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Sirens wailed eerily through the night There was a confusion of voices and figures, the bright glare of spotlights and headla pictures of Stricklin’s lifeless body Repp joined Cat’s vigil at her uncle’s side There was an ugly bruise on his jahere the revolver had dealt hi blow

The strong black coffee had a reviving effect on him, and Ty wiped at histhe scrape of his beard It was better than thirty-six hours since he’d last shaven and changed clothes—or slept The weariness had begun pulling at his bones

“I don’t knohich Dyson had a harder ti” —Silverton was seated across from hi—“discovering Stricklin’s treachery or accepting the te on that land, pending a court ruling on the ownership”

“I’reed and lifted the coffee cup to take another sip fro his account of the night’s events to one of the deputies, he didn’t feel like talking about Stricklin anymore

Sally Brogan stopped at the table “Refill?” The coffeepot was in her hand

“Not for ative turn of his head

“I was glad to hear that Culley caht,” Sally offered while she topped off the attorney’s cup

“The doctors are confident he’ll be up and around in no ti tissue, but luckily ita lot of blood, he wasn’t critically wounded” He drained the last of his coffee and set the cup on the table Drawing in a breath, he glanced at the lawyer “If we’ve covered everything you wanted to go over, I think I’ll be going”

“The rest can wait,” Silverton assured hi to head home”

“Not right away I’ve got a stop tothe chair away from the table to stand up

“If you’re looking for Tara,” Sally inserted, “she’s been living in one of the company houses, the one with the black shutters on the corner”

“Thanks” He dropped soe on the table for his coffee and left

It was a square and si the new coat of white paint on its boards There was a weariness to his slow strides as he left the pickup parked on the side of the street and went up the walk to the front door Ty paused, feeling the ravel of old excitement—the re her again His knuckles rapped lightly on the door

It opened at once, as if she had been on the other side, waiting for hi a picture of her dark beauty She had always possessed the power to stir him—and she had it still

“Hello, Tara” His whiskered face toughened his looks, darkening the slash of his mustache