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service that allowed him to access the details of nearly anybody’s life. It required nothing more than a few keystrokes. The Walsh name provided him with tons of financial facts. Hank’s dad, being a transportation and logistics mogul, drew plenty of media attention. On the board of two major charities, a library, and a children’s hospital, Anthony Walsh’s wealth could buy a lot of silence. Kaycie was convinced the girl had been murdered. The old man had probably spoiled his kid to the point he believed himself to be above the law.
      Hank’s background read like a rap sheet. In and out of drug rehab, traffic tickets for DUI, kicked out of college for cheating. His current employment showed to be Walsh FasTrak Transportation, a division of Walsh Enterprise, Inc.  
    Works for Daddy. Imagine that.  
    The kicker was his current probation. He’d pled out on an attempted sexual assault charge three years ago, trading jail time for a healthy fine and five years probation. Anthony Walsh’s baby boy would have the rest of his sentence tacked on if found guilty of rape within the next two years.
    However, if found guilty of murder, Hank would hang around on death row for years while his appeals ran their course, but the state would eventually give the victim’s family closure—via lethal injection. Seemed like a waste of time and money to Nate. Thirty-eight cents for a bullet was cheaper and quicker. Any man who’d hurt a woman didn’t deserve more.  
    If Nate proved Hank had hurt Kaycie, the state might not have to pay for a trial.
    Next, he read up on Leann Vaughn and her family. A hard-nosed Baptist preacher, Harold had spoken to all manner of media after his daughter’s disappearance. No keeping her name a secret, her picture had been on every newspaper and TV in the state. Leann’s mother stood next to her father in every picture, clinging to his arm. Eyes sunk back in her head and lips turned downward, Patricia Vaughn appeared to be on her last leg.  
    With all his research, Nate saw nothing to indicate Hank Walsh was anything more than a sleaze-bag rapist. Human trafficking or murder would be a hard rap to hang on him.  
    A dead girl. Two attempts to kidnap Kaycie. Hell, none of it made sense. If she had learned too much, why snatch her? Why not just kill her too? One well-placed shot and their problem would be solved.  
    Nate turned his attention to locating Marcus. Finding his phone number didn’t take long. Always the quiet one of the group, Marcus hadn’t changed in that regard. He wasn’t forthcoming with his personal information, but he readily agreed to help out. Through the entire call, he didn’t mention his dead wife and neither did Nate.
    Nate rubbed sleep-deprived eyes with the heels of his hands. He hadn’t planned on looking up Kaycie. The past was better left dead. Those days were gone, just as he would be when the next job came in. Until then, he was her bodyguard.
    He saved everything he’d found on the Walsh family and the Vaughn case to a flash drive. Having second thoughts, he made hard copies then tossed the lot into an old leather briefcase.
    He dragged his tired ass out to his pickup. He’d driven away from Kaycie’s apartment worried. Now it had blossomed to full-blown concern for her life. He drove away with a gnawing foreboding in his gut.

Chapter 6
    Most of Kay’s neighbors had left for work, leaving the parking lot with only a few cars. So why, standing under the morning sun, did she feel like a bug under a microscope? If she whirled around, would somebody be right behind her?  
    She dropped her hand to her hip. The Glock 22 riding there gave her a measure of comfort.  
    She hurried to catch up with Holly, who waited next to her car. Holly wore blue slacks with a matching blouse. Red parrots dangled from her neck and ears. Her blond hair, tied in a ponytail, sported a red streak coordinated to match the birds. Kay glanced down at her gray slacks, ivory short-sleeve