, and let me know,” Dane said. “I have a hunch on this one.” Dane would bet money that the car had been stolen from the parking lot at Hughes Chemicals and Plastics. He just wondered if, after his and Annie’s visit, someone had reacted too quickly and issued a hotheaded order? Or had Webber acted on his own and gone off half-cocked?

  Holman nodded to Dane and then followed Annie into the kitchen. She walked him to the back door, thanked him for his help, securely locked the door and adjusted the security system.

  “I called Mother from the hospital,” Annie told Dane as she returned to the den. “But I need to call her again to let her know that we’re home and—”

  “Talk to your uncle,” Dane told her. “See if he has any idea where Richard is or how I can contact him.”

  “Even if Uncle Royce knows and shares that information with us, what makes you think Richard is going to talk to you?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but if he refuses to speak to me, then I’ll know he’s somehow involved.”

  A sultry blonde and a man the size of a Mack truck walked into Annie’s house. “Sam has taken over the office for me,” the blonde said to Dane. “And Murdock’s case wound up late yesterday.”

  “Annie, I’d like for you to meet Denby and Murdock,” Dane said.

  “How do you do?” Annie had pictured Ellen Denby as an unfeminine, rough-looking gal who walked and talked like a man, not as a beautiful young woman with a sexy voice and curvaceous body.

  Denby nodded, but didn’t offer a smile. However, Murdock grinned broadly and said, “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

  “Sam told us to stay here as long as you need us,” Denby said. “Or if you’d like to return to Atlanta—” Denby glanced casually at Annie “—we can take over completely.”

  “I don’t think that will be necessary. I just got a scratch on the arm,” Dane said. “Besides, I plan to see this thing through to the end.”

  “Is that what you want, Ms. Harden?” Ellen Denby trapped Annie with her hard stare.

  Momentarily taken off guard by the woman’s question, Annie fumbled for words. “Uh, ah, yes, that’s what I want—for Dane to remain as my bodyguard until we solve the case and put whoever killed Halley behind bars.”

  “Dane told me that you were originally opposed to his taking this case. So you’ve changed your mind about him, huh?” Denby gave Dane the once-over. “He can be a real pain in the ass, sometimes, but I have to admit he does have a few redeeming qualities.”

  Denby smiled then, a smirky grin that told Annie the woman knew there was something going on between Dane and her.

  Annie had thought she wouldn’t like Ellen Denby, but she’d been wrong. Within two days they’d become friends. Ellen might be beautiful and sexy, with the kind of body most women would kill to have, but she was a tough, independent lady—and she had no personal interest in Dane, other than as a friend.

  The week had been uneventful, with the removal of Dane’s sutures the highlight of the entire seven days. Chief Holman and Sheriff Brewer were no closer to finding the shooter than they’d been a week ago, but the chief had confirmed Dane’s suspicions that the car used in the drive-by shooting had been stolen off the parking lot at Hughes Chemicals and Plastics. Dane had surmised that Webber had panicked and done something stupid, something he now regretted.

  “Tonight’s my night to cook,” Ellen called from the kitchen. “My speciality is beef Stroganoff. I’ve checked the pantry and refrigerator. All the ingredients are here. How does that sound?”

  Murdock licked his lips in that silly, playful way that always made Annie laugh. The guy’s size and rugged appearance was enough to scare the devil, but underneath that intimidating facade, he was just another Southern good ole boy, but without the polish Dane possessed.

  “Sounds fine to me,” Dane said.

  “Would you like some help?” Annie asked.

  “I’d love it,” Ellen replied.

  Dane watched the two women through the open doorway to the kitchen. He wasn’t sure he liked the idea of these two becoming so buddy-buddy. He got the distinct impression that, whenever they were alone together, they were plotting his demise.

  “Afraid Denby will give away some of your secrets?” Murdock asked teasingly, as if he’d read Dane’s thoughts.

  Before Dane could answer, the phone rang. He reached over on the end table and lifted the receiver. “Harden residence.”

  “Dane?”

  The thunder of his heartbeat temporarily drowned out all other sounds. “Richard?”

  “I understand you’ve been trying to get in touch with me,” Richard Hughes said. “I’m sorry Dickie didn’t give you my number. That son of mine is a puzzle to me sometimes. Gloria and I have been in Jamaica resting up before hitting the campaign trail.”

  “How is Gloria?”

  “Rested, relaxed and tanned.” Richard chuckled.

  That chuckle reassured Dane as nothing else could. His former father-in-law didn’t sound like a guilty man worried about being caught. “Did Dickie tell you what I needed to talk to you about?”

  “Well, I didn’t actually talk to Dickie,” Richard said. “I called Royce Layman earlier today and he’s the one who told me that someone had taken shots at you and Annie again and that you were anxious to talk to me.”

  “Did Royce explain what’s going on?”

  “Yes, and I’m shocked, Dane. Absolutely shocked. I can’t imagine