She nodded. “Yes, but you have a big family. They’re very nice,” she added, holding up a hand. “But I’m a solitary person.” She looked very worried. “I’m odd, you know. I don’t fit in with other people.”
“You fit in with me,” he pointed out and he smiled.
She smiled back. “Of course. But...”
“Don’t force her,” Clara said softly. “We’ve both had too much of that in our lives, both physical and verbal.”
“Okay,” Tank said at once. “I won’t.” He looked at Merissa with a speaking expression. “But I’m going to worry.”
Merissa smiled. “We’ll be okay.”
“Yes, they will,” Carson said quietly, returning to the porch. “I’m moving in here.”
“What?” three voices said in unison.
Carson glared at the two men. “Rourke can’t stay here and watch you, too,” he told Tank. “Besides, how do you think the rogue agent knew about her husband?” He indicated Clara.
“He bugged the phones,” Tank said. “But we found all the bugs, right?” he asked Rourke, who’d done the sweep.
“We were talking about Bill before you found them,” Clara confessed sadly. “Including where he worked. I’m sorry. It was my fault.”
Tank put an arm around her. “Nothing is your fault,” he said gently. “The man was an animal. The world is better off without him. I’m just sorry about the way it went down.”
“Me, too,” Clara said. “Shot down like an animal...and just before Christmas.” Her eyes teared up.
“It will be all right, Mama,” Merissa said, hugging her close. “We all have to face what he did. He was violent and he hurt us. He hurt other people, too. His end was like his life, a mirror of the damage he did.” She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, too. Whatever else he was, he was still my father. But at least we don’t have to live in fear of him anymore.”
“It’s just, the way he died,” Clara said. She wiped her eyes. “He had a girlfriend, didn’t he? Should we try to find her?”
Tank and Cody Banks exchanged meaningful looks. There might be clues to the man’s identity in Bill Blake’s circle of friends in California. “That’s not a bad idea,” Tank said.
Cody nodded.
“I have a friend who lives in San Diego,” Rourke said. “I’ll get him on it. If you have a contact there in the sheriff’s department,” he told Cody, “that would help. His friends and acquaintances might be able to point us to clues about the rogue agent’s identity.”
“I agree,” Cody said. “Good thinking. I’ll get on it.”
A van pulled up in the driveway and a man in jeans and a sweatshirt got out, along with a younger man who stayed in the van. The coroner was tall, with thinning hair and a sad face.
“The coroner,” Cody introduced. “Mack Hollis.”
“Hello,” he greeted them. “I understand there was a death?”
Cody nodded. “My man is standing over the body. I’ll show you where it is.”
The two men went around the house. The man in the van climbed out and followed closely behind.
Clara’s face was very pale. “I don’t want to be out here when they bring him around...”
“He’ll be in a body bag,” Tank said gently. “You won’t have to see him. But we can go inside if you’d rather.”
“I’d rather,” Clara said gently.
Carson followed Tank and the two women into the house. The women looked at him with curiosity and a little uneasiness.
“I’ll be a model houseguest,” Carson told them politely. “I’ll be outside most of the time, observing, setting up a perimeter. I’ll only need a room to sleep in at night.”
Merissa was nervous. It showed.
Carson actually smiled. “I haven’t ever hurt a woman.”
Merissa relaxed a little and managed a smile in return. “Okay.”
“You can have the guest bedroom,” Clara said gently. “It’s sort of cluttered...”
“Leave it that way. I don’t mind clutter. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll get to work.” He nodded to Tank and Rourke and went back outside.
“Well,” Rourke told Tank, who was irritated, “he’s got a point. You’re the danger magnet right now. If you stay here, you put them in even more danger.”
“I know that,” Tank gritted. “That doesn’t mean I like it.”
Merissa went right up to him. “We’d feel safer with a man here, especially after what just happened,” she said. “It’s okay.”
He relaxed. He smoothed his big hand over her hair. “I worry.”
She smiled. Her eyes were soft with affection. “I like that.”
He chuckled.
CODY CAME BACK into the cabin a few minutes later. The women had made coffee, and Rourke and Tank were sharing a pot with them.
“Coffee?” Merissa asked the sheriff.
“Sorry, no time,” he replied. “We’ve got him loaded up and our investigator is out there doing the walkaround with a crime scene technician. It will take a little time to complete, but they won’t bother you,” he told the women. “The investigator will need to speak with you. And I’ll need a report. If I give you the forms, can you fill them out and have them dropped by my office?”
“Certainly,” Clara said for both of them. She teared up again. “He was a bad man. But when we first married, he was so gentle and kind...” She shook her head. “I never understood what changed him.”
“Life happens,” Cody said quietly. “I am sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” Merissa said.
Cody looked at Tank. “What time is supper?”
Tank chuckled. “Six sharp. You don’t have to dress. We’re informal.”
Cody grinned. “Okay. See you then.”
Tank and Rourke stayed until the investigator was finished and the women had given their information to him. The crime scene technicians packed up and left with him, with trace evidence, photographic evidence and measurements intact.
“I’ll get home,” Tank said. “I hate to leave you, both of you, here.” He sighed. “But Carson’s right. I don’t want to make you a target. It’s me he’s after.”
Merissa hugged him. “Thanks for caring.”
“Silly woman,” he teased. He bent and kissed her gently, in front of them all. “I have to take care of my girl.”
She beamed. “Don’t go out alone.”
He grinned. “Never.” He glanced at Rourke. “He wouldn’t let me.”
“Dead right,” Rourke replied. “And don’t be afraid of Carson,” he added gently. “He’s not what he seems. He’s a good man. He’ll take care of you.”
“He’s very...” Clara searched for words.
“Yes.” Rourke laughed. “He’s very everything. But he’ll never let you down.”
“Okay,” Merissa said.
“I’ll call you later,” Tank told Merissa. He kissed her again and he and Rourke left the cabin.
On the way home, he stopped by a local jewelry store. Christmas was almost on them, and he meant to get her something very special indeed. She liked rubies. He smiled as he picked out a set of rings.
