“Then we started interviewing the neighbors,” the chief said.

“Did anyone give you anything more on the car or the shooter beyond what we saw?” Ty asked.

“Which amounted to nothing useful,” Lacey said in frustration.

“You were running for your life. Nobody’s holding lack of detail against you,” Hunter said. “Besides, we have a car color. I wouldn’t call that nothing.” Hunter shifted his gaze to the chief of police.

The man nodded his agreement. “And one of the neighbors reported the same car color you did, along with some new information.”

“What did they see?” everyone asked at the same time.

The chief chuckled. “Ty, your mother’s best friend and the neighbor across the street-”

“Mrs. Donelly?” Ty asked.

The other man nodded.

“Viola Donelly said she was sitting in her study that overlooks the street reading the latest John Grisham novel when a tan car pulled up in front of her house.”

“Did she see the man get out of the car? Did she see who shot Marc?” Molly asked.

“Unfortunately no,” the chief said. “But Viola managed to catch the first few numbers of the license plate,” he said, obviously pleased. “We traced it back to Anna Marie Costanza, of all people.”

Molly’s gaze jerked toward Hunter.

Lacey knew what the other woman was thinking. Hunter believed Anna Marie had told her brother about Hunter’s court case, and her brother, the trustee, had talked the judge into moving the date, keeping Hunter too busy to get involved with Lacey. Then her brother, the trustee, had paid Dumont a visit soon after he’d met with Lilly. And not long after that, Marc Dumont was shot while paying Lacey an unwelcome house call.

Lacey doubted she could explain it all to the police, but somehow, Ty summed it up for the chief in a clear, concise manner.

The big man scratched his head. “You’re saying you think Paul Dunne’s involved in the shooting?” the chief asked, surprised.

“And the attempts on Lilly’s life,” Ty said.

Molly jumped up from her seat, more animated than she’d been all morning. “Did Anna Marie ever say she lent her car to her brother, Paul?”

The chief shoved his hands into his front pants pocket. “Why?”

“Because she does that often. Anna Marie doesn’t drive the car much except to work. She says she likes to keep the engine running smoothly, so she has Paul drive it about once a week.”

Which meant Paul could have followed Uncle Marc to Lacey’s. But why would the trustee want Uncle Marc dead, Lacey wondered.

The chief shook his head. “She said her car was stolen.”

Hunter narrowed his gaze. “Had she reported it?”

“No.”

“And didn’t you find that suspicious?” Ty pushed the subject.

“We did, yes. But we don’t have the car, so we can’t dust it for prints. And even if we could, we now know finding Paul’s fingerprints wouldn’t amount to squat. There’s a good reason for them to be there.” Chief Otter shrugged. “Listen, guys, I see you have your theories and Ty, I trust your judgment, I really do. But in this case, you’re accusing an upstanding citizen of our town without a shred of proof. And that means we have to be careful.”

“Then search his house or his office. I’m sure you’ll find something.” Lacey pounded her fist against her thigh. “I don’t know what the link is between Uncle Marc and Paul Dunne but there is one. I’m sure of it.” Her voice cracked and she turned her head away in embarrassment.

Ty came up behind her chair and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“I’m sorry, but there’s no probable cause for a warrant. We’ll keep looking into it and when Marc Dumont regains consciousness, the hospital knows to call me immediately. Maybe he’ll reveal something of interest.”

“I’m not holding my breath,” Lacey muttered.

Ty squeezed her tight. He must have known a search warrant was asking for the impossible.

The chief apologized and went to check on her uncle’s status, leaving the four of them alone.

Lacey rose and started to walk away, unable to speak without screaming in frustration. She just couldn’t believe they’d hit a brick wall. Again. Three incidents and they were no closer to finding out who wanted her, and now her uncle, dead.

“I have an idea,” Molly said, stopping Lacey in her tracks.

Lacey pivoted. “I’m listening.”

“Anna Marie wouldn’t talk to the police but maybe she’ll talk to us.” Molly gestured between herself and Lacey. “She’s a good woman. She might be protecting her brother but there’s no way she knows she’s hurting people in the process. I really believe if we talk to her, she might break down and give us something to go on.”

Lacey nodded, slowly warming to the idea. “I like how you think.”

“I don’t,” Ty said. “I don’t want either of you going to question Anna Marie. If her brother is involved you’re putting yourselves in the direct line of fire.”

“Then come with us if you want to. But Molly’s idea is a good one and we’re going to talk to Anna Marie,” Lacey said, her tone leaving no room for argument.

She couldn’t allow Ty’s fear, or even her own, to sway her. They had to end this thing once and for all.

BEFORE THE MEETING with Anna Marie, Ty wanted to spend some time with his mother. Since Anna Marie wouldn’t be home from work until later, he had the afternoon to spend at the hospital. Hunter had gone back to work, though he’d promised he’d meet Molly for dinner later. Molly had tried to avoid seeing Hunter again today but Hunter had insisted. Things didn’t look good for the couple if Molly’s withdrawn attitude was anything to go by. Ty felt awful for his friend. And he hoped he wouldn’t find himself in a similar situation not too far in the future.

Ty had talked the chief into posting a plainclothes person in the hospital to keep an eye on Lilly, who very well could have been the target today, too. At the very least, the shooter might think Lilly could ID him and come after her to protect himself. Ty wasn’t taking any chances with her safety. While the women went to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee, they had an escort.

Meanwhile, Ty waylaid the food service cart in the hallway and picked up his mother’s tray. He knocked once and let himself in.

To his relief, Flo sat up against her pillows. Although she had an IV attached to her arm, the color had returned to her cheeks and she had a smile on her lips. A quick glance at the visitor’s chair revealed the reason.

“Hello, Dr. Sanford,” Ty said, setting the tray down on the mobile cart by the bed.

“Call me Andrew, please.” The other man rose and extended his hand.

Ty shook it, pleased his mother wasn’t alone and had someone in her life that obviously made her happy. She’d lived on her own for too long, Ty thought.

“Andrew, I’d like to have a word alone with my son,” his mother said.

The doctor strode to the bed, leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m going to visit some patients and I’ll be back soon.”

Ty waited until they were alone before pulling a chair up beside her. “You scared me,” he admitted.

“I scared myself.” She leaned back into the pillows. “The doctors say I can go about my normal routine though. There will be no repercussions.”

He nodded, then paused in thought. They had to talk about her relationship with Dr. Sanford, among other things lingering between them, Ty thought.

“I like him,” Ty said at last.

“Andrew?”

Ty nodded. “I like him because he seems to have your best interests at heart.” And he’d shown that by being respectful to the mother/son bond.

Flo smiled again, the one that left her face beaming. She deserved that kind of happiness.

“There’s something else I need to say.” Ty rose and walked to the window overlooking the parking lot. “Nice view,” he muttered.

His mother laughed. “It costs me extra.”

He grinned. Her sense of humor had returned, another good sign. “Mom…”

“The thing about loving someone is that you don’t need to rehash things,” his mother said, letting him off the hook.

He didn’t deserve it. “That might apply had we hashed things out to begin with. We didn’t. I didn’t let you. Oh, you explained taking Marc Dumont’s money and you said you’d done it for me, but my anger got in the way of hearing anything else.”

He ran a hand through his hair, the memory of the day he’d discovered his mother had taken money in exchange for giving Lilly room and board, vivid in his mind.

“All kids think their parents are saints. It hurts to find out we’re human,” Flo said.

Ty stared out the window. “The thing is, it wasn’t you I was angry at so much as myself.” The admission wasn’t an easy one for him to make.

“Why in the world would you be angry at yourself?” his mother asked.

Ty didn’t turn around. He couldn’t face his mother while confronting issues that had haunted him for years. But while she’d been in surgery, Ty had done a lot of thinking. With Lilly’s head resting on his shoulder, he’d contemplated losing the mother he loved, and he forced himself to deal with what had really bothered him about learning she’d taken the money.

In reality, Flo’s taking the cash had probably saved Lilly’s life. To be mad at his mother for giving Lilly a good home in exchange for cash was ridiculous. It had just been easier to be upset with his mother than to face his anger at himself.

“It’s complicated,” he said. “All the while I was upset with you for not telling me Lilly wasn’t really a foster kid, that I was angry at you for keeping the money a secret, I’d been keeping a huge secret of my own.” He breathed in deep. “For years, I let you grieve, knowing Lilly was really alive.” His pulse pounded in his temple as he spoke.

“We both made mistakes,” his mother said. “Or should I say we both made choices that we felt were necessary at the time. Who knows? Maybe they were necessary,” she said, once again letting him off the hook.

He wasn’t ready to do the same thing for himself, at least not yet. Hopefully he’d reach that point, but first, he needed to say all that was on his mind.

“What else is bothering you, Tyler? What are you still holding inside of you?” his mother asked.

“Besides letting you suffer for ten years?” This time he turned, determined to face his mother while he admitted his mistakes.

His flaws.

His faults.

“What did I do? I sent Lilly off to New York alone. She was all of seventeen years old and I didn’t go after her. Hell, I didn’t even check on her for five goddamn years,” Ty said in disgust.

And he’d used a ridiculous promise never to talk about that night again as an excuse for staying away. Then when he had discovered she was alive and living in Manhattan, he hadn’t gone to find her. Instead he’d blamed her for not coming back to him. Talk about the height of arrogance. But it had taken Lilly’s return, her nearly being killed and his mother’s heart attack to open his eyes.

He’d been a coward, Ty thought.

“How old were you when we concocted that scheme to stage my death?”

Ty jerked away from his mother’s bedside toward the unexpected sound of Lilly’s voice. She stood in the doorway, tapping her foot and staring at him in disbelief.

“I believe she asked you a question, son,” Flo said, a smile pulling at her mouth.

Ty cleared his throat. “I was eighteen.”

“And you think that made you so much older and wiser than me? You think that you should have known better?” Lilly asked, stepping into the room. “I’m sorry for interrupting, but I’m glad I did.”

“So am I.” Flo gestured for her to come in and stay. “She’s got a point, you know.”

Ty scowled. “Don’t you two gang up on me,” he muttered.

“Well, who appointed you everyone’s guardian and savior?” Lilly asked. “Don’t get me wrong. I’ve always been grateful that you looked out for me. Who knows what would have happened if I’d been forced to go back to Uncle Marc instead of staying in foster care with you? But nobody placed you in charge and certainly nobody designated you as the one who always had to get everything right. Cut yourself a break, Ty. I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you, but you just aren’t perfect.” She threw her hands in the air in disgust.

He let out a long puff of air. She didn’t know it but she’d answered one important question. She hadn’t heard them talking about his mother taking the money from her uncle. That secret, like the others, had to come out. Something else he’d realized while his mother had been under the knife.

“What do you mean I’m not perfect?” Ty asked, focusing on the lightest part of her monologue. “How could you say such a thing in front of my mother?” he asked in a joking tone.