****

  He dragged himself from the lake and sought shelter from the biting wind. They'd disposed of the 'body' of Detective Gallant in their usual effective manner. He almost hadn't gotten out of the chains they'd weighted him with in time. It had been very close. He dragged his shattered body to the shelter of an empty beach house and sank into trance. He hadn't been hurt as badly since Hensk had dropped a building on him. When he left the house more than a month later, he was nearly an inch taller.

  He carefully replaced all the food he'd used, then went to collect his inheritance. Mitchell Gallant looked a lot like his uncle Mike. He needed a place to live. So many had lost everything when the great drought had turned dreams to dust.