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Professional killer? Does he really have to go that far? Sure, the man seemed well trained, but he didn’t kill anyone. Maybe he’s just a former soldier.
I glance at Ned. “Is he? A professional killer?”
He shrugs. “The man hasn’t said a word. I don’t even know what his name is. He’s going to be transferred to the city later, though, and they’ll run his fingerprints and DNA. They should be able to find out who he is.”
“Doesn’t the fact that he’s not talking mean he’s dangerous?” Bernie asks. “He’s not trying to save himself, which means he knows someone else will.”
I frown but don’t argue with that because I know Bernie’s right. I forget sometimes, but he is smart as well as abrasive. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have lasted as the mayor of this town for the past decade.
“I do think he’s dangerous,” Ned agrees. “But like I said, he’s going to be transferred to the city, so he’s not our problem anymore.”
“That’s not the point,” Bernie says. “A man as dangerous as that came here to Summerset where no child has ever been taken before, where no murder has ever been committed.”
Otto came close last time. Did Bernie forget that?
He holds up a finger. “That woman is dangerous. She’s like a curse on our town.”
My jaw clenches and I step forward. “Now, that’s – ”
Ned stops me with a stretched arm. He shakes his head.
I throw him a puzzled glance. Don’t tell me he agrees with Bernie?
“She doesn’t belong here,” Bernie tells me plainly. “So you have two days to make her leave. If not, during the next council meeting on Thursday, I will propose that she be declared persona non grata and that she and her baby be forced to leave.”
“You would punish a baby?” I ask him.
His eyes narrow. “Don’t force me.”
With those last words, he turns and walks out of the house. Diane stays behind.
“If your husband forces them to leave, I’ll leave with them,” I tell her.
As much as I don’t want to punish the town for one man’s foolishness and deprive them of a doctor, I can’t just let Bernie have his way.
Diane nods. “I understand.” She squeezes my arm. “I’ll see what I can do.”
She goes after her husband, leaving just me and Ned in the kitchen.
“You’re really leaving?” he asks me.
“You really think Bernie is doing the right thing?” I throw my own question back at him. “That Triss is causing all the trouble in Summerset?”
Ned shrugs. “All I know is that I don’t trust her. Maggie doesn’t, either.”
I nod. “I see. You’ve turned against Triss because Maggie doesn’t like her.”
“I didn’t turn against her,” he argues.
“Weren’t you flirting with her at your cousin’s wedding?” I point out.
“I flirt with every beautiful woman I see. That doesn’t mean I trust them.”
Good point.
He places a hand on my shoulder. “Listen, I’m not saying Triss is a bad person. I’m just saying we don’t know her. Do you? Did you ask her for her last name before you slept with her?”
My eyebrows furrow. He knows that? Maggie must have told him.
“I know she’s not a bad person,” I tell him. “And you know me.”
“Well, you don’t know everything, do you?” He touches the back of his head. “Heck, you don’t even know my sister’s madly in love with you.”
“She’s in love with the boy who saved her life, not me.”
“Do you really still believe that?”
I don’t answer because I’m trying to figure out what Ned is saying. He used to tell Maggie not to hang around me. He used to warn me not to go out with his sister or he’d shoot me. Why does it sound like he wants us to end up together now?
He scratches his head. “Anyway, what’s between you and Maggie is none of my business. What’s between you and Triss isn’t, either. But here’s the thing. Triss isn’t safe here. You and I know this. We both know who sent that man to Summerset.”
James Molder. So Ned is thinking the same thing I was.
“He sent that man to get Lara,” Ned goes on. “When he finds out he’s failed, he’ll send another. And another. He’s not going to stop. Maybe he’ll even send someone for Triss. Or for you because you tried to get in his way. Maybe he’ll even come here himself with all his hired criminals and mess up the town.”
“We don’t know that for sure,” I tell him.
“But it is a possibility. Do you really want to risk sacrificing the peace in this town and all the innocent lives in it just for one woman? I won’t let you.”
“So what? We just hand Triss and Lara over to those criminals? They’re innocent, too. Isn’t it a cop’s job to protect all the innocent?”
“If she wants protection, then she should go to the city police and make a report,” Ned says.
