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car. Would you like one of them to drive you to the police station or ride with you?”
    Tess shook her head. “I think I’ll be fine. I’ll be going downtown. But I would appreciate having someone walk me to my car.”
    “Done. Let me know when you’re ready. I assume you’re turning everything over to the cops.”
    “Copies of everything she sent me, as well as Mary’s original flash drive.”
    He nodded. “This could be just a coincidence.”
    “I thought you didn’t believe in coincidences.”
    Taylor shook his head. “I want a security guard to ride with you, Tess.”
    Brett would want that too. “Okay” she said. “Give me a few minutes to compile everything. I’ll call you from my desk.”
    Taylor nodded. “I’m sorry, Tess.”
    “Me too. She was small, mousy, and had a soft voice. She was afraid. I could see that. And she was upset about the men who were killed in the accident.” An ache settled in her chest as she turned away to pull open the door.
    Back at her desk, she forwarded the files Mary emailed to Detective Buckler, and then loaded the files from the flash drive onto her computer, and emailed those to him as well. She compiled the research she had been doing, including the articles she’d run across, into a file but decided to hold that one back. He’d do his own investigation and find the same information. She didn’t want to plant suspicion in his mind in cases where nothing could have been going on. She called Taylor from her desk phone and put the flash drive into her purse.
    Five minutes later a security guard came into the newsroom and she gathered her purse and rose. “Tess Kelly,” she introduced herself as she approached him.
    “Sam Cather, Ms. Kelly. Mr. Taylor said you needed someone to ride to the police station with you.”
    “Yes. Did he explain why?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Are you sure you want to go with me?”
    He smiled. “I think we’ll be fine, Ms. Kelly.”
    All she could do was give him a choice. “You’re sure?”
    He nodded.
    At four o’clock the parking lot echoed nearly deserted. Their steps sounded gritty and loud in the late afternoon sunlight. A man dressed in a dark gray business suit got into his car. She caught a glimpse of a bright orange sticker on the bumper when he pulled through the parking slot and turned toward the exit. His brake lights flashed when he rolled to a stop, then screeched out of the parking lot and merged into traffic.
    Halfway across the lot, Tess tugged her keys from her purse and hit the button on the key fob to unlock her car.
    Sound hammered against her eardrums. Air rushed at her. Her car levitated, and fire and heat shot out from beneath it. The body flew apart. Tess was lifted off her feet from the blast and thrown backwards. She hit the asphalt shoulders first, hard, knocking the wind from her. A large piece of metal, blackened with heat, landed to her right. She rolled away from it and covered her head.
    The security guard writhed upon the ground to her left, holding his jaw. Blood streamed down his face.

Chapter Four
    ‡
    F rom the drop site, Brett took point on the hike. The reassuring weight of his M 91A2 sniper rifle hung from his shoulder while he periodically checked the coordinates with the GPS and his compass. The constant buzz of insects and the call of night birds covered the sound of their movements through the tall grass, while a quarter moon illuminated their path. The damp, raw smell of greenery permeated the air.
    His body armor trapped the heat generated by his activity, causing a sheen of sweat to cling to his skin. A short distance outside the village they paused to report in to their extraction team. After making contact, he took advantage of the break to drag a black sweatband from one of his many pockets and roll it around his head, then clamped his Boonie hat over it.
    Although their faces were painted and their individuality blurred, he’d learned each man’s walk, the way they