“Have a seat. I’ll go get my bag.”

  Kyra watched Michael leave the den and eased down onto the couch. Aches and pain began to demand her attention. She was afraid to even look at her face.

  She dug into her shorts pocket and pulled out her cell. Gabe answered on the second ring.

  “I hate to bother you again tonight—”

  The chief’s chuckle floated to her. “You’re not.”

  Her throat tight, she swallowed hard. “Gabe, I was attacked on my way back to my house this evening.”

  “When? Where?” All humor fled his voice.

  “About five minutes ago. On the beach between my house and Michael’s. The man was dressed in black—including a ski mask. He had a knife. He was about five feet maybe nine or ten inches, medium built. It was hard to tell exactly since he came up behind me, then everything happened fast. I’m not sure it’s the same man as the killer. Maybe it’s the man who went with the second set of footprints found near the scene of the murders.”

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, I’ll be fine. It’s takes more than a wrestling match to get me down.”

  “How bad off is the other guy?” A chuckle came back into his voice.

  “I got a few well-placed kicks in. He’ll be hurting for a while.”

  “Do you remember anything else?”

  She closed her eyes and tried to remember the scuffle. Her mind drew a blank. She lifted a trembling hand and hooked the stray strands of hair pulled from her ponytail behind her ears. “No, I wish I did.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “Michael’s, but you don’t need to come over. The man took off fast toward the Pattersons’. I’m sure he’s long gone by now.”

  “That’s okay. I’m still coming to look around.”

  She returned her cell to her pocket as Michael reentered the den. “I let Gabe know what happened.”

  “And he’s coming over.”

  “How did you guess?”

  Michael sat beside her on the couch and opened his black bag. “Because that’s Gabe, and I can tell how much he cares about you.”

  “This town is blessed to have had someone like him as police chief for over twenty years.”

  “I know he thinks Wilson is a good replacement for him and I’m sure he will be, but there will be a lot of people who’ll miss Gabe.”

  “You make it sound like he’ll move away from Flamingo Cay.”

  “Believe it or not, I think he might. He’s been talking about going up north to retire.”

  “Up north? Most people come to Florida to retire.”

  “That’s our chief. Never like the crowd. He said something about his son up north and being near him and his family.” Michael dabbed a cold wet cotton ball on her cuts.

  Kyra winced from the sting of the antiseptic solution. “Will I survive?”

  “No thanks to that guy who attacked you. What if I hadn’t come along?”

  “I had things under control.”

  “Sure. You looked like you did.”

  She’d been taken off guard. She hadn’t thought of herself as a target. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. “What was that you were yelling?”

  “Some war cry I heard in a movie. It was supposed to scare the enemy and mess with their minds.”

  “Well, I guess it did that. He took one look at you and ran.” Kyra forced lightness into her voice, hoping to coax a smile out of Michael, whose face was set in a scowl. “I’m surprised the neighbors didn’t come out to investigate.”

  “The couple who live in the house you were behind are hard of hearing. The husband wears a hearing aid, and I think he turns it off a lot of the time because his wife talks real loud because of her hearing problem. She refuses to acknowledge she has one.” Michael put a small bandage on each cut—one by her jawline and the other right under her eye on her left cheek. “There. That should keep you awhile.”

  At the sound of the doorbell Michael stiffened then relaxed as he stood. “That’ll be Gabe checking up on you.” He took a step and peered back. “But I’ll check the peephole to make sure.”

  The last of her adrenaline drained away, and she slumped back on the cushion and rested her head against it. She tried to rally when she heard Gabe and Michael talking near the entryway into the den. She remained where she was, listening to Gabe quiz Michael about what he saw.

  The two men entered the den and locked gazes with her. The urge to squirm under both of their intense looks was strong. She squashed it and shoved herself forward.

  “Okay, let’s have it.”

  “A knife! Where was your gun?”

  “He managed to get it, but I kicked it out of his hand. I just couldn’t get to it.”

  “I want to see where it happened. This should help.” Gabe hefted his powerful heavy-duty flashlight.

  “You can stay here. I can show him.” Michael walked toward the French doors.

  “No, I’m coming, too.” Kyra infused a no-nonsense attitude into her tone. “Maybe it can help me remember exactly what happened.” Something niggled in the back of her mind. Something important.

  Gabe waved toward her face. “Did he cut you with the knife?”

  “No. When he hit me. I think it was a ring.”

  “A big one?”

  “I can’t remember. It happened so fast, and I was trying to stay focused on the hand with the knife in it.”

  “What did the knife look like?”

  A picture flashed into her thoughts. Moon rays and the security lights the neighbors had in their backyards gave her enough illumination to remember some details of the knife. “Close to a foot long with a steel blade of five or six inches and a black handle. An expensive knife. Durable.”

  “Good. You’re already remembering things you couldn’t tell me a while back. Which hand did he hold it in?”

  “Right.”

  Michael led the way to the spot at the back edge of the hearing-impaired couple’s yard where it met the beach. A cluster of palm trees hid most of the moon from sight now.

  Kyra pointed toward some large honeysuckle bushes in the couple’s yard. “He was probably hiding behind there. I scanned the area as I walked, and I didn’t see him. I stopped to listen to the ocean and enjoy the salty breeze. Brought back some nice memories. That’s when he came up behind me and tried to lock his arms around me. I immediately started fighting, which I think threw him for a few seconds. I managed to twist away and get a few good kicks in before he launched himself at me.”

  “When I came running, the man fled. I should have walked her home.” Michael’s gaze fixed on her, scorching in its intensity.

  “What if he had attacked you on the way back to your house? We don’t know if you’re safe.” Kyra met Michael’s look with her own keen perusal.

  “I can take care of myself.”

  “You’re a doctor, not a fighter.”

  “You’re a wo—” Michael snapped his mouth closed.

  “A woman? Nice that you noticed. But this woman can take care of herself. I was managing before you came.”

  Gabe stepped between them, holding up his palms to each one. “That’s enough, y’all. He could have gotten a drop on anyone. And everyone needs help from time to time whether it’s with this case or fighting off an assailant.”

  The police chief’s pointed stare directed at both of them eased the tension in Kyra. Michael relaxed the rigid set of his shoulders.

  “This incident has changed things. But I don’t have enough manpower to guard you two.” Gabe withdrew a toothpick from his pocket and stuck it in his mouth.

  “I’ll be fine,” Michael said.

  “That might not be enough.” Gabe chewed on his toothpick and walked toward the water, leaving them alone.

  Kyra moved to Michael. “We’ll protect each other.”

  “How do you propose we do that?”

  “I run a bodyguard business. I was a cop for twelve years. I’ve done my share of protecting people.”

  “But I haven’t.”

  “I thought you said you can take care of yourself.”

  Michael kneaded his nape and looked toward Gabe. “Well, I can, but I don’t know about being responsible for you.”

  Something in the tone of his voice tugged at Kyra. “Two is more effective than one. An attacker will think twice before coming after both of us.”

  “Strength in numbers?”

  “Exactly. You can stay with Aunt Ellen and me. Our house has a good alarm system, and besides, my aunt is packing, too.” She flashed him a grin. “Two gun-toting women probably can do the job.”

  “Just so long as you and Ellen don’t point a gun at me.”

  “Then it’s settled. You’ll stay at my house while we look for Amy. Aunt Ellen will be thrilled.”

  “What if Amy comes home? I need to be there. Or what if she calls the home phone?”

  “You can forward your calls to my house. We can check out the house every day and leave a note if it makes you feel better, but seriously, I don’t think she’ll come home until we figure out what’s going on or find her. I’ve dealt with scared people before. She’s in flight mode.”

  Gabe sauntered back to them, sticking his chewed toothpick back in his pocket. “Have you figured out yet that you need to stay together until we solve this?”

  Kyra laughed. “Yeah, we’ll be staying with Aunt Ellen. I feel better about having her there. I understand she’s the best shot in these here parts.”

  In the glow of the flashlight Gabe turned a vivid shade of red. “We’ll see about that this year at the Founder’s Day celebration.” He checked the area one more time. “I don’t see anything here, but first light tomorrow I’ll be out here looking.” He trudged back toward Michael’s. “If we don’t get this case solved soon, the townspeople aren’t gonna let me retire this year.”

  Back inside Michael’s den, Gabe said his goodbyes while Michael went to his bedroom to throw some clothes in a bag. Kyra stood at the front door, observing Gabe get into his patrol car. As he disappeared down the street, Kyra panned the area, her gaze stopping at the line of trees and thick underbrush at the end of the block.

  The sensation of being watched coiled through her like a snake through the branches of the mangrove. Gripping her. Choking her. She stepped back into the house and went into the living room. Fingering the slats of the blinds apart enough to peek out, she probed the dark depths of the edge of the swamp for any sign of her attacker. He was out there using the cloak of night to hide. She could feel him.

  In her bedroom, which faced the Pattersons’ house and the swamp, after only four hours of fretful sleep, Kyra positioned herself at the window in the dark and peered out a small slit in the curtains. She couldn’t shake the earlier feeling of someone out there watching their every move. Why? Were they getting close to something? Did the killer think she saw his face? Or was the person waiting for Amy to come home?

  She didn’t think the girl would, but what if she was wrong? Maybe she should rethink this and stay at Michael’s. If so, somehow she needed to convince Aunt Ellen to come, too. With all that had happened, she had no doubt if the assailant thought using Aunt Ellen to get to her was necessary, he would.

  She’d been in Flamingo Cay thirty hours, and she was more tired now than when she arrived for her vacation. Glancing at her bed, she thought of trying to sleep some more but knew from past experiences she wouldn’t be able to. Her mind whirled with thoughts concerning the case.

  With thoughts of Michael. Despite the short length of their reacquanitance, she felt bound to him—even beyond their search for Amy. They were protecting each other. He touched a place in her heart she’d thought was unreachable. Being with Michael brought back sweet memories of her childhood when she’d taken the time to play, laugh and have fun. For years, her life in Dallas had revolved around work. Was there more to life than that?

  With a sigh, she switched on a lamp, grabbed some jeans and a short-sleeve shirt and then made her way to the bathroom to begin her day. She needed to get her thoughts organized as she did when she was working as a detective for the Dallas Police. This wasn’t the time to reevaluate her goals.

  Five minutes later, she tiptoed past the entrance to the living room where Michael was camped out on the large couch and kept going until she reached the kitchen. Flipping on the overhead light, she scouted the area for some paper and a pen. Usually Aunt Ellen had some on the desktop for phone messages. Kyra rummaged through its drawers and came up empty-handed.

  She remembered another place her aunt kept paper, even recalled seeing some tonight when she’d brought Michael some sheets and a pillow to use. The room where Michael was sleeping. But the phone in there was on the desk just inside the entrance. She could take a few paces inside and get the pad. Be out of there in seconds.

  She sneaked toward the living room, her breath bottled in her lungs as she stepped over the threshold. Refusing to even glance toward the couch, she clutched the edge of the desk and felt over its surface until she encountered the pad she needed.

  The light from the lamp on the table by the couch flooded the room, and she jumped back.

  “Looking for something?” Michael sat on the couch, fully dressed.

  “Just came in for some paper. Sorry if I woke you.” She backed away a foot, grasping the pad to her chest.

  “You didn’t. I haven’t been asleep for the past hour. I’ve been sitting here thinking.”

  “About the case?”

  “Among other things.” He rose and cut the distance between them. “Why are you up?”

  “The case. I can’t seem to shut my mind down long enough to sleep any more.” She couldn’t tell him he was also in her thoughts so much she’d finally gotten out of bed.

  “We’re certainly a pair.”

  The idea of them being a pair—a couple—made her shiver. “I can put the coffee on. We can brainstorm together on the case.”

  Michael trailed behind her toward the kitchen. “I’m not sure I’ll be much help. About the only detective work I’ve done is trying to find the right diagnosis for a patient.”

  At the counter next to the stove, she put the coffee packet in the top of the coffeemaker and filled the carafe with water. “It’s the same process. You look for clues, go on instinct and experience. You rule out what doesn’t fit and finally you come up with the answer—I hope.”

  “So what are we doing now?”

  “Listing what we have and what we need to find out.”

  “Frankly, I don’t know what’s going on.”

  Kyra turned on the pot, then shifted toward Michael. “True. It’ll all be conjecture, but that is sometimes what it is at the beginning before we know much.”

  Michael sat next to her at the table while the scent of brewing coffee saturated the room. “What I know is that Amy is in trouble and running scared.”

  “Her best friend is supposedly in Tampa, three and a half hours away.”

  “Someone attacked you tonight. What if it wasn’t related to the case?”

  “Flamingo Cay hasn’t had a mugging in years according to Gabe so I doubt the attack was random.”

  “Nor has the town had a murder either and now we have two young men dead.”

  “Shot, but my assailant used a knife.” Kyra scribbled down all the things they knew. “I’m not convinced it was the same person. Their height and physique were a little different. I think. Last night happened so fast I can’t be totally sure.”

  “So maybe two people are involved. Great.” The corner of his mouth dipped down in a frown.

  The action captivated her attention at a time she needed to be professional. She dragged her gaze from his lips to the cleft in his chin, to the unyielding line of his jaw.

  “Kyra?”

  She looked down at the paper while struggling for a businesslike detachment from the man so close she could caress. “Sorry. Just thinking.” She paused, a thought popping into her mind. “The attacker’s ski mask smelled of smoke.”

  “Okay. He smokes.”

  “Maybe. It could be someone around him who smokes.”

  “That could mean about a third of the population of Flamingo Cay. Sadly we have a lot of smokers here.”

  “Still, it could be a clue.” Kyra wrote down what she remembered.

  “Amy was in the swamp the day before. Is there a connection between the murders and the swamp?”

  “I’ll put that down on the side of things we need to find out. Along with the motive for killing those two young men. Drugs possibly? We need to see if that dagger tattoo on their necks stood for anything.”

  “Someone stole Amy’s laptop. Why? What was on it that he wanted? What did Amy mean by ‘he has my cell phone’? Who? The killer? Someone else?”

  “The phone was found on Alligator Island. Any significance to the place?” Kyra went to the stove and poured two mugs of black coffee, then brought them back to the table.

  “What’s important around here that someone would kill over?”

  “The Everglades has had its share of fugitives trying to hide out from the law. I’ll ask Gabe about that this morning.”

  “You know, everything points to the swamp.”

  “Yeah. Not something I really wanted to hear.” She rubbed her palm down her face.

  He captured that hand. “Be careful. Your cuts will start bleeding again.”

  Like a strobe light, images flashed in and out of her mind. Glimpses of what she saw on the finger as the fist came toward her. Gold? Black? Or was that the clothing she was seeing behind the hand? She gave her head a shake.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Just trying to remember the ring he had on. I’m sure that was what cut my face.”

  “Although the moon was bright last night, it was still dark outside. Can you be sure of anything?”

  “I suppose you’re right. It all happened so fast, and the knife was what I really was focusing on.”

  Michael shuddered. “When I saw you two grappling over it, all I could think of was how big it was.”