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Lisa?”
    â€œIt’s possible,” he said flatly. “Down in Mexico, a ‘mule’ crossed him. He killed the man’s whole family except for one small child.”
    â€œThat’s what I thought. I sent Nels Coleman over to her ranch to stay nights in the bunkhouse. He used to work for the Treasury Department back in the late seventies.”
    â€œI know him. He’s a good man.”
    â€œYes, but not in Lopez’s class. Your guys are.”
    Ebenezer nodded. “I have to have good people. The government and I are more than noddingacquaintances, and I run a high-tech operation here. I can’t afford to let my guard down, especially now that I’ve got Sally to think of.”
    â€œIt’s been a long time since I’ve had to consider a woman,” Cy replied, his green eyes quiet and thoughtful.
    â€œLisa Monroe is sweet,” Ebenezer said. “She’ll love that child to death.”
    â€œShe’s like that,” Cy agreed, smiling. “I wish she wasn’t so bullheaded. I went by to see her this morning and found her out in the barn, trying to pull a calf all by herself with her bare hands.”
    Ebenezer chuckled. “I won’t turn your hair white by mentioning some of her other exploits, before she got pregnant.”
    â€œThis isn’t the first time she’s done something outlandish?”
    â€œLet’s see.” Ebenezer pursed his lips, recalling gossip. “There was the time she stood in the path of a bulldozer that was about to take down the huge live oak in the square that a peace treaty with the Comanche was signed under. Then she chained herself to a cage in the humane society when they were going to put down half a dozen dogs without licenses.” He glanced at Cy. “The Tremayne brothers suddenly developed dog fever and between them, they adopted all six. Then therewas the time she picketed the new chain restaurant because they refused to hire immigrants…”
    â€œI get the idea,” Cy murmured dryly.
    â€œWe were all surprised when she married Walt. He was a real man’s man, but his job was like a religion to him. He didn’t want anything to tie him down so that he couldn’t advance in the agency. If he’d lived, that baby would have broken up the marriage for sure. Walt said often enough that he wasn’t sure he ever wanted children.” He shook his head. “He wasn’t much of a husband to her, at that. Most of us felt that he married her on the rebound from that model who dropped him. He felt sorry for Lisa when her dad died and she was left all alone. Even after the wedding, he flirted with every pretty woman he saw. Lisa went all quiet and stopped staying home when he was around. He wasn’t around much of that two months they were together, either. He volunteered for the undercover assignment the day they married. That shocked all of us, especially Lisa, and he got killed the same day he was introduced to Lopez.”
    â€œThey knew who he was,” Cy guessed.
    â€œExactly. And it was Walt’s first undercover assignment, to boot. The only reason Rodrigo hasn’t been discovered infiltrating Lopez’s distribution network is that he’s still a Mexican national and he has at leastone cousin who’s been with Lopez for years. The cousin would never sell him out.”
    â€œLucky man,” Cy remarked. “I hope we don’t get him killed.”
    â€œSo do I,” Eb said with genuine concern. “Rodrigo’s been in the business for a lot of years and he’s the best undercover man I know. If anybody can help us put Lopez away for good, it’s him. But meanwhile, we have to keep Lisa safe.”
    Cy went thoughtful. “She’s a kind soul.”
    â€œKind and naive,” Eb replied. “People take advantage of her. That baby will wrap her right around its finger when it’s born.”
    â€œI love