“Well, that’s something, right?” he asked. “What did you find?”

“She got a job not too long ago at a new club—”

The doors swung open, and a man wearing scrubs entered pushing a wheelchair. “Time for your CT scan, Mr. Deveraux.”

He gave me an apologetic grimace. “I’m sorry. Will you fill me in when I get back?”

“Of course. I think I better check on Neely Kate and make sure they haven’t stuck her in quarantine.”

“Good idea. She might be in some trouble. She really should have thought of some other distraction.” He climbed into the wheelchair, and the orderly pushed him into the hall, with me at his side.

I stopped with them at the elevator. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

“Let me know if Neely Kate needs help.”

“Okay.”

I watched him get on the elevator, then went into the waiting room, where Neely Kate was talking to a hospital security guard. The waiting room was still in chaos, but it was much calmer than when I’d made my flight.

“Is Mason okay?” Neely Kate asked as she saw me approach.

I nodded. “They just took him to radiology for a scan. Joe was right. He’s going to need stitches. But otherwise, I think he’s okay.”

One of the security guards snapped his fingers in Neely Kate’s face. “Hello, I’m talking to you.”

“Excuse me?” She shot him a condescending look. “You did not just snap your fingers in my face.”

“Getting a statement out of you is like squeezing glue out of a dried-up bottle.”

“Well maybe if you weren’t so rude, I’d be more willing to cooperate.”

“You caused a panic!” He raised his voice, then looked around to see if anyone had noticed before continuing in a calmer manner. “I think we should call the Henryetta Police Department to take you in for questioning, ma’am.”

“Ma’am?” Neely Kate screeched. “Do I look like a ma’am to you?”

His face lost all expression.

A man with dark brown hair walked over. He appeared to be in his thirties and was dressed in a button-down shirt and loosened tie. “Excuse me, Officer, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I observed the entire incident, and I’m not sure you have sufficient evidence to press charges.”

The security guard looked confused. “What?”

“I think you’re trying to invoke the Schenck case, and I assure you, that case has no precedence in this matter.”

Neely Kate was at a loss for words, and the security guy scratched his forehead, equally at sea. “Huh?”

“Miss . . .” The man’s blue eyes twinkled as he turned to Neely Kate. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know your name.”

“Neely Kate,” she fumbled out. “Neely Kate Colson.”

He turned back to the security guard. “Miss Colson did not announce to the room that she had Ebola. She merely asked what someone might have if they presented certain Ebola-like symptoms. To truly be comparable to the Schenck case, she would have had to tell everyone that she herself or someone else in the room had contracted the disease. Thus, you have no grounds to have her arrested. Any charges filed would never stand up in court.”

The security guard looked irritated. “And how do you know all this?”

The man broke into a wide smile and held out a hand. “Carter Hale, attorney at law.”

The guard studied the man’s hand and gave it a light shake before dropping it as though the attorney himself might have Ebola.

“I guess you’re right,” he grumbled. “But we’ll be watching out for you,” he told Neely Kate.

“Well, I hope you’re watching in about seven months when I come here to have my baby. Ronnie Jr.’s sure to make an entrance just like his momma.”

The guard didn’t look happy. “Thanks for the warning.” He walked over to talk to the rest of the people in the waiting room, who had crowded together on the other side, and assured them it was a false alarm.

Neely Kate turned to the attorney. “Thank you for calling me Miss and not ma’am, Mr. Hale.” She shuddered dramatically, then winked. “And thanks for helping me get out of that mess.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure why I did it,” he said. “Your announcement scared the hell out of me too, you know.”

Neely Kate cringed. “Sorry. I was trying to create a distraction, and it was the first thing that came to mind. I didn’t have much time to prepare.”

“Well, good job on creating a disturbance. I’ll be sure to seek you out should I ever decide to create a flash mob.”

“Thanks for helping me. For once we didn’t have to rope in Rose’s boyfriend or ex-boyfriend.”

He grinned mischievously. “And who might they be?”

I cringed. The last thing I needed was someone else in town thinking I was a “badge bunny.” “It doesn’t matter. Thanks for your help, Mr. Hale.”

“Please, call me Carter.” He held his hand out toward me.

“I’m Rose. Rose Gardner.”

“Nice to meet you, Rose Gardner.” I wasn’t sure I liked the recognition in his eyes when I shook his hand. At least he didn’t add that he’d heard a lot about me, even though I was sure it was true.

He leaned closer to us and stage-whispered, “I lied.”