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“I know you didn’t. At least not consciously. Don’t worry about it.” She touched him lightly on the shoulder.

Ben brightened immediately. He fleetingly fantasized that she was as interested in him as he was in her. Was it possible …? No, he told himself—climb back down to earth. A world-class woman like this would never give you the time of day.

“I just remembered.” She snapped her fingers. “Ben Kincaid. In Tulsa. You were involved in the investigation and capture of a serial killer several months ago. Right?”

“Well … yes.” He forced his tongue into action. This was not the time for false modesty. “You heard about that?”

“Heard about it? I monitored the situation very closely. Anytime some wacko—or a group of them—starts systematically slaughtering women, alarms go off in my head. Hatewatch confronts organized hatred in all its shapes and permutations. I was planning to send a task force to Tulsa to assist. But that turned out to be unnecessary.” She took a step closer to him. “Since you resolved the whole case before I had a chance.”

Ben stared at the floor and shuffled his feet. Her hazel eyes were dazzling. “I had first-rate help. …”

“Don’t try to bamboozle me, Ben. I’ve read the files. You were instrumental in solving that case. And you put your own life on the line to do it. If it hadn’t been for you, more people would have died.” She glanced back at her desk. “You know, I have several reports and letters I need to finish. But I’d welcome the opportunity to talk with you in more detail.”

Ben took a deep breath and swallowed. “And I’d enjoy learning more about Hatewatch. …”

“I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. You’d be a magnificent addition to our organization.” She tilted her head to one side, causing her bobbed hair to sway enticingly. “But more than that, I’d like the opportunity to find out more about you.

Ben’s heart felt as if it might palpitate out of his chest. “We could probably arrange that …”

“Will you be in town for a while?”

“Definitely.” His head was reeling. This never happened. Anytime he was attracted to a woman, she was inevitably married, diseased, or not remotely connected to this solar system. But this time the attraction appeared to be mutual. And possible. “I could stop by later. That is, if you’re free tonight.”

“Splendid. I usually don’t leave until nine or ten, but I can make an exception. Could you pick me up around seven?”

“I could do that,” Ben said, perhaps a little too quickly. “That would be fine. Belinda.”

“I’ll look forward to it. Till then—”

Ben was distracted by a noise from the back of the office. Someone was coming in the back door. “That must be one of your—”

Ben glanced over Belinda’s shoulder. A man was crouched behind the rearmost desk. To his astonishment, Ben saw that the man was holding a gun. And the gun was trained on Ben’s face.

Freeze!

9.

“WHAT IN THE—!” BEN ducked behind a card table. Belinda didn’t budge an inch. “Frank, what in God’s name are you doing?”

“Protecting you!” the man shouted from the back of the office.

Ben peered out between the legs of the card table. Who the hell was Frank? Another Silver Springs hothead?

“Put that gun away right now!” Belinda commanded.

Frank emerged from behind the desk. “But you said we weren’t letting those bastards anywhere near our office.”

“Frank, get a grip! This man has come to help us!”

Frank stared back at her. “That man is trying to get that ASP murderer off the hook!”

Belinda’s eyes crinkled. “What?”

“The word is all around town. He’s been hired to represent Vick.”

Belinda walked back to where Ben had ducked for cover. Ben brushed himself off and rose to his full, not very formidable, stature. He kept a wary eye on Frank. “Is that true?” she asked.

There was no future in lying, Ben realized. Especially with trigger-happy Frank hovering in the background. “It’s true. I’m representing Vick on the murder charge.”

Belinda was stunned. “The man who brought down the Kindergarten Killer is helping … them?”

“I was appointed by the court.”

“They wouldn’t appoint an out-of-town lawyer without his consent.”

Ben nodded regretfully. “True.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I—I thought—”

“You thought I might feed you inside information if I mistook you—as I did—for a halfway decent guy instead of a—a—”

“Hatemongering bastard,” Frank offered.

Thank you so much, Frank. “I never meant to mislead you,” Ben said.

“Right. You just accidentally forgot to level with me about why you’re here. And we were going to dinner together!”

Another man entered through the front door. He had wavy dark hair and a build somewhat less imposing than Frank’s. He quickly surveyed the scene. “What’s going on, Belinda? Trouble?”

“I’m not sure.” Belinda frowned. “Ben, this is John Pfeiffer. John, Ben Kincaid.”

John tentatively offered his hand. “You’re the man they brought in to represent Vick.”

“Does everyone in town know about this? Is it in the morning paper or something?”

“Well, as a matter of fact, yes,” John replied. “The Silver Spring Herald. This rag only comes out twice a week, Monday and Thursday, but almost everyone in town reads it. You got front-page coverage. I guess no one could believe someone would really represent that despicable punk.”

“How did the Herald find out so soon?”

“Can’t say for sure. But I know the editor, Harold McGuiness, makes a point of stopping by the sheriff’s office and the courthouse before he puts an edition to bed. It’s not easy to find news in a small town like this.”

“Great,” Ben muttered. “Just great.”

“To complete the intros,” Belinda said, “the man with the gun is Frank Carroll.”

Ben extended his hand, but received nothing in return.

“We can’t take any chances,” Frank offered by way of explanation. “Not after what happened in Birmingham.”

“What happened?”

“Some of Dunagan’s goons grabbed Belinda one night outside her office,” John explained. “They—”

“I don’t think we need to go into the details,” Belinda said, cutting him off.

“If Frank hadn’t saved her,” John said, “there’s no telling what might’ve happened to her.”

“Dunagan,” Ben murmured. “He came in from Birmingham, then?”

“As if you didn’t know,” Frank grunted. “He’s the man signing your paycheck.”

“The man signing my paycheck is Uncle Sam. No one else.”

“That doesn’t make it okay. You’re still—”

“I’m still an attorney handling a case no one else had the guts to take!”

Frank gritted his teeth. “You’re a sleazebag shyster trying to put scum back on the streets.”

“I resent that! You don’t know anything about me!”

Frank grabbed him by the lapels. “I know someone ought to rub you and your kind off the face of the earth!”

“Frank! Stop it!” Belinda tried to edge in between them. She broke Frank’s grip and pushed Ben away. “You’ll have to excuse Frank. He has … personal feelings about ASP. And a very volatile temper.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Ben, this would be a smart time for you to go.”

“I don’t see why—”

“Really. It’s for the best.”

“But what about—”

“Ben, just leave!” Belinda pulled back suddenly, as if startled by the strength of her own voice. “It’s best for everyone.”