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Dustin lowered his head, hiding a smile He looked back at Crow "Well, let lad to introduce you to General Bixby He’s sitting at the bar right now, next to the rin to Crow’s face Dustin hadn’t been sure the man was really capable of a smile

"We haven’t met formally, no, but we’ve been aware of his presence"

"I wasn’t sure if I was being tested or not" Dustin leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table as he looked at Jackson Crow, then Dustin and finally the third man, Malachi Gordon

"Why now?" he asked

It was Gordon who answered hiht quickly He was privy to law-enforce about a kidnapping or murder in the city of Nashville

"I aone for a long tih, don’t you?"

He did, except that he hadn’t been there in a while His acade in London His little sister, Rayna, had grown up to be a country er But she’d been on tour for the past year He’d caught up with her--and his folks--for a few days in London earlier in the summer

"Yes, but I haven’t been back in about a year," he said

"That’s not too long," David said "Have you ever heard of a man named Marcus Danby?" Malachi Gordon asked him

"Marcus Danby" Dustin repeated slowly The name was familiar "Of course Yes," he said "He founded a therapy center He brings in clients--patients--to ith horses Or dogs, sometimes He was the black sheep of a very elite fa known toed his ways The Horse Farm is extremely well-respected"

"Danby is dead," Gordon said abruptly

"I’m sorry to hear that How did he die?"

"Fell into a ravine," Gordon told hio but the autopsy report was just released He had drugs in his system"

"That’s a pity The man must’ve been clean for at least twenty years," Dustin said "What does this--"

"So We’d like you to investigate," Jackson Crow broke in

"You don’t believe it was a fall--or you don’t believe he was on drugs?"

"Neither," Malachi replied

"Are the police suspicious?" Dustin asked

"No" Crow shook his head

"Then I don’t really understand--"

"Special Agent Blake, we often find ourselves slipping in when local law enforcement doesn’t see an immediate problem," Crow said

"I see"

Malachi Gordon told hio in as a patient"

"As a patient You want ht on by substance abuse when no one believes itother than it appeared?"

"We have more than a suspicion that he was murdered," Malachi said bluntly

Dustin stared at him "How? Why? I’m in the bureau I knoorks We’re usually called in when there’s a suspicion that a serial killer is at large or when a killer is crossing state lines"

"Agent Blake," Jackson Crow began "We move in on cases e’re afraid the truth may never be known because of unusual circu in as a unit We send one or two people and they assess the situation for us"

Dustin was surprised and, he had to admit, disappointed This didn’t sound like a case that orthy of the Krewe