Triplecross

Triplecross by linda stevens

Dear Reader: We are delighted to bring you this daring series from Silhouette. Intrigue TM where resourceful, beautiful women flirt with danger and risk everything for irresistible, often treacherous men. Intrigue--where the stories are full bf heart-stopping suspense and mystery lurks around every corner. You won't be able to resist Intrigue's exciting mix of danger, deception. and desire. Please write and let us know what you think of our selection of Intrigue novels. We'd like to hear from you. Jane Nicholls Silhouette Books PO Box 236 Thornton Road Croydon Surrey CR9 3RU Silhoutte

DID YOU PURCHASE THIS BOOK WITHOUT A COVER? If you did, you should be aware it is stolen property as it was reported unsold and destroyed by a retailer. Neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this book. All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention. All Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises H B. V. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means. electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the prior consent of the publisher in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Silhouette and Colophon are registered? S. A. " used under licence.

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First published in Great Britain 1996 Silhouette Books, Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR ISBN 0 373 22225 4 46-9610 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Mackays of Chatham PLC, Chatham

Prologue Blustery winds blew trash and a few scruffy tumbleweeds across the deserted Texas street as black clouds gathered overhead, signaling an approaching storm. Not a soul stirred on the cracked, litter-strewn sidewalks. Along the boarded-up storefronts, every surface had been marred by red and black spray-painted obscenities. For years this section on the edge of south Dallas had been sinking into decay without a hitch, the area at times a home to junkies, the homeless and the lost. But at this hour all was quiet, save the whistling wind and the distant grumble of the city proper, several blocks away from this squalor. At the end of one of those long, disreputable blocks a man sat in his car, hunched down in the front seat. In his strong, sun-darkened hands he held a pair of binoculars, and he had them focused on the-middle of the next block where an older two-door sedan was parked. He watched as a young woman slowly climbed out. She paused, resting her arms on the roof of the car as she looked around, 'scrutinizing each. doorway, thoroughly checking the area. When she looked his way the man slipped down even farther in the front seat, scarcely able to see over the dashboard. The woman took her time, seemed almost leisurely in her inspection.

. A few minutes later she closed her car door and walked Slowly up to the nearest storefront, studying the building as she went, as if reading the graffiti plastered across its boarded-up windows. When she reached it, she used her right hand to push on one of the weather-scarred front doors. It swung open. Down the block the man watched, frowning, as she stepped back toward her car. But after looking around one more time she strode forward again and entered the building. He set the glasses down and started his car, shifting it into drive, his skin-tight black leather gloves gripping the steering wheel as he drove up behind her sedan and parked. The street was still deserted but he paused, just as the woman had, and looked up one side and down the other. Then he got out of his car and quietly closed the door. Silently he followed her inside. Chapter One Flashlight in hand, Lizzy Green slowly dim bed up the dark, narrow stairwell of the dilapidated building, questioning her sanity all the way. She was an insurance investigator, more at home behind her computer than prowling around spooky old buildings in bad neighborhoods. Around here, even the most harmless-looking vagabond could turn mean if cornered in his lair. As far as she'd been able to tell, only one person was using this place as a temporary domicile at the moment, and she had waited until she'd seen him leave before entering. But a part of her still knew this was probably an unwise move. She was, after all, in an area with a well-deserved reputation for violence. While most of it occurred at night and it was broad daylight outside, nothing prevented some miscreant from waking up in bed temper and slitting her throat. According to her sources nothing much happened in this area on Sunday mornings. But that advice and a quarter still wouldn't get her a phone call to 9-1-1, because there weren't even any pay phones left around here. Of course, no matter how foolish she was being, she knew there was no backing out now. The appeal by her client had touched her heart, making Lizzy want to help find a small jade figurine the elderly woman had lost and held so dear.

According to an anonymous call she'd gotten earlier, that figurine was in this building. Whether it was or not, the call itself spurred her on, as well. There might be some evidence on her anonymous tipster here. Besides, for better or worse, L'mzy Green never backed away from anything that scared her; it was one of the bylaws of her unwritten code. At the second-floor landing she paused and looked down the dark hallway. Dim gray light spilled out of the last doorway, casting ominous shadows on the walls through the white cobwebs stretched across the opening. The beam of her flashlight revealed three more open doorways between her and that last room, each with its own complement of dusty cobwebs. Lizzy directed the light toward the hall floor. Ages of foot traffic had worn a pathway down the middle of its filthy, speckled green linoleum and crumpled wads of trash littered its entire length. She inched forward, flashlight beam moving from side to side, spotlighting the trash as she approached the first opening on her right, Suddenly one of the large crumpled wads before her came to life, and began scurrying toward her, its nails clicking and clattering on the slick floor. Stifling a scream, she jumped backward, and watched in disgust as it boldly wad died into the room right in front of her. Lovely. Fat brown rats! And just what did they find to eat? she wondered. With a shiver, she wrestled with her horror and won, reminding herself that she'd be lucky if these were the only kind of rats she encountered up here. Common sense told her to run out of this place, but she felt too close to finding the figurine. If her information was correct, it was up here in one of these four rooms. Even more careful of where she stepped now, Lizzy moved forward to the first room on her right. It was pitch black inside, and void of furniture. After a thorough inspection she found nothing except for that rat sitting in one corner, staring at her balefully with its beady black eyes. It was a bad sign, Lizzy thought, when the rats were braver than she was. She pressed on. The room across from the first was the same, minus the rat. She was standing just outside the third room when an eerie creaking noise behind her made her bolt through the open doorway like a frightened rabbit. Adrenaline coursed through her as she hovered at the room's edge, quivering. Could rats make those creaking sounds? Or was there someone else in the building? As if to answer her question, another huge specimen wad died past the doorway, making strange muttering noises as it moved on down the hall. She turned and ran the beam of her flashlight along all four walls, finding the same hem as the last two. Nothing. After a few minutes of continued quiet she decided to forge ahead. One more room. Out in the corridor, through the narrow opening of that last doorway, she could see a partially boarded-up window on the far corner wall. Here, dirty gray light revealed that at least half this room was empty, as well.

The other half, however, was hidden to her view by the door and jagged fingers of shadow. That unknown other half bothered her, making her pause. Maybe the figurine actually was in them, waiting for her. Or maybe there was someone or something else hiding behind that door. And it would be waiting for her, too. Lizzy sighed softly. It was too late to turn back now; besides everything else, her curiosity wouldn't let her. She had to know what was inside that room, and there was only one way to find out. With her back against the wall, she extended her left hand between the cobwebs to swing the door open. But as she touched the door, a loud noise exploded into the silence of the building and Lizzy jerked her hand back, pressing it against her thumping heart. A gunshot!

The hallway behind her was empty. Seconds later another loud noise pierced through the air, followed by complete silence. Even the rats weren't squealing. Slumped against the wall she breathed deeply, trying to slow her racing pulse to a mere gallop. Gunshots? No, more like doors slamming. But then she felt a slight vibration through the wall and thought she heard a faint growl outside. Those loud bangs had probably been the backfire of a truck as it drove down the street. Lizzy heaved a big sigh of relief as she straightened up. Reassured by her logic, she extended her hand, this time pushing hard on the middle of the door to the last room. It swung backward, coming to a stop halfway with a soft thump. That sound was followed by a now familiar loud squeal that nevertheless made her jump again, pulse skyrocketing. She cringed~ the clicking of a rat's nails scurrying across the linoleum inside causing goose bumps to cover every inch of her skin. She really did hate rats! Lizzy waited, listening, but except for the pounding of her own heart in her ears, all was quiet. Taking a firm grip on the flashlight that had been dangling by a lanyard from her wrist, she peered around the doorjamb and looked inside, half expecting someone to peer back at her. She was indeed being watched. Two rats were sitting on a dirty tan sleeping bag spread out upon the floor, gazing at her intently. But otherwise the room was empty, except for a stuffed, army-green duffel bag. With a piece of trash she gingerly picked up off the floor, Lizzy brushed the cobwebs aside,~ then tossed the paper across the room. The rats, which had observed her every move, squealed excitedly and rushed over to it, inspecting it for culinary possibilities. L'Lzzy crossed the room to the duffel bag. She kicked it lightly and it rolled toward the partially boarded-up window. Following it, she knelt down and closure "At least I wore gloves," she muttered as she pulled out a pair of faded, tattered jeans. She quickly searched through the pockets, and patted down the threadbare denim pants before tossing them aside. She was checking the pockets of an equally worn shirt when some tickle of instinct made her look toward the door. A man was standing a few feet in front of her, dressed in dark clothing and wearing tight black leather gloves not unlike her own, his face hidden by shadows. How had he gotten so close without her heating him? She curled her fingers around the flashlight, and in a quick motion threw the shirt up at his face, hoping her surprise at tack would give her the advantage. "Wait!"

-~

The deep masculine voice startled her, but didn't slow her down. Jumping up, Lizzy swung her flashlight up and pointed it at him, pressing her thumb down on the red button on top. Something hissed, and a jet of smoke poured out. He leaped backward, tripping over the sl~ping bag as he tried to get away from the steady stream of tear gas sp~v-ing at his face. "Take it

easy!"

he yelled.

"I'm not after you!"

Not razed by his words, I J~j grabbed the duffel bag and swung it at him, hitting him squarely in the chest. He stumbled backward' from the weight and hit the wall with a loud thud that sent the rats squealing for cover. Lizzy ran out of the room, never looking back. She'd seen a gun beneath his jacket, which made getting out of there fast an extremely good idea. The figurine wasn't worth getting killed or hurt for. Back in the room, the man stood coughing and blinking his eyes. He'd only caught a whiff of the tear gas, but when she'd slammed him against the wall a cascade of dust had filtered down over him and he'd taken a big gulp of that.

With a final sneeze to clear his breathing passages at last, he moved toward the meager belongings the woman had been inspecting. "What was she doing here?" he muttered. A better question, he decided, was how she'd known about this place at all. Still pn~. 71ed, he knelt down and unzipped the sleeping bag. Starting at the bottom, his hands skimmed over every inch of the inner flannel cloth lining. Near the top he found a photograph that left him more confused than ever. After slipping it into his shirt pocket, he pulled the army surplus duffel bag closer to him. Downstairs, Lizzy had already hit the front door at a full run, only to bounce backward with a startled grunt when it didn't open. Gathering her strength, she pushed again, twisting and rattling the knob repeatedly. The door was firmly locked. She turned around, looking for another way out in the dark interior, the beam from her flashlight arcing over every surface. All the front and back windows were securely boarded over from the outside. Directly across from her at the rear of the building was another door. She ran to it, twisting the knob hopefully. It, too, was locked. To her right was a bathroom. Lizzy ran inside~ but the boxy room was pitch black, windowless and rank. She quickly retreated. Adrenaline pulsed through her, roaring like a speeding train as she returned to the main room, looking for some~ thing to help her escape. But there was nothing. Then matters got even worse. With a frown, she stopped in the middle of the room and sniffed the air. Her eyes went wide. Disbelieving, she took another deep breath and slowly let it out. Smoke! And where there was smoke. "Fire!" what have you gotten yourself into now?"

she groaned.

"Lisbeth,

Panic gripped her as she looked around, looking for the source. Though she could see no flames, wisps of black smoke were seeping into the room through an air vent near the ceiling. Stunned by the horror of what someone was doing to her, L'~zy stood immobile, mesmerized fora moment by the smoke as it curled snakelike down the walls and slowly started to thicken. Shaking herself, she turned away, her thoughts zooming to survival now. The man upstairs could have locked her inside, started a fire and somehow escaped. Or he might still be up there, waiting for her to panic So he could kill or immobilize her, then leave her remains to vanish in the blaze. In this neighborhood, he could even be some mentally deranged drug addict committing suicide, one who wanted to have some company as he burned to a crisp. Lizzy felt the icy grip of panic on lxer heart. She looked around wildly, imagining strange shapes looming before her in the smoky haze. Then she literally shook the visions off. muttered to herself. "Snap out of it!"

"You're losing it," she

Calmed by the sound of her own voice, she still couldn't argue with the

facts. She was trapped inside h burning building, and if the man upstairs had set the fire, she was trapped there with a lunatic!

Chapter Two L'w~zy ran up the creaky stairs, then down the hallway, thoughts racing through her mind. Lunatic or not, right now that partially unboarded window in the room where she'd left him was her only way out. All she had to do was get past him, and in her present state of mind that shouldn't be too difficult. Her will to survive was very strong. There wasn't any smoke upstairs yet. But the man was still here. She'stood at the doorway, her hands gripping the doorjambs for support. He was crouched beside the sleeping bag, the empty duffel and its contents scattered all around him. His eyes were on her. Neither black-gloved hand held a gun and she breathed a silent sigh of relief. Instinctively she knew that he wasn't a killer; his hazel eyes were wary, curious, but not mean. At this moment he seemed harmless enough. "Unless you have a death wish, you'd better listen," she gasped. "The front and back doors are blocked, and the lower floor is starting to fill with smoke." He stood up, frowning at her. What had she seen? "Dressed in faded jeans, tennis shoes and a maroon sweat-shirt, she looked wild-eyed and worried. " Where's the fire? " "I don't know, I didn't see one. in through the air ducts."

All I saw was black smoke billowing

L'~zy walked over to the dusty window and looked out. The buildings across the alley were boarded up, too, offering no hope for rescue or even a call for help. She twisted the two old-fashioned locks a quarter turn, then pushed up on the window, but it wouldn't budge. "It's been nailed shut," the man observed. "No kidding!" She stood on tiptoes and pressed her nose against the dirty glass but still couldn't see the sides of the building they were in. "I need something..." She trailed off as she stepped back from the window, tripping over the empty duffel bag as she went. "Perfect," she announced, grabbed it off the floor and qu! ckly wrapping it around her hand and forearm. "Wait a minute," the man said.

"I'll"

The glass shattered as she hit the window with her covered arm. "We may not have a minute." She knocked the jagged edges of glass away and stuck her head through the opening above the boarded lower half. The late March air was cool and humid against her face. Obviously the fire codes had long since been abandoned in this neighborhood. She turned around, unwrapping her arm and dropping the bag. "We're two stories up, and there aren't any window ledges or fire escapes. I didn't even see a drain pipe out there." "They sell the metal for scrap," the man said~ "Used to be anything that wasn't nailed down. Now they'll pry it loose and even sell the nails. Progress in the age of crack." He studied her face, assessing her.

There was a hint of panic in her

eyes now, and it worried him. to stay in control.

Panic caused rash actions and they had

When he joined her at the window, Lizzy took as good a look at him as the dim, overcast light allowed. He was five or six inches taller than her own five-foot-five height, his face lean, almost angular. Sandy-brown hair brushed the collar of his blue denim jacket, the sleeves of which were streaked with white cobwebs.

"I smell smoke now, too," he said, sniffing the air. "What's your name?" "Michael.

Lizzy nodded.

Why?"

Lizzy arched a brow at his puzzled look. "If I die in here I'd like to at least know the name of the man they find me with." She held out her hand. "LLzzy Green." "We're not going to die in here." His grip was strong as they shook hands and he seemed in complete control of his emotions. "You're right," she agreed, feeling more confident herself. "There was a padlock hasp on the front door. Back, too, probably. They weren't in use before, but evidently are now. Could you maybe shoot the lock off one of them?" L'w~zy didn't ask why he carried a gun. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. "I checked shut. And walking by hallway as resort."

the back door before I came in, it's boarded and nailed I'd be shooting blind out the front door, someone driving or could be hit by a stray bullet." Michael moved into the he spoke. She followed. ~"We'll save that option as a last

"We're almost to that point," Lizzy informed him. Michael placed his left hand against the old stucco wall that stood between them and the next building. "This wall is hot. The fire could be coming from that direction." "If it is," l. i~t warned him, "then it's coming at us from both sides. The vents downstairs are on the opposite end of the building." He took off down the hallway and Lizzy stayed right on his heels all the way to the front door. Standing to one side she kept her flashlight on him, watching as he pushed and yanked on the knob with both hands without success. Next he pulled a tiny flashlight out of his pocket and aimed the beam of it at the door hinges. He was shaking his head, worry beginning to show on his face as he squatted and touched the lower hinge. "What's wrong?" "I was going to pop the center rods out 'of the door hinges," he told her. "But they've been welded together." She didn't need to ask what that meant. It was becoming obvious this was some kind of setup. And his grim expression had L'~zzy heading back for the stairs. "We can still go out the upstairs window. Tie those clothes together like they were sheets and use them as a rope." "Those rags? "A broken leg.

They'd rip apart with any weight on them." is better than burning alive,"

Michael grabbed her arm. "And if you land on your head? You can die from a two-story fall, especially one with a concrete landing surface," "We can die in here, too, from suffocation," she told him angrily,

pulling her arm from his grasp. The smoke was visibly thicker, starting to form a haze around them. Lizzy looked back over her shoulder at him, her foot on the first stair. "Well, do you have a better suggestion?" "Give me a minute!" Michael paced up one side of the wide room and down the other, the beam from his flashlight moving from side to side with him. "No abandoned building is this clean. Someone's deliberately picked up any-thing useful." A thick gray like a black dense, acrid were scaring

cloud was filling the 'dark room~ hanging over their heads halo. But there were still no signs of a fire, just smoke. That and Michael's pessimistic Dr. Doom attitude her even more. "Your minute's up."

"Are you always so literal?" Michael asked. He stopped pacing and pressed his hand against the wall on the opposite side of the building, jerking it back quickly. "Damn!" It was searing hot. Anytime now, the old wood within that cracked, water-stained plaster would burst into flames. "Looks like it's last resort time." Lizzy met him at the front door. In his left hand was a black gun, his flashlight tucked beneath his right arm.

He studied the door, trying to remember just where the padlock hasp had been. In the movies the good guy would just blast away at the door until it looked like Swiss cheese. But in real life, stray bullets had a way of bouncing around awhile before they stopped, and sometimes they stopped inside an innocent bystander's skull. "Step back a few feet and aim the beam of your flashlight right above the doorknob, and keep it steady." She did as he asked. "If I angle this right," Michael muttered softly, "the bullet should embed itself in the street." Unless it hit a rock. Or a manhole cover. He took a breath, coughing. The air was getting thick. They really were getting down to their last options. At least bouncing the slug off the street would take some of the energy out of it. A wounded bystander was better than a dead one. The noise was louder than Lizzy expected in the enclosed space, making her flinch and shut her eyes involuntarily. Her ears popped and an annoying ringing started up in them. But when she opened her eyes and saw the narrow stream of daylight coming in through the bullet's exit hole, she forgot the ringing and ~joined Michael at the door. He had his shoulder to it and was shoving furiously, but it still wouldn't budge. "You missed," Lizzy accused. "Maybe." As he knelt down in front of the door, Lizzy moved in closer still. With her chin almost touching his shoulder she peered through the circular opening with him. "Is this door that thick?" she asked. "No, it isn't." Michael pulled a small knife out of his pocket and opened it. He twisted the thin silver blade around in the hole until he hit metal. With pokes and jabs, he scraped until he uncovered what looked like part of a long nail. "I don't believe it!" Lizzy straightened up. here and set the place on fire!"

"Someone nailed us in

"Looks that way,;' Michael agreed. Horrified, Lizzy turned toward the stairs. before I suffocate to death." "Not so fast.

"I'll jump out the window

I've got an idea."

"I hope it's better than your last one." "That was yours," he reminded her. Lizzy followed him over to what had once been a display window facing the street. The beam of her flashlight revealed a waist-high raised shelf, about the size of a bench and filthy with years of dirt and layers of dust. Michael sat down on the bench like area and swung his legs up, placing his sneaker-clad feet against the board. "Get up here beside me."

"Why?" "We're going to kick the board loose. Now, hurry up!" L'~zzy scrambled up, pulling her maroon sweatshirt down as she positioned herself beside him. Once on her back she looked at him. It was too dark to see him, but she felt his warm breath. on her face, their shoulders touching. "On three?" "Right. Keep your feet close to mine and use the edge of this board above our heads for leverage." His hand guided hers to the spot. "Ready? One... two... three!" Together their feet hit the board but it didn't budge. They hit it again, pounding the board over and over until they were panting with exertion, smoke stinging their lungs with every breath. Whether from their labors or the fire, the air around them was getting unbearably warm. Finally, cooler air tickled their ankles. "Wait." Lizzy sat up and bent over the glowing pocket of daylight streaming in, gulping in breaths of relatively fresh air as she studied the situation. "Place your feet right here," she said, guiding them to the spot where a row of nails held the board. "Okay, now hit it!" He hit the board soundly, and then Lizzy grabbed his ankles, her hands firm as she repositioned them quickly.

"Again!" She moved his feet twice more before being satisfied. "Stop, I think Ican get out now." Michael sat up as Lizzy slipped her legs into the narrow opening. Carefully, she eased herself down, doing the limbo between the nails sticking out of the ragged-edged wood. Once her feet touched the cement she grabbed hold of the board and propelled herself on through, A loud ripping noise startled him.

"Are you all right?"

Michael yelled, unable to see her now that she'd stood up. Just tore my sweatshirt. Can you get out?"

"I'm fine.

His voice was growing hoarse from the smoke, "Don't worry about me, call the fire department!" Lizzy looked around at the dilapidated buildings surrounding her. what?."

"On

"There's a pay phone two blocks toward downtown." "There'd better be. Back in a flash," she said, and sprinted off in that direction. Later she would have to ask him how he knew this neighborhood so well. In fact, there were a whole bunch of things she wanted to ask him. Tim MA~ SANK farther into the shadows of the doorway across. the street, watching Lizzy's fleeing form with great interest. His plan hadn't worked exactly as he'd laid it out, but it had been interesting. He'd gotten a certain thrill listening to them pound and claw at the walls of their death-trap. That they had gained their freedom was only a testimony to their resourcefulness. In a way, it would have been a disappointment if they'd perished so quickly. This was going the woman came stood in front she ran to her moment later.

to be both profitable and entertaining. A minute later running back up the street, her chest heaving as she of the barred door to the building. Twirling around, car and opened the trunk, coming out with a tire iron a

Yes, he thought, she was very resourceful. He'd have to remember that. He got back in his car and drove casually away from the scene. The woman was much too busy using her makeshift crowbar to pry off the wood he'd nailed across the door to notice his departure. Black smoke billowed out as Lizzy at last flung the door open. But smoke was all that rushed out. "Michael!" she yelled. Fearing he'd passed out from the lack of oxygen, she got down on all fours and started crawling into the building. "Michael, where are you!" "Middle of the stairs," he called back. Lizzy crawled toward the stairs, ascending them by touch, unable to see through the smoke. When she reached him her eyes were stinging, tears sliding down her face. "Are you crazy!"

Lizzy croaked, her throat raw from breathing the

fumes.

She started to stand.

Michael pulled her back down. He had the duffel bag in his hand. down and stay as low as possible."

"Sit

They slid down the stairs with the bag between them, dragging it through the front door as two fire trucks and an ambulance arrived together. Paramedics rushed toward them as the firemen raced past them, hoses in hand, blaring sirens announcing the arrival of yet another pair of fire trucks. This area would see urban renewal eventually, but a massive conflagration obviously wasn't the city's preferred method. A few chaotic minutes later Lizzy sat beside Michael on the opposite curb, watching the scene across the road in bewilderment as they breathed the bottled oxygen the paramedics insisted they needed. Maybe they did. Michael looked pale, and she felt a bit dizzy herself. Smoke billowed out from the tops of all five buildings in the block now, flames leaping upward at the gray overcast sky, the darkening clouds threatening rain. Nearby, two policemen were hovering, waiting to speak to them.

A warm hand touched her bare shoulder right below her collarbone, and Lizzy sucked in a huge gulp of oxygen. It made her even more light-headed. Then again, maybe it wasn't the excess oxygen at all. Callused fingers were lightly caressing the hollowed curve of her bare shoulder 'and a tingling hot sensation shot right to her core. Only once be-J fore had she reacted this way to a man's touch. It had led to disaster. Hesitantly, she glanced at Michael, but found him looking down at her chest. Her torn maroon sweatshirt had slipped down to her elbow, giving him a full view of her sheer lacy black brassiere and creamy skin. She sucked in another gulp of oxygen as his fingers brushed across her breast, sending a warm glow through her. But he was only holding the torn edge of her sweatshirt up, covering her as a paramedic approached them. "How you feeling?" Lizzy lowered the clear triangular mask she'd been breathing from and looked up at the paramedic. "Fine. Do you have a safety pin?" He nodded and left. Michael lowered his mask, his hand still on her shoulder. coming back in to help me."

"Thanks for

"I hope that bag was worth risking your life for." "So do I." His fingers were pressing lightly into her shoulder, holding her shirt up, and she found him touch even more disturbing. Their eyes met for a brief moment, then a big hairy hand held a silver safety pin between them. She took the pin and handed her oxygen equipment over in exchange. "Need help?" Michael offered. Before she could answer they had two uniformed officers standing over them. Both men were in their late twenties, with very short hair and slender builds, their navy blue uniforms and shiny black shoes identical. "Michael, Michael, you just can't stay out of trouble," the boyish-looking, red-haired cop teased. "Seems he can't," the other one agreed, his face pock marked from past acne. "Captain's not going to like this." "Do you know everybody?" ! Jim muttered, pinning her shirt together. "First the paramedics and now them?" "Not everyone," Michael replied softly, "but I've worked this area." He looked up at the policemen as the paramedics left with their equipment. "You guys out for a Sunday stroll?" They both grinned. "Sure. Just like you, right? here, Michael? Who's she?" "She's with me.

Name's Lisbeth Green."

What's going on

He stood up and offered Lizzy

a helping hand. "Do me a favor, don't run a check on her until tomorrow afternoon. By then her fines will be paid, I promise." The red-haired cop winked and grinned slyly. ~ notepad. "Give us the details."

"No problem" He took out

Lizzy crossed her arms and leaned back against the side of the red brick wall, ready to hear a few details herself. How did he know about her parking tickets? "Why don't you start with Ms. Green?" Michael suggested, turning to face her. "What were you doing here?," The ratfink! All three of them were looking at her expectantly. "I'm a free-lance insurance investigator. I got an anonymous phone call earlier today about a piece of artwork I'm looking for. A jade figurine. It was supposed to be in that burning building." Rain began splattering down in big fat drops. Together, they moved under the eaves of the building behind them, L'~zzy and Michael standing in the alcove of a deep sunken doorway for better protection. Just one cozy little group. "Any idea who this anonymous caller might have been?" cop asked.

the pockmarked

"No," she replied, sullen. "Male. Gave me the tip and address and then click. Curiosity got the best of me."

"Uh-huh." He scribbled a note on a sheet of paper he had attached to his metal clipboard. "And just why were you looking for this... this figurine?" L'v~zy brushed droplets of rain water off her face. help find it. It was stolen in a recent robbery."

"I was asked to

"One we know about, I trust?" "It was reported," she said. "Whether you know about it or not I couldn't say, now could I?" Lizzy thought she heard Michael snicker, but when she glanced at him, he had a straight face. "The piece has no monetary value any way," she continued. "It's a sentimental keepsake." "Who are you working for?" When she gayle them Paulina Cook's name, both cops glanced at Michael, who shook his head but didn't say anything. Her curiosity aroused, she asked, "What do you know about her?" "No more than you," the red-haired cop replied. His innocent expression didn't fool her, but she knew questioning a policeman would be a waste of time. They didn't have to tell her anything. "Is that all?" she asked. "For now. Someone will be in touch with you for more information." The pockmarked policeman looked at Michael, a smirk covering his face. "And what were you doing here?" Michael stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "I got an anonymous phone call this morning, too, implying that I'd find information in there about an unsolved case I worked a while back," he said with a shrug, indicating the burning building. "I had to check it out." "Looks like curiosity almost got the best of you both, then. Permanently. What happened?" the redhead asked. "Someone nailed the door shut after we were both inside, and started fires on each side of that building." The pockmarked cop nudged the green duffel bag with his toe. this? Your laundry?"

"What's

"Not mine, but somebody's. I found it inside," Michael said. "Thought maybe there's something in there that will explain this situation." A loud crack of thunder was quickly followed by lightning bolts streaking across the dark sky overhead. Suddenly the. skies opened and rain began pouring down frantically, a strong gust of wind blowing sheets of water at them like incoming waves, drenching all of them. Lizzy shivered, and crossed her arms under her breasts, goose bumps rising up on her chilled skin as her damp clothes stuck to her. But it wasn't the rain that made her shiver. Someone had deliberately tried to kill her in that fire, but why? And who? Who hated her so much they wanted to kill her?

Noticing her movements, Michael shrugged out of his jean jacket and draped it around her shoulders. "Can't this wait until later?" "One more question." The pockmarked policeman looked at Lizzy. you see anyone in the area?"

"Did

Michael felt the sudden tension in her body next to his, and he urged softly, "Describe who you saw." "I was too far away to see his face as he left the building, but he was white, maybe five eight or nine, with short dark hair." Lizzy shivered again. Was he the one who'd attempted to kill them? Or just a poor guy who now didn't have even his few ragged possessions? "Sorry, that isn't much help." "Did you see any other cars parked in the area?" Michael asked. He hadn't himself, but then, he hadn't seen that guy, either. How had he missed him? "No." A loud crash across the street drew their attention and they all watched as parts of the buildings caved in, rain still pouring down relentlessly upon the smoldering fire. Fire-men stood huddled in the middle of the blocked-off street now, watching from a safe distance as more of the second

stories crumbled inward. There was little more they could do now, except keep the fire from spreading. "I need my rain gear," the red-haired cop muttered. He picked up the duffel bag. "You know the rules, Michael. I have to take this in, but we'll be in touch." He nodded as the policemen left, his attention still on the scene across the street. Someone had set them up today, but why? And why both of them? L'~zzy was puzzled, too, for all the same reasons, plus a few of her own. How did Michael know who she was? Why did he know about unpaid parking tickets? Who was he and what was he really after? "We can go," Michael announced, touching her lightly on the shoulder. Standing in the rain wasn't going to provide them with any answers. He turned and started toward his car. Lizzy didn't move. She stood there staring at his back, unwilling to leave this spot until she had some answers, especially those only Michael could provide. Unsolved mysteries weren't something she handled well, and usually she didn't have to. In her job she made sure few if any details were ever left undiscbvered. And this wasn't going to be any different. He wasn't walking away from her now. She hurried up behind him and when Michael turned to look at her, she plucked a thick piece of paper out of his pocket. He quickly stepped toward her, wrapping his arms around her and trapping her hands beneath his chin. "Slip the photo back into my pocket before someone sees it. Now!" A quick glance confirmed her suspicions. He was after the figurine, too. "Where'd this come from? why didn't you tell the co~s about this? You lied to them!" "" Michael," the pockmarked policeman yelled from down the street. Get out of here! The media's arrived. "

"

Michael abruptly let her go, snatching the photo from her hand as he bent to pick up his jacket. "I'll explain later. See you at Paulina's." "what!

Are you working for Paulina, too?"

"Keep your voice down! The news media is here and I'm not going to be page one tomorrow, or on television tonight." She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. "Later, I said. No answers till we get there."

Chapter Three The rain had stopped, but thick gray clouds continued to hide the late afternoon sun as Lizzy followed Michael down the tree-lined street leading to her client's home. Her car bumper was mere inches from his as he turned into a driveway. She parked right behind him, getting out of her car as he did. "Do you always drive like that?" Michael. door shut. "Tailgating is dangerous."

asked, slamming his car

Lizzy strolled up to him, smiling as she spoke. "Have one of your buddies write me a ticket if you don't like it." "Don't tempt me." He looked ready to strangle her and Lizzy chuckled, happy his frustration matched her own. They walked across the small green lawn toward a gingerbread-style brick house with yellow trim. A screened-in porch jutted out on the right side and inside a tiny, white-haired woman sat on a wooden swing, swaying back and forth gently. She waved a greeting, but didn't get up as the two approached. Michael held the screen door open. murmured as Lizzy passed him.

"Don't mention the fire," he

"What a pleasant surprise," Paulina Cook said as the pair joined her on the porch. Her thin lips were painted a bright red and curved into a welcoming smile, her twinkling light blue eyes revealing the hint of mischief that was always present. Pale white skin, wrinkled with age, belied her otherwise youthful demeanor. "I wasn't aware you two knew each other." Lizzy frowned at her, determined not to be swayed by Paulina's friendliness, but it was hard to stay mad at such a sweet woman. Hard to turn her down, too. That's why she was involved in this to begin with. "Did you hire two of us to find your figurine?"

she asked.

"My heavens, no." Paulina kept swinging, unperturbed by the gentle accusation in L'~zzy's tone. "Why on earth would you think that?" "Because in the course of my investigations," Lizzy replied, "I bumped into this guy." That was putting it mildly. She had also just narrowly averted being roasted alive with him. But she agreed with Michael; Paulina didn't need to know about the fire. Paulina was still smiling. "Well, he does have a habit of turning up where you least expect him," she said, gazing at the young man reproachfully. "Can't help it, though, I suppose. It's what he's trained for all these years." Michael sat down on a bench opposite the swing, and crossed his arms over his chest. "And now that I have turned up, you're going to un hire Lisbeth, right?"

"Now, why would I want to do that?" Paulina looked baffled and Lizzy glared at Michael. she do that? Just who are you, anyway?"

"Yes, why would

"He's my grandson," Paulina explained. "And much too protective." She looked at Lizzy, who was standing beside the screen door. "If he had a wife and children he wouldn't have so much time to worry about me." "Don't change the subject, Gran," Michael ordered. Lizzy thought his over protectiveness was warranted and quite touching. At eighty-one, Paulina was a trusting soul,

barely five feet tall and rail thin; after a big meal she might weigh ninety pounds. "Michael, you can't get involved." Paulina fingered the white lace collar of her pastel floral-print dress. "You're still on suspension." Lizzy looked from one to the other.

"Suspension?"

"From the police department," Paulina said. "You're a cop?" Lizzy asked, him, stunned. "Why" -- "Michael is a detective," Paulina interrupted. "And a very good one. He's just upset about this suspension. I'm sure that's why he didn't mention what he does for a living." "Uh-huh." Lizzy's gaze never left Michael's face. "So you're a police detective. That explains a lot." But it didn't explain everything. Not by a long shot. "Why were you suspended?" "It's more of an administrative leave. I'll explain late~r," Michael told her irritably. He returned his full attention to Paulina. "You promised." Paulina smiled. "I was coerced, so that doesn't count," she added smugly. "I've been listening to you when we talk, Michael, and I've learned a few things." "G-ran," he began, trying to keep his temper low-key, "Lisheth is really a researcher, she works with papers all day. She's not an actual detective. I have nothing else to do right now, so I'll find the figurine myself." She leaned over and patted him. on the knee. "Michael," I'm old but I'm not senile. You told me all this yesterday, don't you remember? " "Yesterday!" Lizzy exclaimed. How long had this guy been checking her out? At the moment, however, she had a more pressing question. "Does your suspension have any, thing to do with this case?" she asked warily. Michael scowled at her.

"No.

And I said I'd explain later,~

His biting tone confirmed his unhappiness with his present predicament and that made her even more curious. Now she had a brand new mystery~ to solve. "Would you like some lemonade?" Paulina asked, popping spryly up off the swing. "It's in the fridge." They followed her into the house. The large kitchen had a warm, cozy feel to it, and like the rest of the house it was filled with little trinkets, keepsakes and memories of a family Paulina had raised in a home she'd lived in since her marriage. At the moment, however, Paulina didn't look very much at home there. She was at the kitchen counter, a pitcher of lemonade in her hand, but rather than pour it into the glasses she just stood there, and her smile now seemed forced.

"Gran, what's wrong?" Michael asked, concerned by her sudden inactivity. If her hands weren't busy G-ran couldn't sit still. Something had her spooked. "It's nothing." Lizzy took the cut-crystal pitcher from Paulina and poured lemonade into the three glasses sitting on the. counter. "Something's upset you," Lizzy said as she handed her a glass. "When I was here before, you flitted around this place like a bird on one leg, unable to sit still for a single moment." Paulina set her glass down, her expression now one of concern. "Someone's been in here again." "What?" Michael touched her bony shoulder gently. Why didn't you call me! Did you call the police?"

"Are you all right?

"I called you, but you weren't home. Besides, this is just so strange!" Paulina gestured to them with her hand. "You'd better come see." They followed her through the dining room to a hallway. Paulina opened the first door on their right and stepped back out of the way.

A carved, four-poster double bed dominated the small room, but it was the lace-covered round table beside the headboard that drew their attention. Golden light from a scarf-covered Victorian lamp highlighted what sat right in front of its base: a small, jade green figurine. Michael stared at it, then down at his grandmother. come from?"

"Where did that

"I found it there when I got home from church. But the really strange thing, Michael, is that it isn't mine. It's the same figurine, but not my figurine." Lizzy walked around the wooden hope chest at the foot of the bed and stopped in front of the table. "Are you SUre? ' "Positive. I've touched mine every night for close to fifty years and right down the middle the green is a lighter, smoother color," Paulina assured them. "You know a piece pretty well after all this time." Michael didn't bother trying to refute her point. wasn't hers, it wasn't. "How did he get in?" "Well, I..."

If she said it

Paulina paused, and looked away.

Michael thrust his right hand back through his layered sandy-brown hair, slowly counting to ten before he spoke. "You left the back door open again." "Don't be cross with me, Michael. I had to leave it open. Felix were outside and wouldn'trcome in when I called."

Missy and

The furrows between his eyebrows deepened. "That's why cousin Tony and I installed a cat door for them," he reminded her, his voice kinder but Still firm. "But, Michael," Paulina protested, "they don't like to use it." Though Lizzy smiled at her explanation, she felt the same frustration Michael did. Those cats were like family to Paulina, but it wasn't safe to even leave doors unlocked in a city the size of Dallas, let alone leave them standing wide open. Unfortunately, convincing Paulina of that would be a monumental task, if it could be done at all. She returned her attention to the piece before her, kneeling down in front of the table to study it at eye level. The four-'inch-tall figurine was solid jade, depicting in detail a graceful young Oriental woman. To I. iT~y, it looked just like the one Paulina had described to her earlier. Then again, she had heard that jade practically took on a life of its own as it aged, so perhaps Paulina really could tell the difference. "Don't touch it," Michael ordered, taking his frustration out on her. "There might be fingerprints on it that can be identified." "I know that!" Lizzy snapped right back. "If you really want to make yourself useful, give me the photograph in your pocket." He smoothed the creases out of the photo as he moved around the end of the bed to stand near her. After propping it against the lamp, Michael

stepped back. The photograph exactly matched the present setting, showing only the lace-covered round table, the Victorian lamp and the jade statuette. Slender, bony fingers suddenly came between them and snatched up the photo. "This is mine! I've been looking for it to give to a friend. She's going to make a table cloth just like this one. I was beginning to think I'd thrown it away by accident." Michael studied the photograph over her narrow shoulder. here after the robbery?" "Hmm." Paulina pursed her red lips. it was, but I'm not sure." "Do you have the negative?" look up at her.

"I don't know.

"Was it still

No, I don't think

Lizzy asked, sitting back on her heels to

Paulina nodded eagerly. "I'm sure I do." She propped the photograph against the lamp and hurried out of the room. "Why do you want the negative?" window ledge behind him.

Michael asked, sitting down on the

"To get an enlargement made, naturally." Lizzy looked at the photo, then at the figurine, comparing them. "I don't see any differences between the two, but they could be there." ' "Maybe Gran is wrong and this is hers," Michael murmured. A soft rain-scented breeze ruffled the sheer curtains over the screened bedroom window, blowing the photo over. "It's possible. But if this one is hers, why would someone go to the trouble of returning it?" Lizzy stood up. "And if it's a fake, why didn't the robbers just switch them when they stole it the first time? In fact, why steal the thing at all if it isn't'valuable? This just doesn't make sense." Paulina came back into the bedroom empty-handed. in my hope chest."

"They must already be

"Do you know exactly where your figurine originated, Paulina?" asked her.

Lizzy

Her lined face softened with affection as Paulina gazed at the jade figurine. "No, I don't. My dear, departed husband carried it all over Europe with him during the war, the Second World War. Edward said her calm gracefulness reminded him of me." "Gramps never said where he got it?" Michael asked. "No, and I never asked." Through the screened window the sound of a dog barking became interspersed with a cat yowling. "Oh, that stupid dog," Paulina muttered. "He won't leave my cats alone." She hurried out of the room, calling her five cats one by one, her voice a mixture of scolding and affection. "There's more to this, I can feel it," Lizzy said. There was a tinge of pink on Lizzy's cheeks, a look of excitement in her face that worried Michael. He didn't know her, but had done some asking around and certainly knew of her. By all accounts she could be relentless when something had her attention. But this time, there was more to worry about than getting a paper cut from researching files. "You're probably right," he agreed. "And whatever else there is, we both know how dangerous it might be. You could do a lot worse than leave this to the police. You should probably even take a vacation for a week or two, until this is settled." "Your first suggestion is patently ridiculous. I'm in this to stay now, Michael, so save your breath. As for a vacation, I simply can't. My work load is too heavy right now." She pulled a stretch band from her long brown hair. "If I' don't produce as promised, my clients won't use me again, and I can't afford that." Her nonchalant attitude angered him. "This isn't a game! dead you won't have to worry about making a living."

If you're

"Thank you, Dr. Doom." She didn't like talking about herself in these terms and promptly changed the subject. "What did your gram ps do for a living after the war?" Beneath the wispy brown bangs that touched her eyebrows were chocolate-brown eyes filled with determination and stubbornness. She wasn't going anywhere. "I'm not sure. He traveled a lot while working

for the government, but no one ever said much about his work, at least not to me." "Strange." It seemed mysterious behavior ran in the Cook family. Lizzy cocked her head. "Was it really an un-solved case that lured you to that building?" "What?" Michael shook his head, confused. subjects so fast?"

"Do you always change

Lizzy tucked a stray hair behind her ear. quit stalling and answer my question."

'"Hey, its how I work.

"And bossy to boot," Michael muttered. Are you happy now?"

Now

"Yes, it was an unsolved case.

"Is that case why you're on suspension?" "No." His pinched lips were a firm no and Lizzy didn't push. soon enough. We were set up today. "

She'd find out

"Brilliant deduction!" Lizzy ignored his sarcasm. Why you and me?" "Good question. the meantime"

"But why?

I never met you before today.

When you come up with an answer, let me know.

"I thought about this on the drive here," she interjected. connection is Paulina and that figurine."

But in

"Our only

"No, it's just the only connection we know about at the moment," Michael corrected. "You said your anonymous caller was male?" "Yes. At least, I think so. His voice was muffled, like he was trying to disguise it. There was a lot of static on the line and noise in the background, too. How about the one you got?" "What do you think this is, an information exchange?" are."

"I'm game if you

Michael struggled to control his mounting anger. In his job he often dealt with the consequences of women who were too trusting, and usually they ended up getting hurt or killed. It bothered him that Lizzy had been there, taking chances for his grandmother. It made him feel responsible for her and furious at the same time. "With you, a little information can be a deadly thing," he told her sharply. "Like the phone call. You went to that part of town, alone, on a tip like that?" His thundering expression was daunting, but Lizzy stood her ground. "Just like you." "I had a gun, and" "And what? You're a man so that makes it okay?" Obviously he'd touched a sore point with her, but he needed her to understand that the chances she'd taken today were both foolish and dangerous. And that they shouldn't be repeated. "First of all, I'm a cop. And as long as you brought it up, yes, it does make a difference that I'm a man. For instance, I doubt anyone would rape me." His words stunned her into temporary silence. Then, for some strange, unknown reason, Lizzy found herself wanting to shock him in return. "Oh, I don't know about that. You're not bad looking." A mischievous expression spread across her face as her eyes moved slowly down the length of him, "Broad chest, lean waist, muscled thighs. Nice body." Her laughter-filled eyes met his. "I'm sure there are women who've considered it, and if they didn't speak to you first, they wouldn't know how grumpy you are." "What!" Her perusal of his body made him uncomfortable in more ways than one. Would you be serious? " She felt a certain satisfaction as his face turned red. "Listen, Michael, I understand your point, but I'm not stupid. That building was on the outskirts of the really bad part of town, and it was a quiet Sunday morning. Besides, I checked, the area was deserted."

Though she had some valid points, he wasn't completely appeased. didn't see me."

"You

"No, I didn't." His calm, even voice had stopped her from being flippant, his earlier words lingering in her mind. "I admit I slipped up, But the fact remains that the only danger I got into came about because of this missing figurine, not my female presence in a bad neighborhood." Her admission surprised him. She changed tones and moods faster than a chameleon changed colors and he was definitely having trouble keeping up with her. But he would have to do his best," because she sure didn't seem to be backing down. "Will you leave this up to me and the police?" he asked. "No. Especially not now. I'm not going to hide from this. I want to find out who set us up, just like you do." Michael sighed, not quite believing what he was about to suggest. "Will you at least agree to share any information you come up with?"

Lizzy shrugged. "As long as it works both ways, yes. sharing my fee." "What!" His simmering temper was quick to flare. charging Gran?"

But I'm not

"How much are you

Just how insulting could he get? "She insisted on paying me!" Lizzy informed him angrily. "And if you want a set of handmade Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls you'll have to negotiate your own fee." ~' She swept out of the bedroom in a huff, and Michael knew if looks could kill, he'd be on the floor bleeding to death right now. But when it came to his grandmother he wasn't always rational. Unlike his parents, Gran had always been there for him, his steadying rock in a very turbulent family life. And he intended to protect her as she'd unfailingly protected him. Even if it meant making wrong assumptions about a woman he admittedly found quite intriguing. Dolls for payment! Well, why not? Gran was a very acComplished needlewoman. Every doily and piece of lace in her home had been hand stitched by her, and that included a myriad of dolls and stuffed animals, too. Over the years Gran had often paid people with such gifts if they were unwilling to accept a monetary payment. He found L'~zy in the kitchen looking out the window over the sink. Sitting down at the kitchen table, he picked up his glass of lemonade. "Okay, maybe I misjudged you about that," he admitted grudgingly. Lizzy peered at him over the top of her own glass. apology?"

"You call that an

The back door flew open and a big white cat skittered inside, followed by a scolding Paulina. "Cats! They're worse than any of my grandchildren!" She wiped her hands on a dish towel hanging by the sink. "Now where were we?" "The negative?" Lizzy prompted. "Oh, yes, I was looking for it when duty called." Paulina bustled off again and Michael sat staring at Lizzy. She seemed deep in thought. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what are you thinking about?" "What time does Paulina go to church?" "Someone in the family usually picks her up at eleven forty-five and they have dinner together afterward. Why?" Lizzy mulled that over. "I thought maybe whoever locked us ink that building left the figurine here first, but he wouldn't have had time, would he?" She paused. "Though afterward he had plenty." "You think whoever set us up was also behind the theft and return of the figurine? Where's your proof?" Michael asked. "I don't have any," Lizzy conceded. "But didn't you find that photograph of Paulina's in that building?"

"Yes.

What's your point?"

Lizzy leaned against the counter. "It's not actual proof, but you have to admit it is a connection, and they were both probably stolen at the same time. But why return the figurine? The motive for most robberies is money, and yet here our robber m" "But my figurine has only sentimental value," Paulina reminded her, coming back into the room. "I gather there is an original somewhere, and quite valuable, but my Edward told me years ago that this one was an imitation. What was important was that it was given with love." L'~zy set her glass down and wiped her damp hand on her jeans before taking the brown strip of negative from Paulina. "I understand that, Paulina. What I'm suggesting is maybe the robber thought it was valuable." Michael watched as Lizzy held a strip of negative up to the overhead kitchen light. Could the figurine have actually been the original? If it was, just where had his grandfather gotten it and how? And why would someone come after it now, almost fifty years later?

Given the little Michael knew about Gramps' past and his job, digging into it could be like opening Pandora's box; there was no telling what might come out. Edward Cook had always been a very private man. Paulina was sniffing the air curiously. smoke. Did you meet at a barbecue?" Lizzy kept her eyes on the negative.

"Say, you two smell like

"You might say that.

We"

"Yes we did," Michael interrupted firmly. Paulina sniffed Lizzy's sweatshirt. "Smells like they used coal to cook those burgers. You know..." She trailed off and shook her head. "No, I guess you're both too young to remember,- but we used to heat our homes with coal and it smelled just like you two do." "Our host was a pretty strange fellow," Lizzy murmured, glancing at Michael. His expression was grim. Paulina smiled. "He must be. That's a pretty good tear you've got in your shirt, Lizzy. How'd you rip it?" "Carelessness." Michael stood up.

"I'm going to call the police."

"I ~thought they were already here," Lizzy quipped, winking at him. She never had been able to stay mad at anyone for too long and his scowl as he left the room pleased her. "My eyes aren't what they used to be," Paulina said. the right one?"

"Did I bring you

Lizzy held the negative gingerly between her thumb and forefinger. "Yes you did. I'll return it when I'm done." Paulina patted her shoulder. "I know you will, dear. bring me your shirt I can mend it for you."

And if you'll

"Thank you," Lizzy said, not surprised by her offer. copy of the insurance report for the robbery?"

"Do you have a

"Oh yes." you."

Paulina set her glass down on the counter.

"I'll get it for

It was very unusual for her, but Lizzy realized she had never asked about the other stolen items. All Paulina had talked about was her missing figurine, and lJ~*~j knew it was the only thing that truly mattered to her. "Where's Gran?"

Michael asked, entering the room.

"Getting her copy of the insurance claim. stolen in the robbery?" Michael leaned against the doorjamb.

Do you know exactly what was

"Both televisions,

her microwave, a dock radio and the figurine. "That's it?"

"

"Yes." Michael understood her puzzlement. "They didn't even look in her dresser drawers where she always has some cash hidden, or in G-ramps' old study. There's a valuable coin collection in his desk." Michael held up his hand to avert the question he could see in her eyes. "Before you ask, Gran won't keep it in a safe-deposit box because Gramps never did." Lizzy rubbed her forehead. "What an insurance nightmare. sound like a normal robbery to you?"

Does this

"There's no such thing as a normal rob beN Michael informed her. " Still, there are some anomalies. It's not unusual to leave a coin collection behind, because they're a nuisance to fence, but they sure would have taken the cash if they'd found it. It's almost as if they didn't look. Or maybe something or someone disturbed the robber in the act. Certainly, the items they did get are easily pawned. " " Except for the figurine," Lizzy murmured. "I have a little problem," Paulina announced as she came back into the room. Held between her two hands were strips of shredded paper, whole chunks missing. "One of my cats likes to eat paper. He liked the insurance report best." "Who's your insurance company?"

Lizzy asked, smiling.

Paulina squinted at the shredded paper. "I've done work for them. tomorrow," Lizzy offered.

"NEBI."

I'll see if I can get you another copy

"And I'll get you a copy of the robbery report," Michael added with a big sigh.

Paulina put the shredded papers in the trash can under the sink. "Thank you both." "Was anything else returned today?" miss my microwave oven."

Lizzy asked.

"No, and I really

A knock on the front door sent Paulina hurrying out of the room. Evidently it paid to be a Dallas Police Department detective's grandma. "Do you need me to stay?" Lizzy asked. "I have a report due first thing in the morning and it's only half done." Michael stood up.

"No, but I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Sounds like a threat," Lizzy quipped as she went out the back door. "Michael, the police are here," Paulina called from the living room. "Coming, Gram" THE SIGHTS AND SMELLS were bad enough, but it was the sounds that really got to him. He could hear the old man wheezing even before he entered the sick room, sucking in that pure oxygen he needed to survive, if survival was the word for it. As he came in, the nurse standing near the single hospital-style bed left the room, closing the door on her way out. He approached the bed quietly and stood looking down at the old man, who lay there barely breathing, his eyes closed. An overwhelming urge struck him, and he picked up one of the pillows the nurse kept nearby to prop up her patient at meal limes Slowly he turned back to the bed, an evil smile spreading across his face. "That wouldn't he too smart, boy. will yet."

I haven't signed the changes to my

His smile disappeared. "I just wanted to make you comfortable," he objected, returning the pillow to the pile. "I'm as comfortable as I'm going to-get. How did it go?" the old man asked, his voice weak and raspy from emphysema. His body was also rid died with cancer, but that showed itself only in his hollow face and haunted eyes. Those eyes pinned the younger man in place. "Well? Speak up!" "Not exactly as we'd planned, Father." failed!"

The old man glared at him. "You

"It'll work out in the end." "I want the end to be now, do you hear me?

Now!"

He cowered under the rage the sick old man could still emit. His fists were clenched inside his pants' pockets, nails digging into his palms. He remembered how his father had beat him unmercifully when he was angry like this. There would be no beating today, or ever again, but the old man's voice could still sting like a belt. And even now, from what would soon be his deathbed, he had other ways of keeping people in line, especially his son.

"I'll take care of it, Father." "Did he see you?" "No!" said.

he hastened to reassure him. They didn't see a thing."

"It just didn't go as planned, I

The old man took a deep breath of oxygen, his rheumy, bloodshot eyes stating blankly at his son. "They?" "I meant him!" "Bah! You're just like your mother, weak and foolish. You never could get anything right!" he yelled. The effort left him gasping, his bony fingers scrabbling weakly at the oxygen tubes in his nostrils. His son averted his gaze, sickened. He was squirming inside, just as he had all his life. "Tomorrow," he promised. "I'll come up with something new by tomorrow." "You're the only one I have." He paused to take another deep breath. "When this is completed I'll be able to die happy. And everything will 'be yours," he finished weakly, his eyelids sliding shut. "Get some sleep, Father."

His eyelids flew up. "Don't tell me what to do. And I certainly don't want your namby-pamby sympathy! What I expect from you is satisfaction or you get nothing, do you understand me? Nothing!" "Yes, Father.

I understand."

His old man still held the purse strings and there was no way to get them away from him, not without doing as he asked. He didn't mind doing the deed. In fact, if ~11 went well it would work toward his advantage, too. It was being ordered to do it that got to him. He left the room as quietly as he'd arrived. Rage was burning inside him as it always did whenever he talked to the old man. What he needed was an outlet for it and he knew just the person to vent his anger on. The pay phone he chose was in a deserted area and he punched in a number, waiting impatiently for him to answer As soon as he did, he demanded, "Is it real?" "What?"

the sleepy voice asked.

"Who is this?"

"who else? Who else even talks to you, you miserable excuse for a human being!" . "Well, I have some friends down at the senior center" "Shut up!" find out?"

he bellowed.

"It wasn't a question, idiot!

Now what'd you

"Nothing yet," the other man replied meekly. He couldn't believe how bad things had been go' rag lately. not?" "These things can't be rushed. careful"

"Why

Authenticating a piece like that takes

"I don't care what it takes!" he hell owed again. fast. Or you'll pay, old man, do you hear me?"

"I want it done

"Yes!" On the other end of the line, Wally Fox pulled the receiver away from his ear and cringed. "I hear you! It's hard not to hear you when you yell at me. You don't have to yell. I'll do what you say." "You'd better! And don't think you can double-cross me, either," he warned. "Because you won't even live to regret the attempt." The line went dead and Wally put the phone back in its cradle, his hand shaking. What had he gotten himself involved in? His supposed partner was quick-tempered, and had violent outbursts that terrified Wally. He knew his death threat was very real. But it was too late to back out now, and he was in too deep. All he could do was follow the orders he was given, in spirit if not to the letter, and wish he'd never even heard the name Oscar Moore.

Chapter Four Early the next morning Michael was at the' downtown police station, enduring the inevitable teasing about his role in yesterday's fire. He handled the situation with grim humor, though he personally didn't find it one bit funny. His job was on the line and this certainly wasn't going to help his situation with the review board. At this stage, they were on the alert for even the slightest dirt, so they were sure to hear about his latest fling with trouble. Finally, Michael made it to the lab Where he'd dropped the figurine off late last night. The room looked empty and few lights were on, but he knew it to be a ruse, a means of keeping the less persistent at bay. He walked past deserted desks and humming but unused computers to a corner where Lloyd sat with his back to him, oblivious to everything but his work. "Do we have a clear print?" The chair squeaked loudly as Lloyd swiveled around. "Blast it, Michael! How many times have I~told you to make noise when approaching me?" Lloyd glared at him through thin lenses surrounded by heavy black frames. "I could have a heart attack. Then where would you he?" "You're only thirty-three, just like me," Michael reminded him. Lloyd was also five inches shorter, skinny as a nail and looked about sixteen. "And don't spout statistics at me, it's too early in the morning." Lloyd pushed his-glasses up on his thin nose. "You were the one who insisted on meeting at seven in the morning and you are a half hour late." "It was for your protection," Michael replied. "Don't remind me." Lloyd picked up a plastic straw and chewed on the end nervously. "I don't like it, Michael. Why can't this wait until it goes through the proper channels?" Michael snagged a rolling chair with his foot and sat down with a heavy sigh. "Come on, Lloyd. The department is understaffed and overworked. It could takes weeks for things to get into the right channels. " And I don't have that kind of time, not when it concerns Gran. " "She's the only reason I'm doing this, and don't you forget it, buddy." He and Michael had known each other since high school but friendship only went so far when it concerned his job. By helping someone on suspension, Lloyd was taking chances with his spotless record. But he was well aware Michael had nowhere else to turn. "Did you manage to get a copy of the police report for the fire?" Michael asked. "Of course. Now, try' and keep quiet until I finish this test," Lloyd told him, handing him the file. While Lloyd worked, Michael read. There weren't any surprises in the report, and the few details had been pro-videdby himself and L'~zy. But

he hadn't expected much, anyway.

It was too soon.

The fire investigator would sift through the rubble and do tests of his own before providing an impartial report. No matter how those tests came out, there were no guarantees they'd be able to prove arson. Or attempted murder. Sometimes all the evidence melted down in a fire that intense. Michael was sure that had been the plan from the start.

"I have a clear print," Lloyd muttered. the computers and try to find a match."

"Male.

I'll run it through

Michael nodded. "Can you get me access to that duffel bag I pulled out of the building?" Lloyd ran his fingers through his short black ~air, making it stick out all over and giving him the appearance of an irritated porcupine. "Why?" "I found a photograph of Gran's figurine in it," Michael told him, changing the facts a bit to suit his purpose. "But I didn't get a chance to go through the whole thing before the fire broke out." "What do you think is in there? already on the phone.

Her microwave?"

Lloyd asked, his hand

Michael stretched out his long legs, "I won't know until I go through it, now will I?" "You're cruisin' for trouble, buddy." He kept quiet as Lloyd arranged for him to go through the bag. So maybe he hadn't told the whole truth'. Clues to finding Gran's figurine were only part of the reason he was here. The anonymous caller yesterday had alluded to another robbery he'd worked on years ago, one that still haunted Michael. He wasn't ready to discuss that with any one, not even his best friend. "You've got clearances." Michael rose. "You'd better!

"I appreciate your help." And I expect my payment the next time I see you."

"You'll get it," Michael promised. "Hey, Michael." Lloyd waited until he turned to face him. value your job, try to stay out of trouble."

"If you

The warning was like a ringing in his ears as Michael left the room. It was good advice. While he wanted to do just that, however, he had the uneasy feeling someone out there intended precisely the opposite for him. ACROSS TOWN, Lizzy was sprinting down the hallway that led to the offices of the investigation and claims division of MEC Insurance, among the better paying of her current clients. She'd been up till 4:00 a. m. finishing the report in her hand," but she was going to deliver it on time, as scheduled. Or she wouldn't be picking up a check today. In her haste, "she rounded the corner at a run, and was thus going too fast to miss the slender woman backing out of the office directly in front of her. Things seemed to shift into slow-motion, like a wreck she could see coming but could do nothing to avoid, "Watch it!" Lizzy cried. The woman looked up just as L'w~zy ran smack into her at full speed. She wrapped her arms around her, dropping her report as she struggled to keep them both upright. "I'm so sorry, I

was going too fast!" "No, it was my fault, I wasn't looking," the woman said, straightening her light blue suit, which she wore over a high-necked white blouse. Then she took a good look at the apologetic woman beside her. "Lizzy! I should have known. Who else but Late Lizzy would be running down a hallway." ' "People with important things to do, that's who." "Oh? Coming back to work here?" Nancy?" She laughed. "Far from it. for your own funeral."

Nancy teased.

"Do I look dead,

But Tom's right, you're going to be late

"Geez, he told me that every single day for the year he was roy boss Lizzy muttered; straightening her white and dark blue patterned sweater over her navy blue slacks. "Because you were never on time a single day," Nancy reminded her. "And 'you were always fast with a quip. He hated that and still does. Almost as much as he hates tardiness." Lizzy bent down and picked up her report off the floor. late yet!" Lizzy took off down the hallway

"Well, I'm not

and flew into claims processing, the section where she and Nancy had both started work with this company. "What are you doing now?"

Nancy asked from the doorway.

Lizzy stuck the top sheet of her report into the time clock they used when processing incoming claims and then held it up for Nancy to see. Stamped in bright red ink was the date and time, showing that she was one minute early. "Misuse of company equipment," Nancy said, smiling faintly. going to like that." L'tzzy smiled triumphantly.

"Tom isn't

"I know."

Tom ~Smith, her former boss, was now a vice president with the company. His constant harping over mere minutes had been one of the reasons L'~zy left to branch out on her own. It was a move she didn't regret. Now she set her own hours, even if they did often run to four in the morning. "Now then," Lizzy said as she turned from the time clock and joined Nancy at the door. "Please tell me you have some coffee ready in your office." Sleep had completely eluded her last night, maybe some caffeine would help. "Always" Nancy assured her. "This way." They walked side by side down yet another hallway in the' maze that was MEC. It wasn't Liz. zy's favorite insurance company to work for, but in the beginning of her free-lance career Nancy had always managed to get work sent her when she was most desperate. These days she was in a p? sit ion to be more choosy, but whenever Nancy called, Lizzy still felt a certain loyalty to take the job. The open office door had a nice little sign on it that said~ Nancy Richardson. They went in, and Lizzy dropped the clipped manila file folder on top of Nancy's desk, then helped herself to a cup of coffee. "Just let me buzz Tom. He's already called about this report," Nancy said, sitting down behind her desk. Lizzy rolled her eyes dramatically as she sat in the chair beside the desk. "If you must." Nancy grinned. Her brown hair was cut short in a bouncy wedge style and highlighted with blond streaks. Hazel eyes, fringed with thick lashes, led to a pert nose and full lips. Her voice as she spoke over the phone was soft but crisp and professional. Her grin broadened as she hung up and informed Lizzy, "He's on his way." "Oh, lovely." L'tzzy patted her heart. "I can't wait." Nancy giggled as she pressed another button on the phone, her other hand holding up the manila file with the bill clipped on top. "Shush, I need to be serious." The firm authority in Nancy's voice was a startling contrast to the way she'd been when they'd both worked here a few years ago. Back then a timid mouse had more gumption than Nancy. Now she actually had people who answered to her, such as the underling she hadron the phone.

When she'd first started out free-lancing, it had amazed Lizzy whenever Nancy called with Work for her. To get that work assigned to her, Nancy had to stand up to Tom and the others. That took guts, something Lizzy hadn't even known her friend possessed. Lizzy had certainly been glad for the work. As an added bonus, it did wonders for Nancy's career, as well. That time had been the start of her slowly gaining confidence in herself until it had finally skyrocketed--in every way except where her ex-husband was concerned. He was a festering sore point between them, and one that wasn't going to disappear, at least not soon enough for Lizzy. "Your check will he ready by the time you walk into ac. Nancy informed her.

counting"

"So that's the way it is, eh?" Lizzy jumped up. "Well, thanks for the coffee, good to see you, too. I like your new haircut. Have a nice day." She turned to go. "Sit down, you clown," Nancy ordered with a smile. "I really miss working with you. You always make me laugh and forget my problems."

L'~zy sat back down. "Ditto. You're the only person here I miss." Because they were close friends Lizzy was tempted to tell her about the fire yesterday, but Nancy had enough to worry about. Lizzy zeroed in on it. "Meaning you didn't get the child support payment again this month." "No, but you know how it is, sometimes I get it, and sometimes I don't." Nancy smiled timidly. "I'm luckier than a lot of women, at least I do get it occasionally." Lizzy leaned forward, her irritation showing. "You're supposed to get it all the time! Nancy, I know how much you make. You need that money for your kids. Your ex-husband is loaded! Turn him in, let someone else deal with the creep ." ' "I can't do that." Every time Lizzy thought about what Nancy's ex-husband had done, her blood pressure hit the boil-over point. "If you'd tell the authorities that he's threatened you and the kids, they can do something about it!" "Oh, sure. Like they did the last time?" Nancy asked, her voice filled with bitterness. "They did such a good job of protecting me that I ended up in the hospital." Her words stung like salt in an open wound, rubbed raw by guilt. Lizzy had been the one to encourage Nancy to go through with the divorce when she was ready to back out;' and she still felt partly-responsible for what happened. A war kant ordering Nancy's husband to keep away from her hadn't mattered to him. He'd found her and beaten her up. But Lizzy wasn't about to take all the blame, either, Nancy had only made matters worse by refusing to press charges against him. The system only worked if you cooperated. Still, how did you tell a good friend, one who had been through hell, that she had been partly to blame? "It's the same as before, Nancy.

Press charges."

"I couldn't take that chance then, and I can't now." looked at her for 5 5 ing. "You know he's threatened to kidnap my babies if I ever press charges, and he'd make sure I never saw them again. I couldn't live with that, but I can get by without the money." Lizzy wanted to help Nancy now, just as Nancy had helped her through some rough times, but she knew this was something Nancy had to do on her own. Things did go wrong. People like her ex-husband slipped through the cracks. And if the system did fail, Nancy was the one who would suffer the consequences. It bothered Lizzy to see her friend so upset and she knew just how to make Nancy smile again. "How are the kids doing in school?"

Grateful for the change, Nancy promptly launched into an update on her two children that lasted until Tom Smith entered the office. Tom always looked the same; short brown hair, dull suit, white shirt, nondescript tie, classic wing tip shoes. Good old Tom, ultra con sedative to the very end. "Where's the report?" "Such fine manners," Lizzy commented. She leaned forward and picked up the report, tossing it at him as he stood in the doorway. He caught it against his chest with a displeased look that made Lizzy smile. He frowned as he studied her billing on top but let it pass without comment. When he saw the first page he glared at Lizzy and held it up for her to see, his thumb near the time and date stamped in red on the report. "Was this really necessary?" "With you, yes. I want a check today." According to their agreement, if Lizzy was late with a report she had to wait thirty days for payment. "Do you want a rundown or not?" "Make it brief." "The man suing MEC has sued and collected from four other, smaller insurance companies. Each time the accidents were similar in nature, as were the medical reports. It's

all there, extensive data on each of the accidents, along with what he's collected, his lawyers' and doctors' names, and his aliases. " His frown deepened as he flipped through the pages. different names?"

"He did it under

"Yup, but he used the same social security number." Lizzy couldn't resist the chance to taunt him. "The first thing your people should have checked was the computer network doctors report claims to. It was all there, if you knew what to look for." "Yes, well; all that matters is that I've got the son of a..." Tom trailed off as both women glared at him. He backed out of the room. "I have to get this to the company lawyers." "Good work, job well done," Lizzy announced in a deep, gruff voice that made Nancy giggle. "Geez, has he ever said one word of praise to anyone?" "Not that I've heard," Nancy said.

"Except himself."

"And to think, you actually went out with him once," Nancy's face turned pink.

"I did not!"

"Don't try to bluff me. I have a great memory. You went out with both Tom and Roger Drexel not long after your divorce went through." "All right, so I went out with them, I must have been more desperate than I remembered." She sighed deeply, "I'm not the only one who would rather forget, though. Tom acts like we never did go out to dinner that one time when he was separated from his wife," Nancy said. "And Roger doesn't count. He doesn't even work here anymore." Lizzy stood up. "Lucky for you NEBI made him a better offer. Lucky for me, too. He's another vice president I'm not fond of. Figures those two would be good friends. he the type." She glanced at her watch. "It's been fun, I really do have to get going." The phone on Nancy's desk rang and she picked it up, asking the person on the line to hold for a moment. "Are you still coming to the baby shower for Karen on Thursday?" Lizzy's mouth dropped open. "I forgot to pick up the present we ordered for her! Do you think they're still holding it for us?" o. You 11 just have to go shopping for something else, Nancy. teased, knowing Lizzy hated to shop. "I don't have any free time this week." A look of horror filled Lizzy's face and Nancy waited a full ten seconds, listening to Lizzy stammer excuses before finally relenting. "Relax, I knew you'd get so caught up in your work that you'd forget, so I picked it up last week." . "Thank goodness." Lizzy was too relieved to be mad about the teas' rag Shopping and dental appointments were about equal on her list of fun things to do. Besides, too much was going on right now to waste time. "I'll pick you up Thursday evening," L'tzzy offered in appeasement. Nancy hated to drive at night.

"That'd be great. smile. ~

Just don't forget me, too," Nancy warned her with a

Chapter Five Forty-five minutes later, after fighting her way through not one but two snarled traffic jams, Lizzy parked at the main offices of NEBI. They were located on the third floor of a high rise and she plodded up each step, without her usual jaunty hops. Her long sleepless night had left her ready to go home and take a nap, but first she wanted to get a copy of the insurance report for Paulina, as well as supply an update on a certain matter she had been hired to look into for one of their executives. The door to the claims division was open and L'mzy went inside. She spotted Ester Clark at her desk through the glass-windowed office and knocked lightly on the door before entering. Unlike Nancy, this was one woman who had never had a moment of doubt about where she was going. Ester had graduated from college last year and had plans to climb the corporate ladder at a fast, no-nonsense place. "Morning, Ester." Ester stopped typing and smiled, showing perfect white teeth in her heart-shaped face. Her short black hair was cut in a feathery blow-dried style, complementing her cream business suit and pale pink blouse. "I wasn't expecting you, Lizzy. What's up?" "I need a copy of a claim filed by one Paulina Cook." Ester was immediately on the defensive. claim?"

"Why?

What's wrong with the

"Geez! I must be getting a bad reputation or something. There's nothing wrong," Lizzy assured her, sitting in the chair beside Ester's desk. "Paulina is a friend and her cat ate her copy of the report. I offered to get a copy for her." Ester laughed in relief and pressed a button on her computer monitor. "Give me the info, you know what I need." After supplying the information, Lizzy sat back and watched as Ester's nimble fingers flew across the computer keyboard. The more buttons she hit, the bigger her frown became. Moments later she was scowling. "What's wrong?"

Lizzy asked.

She scanned the length of the computer screen with one pink, oval-shaped nail. "I can't find the report, or anything about it." Ester glanced at Lizzy. "Are you sure she mailed it in to us? Maybe she forgot?" "Or maybe they just haven't gotten it into the computers yet," Lizzy suggested. Ester pressed a button and her screen went blank. "It's possible, but we aren't behind right now. As of Friday, everything we've received to date is in the computer. Maybe her insurance agent still has it?" "That's an idea. But you're probably right. I'll bet Paulina forgot to mail it in. She is eighty-one," L'm~y added in way of explanation.

Ester picked up a pen and scribbled~ the information on a notepad, then stuck it on the edge of her computer screen. "If you can get me the printed number off the form she has, I'll try and trace it that way." "Okay.

I'll try.

Thanks for checking."

Ester glanced at the office door, then spoke softly. with anything on that other problem yet?" "That's why I stopped by.

"Have you come up

I've"

Lizzy shut up as a tall, brown-haired man suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Ester," Roger Drexel said with a

polite nod. Then he looked at Lizzy. on anything for us right now."

"I didn't know you were working

Why did Ester suddenly look so nervous? "I'm not, I'm trying to help an elderly friend out who's lost her copy of an insurance claim," Lizzy explained, keeping her tone civil for Ester's sake. If possible, she liked Roger even less than Tom Smith. "Then what problem was Ester talking about?" "You always were nosy," Lizzy told him, her exasperation showing. '"I know it's hard for you to believe, Roger, but some people do have lives outside of the insurance business. The problem is personal, okay?" Roger stuck his hands in his black dress slacks, his sun-bleached, wavy brown hair and dark eyes complementing his winter tan. "I didn't know you two were friends." "See, you don't interrupted her are the figures him. "Anything

know everything" l. i? ~zy shot right back. Ester before the usual feuding between the two started. "Here you wanted, Roger." She held out a sheet of paper to else?"

"Not right now." Roger stood in the doorway studying the paper, or appearing to at any rate. L'~zzy knew from past experience that Roger was too nosy to leave without an explanation, and her animosity toward him went way back. While at MEC Roger had twice been promoted over her, supposedly because of his degree from an Ivy League college. In L'~zy's opinion it was the fact he was a man that had swayed the all-male top management in his favor. The only thing that kept her from telling him to mind his own business was the worried expression on Ester's face. "Can you come out to my car and look at it?" Lizzy asked her. "Sure."

Ester almost jumped out of her chair.

"Look at what?" Lizzy sighed.

"Listen, Roger..."

"I'm going to look at a dress, Roger." see it, too?" "Oh, girl stuff.

Ester grinned.

"Do you want to

No thanks."

He dismissed them with a wave of his hand and strolled back to his own office. Lizzy and Ester went out to Lizzy's car. The underground parking garage was chilly as they sat there, staring at each other. "What's wrong with you?" Roger, do you?"

Lizzy asked.

"You don't honestly suspect

Ester bit her lower lip. "Oh, not really, I suppose. Or should I say I doubt he's smart enough to have figured this out. But anyone in the company could be pulling this scam, and anyone might be in on it.

That's why I hired you.

" " I thought I

was working for'NEBI.

" " You are.

Indirectly.

" " Ester.

"

"I promise, you will get paid," ~' the other woman said. She'd known Ester for almost a year now, and believed her. "Okay. I still haven't come up with anything new. This could have been a one-time thing," L'~zy told her. "But it did take considerable planning to pull off even once, so the temptation to do it again would be pretty strong." "Pretty strong! If you found a way to manipulate figures in the computer so that you pocketed fifty grand of the insurance company's money--and got away with it--would you do it only once?" Ester asked. "Probably not. But unless they did do it more than once, we're not going to find out who it is," Lizzy warned, not wanting Ester to get her hopes up. "Even then it'll be like pulling teeth. I've finished going through the backup disks you provided. Do you have more ready?" Ester grabbed her arm.

"You didn't bring them with you!"

"No, I didn't. Now calm down." She was still upset over yesterday's events, and found Ester's nervousness annoyingly catching. "Have you told me everything?"

"Yes." Ester shivered. "It's just that ever since I found my desk broken into I've been a bit jumpy. I'm not used to this cloak and dagger stuff." L'~zy wasn't, either. "You're not alone, Ester. Will you be home tonight? I can drop off the disks and pick up more, if you have them ready.

"

"I do, and tonight is fine." Ester played with a ring on her lit He finger. "With solid proof we can expose this seam. It'll be quite a feather in your cap." Lizzy smiled. '

"While you leap up the corporate ladder a few rungs."

"And get you a big fat fee," Ester added, before turning serious. careful. There's a lot of money at stake."

"Be

"I will," L'~zzy promised. Fifteen minutes later Lizzy was down in the industrial section, at the commercial photographic lab where she'd dropped off Paulina's negative last night, along with a list of explicit instructions. Among those instructions had been the name of the technician she wanted to handle the job. That technician, Dexter, was busy, so L'~zy sat in the tiny waiting room trying to figure out what the huge black-and white photographs on the cement walls were. It was a game she'd played before. Perhaps she wasn't that accustomed to cloak and dagger work, but she had solved almost as many puzzles using photographs as she had. filtering through paperwork. In insurance, a picture was worth a whole lot more than a thousand words. i The posters on ,. D~,~ter's walls, however, were all pieces of things she couldn t identify, and Dexter had no intention of satisfying her curiosity. "Lizzy," he warned as he came into the room, "I'm tempted to charge you double for the speed you demanded He set the photo in his hand on the counter between them. " Post haste, indeed," he muttered. Dexter was a little man, barely five feet tall, with short dark hair and wire-rimmed glasses. Lizzy wondered if he owned anything besides plaid shirts, blue jeans and loafers. "Charge me double next time," Lizzy said, moving over to the counter. "These are coming out of my pocket." He spread three photographs out on the counter. "Don't think I won't. And next time, keep your grubby little thumbs off the negative." "Sure thing, Dexter," she promised. Mollified, Dexter pointed at the pfiotographs. "This eleven-by-fourteen is the largest I could go and still keep the grain a

reasonable size. Lousy neg. The colors you wanted are intact only due to my sheer genius." He pointed at the next one. "But I think this one is the best for what you want. The eight-by-ten holds both the form and color quite well." ' "They're very good," Lizzy complimented. A stack of four-by-six photographs were on the counter, too. "What are those?" Dexter fanned the photos out like a deck of cards. "These are all the shades of green you can get, depending on how you read the color balance." "What does that mean?" Lizzy asked, staring at them. pale mint to dark forest green.

They varied from

He handed her the photos. "Technically, if you're trying to prove something matches, it won't hold up in court. As you can see; it too easy to change the shades of green, even if you happen to know the lace doily is pure white." "But the lighter shade of green down the front of each one is consistent?" Dexter nodded. "Oh, sure. That part holds true. Of course, somebody of my caliber could alter it in the darkroom, even make it disappear. But I printed 'em straight." A few minutes later Lizzy left the lab, all thoughts of a nap long gone. She was too excited to sleep. Now, she

couldn't wait to compare the photos with the figurine to see if they were in fact different. But there was one little problem. Paulina no longer had the figurine because Michael would have had to turn it over to the police to be tested for fingerprints. That meant she was going to have to call Paulina to get his phone number. Surely Michael could get her access to the figurine. L[zzy lived simply--and cheaply--in a one-bedroom apartment in north Dallasl Not part of a complex, the apartment was above the cavernous detached garage of a private residence that sat in the middle of five wooded acres, and had at one time been a place for the owner's parents to stay when they visited. It had been Lizzy's home now for five years, and suited her fast-paced life-style very well. The huge garage, actually a converted stable, was two stories high, with the apartment perched on top. Parking her car beneath one of the large shade trees that lined the drive in front of it, Lizzy climbed the three flights of steps, all the possibilities concerning the figurine' running through her mind. Nearing the top landing she suddenly stopped, frozen for a brief moment. Then she began retreating backward down the steps. door to her apartment was wide open. There were only two keys to that door as far as she knew; hers and her landlord's. And her landlord was out of town. Chapter Six L'~. zy stopped halfway down the staircase, a little ray of doubt poking through the suspicions cloud' rag her mind. She had been running late that morning. There was a light breeTe blowing right now and had been all day. One good gust often blew the door wide open if she didn't close it properly, and for the life of her she couldn't remember if she had or not. After yesterday, it was tempting to leave and call the police just to be on the safe side. But what if this was a false alarm? She'd feel like a fool, and Michael would have a field day if he found out, which he almost certainly would. He already doubted her ability to handle herself in a tough situation. How low would his opinion of her abilities sink if she cried wolf over a door she'd accidentally left unlocked? "My imagination is working overtime," she muttered with a big sigh, trying to make herself believe it. Still, there was no reason to be foolhardy. Michael wouldn't think much of that, either. She rummaged in her purse for her heavy flashlight to use as a weapon, should she need it. She left her bag out of sight on the stairs so she'd have a free hand. In the other she held the heavy black wand clenched tightly in her fist. She climbed upward, hugging the stairS railing all the way back to the top step.

To her right was she took a quick television. The was wide open as

the front door and Lizzy kept her back to the jamb as peek inside, just as she'd seen actors do on one-room apartment looked empty and the bathroom door usual.

She stole another quick look inside. From this angle L'~zy could see behind the counter that hid the galley kitchen from the rest of the room, and unless someone was hiding in the old-fashioned claw-foot tub, her intruder, if there had been one, was long gone. Feeling rather foolish but still hesitant to enter, Lizzy stood near the doorway, wishing she hadn't left in such a rush this morning. Her bed wasn't made and clothes were scattered all over it, the Sunday papers still strewn across the sofa. Such disarray wasn't unusual for her after a tight deadline, but it made it all the more difficult to tell if anything had been disturbed. Finally regaining her courage, Lizzy stepped into apartment and immediately tripped on something. She was still floundering like a fish out of water when, something else hit her on the back of the neck. It didn t hurt. felt.

alive.

Lizzy screamed, her arms flailing as she tried to get away into from the furry thing that just kept flying her. stumbled back out the front door and fell' against the railing, the flashlight dangling from her wrist. Her heart was pounding as she leaned on railing for support, her knees ready to buckle. risked a peek at whatever had accosted her. Eyes wide, began to tremble uncontrollably. A huge, hairy' black spider was twirling around on a of nearly invisible fishing line in the open doorway. round belly. of the stuffed arachnid had been sliced open a small knife was shoved clean through the white inside. On the tip of that blade was a piece of white With shaky fingers she combed her brown hair back out of her eyes, trying to regain control of her shattered nerves. Cautiously she drew near the mangled toy spider, getting only close enough to read the note as she used the tip of her flashlight to stop the twirling bug. Splotches of red covered the white paper. you'd be dead. Better luck next time.

This could be your blood and

If someone hadn't tried to burn her alive yesterday, Lizzy might have laughed it off as a sick practical joke. But this was too much for her. She ran down the stairs and jumped into her car, still trembling as she roared down the long curving driveway toward the street. At the nearest pay phone she called the police, then Paulina, both to make sure she was all right and get Michael's number. He wasn't at home. It took a few more calls to track him down, but she finally reached him at one of the police substations and told him what had happened. Still unnerved, L'~.

zy drove slowly back to her place, for once not

speeding in her haste. to get somewhere. time for the police to get there first.

She was leaving plenty of

Two policemen were coming down the above-garage apartment steps as she parked beside their cars. They were laughing, teasing and throwing punches at each other as they came down the stairs two at a time. Confused by their behavior, Lizzy waited for them at the bottom of the steps. They didn't have anything in their hands and didn't seem too concerned about her situation, either. The younger officer slapped the other one on the back as he passed him. "Later," he said. "Later." The officer before her had short graying hair, and he was clean shaven, his navy blue uniform pressed and neat. "Lisbeth Green?" "Tell me exactly what you saw up there."

They had come down empty-handed, and his kind, almost gentle tone was disturbing. An ebbing suspicion began to nag at her. "Why? What did you see?" she asked warily. "I asked you first." He was being too nice. Without emotion, Lizzy related what had happened earlier. The officer never once interrupted her to ask questions and by the time she was finished Lizzy knew why. His expression told all. "A spider with a knife through it," he said. "You didn't see the spiderT" "No ma'am. The door wasn't quite closed, but there aren't any signs of forced entry. We checked inside, everything seems to be fine. A bit messy, but..." He trailed off with a shrug. "I was single once. I remember what it's like. And I remember coming home to an empty place, too. It can be spooky." Lizzy closed her eyes. She hadn't imagined that spider! What was someone trying to do to her7 Drive her crazy? Make her look nuts in front of the police? Why not?

It had happened once before.

The slamming of a car door roused her and she watched as Michael strode toward them. His yellow T-shirt was tucked into snug-fitting blue jeans, white sneakers on his feet. "Are you okay?" he asked, studying her. etched on her pale oval face.

Confusion and fear were

"I'm fine." His presence made her feel better and didn't bother asking herself why. It was just good again. "But my reputation might be in need of pair. They didn't find anything up there." Michael looked at the officer.

"Nothing?"

"No spiders," the officer confirmed, stating at Michael~ "Do I know you? You look familiar." A tug of dismay creased the corners of Michael "The name Michael Cook ring a bell?" "That's right." The officer snapped his fingers and grinned. "I saw you on television after you pulled that crazy stunt. You still on suspension?" He winced at the choice of words, hoping the review board didn't think what he'd done was crazy, too. "Yeah." "Too bad. Well, there's nothing else I can do here. Sounds like maybe someone she knows is playing a sick joke on her. Good luck with the hearing." "Thanks."

Lizzy was sitting on the bottom step, her arms wrapped around her knees. He squatted down in front of her. She still looked dazed, but no longer seemed quite so scared. "Are you in shock?" Her thick eyelashes flickered but she didn't look at him.

"No. Why?"

"I had you pegged as the kind of person who'd be yelling at the top of her lungs, declaring to the world that you're not nuts, that there was a mangled spider hanging in your doogway with a knife stuck in it." "Sure.

You'd really love that, wouldn't you?"

"Well, it would've been something to see," he admitted, trying to cajole some kind of reaction out of her. She was too wooden by half, and it bothered him. Lizzy's eyes had gone wide.

Maybe it was him.

Then she shook her head, annoyed by her own thoughts. She only wished it was that easy. Michael couldn't have done this to her, at least not alone, because someone had cleaned up immediately afterward. Still, he'd been the one to find a way out of the building yesterday. Had it been planned that way? Was he somehow a part of this mystery they were trying to solve? No, that was crazy. Or rather just too terrible to contemplate. "You missed the yelling part," she informed him. "I did that when the spider hit me." He chuckled. Lizzy didn't. Her monotone voice and blank stare worried him. Michael grabbed hold of her hands

and pulled her up. a look at you."

"Come on.

I think we better have a paramedic take

"I'm fine." Lizzy pushed his hands away and crossed her arms. don't believe me, either."

"You

"I don't, huh?" Michael shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. "I broke every speed limit on the way here. Ran a red light, too. Until today I would have said it was impossible to get from south ~of downtown to north Dallas at noon in fifteen minutes." He had gotten here fast and she wasn't being very grateful, but someone was playing nasty games with her head again and she didn't know how to cope with it. This was not, however, going to be a repeat of the last time. "That cop thinks I'm nuts!" of helplessness.

she lashed out, infuriated by her feelings

"You'd think so, too, if you saw even one tenth of the stuff most policemen deal with on a daily basis. Heck, he's probably more relieved than anything. Usually when someone is seeing spiders, they're strung out on drugs and a danger to both themselves and others." He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Did you tell him about the fire yesterday?" His voice had a hard edge to it, and he looked tough and mean. Not the kind of per' on you'd want to meet in a dark alley. "No. It didn't seem appropriate, not after he didn't find anything." She had to get a handle on this. After all, ho was on her side. "Michael, I'm sorry," she apologized. overreacted and just took it out on you. " "And I'm sorry about the lecture. asked. She backed away from him.

Now can we go up, stair's?"

he

"Why?"

Her defensiveness angered him. "Relax! I'm not attack you." Michael rocked on his heels, striving for patience, which was something he had precious little of as late. "You called me! Remember? All I want is to check things out myself, if that's okay with you." He shrugged and turned as if to leave. "If not, I'll go." If he did have some sort of secret agenda, she'd never find out standing there second-guessing him, now would she? "All right," she said brusquely. "Come on up." While Michael explored, Lizzy quickly made her bed, then stacked the newspapers into one pile before throwing her clothes in the closet and shutting the doors. Keeping busy was best, it gave her less time to think. The large one-room apartment was divided into sections by the furniture arrangements. Bath and kitchen at one end, her bedroom and work area at the other, the living room in the middle. Long narrow windows near the top of the ceiling let natural light pour into the room from every direction. Her narrow galley kitchen was behind an antique wooden bar, the smooth top serving double duty as her dining table, four white painted stools

providing seats. glass.

She made a pitcher of iced tea, and brought him a

"What'd you find?" "Dust." He got up from his knees near the front door and took the glass she held out to him. "This'll help. Thanks." "I've been just the tiniest bit too busy to worry about housework lately," she told him sarcastically. "It's fine." He gulped some tea and then asked her, "When was the last time this place was painted?" "Last September.

Why?"

Michael took another long swallow of the iced tea before speaking. "Have you hung any decorations around the inside of your door since then?" "No." smug?

When he didn't continue, she got impatient. "What's your point?"

"I think I know how the guy rigged up the spider." asked, "You believe me?" "I never doubted you.

Come see this."

Why did he look so

Surprised, she

His sincerity helped soothe her frazzled nerves and made Lizzy feel like giving him a big kiss as she stepped up on the narrow ladder beside him. Their bodies were touching at the shoulders, hips and thighs, his heat seeping into her, making her even more aware of him. Was he aware of the attraction? "See these holes, they look like tiny pinpricks?" He was pointing at the top of the doorjamb. "Put your fingers on them." Lizzy touched the wall lightly.

"It's sticky."

"Probably tape residue, and there's an identical set of holes behind the door, too. And below. If he rigged a trip wire at the bottom and used fishing line, you'd never see it. In you walked and down came the spider." Michael smiled at her. "Enough to make anybody spill their curds and whey." She ignotvxt his attempt at humor.

"But why?"

"Good question, and one I don't have an answer for." He helped her down, then put the ladder back in the kitchen~ "You tell me." "How should I know?" Her sharp tone of voice harbored both fear and frustration, feelings he understood. But it didn't get them any where. "Has anything else like this happened recently?" "Other than yesterday, no!" "Do you have any past lovers who might be out for venge?" his eyebrows. "Someone you scorned?"

He raised

L'tzzy almost laughed, though she supposed it wasn, t ally very funny. When was the last time she'd had a ~ date? Too long; work consumed all her time lately. "My past isn't that colorful. But it's got to be someone I "Why so adamant?" "I've lived in this apartment almost five years and I've never been in the phone book. My number is unlisted, and I use a post office box for all my mail." Lizzy paced vously. "You ran a police check on me, but I had to give you my address." He didn't deny it. "You're not listed at this address anywhere?" Michael asked. The vigorous shaking of her head intrigued him. "Why not?" "I like my privacy." She was standing behind the wheat-colored sofa and he approached her slowly, not wanting to make her even more skittish. When he was within touching distance, he spoke. "What haven't you told me?" Lizzy licked her dry lips, her eyes not meeting his. mean?"

"What do you

"Come on, Lizzy, Give me some credit. I'm a trained observer," he reminded her dryly. "Yesterday you were fire and sizzle. Today you're

a different person. You're not meeting this head-on as if you can beat it all with one hand tied behind you. So what aren't you telling me?" "You're the one with secrets, Michael." She put her hands on her hips and looked directly at him. "For instance, why were you suspended?" If he didn't tell her himself, who knew what kind of trouble she'd stir up while finding out and he already had enough of his own making. He sighed, running a hand over his tired eyes, then looked at her balefully. "All right. I drove a police car through a department store window," he told her. "My superiors didn't like it." "I bet they didn't." She tapped her index finger against her lips, humor slowly filling her face. "Wait a minute! I remember now. It was in the newspapers and on television!" He didn't want to be reminded. "Believe me, I could have lived without the publicity. Now, getting back to what it is you're" "Whoa, hold your horses, I haven't remembered all of it yet." More than ready for a pleasant diversion, Lizzy closed her eyes and thought back to the incident. "Let's see..."

"Take your time," he said, disgusted. "Take forever." Lizzy read so much in her work that getting around to the newspaper was a Sunday luxury, and time for television was even scarcer, so it wasn't any wonder she hadn't placed his name or face right away. Now, however, details of the incident were coming back to her. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "A disgruntled lover entered a department store downtown, shot a couple of employees, including his ex-fiancee, then took a little boy hostage. After a long standoff, he threatened to kill the child if his demands weren't met within half an hour." She cocked her head to one side. "How am I doing so far?" Michael grimaced. to yourself."

"You hit the high points.

And you can keep the rest

He was a sarcastic cuss, but she found him even more likable after this revelation. Michael Cook was a certified hero, or at least he was as far as the public was concerned To the department and certain cic watchdog groups, he. was a certified~ maniac Maybe that s the part she liked best;i. : "His outlandish demands couldn't be met," Lizzy continued, "so you drove in, right through the window, and' snatched the kid." She chuckled. "Didn't go over too well with the store' manager, if I remember. Dallas either. Something about a break-in procedure and a boy' mentality they didn't need on the force anymore. Where was your partner?" "He transferred to the Corpus Christi the week before," Michael replied, resigning himself third degree. "And I hadn't been assigned a new one." Richie had been his partner for three years and missed him, but in a way he envied him, too. Michael also knew his moving to a smaller town had been the best thing. for his family. ' "All they said in the newspaper was that you had acted alone," Lizzy recalled. "The media conveniently forgot to tell that part of the story, as well as a few other bits and pieces." Lizzy was still thinking. "You know, I do remember he-ing annoyed at the way the story was being doled out," she said. "And then coverage sort of vanished." "Gag order," Michael told her, his voice detached and mechanical. the good of the department, of course." "So what if you were overzealous? It all turned out okay. the kid. Why are you on suspension?"

"For

You saved

He folded his arms across his broad chest. "I told you before, it's more of an administrative leave. Standard procedure when a weapon is fired in the line of duty." His flat emotional response infuriated her. "Get real. You didn't kill him, the guy committed suicide after you snatched the kid. " "True."

Michael's robot like expression cracked a little and he winced

as he remembered his commanding officer's words, that graveled voice booming with disdain. "But I was disobeying a direct order, engaging in reckless behavior that endangered others, and being plain stupid." "But you saved that boy's life!" hadn't?"

Lizzy protested.

"And what if I

Finally his emotions became plain. The torment in his eyes touched her heart and she spoke softly. "" So you agree with them? If you had to do it over again you wouldn't act ? ' "You bet your... You bet I'd do it again. got a feeling my superiors know it, too."

That's the problem.

I've

Which was why this hearing had him worried. This wasn't the first time he'd behaved rashly, and they might decide he was unstable, more of a detriment than a help, no longer able to do his job as directed. That scared him. It was a job he loved and hated equally, but it was one he didn't want to lose. Being a cop defined him, made him what he was. Without that definition, he was nothing. Just another jerk.

"If you don't mind," Michael said tersely, "I'd prefer we changed the subject." Add moody to his other sterling qualities. fine."

"I like this one just

"Well I don't." He fixed his intense hazel eyes on her, letting her know he meant business. "Let's hear your secret now. What aren't you telling me?" Lizzy turned away and stared out the windows high over her bed. The trees outside were budding, a sign that spring was almost there. "You're imagining things, Michael." "Am I?" Except for overdue parking tickets, Lizzy didn't have a police record, but she was hiding something from him. It was a long hard road to becoming a police detec-tivei a sixth sense about people was practically in the job description. That was also why he knew that, given time, she'd confide in him. Right now he had other things to think about. "Okay, have it your way. This little disappearing trick today has me worried." It had the same sobering effect on her.

"Oh?"

"If this incident is related to the fire, I-think someone's decided to play with you," Michael explained. "That spider was probably symbolic for this guy, a way of telling you you're in his web, whatever that might be. He enjoys frightening you and listening to you scream." Lizzy looked at him, shivering at the implications. for those comforting words."

"Thank you so much

"That's why he stayed close by the whole time, so he could watch and hear you," Michael continued. "And then he took his stuff and hightailed it out of here after you left." Blood drained from her face, leaving it ghostly white. "Oh, my God." Lizzy crossed the room, opened a closet door by the bathroom and reached inside to punch a button. The closet was empty, but from inside strange sounds erupted, and then the floor inside the white cubicle slowly rose upward and a brass-colored cage came into view. It wasn't a closet at all.

"An elevator!"

"The owner built this place for his parents and had it installed for them, but I've never used it. Access is from inside the garages below." I. i~. zy folded her arms around her waist. "I never use it, so I tend to forget it's even there. This is probably how he got in. And I'll bet he was right here the whole time, listening to me." The fear in her voice drew him to her. Right now she was vulnerable, her emotions raw, and he had the urge to comfort her, to make promises he didn't know if he could keep~ But he didn't give in to those urges. He didn't want her complacent; he wanted her worried and frightened. Her chances of survival were better that way. "But for him to know about it..." She shivered. "And how did he know I wouldn't go for the police the moment I saw my open door? He must

have been pretty sure of what I'd do," Lizzy muttered, turning to look out the window again. Michael started. to touch her on the shoulder, then stopped. He liked the way her hair brushed the middle of her back and he wondered what it felt like. It looked as smooth as spun silk. With some effort he withdrew his hand. quite well."

"I'd say he Or she knows you

L'mzy turned her head quickly, her brown hair cascading down over her right shoulder. "She?" This was the first time either of them had mentioned that possibility. "Why not a woman? They can be just as passionate and vindictive. It's another thing the media doesn't talk about much, but more and more crimes these days are perpetrated by women. And as long as we're thinking of that spider as symbolic," he added, "it could represent a black widow. She's the one who does the killing." "Ugh!

I hadn't thought of that!"

"Have you ever stolen another woman's man?" He was serious.

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Hmm. Well, it's still worth thinking about." He indicated the elevator. "Are the owners home? Maybe they saw or heard something." "They left on Thursday for their yearly vacation in the Bahamas and none of their staff lives in." Lizzy flipped her hair back over her shoulder. "In fact, I'm the only one on the grounds now.-All the employees get the same time off." Michael grimaced. The Tudor-style house sat in the middle of at least five acres, with tall shrubs and trees surrounding most of the property. The garage and house couldn't even be seen from the street. "No witnesses," he muttered. "Or suspects, either." "Don't remind me. and her figurine.

Maybe we can find a common thread here besides Gran If we each make lists"

"In a~ minute," Lizzy interrupted, grabbing her keys off the' table near the front door. "I'll be right back." Restless and annoyed, Michael wandered over to her oak desk~ A blank computer screen had rainbow-colored bits of paper all across the bottom of it and he tried to read her scribbled notes, but none of them made any sense to him. The smoky-colored disk storage box was open and he flipped through the square disks inside. The few that were labeled were in the same incomprehensible shorthand she'd used on the tiny notes. Whether it was bad handwriting, or a deliberate attempt to deceive, he couldn't tell. Next to the box was her appointment book and he idly flipped through the pages until he heard her running up the stairs. By the time she entered the room, he was sitting in a white, glider-style rocking chair near the sofa. Lizzy came rushing into the room, pink-faced from the run. "I picked these up earlier today. You can see the color differences Paulina mentioned quite clearly." She spread them out on the bar. "Can you get us access to the figurine to compare them?" "Sure," he said, joining her at the counter to study the enlargements. After a few minutes he scooped the photos up. "You're tight about the colors. Let's go, I'll drive." Lizzy grabbed her purse. "No, I'll take my own car, I have appointments later this afternoon." THE HUGE HOUSE was deathly quiet as he ascended the curving staircase. It felt like a tomb, cold, without any signs of life. Just like the old man who owned it. Today had given him quite a thrill and he realized it had been too long since he'd enjoyed himself so much. Topping today's little stunt wasn't going to be easy, though. Maybe he'd switch tactics for a while, come at the other one. No, that wouldn't be as much fun. There was something so utterly satisfying about a woman's scream, especially hers. He owed her one. Outside the door to his fathers room, he paused, preparing himself for

what was to come. The old man took great joy in bursting any euphoric bubble he'd ever had. But this time was going to be different, because this time he wasn't going to let him see his happiness. Instead he'd concentrate on his next evil deed and not on his father's royal summons. He pushed the door open. "You're. late!" He waited until the nurse closed the door on her way out of the room. "Traffic was heavy." "You always have excuses!" The old man was wheezing, and he breathed in oxygen before continuing, "Wally's phone still isn't working. Didn't you pay the bill?" "Of course, and in cash." He slipped his hands into his pants' pockets, his fingers clenching into fists. "It won't he turned back on until late today." "Is the piece authentic?" He didn't face him. It was so cold! The ornate fireplace before him had never been used, at least not by the present owner. It was because of the oxygen, of course. How much

fun it would be, he thought, to light a match and watch the parsimonious old pest go up in a blaze of glory! He hid his smile.

"It hasn't been verified yet, Father."

"What's taking so long? or it's a fake."

It's not complicated, either the piece is real

His father thought all forgeries were simple, like the ones he'd dealt in to get where he was today. But he 'had no understanding about works of art. Especially one that could prove so valuable. "It's not that easy." He stroked the small gold lion sitting on the mantel. It, too, was ice-cold, like everything else his old man owned. "At one time, the piece was heavily copied and some of them are superb replicas." A coughing fit consumed the old man and his son rushed to the door, yelling for the nurse. He couldn't let him die yet,~his inheritance wasn't guaranteed. He averted his eyes from the sickening process as the nurse tended his father. When she left the room a few minutes later he looked even paler, but his eyes still held the glint of a powerful, all-consuming wrath. "You wouldn't be so stupid as to try and cross me, would you, boy?" his father demanded. He turned away, not letting the old man see his face. Given the chance, he'd take the money and run. "No, I'm not that stupid." "You better not be! he warned his son.

I can still get to you.

from my grave!"

"From my grave, do you hear!"

"Yes, Father." "Have you come up with a new plan for our other problem?" "I'm working on it." Still flush with the success of today's stunt, he felt bolder than usual. "You always told me that careful planning is the most important step, more important than the actual execution." The old man gestured at him obscenely with his long, bony middle finger. "Stop preening and go do something useful! Talk to Wally, tell him I want to see him tonight. But don't touch him." He cackled grotesquely. "Not yet."

Chapter Seven Michael's buddy in the police crime lab managed to find an empty office for them to use, but it was at the back of the building, meaning the pair had to run a gauntlet of friendly salutations, interested stares and raised eyebrows. "You sure are a popular guy," "Lizzy muttered as she followed him into the quiet office at last. " Or is it infamy? " Michael gave her a sidelong glance, then put the statue on a cleared surface of the beige metal desk that dominated the small room. He kept the magnifying glass he'd borrowed in his hand. "Most are just co-workers." "Whatever, there's lots of them." He shrugged.

"It's a big department."

The harsh overhead fluorescent lighting glared off the photographs as Lizzy began arranging them around the figurine. Her long hair kept falling forward over her shoulder and Michael watched with interest as she quickly twisted it into a loose knot at the nape of her neck, securing it without pins or bands. "Neat trick." "It takes practice." Lizzy set the last of the small photographs along the bottom of the desk. Between them they picked up one photo after the other, holding each one up to the figurine for comparison until they had been through them all. "It doesn't matter which shade of green you choose, not one of these matches," Lizzy noted. Michael tapped the photo nearest him. "But every single photograph has an identical light streak of green right down the middle." He paused and pointed at the figurine. "And yet this doesn't." "Then Paulina was right, this one isn't hers." Lizzy picked up the eleven-by-fourteen photo. "Hmm. Hand me the magnifying glass, please." He handed it to her and moved in to look over her shoulder. you looking for now?"

"What are

"Jade is relatively soft. If you touch it over and over, along with a change in color, eventually you'll create an indentation, kind of like a worry stone," Lizzy explained, moving the magnifying glass down the length of the photo. "And Paulina stroked hers every night for almost fifty years. That should have left one heck of a dent:" One by one they took turns studying each of the photos again. "Good idea," Michael said, "but when Gran took this photograph she wasn't focusing for indentations." "No, I guess not," Lizzy ~ agreed, setting the magnifying glass down on the desk.

At that moment the door to the office flew open and a wild-eyed young man with black glasses rushed in, panic on his face. "Give me that thing quick! The old battle-ax is back from lunch early." Michael handed him the figurine. "Do you want me" -- "No! back." He slammed the door behind him. "Who is the old battle-ax?" desk.

I'll be

Lizzy asked, sitting on the edge of the

Michael grinned and the corners of his humor-filled eyes wrinkled. "She runs this department, and just about everyone in it fears her. Been here forever and has a lot of power. They can't wait until she retires next year."

The door flew open again and the young man rushed back in. He collapsed in the chair behind the desk with a big sigh and pushed his black-rimmed glasses up on his nose. "Join us why don't you?" Michael murmured. "Don't mind if I do. Whew! That was close." "What's the problem?" "She saw me with that figurine this morning and took a liking to it. I was afraid she'd come looking for it and I'd have to lie about where it was. And you know I'm a rotten liar, Michael. No one ever believes me." "Lizzy meet Lloyd," Michael said, introducing them. She shook his hand. Lloyd was about five, five, skinny, his short hair the same color as his bookish black glasses. "Pleased to meet you, Lloyd." "He lifted fingerprints from the figurine this morning, but hasn't found a match, yet," Michael informed her. "Hey!" Lloyd protested. "That reminds me! I came in early again this morning to do that for you and you didn't even bother to bring my pay. You probably ate it on the way here, didn't you?" Michael leaned back against the doorjamb. "Don't worry, you'll get your sugar cookies from. Gran--if you find a match," Michael taunted. "I'm working on it, and a million other things, too. But I work better with cookies in me," Lloyd said, raising' his thick black eyebrows repeatedly. "That's a hint." The two were obviously good friends. "How about half now, and half when the job is completed," Lizzy suggested. "That'll work," he said, winking at her.

"I like your style, Lizzy."

Michael looked amused. "I'll agree to that, if you let me take the figurine out of the building." "What?" Lloyd sat up. "Michael, are you nuts? job! It's police evidence." "So?

That could cost me my

I'm a cop, too, remember?"

"Oh yeah?

" Then show me your badge," Lloyd said.

Michael grimaced.

"I wish I could."

~

Lloyd blew out a breath and slumped in his chair, a stricken look on his face. "Damn. I'm sorry, Michael, I didn't mean. You know I think your suspension is a big pile of political hooey. I just don't want to get into trouble, that's all.

"

"You'll only get in trouble if you're caught," Michael reasoned. "And if you are, your record is spotless. All you'll get is a write-up. I'm

the one who'll really catch it, and I'm so far down already it won't matter." "I'll get two write-ups, and one will be for associating with you," Lloyd returned grumpily. "I should know better you got me in plenty of trouble in high school." Lloyd was definitely wavering and Michael knew hig soft Spots.

"Remember, it's for Gran."

"That's not fair," Lloyd moaned. anywhere?"

~ '"Why do you need to take it

"To find out if it's valuable." Lloyd tapped the photographs on the desk. "Use these." Michael shook his head. "I'll be visiting art galleries that deal in black market items, Lloyd. I think the actual figurine will be more effective, don't you?" "You know which galleries togo to?"

Lizzy asked curiously.

"No, but Lloyd can get us a list," Michael assured her. Lloyd stood up, still grousing. "Oh, sure! Lloyd'l! do it!" He glared at his friend. "Are you certain there isn't anything else I can do for you in my already overcrowded day? Pick up your cleaning? Wash your car? Maybe you'd like me to whack off my right arm" Michael grinned, "Well..." "No!" Lloyd protested, dragging his hands through his hair and making it stand up on end. "No more, friendship only goes so far. And you owe me big time now." Michael stepped in front of the door. information up myself." ~

"I can always look the

"No!" Lloyd bellowed indignantly. "You stay away from my computers, they haven't recovered from the last time." He let out a long-suffering sigh. "All right, you win. I'll find the information for you." Michael wasn't offended. He didn't much like computers and they certainly didn't like him. "Thanks. When can I have the figurine?" ~"Tomorrow." Lloyd shook his head, looking pitiful. "Tonight I'll do the paperwork to transfer it over to the holding unit. Pick it up early, that way if someone comes looking for it, they'll think it's misfiled or in transit. But have it back by tomorrow night." Michael stepped away from the door.

"Sure thing, Lloyd."

"I'm only doing this for G-ran. And remember, Michael. No cookies, no figurine," Lloyd warned him, snatching the magnifying glass off the desk. He was muttering under his breath as he left the room. "It's not fair, I take all the chances and he gets the pretty girl." Lizzy gathered up the photos.

"Was he serious?"

"About the cookies?" Michael held the door open for her. "Very. Lloyd's addicted to those things. He visits Gran at least once a month to get a supply." They stood in the corridor for a moment, steeling themselves for the return trip past Michael's co-workers. "Want to have lunch with me?" he asked. Surprised by the invitation, she stared at him for a moment before answering. "I'd like to, but I have a three o'clock appointment in Forth Worth." "Too bad," he shrugged. Once they were outside, however, Michael steered her in the wrong direction. "Where are we going?" she demanded. "I can't make lunch, Michael. Our cars are back the other way.," "You may not have time for lunch," Michael informed her, "but you do have time to pay your parking fines!" Lizzy stopped and pulled away from him. "I can't." "You'd better!" "I .... I can't afford to pay them." "Liar." He grabbed her elbow. your purse earlier."

"I saw that big check sticking out of

"It's the principle of the thing," Lizzy explained as they' crossed the street. "You shouldn't have to pay for parking when you're at the public library." He nudged her along. "So tell a city council person. I vouched for you yesterday and you're going to pay those fines if I have to shake you till money falls out of your pockets. Now come on!" They entered a crowded lobby and Lizzy smiled coyly. time to wait in those long lines."

"I don't have

"You won't have to." Michael grinned. "Even a suspended cop has privileges. I'll get you taken care of right away." ' "Okay, I give in! But I'll take you up on that lunch offer tomorrow, and you're buying." THOUGH TIlE ONE-BEDROOM apartment was clean and neat, its meager furnishings were frayed from use and age. He didn't care for the shabby surroundings or the neighborhood. Nor did he particularly care for the company, either. His father had always told him to keep his own hands clean and untainted, to delegate authority whenever possible. But if you chose the wrong person to do your dirty work you had even more problems. Of course, he hadn't picked this particular person, his father had, a very long time ago. Wally Fox was a trusted army buddy of the old man's. His father had such complete faith in him that he had entrusted information to Wally he wouldn't even give his own son, namely the person authenticating the piece for them.

He had tried following Wally to his contact but the man was aptly named, and the sly fox had lost him, not once but twice, That was yet another reason to hate the man; being outsmarted byan old geezer stuck in his craw. In fact,. the whole situation irritated him, He wasn't some messenger boy, he had deals of his own to worry about, meetings he needed to arrange. But his father held that blasted will over his head like an ax, and he wanted that inheritance. Those millions were rightfully his! He looked at Wally Fox disdainfully. The tall, thin man was sitting in a wingback chair, the floral tapestry fabric faded from the sun. "How much longer is this going to take?" he asked. ' "I don't know." "Your contact said right off it wasn't a cheap imitation?" He gestured wildly with his hand and yelled. "What's he got to do to tell if it's real?" Wally gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing in his long thin throat. The younger man was getting upset and he had a nasty temper. "Research it, I guess. Please calm down!" He crossed the room and grabbed the front of Wally's white shirt, pulling him up by the fabric. "You'd better find out, and fast." "I will!" He let him go and Wally dropped back into the chair. His hands were shaking as he tried to smooth the wrinkles out of his starched white shirt. "You don't have to hurt me. I'm doing everything you want. I'll go see about it today." "You do that, and call me, or I'll pay you another less pleasant visit." Wally folded his hands in his lap.

"It'll be later this evening."

~

"Just remember to call me." He opened the door. "Your phone should be working by then, my old man paid your overdue bill today. And he wants to see you tonight." Wally was still nodding his head when the door was slammed shut, rattling the few pieces of nice china he had left. Still shaky, Wally got out of his chair and took his iron from the hall closet, then put it on the small kitchen table, adjusting the setting before he plugged it into the wall socket. He had no ironing board. "I should never have gotten involved in this," Wally said, removing his shirt. He glanced skyward, not really seeing the cracked plaster ceiling as he added, "I just got greedy, Mary Margaret. You weren't here to keep me in line." With a towel beneath the 'shirt, he carefully pressed the wrinkles from the fabric. "It's been' five years now and I still miss you, darling, and wish you were here beside me." Cancer had taken his wife from him, along with almost everything they owned. He'd sold most of their possessions, spent their entire life savings, trying to save his beloved Mary Margaret. But it hadn't

helped.

Nothing had helped.

He put his shirt back on, adding the gray jacket that matched his shiny-seated dress pants. The senior center had the final rounds of a bridge tournament that afternoon, and if his partner was sharp they had a good chance of winning. Wally stood in front of the small bathroom mirror, slicking his thinning gray hair back with water. "Top prize, twenty-five dollars," he muttered, studying his reflection. "I could use the extra money." After the tournament he'd take the bus to see his contact, and if he was lucky he'd get a bus transfer to go see old Sarge. RUSH HOUR WAS OVER and the evening traffic wasn't too heavy as a triumphant Lizzy drove back to Dallas from Fort Worth. Dusk was descending. After the shaky start, it had turned into a very good day. She had in her possession a lucrative contract that ran for one full year.

L'~zzy laughed gleefully to herself. "Lawyers, they overcharge for everything, so it's only right that I do it to them, too." But she still couldn't believe they'd agreed to her price. A lot of her work came from that profession, and she didn't really care which side of the fence she worked. Insurance companies had lawyers, too, and it took some for each side to sue the other. And they did seem litigation happy. Lately she had more work than she could handle with no end in sight. Maybe there were too many lawyers, but she was certainly benefiting from that problem. As she took the curving exit ramp for the north end of town, a huge eighteen-wheeler suddenly came barreling up behind her. From her rearview mirror he looked as if he was going to run right over her. Lizzy put her foot on the gas, trying to get away from him, but he still tapped her bumper. Her car bounced under the impact, and she clenched the steering wheel tightly as she drove into the second half of the S-curved exit. A quick glance in her mirror showed the truck gaining on her again, and she pressed the accelerator down to the floor as the roadway straightened. "What's wrong with this, guy?" wheel even tighter.

she muttered, holding the steering

The powerful engine of her old car growled as she pressed the gas pedal down, the speedometer reading seventy, seventy-five, then inching up toward eighty. She was whizzing past the other cars on the road, but the semi was still in hot pursuit. And it was gaining on her. Chapter Eight Lizzy glanced in her rearview mirror. The black semi was in the middle lane and gaining on her, the cars in its path eagerly getting out of the way. She tugged on her seat belt, making sure that it was securely fastened. "Surrounded by police all day. Now where are they?" Switching to the far right lane, Lizzy accelerated, putting more cars between them as she looked for an exit. She whizzed past a huge green sign: Dallas 2 Miles. "Two miles! I won't make it two miles!" she yelled, slapping her hand on the seat beside her in frustration. "Maybe the road signs are wrong. They'd better be." Whenever she got really nervous she tended to talk to herself out loud. And weaving in and out of traffic at high speeds made her very nervous indeed. "Which is more dangerous," she muttered, "driving down a freeway at' ninety miles or being flattened by a semi?" Lizzy pulled to the left around another, slower moving car. "I don't like either choice. Where's that exit?" The semi changed lanes right behind her, its trailer swaying precariously. To Lizzy's horror, she saw that the next overhead directional sign was covered by a bright orange construction

sign. "Exit closed!"

she yelled.

"It can't be!"

In the distance she saw another overpass coming up, and quickly switched back to the far right lane. As she got closer she realized there wasn't an off ramp. And suddenly the semi 'loomed up behind her. Before she could react, the truck hit her bumper and the car swerved onto the shoulder of the road, dust flying around the skidding car. She heard horns honking and the screech of squealing brakes as she struggled to maintain control of her car. "Easy..." she told herself, trying to remember the details of that emergency driving course she'd taken . a while back and attempting to slow the vehicle down without causing an accident, especially her own. But the gravel-strewn shoulder of the road was like driving on ice. Lizzy could feel the tug of gravity and a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach as the car started to spin out of control. It made one full circle, then another, indifferent to which way she turned the wheel. As it spun, the big older sedan kept rolling forward, down the steep, grassy embankment. One of the wheels hit a rock and the rear end bounced up, momentarily airborne. "Oh, God, no!

Stay on your feet, baby!"

The car slammed back to earth. Lizzy held onto the steering wheel for dear life, both feet on the brake pedal as she tried to slow the momentum of the runaway car on the slippery hill. But there was nothing she could do except hang on for the ride, which seemed to go on and on, until it finally came to a jolting end at the bottom of the embankment. She blinked rapidly, eyeing the vacant field in front of her. By some miracle, she hadn't rolled over. The car was upright," its front tires on the asphalt pavement of a freeway access road. The motor was still running, purring softly. Lizzy uttered a short, rather hysterical laugh. "I'm alive." With shaking hands she put the car in park and released her seat belt before slumping into the soft bench seat. Adrenaline was racing through her and her limbs felt like jelly as she closed her eyes and let out a big sigh of relief. "I'm alive!" she muttered again. Suddenly her car door was wrenched open and Lizzy slid 'sideways on her back as a man leaned into her car, reaching for her. Reacting instinctively, she kicked him in the stomach with both feet and he stumbled backward, then slipped in' the slick grass and fell down with a startled grunt. Twisting around, she lunged it shut when she got a good groaned softly to herself. stamped on the chest of his

for the door handle and was ready to slam look at him in the fading light. Lizzy An outline of her flat-soled shoes was yellow' T-shirt.

"Michael, are you all right?" He looked-at her in disgust. She was lying on her stomach on the bench seat, staring at him with concern in her eyes. Slowly he sat up,

grimacing as his chest muscles contracted from the movement. "I think I liked it better the last time I came to your rescue, when you only yelled at me. I don't know why I even thought you needed help." "Sorry." He was rubbing his ribs, making her feel even worse. "I thought you were the guy who ~an me off the road," L'~zy explained, sitting up. "Did I break anything?" He stood up and leaned back against her car, still massaging his stomach. "No. But not for lack of trying," he said ruefully. "Who taught you to fight?" "I have two brothers, both older than me." Lizzy looked up at him apologetically. "And I've taken some self-defense courses, too." "I should have known." Lizzy grinned, trying to lighten the situation. memory. Remember the duffel bag?"

"You have a short

"My body does." He pulled his T-shirt up and pointed to a black and blue bruise on his ribs. "The metal from the bag did that. It'll have foot-shaped company soon," His jeans sat low on his hips, the long, tanned expanse of a flat stomach leading to a broad chest that was seemingly endless. She wanted to caress that chest, feel those muscles beneath her hands. Instead she looked down at the ground. Why did he get to her like this? Lizzy was rubbing the palm of her hand with her thumb and it seemed to pain her. "Are you all right?" anything broken?"

He squatted and gently took hold of her hand. "Is

Michael was stroking the red marks in the palm of her hand where her ting emails had dug in during her wild ride. His gentle touch was like an electric current shooting straight through her and something akin to desire flamed deep inside her. Uncomfortable with the feeling, Lizzy pulled her hand away. What are you doing here?"

"I'm fine.

Her accusing tone was a startling change and it took' him a second to answer. "I was coming over the dover leaf from town when I spotted you, driving wildly down the freeway at excessive speed. I had it in mind to pull you over and give you a lecture, when I realized that truck was the cause of your recklessness ." ' "Did you get the license plate?" "Of course," he replied, as if she had just impugned his honor. He stood up and tucked his shirt back into his jeans. "I called it in on my radio. Someone should be here soon." He sighed. "I can hardly wait to explain this one." Lizzy knew she was getting into the habit of attacking him whenever he tried to help her. Maybe it was because she wasn't used to being looked after, or the other feelings his presence aroused. Nevertheless, she had to admit this was some coincidence~ And his answers seemed a little too pat. After all, she didn't really know him. He was Paulina's grandson and a cop, but little old ladies got the wool pulled over their eyes from time to time, and there were crooked cops, too. Had he been following her all along? "You just happened to be in the area?" Annoyed, he answered with sarcasm of his own. Will that make you happier?"

"Next time I won't stop.

"No." Lizzy frowned as police sirens sounded in the distance. catch whoever is doing this to me, then I might be happier."

"If you

"I doubt that," Michael replied as an ambulance with flashing lights raced down the street toward them. "Just what I need, another police report with' my name on it."

For the next few minutes they answered questions and by the time they were finished Michael was in a surly mood. L'~zy wasn't much better. She was no closer to finding out who or why someone was trying to kill her. All she knew was that they weren't giving up. Michael offered to check her car for broken parts and she drove it up onto the pavement, hoping everything was all right. She was rather fond of the old blue thing. A few minutes later he approached her car window, brushing his hands on his jeans. "Besides the dent in your fender, nothing seems to be broken, but that isn't too surprising for a twenty-year-old automobile. Just to be on the safe side I'll follow you home." "Michael..." She paused, unsure of herself. "I'm glad you were around. He could have killed me if he'd wanted to." ' His presence had nothing to do with her still being alive; she had her own level-headed actions to thank. He wanted to reassure her, but held back. The fact of the matter was, that semi driver could have flattened her like a pancake but had chosen not to, for some unknown reason. "I'm afraid you're right, Lizzy."

"Hey, Michael," a policeman yelled from the patrol car still parked behind them. "Come here a minute." "Wait for me," Michael ordered. His superior attitude grated on her nerves and she was tempted to take off without him, but what if something on her car did break? It would take hours to get a tow truck and get home. Besides, what if someone was lurking nearby, waiting to try again? "Maybe I'll wait." She slid down in the seat, trying to keep her eyes open, but the aftereffect of a huge dose of adrenaline combined with thirty-six virtually sleepless hours was at last catching up with her. When Michael stuck his head in the car window, her eyes popped open and she gazed at him, momentarily confused. It was fully dark out now and she hadn't heard him coming. "They found the semi abandoned a few miles down the road. It was reported stolen from a truck stop in Fort Worth less than an hour ago." "Oh," she said simply, stifling a yawn. "Meet me at the next exit.

I'll follow you this time."

"Yes, sir," she muttered, watching him climb up the hill to his car on the freeway The snug fit of his jeans revealed a taut derriere and muscled thighs and she found herself wondering what he looked like without those jeans. ~ Lizzy shook her head, trying to clear her mind. "It's lack of sleep, or these near-death experiences," she muttered. She would feel differently tomorrow. Maybe. "The question was, did she really want these feelings to go away? The drive to her place was blissfully uneventful. Once there Michael insisted on . cbeeking her apartment for intruders but when he was done he walked right to the front door. "Lock it after I leave." Lizzy perched on the back of her sofa. "What's the hurry?" Normally she liked being alone, but recent events made her nervous. Needing company was an unaccustomed feeling and she wasn't sure she liked it, but that didn't mean she wanted him to leave, either. "I have an eight o'clock class and I'm going to be late," he returned. "Good night." Before she could say one word he was gone. Class? What kind of class? Michael Cook had an annoying knack of leaving her with unanswered questions. Her gaze strayed longingly to the bed as she headed for her desk. It was mighty tempting to crawl inside that comfy mound of covers, but she resisted the urge. Her day wasn't quite over with yet. Ester was expecting her to deliver the computer disks and collect more

tonight. Lizzy pulled a stack of cryptically labeled and numbered disks out of the smoky-colored box on her desk and counted them. "Where's the tenth one?" she muttered, flipping through the disks in her file box. Confused, Lizzy checked the floppy disk slot of her computer, but it was empty. Lizzy sat down on the floor and pulled her storage boxes out of the bottom desk drawer. One by one she went through each box. She was tired, but not that tired. Ester had given her ten disks. She remembered because she had scanned all ten at about an hour each. Though sloppy at times about other things, she was always meticulous when it came to her work. Her stomach was queasy as she put the boxes back in the drawer. Besides the policemen, only two people had been in her apartment recently. The person who had hung the spider, and Michael. Which one had taken the computer disk and why? Other thoughts crowded her mind. Other than the fire, nothing else had happened to Michael, just to her Was he working against her? Of course, he was always on the spot with a helping hand--suspicious in itself--but he might only

be trying to win her confidence so he could use that against her, as well. "I don't like this," she muttered, punching in Ester's - home phone number. "First the fire,. then the spider, then I'm run off the road, and now a computer disk is missing." She counted rings under her breath. "Five ... six. Come on, Ester, answer the phone!

"

"Hello?" Lizzy breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing her voice. "Ester, it's Lizzy.

Is.it too late to stop by?"

"Not at all, I've been expecting you." "I'll be there soon." Ester was already jumpy enough, she'd tell her about the missing disk in person. The palm of her hand was damp as Lizzy~et the phone receiver down. the first time she noticed the blinking red light on her answering machine indicating messages. She hit the Play button.

For

Paulina's voice came softly over the line. She'd spoken before the beep, as usual. "bother you, but Michael's not home and I wasn't sure who else to call. Are you home? Lizzy? Are you there?" She quickly dialed Paulina's number from memory. wrong?" Lizzy asked as soon as she answered.

"It's L'lzzy.

What's

"I'm not sure anything is," Paulina replied. "Someone has been calling the house all evening, but when I answer no one's there." "Have you called the police?" "Oh, I hated to bother them again, they'll think I'm a silly old woman." Paulina sighed. "And I probably am." "No, you aren't." Lizzy closed her eyes, trying to think clearly. "Is Tony home?" Her great-nephew lived with her while going to college and working part-time. "No, he called me earlier. He's getting in some overtime and won't be home till two or three in the morning." Lizzy felt torn in two directions. She had to see Ester. But she wanted to check on Paulina, too. Calmly, so as not to spook her, she said, "Paulina, lock your doors, all of them. I have a quick errand to run, then I'll be over. Just to be on the safe side." When the phone disconnected, Lizzy quickly punched in the emergency number for the police. Maybe Paulina was a silly old woman, but too many strange things had been happening recently to take any chances.

Chapter Nine Wally Fox moved out of the way as the nurse rushed into the bedroom. He'd known the Sarge for more than fifty years now and the man had been a smoker for every one of them. He was still a slow learner, too. Every time he got upset, he yelled, and that in turn sent him into a coughing spasm that made Wally's own lungs and chest hurt just to hear him. Wally didn't know why they'd stayed in touch all these years, except that Sarge had wished it, and he never wanted to get on the wrong side of him. The nasty side. There were two sides to Sarge. The mean, vindictive man who held a grudge forever, and the smooth-talking con man who lied to his own mother. The ornate trappings of this mansion were a direct result of the latter, a con artist who had cheated many an innocent to attain it all. But it was the mean side that had always worried Wally. You had to be careful with him, because he could turn-on you without notice and enjoyed inflicting pain on others. Never wanting to be the victim of his warped mind, Wally did Sarge's bidding without protest as long as it involved nothing violent. He had others for that. The nurse left the room and Wally approached the bed. He found it hard to feel sympathy for someone who had done so many bad things to others for so many years. But when he looked at that shriveled body, he did feel sorry for him. "You okay?" "Of course I'm not, you old fool! I'm dying!" He gulped oxygen before speaking again. "And before I do, I want to know that we finally got even with that double-crossing Fast Eddie. So you tell her I want results soon or I'll send my son to visit her." Wally frowned.

"I thought you didn't trust your son."

"Not where money is concerned I don't." He struggled with his breathing for a moment. "That kid of mine still can't do anything right and he'd put a pillow over my head and suffocate me if I gave him the chance." He lifted the edge of his pillow to show Wally the gun he had hidden there. His eyes filled with fury. "You made sure he didn't follow you earlier?" They were two of a kind, like father like son. The younger one had tried to follow him but he'd lost him downtown. "No one tailed me," Wally assured him. "Make sure no one does in the future, either." If the figurine was real and his son got hold of it, he wouldn't need his father's millions, he'd have plenty of his own. Besides, he wanted revenge. He could only die happy knowing his honor had finally been avenged, and by his own son. "It's scary, Sarge, your using his name as a threat like that. son... Well, he's a bad one. Bad temper." "That's what a threat is for, idiot!"

Your

he wheezed.

"But you send him to scare anybody, they're just as likely to end up

dead," Wally told him solemnly.

"That's not what you want.

"I got others I can use." He glared at him. thinking of cutting me out of the deal."

Is it?"

"And don't you be

Wally shook his head. "I'm not that greedy. Not that stupid, either." The Sarge knew some nasty people and his own son was one of the worst. When it came to money, that boy saw red, not green. "I'll play it just like you say."

"Good. I need you to visit my lawyer for me again." He pulled an oversized envelope from beneath the bed covers. "Take this to him, he'll know what to do." He'd always been vain about his looks and didn't like anyone to see him now, and so was arranging to be ere-mated, and for a much younger picture to be used at the "And don't open it!" The clear sealing tape would make sure he didn't. "What are we going to do if the figurine is real?" Wally asked, fingering the envelope. "Sell it, you old fool!" He laughed, then started coughing again and the nurse rushed back into the room. Wally left unnoticed and descended the grand, curving staircase carefully. He didn't want to end up lige Sarge's wife had more than thirty years ago. Her death had been ruled an accident, but all these years Wally had wondered if she'd really tripped and fallen down those apartment stairs, or if Sarge had pushed her in one of their many fights. He'd never know, but he had his suspicions. The ance money had been substantial, enough for even better than before. He was a horrible, greedy man. On his deathbed, and still talking about recouping the loss he'd suffered from Fast Eddie! Remorse consumed Wally as he headed for the bus stop. ~ This whole mess was snowballing and he didn't see a way to stop it even though he wanted to now. It was too late. THE LIVING ROOM of Ester's second-floor apartment was elegantly decorated in cream, rose and teal. A coordinating sofa matched the wingback chair in which Lizzy was sitting, her feet perched on the edge of a plush, sculptured area carpet. Lizzy put a blue plastic box of disks on the small, highly polished oval table, and accepted a delicate china cup filled with steaming hot coffee. She waited until Ester sat down on the sofa before speaking. "There are only nine disks," Lizzy admitted bluntly. "What happened to the tenth?"

Ester asked, her eyes wide.

Lizzy sipped the black brew, inhaling the pleasing aroma of fresh coffee and caffeine. How much should she tell Ester? How much did she really know herself? "I don't know. This morning I found my front door wide open, but nothing was missing. Or so I thought, until now." Ester folded her hands in her lap, trying not to panic. misplaced it?" she asked hopefully.

"Perhaps you

"No, they were all there when I left the house this morning. missing disk is the first one you gave me."

The

Ester touched her throat nervously, her pink-and-white running suit making crinkling sounds as she moved. "That's the one that shows the slipup I discovered."

"Yes." Lizzy savored the rich coffee, drinking it slowly. "It's possible that a friend is playing a little joke on me. But it's also possible that someone knows what you've discovered." Lizzy paused, unwilling to say aloud what she had been thinking. "Such as the person who stole the fifty thousand." Ester's face was stark white against her dark hair. stood up. "I've been so careful!"

"But how?"

She

"I know you have, Ester. So have L" Or at least she thought she had. If only she'd kept the disks locked up somewhere. But then again, this looked to be the work of someone who had known exactly what they were looking for. "Maybe he had the computer rigged to notify him if anyone pulled that file. Or someone might have overheard us or saw you copying the disks," Lizzy added. Ester groaned. She should have just told Roger about this and let him handle it, that's what bosses were for. But it was too late now. The mistake had been made, she'd made it,

and she was the one who would pay if the crook got away. going to do?" she asked.

"What am I

"It's possible that whoever took the disk doesn't know what they have, but for your own safety maybe you should stay with someone for a while. Or you could take a vacation," Lizzy suggested, using Michael's words. "Get out of town for a week or two till this is settled." Ester bit her lower lip. "I don't have any leave time coming, but I can stay with my parents." She seemed to brighten at the thought. "I'll tell them my apartment has plumbing problems or something." "Good idea."

Lizzy stood up.

"I've got to get going."

"No!" Ester exclaimed, then smiled tentatively at Liz-zy's puzzled look. "Good heavens! My nerves aren't what they used to be, I guess. It's just that... Can you wait while I grab an overnight bag? Then we'll go out together." She wanted to get to Paulina's but felt responsible for bringing some of this on to Ester. "Sure. But may I use your phone while you pack?" "Help yourself," Ester said from the hallway. Immense relief filled L'~zy as she talked to Paulina. Right now the officer who'd been there yesterday was enjoying sugar cookies and coffee while filling out a report at her kitchen table. Paulina was such a charmer, Lizzy was sure that cop would still be there when she arrived. Ester entered the room carrying a large suitcase, plus an other bulging bag hanging from her shoulder. "I'm ready." "Oh, where are the new disks?"

Lizzy asked.

Ester pointed to a closet near the front door. "They're in my briefcase. But are you sure you want to take them? I mean, they might make you a target." "I already am," Lizzy mutte/ed, retrieving the brown briefcase from the closet. There was something strange going on, and whether the missing disk was a factor in it or not, Lizzy wanted to find the person behind the embezzlement more than ever. Missing figurines. Anonymous phone calls. Fires. Spiders. Maniac truck drivers. Was there a connection somewhere? And if so, what part did Michael Cook play in the scheme of ihings? She transferred the two boxes of disks to her own shoulder bag. do you want the ones I brought back?"

"Where

"I don't know." Ester was holding her suitcase with both hands, looking at the box as if it were a disease. "Well, my track record hasn't been so good, but I guess I'll take them and hide 'em somewhere." Lizzy scooped up the box from the table and tossed it into her purse. "Give me your parent's phone number and address, just in case I find out anything."

Once outside, Lizzy waited until Ester backed her small car out of a parking space before following suit. Neither of them could 'see the man hiding in the shadows of a car parked beneath a stately pecan tree nearby, watching them with great interest Now He HAD A gEAL dilemma. Who should he follow? The choice wasn't easy, but he already had a good idea of where Lisbeth Green was headed, and it looked like the short-haired woman might be leaving town. He kept his distance as the woman got on LBJ, otherwise known as 635. At one time it had completely circled the city; now it was more of a central loop. It was also constantly busy. There was enough traffic for him to stay close to her until she took the exit for Plano, Texas, a nearby suburb. From then on he kept a few cars between them as she drove into a residential section. The houses in the area were neat and well kept but virtual lookalikes When she pulled into a driveway, he eased to a stop a few houses away, his headlights off. The neighborhood was quiet as he watched the woman get her suitcases out of her car. She entered the house with her own key, more lights coming on throughout after the door was closed. Engine purring softly, he eased his car up closer to the driveway so he could get a look inside. Two other people were in the formal living room with the short-haired woman. After double-checking the license plate, he wrote down the address of the house and left. From those two items' he find out what he needed to know. He should have known Fast Eddie would find a way to come back and haunt him. If he didn't cover all this up but quick, a whole lot of people in very high places were going to be very angry. Chapter Ten Silently, he approached the couch in the living room, dim early morning light filtering in from the curtained windows behind him. The sleeping form beneath the mound of covers wasn't moving but he bent over it cautiously. His fingers grabbed the blankets near the top of the form and he pulled them up and away slowly. "~What the... Oh no!"

he exclaimed softly.

A sudden draft of cold air woke Lizzy from a sound sleep. Through tousled hair and sleepy eyes she saw the dark outline of a man bending over her. L'~z~t launched herself at his waist, bowling him over with sheer surprise and a tangle of blankets. She landed on top of him in a heap of covers, jarring, the end table as they hit the floor. Something fell, and a loud crash exploded in the room. "Dammit, L'~.zy!

What am you doing here?"

"Michael?" Her voice was muffled as she tried to untangle the covers in the dark room. "Paulina called me last night. I thought you were a

detective.

Didn't you see my Car parked across the street?"

"No, I didn't," Michael returned crossly as he cleared his face of her long hair. "It's still dark out, and the street is lined with cars."

Brilliant light flooded the living room from the dining area. any help, Michael?" a groggy masculine voice asked.

"Need

L'~zzy looked up to find a bare-chested, sleepy-eyed Tony standing behind the couch near the hallway. Suddenly his eyes popped open wide and she looked down at herself. She was lying on top of Michael in a very provocative pose. Her silky, red sleeveless nightgown was pushed up, revealing a long expanse of smooth thigh, and the scooped neckline was hanging off her shoulder. If Michael hadn't been cupping one of her breasts, he would have had a clear view down to her waist. She yanked the gown down to her knees. "Oh.

I guess you don't," Tony said, grinning as he left the room.

The heat of Michael's hand was warming her all over, tingling sensations coursing through her. Her already leaping pulse quickened as his fingers gently caressed her breast and Lizzy chanced a quick glance at his face. He was staring at her as if he'd never seen her before. Michael seemed almost befuddled, and that was unusual for him. His confusion, however, didn't prevent sheer instinct from taking over. There was a beautiful, half-nak~l woman atop him. Her eyes opened wide in surprise as his hand glided up over her breast and around the back of her neck. Gently he eased her face toward his. long tresses of her hair fell forward as he kissed her softly, the silky strands caressing his face. He leaned back, staring at her in wonderment. From their first meeting he had liked her spunkiness, but he hadn't let himself see her as a woman. Until now he'd even denied to himself that he found her attractive. Did he ever! She was beautiful, and he found himself wanting to know her better, both mentally and physically. But this wasn't the right time to get involved with anyone. Callused fingers were caressing her throat as the wonderment in his eyes began fading and Lizzy didn't want him to stop touching her. She leaned toward him, and his lips parted beneath the heady onslaught of hers. Deepening the kiss, her tongue lightly dueling with his in the deep dark cavern, she shifted to a more comfortable position between his jean-clad legs. Her hips were pressing into his, and his desire for her was escalating as he stroked the satiny smoothness of her bare thigh beneath the gown. She gently bit his tongue and he groaned softly. For the next few minutes Michael was lost, until slowly his common sense returned and he forced himself to stop. For a brief time he'd forgotten where they were. "This isn't a good idea," he whispered, his lips against her creamy throat. "Why not?" she asked, still hazy from the onslaught of him and her own desires. "I'm a woman." She smiled wickedly. "And you're definitely

a man." Even with the blanket between them she could feel his arousal and his heart was pounding as rapidly as her own, his breathing just as fast. She wanted to run her fingers through his thick hair and work her way down the rest of him. Michael found his desire for her frightening, and too overpowering. He wanted her with an intensity it hat he'd never felt before and wasn't at all sure he liked. He was accustomed to being in constant control, and Lizzy had him ~lmost willing to surrender that control totally. She looked so sexy in that red nightgown, her 1orig hair tumbling over her bare shoulders. "Michael?"

Lizzy whispered.

"What's wrong?"

"For one thing, we're in my grandmother's house, on her living room floor, and she's looking at us from behind the sofa with a big, silly grin on her face," Michael concluded.

Lizzy looked over her shoulder. The heat rising in her face had to match the red of her gown. Moaning softly, she rolled off Michael and buried her face in a heap of covers. "My goodness You two are up early! Breakfast, anyone?" Paulina asked cheerfully. "I'll be in the kitchen cooking whenever you're ready to eat." When she heard the rattle of pans in the kitchen, Lizzy sat up in dismay. How had she forgotten where they were? Michael was sitting on the floor aearby, his hands dangling between raised knees. "I feel sixteen again," she muttered, combing her hair back out of her eyes with a disgruntled sigh. "You look it, too." She was definitely embarrassed, her pink face shiny clean and healthy without makeup. "But it suits you. Nice gown." There was a teasing gleam in his eyes, along with ruefulness, and something else, a warmth that she found surprising. "It's your grandmother's." "No way."

The gown was bright red, quite sheer and very sexy.

Lizzy grinned at his disbelief. it was my color."

"She loaned it to me last night, said

"She's right about that," Michael cleared his throat. well."

"You wear it

The blatant desire in his eyes was unnerving. She'd had men look at her like that before, but only once before had she shared that desire and it had been disastrous. Was she heading for disaster again? "Coffee's ready," Paulina called from the kitchen. Glad for the interruption, L'm~y grabbed her clothes from a nearby chair. "I'm going to get dressed. Paulina can explain why I'm here. And you can clean up the broken lamp since it was your fault for scaring me. Again." During a breakfast of fresh fruit and whole wheat pancakes, Paulina chattered nonstop, never mentioning the earlier interlude she had witnessed. And she didn't seem to care about the broken lamp, either, claiming it was one. " had never liked anyway. As soon as they were done eating, Michael picked Ul bag of sugar cookies from' the counter and headed for the door. "See you later." "Not so fast, buster." Lizzy caught up with him at the front door. "I'm going with you to get the figurine." She was wearing the same navy blue pants and blue-aJ white sweater from yesterday. "Don't you want to go ho and change? I'll meet you later." "I'd love to." A shower sounded heavenly, but the missing computer disk had her woxtied. Had he take~ from her apartment? If he had, what else was he hid from her? "But I don't trust you." ~

"You didn't seem worried about that earlier." Temper flared in her eyes. "This'has nothing to do w sex," Lizzy informed him. "It's business." Michael wasn't sure what business she was talking abe and didn't have time to find out. He needed to get to ' police lab before everyone showed up for work. but I promise I'll call you later." "No.

"You ca come with me,

Either you show up with the figurine in an hour,

I'm going to tell Paulina everything that's happened.

"

"You wouldn't." "Try me."

It was her life being threatened and she was

going to sit by idly waiting for something else to happen In her eyes were stubbornness, determination am hardness he hadn't seen before. She wasn't leaving t much of a choice. "It's seven now. I'll meet you at y, apartment at nine-thirty. " He spoke firmly. don't go inside alone this time. "

" And if door is open,

"Michael, dear," she said sweetly, tapping his chin ~ her finger. "If you don't show up on time..." Lizzy slid a finger down over his broad eh~ stopping on the zipper of his jeans. nuts.

"

Her v trailed off as

"I'm going to drive ]

He stepped away from her intimate touch. "That's blackmail, and it's not much of a threat. I might even enjoy it," Michael told her, refusing to admit out loud that he wanted her. "Oh, I'm sure you would," Lizzy murmured provocatively. "And you can call it what you like, but you won't ever get any satisfaction if you don't show up, and that's a promise." He'd been around teases before, had seen and heard real professionals in his job, but no one had ever affected him like L'~zzy did. Her voice alone was turning him on, and whether it was an intelligent move or not he wasn't about to destroy any future relationship between them. "I'll be there," he assured her. "I hope so, I'd hate to deny myself any pleasures." Her own words astounded her, but her feelings for Michael made her bold. Never in her life had she run after a man, and now that she was, L'~zy had the distinct feeling he wanted to run away from her. Maybe he was right. Was she running headfirst into another ill-fated relationship? Was he being completely honest with her? Or playing her along for his own purposes? Either way she intended to find out the truth and hoped she didn't get hurt this time. Two HOURS LATER, after a refreshing shower and a change of clothes, Lizzy was at her desk fact checking a report due the next day. She had just gotten off the phone with Ester, who sounded quite cheerful, considering the circumstances. "You misspelled Jaguar," Michael whispered in her ear. Lizzy swung around in her swivel seat, her heart pounding from the scare he'd given her. "You're going to get killed doing that some day! Haven't you heard of knocking?" "The door was open." Behind him sunlight spilled in through the opening. "No it wasn't!" Lizzy jumped up and walked over to the door. She rattled the knob. "Try again Michael, it's still locked." "You call that flimsy thing a lock?" he asked incredulously. "I popped it open with my credit card. Use the dead bolt from now on." She'd take his concern for her a lot better if he didn't always supplement it with an order. "What's in your bag?" "A lock for that closet door with the elevator in it, and the tools to install it properly. It won't take much time, and none of the places we're visiting open before ten," he added before she could lodge a protest. Lizzy frowned. "I don't know." She wanted a lock on the door, and yet the place wasn't hers to change. "The owners are pretty particular about anything I do here." ,~Too bad.

"

"You're not, dressed for messy work," Lizzy commented. He was wearing dark slacks and an aquamarine-colored, button-down shirt with long sleeves. The color made his tan seem even darker, and his hair an even lighter shade of brown. Michael set the bag down and pulled out a drill. take care of myself."

"I'm a big boy, I can

"With your attitude, you may have to," Lizzy returned. of your life." "You're still single at thirty," Michael shot back. any room to talk."

"For the rest

"You don't have

It was useless to argue with him. Besides, she wanted the lock installed. It was her safety they were talking about. "I'll tell them a cop put it on for me. While you're at it," Lizzy ordered, "fix my dead bolt. I don't use it because I can barely turn the key in the lock." Lizzy walked over to her desk, intending to get more work done. But the computer only reminded her of her earlier suspicions. She turned around. Before she could allow her

feelings for Michael to take her anywhere, she was going to take the bull by the horns. "Michael." Lizzy waited until he was looking right at her, wanting to gauge his reaction to her question. "Did you steal a floppy disk from my file yesterday?" Chapter Eleven "Excuse me?" Michael asked. Furrows formed between his dark brows as he glared at her. "" Would you repeat that, please? I must have misunderstood. " "You heard me. Did you steal one of my computer disks when you were here yesterday?" Michael shook his head, confused. Eat it?"

"What would I do with one of them?

The element of surprise only worked if the person was guilty, and unless Michael was one hell of an actor, he appeared to be innocent. "I thought you might have taken it as ales son of some kind, to show me how lax my security is here. Or maybe just to try and drive me nuts." There was another possibility, of course. Michael might be in cahoots with whomever was behind the insurance scare, paid to keep track of her--or worse. If that was the case, she could be in big trouble. But she had to know. "Drive you nuts? I think that's what you're trying to do to me," Michael muttered. "Of all the ridiculous notions I've ever heard." He put the lock he'd been working on down on the floor near the bathroom and approached her. "This disk must be pretty important for you to make such an insane allegation. What's on it?" Lizzy sat down at her desk and pushed the button to turn on her computer monitor. "Never mind. It was just a

thought. " Her instincts told her he wasn't guilty, which meant her choices had dwindled to one. Whoever had left that spider must have also taken the computer disk. Michael grabbed her chair and swiveled her around to face him. "Oh, no you don't! You're not getting away with that this time." He placed his hands on the desk behind her, his face and chest mere inches from hers. "Forget the slight on my character, we'll deal with that later. Right now I want to know what you're not telling me." "A lot of things," she replied, meeting his heated gaze. The muscles of his smooth chin and firm jaw were clenched in anger, and his hazel eyes held a glint of danger in their depths. "Back off and I might tell you." Michael straightened and took one step back. disk of yours," he prompted.

"Start with this missing

How much did ~he trust her instincts? She needed someone to talk to, and he was a cop. "It involves another case I'm working on. The disk proves that someone embezzled fifty grand from an insurance c~mpany. I was hired to track that someone down." "And have you?" L'~y shook her head. "No, and unless this person did it more than once I might never be able to. The money was transferred directly from the insurance company's account to an individual bank account. A week later that account was closed and the money was transferred to a holding bank in the Bahamas." She eyed him suspiciously. "You don't happen to have an account in the Bahamas, do you?" "I wouldn't tell you if I did!" Michael rubbed his jaw. "Fifty thousand is a lot of money, Lizzy. People kill for a lot less. What else haven't you told me? Do you have any other cases where someone might be out to kill you in order to stop your investigation? Someone who wouldn't mind taking me out for good measure?" Just when she was beginning to feel better he had to remind her of that. "No." "You're sure?" Michael was certain she was still hiding something from him, but forcing it out of her wasn't a way to gain her trust or the truth. "Positive." "Like you were positive I took your disk, right?" "I wasn't positive!" Lizzy objected. '"But somebody took it, and you were one of the only two possibilities, the other being the person who hung the spider. Since I don't know who that is, I was forced to confront you." "I would like to point out," Michael said through clenched teeth, "that anybody could have gotten into this apartment and taken your disk. The spider hanger and I are the only ones you know were here, that's all." Lizzy frowned.

"Oh.

I guess"

"That's just it!" he interrupted. "You guess entirely too much! Maybe it's a method you've used with success in the past, but this time it just isn't getting the job done." "Are you calling me incompetent?" "No, I'm calling you impetuous," Michael returned. "If you don't like it, that's tough. The next time you accuse me of anything, you'd better have your facts straight." She shrugged. "So I was wrong. Sue me." "Don't tempt me!" Lizzy was well aware she could be impetuous, and she wasn't about to apologize for it, either. It did work to her advantage sometimes. Right now, for instance, it had Michael tied in a frustrated knot, and she was enjoying his predicament immensely. She wanted to annoy him even more, to see what other facets of his character she could discover. "There are some things that are better when done impetuously, Michael." He was still standing close to her, his legs spread in a firm stance as he glared at her. Even in slacks he looked good; they hugged his hips in a firm fit. "Quit that," he ordered irritably.

Lizzy batted her eyelashes' at him. He didn't turn red this time, but he did move away from her. "Quit what?" "You're running your eyes up and down me like you're stripping me of my clothes." "That's wishful thinking on your part, Michael." Lizzy was grinning as she swiveled her chair around to face her computer. "I don't know you well enough to even consider it." Liar, she chided herself. But it was just a little white lie. She did intend to get to know him better. With a loud sigh, Michael went back to work. said, "Make me a list of your clients, and the fraudulent claims you've worked on.

From across the room, he

"

"Yes, sir!" Lizzy tried to go back to work, as welt, but the sound of the drill was too disruptive. Actually, she didn't know what made her more nervous, having Michael so close or her own troubled thoughts. The two were so intermingled now that it made concentrating on her work just about impossible. Worse than her doubts and fears was her growing desire. The interlude this morning on the floor was never far from her thoughts. She was relieved when Michael finished an hour later and they could leave the confines of her apartment. The fresh air helped clear her mind, as did the prospect of actually making progress on this case. They were on their way down Northwest Highway to visit the first art gal lend "Let me see the list of places that deal in black market stuff," Lizzy said. "I want to see if I know any of them." "No." Michael took his eyes off the crowded road for a quick glance at her. "With you, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I'm nuts to be taking you with me in the first place." ' "You had a choice," she reminded him, not bothering to hide her triumphant feeling. "Some choice," he muttered, parking in a lot facing Preston Lane. Michael stopped her from getting out of the car by placing his hand on her arm. "I hope you're as smart as I think you are. Watch what you say." His praise shocked her, but he didn't give her time to dwell on it. was almost in the store by the time she caught up with him.

He

The interior was plush and thoroughly but tastefully packed with antiques, artifacts, china and Oriental rugs. There wasn't a sales counter in sight. Probably too gauche. A balding, rotund man dressed in a light suit, blue shirt and yellow tie came out from an office to greet them. "May I help you?" "I hope so," Michael said politely.

"Your shop came highly

recommended." He held the jade figurine out to the man. "I recently inherited this from an aunt. Can you tell me something about it?" Pudgy fingers turned the piece over as the shop owner studied it intently. "I'm familiar with the Style, naturally, but not the piece itself. My books may have something on it." He glanced up at them. "If you'd like me to check?" "We'd appreciate any help you can give us." His eyes narrowed as he looked at Michael. selling this piece?"

"Are you interested in

"It depends on its value and history," Michael replied. The man nodded and gestured elegantly with a wave of his hand, indicating the posh surroundings. "Enjoy." He went back into the office--leaving the door open, they noticed, lest they enjoy too much--and the pair wandered around the tiny gallery. "There aren't any price tags," Lizzy whispered. Michael grinned. "You know the saying. If you have to ask..." They could hear a low-pitched voice coming from the office now. It lured them and they hovered just ~outside the office door, trying to hear what was being said. "He doesn't reveal much," Lizzy muttered. Michael placed a finger on her lips. But she was right. obviously talking to someone on the phone, and it

The man was

wasn't much of a conversation, at least on this end. Other than an occasional yes or no, he said nothing else. Michael and Lizzy tiptoed away when he hung up. They were by the front entrance as he came out of the office. "I have a bit of information that might help you," the man announced cheerfully. "Little wonder I recognize the style of the piece. Japanese, of course, and with a rather typical bit of Far Eastern mystery in its past. It seems the original disappeared during the Second World War. Prior to that, many copies were made, of which this is a handsome example, but none since that time." Michael accepted the figurine from him. located?"

"Has the original ever been

"No, and evidently it's worth millions." A gleam of avarice shone in his eyes. "The Japanese family who lost possession of it has a long-standing reward for its return." "My goodness! admiration.

You found all this in a book?"

L~zzy asked with open

"No, ma'am." He preened at her praise. "I couldn't find the piece in any of my books, so I made a few calls on your behalf." "That was very kind of you," Lizzy murmured. He handed Michael a business card with another gallery's name embossed on it. "This little gallery specializes in Oriental art and we've worked together on deals in the past. They are better qualified than I to make a judgment on your piece." "Thank you." They left the shop, both equally confused. "Japanese? Oriental art? What happened to Europe?" Lizzy asked him once they were back in the car. "Beats me." Michael backed out of the parking space and joined the traffic at a red light. "Gramps never talked about his work, or the war." Lizzy leaned back in the seat. on your list?"

"Is the address of that other gallery

"No, and it's also in Fort Worth." Dallas tollway toward downtown.

Michael took the turn to get on the

"Is that where we're going now?" After they were in the fast-moving flow of traffic, he answered her. "No. I don't trust that guy." "Good. I don't, either. opinion?"

So what are we going to do?

Get a second

"Something like that. There's a place downtown that's suspected of dealing in black market items, although it's never been proven. My partner and I worked on the case for several years without any success."

L'~y detected something in his voice that intrigued her. miss having your partner around, don't you?"

"You really

"Yes, I do, " Michael admitted. He hadn't realized how much he'd miss Richie's company, not to mention his level-headed hesS for decision-making, until he'd worked without him. Maybe he wouldn't be on suspension if Richie had been there to stop him. Then again, they w~ould probably be on suspension together. He was smiling. "Why'd he move?" Lizzy asked. "Richie loves his wife and she hated living in a city as big as Dallas. She felt it was too dangerous and violent to raise their two kids here." "Is it?" Michael glanced at her, but her face showed only casual interest. "There's violence in every town, no matter what size it is. And trouble has a way of finding people who go looking for it. If you're smart, you pick the safest area you can afford to live in, and you stay out of the bad areas." "Where do you live?" "You slipped up," Michael informed her. "You should have asked Gran that along with your other questions about me last night," he replied testily. Lizzy blushed. "I didn't ask her anything, she volunteered the information." Not that she'd stopped Paulina from telling her plenty over tea and sugar cookies.

"That's not the way I heard it," Michael commented. Despite his moodiness, and his tendendy to dominate, she liked Michael. A lot. But this time her eyes were wide open. Before she entered any kind of relationship, Lizzy wanted to know his complete background. "Paulina believes that you've never married or had a long-term relationship with anyone because of your parents." It was a very personal issue. But then; she had been having some pretty personal thoughts lately. "Is that true?" His hands tightened on the steering wheel. His rotten childhood was something he rarely thought about, and when he did it was never pleasant. "" Probably My parents were seniors in high school when they had to get married. For twelve years they fought bitterly over anything and everything, then my mother took off to find herself. I guess she's still looking. She's on her third or fourth marriage, but no more kids. " "But you had Paulina, didn't you?" "Not until I was fourteen," wanderlust that year and we for a visit. The day after and Gramps. He still sends him in a long time."

Michael explained. "My father got the came up to Dallas from Houston, supposedly we arrived, he took off, dumping me on Oran a postcard now and then, but I haven't seen

How sad, Lizzy thought. ~His childhood had been so different from hers. Her parents had adored her,~ as had her two older brothers. She'd been subjected to very little family strife, and had never once heard her parents actually fighL They'were both opinionated and still had many lively discussions, but that wasn't fighting. It was more like the little talks she and Michael had been having lately. "Did your grandparents mind having you around?" Michael smiled in remembrance. "No. Gramps was away on business at the time and when he came home two weeks later, Gran had worked out a schedule that eventually suited everyone." There was laughter in his voice that told Lizzy he wasn't being completely honest. "I bet you weren't a model teenager." ' "Far from it." Michael chuckled. "I'd never had to adhere to any kind of schedule before and it was an adjustment, for all of us. They were very strict, and demanded a lot of me, but they were also lavish with their praise and their love." "You were very h~cky," Lizzy told him. Michael agreed with her. "I'll say. With a home life like I started out with, I could just as easily have ended up on the other side of the law. If it wasn't for Oran and Oramps, I wouldn't be where I am today." "On suspension?"

Lizzy teased.

"You can't blame that on them."

He reigned anger. "Wise guy. Gran taught first grade for fifty years and felt that a good education was vital to everyone's future. I'd always been a rotten student, but she accepted nothing less than straight ,a~s. And Gramps backed her up. It was tough on both of us when he died."

Lizzy didn't know what to say so she kept quiet. His re-yea ling anything about himself had surprised her, and she didn't want to push her luck. Michael drove into a dark, narrow alley downtown and parked close to a building. "The shop is right ahead." "Really?" She took another look. was there."

"Well, I'll be.

You'd never know it

A few steps from the car there was a recessed entrance, the red-brick arch covered by fancy, black-iron grillwork. They got out of the car and approached the entrance, the sound and smell of the city wrapping itself around them. Michael pushed the button in the middle of the polished brass bell mounted on the grillwork and waited. "yes?" A feminine voice came over a speaker near the bell, but they couldn't see anyone. Michael held up a police badge.

"Mrs. Li, my name is Michael Cook and I'd like to ask you a few questions." The clicking sound of locks releasing was followed by a door opening beyond the grillwork. A young Oriental woman dressed all in black spoke softly. "Please come in." Michael held the door open and Lizzy preceded him into the tiny shop. The smell of incense was overwhelming in the narrow, w:mdowless room, dim yellow lighting creating an eerie atmosphere. In sharp contrast to the opulent gallery they was sparsely furnished and decorated. Only a on display, each piece highlighted by its own ornately carved stands. The rear of the room curtain.

had few sun was

just left, this one Oriental pieces were pie lamp on tall closed off by a red

"How may I help you?" The woman was older than first glance showed, with crow's-feet around her eyes, and the skin on her neck showing a few wrinkles. Still it was hard to tell just how old she really was. Her jet black hair was pulled back tightly and bound into a bun at the nape of her neck. Michael moved forward, forcing the woman to step into a pool of light coming from a nearby lamp. He opened his hand to reveal the figurine and waited for her reaction. A flickering of her dark eyes was the only movement she made before glancing at him with a puzzled look. "Yes?" "Have you seen this before?" She held out her hand, palm up.

"May I?"

"Please." Long, thin fingers caressed the jade figurine as if they were enjoying the feel of the smooth stone. "I need better light. Come this way." She turned and disappeared behind the red curtain, and they quickly followed. The woman was sitting at a spotless, black-lacquer desk, adjusting a lamp like magnifying lens. Fascinated, Lizzy watched as the woman examined the figurine. She moved it around, changing the light, the tips of her fingers constantly moving over the smooth surface. "I have seen a painting of the real one in my homeland," the woman murmured softly. "The green of the jade is unearthly, as if the color were a light shining from within. There are special markings on the bottom, ancient symbols whose meanings are long forgotten except to a chosen few." She turned and handed the piece back to Michael. "This is a slightly better than average copy, but a copy nonetheless. One finds many in this country. They are of an inferior quality of stone." Michael closed his fingers around the statuette. very old?"

"Is the original one

"Not by Japanese standards." Mrs. Li rose gracefully and led them back into the other room. why is it so valuable?" L'~zzy asked.

"Then

"Its value does not arise from what it is, such as the value of a diamond, but from what it means, the reason for its creation and existence. Originally it was given to a Very wealthy Japanese man by his young bride on their first anniversary as a token of. her love. He valued it highly." Everything about this woman and her shop seemed designed to give a certain impression. Lizzy felt as if she were in the middle of a stage play. Still, the nuances in her voice had such a sad, apparently genuine tone. "What happened?"

Lizzy asked.

"Less than a year later, the wealthy man lost both his wife and his son from complications of childbirth." Mrs. Li turned, and her face became lost in the shadows of the room. "During the war the piece... disappeared. The businessman put up a huge reward for its return. He is a very old man now, and each year the reward has been increased. Still, it is said the vast sum cannot match the sea of his grief." "Do you know him?" Lizzy asked, wondering if it was the story or something else that afro ted her so.

The woman shook her head. "No. I only know the story behind the figurine. Is there anything else?" "No.

Thank you for your time," Michael said.

The woman bowed her head slightly. Once they were outside she engaged the locks and hurried to the back room. From her desk drawer she pulled out a simple black phone and dialed a number. When an answering machine told her to leave a message she spoke clearly. "The two you described have been here." She put the receiver down, hesitated, then picked it back up and dialed a different number, once again leaving a message. "There have been inquiries about the f~gurine. Call me if you want more details." Her hands were a bit shaky as she pulled a tiny book from her pocket and found the phone number she'd written there only days before. The man was too powerful. It would be foolish to cross him, and her family would be the ones to suffer the consequences if she did. Chapter Twelve "Now what?"

Lizzy'asked when they were back in the car.

Michael pulled out into the heavy downtown traffic. "Since Mrs. Li more or less confirmed what the other dealer told us, I think visiting any more galleries would be a waste of time. Besides, I need to get the figurine back to Lloyd within the hour. I'm sure he's already having a fit." "Hey! You flashed a badge back there!" thought they took it away?"

I Lizzy suddenly realized.

"I

He had a strong profile, and the corners of his eyes erin-kled when he smiled. "They did." "You stole it?"

she asked, stunned~ "From the police department?"

"Not exactly," he hedged. While he was busy negotiating traffic, Lizzy reached over and pulled the shield out of his breast shirt pocket, flipping it open. "This is Lloyd's! Couldn't he get in a lot' of trouble for loaning you his badge?" "He didn't exactly loan it to me." '"Then what did he exactly do?" He shrugged. "Stood still long enough for me to sort of borrow it from him without him knowing about it. There wasn't much choice. I don't think Mrs. Li would have let us into that shop without it, and Lloyd would have said no. I'm

going to return it with the figurine," Michael assured her as he parked his car among the fleet of police cruisers. " You are going to tell him you took it? " Michael grabbed the shield from her. "Sure. If he doesn't stand still long enough for me to slip it back into his coat pocket where I found it." "Some friend you are," Lizzy muttered. Ever!"

"Remind me not to trust you.

"Just wait in the car until I get back." Michael left, not giving her a chance to say anything. When he returned a short time later he found a note on his car seat. At the county assessor's office. Lizzy. He crumpled the paper in his hand and dropped it on the seat. "Can't you follow one s'unple request?" he grumbled, walking past the police cruisers to the street. Once in the right building, Michael had to ask for directions twice before he found her at a microfiche machine in the back corner of a little room. "What are you doing?" "Just following a hunch. The old-fashioned way. The computers have been down all day, so I'm using this to look up who owns those buildings that burned down." Lizzy kept her eyes on the oversized screen. "May I ask why?"

Michael inquired impatiently.

Lizzy glanced at him.

"We detectives call it looking for leads."

He just grinned. "Oh. Technical stuff. Can I watch?" She continued to run through the addresses, but Michael was blowing her concentration by standing so close. His hip was touching her shoulder, his hand pressing into the middle of her back, distracting her as he looked on. "Would you sit down?" she muttered irritably. "Why?" He grabbed a chair and sat down right next to her. "Does my being this close bother you?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. Did it ever. The masculine scent of him reminded her of their time spent on the floor. Lizzy answered him through clenched teeth. "No, but your talking does. Keep quiet." It took some effort but. Lizzy ignored him and continued to scan the information. Finally she located the name of the person who owned the building they had been in. "Albert Fitzer." Lizzy scribbled his name on a piece of paper, then tapped the screen thoughtfully with the pen. "I wonder if he's in the phone book?" Michael grabbed the slip of paper she'd written his name on and stuck it in his shirt pocket. "Doesn't matter. Befole we do anything, I'm running a check on him." "That's a good idea, Michael.

Stick with me for a while and you might

get the hang of this stuff after all." Her patronizing tone irked him but Lizzy was already writing down more information. He tried unsuccessfully to read around her hand. "What are you doing now?" "Albert only owns the building we were trapped in, the other four in the block are owned by this one corporation." L'w~y chewed on the end of her pen. "With research I should be able to find out who actually owns the corporation~" He could almost see the wheels spinning in her mind. thinking?"

"What are you

"What if there was another reason for burning down those buildings?" Lizzy suggested. "Besides someone wanting to kill us." Her eyes gleamed. "Like a huge insurance payoff?" Michael rubbed his jaw. clear case of arson?"

"But will the company pay off even if it's a

"They have to pay," Lizzy informed him. "Most policies have exclusions of course, like your basic acts of God, war and riots. But otherwise they pay--unless it's proven that the owners instigated or set up the fire themselves. And it hasn't officially been declared arson," she reminded him. "True." Michael looked at his watch, and stood up. "We've got to get going. I have to make up a class I missed earlier this session." The sun felt good on her face after the cold interior of the building. "What are you getting your masters in?" "Gran didn't tell you that, too?" made him smile. "Education-"

Michael asked.

Her shrug almost

"What are you going to do with it after you get it?" Michael held the car door open for her. "What is-this, an inquisition?" He didn't want to talk about his future, not when it was so uncertain. "Human interest. hear of that?"

Making polite conversation," Lizzy retorted.

"Ever

Maybe he was overreacting. "I'll teach at the police academy." If he still had a job after the review board was done with him, that is. People declared unfit to serve didn't get to mold young minds. "Is that what you want to do with your career?" got into the car. He started the engine. toward for years."

L'w~zy asked after he

"Let's just say it's what I've been working

"A The man never ceased to surprise her. teacher. Won't that be boring after your career of lively street work and daring saves? " "It will hold different challenges," Michael told her.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you ask too many questions "Lots of people.

There's no accounting for taste."

Rush-hour traffic was very heavy and required Michael's full attention as he drove to the north end of Dallas. But his thoughts kept wandering to the woman sitting beside him. There was no denying he was attracted to her. He liked her spunk, determination, even her temper, but this wasn't the right time to get involved with anyone. Not when he didn't know if he would have a job next week. Especially when that job was his life. If he lost it, he might totally lose his way, the course he had charted for so many years. A lot of cops who had to leave the force for some reason eventually blew their own brains out. Michael was all too well aware of that statistic. He cruised down the winding driveway around the main house, past the glass greenhouse on the left, and on to her garage-top apartment. After checking for intruders, Michael headed straight for the door. He was going to be late for class and he had to leave before he gave in and kissed her. This time there was no one to interrupt them if they got carried away. "I'll be tied up all evening, but I'll run Albert Fitzer's name first thing in the morning if I can? Lizzy held onto the doorknob, standing a foot from him. "You'll call me before going to see him?" "Maybe." She opened her mouth to protest and he stopped her words with his own mouth. Lizzy resisted for only a moment, then found herself melting into him as her recently kindled desires quickly rose to the surface. Her arms curved around him as their tongues met in a deep satisfying kiss. "I've got to go," Michael murmured, his face buried in her silky hair. L'~zzy nuzzled his throat, "Are you sure?" "Positive." Michael dragged himself away from her before be couldn't and stepped down a few steps, putting some much needed distance between them. "This is my last chance to make up this class," he explained. Her eyes sparkled as mischief filled them. "I'm tempted to make you stay, but Pahlina would undoubtedly scalp me if I came between you and your education?" "That she might." It was time to leave. He wanted her back in his arms but that wasn't a wise move at this point. He started down the stairs. "See you tomorrow." "You'd better.

Or else."

Michael looked back over his shoulder, grinning. make good on all these threats, very soon."

"You're going to

"Promises, promises," she taunted. After he drove away, Lizzy went inside, locking the door behind her. She had to get her mind off of Michael and everything else right now. There was a report due in the morning and it still had to be fact checked and she had plenty of other work to occupy her time, too. Work that paid her bills. The hours slipped away as she finished one task at her desk and went on to another. It was after midnight before Lizzy even contemplated shutting off her computer. Her eyes were dry and stinging from the hours spent reading through one disk after another for Ester, until the mere thought of going through yet another one made her ill. She just couldn't do it, 'at least not tonight. Nothing even remotely promising had turned up in the first half of them, and she had plenty left to compare. Ester had only found the first embezzlement of company funds on a fluke, because a telltale backup file hadn't been completely erased. Going on the hunch that if the person had embezzled more than once, it wouldn't be that often, Lizzy had asked Ester to copy random files and their backups from over the last two years. It was surprising how often perfectly innocent parts of backup files weren't deleted, somehow lost to the system but not a persistent researcher such as herself. It did, however, make her work quite tedious. Lizzy stood up, stretching as she turned off her computer. It was time for bed. If she wasn't so tired she'd be worried about staying here alone after 'all that had gone wrong, but tonight she fell into bed without giving it a second thought. "WE MAY HAVE A PROBLEM ."

'

"What problem?" His grip tightened on the phone receiver. He was sitting in the dark, all alone, but he still looked around cautiously. "Someone may be aware of the insurance scam." "May be?" the man on the other end of the line repeated. one hundred percent positive?"

"You're not

Sweat beaded on his upper lip. "No, but it's enough to make me nervous." "Just doing this makes you nervous, pal." The other man chuckled. "Don't do anything dumb. Just sit tight and let our silent partner take care of everything." "Shouldn't I at least double-check the backup?" "No.

Don't say Or do anything.

Is that clear?"

He was nodding in the dark room, and almost forgot to answer him. "Crystal clear."

EARLY THE NFXI' MORNIN(} Lizzy called Ester before leaving her apartment. Once assured that she was at work and doing just fine, L'~zy headed for her new client's law office to deliver her report. On her way home she stopped by the bank to make a deposit, then got back on the freeway heading for home. Traffic was still heavy and Lizzy was thankful she no longer had to face it on a daily basis. Especially when a ear suddenly cut in front of her without warning. She tapped on her brakes to slow down. Instead, her foot on the brake pedal was sinking to the floor. "Oh no, what's wrong now?" she muttered. As she zoomed closer to the rear end of the white sports car in front of her, she leaned on her horn to warn the other driver. He was a jerk, but at least he was alert to what was going on behind him. The car shot out into the other lane, giving Lizzy a few more yards to work with, She furiously pumped on her brake pedal, hoping to bring the pressure up and slow the car down. But each time her foot sank all the way to the floorboard, along with her stomach.

"Don't panic," she cautioned herself, looking for a way out. She had no brakes. All three lanes were filled with cars and even with her foot off the gas pedal she was still going seventy miles an hour. Maybe Michael was right; her habit of speeding had finally caught up with her. Forget the police. This time she'd settle for a nice hill. In Texas, however, those were never around when you needed them, either. Still, if she kept her cool, she should be able to coast until her speed dropped sufficiently to use the emergency brake. Then things got worse. Much worse. A sudden' hissing noise from the back seat made Lizzy look over her shoulder. "Oh, no!" Slithering up over the front seat was a huge snake. Chapter Thirteen Lizzy squashed herself against her door, as far as she cc get from the ugly thing. She was terrified of snakes. Not scared, or squeamish, but the full-blown, phobia tylx terrified, and had been since she was five years old. Panic was building in her as the snake continued to slil down into the front seat, her leather purse the only bar between them. All Lizzy wanted was to get out of the, But even in her horrified state, she realized she couk jump out of a car going sixty miles an hour on a busy f] way and live to tell about it. She pumped her brakes one time. Nothing. In her mind Lizzy visualized the highway ahead, doing best to ignore the hissing snake, the blare of car horns ~ obscene gestures of the other drivers around her, berat her for her crazy driving. It wasn't easy, not when she ~ on the verge of losing control. There was no way she was going to pull the speeding, onto the shoulder of the road. One wild ride was enough her. But there had better be an exit soon, because one ,~ or another, she had to get away from that snake! The car's speed dropped to forty and now she was danger of being rear-ended by the other cars doing the us seventy on LBJ. There was no longer a shoulder to pull. on, but an emergency lane. If she switched to that, she col

either hit a stalled car or a concrete bridge abutment when the lane ended. "Think, Lizzy!" What would happen if she turned the engine off? Bad idea. The power steering would go off, too, and then she'd just have an uncontrollable car that wouldn't stop. But if memory served her right, she couldn't stay on LBJ; the hill she needed was coming up, but she was on the wrong end of it. A downhill grade would increase her speed. Besides, there was a little matter of what looked to be about twenty feet of snake curling up in the passenger seat, gazing at her and flicking its pink, forked tongue. Suddenly; salvation came into view. The next exit curved down, but then went uphill. Lizzy steered toward it, the hiss' rag of the snake so close it almost ignited the panic in her. She kept her eyes focused straight ahead, The speedometer crept up to fifty as she took the curving exit, then began dropping again as the car climbed the hill. But not fast enough. She would still get pretty banged up jumping out at thirty. It was all she could do to stay in the car, though. The snake continued to slither over the seat. How long was the damn thing? "Come on, drop!" she ordered. "If I was out of gas you'd have already stopped, and I'd be walking up this hill." Up ahead cars were backed up at the red light and she was still coming up on them too fast: She put her foot on the emergency brake pedal and pushed it down: The emergency brake was out of adjustment. She was still going fast enough to give somebody whiplash if she hit them from behind. Worse, the cross street was busy, the cars flying by, and if the collision pus~ he one of the people in front of her into the intersection. L'tzzy looked at the embankment on her right, debating whether she'd roll her car if she turned into it. When the light stayed red, she had no choice. If the snake landed on her she'd just pass out. She steered toward the. " embankment. Somebody honked. Lizzy scarcely noticed, watching the grassy slope loom closer and closer. Then it seemed as if the car just glided smoothly up the slant, hesitated a moment, and began inching back down, steadily increasing in speed. "No you don't!" Lizzy yelled, her left foot jamming the emergency brake to the floor as her right hand jerked the t~ansmission lever into park. The car rocked back and forth roughly, made a few ominous grinding and groaning sounds, and then stopped. The gawkers were in danger of doing more damage than she had. A flurry of dust and squealing brakes flew around her but Lizzy was oblivious to it all. She unlatched her seat belt and practically fell out of the car, slamming the door closed behind her. Huddled on the asphalt, her face almost touching the dirty surface, she at last gave in to her sheer terror and began to shake. "Are you all right?"

Slowly, I. izzy raised her head to find Michael's face mere inches from hers. "There's a s-s-snake in my car." "Did it bite you?" "No." "Come on," Michael murmured, his arms encircling her trembling body and raising her up with him. "Let's get you out of the road." He led her around the car to the grassy embankment. With nothing grisly to see, the gawkers went on their merry way. Tremors were coursing through her and she couldn't control them, her delayed fear taking over completely now that it had been unleashed. Lizzy buried her face in his warm throat, accepting the haven his body offered her. "Hey now, it didn't bite you. You're okay," Michael said softly. As the trembling continued, he gathered her closer and rocked her gently in his arms, his hand stroking her hair in a soothing gesture. Traffic continued to flow past them as the two stood em-bracing in the sunshine, a light breeze blowing around them. No one stopped to offer help but that didn't surprise Mb chael. They were holding each other like lovers, why would they need help? The longer they stood there, the harder Michael found it to stay unmoved by the warm body pressing intimately into his. Her thin blouse and his T-shirt weren't much of a bar-tier between them, and her full breasts were pressed against his chest. But he tried not to think about that. From their first meeting he hadn't been able to get Lizzy out of his mind, and it wasn't just the strange event haunting them. He actually liked her. Her strength both intrigued and excited him. He was a cop, sworn to serve and protect, but with Lizzy he felt an entirely different sort of protectiveness. That in-eluded nailing the person responsible for producing such fear in her. All he needed was a decent clue, but he doubted even Lloyd could get fingerprints off a snake. At long last, Lizzy's tremors abate She looked up at him, her face was extremely pale against the fringe of dark bangs touching her brow, "Thanks," she said simply. "Any time. Are you sure you're okay?" "I think so." will be."

She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I

"Boy, you really don't like snakes, do you?" Michael murmured, stroking the softness of her cheek with a finger. He hadn't laughed at her and his caring prompted Lizzy to explain her revulsion. "When I was five, my brothers thought it would be. funny to put a harmless snake in my sleeping bag when we were out camping." Lizzyshivered at the memory. "I guess they thought I'd just scream and run away. But the zipper on the bag stuck. I was trapped, and the snake... I can still feel it slithering, that cold scaly skin crawling over mine. I had nightmares for months. The fear never went away."

"That's understandable," he commented. As an only child he'd never had to deal with that, but some of his friends had done some pretty horrible things to their siblings, too. "Brothers can be pretty mean." Lizzy mahaged a tiny grin. "After the nightmares they never did anything to me ever again." She felt safe and pro-tee ted in his arms, and wanted to stay there. But nagging questions were starting to fill her mind, and the nonstop honking of a horn reminded her of where they were. He felt her stiffen in his arms and when she pulled away he let her go. She looked confused and defensive. What was wrong now? "Ordinarily," Lizzy said, "I'm willing to let most coincidences slide by as just that. It's probably my insurance background, all those statistics and such. But this is one coincidence too many, Michael. Dallas is too big a city for you to just keep happening along like this. What are you doing here?" "Helping you." Michael combed his fingers through his hair, brushing it out of his eyes. "I would have been here sooner but I got stuck at the red light that you ran right before getting on the freeway. Did your brakes fail?" "How could you know it was my brakes?" Lizzy asked, her suspicions growing by the second. "Unless you wee the one who tampered with them?" Her accusation hurt and he turned away. "It wasn't me," he told her with a resigned sigh. "Your erratic driving earlier and the phobia you just explained makes failing brakes a logical assumption. Otherwise, you'd have stopped the car immediately just to get away from the thing. Instead you drove to the next exit." He glanced at her, then away. "I'm going to radio for help." The hurt in his voice bothered her, but Lizzy didn't know what to think. How had he known where she'd be? Her hours were never- the same, and she purposely avoided any kind of routine.

When Michael came back he popped open the hood of her car. Again her suspicions escalated. Would he now cover up the evidence? "What are you doing?" Lizzy asked, moving closer to watch him. He was bent down, fiddling with various hoses in the engine compartment. Michael pointed out a razor-thin slice in a black piece of hose. "The brake fluid's been leaking out through this cut in your line." He checked the fluid reservoir and found it empty. "You were lucky. Again." "What's going on Michael? First you're at the fire, then you show up with the semi, and now you're here again when my brakes fail. Have you been following me?" He slammed the hood of her car, and dusted his hands off on his jeans. "Yes. After the spider incident I read the appointment calendar on your desk, as did someone else, obviously. I was hoping to catch them in the act, but I haven't yet. Who knows about your fear of snakes?" "A lot of my friends do. And my family, naturally." Lizzy shrugged. "It's not exactly a deep dark secret." She glanced at her car with distaste, a shiver running down her spine. "How do I get rid of that thing?" Michael stuck his hands into his back jeans' pockets. "They're sending someone to deal with it. Your car's going to have to be towed. Where do you want it taken?" "I don't know." Lizzy twisted her hair into a knot at the nape of her neck. "My brother usually works on it, he rebuilt the engine for me a few years ago. But I don't want to call him." If she called him she'd have a lot of explaining to do and she didn't want to worry-her family. Not after the last time. They would overreact again, she might let them, and even the dangers she was facing weren't as bad as total withdrawal from the world. "Any suggestions?" "Gran has a man who's worked on her car for years. Is that all right?" Michael asked. When she nodded yes, he walked back to his car and made another call. L'~. zy sat down on the yellowed' grass embankment. was thinking about her family, and their reaction to danger that had come her way once before, long ago. There couldn't be a connection between this and the time, could there? At first she'd been sure it was imp{ ble, but now that belief was wavering. Had she been dulging in wishful thinking? After all these years, had' horrible man completely changed tactics and found again? Michael was walking toward her, and he didn't look happy. But then he never did. "Come on, I'll give you a home, we don't need to wait for the tow truck. I'll drop off the key to your car off at the garage later." The short drive was accomplished in s'fience, both lo~ their own thoughts. At her apartment, Michael ran in to check the inside. then met her at the front door followed her in. "I have to get downtown. Will you b all right by yourself?" "I'll be fine."

He

Lizzy removed a key from her circular r "Don't forget

the car key." Michael slipped it into his pocket. claims you've worked on ready yet?"

"Do you have the of fraudulent

"Yup." Lizzy went to her desk, got the sheet of white per and took it back to him. "I think that's all." He glanced at the paper, then folded it to fit his ja~ pocket. "I haven't had time to run Albert's name thro the computer," he told her. "I'll call you later." Lizzy locked the door and grabbed a cold soda heading for her desk. She wanted to believe that Mici was on her side, but things kept popping up, making doubt him. Each time he smoothly explained everythi but it left her uneasy. Her attraction to him wasn't goinl go away. Was that blinding her to his true purpose? She turned on her computer, the blue boxes of disks minding her that she had work to do. Dwelling on the s at ion with Michael wasn't going to get her anywhere.

"ANY LUCK?" Lloyd didn't look up from his microscope. "No. I have someone working on the fingerprint matchup but it doesn't look promising." He glanced over his shoulder at Michael and noticed he looked more worried than ever. "What happened now?" Michael perched on the edge of a nearby desk. "This morning someone put a twenty-foot python in L'~zy's car and then cut her brake line." "Wow!

Is she okay?"

Lloyd asked with concern.

"Seems ~o be."

Lloyd nodded as he scribbled on a piece of paper beside the microscope. "I thought you were keeping tabs on her?" "I was, but for once, she left early this morning," Michael admitted with chagrin. "I caught UP with her on the way to her first appointment, though, so the-tampering had to have taken place outside her apartment." When Lloyd finished making notes, he turned around on his stool and faced Michael. "Except for the fire, which might have been a coincidence, all this has been directed against her. She's really ticked someone off." "Tell me about it," Michael muttered. she has any enemies."

"But Lizzy doesn't seem to think

"She definitely has at least one." Lloyd pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Did you get a list of possible suspects from her?" Michael pulled a folded piece 9f paper from his jean jacket pocket and handed it to Lloyd. "Most of them are people she's caught filing fraudulent insurance claims." "I'll run the list through the computers and we'll see if anything pops up." Lloyd whistled when he saw the full page of typewritten, single-spaced names. "She keeps busy. This is going to take a while." "Do you want help?"

Michael offered.

Lloyd put the paper aside. "On a computer? find anything in the duffel bag?"

Not from you.

Did you

"Not a damn thing." Michael crossed his arms. "I've been through that stuff three times, checked the seams, you name it !" he said angrily. "There's nothing there "Then it probably has nothing to do with the fire. I checked it out myself, yesterday. The stuff looks like it be longs to a homeless person." "I know it does." Normally, Michael was very even tempered and it took a lot to upset him, but this thing with Lizzy had him on edge. The uncertainty of his job just added to his frustration. But even so, Michael was acting awfully strange. "Are you working on something else?" Lloyd asked. "Sommething I don't know about?"

"Why do you think that?" Michael was roaming the small room restlessly, picking up different-objects, then setting them back down. "We've known each other a long time," Lloyd reminded him. "What are you involved in now?" "Remember my first fiasco?" Lloyd covered his face with his hands and groaned. "Oh, please. that again. Michael, when are you going to give it a rest?"

Not

"When they convict the murderer." "That crime is over eleven years old," Lloyd told him, thrusting his hands into his white lab coat pockets. "The department has stuff that happened yesterday we can't get to. Why are you dredging it up again?" Michael snapped the pencil in his hands in two. "Why? Because my anonymous caller said I'd find answers to that case in that building, Lloyd, that's why. It's what he used to lure me there." "So? That doesn't mean anything. If the guy did any research on you he'd find out about the case," Lloyd told him. "The publicity was endless, and it was mentioned in the paper recently when they did that write-up on you. So

the guy put two and two together and figured out some thing like that is going to haunt a policeman. " "Maybe." One thing that made Michael such a good cop was solid instinct that proved to be right quite often. But on this matter he wasn't objective. "Have you finished going through your case files to look for real suspects who might want to poleax you?" "What a way you have with words, Lloyd. instead of a scientist."

You should have been a writer

Lloyd wasn't offended. "He loved his job, too, and if he was on suspension, waiting for some board to decide his fate, he'd be just as big a bear as Michael was being. " Michael, there was nothing you could do. You made a decision and you have to live with it. All the second-guessing in the world won't change things. " It wasn't that easy~, not for him. relive the scene quite vividly.

He could still close his eyes and

It had been after midnight and he'd gotten a call for a possible burglary in progress. A flu epidemic had hit the department and his partner was down with it, so Michael was forced to respond alone. Outside the home he'd spotted a possible suspect and had ordered him to halt. The man took off and Michael chased after him on foot. A block away he heard gunfire-rfrom the opposite direction. Abandoning his suspect, Michael had gone in search of the noise. Inside the home he'd found three teenagers, tied up, blindfolded and shot in the head. Veteran cops had told him they would have reacted the same way, but it didn't ease his pain. Or the doubting. What if? He'd asked himself that at least a million times. What if he'd checked the house first? What if he'd Caught the guy running away? There were too many "what if's," and it h~adn't helped things when years rolled by and the case had remained unsolved. The phone on the wall rang and Lloyd picked it up. "Yeah?" He listened for a minute. "I'll tell him." Lloyd hung the phone back in the cradle. "Tell me what?" "Didn't you get a new answering machine yet?" "Nah, I haven't had time.

Why?"

Michael asked.

Lloyd drummed his fingers on the desk. "You aren't going to like this, and I hate being the bearer of bad news."

Chapter Fourteen A loud knocking on her door jerked L'~3t out of the deep concentration she sank into when working. Befuddled, she glanced at the clock on her bedside table. It was past noon. She'd been working for hours nonstop. The knocking started up again, even louder this time. "Hold your horses," Lizzy muttered, shutting her computer off. She first carefully put everything away, then went to answer the door. "Who is it?"

L'~zy yelled through the locked door.

"At least you're getting smarter, you used the dead bolt this time." She opened the door. "It's to keep riffraff like you out." Michael wasn't smiling. He was dressed in blue jeans, his rust-colored T-shirt partially covered by a jean jacket. "What's wrong?" "They pushed back my hearing until the end. Lizzy hadn't even known it was scheduled.

of next week."

'

"Why?"

"They claim the investigation of the incident isn't complete." walked past her into the kitchen. "Mind if I get something to drink?"

Michael

"Help yourself," Lizzy replied, closing the door. In his present mood, if she made any soothing comment he'd probably rip her to shreds with his sarcastic tongue. "~ did you find out about our Mr. Fitzer?" Michael opened a can of diet soda and took a big ~ grimacing at the taste as he drank it. "He's eighty-five 3 old and lives out south of town. Never been arrested. even a parking ticket," he taunted. There was some hope for him if him sense of humor intact. doesn't even drive."

"Probably

~U~zy was wearing blue jeans and an overs've V-r sweater in white, orange and tan. She looked good, but he was so mad he couldn't even enjoy that. "You're wror Michael informed her. " Albert still has a valid driver' cense. " He finished the soda and set the can on the corner. " If you want to tag along, let's go. " He was out the door before Lizzy could say a word. grabbed her purse and a light jacket and joined him in car as he was starting the engine. "So nice of you to let tag along." "With you, you'd find car around gunned the

it's the only way. Albert,s not in the ph book, but somehow out his address and 1~ right out there." Michael turned the in driveway. "I'm not in the mood to talk," he warned a~ engine.

A Garth Brooks cassette tape was sticking out of dashboard machine and Lizzy pushed it in and hit the F button. With the mood he was in, she didn't want to t~ either. Let him brood in silence. She'd enjoy his taste in music. The entire drive was accomplished without one w spoken between them. On the far outskirts of Dallas, t drove down a single-lane dirt road for

more than a mile fore coming upon a weather-beaten, barnlike house set b from the road, Michael parked right in front of the three steps leading to a porch that spanned the length of the house. A griz2 old gentleman dressed in a plaid shirt and overalls was

ting in a rocking chair on the shaded porch, a double-barreled shotgun in his lap. "Looks real friendly," Lizzy muttered, her eyes on the incredibly long barrel of the gun. Michael noticed the finger on the trigger. "He probably heard us coming and I don't imagine he gets too many visitors this far out." "Not when he greets them like that," Lizzy replied. "A little caution never hurts when you're as far from help as he is. That goes for us, too. Get out on my side, we don't want to spook him," Michael said quietly. "He's holding that gun like he knows how to use it." She scooted across the bench seat and got slowly out of the car to stand beside Michael. The sun was warm, but the ancient scatter gun the old buzzard had pointed right at them made L'w~zy feel even hotter. "That's far enough," he said. His voice was calm, even, and as dry as the dust under their feet. "This is private property. State your business or leave." "Are you Albert Fitzer?" The old man didn't say anything, so Michael continued. "We're here concerning the building you own near south Dallas. It" The old man interrupted him. "I've told you people he-fore, I ain't selling that low." He gestured with the gun. "Unless you're willing to double your last offer, you can get out of here." Lizzy took a small step forward. "We're not here to buy your property, Mr. Fitzer." His face was deeply wrinkled from years in the sun and age. "Do you know that it burned down?" "Sure it did," he returned, shaking his head. "I swear, you real estate vermin will try anything, but I ain't fooled by your tricks." He pointed the gun at their feet. "Get outta here. Or I'll start shootin'." Michael was reaching into his back pocket when he heard the gun cock. "Wait." Quickly, he held up both hands, a newspaper clipping dangling from one of them. "I just want to show you this." "Let the little lady bring it to me, then," Albert ordered. keep your hands up, buster."

"You just

Lizzy took the piece of newspaper from Michael, making sure the old man could see every one of her movements as she unfolded it for him. Her eyes on the gun, she slowly approached the porch railing. The wood was as dry and weathered as he was. When she was up against it Lizzy held the clipping out for him to take. "You stand to the side and hold it up so I can see it and him at the same time," Albert told her, leaning forward in his chair. The barrel of the gun was resting' on her shoulder as Albert looked at the clipping that showed a photograph of the still burning buildings.

Why didn't he hurry up? She didn't like the look or feel of that gun so close to her, nor that it was pointed right at Michael. Albert finally raised his gun. "Set that down on the railing there and step back." When she was standing beside Michael again, he nodded. "You. can put your hands down." "No one notified you about the fire?" to get the circulation moving.

Michael asked, shaking his arms

"Nope. I don't have a phone, and I don't watch much television, or read the newspapers. Nothin' but a load of lies and trash, anyway. That scum'll sure enough ruin the country, you mark my words." L'w~zy wasn't certain which scum he was referring to, but it seemed wise to nod her agreement, anyway. A cool breeze blew across them and L'~zy crossed her arms, goose bumps covering her skin. "Was the building insured?" "Nope. Wasn't worth it. The land is what's valuable, and they ain't gonna burn that down, now are they?" He chuckled hoarsely. "Not that they didn't try to convince me otherwise. Worse than them real estate agents."

Her insurance theory could still be valid, if owned the other buildings around Albert's had And that gave her an idea. "Will you give us who's been trying to get you to sell?" Lizzy

the corporation who benefited from the fire. the name of the person asked.

Albert stood up laboriously, the gun resting on his hip, pointing at the blue, cloudless sky. "Why?" "Someone trapped us in your building," Michael told him. it on fire."

"And then set

His eyes narrowed, and he reached with gnarled fingers to pick up the newspaper clipping from the porch rail where Lizzy had put it. "I don't know nothin' about that." "I didn't say you did," Michael returned mildly. "" Uh-huh. " Albert backed into the shadowy interior of his house, but left the door open. Lizzy glanced at Michael, but be only shrugged and cocked an eyebrow. He was as confused as she. Albert came back out the door, his gun still in one hand, a white business card in the other. He held it just out of Michael's reach over the porch railing. "You a cop?" Surprised, Michael founit himself nodding.

"Yes."

"Thought so." Albert looked satisfied as he gave him the card. "You got the look, the way you stand and all. Except your hair's too dam shaggy. Ain't gonna get no respect with that girly hair." Michael did his utmost not to smile. Fitzer."

"Thanks for your cooperation, Mr.

"My civic duty," he muttered, going back in the house. This time he shut the door. Their audience with him was quite evidently at an end. Once in the car, Michael leaned forward and pulled a 9 mm automatic from behind his back. He pat the safety on, then slipped it into a pouch in the seat covers between them. "I didn't know you had that with you," she commented. "You weren't supposed to." Michael backed down the narrow drive until he found a spot to turn around. "Some of these old mots can get a lit He crazy, what with all the off-the-wall organizations trying to drum up support for one governmental conspiracy theory or another. But Albert tUrned out to be an okay sort." "Well, he did have some pretty extreme views on the media and salespeople," IJizzy reminded him. "Scum and vermin were the words he chose, I believe." Michael glanced at her. the media, too."

"Extreme?

Scum pretty well fits my opinion of

She smiled, but refused to get-into a debate with him about' that.

Besides, they had treated him pretty badly, she supposed. to get the car turned around and headed for the highway.

He managed

Lizzy tried to keep her mind off it, but her gaze kept straying to the gun-filled pouch between them. Michael noticed her stare, and that her eyes didn't hold any fear or distaste. She just seemed curious. "If you want," he said, "I'll teach you how to handle a gun safely." At first, his offer was shocking. But then it began to make sense to her. As a policeman guns were a daily part of his life, one of his tools, so to speak. If she was going to be around him, it made sense to know how to handle them properly. And the more she got to know him the more she wanted to be around him. "I'd like that," Lizzy told him.

"When do we start?"

Her eagerness made him smile, for the first time that day. we have time." Dust flew as they left the dirt road for a paved one. thing you brought that newspaper clipping."

"As soon as

"It's a good

"AS I said, I've encountered plenty of ornery old coots in my job. Half the time they don't believe you, even if you do show them something in writing. Have you heard of this law firm?" Michael asked, handing her the plain white business card Albert had given him. She looked at the name.

"Cox and Smith.

No."

"Me, either. about them."

I'll check with a few people and see what I can find out

"I hope it's more than I found out about that corpora Michael glanced at her. " No luck? "No." Lizzy sighed. "I contacted and used every one of my sources ths morning, but I kept coming up against blank walls. It's a privately heidi corporation so that information doesn't have to be made available to the public." Michael got off the highway and stopped at the red light. nothing?"

"You found

"For all my efforts I found an address, a useless post office box." Lizzy looked around. They were driving through a sleepy little town. "Where are we going? " Aren't you hungry? " " Starving! " After lunch at a quaint cafe, they drove back to Lizzy's place, with Michael still not in the mood to chat. He hadn't exactly been in a good mood since she'd known him, but the news of his delayed hearing had made him grouchier than ever. Back in Dallas at her place, Michael drove down the curving driveway and had just passed the greenhouse when he spotted two unmarked sedans parked in front of the huge stable like garage. Four men in dark suits were standing between the cars. "Michael." "I see them." "I don't like this," Lizzy muttered. here."

"Let's get the beck.

out of

Michael eased his hand into the seat-cover pouch between them and came up with his gun. "I'd love to, dear, but there's another car behind us, sitting right on our bumper. We aren't going anywhere." Chapter Fifteen' "Who are these guys?"

Lizzy asked nervously.

"Whoever they are, they mean business." arm. "Let them make the first move."

Michael placed his hand on her

The four men in dark suits didn't approach them. Their attention was focused on the lone man emerging from the car parked directly behind Michael's. Using the side mirror of his car, Michael studied the man as he walked toward them. He was short and slender with gray hair, a pointed nose and pasty skin. Even from a distance, his dark gray suit, white Shirt and black tie looked expensive. Slender knuckles tapped on his window. privately."

"I'd like to speak to you two

"And you are?"

Michael asked, not unrolling the window.

From his breast pocket he pulled out a black wallet and flipped it open. Lizzy leaned across Michael to see it. "F. Banks," she read aloud, squinting as sunlight glinted on the plastic covering. "He's some kind of government employee." Michael looked at Banks and motioned to the others with his thumb. "What's with the Feds?" "The FBI? They're strictly backup." Banks closed the identification he had flashed at them. "Now, if you don't mind, can we go upstairs?" "As if we had a choice," Lizzy muttered into Michael's ear. definitely outgunned."

"We're

They parked their car under the watchful gaze of the FB1 men and then followed Mr. F. Banks upstairs to L'~zzy's apartment. There, the man sat down in the glider rocker and crossed his arms. Michael perched on the curved end of the sofa, Lizzy sitting right in the middle. "Well, what's on your mind?" Lizzy asked, finally breaking the silence as the two men continued to watch each other suspiciously. Banks kept his eyes on Michael. figurine."

"You have to quit looking for the

"That's what this is all about? "Why?"

The figurine!"

Lizzy exclaimed,

"I'm not authorized to release that information. But you are being advised, by yo.~ur government, to back off any further investigation of the matter. Completely." Michael raised his eyebrows. "Only advised?" "Ordered." "Ah. I thought that word would enter the conversation at some point. And if we don't?" Michael asked, his voice deceptively calm. Banks rocked in his chair. "You're on suspension right now, Cook," he said mildly. "That can become a permanent job loss if you don't quit looking for the figurine." "Is that a fact?" Michael spoke softly, his chest tightening, more from anger than anything else. "Are you threatening to have me fired, Mr. Banks?" Unperturbed, Banks continued to rock in his chair. "No. I'm stating a fact. Your own record, plus a few words in the right ears are all that will be needed to change your employment status, if you don't cooperate with us." "And we're supposed to just believe you?" sarcasm. "Who do you actually work for?"

Lizzy a. ~ with heavy

Banks turned his attention to her. "Be careful, Green. I can make sure all your ~work sources no longer j your services, ever again."

"I don't scare that easily, Mr.

Banks."

He smiled, revealing even white teeth.

"No, you don

"What?" His voice was filled with innuendo that shi her mind into high gear. "What's that supposed to mea: " You figure it out," he replied smugly. She already had. Outraged, Lizzy jumped up and lea over him, her face inches from his. "Do you know bee~ you tried to scare me? Leaving spiders in my doorway, ~ ning me off the road with a semi, cutting my brake line? i to mention trying to roast Michael and me alive. Well?" demanded. "Did you?" "It sounds like yoWve annoyed someone else, Green," Banks replied, rocking his chair back to put some distance between them. "Only one of the incidents mentioned can be attributed to our actions, and I assure there was a thoroughly [rained professional driver behind the wheel of that semi. It was simply meant as a warnin he said, pointing a finger at her face. " One you chose to heed. " "You lousy dirtbag!" Lizzy yelled, grabbing hold of arms of the chair to bring his face closer to hers. "Ma your guy was a professional driver, but I'm not! If I'd acted differently, I'd he dead." "But you're not." His lack of concern made her even madder and L turned and stalked away, too furious to speak. What wanted to do was flip that chair over with him in it, and wasn't normally a violent person. "Listen, Banks. If that's really your name," Michael. " tersely. " You'd save everyone a lot of trouble if you'd i explain about the figurine. It's a Japanese artifact, so what does it have to do with our government? " Banks stood up.

"This conversation is terminated."

"How did you find out that the figurine had been stolen?" "And that we were looking for it?"

Lizzy asked.

He walked over to the door. "We have our sources. If you like your present jobs, you'll heed my warning. And that includes leaving Edward Cook's past where it belongs. Buried permanently." Banks closed the door was he left: "Jerk!" Lizzy plopped down on the sofa, her anger quickly draining out of her with Banks gone. She looked at Michael. "What are we going to do?" Michael was furious, pacing back and forth near the front door. "I know what I'd like to do!" he exploded, hitting the palm of his left hand with his fist. "Me, too," Lizzy agreed. "But I suppose that's why those so-called FBI guys were here. To keep one of us from throwing that little twerp off my balcony." Michael opened the door and looked around. were gone. "I need some air."

Banks and his entourage

He went outside. Lizzy followed. The fresh air did help dissipate their anger, as did the simple act of walking. They stopped for~a moment beneath a large tree, its leaves just starting to bud. Spring was going to be early this year. "Well, I don't care who they are or what they say they can do, I'm still on the case," Lizzy said firmly. "What are you going to do?" "Me?" Michael bent down and picked up a twig. "I'm going to Gran's. I don't know what Gramps was involve ding but I intend to find out. His past could harm her." The wind was picking up and Lizzy twisted her hair into a loose knot to keep it out of her eyes. Heavy clouds were moving in and the air smelled like rain. "Aren't you worried about losing your job?" she asked. "No. My main concern is Gran." He flexed the twig in his hands. "If I lose my job because I'm protecting her it's well worth the loss." "But you love your job!" Michael shook his head. "Gran is desolate without that figurine~ She isn't sleeping or eating right and at her age and low weight that's too dangerous. She changed her entire life for me once, and I'd do the same for her." Lizzy didn't doubt his sincerity, and felt all the closer to him because of it. Every time she questioned herself on how she could possibly like someone as sarcastic and surly as Michael, he went and said something like that. "Do you think Banks' threats have any basis?" "Doesn't really matter. But that really up. I recognized one of the agents from Michael tossed the twig. and watched it falling to the ground. "Banks has heavy

was the: local FBI backing him a case we worked on together." flutter in the wind before connections somewhere."

Lizzy grimaced. "Oh well, I can always go back to working for someone else." She kicked at the ground. "I'd hate it but I can do it." "You can always do what I told you to do in the first place," Michael suggested. "Take a vacation. No use both of us going down in flames." It would be a lot less worry for him if she did, but he'd miss having her around. "No! I am not running away from this," Lizzy said heatedly. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "Besides, Banks explained only one of the incidents." If he isn't lying, who's behind the others? " Michael still didn't have a decent lead as to who was behind the harassment. But he knew from the tension that suddenly returned to her body that she was still hiding something from him. "This was serious before, but now we could end up bumping heads with the government, Lizzy. Before we go any further, I want to know what you're hiding from me.

Why are you so insistent that you won't back down, no matter what? And don't feed me that trap about it all being my imagination. " L'w~zy leaned against the tree and wrapped her arms around herself. In the back of her mind she'd known this would probably come out sometime, but eight years laler it still bothered her to talk about it. It was a long time before she spoke. "When I was twenty-two, I got an apartment here in Dallas. It was the first time I'd ever lived alone, but I loved it, " and for months everything was fine. " "What happened?" Michael asked. But he had a feeling he already knew, and wasn't sure he really wanted to hear it. Her brown eyes looked vacant as she stared at Michael, but she wasn't even seeing him. "This creep took a liking to me. I came home from work one day and he was sitting in a beat-up old car in front of my apartment. He was there the next day and the next and the next," "Did you call the police?"

Michael asked.

Lizzy nodded. "I gave them the license number of his car, and they spoke with him, but there wasn't anything else they could do. He hadn't accosted me or even said a word. And he wasn't wanted by the law for anything. "Day after day he watched me and followed me everywhere. He was easy to spot, his head was shaved. I'd look up and see him in the grocery store, in traffic, in the mall." Her voice was filled with anger, her hands were balled into tight fists. Michael understood that anger, shared her rage, because he had heard variations on this theme before. It was a horrible scenario that repeated itself in many big cities day after day. "Did you call the police again?" "Yes." Lizzy licked her dry lips, "They told me there was nothing they could do, because he still hadn't touched me. He was stalking me but the laws protected him, too. Besides, every time I called the police he'd disappear before they got there, making me look like a paranoid nut." "Go on," Michael encouraged. "Two weeks from the day I first saw him, I knew s, one had been in my apartment while I was at work, I didn't have any actual proof. You're a cop. What would do if I told you that I always throw my underwear it drawer, but that someone had entered my place and m folded and color coordinated it." Michael frowned. "With nothing else to go on I couldn't do a single thing. Maybe advise you to change your lo~ "Exactly." She was rubbing her hands against each ~ nervously, but he didn't say anything. "The main ten people assured me that they hadn't been near my place, that all their keys were accounted for. The next day I go locks changed, but that didn't help. He got in again." Revulsion filled her face, but Michael kept quiet, re ing the urge to pull her into his arms and offer her comfort. He needed to know what

had happened, and she needed let it out. "I worked late that night and didn't get home until ~ eight. When I pulled up, I noticed there was a light on i~ apartment. I never left lights on." L'~y's laugh was hollow, and filled with pain. "I left called the police, insisting that they meet me before I'~ inside. It took them an hour to get to the. corner gas station, and I stayed outside while they checked out my apartment." "And?" "Nothing." Her voice became angrier. "These cops answered my calls before and to them I was a nut case. 3 suggested I seek psychiatric treatment. You know how is, Michael. A woman thinks someone is stalking her all time, but the guy has never once spoken to her, and the ~ have never caught him in the act. To be honest, I was sling to crack. I wasn't sleeping, wasn't eating, could. function at work. I was a basket case." "What happened?"

"At work the next day, I got a phone call. It was him." She swallowed, and her voice dropped. "He said he'd left a little surprise for me in my apartment. He laughed and said that calling the police wouldn't do me any good because they wouldn't believe I needed help." Lizzy shook her head. "I sat there stunned and he started to tell me all the things he was going to do to me." Horror~ covered her face and she closed her eyes for a moment. "I ran out of the office and raced home. By the time I got there some of my common sense had returned and ! asked the apartment manager to go into my place with me," ' She was quiet for a long time and Michael finally spoke. find?"

"What did you

"He'd put hot-pink silk sheets on my bed, sheets I didn't own. And there was a white lace peignoir set that I'd never seen before draped across the foot of the bed, along with a pair of hot-pink lace panties." Lizzy bit down on her lip. "The manager insisted we call the police." Her breathing had quickened. "They were couldn't do anything, there was no proof he'd actually done anything wrong. They I knew what they were thinking, that I'd

different cops but they still it was the same guy or that knew about my other calls and done all this myself."

Michael wished he could defend the department, but he couldn'L The very laws that protected the right of an innocent individual to move about freely could in fact allow some terrible things to happen. And as for the policemen she had dealt with, Michael also knew a lot of guys who had very little patience when dealing with distraught women. Dallas, as well as most other major metropolitan police departments, now had specially trained units to deal with sex offenders and their victims. But that was a fairly recent development, of which Lizzy had not had the benefit. '"I'm sorry," Michael said, knowing it was too little and much too late. "What did you do then?" Lizzy swallowed. "I ran. I drove to Tyler, where my parents lived, and told them what had been going on. They got my brothers and moved everything out of my apartment the next day. For the next two years I lived at home and for months I didn't want to see anyone. He'd never touched me, but I felt so Violated. He had invaded my privacy, gone through my personal things." The knot in her hair was unraveling and Lizzy shook her head, freeing the strands, her frustration showing as she shook it free. In her face Michael could see the strength building in her. "Eventually I got a job at the insurance company I'd worked for after high school and started to see the friends I'd grown up with again. My family meant well but they were smothering me, being so overprotective that I realized I needed to break loose and get out on my own, or I'd never be whole again. After a lot of looking I found this place and got another job here in Dallas." Her words explained so much. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Michael asked softly. "This guy may of may not have anything to do

with what's been happening, but we need to run a check on him." Lizzy knew he was right. She had no reasonable excuse, and that didn't make her feel any better, either. But what had happened to her back then wasn't reasonable; it was sick and insane. Those were things even strong people tended to hide from themselves if they possibly could. "I know I should have said something," Lizzy admitted at last. "But you have to believe me, Michael. Until that morning when I saw the spider hanging in the doorway, I'd managed to convince myself that this was a completely different situation. And even then, I fooled myself into thinking I was dealing with everything quite well." Tears were welling'in her eyes and he wanted to touch her but knew it wasn't the right thing to do at this time. He

needed more information. way to deal with it." "But it worked!"

"But hiding from something isn't a healthy

L'mzy yelled.

"Until now."

Rivulets of tears were streaming down her face, but he held back. "What's his name?" "John Ethan Victor." She spat the name out as if every syllable left a vile taste in her mouth. "There! I remember it all now. Are you satisfied!" She closed her eyes and he finally gathered her in his arms, feeling only relief when she didn't tense up or pull away. Lizzy was a strong woman who had managed to do a great deal of healing on her own. "Let it out," he murmured, rocking her gently in the cradle of his arms. Right now he couldn't do anything else to ease her pain but let the tears flow. A few minutes later Lizzy took . a, deep, shuddering breath and stepped away from him. She d never told anyone except her parents about what had happened and it made her feel strangely vulnerable that Michael knew; "Sorry about that." "Don't he; suppressing your feelings isn't good for Lizzy glanced at him as she brushed the tears from her face. a doctor now?"

"Are you

"I wish I were." There was a sparkle in his eyes and a teasing, lilt in his voice. Lizzy found herself smiling. Are yo saying you want to play doctor with me? I think you can do better than that, Michael. " "I've heard that before," he told her, grinning when she giggled. Her eyes were still glistening with tears and he gently brushed a droplet away. "But you'll have to see for yourself." She didn't shy away from him.

"Maybe."

" When she wasn't in his arms, feeling the intensity of the desire he aroused in her, she had her doubts. Thinking about it and it were different "I need to fix my makeup." They headed back for her apartment arm in arm. "I think raccoon eyes look pretty good on you," Michael teased as they walked up the stairs. Liz~zy opened the door. "You can keep that kind of compliment to yourself or stay outside." "I need to use the phone."

"The cord will stretch that far," she warned him as he walked over to her desk. Michael started to pick up the phone when he noticed the blinking red light on her answering machine. "You have messages." "Hit the Play button for me, please," Lizzy told him, moving toward the desk. Michael did so, and a bubbly voicelpoured forth. "Hi, this is Nancy with a reminder! Don't forget to pick me up tonight for the baby shower. " Bye. " A loud beep sounded and then the next message began. " Lizzy, this is Ester, give me a call, I'm at work. " Michael stepped aside as Lizzy picked up the phone and punched in a number. "Ester, what's up?" "L'~zzy listened, frowning. " That is good news,"." Lizzy said, "but I haven't found that disk yet." She listened for another minute. "I think you should, too. I may have found something else, but I haven't finished tracking it yet. I'll call you when I do. " Bye. " She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she hung up the phone. Anything I should know? " Michael asked. "I'm not sure Ieven know what to make of it. They caught some young kid last night breaking into a desk at the office where Ester works. Hers was broken into last week and she'd been worried that someone found out about my investigation," Lizzy explained. "Have you located the missing disk?" "No.

Not yet."

She looked very worried again.

"Go fix your makeup."

needed more information. way to deal with it." "But it worked!"

"But hiding from something isn't a healthy

Lizzy yelled.

"Until now."

Rivulets of tears were streaming down her face, but he held back. "What's his name?" "John Ethan Victor." She spat the name out as if every syllable left a vile taste in her mouth. "There! I remember it all now. Are you satisfied!" She closed her eyes and he finally gathered her in his arms, feeling only relief when she didn't tense up or pull away. Lizzy was a strong woman who had managed to do a great deal of healing on her own. "Let it out," he murmured, rocking her gently in the cradle of his arms. Right now he couldn't do anything else to ease her pain but let the tears flow. A few minutes later lizzy took a deep, shuddering breath and stepped away from him. She'd never told anyone except her parents about what had happened and it made her feel strangely vulnerable that Michael knew. "Sorry about that." "Don't be, suppressing your feelings isn't good for you." Lizzy glanced at hhn as she brushed the tears from her face. a doctor now?"

"Are you

"I wish I were." There was a sparkle in his eyes and a teasing, suggestive lilt in his voice. Lizzy found herself smiling. "Are you saying you warn to play doctor with me? I think you can do better than that, Michael." "I've heard that before," he told her, grinning when she giggled. Her eyes were still glistening with tears and he gently brushed a droplet away. "But you'll have to see for your selL She didn't shy away from him.

"Maybe."

" When she wasn't in his arms, feeling the intensity of the desire he aroused in her, she had her doubts. Thinking about it and actually doing it were two very different things. "I need to fix my makeup." They headed back for her apartment arm in arm. "I think raccoon eyes look pretty good on you," Michael teased as they walked up the stairs. Lizzy opened the door. "You can keep that kind of compliment to yourself or stay outside." "I need to use the phone." "The cord will stretch that far," she warned him as he walked over to

her desk. Michael started to pick up the phone when he noticed the blinking red light on her answering machine. "You have messages." "Hit the Play button for me, please," Lizzy told him, moving toward the desk. Michael did so, and a bubbly voiced poured forth. "Hi, this is Nancy with a reminder! Don't forget to pick me up tonight for the baby shower. " Bye. " A loud beep sounded and then the next message began. " lizzy, this is Ester, give me a call, I'm at work. " Michael stepped aside as Lizzy picked up the phone and punched in a number. "Ester, what's up?" "L'zzzy listened, frowning. " That is good news,"." Lizzy said, "but I haven't found that disk yet." She listened for another minute. "I think you should, too. I may have found something else, but I haven't finished tracking it yet. I'll call you when I do. " Bye. " She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she hung up the phone. Anything I should know? " Michael asked. "I'm not sure Ieven know what to make of it. They caught some young kid last night breaking into a desk at the office where Ester works. Hers was broken into last week and she'd been worried that someone found out about my investigation," Lizzy explained. "Have you located the missing disk?" "No.

Not yet."

She looked very worried again.

"Go fix your makeup."

"Were you born giving orders?"

L'~zzy asked.

"Yup. The doctor slapped me on the rear and instead of crying I read him his rights." He noticed a letter on her desk and it reminded him of something. "I've been meaning to ask you. Who recommended you to Gran?" "Some friend of hers suggested me." Lizzy frowned. "Paulina seemed so desperate that I never asked for more specifics. Why?" "I don't think anything that's happened is a coincidence. Gran called you because someone suggested your name to her." He raised his eyebrows. "But you're not re ally a detective, so why suggest you?" "Because I'm good at what I'do." "Agreed, but what you do is research," Michael reminded her. "You ferret out clues through papers and computers, not footwork." Lizzy nodded. "I have done more on occasion, but I see' your point. Maybe Gran will have some answers. Will drop me off at the garage to pick up my car? I don't being here without transportation." "It's on' our way." He didn't like her being here period, but she was stubborn. Getting else wouldn't be easy. Once she'd closed the bathroom door, the phone and dialed a number, then sat down at her He spoke softly. "Lloyd, we may have a lead. I need yot run a name. John Ethan Xr~ctor." Chapter Sixteen "Ungrateful wretch! Do you have a new plan ready or do i have to do all the work from my deathbed?" He listened to his father wheezing and air host threw up. It was a sound he'd come to hate. Just like he abhorred this ornate bedroom. AS soon as the place was his he would sell it to the highest bidder, along with everything in the mansion. "I'm in the process of setting it up." "I want it over with." It burned him that he had to depend on anyone, but especially his own son. He'd never done anything right in his life, and he hoped that for once he wouldn't screw things up. His son had always been a disappointment to him. Weak when he should have been strong, a bully when other tactics would have worked much better. " The boy had learned nothing from him. Oh, he had both finesse and charm, but rarely had the sense to know what worked best in a given situation. Time and again he'd had to bail him out of trouble, using money, favors or both. Even when he'd been married, the young pup couldn't control his wife without resorting to physical violence, and to him, that was the sign of a truly weak man. He got that from his mother, naturally. The spineless creature had completely ruined the boy before she died. But

he was his own flesh and blood, that counted for something.

"It will be over soon, Father," he told him. While true, it probably could have been handled more expediently, but he didn't give a hoot. Instead of devoting his full attention to his father's problems, he had spent time on other, much m9re enjoyable matters. "Do you want details?" He didn't open his eyes, but his voice was forceful. you can put your details. I want results."

"You know where

"You'll have them." He moved closer to his father's bed, noticing for the first time how much his condition had deteriorated over the past few days. He really would have to speed things up; he didn't want the old man dying before he signed that inheritance over to him. "Anything else you need me to take care of?" he asked. "Now, why would I give you more to do? You haven't even done what I asked you to in the first place." Dark eyes glared at him from the pale shrunken face. "Get out of my sight." By the time he jumped into his red sports car he was furious, mostly with himself for letting his father get to him. He took the corner at the end of the block too fast, his tires squealing as he rounded the curve. He never saw the man hiding in the evergreen bushes at the edge of the road. Which is exactly the way Wally Fox wanted it. He stayed crouched in the prickly bushes until he lost sight of the red car, then waited a couple of minutes more, just to be sure he didn't come back. Wally had been hiding there the better part of an hour, waiting for the Sarge's boy to come out, because he'd rather deal with stiff muscles and prickly bushes than face Oscar Moore when he was angry. He always left that house mad; he and his father had never gotten along. His joints creaked from being down there so long and Wally stood up slowly, waiting for his circulation to return. But the longer he stood there, looking at the house, the more uncertain he became about being there at all. Maybe he'd come back another time. Sarge wasn't going to like what he had to tell him anyway, and after seeing his son he would he in an even worse mood. Even bedridden, the Sarge was dangerous. His money saw to that. If he left right now he could catch the next bus a few blocks over. He could stall another day, without anyone the wiser. Maybe by then he'd figure out what he was going to do. "SissY?" Michael asked doubtfully, trying to hide his frustration with his grandmother. For the past ten minutes Gran had been trying to remember who had recommended Lizzy. Now it was clear she was stalling to protect her friend. "Who's Sissy? Does she have a full name?" Paulina gave him a sidelong glance, then returned to beating the cake she was preparing. ,"I'm sure she does." "Can you tell me what it is?" he asked, gritting his teeth. When Gran didn't want to tell him something she was more stubborn than a mule. "I don't know if I should," Paulina replied. "I don't like the look in your eyes, Michael. Why do you want to know? And remember, I always

knew when you weren't telling me the whole truth." Lizzy decided it was time to jump in and save Michael before he told Paulina too much and worried her even more. "Paulina, he isn't going to give her the third degree. We just want to know who suggested using me, so we can thank them properly." "For what?"

Panlina asked suspiciously.

If they weren't going to tell Paulina everything, they would have to tell some little white lies. Besides, it might not be too long before she and Michael really were as close as they would have to pretend to be. She certainly felt the color rising in her cheeks for some reason as she placed her hand on top of his on the kitchen table. Michael arched his eyebrows, but managed not to seem too startled when Lizzy then scooted her chair closer to his. He tried to get her to look at him, but she kept her eyes on Paulina. What was she up to now? "We just wanted to thank Sissy for bringing Michael and me together. In a city this size I doubt our paths would have ever crossed without her help. Also, I'm curious about how she knew about me. I need all the referrals I can get." Michael turned his hand over and laced her fingers into his, gripping her hand firmly as he looked at Lizzy. He was smiling, but he wasn't at all happy. How dare she deceive his grandmother about something like this? When she glanced at him briefly, however, the hesitancy he saw in her eyes softened his anger, and he relaxed his grip slightly. A ploy tuight he the only way. But was it a ploy? "I knew you two would hit it off." Paulina was smiling and looked quite happy. "All right. It's too late today, but I'll take the both of you over to meet Sissy tomorrow at the senior center. My usual hair appointment is at nine-thirty," she explained. "So we can meet here around eleven. Now, will you two stay for supper?" Lizzy said, "I can't, I've" "We'd love to," Michael interrupted. He was squeezing her hand tightly again, daring her to disagree with him. ~zzy glanced at the kitchen clock. She only had an hour before she had to pick up Nancy for the baby shower, but she was torn in two directions. Michael had been right. Paulina had lost a few pounds, and it was weight she could ill afford to lose. Maybe she'd eat more if they stayed for dinner, and Nancy would understand if she was late. "What can I do to help?" Lizzy asked. Michael released her hand as she stood up and moved away from the table. Between the three of them they quickly threw together a meal with leftover fried chicken. It wasn't easy, but Lizzy and Michael managed to keep the conversation. off themselves and on neutral territory all the way through supper.

"That was a wonderful meal, Paulina. If you're sure you don't want any help cleaning up, I need to get going. I have a baby shower to attend tonight," Lizzy explained as she got up from the table. "No, you go on, Lizzy, dear," Paulina assured her. Lizzy was already on her way out the door. tomorrow."

"Thanks again.

See you

Michael caught up with her in the street. He grabbed her arm, stopping Lizzy'from getting inside her car. "Where will you be?" "That's none of your business." A mixture of anger and desire had been simmering inside of him all through the meal. "That little act of yours made it my business. One should always know where one's lover is." His mouth Covered hers angrily, but that swiftly turned to passion when she began kissing him back. He pulled away a minute later. "That was for Gran's benefit." "Sure it was," Lizzy teased, the fire deep in her belly causing tingling all the way to her toes. "But go ahead and pretend it was if you want. Any excuse will do." HIS hands slid up under her sweater, caress' rag the smooth skin of her back as he pulled her close and kissed her again. "And whose benefit was that for?" Lizzy asked breathlessly when he let her go. "The man in the moon?" "That was for me, you owed me one." Lizzy looped her hand around his neck and pulled his head down. She gently bit him on the lip, then slid into the car, smiling. "I liked it, too," she Said, winking. "For my own piece of mind, will you at least call me when you get home?" Michael asked, leaning down~ to look at her. "Or do I have to follow you all over town?" Lizzy relented. "I should he home about ten, and I'll call you," she promised. "Look, I've got to get going, I'm supposed to pick up Nancy in Mesquite and have us over in Richardson by seven."

"Then you aren't going to make it, so take your time," Michael ordered. "And call me!" Lizzy pulled away from the curb outside of Paulina's house, rather proud of herself for not squealing the tires. Six o'clock traffic was heavy, but by speeding just a bit and taking the back roads, she was only five minutes late. Nancy came out of her house with a radiant glow on her face, and it wasn't from the new outfit she had on, either. "Okay, what gives?" heading north.

L'zzzy asked once they were back on the freeway

"It shows?" Nancy shifted the large gaily wrapped box in her lap. "Bruce and I are seeing each other again." "That's wonderful, Nancy!" Bruce was her second husband and Nancy really did love him. Unfortunately, their marriage of two years had been rocky from the start, her ex-husband and children causing most of the problems. "Has this been going on long?" Nancy bit her lower lip. "I thought about what you said, and discussed it with Bruce. He was willing, so we started seeing a new counselor a month ago. I didn't tell you he-cause I was afraid it wouldn't work out, but we both like this one, and at her insistence the kids are even going with us this time. They aren't too happy about it." "Give it time, Nancy," Lizzy murmured reassuringly. like Bruce."

"You know the kids

"They do, but their pigheaded father keeps putting strange ideas in their heads." Nancy sighed in frustration. "Last week he told them that if I had another child, I wouldn't love them anymore, that they'd just he in the way." Lizzy kept her eyes on traffic and her tone neutral. to stop his visits?"

"Have you tried

"I have and I can't. They're court appointed and as long as he agrees to see them in the presence of an approved person and behaves, there's nothing I can do. His filling their heads with rubbish doesn't break any laws. He has rights, too," Nancy added bitterly. "It's a stupid law," I. Lizzy muttered. Nancy nodded her head in agreement. been up to lately?"

"Enough about me.

What have you

There wasn't time to explain everything that had happened recently, so L'~zy didn't even begin. "I got that contract with the law firm." "That's great!" For the rest of the drive they talked about work, and the staggering number of fraudulent claims filed each year, which meant an abundance of work for Lizzy. ~. Lizzy managed to keep a smile on her face throughout the party, though in fact she was only half there, mentally. Her thoughts kept jumping all over the place, from Banks and the FBI to Michael and on to the mysterious chain of events that had thrown them together.

She was greatly relieved two hours later when a woman who also lived in Mesquite offered to take Nancy home, thus freeing Lizzy to drive home alone with her thoughts. Nancy had given her more than a few puzzled looks over the past few hours and Lizzy didn't want to get into any detailed explanations this late at night. It was pouring down rain when Lizzy ran to her car parked across the street, and she quickly unlocked it and jumped inside. Her hand was ready to insert the key in the ignition when she saw it. A piece of paper was taped to her steering wheel. It looked exactly like the one she'd first seen attached to the spider left dangling in her doorway. The red splotches were visible even at night, the dim dashboard lights almost making them glow. This time Lizzy didn't scream, or even look around. If he was lurking nearby she wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. Instead she drove as calmly as she could to the nearest shopping center and parked near the entrance of a large, 'all-night grocery store.

Ignoring the pay phones outside, she went to one at the back of the store near the pharmacy, and from there she called Michael. He was the only person who came to mind. She didn't have anyone else to turn to, unless she wanted to involve her family or friends. And if she did that, was she involving them in danger, too? Fifteen minutes later she was standing near the entrance when Michael came rushing into the store, his light green oversize T-shirt splattered with rain. "Are you okay?" shoulders.

he asked, his hands resting on her raincoat-clad

"I'm fine." She was trying to be strong, but when he pulled her closer, enveloping her in his arms, she rested her head on his broad shoulders, drawing from his strength. She needed someone to lean on, if only for a few minutes. All of the tension of these near miss attempts on her life was beginning to pile up and get to her. Her nerves were shot. He held her for a moment, then asked, "Where's the note?" "I left it in the car." Michael put his arm around her shoulder.

"Lead on."

A misting rain was falling as they walked to her car. jacket?" Lizzy asked.

"Where's your

"I forgot it." He opened the door to her car and sat down behind the steering wheel. There was a slit in the middle of the page and under the parking lot lights the red splotches seemed alive. "" This could be your blood and you could be dead,"" Michael read aloud. "" Better luck next time. "" L'zzzy watched him remove the paper. before."

"It's the same message as

He wanted to crumple the paper into a tight wad but he stopped himself just in time. No wonder she was frightened. "We'll drop this off for Lloyd tonight. Maybe the guy got careless and left a print behind. We'll take my car." "What about mine?"

Lizzy protested.

Michael weighed the options. "We'll drop it off at your place, you need to pack some stuff anyway." "Pack? Whoa! Wait just a minute," Lizzy told him. "We don't know that this is the same sicko, but it doesn't matter in any case. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not running away this time." He sighed. "Well, I respect your courage. I don't think you should run, either. But that doesn't mean you have to behave like a fool. This guy knows where you live and it's just plain stupid for you to stay there, even if I'm with you." Her anger faded. "So where do you suggest I stay?" "My place,."

he told her.

"I have five bedrooms;~you can take your

pick." She still wasn't convinced. "Or you can stay with Gran, or one of your friends, or with your family. But not alone." The light misty rain was turning her hair into a damp tangle as she stood by the car. She agreed with Michael that her place was no longer safe, but she really didn't have all those options. Not unless she was willing to involve others in her problems. Michael was already involved~ He was also armed, and judging by the look in his eyes, very dangerous. "Your place it is," she conceded. I'm getting wet."

"Now get out of my car, will you?

After Lizzy packed an overnight case at her apartment, they left her car behind and drove downtown to drop the note off for Lloyd. On the way to Michael's place he was constantly checking to make sure they weren't being followed. They were driving in an area of big, high-priced homes when Michael turned into one of the driveways. At first Lizzy thought he was running some kind of errand he hadn't told her about, but then he drove around the two-story house situated in the middle of the large, nicely landscaped lot. He parked in a lighted garage beside another similar

se dan, and hit a button on his dash. very little sound.

The garage doors slid shut with

"You live here?" Lizzy asked as they entered the house through a door in the garage. "All alone?" "All alone," he assured her. A short hallway led into a big kitchen and he flipped on a light. There was a breakfast nook at One end, surrounded by bay windows. "Are you hungry?, "Not really," Lizzy said, looking around curiously. I get a full tour?

"Do

"

"Follow me." Downstairs there was a formal living room; dining room, one bedroom, a full bathroom, and a room he'd made into a masculine but cozy den. it contained a couch, two reclining chairs, a television, video recorder, stereo system, rows of bookshelves and a computer system in one corner. None of the other rooms had any furniture in them. They were going up the stairs to the second floor when Lizzy asked, "How long have you lived here?" "I bought it a couple of years ago," Michael told her. "Sort of a deal I couldn't refuse, really. When the housing market hit rock bottom." "I see. You just don't like furniture, is that it?" entered the upstairs hallway.

she asked as they

He chuckled at her perplexed expression. "I don't have that much," he told her, opening the first door on the right. "The other houses I've owned were all much smaller." "How many have you owned?"

"This is my fourth."

Drop cloths covered' the thick carpet of the first bedroom, and scaffolding had been erected in the middle of the room high enough to reach the vaulted ceiling. A huge section of that white plastered ceiling was missing and the wood of the roof could be seen through the hole. "Water damage," Michael told her. "I had to replace the roof, along with the wiring, most of the plumbing in the place and a lot of plaster." "I thought you were a cop?" Lizzy said as they headed for the next bedroom. "How can you afford this place and all the labor to fix it up?" "Buying and fixing up houses is a hobby. I started with something really cheap and worked my way up. I assumed the loan on this place the day before it was foreclosed on, and got it dirt cheap." The next room was empty and the doors after that led to full bathrooms, one on each side of the hallway. The final two rooms were fixed up as bedrooms, and the last one he showed her was obviously occupied by him. "Are you going to keep this place?"

"No, it's a good neighborhood, and an even better investment, but I don't really like the house," Michael admitted. "I'm putting it on the market this spring." He pointed to the room at the end of the hall. "I usually sleep in that one, but you can take your pick." L'~y turned away from him, but the confines of the hallway kept them close together. "The other one's fine. Where's my bag?" "I left it in the kitchen.

Sure you're not hungry?"

"Positive." Her stomach was doing flip-flops now that she was alone with him in his house. She opened the bathroom door. "I'd love a shower. Do you have extra towels?" Michael walked past her into the bathroom and opened a closet. Inside were three shelves of towels in every color imaginable. "Compliments of Gram She gives me some every time there's a white sale. I'll get your bag." He closed the door on his way out and Lizzy grabbed two towels before stripping her clothes off. The hot water felt wonderful, but after

twenty minutes her skin was beginning to resemble a prune, and she was no closer to making any kind of decision. Michael had left her bag inside the door and Lizzy dried off and slipped into her white terry robe. It reached her knees, with just a vee of skin showing at the neck. Besides what she considered a fairly normal amount of dating, her love life until now had consisted mainly of a disastrous affair in her third year of college. She had fallen quickly and madly in love with a man ten years her senior, and for three months she'd lived in a fantasy world, believing he was going to marry her and they'd live happily ever after. Until she saw him one day at a shopping mall with his wife and three kids. It was a brutal awakening to find out he'd lied to her about everything, and that be found nothing wrong with it, either. It left her disillusioned and alone. From that she'd gone to being stalked by a madman, to casual dating without much interest, to Michael Cook. Or rather, to the possibility of him. Michael excited her, made her' angry and made her want him with an intensity she'd never felt before. But there was more to it than just desire, and that was the part that confused her. Was she falling in love with him? Did she want to get involved with him? Or was she kidding herself that there was a decision to be made? In a great many ways, she was already involved with him. Still confused, Lizzy toweled her hair dry and combed it out, then walked across the hallway to the bedroom. The double bed had nightstands on both sides of it, with a lamp on top of each. They made the room inviting and cozy. She was pulling the covers back when Michael spoke behind her. "Coffee?" Lizzy turned around. Michael was leaning against the doorjamb, an orange mug in each hand. Faded jeans were riding low on his narrow hips, his chest and feet bare. His hair looked damp, as if he'd showered, too. "You bet. I can smell it from here." She took a mug and then moved away from him, sipping the hot liquid, and feeling strangely awkward. His chest wasn't hairy, but it was well-muscled and tan, without a trace of fat. "You make good coffee." "Thanks." He was smiling, his hazel eyes twinkling as he looked at her over the top of his mug. "Need anything else?" he-asked. Though his voice and manner were saying one thing, his eyes were saying something else entirely. Michael was forcing her to make the first move, leaving the entire decision in her hands. She admired and hated him for it at the same time. "I don't know." He straightened He'd never seen he wanted to do inch and taking

up, her was all

his eyes slowly traveling down the length of her. legs but the slim calves held great promise. What to peel that robe off of her, devouring her inch by night to do it, but he didn't want to scare her.

She'd had one bad experience already.

"Let me know when you decide."

"Aren't you going to kiss me good night?" to leave.

Lizzy asked when he turned

Michael paused, then leaned back against the doorjamb. "Lady's choice? He finished his coffee while she stood there indecisively. When she set her mug on the bedside table, he felt the heat rising up in him as he put his mug on the floor: "Are you always so cooperative?" Lizzy asked, moving toward him, her bare feet not making a sound on the thick carpet. She'd kiss him, and see how she felt then. "No." The tips of her fingers were resting lightly on his chest as she stood up on tiptoe and pressed her lips lightly to his. His mouth opened and she became lost as they took of each other hungrily. By the time she leaned back, the swirlings of desire in the pit of her stomach were curling throughout her entire body.

"Michael, I haven't" -- She stopped and started again. "It's been a very long time since I..." Her voice trailed off and she buried her face in his chest. "I told you I didn't know." "Shh," he whispered, cupping her face in his hands, "we'll take it real easy, and if you want to stop just tell me." He kissed her lightly on the nose. "It'll damn near kill me, of course, but I'll do it." Laughter gurgled up in her.

"Would it be that hard?"

"You underestimate yourself, lJ?~.y." He swept her up into his arms and carried her into his room. "It would be nearly impossible." The bedside lamps were turned on low, the covers already turned back. He laid her gently on the bed and followed her down. "You were planning on this? Lizzy accused softly as he hovered over her. "Hoping for," he corrected as his mouth claimed hers and his hand untied her robe. When his body covered hers the smoldering fire deep inside of her ignited, and Lizzy forgot everything else, except for her pulsing desire. They kissed over and over again, her hands skimming over the muscles of his broad back and down to his narrow waist. She ran her fingers through his hair, trying to touch every inch of him. His tongue was teasing the tips of her breasts into hard little knots and then he slid it downward over her stomach. She arched away, but he followed her. "Michael, what are you doing?" The intensity of her desire was almost stifling, but he continued to tease her. "Are you trying to kill me?" Lizzy gasped out when she finally caught her breath. Michael chuckled as he nibbled on the inside of her thigh. "That's what the French call it," he murmured against her skin. "La petite mort. Little death. Do you want me to stop?" "You do and you'll never walk the same again." He laughed, and she felt the rumblings as he moved up over her. "Ladies first." Later, satiated and wrapped in his arms, Lizzy was almost asleep when she murmured, "Michael, if you can do better than that, I won't have the energy to get out of bed for days." "I can." will."

He chuckled and pulled her closer into his arms.

"And

THE ANNOYING RINGING of the phone finally stopped and Lizzy buried her head beneath a pillow. A moment later she bolted upright when she heard Michael's voice so close beside her in the bed. "Yeah." Michael's voice was gruff. Tony? Okay, we'llhe right there."

"You're not kidding me, are you,

Michael sat up and rubbed his face, frowning. "is really starting to get peculiar." "What's wrong?"

"This," he said qu{etly,

"Someone broke into Gran's place again."

Chapter Seventeen Michael broke the speed limit twice on the way { Paulina's. L~vzy didn't say a word. They found Tony in ing room. There was a nasty-looking cut right above his i eyebrow. The cat in his lap was purr' rag sympathetically, "Are you okay?" Michael asked with concern. "I'm fine." Tony grinned sheepishly. "I wish I could I got this defending home and hearth," he added, at the cut on his forehead with a tissue. "But I throw rug when I ran into Gramps' study and I hit the of the desk. Hurt my pride more than anything." "Did you see anyone?" Tony shook his head. "No. I wouldn't have been all except that my first class was canceled, so I come home and get some more sleep," he explained. I came in, I heard a noise in the study but I knew was gone. By the time I got there the room was empty, window is broken. " He grinned. " Got out the same they got in, I guess. Gran actually locked all the day. " Michael glanced around. "Anything missing this " I can't tell. All I know is what I told you phone," Tony said with a puzzled expression. that was taken the first time has been returned." "Including the figurine?" table."

Lizzy asked.

"It's on Gran's bedside

L'~zy rushed to the bedroom and flipped on the overhead light. Sitting right in front of the bedside lamp was a jade green figurine. She walked over and knelt down in front of it for a closer look. "Don't touch it," Michael murmured from the doorway. "Look!" Lizzy said excitedly, her face inches from the statuette. "There's an indentation down the front of the stone from her daily stroking. This one is hers!" Michael hunched down beside her, studying the indentation. "It certainly looks more like the one she described, at least," he admitted. "But she's the expert. We'll have to wait till she gets home to know for sure." At that moment Panlina appeared at the bedroom doorl spotted the figurine and rushed toward it. "Gran!" Michael~ exclaimed. He tried to stop her but she ducked beneath his outstretched arm and grabbed the jade with both hands. "This is mine!" Tears of joy glistened in her blue eyes as she held it against her chest. "Thank you both for finding it for me!" He couldn't even see the thing buried in her hands. "We didn't exactly find it, C-ran," Michael told her. "Someone broke in here again and returned it to you, along with your other things." "My microwave, too?" Paulina was smiling as she rushed out of the room, the figurine clutched tightly in her hands. Michael stood up. "So much for fingerprints." "How can you even think of that when she's so happy," Lizzy scolded. "Let's find out if anything is missing." Her stomach growled. "Some food would he nice, too."

Lizzy had to wait until after a thorough inspection of the house for her much belated breakfast, but it was worth it, since it consisted of a big slice of Paulina's homemade chocolate cake. As for the search, the only missing item was a small painting that had hung in the study.

"Edward adored that little painting. But to tell you the truth, I'm glad it's gone," Paulina announced. "For one thing, it was just plain ugly. And there was something about it I never liked." Michael couldn't even remember it, but Gramps' study had been off-limits when he'd lived here. While thieves who returned previously stolen goods were hardly in the mainstream of their profession, the painting must have some significance, at least to this particular thief. "Had Gramps owned the painting long?"

he asked.

"Oh my, yes! Edward already had it when we got married right after the war," Paulina replied. It was no family secret that Michael's father was born while Edward was still overseas. In fact, their family secrets all belonged to Edward, his past and his job. "Where's that old trunk of Gramps' you mentioned last night during dinner?" Michael asked. "It's not in the study." He popped the last of a large chunk of chocolate cake in his mouth and washed it down with a glass of milk. "Out in the garage," Paulina told him. "But there's no need to look in that since I have my figurine back. We're going to the senior center, remember?" Michael still wanted a look in that trunk, as did Lizzy, but Gran had her agenda set and there were going to be no deviations. So off the three of them went. The senior center was connected to the church Paulina attended. It held various on-going activities for its members, including bridge and bingo games. There were quite a few people there, and naturally they all wanted to meet Paulina's grandson and his girlfriend. Today, the reference to their relationship sat a bit easier with them both. At last they got around to the person they had come to see. Sissy turned out to be a charming, silver-haired woman about Gran's age and she was very pleased to meet them, She also had some rather startling news. Someone else had given her Lizzy's name, but he wasn't there today, Lizzy tracked down the church secretary and managed to get an address on the man, who was by all accounts quiet, well liked and an excellent bridge player. After dropping Paulina off at home, they headed for that address. "You're pretty good at getting information out of people," Michael complimented. Lizzy stretched her legs out in front of her. She hadn't had much sleep last night but she felt wonderful. The sun coming in through the car windshield was warm and it made her want to curl up for a nap and forget all their worries. "It's what I do for a.liviug," she told him. "Con people or computers into telling me things they don't have to, or shouldn't."

Michael glanced at her.

"How'd you get started?"

"I worked summers in high school for an insurance firm, and part-time for one through college. After I graduated, I moved around to various departments and companies honing my skills, learning everything I could." "Don't insurance companies have their own investigative departments?" Michael asked. Lizzy sat up as they neared the address they were lboking for. "Most do, but they have overflow work occasionally. The bulk of my work comes from lawyers." She leaned forward, squinting to see the small black numbers on the buildings. "Slow down, we're coming up on his address." The apartments they parked in front of were of yellow brick with peeling paint on the trim and ripped screens on the windows. They entered one of the disreputable-looking buildings, the smell of old sauerkraut assaulting them as they walked down the dimly lit hallway to the right number. Too much had happened for either of them to take this encounter lightly. Maybe there was just a nice old man behind that door who had somehow heard of Lizzy and had recommended her to a friend. Or maybe not.

Michael motioned for Lizzy to stay to one side and knocked on the door. His hand was on his hip, resting on the butt of the gun that was hidden beneath his loose blue sweatshirt and jean jacket. "Who is it?"

a man asked through the closed door.

"We're friends of Paulina Cook, Mr. voice to be heard through the door.

Fox," Michael replied, raising his

They heard the sound of a number of locks unlatching, then the door opened a crack, a gold safety chain still in place. "What do you want?" "Just to talk to you," Michael assured him. "Who are you?" "Michael Cook, and this is Lisbeth Green." He eyed Lizzy for a moment. The door closed, then opened again, "Heard about you," he said, looking at Michael. "You're a cop. Come in and have a seat." Inside, the apartment looked much better than the outside facade indicated. The furniture was old and threadbare, but the place was clean and neat. Wally Fox was in his seventies, and looked it, his wrinkled skin showing that he had weighed a lot more at one time. He was wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt with a sleeveless undershirt beneath it, and dark slacks. He sat down in a faded wingback chair, motioning them towed a lumpy old sofa opposite. He didn't meet their eyes, but rather kept his gaze focused on their feet. His demeanor was one of shy subserviency, but L'tzzy didn't buy it. Though he did it well, as if it were a role he'd played most of his life, she had detected a certain gleam in his eyes a moment ago, either intelligence or animal cunning. Perhaps Wally Fox was aptly named. "Why are you here?"

he asked quietly.

"A woman at the senior center gave us your name, said you were the one to recommend me to Paulina," Lizzy said. He looked puzzled and scratched his head as if trying to remember something. "Oh, yes. That's right. But I can't remember why I... I suppose I must have heard your name from someone else. Someone at the center I think. But I just can't remember..." Wally's voice trailed off weakly. "You can't remember who it was?" showing.

Michael asked, his skepticism

Wally looked up at him quickly, then down at the floor. "When you get to be my age, you'll understand it isn't easy to remember things. But it'll come to me eventually." "It must be tough," Lizzy murmured consolingly. She rose from the sofa and wandered over to a nearby side cabinet. Displayed on top were a

few painted china plates, and a silver-framed photo of a plump woman near Wally's age. "Is this your wife? She's very pretty." Wally glanced at her, then looked away. "These are hand-painted, aren't they?" the plates.

"Yes." Lizzy asked, picking up one of

"Yes." Her interest animated him at last. Wally joined her and stroked the painted surface of the plate Lizzy was holding. "My wife collected tlva~. She died five years ago." "I'm sorry." Lizzy set the plate back on the stand. few cups and saucers like this."

"Paulina has a

"I know," Wally admitted.

I

"We've talked about them.

like Paulina. " His eyes sparkled. is," Lizzy agreed.

" She's a real lady.

" " That she

Michael stood up restlessly. "Wally, if you member the name," he said, "give me a call at this number." He handed him a white card with his name and work number on it. "Someone will take a message and get it to me." He took the card, still looking at the floor. I'll do that."

"All right, Mr.

Cook.

Once back in the car Michael carefully set a clear drinking glass into the console drink holder. "It's from Wally's place. I'm taking it to Lloyd," he told Lizzy before she could ask. "What did you think of old Wally?" "First of all, he's not as simple as he pretends to be, although he's either one heck of an actor or has been beaten

down pretty hard by life. Second, I think he's sweet on Paulina. And third, he's lying to us. He knows who gave him my name. " Lizzy cocked her head as she looked at him. " Now about that glass," she said archly. " Pretty smooth move for a cop. Do a lot of shoplifting as a kid, did you? " Michael glanced at her as he pulled a U-turn and headed for downtown. "You have a pretty low opinion of the man you just spent the' entire night with." "I can't help it if your youth was misspent, any more than I can help being attracted to you. At least you learned to do something very well along the way, r' she told him with a big grin. " Well, may he two things. " He raised his eyebrows.

"So glad you approve."

"Mmm, most definitely." Talking like this was making her think of other things, and she had to keep her mind on their problems. "I told you what I think. So what's your opinion of Wally?" Lizzy asked. "The same as yours," Michael replied. pretty good detective."

"And I also think you'd make a

"I already am," she informed him haughtily. you."

"I'm just different from

"I'll say," Michael murmured appreciatively, his eyes on the curves of her breasts. "And I.like your difference sT "We'll check those out later," she promised. way to see Lloyd, remember?" "Okay.

"Right now we're on our

But he's not really my type."

Michael pulled into a parking spot at the station, and this time they took a back entrance upstairs. He tapped on a door and stuck his head inside. "Is it safe to come in?" " Lloyd looked up from his desk, grinning. "Yes, the old battle-ax is in court all day again." He spotted the woman behind Michael. "Hi, Lizzy." "Hi." She came in and perched on the edge of his desk. find out?"

"What'd you

"Geez! I'm fine, thank you very much. What are you doing? lessons from Michael?" He scowled when Michael set the clear drinking glass on his desk.

Taking

"What's that?"

"I need you to pull the fingerprints off that and see if they match the one from the figurine." "Oh really! And are you going to tell me where you got it?" Lloyd asked, glancing up at Michael. "On second thought, never mind. I don't want to know."

"You're right." Michael crossed his arms. of paper I left you last night?"

"Any luck with that piece

"That's another thing!" Lloyd pushed his chair away from his desk. "Michael, when I told you to leave me presents I meant things like cookies, not more work." Michael shrugged. "Sorry." "You should be." Lloyd picked up a file from the desk and opened it. "The red splotches are definitely human blood. I ran a type and" "Thanks," Michael said when he noticed Lizzy turning pale. get a print?"

"Did you

Lloyd looked up, puzzled by the interruption, then glanced at Lizzy~ Her face was white. "Sorry. I'm used to being around people who talk about this kind of stuff all day. No luck on any prints." Lloyd set the file down, and started going through a stack of papers on his desk. "But someone did come up with something on that Victor guy." ~ "What?" Lizzy asked nervously. "Here it is." Lloyd glanced at the printed page, then passed it to Michael, pointedly bypassing a curious Lizzy. Good thing, too. Lloyd's guarded look told him plenty and the particulars were highlighted with a fluorescent green marker. John Ethan Victor was not a nice man. Michael folded the page so L'~zy could only see the mug shot. "Is that him?" He had aged badly, but his head was still shaved, and those eyes, menacing even in the photograph. "Deft-nitely."

"Then he's not the one after you this time," Michael said with a sigh of relief. "He's in a maximum security prison serving consecutive life sentences for murder." He didn't tell her that since her encounter with him, the guy had also been convicted of several rapes and brutal assaults. There was no way of knowing whether she would have been his first victim. Maybe he'd just been practicing, working his way up to bigger things. Whatever, running away and hiding from this guy was the smartest move Lizzy could have made. "Let me see?" Lizzy said, trying to read the paper. Michael kept it out of her reach as he handed it back to Lloyd. The reports were graphic. She didn't need to read that kind of thing; it would give her nightmares for months, maybe years. "You can't. It's private police business." Lloyd put the paper into his desk drawer and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Yeah, Michael's in enough trouble." "Thanks for reminding me, buddy." "Any time," Lloyd retorted. "Can you check this glass sometime soon?" He looked up at them. They were both standing in front of his desk, hovering over him. "Would you guys get the heck out of here!" Lloyd told them. "Go neck for an hour or something. I'll get to it after I finish this other project another pushy cop is hounding me for." "You're two-timing me?" so!"

Michael asked.

"Oh, Lloyd, say it isn't

"Out!" he demanded, pointing to the door. He was scowling, but it didn't reach his eyes. There had been a change in his friend, it' was clearly Lizzy's doing, and Lloyd heartily approved. "Right now, or I call a cop!" "We've been dismissed," Michael said, taking Lizzy by the arm. do you want to eat?" "Real food. long."

"What

My breakfast of chocolate cake and milk didn't last very

THE HARSH BREATHING made Wally weak-kneed and afraid. He hated listening to those sounds, they reminded him of his wife's last few months. Then as now, there had been another presence in the room. The presence of death. Once Sarge had recovered sufficiently, he spoke. sure it's a fake?" "Positive. ones."

"She's absolutely

There are markings on the bottom but they aren't the right

"Where is it?"

he asked.

Wally felt his throat tightening, his own breathing constricting from panic. He couldn't tell the truth. "It's at my place," he said

quickly.

"I didn't know what else to do with it."

"You can eat it for all I care, you fool!" Wally cringed.

"Don't get yourself upset again, Sarge."

"Upset? I'm livid!" A coughing fit racked his frail body and he clenched the bed covers in a weak fist. "Fast Eddie steals our share, then sells it and leaves us with a worthless piece of junk. That dirty double-crosser! Well, he's not going to get away with it!" "But he's dead, Sarge," Wally pointed out meekly. away with it."

"He already did get

"No! I won't accept that!" He glared at him, his red-rimmed eyes haunted and burning with fury. "You were with Eddie at the time, weren't you? What else did he get as a payoff?" "I don't know," Wplly muttered. see much."

"I wish I did.

Eddie didn't let me

"You wouldn't be holding out on me?" he asked, raising his head a bit to see Wally's face. "Trying to double-cross me like Fast Eddie?" Wally shook his head, his eyes showing his fear. me," he stuttered. "I don't have the guts."

"Oh no, Sarge.

N-not

"You always were weak." He wasn't going to settle for only half the revenge, but right now he was very tired and couldn't think straight. "There's got to be something. I want

you to find something, Wally, anything," His voice grew faint. it for me. "

" Find

His eyes slid shut and Wally hurried over to the door and called for the nurse. The rustling of the starched white uniform brought back more bad memories and Wally rushed out of the house as if he was fleeing the devil. LLOYD DIDN'T EVEN WAIT for the question. "The prints are a match," he said when Michael and Lizzy entered his of rice less than an hour later. "For sure?" "Are you doubting my work?" "Never." Michael snapped his own fingers. Thanks, Lloyd. Let's go."

"I just had a feeling!

"Wait! This is my weekend to have the kids," Lloyd said. "So if you need me to do anything else, give me time to find a sitter." Michael paused, his hand on the door. A photo of Lloyd with a little boy and girl was sitting on top of the four-drawer filing cabinet. "If something comes up you can always leave them with Gran." "We're having dinner with her Saturday," Lloyd said, chuckling. "She threatened to cut off my cookie supply if I didn't bring them by." Michael grinned. "She'll do it, too. See you later." L'~-y had to practically run to keep up with Michael's fast stride as they hurried out of the building. He unlocked the car door and ushered her in. "What's the hurry?" "We're on our way to see Wally Fox." He pulled out into the heavy traffic, a frown of deep concentration on his face. "Your instincts were right when you said he was lying to us. His fingerprints are on the glass and that first fake figurine. This all started with the figurine. He has to know what's going on." "And our visit earlier.

probably spooked him."

L'tzzy tightened her seat belt. this bucket of bolts!"

"Right."

"Then what are you dawdling for?

Move

Chapter Eighteen They were too late. By the time Lizzy and Michael got to Wally's he was already gone. But a helpful lady across the hall assured them that he didn't have a suitcase when he'd left about half an hour ago. That didn't necessarily mean he was coming back. According to the neighbor lady, however, Wally didn't have enough money to go anywhere. He had borrowed bus fare from her to go downtown. "Do we wait for him?" car.

Lizzy'asked once they were back in Michael's

"What else do you suggest?" "We still have to check out that law firm representing whoever is trying to buy Albert Fitzer's property." "True." Michael glanced at his watch. If his knowledge of the bus schedule served him correctly, Wally wouldn't he heading back this way from town for another hour at least. "We'll try the law firm." This time, ~Michael observed all the traffic laws, as if to make up for his earlier transgressions. It grated on Lizzy's nerves, since she wanted to be in at least two places at once. But she held her tongue, knowing it wouldn't do any good to complain, anyway. On the plus side, as a passenger, especially at thirty-five miles per hour, she saw things she'd never noticed before, and the area they were driving through was one of the nicest in Dallas. The firm of Cox and Smith was located near Turtle Creek in very posh offices. They had a surprisingly brief wait he-fore Mr. Smith, who represented the corporation that owned most of the burned buildings, granted them an audience. Upon seeing him, L'~y decided he probably just didn't want such casually dressed people cluttering up his waiting room. Mr. George Smith was in his late thirties, slender and quite annoying as he sat behind his polished desk, looking cool and simply perfect in his three-piece 'designer' suit. "Quite impossible," he told them when they stated the reason for their visit. "All client information is confidential." "What if we were to tell you we're interested in buying the other buildings in that neighborhood?" L'w. zy asked. "That would be a shame," he said with a glance at his manicu~t nails. "Because they're not for sale." "Everything is for sale," she counte~xt. He looked up at her and sighed. Clearly, Mr. Smith thought the possibility of her and Michael having that kind of financial backing a remote one in any case. "Not these properties. Now if you don't mind" -- "Aren't you even willing to hear our offer?" "It wouldn't matter." The lawyer stood up. "I'm a very busy man and you've wasted enough of my time. Good day."

He waited until he heard the door click shut, then he picked up the phone. "I've just had some rather unpleasant visitors in my office. What is going on?" "Don't worry," the man on the other end of the line replied. problem is being taken care of." George Smith didn't like his tone of voice. anything violent."

"The

"I never agreed to

"You won't be personally involved, so keep your mouth ghut. But, counselor, to be on the safe side, I'd advise you to make sure there's nothing incriminating in your office."

"THIS DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT, Michael. We shouldn't be doing this without Paulina here." Lizzy squatted down beside him on the cement floor. The garage was well lighted by big overhead fluorescent fixtures, but they provided no heat, and it was cold and damp. Michael felt the same tickle of guilt, but he didn't answer her as he cut the padlock off of an old army-green foot-locker that had belonged to Gramps. He pulled the box out from the wall, easing the lid up and back out of the way. The smell of mothballs was strong as Michael lifted a neatly folded World War II vintage U. S. Air Force uniform out of the box, along with a natty cap. "Hold this." L'rzzy held the redolent pile of clothing gingerly while Michael delved farther into the box. There was yet another uniform, this one formal dress for the U. S. Army. Beneath that were two pair of shiny black shoes, and nothing else. "What's. he doing with uniforms for two different branches of the military?" Lizzy muttered. Michael stared into the empty box.

"I don't know."

"And why would he keep this stuff locked up?" Lizzy watched as Michael set the finiform back into the box. "There must be a-reason. We should check all the pockets." "No, really?" He was back to his usual sarcastic self. After missing Wally, his mood had deteriorated rapidly. This fruitless search wasn't helping. When he came up empty-handed after searching through the first suit, Lizzy passed him the one she was holding. He carefully checked all the pockets, shaking the material out, but they didn't find anything. "Check the shoes," Lizzy suggested as she neatly folded one of the uniforms. Michael grimaced at her. Lisbeth."

"I have conducted a search or two in my day,

"Well excuse me!" He pulled all four shoes out of the box and shook one, but nothing fell out, not even a bug. After peering inside, though, Michael quickly unlaced the shoe and pulled out a small amber-colored negative, His eyes went wide. "What the" "Let me see,~' Lizzy said, pulling his hand down to her eye level to get a better look. The picture was of four men sitting in an open army jeep. " Who are they? " Michael looked, too. "I don't recognize any of them," he said. "But we can compare this to a photo G-ran has of Gramps in his air force uniform." Michael handed the tiny negative to Lizzy and began unlacing the next shoe. They ended up with a total of six negatives, but Edward Cook was in

only one of them. And this particular grouping were the only ones who didn't appear to have posed for the photo. Seven men were standing near a camouflage tent, none of them looking directly at the camera. Michael pointed to one of the men. "They all look so young, but I'm pretty sure this is Gramps. From that angle it's tough to say for sure." "We can get it enlarged," Lizzy told him. She put the shoes back in the box and set the neatly folded uniform on top. After. closing the lid, she pushed it back against the wall and stood up. Michael was still studying the negatives through the overhead lights. "Is there any chocolate cake left?"

she asked him.

He looked at her, confused. "Are you hungry again?" ~ "No, but we'll need a bribe if we want those developed while we wait. You've got Lloyd's number with cookies. My guy Dexter has a weakness for chocolate." "LET ME GET this straight. You want enlargements made right away, from negatives that are over fifty years old?" Dexter asked testily. "On a Friday. Just when I'm getting ready to go home. Is that what you're asking, Lizzy?"

Lizzy pulled a paper plate out from behind Michael's back. On it, covered neatly with plastic wrap, was a huge piece of double-layered chocolate cake. "It's homemade." "Take a seat," Dexter said, grabbing the cake and holding it possessively against his plaid shirt. "Don't get frosting on the negatives," Lizzy told him. your phone while we wait?"

"Mind if I use

Dexter waved vaguely toward a wall unit in the corner of the waiting room. "Help yourself," he said, then scuttled out of the room, already shoveling cake into his mouth. Lizzy punched in a number and listened to the phon~e ring over and over again, just as she had the last five times she had called. She hung up. Wally was either not home yet or not answering his phone. In the back of the shop she could hear Dexter puttering around in the darkroom, punctuated now and then by a moan of ecstasy over his chocolate cake. They waited impatiently for him to return. He finally shuffled back into the room. "Are these big enough?" he asked, referring to the eight-by-ten photographs he'd set on the counter. Lizzy picked up the six black-and-white photographs. The faces in each one were pretty clear considering the grain. "Didn't you do some in a smaller size?" Dexter licked a the photographs trade these for quickly. "That

dab of chocolate from the corner of his mouth. He had she wanted in his hand and he showed them to her. "I'll the recipe of that cake. And the frosting," he added frosting is to die for!"

"I'll get it from my grandmother," Michael promised, Back in the car they studied the photographs. Gramps," Michael muttered.

"This is~ definitely

He was looking at the photo of the seven men who had been caught unawares. Lizzy compared it with the others. "It's also the only one he's in." She tapped the photo with her fingernail. "And the guy standing closest to him looks very familiar, wouldn't you say?" "Wally Fox." out."

Michael started the car.

"This time, we're waiting him

A half hour later they were parked across the street from Wally's apartment. L'~zzy slid down in the front seat and closed her eyes. "Wake me if he shows up." "Tired?" Lizzy didn't open her eyes but she was smiling as she answered him. "Not that tired." "Hmm.

We'll have to work on that."

She peeked at him.

"Practice makes perfect."

Michael let her doze while he sat slumped down in the driver's seat. It worried him that there hadn't been another attempt on Lizzy's life, or on his. Inst'met told him that whoever was after them was probably right now setting up for something big. And the possibilities were endless. In a very short time, he'd come to care deeply for the woman sleeping beside him. He was falling for her, hard. Somehow he'd never imagined himself falling in love, but it had snuck up on him without him even knowing it. A city bus stopped in front of the apartments. When it pulled away and the fumes had cleared, Michael roused her. "He's back." Lizzy sat up, blinking. It was still daylight out. "Let's go," Michael said. "I don't want him to get inside his apartment." The cool breeze was like a splash of cold water to Lizzy as they sprinted across the dirt lawn and into the building. By the time Michael stopped Wally from closing his apartment door, she was wide awake. "We need to talk to you again, Wally," Michael told him, forcing the door backward with his shoulder. Wally backed away from him.

"Why?"

"You're going to jail," Michael informed him. robbery."

"For committing a

Lizzy stepped between the two men. "Michael, you're always so rash," Lizzy told him. "If he cooperates we can let him off." She put agentle hand on his shoulder. "Have a seat, Wally." Wally shuffled over to the well-used wingback chair and sat down, while Michael paced the room. "Why should we?" Michael asked her. "We have solid proof that he broke into a home and committed a robbery. They put people in prison for that, it's called breaking the law." "But I returned everything," Wally admitted. broken window." Michael laughed but it was an ugly sound. his grandmother through made him furious. hook."

"And I'll pay for the

The grief this man had put "That won't get you off the

"He's a little upset, Wally," Lizzy consoled: "Have you remembered where you got m3/name? That might help put him in a better mood." "No!" He shook his head vigorously. that."

"No, I... I can't tell you

Wally looked really frightened, so Lizzy tried another tack. you steal the stuff from Paulina in the first place, Wally?" asked. "Did you need the money?" "Who cares," Michael muttered savagely.

"Why did she

Wally was shuffling his feet nervously as he sat in his chair. wasn't for money! At least not... I was forced to." "By whom?"

"It

L'mzy asked.

His fingers were clutching the faded arms of the chair now and he was shaking his head, his eyes open wide as he looked at her beseechingly. "I can't." "Forget this. I'm going to call the police and let them deal with him," Michael said, heading for the phone. "Wait!" He didn't want to spend the rest of his life in prison, but if he said too much he'd be dead, anyway. "For what?" Michael asked. "I'm thinking!" That was precisely what Michael didn't want him doing. fast, gut-level response before the tricky old

He wanted a

19~ guy could come up with any lies. "I'm picking up the phone, Wally," Michael warned. "I'm dialing..." "All right!" Maybe there was a way around all this "This is all my fault, I got too greedy," Wally finally admitted "But I just wanted what was rightfully mine." Michael put down the phone. Wally was visibly relieved but something was still clawing at him. Michael hoped it was the truth, wanting to get out. "Go on," Lizzy encouraged. Wally was wringing his hands in anguish. "I met Paulina at the senior center about a year ago. We talked a lot, about life, how much we missed our spouses, everything." "Including the figurine?"

Lizzy asked.

"And you stole it, didn't you?"

He nodded his head.

"Yes."

Michael demanded.

Wally nodded again and looked at the floor. stuff to make it look good." Lizzy glared at Michael and waved him off. touch, not the tactics of a storm trooper. up a step, content to let her try.

"Along with the other

This called for a delicate Michae shrugged and backed

"After you stole the first figurine," L'~zzy continue~ trying to lead into things slowly, "Why did you put a fak one back in its place?" "I felt really bad when Paulina missed it so much, so used the money I won in the bridge tournament to get he another one." He looked up at her earnestly. "It was a go~ copy. But she knew it wasn't the one her husband had give her. She told me so the next day when we talked." At the mention of his grandfather, Michael had to step in. He dropped one of the photographs in Wally~s lap. "Keel talking, Wally. Recognize

anyone?" His fingers were shaking as Wally picked it up. There wet seven men in army uniforms in the picture. Edward Cool and Wally Fox were two of them. The Sarge was there, toe "Sure. This was taken during the war," Wally finally admitted

"How'd you know Edward?" Wally stared at the photo. "I didn't. I mean, nobody called him that back then. To us he was just Fast Eddie. He's second from the end," he said, poMting at the photo. "He was my commanding officer for a special mission." "What kind of mission?" Michael wanted to know~ The picture fluttered to the floor and Wally looked at it in horror, as if it had a life of its own. "The war did strange things to some men, and there were some awful mistakes made. We were sent in to try and right one of those wrongs." "Go on," Michael ordered. He looked up at Michael and his eyes were begging for mercy. "I don't know the whole story, only Fast Eddie knew it all. Each of us only knew a little piece that concerned our job." Wally swallowed thickly. "We were sworn to secrecy. They said if even a piece of it ever came out, it would harm our country in the eyes of the rest of the world. And they'd know who had squealed by what piece was revealed." Michael. sighed impatiently. better tell us all about it."

"That was a long time ago, Wally.

You'd

"Never!" Mi~eh to Lizzy and Michael's surprise, he suddenly sat up straight in his chair, some semblance of his former military bearing called to arms after long inactivity. "I have done a lot of things I'm not proud of, Mr. Cook. I even did some things in the name of duty that weren't on the up and up. But I swore a solemn vow to protect my country's honor. No, Sir. The story of my part in that mission will go to my grave with me!" They both were staring at him. Even Wally himself seemed taken aback by his vehemence, but he met their eyes with stubborn determination. Michael opened his mouth to speak, but Lizzy quickly cut him off. "Can you at least tell us where the figurine comes into all this?" she asked. "Our mission was successful and the government gave it and maybe some other things to Fast Eddie as a bonus." Lizzy tucked her hair behind her ear, confused. understand."

"I don't

"Fast Eddie said if we were successful he'd split any rewards with us. You know, the spoils of war. It was real common back then," Wally said defiantly. "Lots of guys came back with stuff. But he took off with it all and 'we never saw him again. We asked about him in our regular units, but they'd never heard of the man. It's why I moved to Dallas after the war," he added. "It was the only place Fast Eddie had ever mentioned. We tried but we couldn't find him. Eventually I stopped looking. I had to make a living." Michael couldn't imagine what his grandfather had been involved in during the war. At the moment, however, he was more concerned with his grandmother. "But then you came across his widow, didn't you?"

"Yes," Wally said. Actually, it was the Sarge who had located her first. Wally was only now starting to res liTe what had happened. The trouble was, he didn't know whether to be mad at being so manipulated, or thankful for the joy that manipulation had brought, money or no money. "I like Paulina. She's a real lady." "You already told us that earlier, Wally. But your feelings didn't get 'in the way of using an innocent old woman to get even, did they?" "But I didn't" "You used Paulina!"

Michael accused.

Wally's defiant mood crumbled as quickly as it had formed. He paused for a long moment, looking at the floor. When he finally looked at them again, there were tears in his eyes. He slumped in his chair again and folded his hands in his lap. "It wasn't my idea. But yes, I went along. You have to understand. My wife's illness took everything I had from me,-including her. I was destitute. With just a fraction of what Fast Eddie owed us..." He trailed off, a look of acceptance on his face. "But that dream's over now, I suppose." Just as Michael hadn't wanted to give Wally time to think, Lizzy didn't want him getting too melancholy. "Why did you try to kill us with that fire?" she asked, hoping she could shock him into revealing something. "What fire? I don't know about any fire!" Wally cried. "I've never tried to kill anybody, ever! I was a radio man during the war." Michael had the feeling he was telling the truth. Lizzy's name to give to Paulina?" "I can't tell you that.

Don't you see?

"Who gave you

He'll"

"Who is the we you keep referring to, Wally?" pressing him.

Lizzy interjected,

This time when Michael went on the offensive, she didn't try to stop him. He stepped over and confronl~xt Wally, mere inches from his face. "Do we make a deal, Wally?" Now didn't seem to be the time to mention that he was just barely on the police force and therefore hardly in a position to make a deal. "Or do I call the cops?" Now Wally was really confused. son? It didn't really matter. kill me!"

Who did they want? Old Sarge or his The result would be the same. "He'll

"Not if we get to him first, Wally," Lizzy said. "Or if we lock you up in a nice cozy cell." Wally gripped the arms of the chair, fighting an inner battle with his fear. The dream of riches was long gone. If he cooperated, Michael might even be able to save him, keep him out of jail. "All 'right!"

Wally exclaimed.

"His name's Oscar Moore!"

Michael stayed right in his face, so he missed Lizzy's re, action to the name. "What's his address?" That was going too far.

"I don't know."

"You'll have to do better than that, Wally." "I don't know, I tell you!"

he maintained.

The sound was almost a whimper but Michael didn't up. "If you don't tell me, Wally, your next address will the lockup downtown!" Hesitantly, Wally gave them the Sarge's address. In fe penny, in for a pound. Besides, if they wanted the son's ~ dress, let them get it out of $arge. L'~zzy pushed Michael aside and squatted beside the eh~ "Why did he tell you to give Paulina my name?" "I don't know, but he threatened to torture me if I did do it." Wally looked at her sadly. "I'm an old man, what was I supposed to do?" She patted him on the shoulder and stood up. "It'll okay, Wally, you'll see." She did her best to sound convfi "For the moment," Michael added, then went to door. They were in the hallway when L'mzy remembered t more thing that had been nagging her. The figurine n Japanese. She poked her head back through Wally's do way. "Where were you stationed in Europe?" "I wasn't in Europe," Wally told her. "I served in South Pacific. Wait a minute." He held up his hand a swallowed hard. "You're not going to tell Panlina about that went on, are you?" Michael grabbed the doorknob out of L'~~y's hand. "~ you are, because if you don't, I will. You can tell her we you return the painting you stole." With that he slamn the door. They left the building and walked across the dirt lawr their car. "Fast Eddie," Lizzy mused aloud. "Your fan tree could take some looking into. I wonder what el seward lied about?" "Hard to tell. Gramps was always a very private man ~ I've already told you he never discussed his job." L'~zzy waited while Michael unlocked the car. "This is all pretty hard to believe. Wally meets a woman almost fifty years later, makes the connection between Paulina and Edward Cook, and decides he still wants his share after all this time? Come on." "Yeah.

As we say on the force, it's pretty thin."

"Try transparent." They got into the ear. "And we still don't know who made those attempts on my life and yours," Lizzy continued. "Or why." "But thanks to some pretty impressive teamwork, we do have a place to start. So what do you say we track down this Oscar Moore?" Michael asked, looking at her pointedly. This time he could see the effect

that name had on her. She flinched, as if he'd reached out and poked her. "Lizzy, what's wrong? Do you know him?" L'~zy twisted her hair into a knot. "I know an Oscar Moore, but-I have no idea how or why he would be involved in this. It might not be the same one." "But you think it is?"

Michael pressed.

"From the way Wally was acting, it's possible. The Oscar Moore I know likes beating up on people who can't defend themselves. Like him ex-wife," she replied. "But I don't know where he lives. The address Wally gave us means nothing to me, except that it's a nice neighborhood." "Let's go check it out." The address wasn't that far in terms of distance, but it was miles away in quality and style. - Every house along the quiet, tree-lined street was magnificent, with huge yards and extensive landscaping. The one they were looking for turned out to be among the largest in the area. A black wrought-iron fence ran along the entire front of the huge property, with two, red-brick pillars on either side of the blacktopped driveway. On each pillar crouched the statue of a grotesque gargoyle. "It's a mansion!"

Lizzy exclaimed.

Michael nodded, looking at the imposing house from across the street where he'd parked. "Does it look like the sort of place where the Oscar Moore you know would live?" "Not unless he came into a fortune." She glanced at Michael. Are we going to go see this guy or not?"

"Well?

"Let's walk up there and sort of take a quick look around first," he replied, opening the car door. "Get a feel for what kind of reception we can expect." "Sort of trespass, you mean?" He shot her a sidelong glance as they started toward the house. said look around, not sneak around."

"I

Still, Michael walked quietly, and though he didn't exactly. hide behind every tree, he didn't stride right down the middle of the private drive, either. Lizzy followed his lead, right up to the front of the sprawling stone dwelling and then around to one side. There, Michael stopped and peered into one of the ground-level windows. "And I suppose you're not really peeping, right?" whisper. "Shh!

Lizzy asked in a

I think I see someone."

L'~zy elbowed her way into the prickly bushes beside him and looked, too. Inside, a woman dressed in a white uniform crossed what looked to be a formal sitting room on her way toward the back of the house. "A private duty nurse?"

she mused aloud.

"For whom?"

He shrugged.

"Doesn't seem very threatening, though." "You were expecting a room full of gun-toting, thugs?" "Maybe." Michael's expression was serious. "And that is ~the only reason I'm taking such liberties with the law," he pointed out in a stern voice. "Now, let's circle around to the front." Again Michael led and Lizzy followed. They couldn't see much, and what they did see was in no way alarming. Just a huge, stately old house full of antique furnishings and other expensive bric-a-brac. But everything had the air of

disuse, as if the occupant or occupants scarcely lived there at all. "Kind of spooky," Lizzy decided. "Uh-huh," Michael agreed. "But it doesn't look like we'll be met at the door with a shotgun. Shall we go knock?" Suddenly there was a loud noise behind then a, and they turned to find the woman they'd seen earlier glaring at them through a now-open window. There was a crisp white cap perched on her raven-haired head and a sharp, accusing look in her equally black eyes: "Knocking usually comes first," , she informed them in a cold, no-nonsense voice. "For decent, law-abiding folk. That must mean you're the opposi~. I'm calling the po Michael groaned inwardly. That would really cinch his growing reputation downtown. " Wait! " he exclaimed. " That's not necessary. I'm" "We're sorry," Lizzy interrupted smoothly. If Wally hadn't sent them on a wild-goose chase, the person who owned this place wouldn't take kindly to a cop snooping around, even a suspended one. She thought fast, then said, "My partner and I are only here for a preliminary appraisal, and we didn't want to disturb your patient unless we had to." The nurse eyed them suspiciously.

"Appraisal?"

"Market analysis, really," L'mzy admitted with her most ingratiating smile. "Although it sure isn't going to be easy finding comparables for this place." She swept her hand through the air, indicating the estate. "Is it, Mike?" Michael was staring at her. "Liz,"

"Uh... no.

I gueSS not," he muttered.

He didn't have the slightest idea what she was talking about. But the nurse obviously did. Her expression became even more parsimonious and she positively glowered at the pair standing before her. "Honestly! Real estate agents should be drawn and quartered!" She leaned out the window and wagged her finger at them, her voice low and intense. "I was aware you people read the obituaries, and that's disgusting enough, but this is too much! How did you find out about his illness, anyway? Some inside source at the hospital?" Lizzy had thought her little ruse innocent enough, a simple way to explain their presence, and was unprepared for this blistering attack. She took a step back from the irate woman, struggling to retain her composure. But she had blundered into some sort of information here and wasn't going to back off until she got it. "I'm truly sorry! But we were only trying to list the house. aware his condition was so serious."

I wasn't

"Serious?" The nurse leaned even farther out of the window now, a protective fire in her eyes. "He's a sick, dying old man! And you ghouls had better stay away from this house until he's gone, or so help me I'll have you arrested for trespassing!" With that she slammed the window shut.

But she kept her eye on them

until they were back in Michael's car.

He started the engine.

"Well, that wasn't very productive," he said in a sullen tone as he pulled away from the curb. %4u contraire," she returned. " We know that this Oscar Moore isn't the one I was thinking of, nor is he capable of trying to kill us, or at least not in person. " "But we're not even sure her patient is named Oscar Moore, now are we, Liz?" "Oh, shut up. It could have been worse. I could have called you Mikey." She glanced at him and grinned. After a moment, he smiled back. "Seriously, I don't think Wally was putting one over on us. We're just going to have to dig harder, that's all. At least we have a name to go on." "True," Michael admitted. "We can run it through the computers, see if anything turns up. Or rather, Lloyd can." "You can call him from my apartment," Lizzy told him. some calls myself, and check on a few things."

"I need to make

"What things?" "Job things," she retorted. "I'm self-employed if you'll recall. don't keep up, I'll be unemployed." Michael scowled.

If I

"Now that I can relate to."

The drive to her place was quiet. They rounded the curving bend of the driveway, going past the greenhouse to park in front of the garages. They were heading up the steps to her apartment when a car came speeding down the drive. "Heaven help us all," Lizzy groaned. returned."

"The inimitable Mr.

F. Banks has

Chapter Nineteen Banks slammed the car door and marched right up to them at the foot of the stairs, his gray suit coat flapping. "Give me those negatives and all the photographs." "Why should I?" Michael asked. He had his gun out, and was pointing it in Banks' general direction. There was no FBI backup today or proof of his identity, and Michael wasn't in the mood to give anybody anything without an explanation. "They're government property." "Okay. For the sake of argument, let's say I buy that line, and you." Michael stepped up another stair to stand closer to Lizzy, his body shielding hers. "There is still only one way I'm going to let you have them without making a big public spectacle out of all this. You know how good I am at making those." The frown on Banks' face indicated that was the last thing he wanted. "What do you want?"

"AnSwers," Michael replied. "You have them and I want them. start, how did you know about these photos?"

For a

Banks looked at the gun in Michael's hand. He thought about the threat of publicity. Finally, he made up his mind. Walking slowly to the rear of Michael's car, he bent down and pulled something from the bumper, held the tiny object up for Michael to see, then tossed it up the stairs at him. Michael caught it deftly with his free hand.

"Has a radius of two miles. I was able to track you without you ever knowing I was there." Banks pulled another one off the front bumper and sunilar ones from Lizzy's car. "I won't be needing these any longer." That sounded rather ominous to Lizzy. "Why do you want this stuff, anyway?" she asked, peering warily at Banks from behind Michael's shoulder. "It's older than I am. In fact, this whole business is ancient history." Once the 0ny transmitters were in his suit coat pocket, Banks answered her. "Sure, it's old business, but even old secrets of this type in the wrong hands could prove damaging to our country." Banks frowned. "We checked for things like this after Eddie was killed, but we didn't find anything." Michael was frowning now, too. "Killed? What do you mean, killed? died of a heart attack in New York City."

He

- "Actually, Michael, he died in a foreign country while on bus' mess for the government," Banks admitted candidly. Stunned, Michael lowered his gun. he protested.

"But he was seventy-one years old!"

"which made him unbelievably useful, for reasons I'm not at liberty to discuss. But you should be proud of him. His mind was very sharp. He worked for us till the day he died." "who's us?"

Lizzy wanted to know.

"I'm not free to discuss that with you, either," Banks told her. He looked at Michael and held out his hand, palm up. "Give them to me." "One more question," Michael told him. The other man smiled. don't think so."

It was a particularly nasty sort of smile.

"I

"Then you don't get what you want, and I'll be forced to do something I don't want to do." The expression on Banks' face was almost comical when he realized that the gun was pointed at him again. He didn't find himself in this kind of position often and was rarely so indecisive when he did. "What's the question?" he asked. "The figurine," Michael said. it" -"Real?" Banks interjected. "You bet."

"Is

" Lizzy gasped and clutched Michael's ann. Michael just barely managed to keep his gun steady. "How on earth did my grandfather get it?" he asked. "Fast Eddie was the best at what he did and because he was needed, he managed to cut a very unusual deal during the war. I can't explain the details, naturally, but let's just say there weren't many men willing to head missions that were tantamount to suicide."

"Keep talking," Michael told him. "For every successful mission, Eddie received a bonus of some kind, usually artwork. The bonuses actually served a dual purpose. Eddie got what he wanted and the government had something on him should he ever decide to talk." Banks paused again, then shrugged and continued. "You see, Eddie was always given stolen art. Since these missions were to correct certain errors, fiascoes actually, that our country went through during the war, we needed some kind of leverage to keep people like Fast Eddie Cook in line." "Sounds like organized crime to me!"

Lizzy exclaimed.

Banks was unperturbed. "One finds certain similar methods in use in all efficient organizations." "What happened to all of it?" Michael asked. Both his grandparents had worked hard, and they'd never lived as if they had a lot of money. "It isn't at the house." Admiration entered Banks' voice. "I told you Eddie was a smart man. He knew that what Uncle Sam gave, he could eventually take away, unless it was inseparable from the rest of his estate. Fast Eddie always sold the pieces he was given immediately and banked the cash." "Except for the figurine," Lizzy reminded him. "And even that was Fast Eddie at his best," Banks admitted. "We searched the house right after Eddie died, and it was the only piece we did find there. it is also the only piece we wouldn't touch with a ten foot samurai sword."

"Why?" L'~. zy asked. "I would think the government would jump at the chance to return it and play hero." "That would cause them to ask how we got it, Ms. Green," he told her sarcastically. "And while diplomats can make you believe a tangerine is really a peach, they're terrible at out-and-out lies. If the Japanese ever found out the games we'd been playing with the stolen property of one of their most prominent citizens, even a mission of the sort Fast Eddie was so good at wouldn't save our rear ends." Banks held out his hand again. "Now give me those negatives and photographs." Michael pulled the negatives from his jean jacket pocket, and Lizzy handed him the photographs. "The transmitter, too," he said, pocketing it with the others. "Expensive little devils. We wouldn't want to raise your taxes, now would we?" Banks took his booty and walked to the rear of his rental car. From the trunk he pulled out a metal bucket and set it in the driveway. After putting everything inside, he flicked a lighter and touched it to one of the photographs. Blue and orange flames shot up as Banks stirred the contents with a stick. He stood over it until everything inside was reduced to a tiny pile of ashes, then he picked up the handle of the bucket and set it back in his car. Without another word, or even a wave of goodbye, Banks then got in his car and drove away. "Gramps was a government agent," Michael said, bewildered. "What could possibly happen next?"

L'~zy asked.

They climbed the stairs to her apartment and she unlocked her front door. Michael entered the room first. He sighed loudly. "You just had to ask that, didn't you?" "Excuse me?" "Meet what's happening next." Lizzy entered the apartment and immediately bumped into Michael, who had stopped dead in his tracks. Then she saw the slender young Japanese man sitting in her rocking chair. Flanking him on either side were two more Japanese men, huge enough to be sumo wrestlers. The young one smiled pleasantly while the big ones just glowered. All three were dressed in impeccably tailored black suits. "What's going on here?"

Lizzy asked.

The young man stood up. "Please, do not be alarmed." His English was perfect, without a trace of accent. "I only wish to speak with you." He motioned to his two enormous companions. "Wait outside, gentlemen." After they left, the young man bowed slightly to L'~zy and Michael. "I cannot possibly apologize enough for invading your home in this manner, Ms. Green. All I can say in my defense is that I was forced to do so, as I had no wish for an encounter with Mr. Banks."

"Now that I understand," L'~zy said. you're doing here. Who are you?"

"But it doesn't explain what

"My name is not important. But if you would please sit down, I shall attempt to explain the reason for this visit." Lizzy sat down on the sofa near Michael, but her eyes were on the man sitting across from them. He was probably in his late twenties, his thick black hair combed back from a high forehead, his skin perfect. His black suit and tie were exquisite, the white shirt of the finest silk. "I'm here on behalf of my great, grandfather His health is not good, or he would have been here him selL " Why? " Michael asked. bluntly. He folded his hands in his lap and sat up straight. "Many years ago, Edward Cook did the honorable thing and re turned something that belonged to my great-grandfather." "Not the figurine?"

Lizzy asked, confused.

He nodded.

"Yes."

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, leaning forward. "Wait just a minute here. Banks just told us that Michael's grandmother has the real figurine." The young man smiled. "He is mistaken. condition for him, I believe."

Not all that unusual a

"But we have it on good authority that the real figurine is still missing, and that there's a reward of a tremendous amount of money for its return," Michael said. His smile broadened, showing perfect white teeth. "You are partially correct, Mr. Cook. There is a reward. A large one, though hardly tremendous. But my great-grandfather has the real figurine," he added. "Thanks to Edward Cook." Michael thrust his hands back through his hair. here."

"I'm missing something

"I will explain. Mrs. Li told you only part of the story," he began. "It was all she knew. After the war my great-grandfather offered a sizable reward for the return of the figurine his first wife had given him. Your grandfather, Edward Cook, heard of this and met with him. "After hearing why my great-grandfather wanted the figurine back, Edward Cook refused to accept the reward money. What he wanted was an exact duplicate he could give his own wife, whom he loved very much, in place of the real one he had already given her. In the end, both men were happy with the way things were resolved." "Then why keep upping the reward money over the years?" still confused.

Lizzy asked,

His young face ~showed admiration. "It was my great-grandfather's way of making sure no one ever took his prized figurine again. Who would look for it in his home?" The light dawned, and Lizzy smiled now, too. did you know we'd be coming here?"

"Speaking of which, how

"Mr. Banks is not as smart as he thinks he is. the desk where he's spent most of his career."

The man belongs behind

Michael stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back into the sofa. "I suppose you and Banks are in similar occupations?" Michael asked. "The kind where you're not at liberty to discuss much?" "I'm a businessman," the young man objected mildly. "But I think I know what you mean. In my country, business is an art." He grinned. "Sometimes it is a martial art, except that the peffhas replaced the sword, and private detectives the samurai. In other words, I have my sources." "Why are you telling us all this?"

L'~zzy asked:

"When my great-grandfather learned from Mrs. Li that someone was trying to authenticate a figurine, he knew the official version of what had happened would soon reach your ears," he explained, looking at Michael. "I believe it is true in both our countries that a man's honor is of utmost importance. Since Edward Cook cannot be here to defend himself, my great-grandfather wished that you be made aware of the truth, that he was in fact a very honorable man." "Thank your great-grandfather for me," Michael said. "Of course." The young man stood up. "I must go now. Again I apologize for my rudeness. Thank you for your time," he said, then quietly left the apartment.

L'w~zy turned sideways on the sofa and looked at Michael. was certainly weird."

"Well, that

" "Weird," Michael agreed. "But nice, and very Japanese. more about Gramps. He must have been something."

I wish I knew

She nodded, but was chewing on her lower lip. "I wish I knew what some long lost figurine that isn't really lost after all has to do with fires, spiders and snakes." "According to Wally, we should direct that question to his pal Oscar Moore," Michael said, pulling himself from his reverie. "If we can get past his nurse, that is. Maybe we can finagle an appointment. Where's your phone book?" Lizzy went over to her desk and was hauling the thick book out of a drawer when the blinking red light on her answering machine caught her attention. She pushed the Play button and waited. "Hi! It's Ester. I just wanted you to know that I'll be out of town till Tuesday. Also, I tracked down Paulina Cook's errant insurance form. Her agent still had it, he's been sick with the flu. Talk to you Tuesday. " Bye! "

Another beep sounded, and a distinctive masculine voice boomed out of the machine. "Hey, L'lzzy, you sexy thing, this is Carson, give me a call. I have some information for you. " There was a pause and a throaty laugh. " And that's not all! " Michael glowered at her. "That voice is very familiar," he said. "Tell me it isn't the Carson I think it is." Lizzy just laughed as she punched in a number on her phone. "Hi, is Carson in?" She listened for a moment while Michael fumed on the couch. "No. I'm not surprised he left early, it is Friday night after all. That's okay, I have his home number, thanks." "It/s the same guy! Why do you have the home phone number of someone like Casanova Carson?" Lizzy flipped through her Rolodex and punched in a number. jealousy I see on your face, Michael?"

"Is that

"No, it's disappointment," he shot back. "That guy has dated half the women on the police force. And he works for the fire department!" "I know." Lizzy grinned at him as she listened to the phone ringing on the other end of the line. "Carson, it's Lizzy," she said when he finally answered. "What's up, besides you?" she retorted before he could get started. Michael was glaring at her and she turned away from him. It came as a shock to him, but he was jealous, Michael realized. He felt quite possessive about "Lizzy, and it was a new feeling for him. "Uh-huh. It's definite? Thanks, I appreciate the call." She giggled. "The answer's still no, but I'd be disappointed if you didn't try. Bye-bye!" Lizzy hung up the phone and took the book over to Michael. She wasn't smiling any more. "For your information, I've never dated Carson, he's just helped me out on a few cases, which is the only reason I put up with him. So you can get that disapproving look off your face." In fact, Michael was relieved, but did his best not to show it. did he call?" he asked.

"Why

"The fire that almost killed us was officially declared arson this afternoon. Carson saw my name on the report and thought I should know. And remember after the fire when Paulina told us we smelled like coal smoke? She was right. There was coal involved. It was used as sort of a slow fuse." Lizzy perched on the back of the sofa as Michael flipped through the white pages until he found the name Moore. The one they were looking for wasn't there. Michael shut the phone book. "Must be an unlisted number. Probably wouldn't do any good to talk to that nurse, anyway. I'll call Lloyd and get him started on running this guy through the computers. It'll take a while, but it's all we have to go on. " "Do you mind if I get some work done while you use the phone? a report I absolutely must finish."

I've got

While Michael took the phone over to the couch, Lizzy worked at her computer. When she was through, she printed it out on her noisy old printer in between Michael's calls. Pleased with the results, she stuck it in an oversized envelope and wrote an address on the front. She then turned her attention to the disks Ester had given her. Hearing Michael's voice in the background as she worked was a comfortable sound, and a bit disturbing. She was accustomed to working in complete silence, with-only herself to talk to. "Think, darn you!" "What did you say?"

Michael asked.

Lizzy looked over her shoulder at him. "I'm talking to myself. This is the last disk Ester gave me, and I've found another unusual backup, but I'm missing something. It's staring me right in the face I'm sure, but I don't see it." The phone rang and Michael picked it up right away. "Yeah." He listened for a moment. "Yeah, I got it, thanks for checking it for me. I owe you one. Okay, two." Lizzy was standing behind the sofa now, the look of concern on Michael's face drawing her to him. "Problem?" "I'm not sure. The only file that turned up must he on the Oscar Moore you know. It's quite a record--of near misses with the law, that is. He's been arrested for all sorts of things, but he's gotten off every time," Michael told her. "His record in general indicates he likes violence. You mentioned an ex-wife? Well, a few years back charges of wife-beating were mysteriously dropped." "That's the guy. He was married to a friend of mine," L'~zy told him. "He put Nancy in the hospital when she said she was divorcing him." Michael looked up at the ceiling. He'd seen plenty of this when he had worked the streets in uniform, and never understood it. "Don't tell me she thought he would change if she gave him another chance?" "Not at all. He threatened to kidnap their children if she didn't," Lizzy explained with bitterness. "They made a deal. Nancy got her divorce and he got visitation rights that kept him in the good graces of his father." Something was bothering Michael. "The thing I don't understand, though, is that this Oscar Moore is only forty-one. Wally is almost seventy. And yet he kept talking about him as if they were pals, and had been for a long time. Back to the war in fact. That's impossible. Unless..." Michael grabbed the phone again and made another quick call. When he hung up, he was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Okay, I'll bite," Lizzy said. "Unless what?" "Unless his father has the same first name," he replied. "No wonder Wally was confused, with the way we were throwing questions at him. Oscar Moore, Senior is his old army buddy, and the full name of the man that file belongs to is Oscar Moore, Junior."

"That wasn't on the police report?" "It was there, but buried a few pages back. Lloyd was out, so I had to pull in a favor from another guy, one who isn't quite as thorough," Michael explained. "Anyway, it seems Junior doesn't sign his name that way." Lizzy frowned. "I know what Oscar looks like, and that I detest him because of how he treated Nancy and the kids, but other than that I don't know much about him," she said. "I remember Nancy saying something about his father being as rotten as Oscar was, though." "Children of abusers have a greater chance of becoming abusers themselves," Michael noted. "And Wally did say the guy was going to torture him if he didn't cooperate." "I want him in jail, Michael," l. izzy said. "Forever." He nodded. "Me, too. I'm sure we can connect him to the figurine snafu. I'll bet it was his father's idea, and that he acted as an enforcer to get Wally to cooperate." "That's not enough and you know it, Michael," she said. "I think he's behind all the rest of it, too. The fire, the sick things he tried to scare me with, everything." Michael leaned back on the couch and sighed. "From his rap sheet, I'd buy anything. Proving it, on the other hand, could be difficult. This guy has a nonstick coating. And besides, where's the connection?" he asked pointedly. "It's a pretty big leap from knowing he was an accessory in the theft of a figurine from a little old lady to accusing him of attempting to murder us." "I'm aware of that, Michael," Lizzy said, trying to stay calm. His challenging tone was back in full force and twice as irritating. "But we have to try!" He sighed again, staring at the paper in his hand. "I happen to agree with you, on all counts. So we'd better get a move on. I want to check out his address on the way to my house and it's getting dark outside." Lizzy was already moving to her computer. "Let me grab a few things." She turned off her machine, then threw the blue disk cases into her shoulder bag and picked up the envelope that was ready to mail. "Michael, there is one way to find out what all Oscar Moore, Junior, is involved in, and maybe even get the proof we need." Michael didn't like the look on her face. "We break into his house."

"How?"

Chapter Twenty Lizzy~s suggestion touched off an argument that lasted all the way to Oscar's house. For crying out loud, Lizzy! " Michael bellowed. " I'm a policeman! I uphold the law, I don't break it! " "You're repeating yourself, Michael, and much too loudly. If you can come up with a better plan I'm willing to listen." She crossed her arms and looked at him. "You missed the turn. Don't think you're going to stop me by simply not going there. I'll just come back by myself. I'll do the job by myself, too, if you feel so strongly about not going along," she warned him. "Do the job," he muttered. "Just listen to yourself." Michael pulled a U-turn in the middle of the street. "You are the most stubborn woman I hard ever met." "I'll take that as a compliment," she said as they came to a stop across the street from a house near the area of University Park. "Nice place," Lizzy muttered, eyeing the large, two-story, gray-brick house. "The rat doesn't even pay his child support most of the time." Michael was studying the house, too. It was getting dark out and there weren't any lights on inside the place that he could see. But that didn't mean someone wasn't home. "He might be in there." "Hah! It's Friday night. He's out trying to pick up some young thing," L'~zy said disparagingly. "According to Nancy he didn't know the meaning of fidelity." Michael turned in his seat to face her. guy."

"You really don't like this

"No, I don't." Lizzy sighed. "Which is why it's so easy for me to believe he's guilty of something, even without. any proof. But we'll get it," she vowed. Michael straightened and put the car in gear. "Where are you going?" He put his foot on the accelerator beforesshe thought about jumping out of the car. "We're going to get something to eat, and discuss this rationally." "Meaning you're going to try and stuff your way of thinking down my throat along with the food, right?" Michael managed to smile pleasantly. want to be. You'll see."

"I can be quite persuasive when I

THE HOUSE WAS DARK when they approached it from the back, not a single light on inside. Lizzy had gloves on her hands and her trusty flashlight hanging from her wrist. Michael had his gloves on, too, and might have been tempted to throttle her except for that trick flashlight of hers. He had argued with her for almost two hours before he'd realized he wasn't going to change her mind. All he could do was come along and make sure she didn't get into any more trouble.

As they came around the side of the house, there was a door leading into the garage, and they tried it. It was locked, but Michael popped the flimsy thing open with his credit card and they slipped inside. With their flashlights they located the interior door leading into the house. This one had a dead bolt, but it wasn't locked. Silence greeted them as they moved quietly from one formal room to another, nothing remotely promising turning up on the first level. Upstairs, they found a room that resembled an office, and after checking out the rest of the floor, they returned to that one.

Without wasting a second Lizzy pulled open a desk drawer and began going through it, while Michael started with the mess on top. The soft glow of their ~flashlights created pools of yellow light in the otherwise dark room as they worked in silence. "Bingo," Michael whispered, crouching down to where L'~zzy was going through a bottom drawer. "Look familiar?" The white sheet of paper listed her past and future appointments for the entire month of February, information he could only have copied from her desk calendar. "The rat was in my apartment!" she whispered back. "Tell me if you find that computer disk." "Right." He dug around in the clutter some more. "What the... ? Look at this," Michael said, showing her another wad of papers. ~"Newspaper clippings from my recent bout with publicity. What's this guy up to, anyway?" "And here's another one. Older, though." Lizzy scanned the headline, then a few lines of the article. "Three teens murdered in cold blood! Oh, Michael. This is the unsolved case of yours you were talking about, isn't it?" Michael didn't have to look. "Yes." '~It must have been awful! " "Worse," he said flatly. He glanced out the window to make sure no one was coming. "Let's get on with this." They continued to search. Lizzy was go' rag through a wall storage unit when a low-pitched squeal escaped her. Michael rushed across the room to her. "What's wrong?" he asked in a strident whisper. She had one hand clamped over her mouth, while with the Other she was pointing at something in the cupboard. He focused his flashlight on it. There was a green rubber snake inside, along with a large black spider, its insides gorging out of the dark material. Clear fishing line ~vas attached to four of the legs, and the spool of it was nearby. Michael closed the door and shined his light on Lizzy's face. very pale, her eyes wide open. "Let's get out of here."

She was

"No! Let's finish it. We're almost done," she told him quietly. scowled at her. "Just a few more minutes."

He

He nodded and moved across the room to continue his own search. Once Michael was finished, he joined her again. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor with a picture in her gloved hand, a big box of photographs nearby. "We don't have time to go through his family album!" "Just this one.

The guy in the middle is Oscar."

Michael looked. The three. men in the photograph were in swimming trunks. They were smiling, their arms wrapped around each other as clear blue water lapped at their bare feet on a sandy white beach somewhere, palm trees in the background. Oscar was a bit shorter than the other two men, with a receding hairline and slight paunch. He didn't look evil, but then few criminals did. There were a lot of baby-faced serial killers out

there. "what about it?" Michael asked. "Maybe nothing," she answered softly. "Then put it back. I think I found your disk." L'~zzy grabbed it from his hand and flashed her light on it. mine and it's leaving with me."

"This is

Michael didn't like the idea of taking anything at all, but now was definitely not the time for another argument. "Oh, all right, but nothing else," he ordered. "Put the rest of that -stuff back where you found it and let's get out of here." Downstairs, Michael opened the door leading to the garage and stepped inside, Lizzy close behind him. It was pitch black. Suddenly they heard a click and then the loud rumble of the automatic door opener. Lizzy froze as the segmented garage door began slowly sliding upward, the brilliant beams of automobile headlights visible beneath the bottom edge. In two more seconds the driver of that car would see them standing there. "Back inside!" When she didn't move immediately, Michael grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the house, shutting the door as he did so. "Was there another door off the kitchen?" he whispered vehemently. "I... I don't remember." "Neither do I. Head for the front.

Now!"

As they made their way to the front of the house, they could hear the car pulling into the garage. Its engine stopped, two doors opened and tlfen slammed shut. Then came the sound of feminine laughter being drowned out by a louder, male voice. They reached the front door. double-keyed dead bolt."

"Oh, no," Michael groaned.

"It's got a

Quickly he searched the immediate area, knowing that people often kept a spare key nearby in case they had to get out in an emergency. But evidently Oscar hadn't thought that necessary, for Michael found no such safety key. The door from the garage into the house opened, and Oscar and his date entered, their voices growing louder. Trapped, Michael and Lizzy had no choice. "We'll.

have to hide," he whispered into her ear.

Lizzy nodded, looking around wildly. The darkened living room beckoned to. her as a safe haven and she made a beeline for it, Michael right on her heels. In the center of the far wall was a large picture window, giving them just enough light to see by. Directly beneath that window sat a long sofa, and a space had been left between it and the wall to allow clearance to draw the floor-length draperies. "There," she said quietly, pointing. "Behind the couch." It seemed as good a place as any to Michael. They got down on all fours and crawled behind the massive piece of furniture, one to a side, so that they were

face to face when they lay down on the floor. foyer. The voices were now distinct.

A light came on in the

"Go on into the living room, Angel," the man said. couple of drinks."

"I'll make us a

The woman just giggled. It was a very girlish sound, ~ 'she were either quite young, quite tipsy, or both. bumped into something twice before finding a lamp. The sudden illumination made the pair behind the co blink, though their hiding place was still fairly dark. chad, his nose practically touching U~zzy's, mouthed name Oscar and raised his eyebrows in question. L nodded. Her eyes were wide open and she was tremblin The woman's perfume reached them as she plopped down on the sofa. The scent was similar to baby powder and L recognized it as one she wore as a teenager. Maybe this just liked the scent, or maybe she was barely of age for ~ alcohol-related hanky-panky. Utzzy felt her temper star rise, wiping out most of her fear. They heard heavy footsteps as Oscar came back into room. Angel. The best whiskey sour .in big D, as promised." "Gee, thanks!" the drink.

"Here you go,

She giggled again and sipped loudly

"Mmm!

Luscious!"

"Just like you." The sofa jostled as Oscar sat down beside her. His cologne was pretty obnoxious, too, and the mixture see met settle' on the floor in a pool. Michael grimaced. From sound of things, Oscar was getting frisky. Just how l~ would' they be trapped like this? "Drink up, Angel. Plenty more where that came from Another giggle. " I've already had plenty! " " Well, in that case, let me take that. " Lizzy and Michael heard the sound of two glasses being placed on the coffee table in front of the couch. One of ~ heavy tumblers wobbled around on the glass surface before settling down with a thunk. Evidently Oscar had had plc~ him selL But he was just getting started on something els "Come here, Angel." The sofa bounced a bit. you been all my life?" Giggle. eye!"

"Lo~ what a body.

"Why, for most of it I wasn't even a glimmer my daddy's

Where

Lizzy almost laughed out loud. The girl was naive, but she had things pretty much in perspective. Oscar didn't seem to find her comment at all funny, though. "Hey. You calling me old?" he demanded gruffly. You're older is all I meant."

"Oh, don't be mad.

"Maybe so, but I've still got what it takes, little girl. experience."

It's called

The couch bounced again, quite a bit more forcefully. Something snapped, like elastic against bare skin. The girl made a sound of discomfort "Owl Too bad you didn't learn a little patience! That's my best bra!" "Listen, honey, I just sprang for a meal that cost me a hundred and fifty clams, not to mention the booze afterward. I figure you owe me." "Oh, all right. We can pet. Just he gentle, okay?" Lizzy gritted her teeth in fury and started to push herself up from the floor. Michael stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. She stared back at him, seething. In fact he was pretty close to intervening himself. Judging by his police record, Michael didn't imagine the word gentle was in Oscar Moore's sexual vocabulary. He was right. The situation on the couch went from relatively innocent to downright ugly in a hurry. "Hey!" There wasn't a trace of a giggle in the young woman's voice now. "Stop that! I only agreed to a little horsing around. I never said you could" "You must be kidding!" Oscar interrupted roughly, his voice full of lust. There was the sound of a zipper being pulled down, and the clink of a belt buckle. "Give it up, you empty-headed little tramp, or I'll tear more than your bra and panties!" "I said not" He slapped her. She started crying. Michael stood up just as Oscar was about to hit her again, and reached-out to grab his arm. But Lizzy had gotten to her feet, as well. She took one look at the nasty tableau before her, at Oscar with his pants down around his knees, trying to force wide the bare thighs of a very young, very frightened woman, and something inside her snapped. She raised her flashlight, then brought it down hard across; the back of Oscar's skull. He managed a half-dazed glance at the pair of interlopers, and they could see the recognition in his eyes before consciousness ebbed out of him. Then he rolled off the Couch and onto the floor with a thud and a grunt, out cold. His intended victim was a blue-eyed blonde with curves that were impressive but still in development, and she looked even younger than she sounded. It was entirely possible Oscar had been contributing to the delinquency of a minor all night, not to mention this attempt at rape.

On the other hand, Michael and Lizzy were guilty of breaking and entering, If they did collar Oscar now, and the girl didn't back up their claims, the legal shoe could be on the other foot. The dilemma resolved itself when the girl finally focused her glazed blue eyes on them and started screaming. "It's okay!"

Michael told her, trying to calm her.

He reached toward her, but she was having none of it. She grabbed the tatters of her blouse and scooted off the couch, tripping over the unconscious form of Oscar as she did so, but quickly regaining her balance--mentally as well as physically. Her purse was on the coffee table, and she snagged it on her way past as she bolted for the foyer. "Wait!" Lizzy cried. "We won't hurt you!" But the young woman wasn't listening. She tried the front door, found it locked, and headed for the back of the house at a dead run, no mean feat in high heels. They heard the door to the garage open and then slam shut, and she was gone into the night. Lizzy thought it would be quite some time before she went out with an older man again. Michael had moved from behind the couch and was kneeling beside Oscar, feelipg his pulse. "You really whacked him one."

"Is he... ?" "He'll be okay," Michael said. "Unfortunately. He got a good look at us as he went down. I have the feeling he'll be more fervent in his search for revenge when he comes around." Lizzy stepped over to the prone form. There was a cut on the back of his head and he was bleeding a little. But she didn't feel any remorse. "I don't suppose we could call the police?" answer already.

she asked, knowing the

Michael straightened, shaking her head. "We're on the premises illegally ourseIvy, with no corroborating witness to what just happened, and no proof of anything else except for what we found upstairs. And under these circumstances, it would probably look like we planted that stuff." "But we can't just leave him here!" Lizzy objected. "He knows where my place is, yours, too, I imagine. He also knows we're working together now. As soon as his head clears he'll track us down. Unless we hide. And I'm not going to do that." "Neither am I." In Michael's educated opinion, this sicko was going to get them, somewhere and somehow, unless they got him first. "But we can make him think we axe," he added thoughtfully. "Before this, we never knew where he'd strike next. Now we do. I propose we get the beck out of here, go to my place, and get ready for him." Lizzy was already on her way out of the room. "I agree with the first part of your proposal. We can work out the details of the rest of it when we get there." They left the house, ran through Oscar's backyard, and across another lawn to the next street over where they had left the car. When they were finally speeding away from the area, Lizzy collapsed in the front seat, panting for breath. "Wasn't that fun?" Michael asked. "You must be kidding!" She looked at him, comprehension dawning on her. "You have to do that in your job, don't you? Face the unknown, I mean. How can you stand the pressure, the suspense of not knowing what or who might leap out at you or trip you up?" His job was something they hadn't discussed, partly because Michael didn't know if he still had one. If this episode was ever made public he wouldn't have one. "Does my being a policeman bother you?" "I don't know," Lizzy admitted honestly.

"Until tonight

' I didn't see it as being like this. But you could be shot and killed at almost any time, couldn't you? " Michael didn't ease her distress. He'd seen too many relationships destroyed over this very thing. "It's part of the job. I don't wear a uniform anymore, so I'm not such a walking target, but the possibility

is always there." "I need to think about this," Lizzy told him as they approached his house. "Right now I don't know how I really feel. Scared, I guess. I don't want anything like that to happen to me ever again. Even though I know you're trained for it, I'm not too happy about it happening to you again, either. But I know it might. Probably will. And I'm'just going to have to think about that. Do you understand?" At least she was being honest with him. He pulled into his driveway and parked in the garage. "Fair enough. Let me know what you decide." In the kitchen Michael made a pot of very strong coffee. It might be a long night, and they would need the caffeine. They sat down opposite each other at the breakfast alcove. Lizzy sighed. "At least we know who is after us now. We just don't know why," she said. "The question is, what are we going to do with him when he comes for us?" Michael picked up his mug and took a big swallow of coffee. "Try to get proof that this guy is the one who has been doing these things to us, for a start." Lizzy held her own mug with both hands and sipped the hot coffee. don't think Oscar's guilty?"

"You

"I know he is. I found a couple of crumpled cash receipts in his trash can. One was for coal, the other from an exotic pet shop for a reticulated python. But," Michael

cautioned her, "what we've found is circumstantial. I've worked on cases where we've known who the guilty person is but we can't come up with enough solid, usable evidence to convict him or her in a court of law." "That stinks." stuff."

Lizzy sighed.

"Maybe we should have taken that

Michael shook his head. "It wouldn't be admissible in court because we obtained it illegally. Besides, none of it proves he's guilty of anything. It just suggests he is." She pursed her lips. "And we still don't know why!" L'~zy put her coffee cup down with a bang. "In your case, maybe he just hates cops in general," she muttered. "He probably does," Michael agreed. "But he didn't have newspaper clippings of just cops in general, now did he? It's a personal vendetta against me for some reason, maybe connected to the figurine. But how?" Lizzy was following his drift. "None of the stuff we found explains why he's after me, either. Or why he's made so many attempts on me, but only one on you~" "And that one time, I was with you. But I had my own invitation. looks as if he made those anonymous calls."

It

"You're right." Lizzy twirled a piece of her hair around' her finger as she weighed the options. "These are deep waters, Michael. Murky, too. What's your plan?" "I see only one way," he told her. "I'm going to have to lure him in here and try to get him talking instead of shooting. His file indicates shooting isn't his style in any case, but you never know." Lizzy knew what he had in mind. "And while he's talking we'll be recording the whole thing. Right?" "Right.

Except that you won't be here."

"Oh yes, I will!"

"Out of the question," he told her. "Too dangerous." She tucked hair behind her ear and leaned forward. "Michael, hear me out." opened his mouth, then shut it. "Oscar knows me, and I know him. be bursting to boast about what he's done so far. That's the way is.

her He He'll Oscar

He might tell you a lot, but he'll spill even more if he thinks he has an appreciative female audience under his control, because that's the way he likes his women. We need it all, Michael, not just some. That means I have to be here. " "I don't like it." She could see it in his eyes. worried, he was actually tormented by what she was didn't want her to do this but there wasn't. much feeling blossomed inside of her at the realization her' very much and he'd do everything in his power

Michael wasn't just proposing. He choice. A warm that he cared for to protect her.

Lizzy placed her hand on top of his. "Believe me, I'm not too thrilled about it myself. But you know I'm right."

"Yes," he admitted grudgingly.

"You are."

"How much time do you think we have?"

she asked.

"I don't know. A few hours at the most. Like you said, he knows we're working together for sure now. He'll be way beyond angry, he'll be livid. And this place is closest to his," Michael pointed out. She snapped her fingers. "We can make it look even more evident I'm staying here," she said, starting to feel a by-now-familiar rush of adrenaline. "I'll hang some of my laundry on the line outside." "I'll rig up the tape recorder. And some means of subduing him once he's spilled his guts. A trap, maybe, or a snare." Michael was getting geared up for the operation, too.

"It's hard to tell how long he'll be out."

"Then let's move!" Michael headed for his technology-lade~ den, and Lizzy went to the room where her things were. As she selected some items to hang out on the line, however, her case of computer disks caught her eye, and she remembered the one she had taken back from Oscar. She got it out of her purse and started to slip it into the blue case for safekeeping. Then she stopped, staring blankly into the open case. Another disk was missing! Panic gripped her and she looked around the room, expecting Oscar to jump out at her from

every shadow. Slowly, however, another thought occurred to her that was almost as horrible. She had a pretty good idea where that disk was. L'~zy dashed down the hall to the den and poked her head through the open doorway. "Michael, I have to go to my apartment right away." "What?" Michael looked up from the tape recorder he was fiddling with. "There's no time, Lizzy!" "There has to be," she insisted. "We were in such a hurry earlier that I forgot and left a disk Ester gave me in my computer. Oscar had one of those disks, remember, and he might be after more. What if he eludes our trap, or goes to my place first? What if that disk turns out to be the only tangible proof, the key to everything?" He glowered at her. "Dammit!" "I didn't do it on purpose!" Michael rubbed his hands over his face and sighed. Finally he said, "I know you didn't. It's just rotten timing, that's all. How long do you think it'll take you?" "At this hour, maybe twenty minutes," Lizzy replied. "Half as long as it would take you."

Then she grinned.

After glancing at his watch, Michael slowly nodded his head. "All right. But take this." He went to an end table and opened a drawer, coming up with a shiny snub-nosed revolver. "We haven't had time for lessons yet, but this one is simple enough. Use it for close range only, and no fancy stuff. Just point it and keep pulling the trigger until it stops going bang. Okay?" "Gotcha." She put the gun in her purse, then kissed him quickly on the cheek. "And don't worry. I'll bet Oscar is still out cold. I know my wrist still hurts, and my flashlight will never be the same." "Don't get cocky," Michael told her in a gruff tone. into his arms and kissed her soundly on the lips. "Now get going. it's you."

He pulled her

And beep your horn once when you get back so I'll know

"Right. Oh! Make sure you hang my laundry up, will you?" Lizzy chuckled on her way out the door. "I've always wanted to say that to a man!" AS LIZZY MADE HER WAY to her apartment, her mind kept drifting back and forth between the human bait act she would he starring in at Michael'splace and the insurance seam that made this hurried trip necessary in the first place. Again, she felt sure that the key was right in front of her, but she still wasn't getting to the answer. Waiting impatiently at a red light, she studied the photograph she had taken from Oscar's without Michael's knowledge. The photo jarred her every time she looked at it, as much for the possibilities it suggested as for its incongruous subjects.

Three men on a beach. Oscar Moore, Tom Smith and Roger Drexel. The obvious connection was the one that had caused Lizzy to purloin the photo in the first place. Oscar was Nancy's ex-husband, while both Tom and Roger had dated her. after the divorce. To see all three together was bothersome. Of' course, she could also connect them by the fact that they were all three loathsome individuals. While true, it' hardly made any pieces of the puzzle fit. The one connection that kept coming to mind over and over again was the most frightening. Insurance. Tom and Roger were insurance executives. Oscar had been married to Nancy, who worked for MEC, the same company as Tom. Last but certainly not least, Roger, who had also worked for MEC, now worked for NEBI, the company that had lost fifty thousand dollars to the insurance scam Lizzy was currently investigating. But Nancy couldn't be involved in the scam. Although she had the brains and the inside knowledge to figure out a scam like this one, she lived from paycheck to paycheck, at times barely able to cover all her bills without the monthly child support checks Oscar so infrequently sent. Even a small

share of loot would make a big difference in Nancy's life, and there had been no such change. That brought Lizzy back to square one. Because if Nancy wasn't involved, the link to Oscar was broken, and without him all she had was a picture of three jerks on a beach. The red light changed to green at last and she floored the accelerator,~ speeding on through the midnight blackness. Whatever the answer, she couldn't let Oscar get that disk! L'~. zy had the gun Michael had given her at the ready as she entered her dark apartment. But no one jumped out at her as she turned on the lights, and everything was just as she'd left it, including the computer disk. "Pesky thing," she muttered as she pulled the disk out of the computer's floppy disk slot. She slipped it into its protective sleeve and dropped it into her purse. Since she had made even better time than expected on the way there, Lizzy figured she could spare a few seconds to check her answering machine. There was nothing important on it, though. "All that money for the feature-packed model," she muttered as she reset the machine. "And what do I get? Heavy breathers." Turning out all the lights again except the lamp near the front door, Lizzy headed in that direction. Then she froze dead in her tracks. Someone was coming up the stairs. Chapter Twenty-one L'~zzy hadn't thought to engage the dead bolt Michael had installed, and the security chain dangled loose and useless, as well. The only thing standing between her and whoever was coming up the outside stairs was her original flimsy spring-loaded lock. Michael had defeated that lock easily once. So had Oscar Moore. The revolver she still had in her hand felt small now, too small, but she held it as Michael had shown her and slowly moved toward her apartment door. Then she stopped in her tracks again and watched in horror as the doorknob turned, first left, then right. Obviously, her visitor didn't think it necessary to knock. she called out hopefully. "Is that you?"

"Michael?"

The coarse masculine chuckle that came in reply made Lizzy's skin crawl. "No, Lizzy Green," Oscar said, his voice muffled by the door but still horribly distinct. "It's not your cop boyfriend. It's me. The big, bad wolf, come to gobble you up." There was a scratching noise and a soft click, and then the doorknob turned again. Lizzy felt the weight of the gun in her hand. She had never even fired one before, let alone at a human being. But then, she wasn't sure she considered the man on the other side of that door. human.

"Stop or I'll shoot!" she announced in a shaky voice. laughed and started to push the door open.

Oscar just

For such a small gun it made a very big noise. The recoil was even worse, propelling her hands into the air above her head and forcing her to take a step backward. A hole had appeared in her front door, but it was way too high up to have done any good. Lizzy gritted her teeth and pulled the trigger again, the sound and shock of firing the weapon a bit less daunting this time. As Michael had told her, she kept shooting until she ran out of bullets and the gun just clicked, rather proud of the pattern she had managed to drill through the door. Unfortunately, he had neglected to tell her to make sure she was actually hitting her target. The door swung open and there stood Oscar, unharmed, a big, evil smile on his face. "Looks like you've done your worst, Lizzy. Now it's my turn." He held up a stiletto, its pencil-thin, six-inch blade glinting in the dim lamplight. "And believe me, as intimately close as I'm going to be to you, I won't miss." The only thing that came to L'~y's panic-stricken mind was to throw the empty gun at him, and she did so. Oscar ducked and the revolver clattered onto the stairs behind him. But Lizzy took advantage of his momentary surprise by charging at the door, hitting the edge of it with her shoul-dci to slam it shut in his face. She tried desperately to engage the dead bolt, but her fingers seemed wooden and inept. Oscar was too strong" and slowly the 'door began opening again, even though she leaned against it with all her weight. Finally he managed to get his foot wedged into the opening. Lizzy stomped on it: He cried out, and she closed the door on the flood of obscenities that followed, this time managing to get the security chain engaged before Oscar pushed it open once more. "I'm going to kill you, Lizzy!" he promised in a strangled tone. "Slowly, inch by inch." Then he laughed. "After a little foreplay, naturally." The chain wouldn't last long, she knew, and neither would her sanity if she had to listen to many more of his perverted threats. She put her back to the door, straining to close it, but to no avail. Oscar was brutishly strong, and there was no mistaking the excitement in his voice. Her gaze wandered around her-simple apartment, looking for a weapon, a way out, anything! The elevator! Lizzy gave one last shove with her back, hoping to knock him off balance, and then ran for the door that concealed the elevator. She had some trouble with the lock Michael had installed on it, but finally got it open. Just as. her front door slammed open with the loud crunch of Shattering wood. The end of the security chain went flying, landing on the floor near Lizzy's feet, and then bounced into the dark, gaping elevator shaft. The elevator itself was on the garage level, fifteen feet below.

It couldn't come up fast enough to save her, and she could break a leg jumping that far, leaving Oscar free to finish her off at his leisure. She briefly considered grabbing the greasy cable that dangled in front of her. But then Oscar was upon her. He grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and spun her around to face him. "I'm going to make you pay for interrupting my pleasure earlier," he ground out through clenched teeth. Gingerly touching the back of his head, he added, "And then I'm going to bash your brains in." Oscar wanted her trembling with fear and begging for mercy. Lizzy would never give him the satisfaction. "You'll have to catch me first, you twisted jerk." With that she kicked him in the shin. He yelped With pain and lashed out with the wicked blade of the stiletto. Lizzy sidestepped just in time to save herself from being sliced open like a fish. Unfortunately she miscalculated the length of the blade by a fraction of an inch. Hot white pain seared her rib cage, just below her left breast, and she felt something warm trickle down her side. She pressed her hand to her ribs and

winced. When she drew her hand back it was stained with a smear of bright red blood. Still, if she hadn't been wearing her thick black sweatshirt, the wound would have been much worse. The sight of blood excited Oscar even more. "That's better! A thousand more little cuts like that and you'll be pleading with me to kill you!" Lizzy started backing up.

"Michael "

"Is too busy setting his little trap for me to come looking for you. At least not until I've had my fun. By then he won't even recognize your body." He laughed gleefully at her stricken expression. "I'm a real man, tougher than either of you thought. I got to his place in time to see you leave, and see him plant your frillys on the clothesline. Then I followed you here. He'll wise up to that eventually, and when he does I'll be here waiting for him." His horrible voice was terrifying, and Lizzy could feel an even deeper panic settling into her mind. Only her strong will kept her from losing control totally. But even if she screamed, no one would hear her, just as this place was too far removed for anyone to have heard the shots she'd fired. Time was her only ally. She had to keep him talking. Suddenly her eyes gleamed with new purpose. Oscar was advancing upon her and she continued to back up, until she bumped into her desk. L'~zzy turned to catch her balance and reached out, smearing blood on her answering machine. "Get away from that phone!" Oscar ordered. Lizzy slowly complied. There was one subject that was sure to get him talking. Himself. "I knew it was you doing those things all along, Oscar," she lied. "Who else has such a great imagination?" For a moment his eyes narrowed, and Lizzy held her breath. Slowly, however; a grin formed on his face. He came a few steps closer and stuck out his tbngue, wiggling it back and forth. Then he put his teeth together and hissed softly. "Did you like my snake?" Lizzy couldn't stop the shudder that ran up and down her spine. Oscar laughed, his eyes gleaming at her reaction. She struggled to regain control. "How did you know?" she managed to ask. "Because I'm smart!" he exclaimed. "I see things, and I remember. I remembered the time I was Visiting my kids, and my son came running into the house with a little bitty garden snake. You came unglued!" He laughed again, clearly enjoying the memory. "You couldn't even look at it! That's how I figured you'd be the same way about spiders. And you were. What a scream you let out! It was wonderful! I'll bet the cops thought you were a loon when they didn't find anything, right?" he asked with a wild gleam in his eyes. L'mzy didn't know whether to be pleased or horrified: Was he lulling her, or she him? "Yes. Was that your goal?" His mood changed again, shifting like mercury. the dim light. "My goal is to kill you." The intensity in his voice was frightening. least owe me an explanation."

The knife glinted in

"Oscar, I think you at

"I owe you a violent death!" He lunged at her but Lizzy managed to kick her chair into his way in the nick of time. She decided it would be better if she were a moving target. But the pain in her side was like a dull throb now, keeping time with her heartbeat. She pressed her hand against the wound and slipped around the desks her eyes never leaving his. "Satisfy my curiosity then," she coaxed. "Tell me why you trapped Michael Cook and me in that burning-building "For the fun of it!" Oscar cried, waving the knife in a little circle as he slowly stalked her around the couch. "And to burn the place down for the insurance money, of course," he added, as if it were an afterthought. "It was my father who wanted Michael dead. Including you in a two-for-one sale was all my idea," he boasted proudly. "Brilliant," Lizzy assured him. She felt as if she were skating on thin ice, ready to fall in at any moment. Oscar was definitely unstable and she didn't like the macho way he kept thrusting that knife at her. "What does your father have against Michael?" "Actually, old Mikey has two strikes against him. He's a cop and my father and I hate cops. He's also the grandson of Fast Eddie Cook, who years ago cheated my father out of a lot of money. Boy, did that frost him! Ate away at him all these years. The sap." There was such an odd mixture of fear and contempt on Oscar's face that Lizzy decided Michael must have been right about the father abusing the son: "It was your father's idea to take the figurine from Paulina Cook?" "Sure. Tracked down Fast Eddie through him grandson. Not that he's as smart as I am. That was just a fluke. About two years ago he saw a picture in the newspaper, Michael-Edward Cook, up for a humanitarian award or some such garbage," Oscar said disdainfully. "He brought in Wally and then I got involved, started the bah to rolling." "Who's Wally?"

Lizzy asked, playing dumb.

"Some poor sucker my father knew from the war. But Wally Fox was outfoxed again," He laughed at his own joke. "We set him up from the beginning, and he was too dumb to see it. Busy trying to get frisky with that skinny old widow, probably. Wally thought my old man didn't know about the figurine when he mentioned it, but he was wrong. My father just let Wally be the-one to mention it first, so he'd play right into our hands." "But what did Michael do?

Why do you want to kill him?"

Oscar laughed. "Me? I'd shoot him just to watch him bleed! But I'm doing it to get my inheritance. My old man wants him killed to avenge his honor, see, and Mikey has the misfortune of being one of Fast Eddie's few male relatives. With him out of the way, the old man dies happy and I get the bucks. Just a couple million dollars, babe," he said with a wink. "Too bad you won't be around when I get it. Might be fun. But who needs a dumpy dresser like you? Why do you want to wear an ugly sweatshirt like that? Hides all the goodies," By the look in his eyes, Lizzy could tell he was about to tell her to

take it off. There was a limit to the lengths she would go to hear this twisted tale of his. The open apartment door was close enough now that she could feel the breeze from outside. But Oscar was way ahead of her. He stepped quickly toward the door, blocking her exit, then forced her to retreat back into the room with a threatening gesture of the stiletto. She jumped back, the blade arching through the air scant inches from her face. "You realize your father is a very sick man," she said quickly, attempting to distract him. And so are you. Oscar misinterpreted her remark. "You've got that right, the cancer is eating him up. He won't last more than a few days, maybe a week. The fossil set up his will so that all his money goes to my darling ex-wife Nancy, and he won it change it till I've done what he wants. That's why I've got to get rid of both of you quick. The hard part is making things look like accidents. The old fool is adamant-about that part. Doesn't want it traced back to us." Now she wasn't just fighting for her life, but for her friend Nancy's future, as well, and that of Nancy's children. But Lizzy was having an increasingly hard time holding herself together. What if he was right? What if Michael didn't come until it was too late? She had better start thinking of a way out of this situation. But her mind was fuzzy with fatigue. The pain of her wound was gnawing at her, and the effort to walking this madman's tightrope was taking its toll. "Michael mentioned that you used an old unsolved case of his to get him inside that building. That was really smart of you. How did you know about it?" she asked. "I knew that'd get his goat," Oscar said gleefully. "My father always nitpicked me, called me inadequate. He for gets the good stuff I've done. I did that job right. No one ever traced those killings to me." She felt sick. That newspaper clipping he had upstairs wasn't research material on Michael. It was a keepsake. "You murdered those teenagers?" "They were stealing from me and had to be taught ales son," he told her angrily. "Just like you." "What did I do?" "For starters, you meddled in my marriage and convinced Nancy to divorce me, and then you convinced her to marry that jerk Bruce. I just about had that completely botched up when you convinced her to get more counseling with him and the kids." He stepped closer to her, practically snarling at her now. "Psychiatrists! And all that other New Age junk! You women's libhers make me sick!" Lizzy kept backing away. What was she going to do? Make a run for the bathroom? Even if she. made it, that door wouldn't last long, either, and then she would have to face him in even tighter quarters.

What would Michael do? Earlier, he had mentioned something, a way of subduing Oscar. A snare? A trap! But it wouldn't be easy; he was getting angrier by the moment. "How else did I offend you, Oscar?" she asked, hoping to distract him. "Sure, I'll tell you. Why not? You can take it to the grave. Six years ago you uncovered an insurance scam that I'd been running. I was all set to get the biggest payoff of my career and you blew it for me." Lizzy didn't have the slightest idea what he was talking about. she kept moving, angling for position. "I did?" "Don't tell me you've forgotten what happened to good old Dr. he reminded her, laughing coarsely.

But

Wilson?"

Her eyes widened. Did she ever! But how had Oscar been involved in that? She had to get him to say more. "I'm not sure," she replied. "Why don't you tell me" "Shut up! All you women do is talk! Take off your clothes and make it easy for me, and maybe I won't hurt you too bad before I kill you!" Lizzy Stood perfectly still. me."

"You want-me, Oscar, you can come and get

Oscar made a wild grab for her, missed, and swung his knife as he had before. But this time she was ready for him. As his arm went past her, she slipped behind him, putting one hand on his elbow and the other on his back. Since he was already turning, it wasn't hard to keep even a man his size off balance. Besides, she didn't have to keep him that way for long. As he regained his footing and started to face her again, she simply put both hands on his chest and shoved. Oscar teetered for a moment, eyes wide and arms flailing in space. His knife slipped from his grasp and clattered down into the open elevator shaft. And then Oscar followed it down. He landed at the bottom with a sickening, bone-breaking thud. Lizzy turned her face away. She suddenly felt dizzy, and moved away from the open doorway before she fell down there herself. When Michael burst into the room a few minutes later, she was sitting at her desk, exhausted from the tense ordeal. "Lizzy!" Michael exclaimed, rushing over to her. Where's Oscar Moore?"

"Are you all right?

She looked up at him and managed a sly grin. "He just stepped out. But we had a nice chat first." She pressed one of the many buttons on her answering machine, and Oscar's unwitting confession poured out, clear as a bell. "You know, I thought I'd never get a chance to use the room monitor function on this thing. Isn't technology grand?"

IT WAS ALMOST DAWN by the time the paramedics had checked Lizzy over, dressed her wound, and handed her over to the police so they could sort everything out. There

was also Oscar to deal with, and plenty of other details. When they were done with her, Lizzy lost interest and went outside to Michael's car for some peace and quiet while he spoke with the other cops. Her mind was on other things now. Oscar was not a well man mentally. He also seemed to have deluded himself into thinking she was the cause of just about every problem he'd ever had. But she did remember the case of Dr. Wilson and his failed insurance scam quite well. In the course of her duties for a former employer, the doctor's name had come up often enough for her to question his practice of extensive testing coupled with large fees. Research had shown that he had also been submitting bills for second opinions on people he'd never seen. Eventually, it was proven that he wasn't even a doctor. Lizzy had been instrumental in that research. Unfortunately, Dr. Wilson had died mysteriously before the police could launch a full-scale investigation. Had Oscar killed him to prevent his own involvement in the seam from being discovered? He hadn't actually admitted it, but Lizzy felt sure that was the case. She knew for a fact that he had been involved in the other seam he'd admitted to, because she and Michael had been in one of those buildings when he torched it. That meant there was yet another connection that applied to the photograph she'd stolen from him. For L'~zy, it was one connection too many. Three jerks on a beach. Two insurance executives and a man who dearly had a penchant for insurance scares. And all three had one thing in common. Nancy. "The hospital reported in," Michael said, getting into the car. "He broke both legs, one arm and has a concussion, but nothing serious enough to finish him off, unfortunately." Lizzy didn't seem overjoyed by the news. "What's wrong?" Lizzy bit her lower lip.

"We have one more stop to make."

]~lplecross "At this hour?" he asked, glancing at his watch. "Sane, reasonable people are just getting out of bed. And I was hoping to crawl into one." "I'm exhausted, too, Michael, but I can't sleep until the whole thing is out in the open. I'll give you directions and tell you about it on the way there." Half an hour later Lizzy was entering Nancy's office, Michael right behind her. Nancy looked up as she walked in. "Hi, Lizzy! I thought I was the only early bird dumb enough to be working..." Her voice trailed off as she spotted Michael. He closed the door. "What's wrong?" She plopped down in one of the chairs in front of her desk. Michael Cook, Nancy. He's a cop."

"This is

"The police?" Nancy's face paled beneath the harsh fluorescent lights. "Why is he here?"

"Your ex-husband, Oscar Moore, Jr." was arrested a short time ago," Michael informed her, his back against the closed door. " For trying to kill your friend Lizzy and me. He also admitted to killing three defenseless young men in cold blood, as well as arson with intent to defraud. I'm sure the list will grow as time goes on, but you get the idea. " "Why are you telling me all this?"

Nancy asked weakly.

Lizzy tossed the photograph of the three men on her desk. about some insurance scams," Lizzy told her.

"He talked

Nancy glanced at the photo and closed her eyes. "I knew it would come out someday. I didn't want todo it, Lizzy. But you know my kids always come first with me." A tear trickled down her pale cheek. "I did it to protect them. Oscar used them to force me into going along with him." "And did you go along when he killed Dr. "Who?"

Wilson?"

Her eyes went wide.

"You didn't help him with a medical insurance scam six years ago?" Lizzy~asked. "No! He never involved me in any of his so-called business deals until this last one," Nancy told them. "When did it start?" Michael asked quietly. "A little over four years ago," Nancy said.

"Four years ago!" then!"

Lizzy cried.

"I was still working here back

"Lisbeth," Michael chided. "Let her tell the story." Nancy took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her cheeks. When she spoke, her voice was stronger. '. "I ran across some discrepancies in the payouts. After further research I realized someone was embezzling company funds by paying so much to the claimant, and the rest to themselves. They avoided leaving any paper trails by using the computer. On my own time I started tracking down those responsible, hoping to score points and may he get a promotion. My mistake was in taking some of the material home." "What do you mean?"

Lizzy asked.

"On one of Oscar's unannounced visits, he saw the stuff on my kitchen table. I... I couldn't Stop him from reading it. Naturally, Oscar didn't see any reason to turn the guilty person in," Nancy replied. "Instead he wanted to become a part of the scam." "You knew who was involved?" "Yes." Nancy folded her hands on the desk, with the photograph right in front of them. "I had narrowed it down to these two, either Roger Drexel or Tom Smith, and I had both names written down. Oscar threatened to beat the kids if I didn't go along with his plans. He'd never touched them before but I knew he was serious. A couple of trips to the hospital for what he'd done to me before taught me that." "I'm so sorry, Nancy," Lizzy said. ' "He was wild!" she continued. "His money was real low. Oscar Senior had cut him way back because he was upset over the pending divorce. And Oscar loved to spend money, he never had enough. I was afraid that with his temper, he might kill the kids." "Why didn't you come to me?"

L'lzzy asked.

"I thought about it," Nancy told her. "But things moved too fast. By the next day Oscar was controlling everything. He showed Roger and Tom where they'd slipped up and they promptly fixed it, and entered into a partnership with him. It was Oscar's idea to have Roger move over to NEBI. That way they could run two scams at the same time." Nancy pulled open one of her desk drawers. this drawer is a ledger," Nancy told them. you want to get it?"

"Taped to the bottom of She looked at Michael. "Do

Michael knelt down and ripped a piece of duct tape free. A thin green-and-maroon ledger book fell to the floor and he picked it up, handing it to Nancy. "What is it?"

Lizzy asked.

"I always hoped that someday I'd be able to get out from under Oscar's thumb." Nancy passed the book to Lizzy. "It's a detailed log Of every embezzlement. Also, it shows where most of the money was invested or put, along with who got what each time. Oscar always did love to brag."

Lizzy flipped through the papers. "I knew that guy was familiar." She glanced at Michael. "Remember George Smith, the lawyer? He's listed in here, too. He's Tom's brother." "For a piece of the pie, George worked as their lawyer, and handled the bank transactions, too," Nancy added. "They all had the same goals in mind. Early retirement." "That's certainly what they're going to get, but I doubt it'll he in quite the style they had in mind," Michael said. Nancy swallowed. "And me?" Michael avoided looking at Lizzy. downtown with us."

"I'm afraid you'll have to come

"But can't she cut some kind of deal?" evidence or something?"

Lizzy asked.

"Turn state's

He sighed. "Lizzy, have some faith in me. I'm going to introduce her to the right people and they can work this out to everyone's advantage." "I never took any of the money," Nancy said as she stood up. you to know that." Lizzy touched Nancy lightly on the shoulder. did."

"I want

"I never thought you

IT WAS WELL into the morning traffic hours by the time Michael and Lizzy left the police station. But neither of them was paying much attention to the hustle and bustle. They were both a bit dazed by all that had happened in the space of a few short hours--especially the phone call they had gotten from Wally just a few minutes ago concerning the elder Oscar Moore. "Satisfied?" replied.

Michael asked as they headed for his car.

"Almost," she

"Then you're hard to please," he observed. "Nancy is free to go home to her kids, and since Oscar Moore, Senior, died last night without changing his will, all three of them are millionaires. Meanwhile, a totally ruined Oscar Moore, Junior, is under guard at the hospital, and his cohorts will all be behind bars soon. What more could you ask for?" They got into the car and Lizzy cuddled up close to him. She gave him a tired smile. "If I hadn't been up for I don't know how many hours straight, you know exactly how I'd answer that." "Sounds promising" Michael said. "How about after we go home, take a nice hot shower and get about a day's worth of sleep?" Lizzy cuddled even closer. "After that, you'd better hold on to your hat." She looked up at him, her expression turning serious. "I've been thinking, Michael." "About what?"

he asked softly.

"A lot of things.

But mostly about your job."

Michael took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. churning as he spoke. "What did you decide?"

His insides were

"I~can live with it," she told him firmly. "Because it's better than not being with you at all. If all we have is a few months, instead of years, I'll deal with it then. Right now I'll take what I can get." Michael pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair. "You've got all of me," he whispered, nuzzling her throat. "Let's go home."

Epilogue Paulina was wearing a navy blue dress with an intricate white lace collar. She seemed totally relaxed as she rocked in her chair and crocheted an afghan. "How can you sit there so calmly?"

Lizzy asked.

Right now Michael was at his hearing, learning the fate of his future. He had asked that both women wait for him here and though Lizzy didn't like it~ she had agreed. "I spent years waiting for Edward to get home from business trips. learn to pass the time constructively." "Is that why you always taught school?" crocheting. "I was a teacher when I met enjoyed very much. After our son was in two reasons. I missed it, and it helped away."

Lizzy asked. Edward and it school I went fill the days

You

Paulina stopped was something I back to it for when Edward was

Michael hadn't seen any need to tell Paulina all that had transpired, but Lizzy had the feeling she knew a lot of it, anyway. "Did Wally return the painting?" "He tried to." Her blue eyes were twinkling as she smiled fondly. "Edward always did have a strange sense of humor." Lizzy cocked her head.

"What do you mean?"

"Wally showed me what was underneath that ugly little painting, and. it was a real pretty picture. I can just imagine Edward sitting at his desk, privately enjoying what no one ~ else knew was there. " Paulina sighed. " For some reason, Wally nicknamed it Fast Eddie's . He said it was quite valuable, but I told him to keep it, he needs the money and I don't. Besides, even though Wallywouldn't tell me the whole story, I knew Edward wasn't an angel. That was part of what made him so exciting. " Lizzy heard a car pull into the driveway and she rushed out of the house. Michael didn't look happy. "Well?" "I'm on probation for six months," he announced, walking toward her. "And confined to a desk job' for the entire time." "But you're not fired?" "Not yet, but it doesn't look good," he replied glumly. Michael was back to doing his Dr. Doom impression. He was wearing a navy blue blazer and gray slacks, his hair re-centl)~ trimmed. Lizzy yanked on his loose tie and pulled it free from his shirt collar. "Well, you certainly look good." She draped the tie around her shoulders. "What do you think? Would I look good in just this tie?" "Maybe." She had to shake him out of this.

Being stuck at a desk wasn't the end

of the world. "At least they hadn't fired him. " Or maybe the tie and that red nightgown? " she teased. " Paulina gave it to me. " That brought a little spark to his hazel eyes. long. "I'm not really in the mood, Lizzy."

But it didn't last

"We could go home," she suggested, "and I'll ~e what I can do to change that." "Is that all you can think about?" Michael asked gruffly. "Michael, you can't do anything about this but accept it, so there's no use brooding." Lizzy looked at him, trying to think of something else that might cheer him up. Earlier, she had visited Ester in the new office that went with her promotion. NEBI had been very appreciative for all their roles in uncovering the insurance scam. "I picked up the bonus check we're splitting from the insurance company on the way over here."

He shrugged.

"That's nice."

"I'm not wearing anything underneath this sweater." This time his eyes flickered with a bit more interest and stayed that way. "I've also thought of some interesting ways to pass the next six months." Her eyes slowly roved down over his chest and lower. "Come on, you're dying to know what they are," Lizzy teased. At last he broke down and grabbed her, pulling her against his hard, lean, masculine body. "I'm dying to do something all right." Lizzy suddenly frowned at him. Clearly, the depression that had gripped him had not reached all parts of his anatomy just yet. "Wait a minute! What exactly did the review board tell you, Michael?" "It was awful. Just terrible." Michael turned his face away from hers. "The worst part is they don't think I'm safe to be let out on the streets anymore. In fact, they suggested I go back to the police academy." "They want you to go back to school?" "But isn't that unusual?"

she asked him incredulously.

"Not at all. In fact it's necessary," Michael told her. "It would be 'hard to apply for the position of an academy instructor without going into the building." "You jerk!" Lizzy pushed him away and tossed the tie at him. been conning me all along!"

"You've

Michael burst out laughing. "Did a pretty good job, too. Maybe I'll teach a class in it. Now, what's this list of ways to pass the next six months?" "You're not going to find out now!" He swept her up into his arms and twirled her around in the sunshine. "I love you," Michael whispered when she opened her mouth to protest his actions. "I don't know how I would have gotten through the past few days without you." ' "I love you, too," Lizzy murmured. When their tongues met Lizzy melted into him and they slid down to the soft grass together. "Michael Edward!" Paulina yelled from the porch. "I think they can arrest you for what you're about to do on my front lawn. Besides, we have company arriving." Lizzy pushed her hair out of her eyes and looked toward the curb. Wally Fox was getting out of a brand new, light blue, four-door sedan. He was dressed in a new suit, and there was a new spring in his step, as well, as he moved toward Paulina, a bouquet of yellow roses and baby's breath in his hand. Several of Paulina's cats twined around his ankles. "These are for you." ~"Thank you," Paulina murmur err sniffing them. "Just let me put them in water and then we'll leave for our lunch date. Come on in." "What's going on?"

Michael asked Lizzy.

o "I'll tell you everything later," she replied. enough of your own problems."

"Right now you have

"I do?" "Don't play Mr. Innocent with me. leading me on like that." Michael grinned.

"Start taking..

I'm going to make you pay for

I'm all yours."