He wasn't frightened, though he had every reason to be terrified.

Instead, he caught my attention, and then looked sharply to my right. The second time he did it, I saw what he was motioning to.

The sharp shears I'd seen him pruning tree branches with were on the ground three feet from where he lay. They might as well have been across the country for all the good they did him, but I had one chance, if I just dared to be bold enough.

Laura had her back turned to us, securing the door. I only had a few seconds, so I had to act. I dove toward the shears, grabbing them despite the pain in my arm. As I turned, Laura was on top of me, and I saw the blade stabbing down at my heart.

I jerked my body sideways, but not quickly enough. The blade missed my heart, but still managed to graze my side. The sensation was intensely sharp, a blinding white pain that took my breath away. Driving the pain back, I swung the shears at her, and managed to get her arm as she tried to block my strike.

The sharp tip of the shears bit into her flesh, and she cried out in pain.

The problem was that she didn't drop the knife.

It was time for a new plan, and I had to come up with one quickly. The only thing within my reach was a pole saw. I couldn't use the blade in close quarters, but I could use the pole itself as a weapon. I grabbed it and struggled to pull myself up to my knees. As I swung it toward Laura's head, she ducked just in time, and it bounced out of my hands as it hit the wall. The impact of the strike drove me to the floor, and I was vulnerable again.

I was out of weapons, and she started to come at me for what was going to be the final blow. As Laura got closer and closer, I felt the weight of regret that I wouldn't be spending the rest of a long and full life with Zach, and it not only saddened me, it made me mad.

I couldn't let it end like this.

I WASN'T ABOUT TO GIVE UP, NO MATTER HOW BAD IT looked. As I scrambled away from her on my hands and knees, Harry startled us both and found a way to free his legs enough to lash out and kick Laura in the thigh. The impact of it knocked her back, and I had a free second to try to save us one last time.

I scooped up a handful of dirt from the floor of the shed and threw it into her face. It blinded her for a second, but thankfully, that was all I needed. There was a square-edged shovel hanging from its peg nearby, and I grabbed it. I swung it at the back of Laura's head, and this time I didn't miss.

It made a satisfying thud as it struck home. Laura went down in a heap, and I grabbed Harry's shears and started to cut him loose.

"This is going to hurt," I said as I pulled the tape from his mouth in one swift motion.

He jerked as I did it. "Thanks. I could barely breathe." He looked over at Laura. "Is she dead?"

"I don't think so. I hope not." I didn't want her death on my hands, but if that's what it took to save our lives, I would find a way to live with it. It was a price I would willingly pay to go on living.

"Cut me loose, then. We can't trust her, Savannah."

I used the shears and broke him free of the tape. He rubbed his hands together as he said, "I thought I was going to lose the feeling in them. She's absolutely insane, isn't she?"

"I hope not," I said.

"Why is that?" he asked as I started to help him up.

"Because then she's not going to be able to stand trial."

"Savannah, look out," Harry shouted as he shoved me to the ground. I'd made a mistake taking my eyes off Laura, even for a second. She had apparently only been stunned by the blow to her head, no doubt cushioned by her thick hair, and while we'd been distracted, she'd retrieved her knife and had lunged toward me with it.

Harry saved me, but he took the blade straight into his chest.

I swear I could see a smile on Laura's face as the knife point found its mark. I didn't even hesitate as I picked the shovel up and hit her again with it while she was struggling for the knife with Harry, who was mortally wounded but unwilling to give up.

This time when she went down, I had a feeling she wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon, if she ever managed to do so again.

I STILL DIDN'T HAVE MY PHONE, AND WE WERE FIFTY YARDS from the office. It might as well have been fifty miles. I knelt down beside Harry. He was still breathing, but it was causing him pain. I could see him wince with every breath he took.

"Hang on, Harry. Do you have a cell phone?"

"Pocket," he said, his voice barely over a whisper.

"Hang on. I'm getting help."

As I grabbed the phone, he asked, "She dead?"

"I don't know, but she's not getting up anytime soon. Harry, I'm sorry I didn't hit her hard enough the first time."

"It's not how you start that counts; it's how you finish," he said, his breathing more labored with every moment.

"Stay still, Harry," I said as I dialed 911.

After telling them we needed two ambulances and the police, I hung up and turned to Harry.

His eyes were shut, and if he was still breathing, I couldn't tell.

It appeared that Harry had fought his final battle when I pa.s.sed out from my own loss of blood.

Chapter 20.

I WOKE UP IN A HOSPITAL BED, FEELING WOOZY FROM SOMETHING. "Did they drug me?" I asked when I saw Zach looming over me.

"You were in pain," he said. "Of course they did. How are you doing, sweetheart?"

"Harry's dead."

I started crying for the man who had died fighting to save my life, but when I looked at my husband, Zach smiled at me. "It was close, but they managed to patch him back up. He's going to be okay."

The relief flooded through me in wave after wave. Harry had taken the blade that had been meant for me, a sacrifice as n.o.ble as anyone can make for another human being, and I knew that I owed him my life.

And I was thrilled that I'd have the chance to thank him for it.

"Don't you want to know about Laura?" Zach asked me.

"I suppose so. I hope I didn't kill her, but if I did, I won't lose any sleep over it. She's the most wicked person I've ever met in my life."

Zach stroked my cheek lightly. "You won't have her blood on your hands. She's got a pretty sizable concussion, but she'll be fine."

"That's good. That means that she can stand trial for murder."

He brushed some of the hair out of my face, and saw that I was crying again. "Hey, are you okay?"

I tried to move my left arm, but it was still too sore, and every motion brought a new wave of pain. "I'm not, but I will be."

He looked into my eyes. "Savannah, I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you. I will never forgive myself for not being there when you needed me. We finally figured that someone planted those leaves at the hardware store, and the tip was too good to be true. Anyone could have had access to the back where the dryer was, and Rob never wavered on claiming that he was innocent. North and I had just started to realize that we'd been wrong when your call came in." He touched my face again lightly with his hand, as if he wanted to make sure that I was really there. "I can't believe I almost lost you."

"We both have Harry to thank for that."

"We will."

"Rob came by," Zach said. "He left you this."

It was a small piece of chestnut, sanded and waxed, buffed to a perfect sheen. I took it and smiled as my fingers lightly touched the wood.

"What does it mean?" Zach asked.

"That things are going to be all right between us," I said. I shifted a little in my bed and felt a twinge of pain in my side. "How bad is my wound? Did the blade do any permanent damage?"

"There's going to be some rehab when you're feeling better, but all in all, you got lucky," he said.

"Funny, I don't feel lucky," I said.

"It could have been a great deal worse than it was. You should be out of here in three or four days, and after that, you can recover at home."

"As soon as I'm able to travel, I want to go to Alaska," I said.

He kissed my forehead. "There will be plenty of time to do that later," he said. "Right now, you need to rest."

"I made myself a promise back there, Zach, and I mean to honor it. With or without you, I'm going."

"We'll go as soon as the doctor clears you for travel, then," he said.

"Good. I need one more thing, and then I think I'll pa.s.s out again, if you don't mind."

He nodded. "I know what you're asking for. Tom and Barton are on their way. They were both pretty shook up about what happened, but I think I finally convinced them that you were going to be okay."

"That's good, but that wasn't what I wanted."

"Anything," he said as he stared into my eyes. The poor man seemed as though he wanted to burst out crying when he looked at me, but he was holding it together as long as he had to, and that was what made him strong in my eyes.

"I need a couple of pads and some pencils."

"Savannah, you can barely keep your eyes open," Zach said, "and one arm is useless at the moment. How on earth are you going to make a puzzle?"

"You're right; I can't work. At least not yet. I just want them around me. Having something familiar and safe right now means more to me than being able to make a puzzle."

"I'll have them here for you when you wake up again."

"Thank you," I said, immediately feeling better.

As I drifted off, I thought about how close I'd come to dying on that shed floor. If it hadn't been for Harry's act of bravery, I knew in my heart that I would be gone. I never took advantage of Uncle Barton's great wealth, but I was about to call in a pretty big favor. Harry needed a silent partner, someone who knew business and had a deep bank account to keep them going through hard times, and I knew my uncle was just the one to do it.

It was the least I could do for the man who had saved my life.

And I planned to hold Zach to his promise to take me to Alaska. From hearing my uncles talk about their trip there together, I knew that it would be the perfect place to start my recovery, surrounded by the men I loved.

I might even get a puzzle or two finished while I was there.

Stranger things had happened.

I wasn't exactly sure what the first puzzle would be, but I already had the snippet to accompany it written in my head.

Salvation sometimes comes from the strangest places. A friend can look like a foe, but in the end, the people we surround ourselves with are all that really matter in this life.

This puzzle is dedicated to Harry Pike, the man who saved my life, and to the memory of Joanne Clayton, who always wanted a puzzle of her very own.

Berkley Prime Crime t.i.tles by Casey Mayes.

A DEADLY ROW.

A KILLER COLUMN.

A GRID FOR MURDER.

Word and Math Puzzles.

NAME THAT COZY WRITER.

Example: AC Agatha Christie.

Initials: Hints: 1. LJB Cats.

2. CH Bookstore 3. CM Ag school.

4. TM Penn Dutch 5. MJ More cats 6. EDS I forget 7. LC Tea for 2.

8. JC Chocoholic 9. EF Patterns 10. EP Egypt