Lucas withdrew a stick of gum from his pocket and unwrapped it. He could tolerate the rain even though he disliked it. He had worked in worse and it would give him good cover. It wouldn't affect a bullet. A few more hours, and this job would be over.

Shari would be dead.

He hoped she had an enjoyable last meal.

Marcus was relieved to see Kate, to hear firsthand that Jennifer was reacting well to the latest treatments, to have a chance to say thanks again to Lisa for the work she had done in the last few weeks. He led them to the house.

Kate and Shari shared a long hug. Kate turned and looked at Marcus, her arm still around Shari. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm hungry Let's fix dinner and talk afterward," Kate suggested.

"What sounds good?" Marcus asked.

Kate grinned. "Pizza. We girls will make it, you three guys go talk."

Marcus looked at his two sisters, then at Shari. He sensed a girl talk conspiracy forming. "I don't know about this-"

Lisa pushed him toward the door. "Go."

Marcus went. He settled in the library with Dave and Quinn. They spent an hour reviewing the security arrangements for Shari's testimony "We'll keep her safe, Marcus," Dave reassured.

"Lucas is out there somewhere. He's going to have found out when and where the grand jury testimony will be by now. Is there anything we are missing?'"

"We're ready, Marcus," Quinn agreed. He glanced at his watch and got to his feet. "I'll be out on the perimeter."

Marcus went to check on dinner.

He walked back toward the kitchen, following the laughter. He stopped at the door, couldn't stop a chuckle. Susan had turned the kitchen over to them; the place was a mess. There was as much sauce on Kate and Shari as there was on the pizzas.

"I thought you said you were going to make pizzas? This looks like a war zone."

"We're being...creative," Shari replied.

It was enough to set Kate off into another peal of laughter; it was obvious they had both crossed into the giggle zone where everything was funny Marcus smiled, for the laughter was contagious. Shari needed a little relief; it was absolutely the best thing in the world for her. He paused beside her at the counter and snitched a sample of the grated cheese. "Put green peppers on my half."

"Half?."

"I'm hungry"

There were four pizzas in the making, she scanned them. "With or without mushrooms?"

"Without." He pointed to the pepperoni pizza. "That one."

"Kate, did you leave onions off one?" Dave leaned around the doorway to ask.

She scowled-she hadn't-and she began picking them off the pizza she hadjust finished. "Just because you dislike kissing me with onions on your breath..."

"Your breath," he corrected with a grin.

"I hope you recognize what a sacrifice this is. I happen to like onions."

Marcus, watching the interchange, stored it away as a memory never to be lost. He liked seeing Kate happy "What kind of cheese do you want, Marcus?"

He glanced back at Shari. She had both provolone and mozzarella grated. He leaned over and kissed her. "Both."

"What was that for?"

"No reason." He'd just left Lisa and Kate speechless. He didn't know if Shari would appreciate him saying that. "Call us when the pizza is done." Dinner was filled with laughter.

When it finished, they moved to the libra and the mood changed, turning somber. Marcus tugged Shari down beside him on the couch. It was still raining out, and it was time to talk about the case. "Lisa, you've got the floor. Take us through what we know."

"Do you want me to argue for the prosecution or for the defense?" It was a telling comment. "Both," Marcus replied.

Lisa leaned back in her chair, folded her hands, and settled herself as she organized her thoughts. "On Wednesday July 5 Connor checked into the Jefferson lenaissance Hotel to hold secret merger talks under the guise of attending the judicial conference. We know he came to the conference for more sinister reasons.

"On Friday night, during the evening program, he slipped into Carl's hotel room. He shot Judge Whitmore when he came back to his room at 10:20 P.M. He tried to shoot Shari, did hit Joshua and William. He fled up the stairs to the thirteenth floor and entered room 1323. There he stripped off the hairpiece he wore and changed his suit and his shoes. "We think his planned celebratory drink turned out to be one of anger instead, for he hurled the glass-he was drinking Scotch by the way-at the wall and then had to clean up the broken glass. The guard at the fourteenth telecommunication center saw Connor at the merger discussions shortly after 1I P.M. He checked out of the hotel the next day at 10:14 A.M.

"What we have for evidence-in Carl's room; the shell casings, a thread from the shooter's suit, bloody shoe prints, the fact the shooter is left-handed. From room 1323-we have a trace of Carl's blood on the carpet, threads that match the suit, and blood on the glass slivers."

Lisa sighed. "Arguing for the defense-I can find a reasonable way to explain away all of our evidence. Without the gun, the hairpiece, the shoes, there is nothing direct. Even the DNA can be shot down because, one, there is not enough to repeat the test by the defense making it liable to challenge, and two, it doesn't say if it was Frank or Connor and that means reasonable doubt.

"The fact that Connor is clean, not even a parking ticket, and Frank is known to work for Titus and is dead makes it too easy to pin him for the murder. And Connor has an airtight alibi for when Shari was shot at the church, so that says it was Titus and Frank acting alone. Connor can argue he cut himself off from his family ages ago, and the beautiful thing is, he has."

"Nothing links Frank to Connor?"

"NO."

"Can we prove it was Titus behind killing Carl?" Quinn asked.

"Not without Connor. And beyond Shari direct testimony, we've got nothing else we can use as leverage. The case is circumstantial."

Shari sat forward on the couch, for the first time entering into the conversation. "My eyewitness testimony is the difference in this case."

"Yes."

"No wonder he wants me dead." She squeezed Marcus's hand. "When do we leave?" The rain was still coming down heavy outside the windows. "Two hours, maybe three."

She got to her feet. "I'm going to go finish packing."

Lucas had long since accepted being cold and wet. As time passed he considered his options from all angles. He had hoped to see the rain come to an end before sunset but it showed no signs of abating. The airstrip below was deserted; the perimeter patrols around the house were doing their best to cope with the rain. And while he could wait this out, they couldn't. Shari had to be in lichmond tomorrow.

Would they decide to drive out, take a commercial flight? He had to stop her here.

He slowly rose from the ground, a dark shadow appearing where there had been nothing before.

Twenty-one.

M.

arcus leaned his shoulder against the doorpost of the guest room and watched Shari as she absentmindedly fingered a rose petal from the vase on the dresser. He tried to arrange for flowers to be brought in every week, partly because he loved to write the cards and partly because he loved to see that sparkle appear in her eyes. "You're welcome to take them with you if you like."

She turned and smiled, albeit slightly sad. "No, that's okay."

"Can I help with anything?"

She shrugged her shoulder. "I'm packed."

"Just not ready to go."

"NO."

"You may get your wish. I came to tell you the storm appears to be getting worse." A rolling crack of thunder outside punctuated his words. "I see what you mean."

"We may end up flying out at 2 A.M. I'm sorG for that. It will mean a broken night of sleep."

"Don't worG about it. I doubt I'll sleep much ana I'll need the distraction."

"Tomorrow is just another step toward justice. Don't be afraid of it." "I'm not. I know you'll keep me safe."

He knew the words that would most reassure her. He meant them. "I'm also trusting Jesus to keep you safe."

She absorbed those words slowl and then her smile blossomed. "That progress, Marcus."

"Yes. Some." He let himself share her smile. "Ask me what I think in a month, by then it might have a little more confidence to it."

"It doesn't have to be a leap back, Marcus. Slow and steady is good tOO."

"Hand me your bag."

When she did, he closed his hand over hers and leaned down to gently kiss her, letting it linger. "Something to think about while you are tucked away at Quantico."

"Quinn should be back by now." Dave strode into the den where Marcus and Kate were watching the weather report. "He went out to walk the perimeter and he's not back."

Marcus instantly tensed and reached for his radio. "Quinn, come back." Only the static of the storm was heard. "Quinn."

He looked out the window to the darkness lit by the lightning.

He had made the same mistake at the church. It was a perfect night for a sniper. The house was lit up like a beacon. "Kate, kill all the lights except the living room and get everyone down in the cellar."

She was already moving, her pistol out and safety clicked off. "Where is it?"

"The breezeway built on behind the kitchen. Move aside the planters and you'll see the wooden doors of the old storm cellar. Dave, you're with me."

Marcus grabbed the dark jacket and cap still dripping from his last walk around the perimeter forty minutes ago. There were eighteen men on that perimeter. Quinn being off the air-he was down, or he was hunting. Marcus was heading toward the side door of the house, his nine-millimeter Glock in his hand, when he saw Shari in the hall walking toward him. The fear was intense. "Kate."

"She's covered. Go."

Marcus and Dave slipped out into the rain.

A cold hard driven rain struck his face. Marcus blinked and waited for his eyes to adjust to the night. On any other night they would be patrolling with night vision goggles, but wearing them when lightning struck would do permanent eye damage. They had pulled the perimeter in to compensate. Good move or bad? It was too late to second-guess that decision.

Dave pointed west and Marcus nodded, then turned east toward the fence line where he had been sketching that morning, where Shari had joined him.

Jesus, don't let me down. I've got serious trouble here.

He ducked under the railing.

Quinn materialized beside him. "He'S here. I saw him with a sniper rifle silhouette for a moment down by the hanger. He'S working his way around the barn to get line of sight to the house. The perimeter is pulling back even tighter to the house."

"Good. Don't let him get past."

Quinn squeezed his shoulder and disappeared.

Shari found the sound of thunder muted by the storm cellar eerie. Marcus, Quinn, and Dave were out in this, not to mention the other men of the security detail she had come to know and like.

"Where two or three are gathered together...this counts," Kate said softly.

"Keep them safe," Shari said.

"Amen."

"What are you two talking abouO" Lisa asked, curious.

"We'll explain later," Kate replied, sharing a look with Shari.

"What was thaO" Shari was determined not to be the most nervous one of the three of them, but she couldn't help it. Something had just brushed by her foot.

Lisa found a flashlight on the shelf by the stairs, illuminating the dark, dry earth out of the reach of the one bare overhead bulb.

Shari took a rapid couple steps back. "That's a snake hole."

"Too big," Lisa replied, discounting that suggestion. "And not large enough for a gopher. Besides, look how dry and packed the ground is. It's abandoned."

She went poking around behind the storage shelves where boxes of canning jars were stored.

"Lisa, if we have company down here I would prefer not to know," Kate remarked.