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his hands into his hip pockets. He bowed his head for a moment, almost resting his chin on his chest, before looking at her again. “I’m going ahead with it as planned. Dad, Jack, and Eddy agree. They’ve pledged their support. It was going to be a tough fight before, but nothing I was afraid to tackle. Now, with this, it’s going to be even tougher. Still, I’m committed.”
    Tate Rutledge had been making news recently. That’s why his name and face were familiar to her, though she had never met him personally. He was hoping to win the primary election in May and then go up against an incumbent senator in the November election.
    “I won’t shirk any of my responsibilities to you and Mandy while you’re recovering, but going to Congress is what I’ve been preparing for all my life. I don’t want to wait another six years to run or I’ll lose the momentum I’ve built. I need to do it now.”
    After consulting his wristwatch, he said, “I’d better get back to Mandy. I promised to feed her some ice cream. With her arms bandaged and all, well,” he added, glancing toward her bandaged hands, resting in their splints, “you can understand. The psychologist has the first session with her today. Nothing to worry about,” he rushed to say. “More precautionary than anything. I don’t want her to be permanently traumatized.”
    He paused, looking down at her meaningfully. “That’s why I don’t think she should see you just yet. I know that sounds cruel, but these bandages would scare her half to death, Carole. Once the surgeon rebuilds your face and you start looking like yourself, I’ll bring her in for short visits. Besides, I’m sure you don’t feel up to seeing her now, either.”
    Avery struggled to speak, but her mouth had the breathing tube taped inside it. She had overheard a nurse say that smoke inhalation had rendered her vocal cords temporarily inoperable. She couldn’t move her jaw anyway. She batted her eye to convey her distress.
    Misconstruing the reason for it, he laid a consoling hand on her shoulder. “I promise that your disfigurement is temporary, Carole. Dr. Sawyer says it looks much worse to us than it actually is. He’ll be in later today to explain the procedure to you. He knows what you looked like before and guarantees that you’ll look the same when he gets finished.”
    She tried to shake her head no. Tears of panic and fear overflowed her eye. A nurse came in and edged him aside. “I think you’d better let her rest now, Mr. Rutledge. I’ve got to change her bandages anyway.”
    “I’ll be with my daughter.”
    “We’ll call if you’re needed,” the nurse told him kindly. “Oh, and while I’m thinking of it, they called from downstairs to remind you that Mrs. Rutledge’s jewelry is in the hospital safe. They took it off her when she arrived in the emergency room.”
    “Thanks. I’ll get it later.”
    Now! Get it now,
Avery’s mind screamed. It wouldn’t be Carole Rutledge’s jewelry in the hospital safe—it would be hers. Once they saw it, they would realize that a horrible mistake had been made. Mr. Rutledge would learn that his wife was dead. It would come as a blow to him, but it would be better that he discover the error now rather than later. She would lament the Rutledges’ tragic loss, but Irish would be overjoyed. Dear Irish. His bereavement would end.
    But what if Mr. Rutledge failed to retrieve his wife’s jewelry before the plastic surgeon began to change her face into Carole Rutledge’s?
    That was her last conscious thought before the pain-relieving medication claimed her once again.
    * * *
    Tate will never live to take office.
    She was reliving the nightmare again. She tried desperately to ward it off. Again, she couldn’t see him, but she could feel his sinister presence hovering above her, just beyond her field of vision. His breath fanned across her exposed eye. It was like being taunted in the dark with a sheer veil—unseen but felt,