"You promise to call?"

She nodded. That wasn't really a promise.

She watched him leave, then sat back with her mother as her breathing became more labored.

Five hours later, Marguerite Rawson expelled her last breath.

Meredith leaned over and kissed her. "I'm sorry I couldn't find her in time," she said. "But I will find her if I have to search all my life."

Meredith stood. Beyond tears.

Beyond feeling.

Both would come later. She knew they would come. But now shock dulled the pain. It was as if she were someone else. Watching from a distance.

She wanted to call Gage. She wanted to lean against him and borrow his strength. She wanted to share parts of her life with him. Feelings. Emotions.

She'd never wanted to do that before.

Instead she signed papers. She made phone calls.

The funeral would be in four days. She delayed it because she simply needed the extra time. She had just buried one parent. She needed time before burying this one.

Perhaps she could find her sister before that happened.

It gave her purpose.

It even gave her comfort.

But the pain lurked deep inside. She knew it was going to overflow before long.

*Chapter Twenty-two*

'NEW ORLEANS'

Meredith called Sarah's cell phone from a pay phone in the hospital.

"My mother died this afternoon," she said.

"Oh, G.o.d," Sarah said. "What can I do?"

"Two things. Can you take care of Nicky for a few days? That's Mrs. Starnes's dog. I'm going out of town, and I'll be busy most of the time so I can't follow up on whether Mrs. Starnes's relatives want him. In the meantime ..."

"Where are you going?"

"Memphis," she said. "I'll be back in time for the funeral. You can reach me on the cell phone if there's an emergency."

"Do you really think you should go alone?"

"Yes. It's all I can do for her now."

"You will call me often?"

"I'll try to, but I don't want anyone to know where I'm going, and our office phones might be tapped. My phone at home was."

Silence for a moment.

Then, "My kids would love a dog for a few days. What else?"

Meredith sighed with relief. She really hadn't wanted to take the dog to a kennel.

"Will you take a cab to a car rental company and rent a car? Bring it back and park it in the office garage? I'll add the amount to your next paycheck. I want to avoid the press and anyone who might be trying to follow me."

A pause. "Perhaps you should stay here where Detective Gaynor can keep an eye on you." Concern laced every word.

"I need to get away for several days before the funeral. I'll be safe enough if no one knows where I am. And I want you to be careful while I'm gone."

"Maybe it's all over now," Sarah said. "Maybe Rick Fuller was responsible for everything that's happened. In any event, there's no reason for anyone to try to hurt me."

'Except you're close to me.'

But her mother's death was a natural one, if you could call someone wasting away natural. Her father ... well, that 'could' have been a simple hit-and-run, not intended murder. And Mrs. Starnes ... again, it could have been Fuller. Or a random burglary gone bad. "I still want you to be careful."

"I'm always careful. I worked in the DA's office, remember?"

"How are we on cases?"

"We've asked for continuances on our two court cases. You've just lost two parents. Becky and I can handle everything else."

"Thanks. I'll come in about four for the car."

"You'll keep in touch?"

"I'll only be gone two to three days. Maybe not that long. But I'll ring you every day at three on your cell phone."

"And seven every morning," Sarah insisted.

"And seven," Meredith agreed.

"Done," Sarah said. "And the dog?"

"I'll bring him up to the office. You can give me the keys to the rental then. Park it in a different part of the garage than where I usually park."

"Does Detective Gaynor know about this?"

"He has problems of his own, mainly because of me. I don't want him to get in more trouble."

"I'll continue working from this angle," Sarah said.

"No," Meredith said in a tone sharper than she'd intended. "The practice needs your attention. Let me take care of the other."

"Whatever you say, boss."

"I'll see you in an hour then?"

"Yes. And Meredith, I am so very, very sorry about your mother."

Meredith set the receiver back into place.

The two men met in the older man's library. Dusk shadowed the magnolia trees outside.

"We've lost the Rawson woman," the older man said.

"I thought you hired good men. They can't even find the stupid b.i.t.c.h that you talked me into marrying."

"I seem to remember a different scenario," the older man reminded him. "You wanted her."

Randolph glared at him. "Hire more men."

The older man looked at Randolph like he'd just grown two heads. "You want the world to know your wife has run away from you because she discovered you were going to have her killed? That would do a lot for your image among women. I trust the men who are looking for her now. They're the best in the business. And they know how to keep quiet."

"They can't be too good," Randolph said.

"They'll find her. And Meredith Rawson. As soon as she returns, we'll find a way to eliminate her as well. Perhaps a fire. Too many sedatives. A little carelessness after everything that has happened."

"Dammit, we have other problems. The police have found Carrick's body."

"They don't know who he is. They'll soon lose interest." The older man poured a gla.s.s of good brandy from a decanter, sat back and took an appreciative sip. "If you could have controlled your wife better, none of this would have been necessary."

"She's your daughter."

"The h.e.l.l she is."

They glared at each other, each concentrating on the other's failings.

"Perhaps Meredith Rawson will lead us to Holly," Randolph Ames said.

"I made sure we covered all those tracks. I doubt she can discover who Holly is, much less find her. Charles can't help Meredith Rawson now. I thought he was frightened enough not to say anything, but I knew from our last conversation that he was becoming even more concerned about his daughter than for himself. We were lucky to recover those letters. I just don't know how much he told her that last night."

"We should have had her killed in the first place."

"We couldn't while Charles was alive. He would have sent us all to prison. His daughter was the biggest hold we had on him."

"But now ..."

"Now all bets are off. But it needs to be an accident."

"You think anyone will believe an accident now?"

The man behind the desk shrugged. "Probably not, but it will be hard as h.e.l.l to prove. Just as in Charles Rawson's death it is impossible to prove the perpetrator was anything but a drunk."

"And if Gaynor doesn't accept it?"

"Some planted evidence. People already think he's dirty. Killing that officer didn't help."

"He'll be exonerated on that. Too many witnesses."

"But it all adds up to trouble. I've already planted a few seeds."

"I hear Gaynor is no fool."

"He has enough problems with that shooting last night. That call telling Fuller that he was going to be bounced from the force because of Meredith Rawson was one of my better ideas."

Randolph chuckled. "Remind me not to get on your bad side."

"You're too valuable to me. I have plans for you."

They both had a second gla.s.s of brandy.

'MEMPHIS'.

Meredith reached the outskirts of Memphis by midafternoon. She'd spent the night in Baton Rouge.

She appreciated the anonymity of a hotel room after all that had happened.

She'd taken precautions. She'd packed a good pair of slacks and silk blouse in her briefcase along with a few necessities and her laptop. No suitcases to signal that she was leaving town.

She took some obscure roads leading out of New Orleans that she'd learned years ago, always keeping an eye on the rearview mirror. She stopped at a diner where she had a wide view of the road.

When she felt as if she had thrown off any potential tail, she started to relax. Driving always relaxed her. Something about the road and the rich green of Louisiana and Mississippi helped her clean the cobwebs from her mind.

Unfortunately, none of that diverted her thoughts from Gage.

She'd left a message with his office that she would be out of town for several days. She did not want to involve him in her personal quest any longer. It was too dangerous for him. Not only for him personally, but for his job.

She also knew he needed to stay in New Orleans while the shooting investigation continued. He needed to be available to answer questions.

She had caused him enough grief.

But he'd established a firm place in her consciousness. In her mind and in her heart.

She cared about him in a way she'd never cared about any man before. There was excitement and sensuality and physical pleasure, but he also attracted her in so many other ways. He did things his way, but he did them with an unconscious integrity.