"Why did he need their cooperation?"

"Dallas was the connection to Monk," Theo said. "I'm not sure why he wanted to involve the other two. They had all the bases covered. John worked the banking end. He was a lawyer and a VP in the trust department. Cameron used his brokerage firm to screw clients out of their retirement money, Dallas was police, and Preston worked in the D.A.'s office and took care of any problems with the law.

"Dallas was actually telling the truth about the ghost. She did keep a file on him and all his past deeds, just to cover herself. Underwood has the file now. He said Monk killed a young girl a while back and that the father hired him to do the job. There's enough evidence to arrest the father, and they've got detectives picking him up now."

"I hope he rots in prison," Michelle said.

Theo nodded. "Underwood thinks Monk has flair." He lifted the ice pack and put it on the table behind him.

"What did he mean by 'flair'?" Michelle asked. She saw Theo grimace as he lifted his leg. She grabbed the ice pack and put it back on his knee.

"He always places a rose near the victim, usually on the bed, because he prefers killing them at night."

"So Detective Harris wasn't lying about that," Michelle said.

"She was smart," Theo said. "She stuck close to the truth as much as possible so she wouldn't get tripped up on lies."

"How did you know Harris was one of them?" Michelle asked.

"When Noah was in New Orleans, I had him check her out," he said. "I thought it was odd that her captain wouldn't tell Noah anything about the case she was working on. Noah's used to dealing with antagonistic detectives who don't want the FBI working with them, so he assumed the captain was being evasive on purpose. I thought maybe the captain didn't know what Harris was up to, but I didn't take that any further. I just filed it away and moved on."

"I should have taken the time to talk to some of the other detectives," Noah said. "To find out how they felt about working with her."

"They probably would have closed ranks on you," Theo said.

"I still don't understand how you put it together, Theo," Michelle said.

"Catherine told me," he said. "She was a smart woman, so I finally realized why she'd made it so complicated. She didn't have the attorney give the papers to the police because she knew one of the members of the Sowing Club was a detective. She gave the second backup copy to Rosa because she knew the housekeeper would never go to the police. I honestly don't know what she thought Rosa would do, though. Maybe mail the files… I don't know."

He yawned then and said, "Anyway, I'd narrowed it down to Preston and Dallas, knew one of them was a policeman, and then Harris showed up wearing a jacket when it was blistering hot and muggy outside. When she stepped into the hall and turned, her back was to me and I saw her reach behind and unsnap the strap on her gun, but she kept the other hand in her pocket. I figured she was carrying extra firepower."

"I sure would like to know where John Russell is hiding," Noah said.

Theo nodded. "We'll get him eventually." Then he yawned. "Let's go home."

"I'm ready," she agreed.

"Noah's going to sleep in your guest room," he said. "Just as a precaution."

"You don't think that John or Monk-"

He didn't let her finish. "No, but I'll sleep easier, and so will you."

They headed for the exit. Theo looped his arm around Michelle's shoulder as they walked along.

"I've got to stop at the motel and pick up some things," Noah said. "How's that kid doing, Mike? Give me some good news."

"He's going to be fine," she answered. "It wasn't as bad as it looked."

"Are you still chafed you let Monk get away?" Theo asked.

"I couldn't be in two places at once," he replied. "I knew I had to get back and save your sorry ass, and the police had the stairwells blocked off. I figured they'd get him."

"I saved your sorry ass," Theo corrected.

"The hell you did. Where are my car keys?"

"I left them in the car."

"Noah, how do you know you shot Monk?" she asked. "Did you see him fall?"

"No, he didn't go down," he explained. "But there was blood on the door and on the stairs. I either got him in the hip or the side.

He went up to the roof, crossed over, then down the fire escape." He turned to leave. "I'll see you later."

"Could you wait a minute and make sure I can get the pickup started?" Michelle asked.

She was glad she'd asked, because Noah had to hotwire it to get it going. Theo insisted on driving and didn't seem to have any trouble using his right leg to work the clutch.

"I'm going to sleep until noon," she said.

"You can't. You've got to get up and go fishing."

Michelle groaned. "I'm staying home."

"You've got to go with me. You're my partner."

"We don't have a boat, remember? Mine's buried in the shrubs somewhere, and we wouldn't have a chance of winning without one. The best fishing spots are deep in the swamp."

"Your dad made John Paul loan us one of his. It's already docked behind The Swan."

She didn't like hearing that. "I want to stay in bed, but I'll leave the decision to you. You're company, after all." She moved closer, put her hand on his thigh, and tried to sound sultry when she whispered, "I'll do whatever you want."

"That's a tough one," he drawled. "Let's see. I could either get up before dawn-and I really like doing that-and sit in a boat all day long worrying about snakes falling on my head while I'm sweating through my clothes and slapping at mosquitoes, or…"

"Yes?" she said, smiling now.

"I could spend the day in bed fooling around with a beautiful, naked lady. Yeah, that's a tough one, all right."

"Who said anything about me being naked?"

He gave her a look that made her heart race. "Honey, that's a given."

"Oh, boy."

"You're blushing. After everything we've-"

She put her hand over his mouth. "I remember what we did."

She suddenly realized he'd made a wrong turn. "Where are you going?"

"McDonald's. I'm starving."

"We have plenty of food at home."

"A cheeseburger will hold me until we get home."

"Okay, that's fine with me."

A minute later he understood why she was suddenly being so cooperative. She knew McDonald's was closed. By the time they got home, he was in too much of a hurry to get her undressed to think about food. She wanted to shower, and that was fine with him, as long as he could get in the shower with her.

They fell into bed together and made love again. He pressed her down into the mattress, held her hands prisoner above her head, and told her all the loving words he needed to say and she needed to hear.

Then it was her turn. "Say it," he whispered.

She wanted to be practical. "When you get home and get back into your routine-"

"Say it," he demanded.

"You'll look back on this as a… fling."

"Are we going to have our first fight?"

"No, I'm just…"

"Say it."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "We've only known each other…"

"Say it."

"I love you," she whispered.

He was so pleased he kissed her; then he rolled onto his side and pulled her up against him. She cried all over his chest. He knew why. She thought he would return to Boston and go on with his life… without her.

He would have gotten angry if he hadn't remembered that the woman he loved didn't know squat about men. He waited until she was finished crying and was hiccupping. Stroking her back, he said, "I dated Rebecca for a year before she moved in. We lived together for another year before we got married, and you know what?"

She lifted her head so she could see his face. "What?"

"I didn't know her as well as I already know you. Life's too short, Michelle. I want to be with you. I want to grow old with you."