"Jerry, where are you?" Lyn Gallagher demanded in angry frustration before trying to blow the sweaty hair out of her eyes.

The thirty-seven year-old redhead was a novice mountain climber at best, and it didn’t improve her mood any that her best and childhood friend had rushed to the top leaving her dangling by a solitary rope. She couldn’t even see the middle-aged physician from where she hung plastered against the granite surface. Blinking against sunshine and falling dust she strained to see any sign of him.

When there was no response Lyn ground her teeth and dug her fingers into the unyielding surface preparing to climb the rest of the way without help. She could do it, she assured herself. She had all of the latest in mountain climbing equipment. How hard could it be?

As if the fates were taunting her, one of the pitons anchoring her safety line in place suddenly gave way. Her fingernails bent and cracked against the hard, rough surface and for an instant she hoped she would be able to hold on, but her weight proved to be too much for the strength of her fingertips. A startled scream erupted past her lips as Lyn plummeted twenty feet toward the scrub, rocks and trees of the forest floor. Fortunately the other anchors held tightly preventing her from slamming into the ground thirty feet farther down. Instead, the rope snapped taut and Lyn was spun in the air before slamming sideways against the rock surface.

Her breath was knocked out when the rope caught around her groin and mid-section, pain lacerating up and down her spine. Gravel cascaded over her head and shoulders causing Lyn to blink against the debris as she peered toward the summit. Jerry’s blonde head popped over the top as he looked worriedly down at her.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, peachy." She gasped pausing to spit out a mouthful of dirt. "Where were you?" The socialite asked slightly miffed, and ignoring the cramps in her nether region where the safety harness had caught her.

"I had to take a leak. By the way…we’re fifty miles from civilization. Who were you yelling for?" he teased with a boyish grin.

"Just exercising my lungs," she assured him dryly. "Be up in a minute."

"Okay," he returned nonchalantly before disappearing from view.

The instant he disappeared Lyn heard a muffled thud. Probably tripped over his own feet, she thought sarcastically. Serves him right. Still, better check on him. "Jerry? Jerry, are you okay?"

He reappeared at the top and for a moment it seemed that he was all right. Then a look of confusion came across his tanned face and he fell to the ground just out of sight and lay still. She could barely see the top of his head and one hand that had been flung over the edge.

"Jerry? Jerry!" Lyn screamed trying to get a response. "What’s happened?"

Something wet splashed against her cheek causing her to flinch reflexively. She reached up a hand to wipe the something away and when she glanced down she saw that the something was red. It was blood…Jerry’s blood.

Suddenly the unresponsive man was lifted by an unseen force and pitched over the top like a scrap of paper that had been tossed by the wind. Lyn watched in surreal shock as his body sailed past her, bounced over scrub and branches, before it finally came to rest at the bottom. The cloud of dust from the impact barley registered as in the next instant the anonymous attacker grasped Lyn’s safety line from the top and abruptly yanked her five feet toward the top.

Struggling against what she knew would be a similar fate Lyn planted her feet firmly against the rock and hauled back on her rope with gloved hands until she felt her muscles pop. Her efforts proved in vain when she was hoisted effortlessly another five feet.

On the mountainside in that lonely hour the bright, sharp memory of Jerry’s death would shred her sanity if she dwelt on it. For the sake of survival she had to forget, at least for now, that violence and unbearable loss.

Anchored in place as she was on the harness Lyn had no chance. There was only one possibility her fevered mind could devise. She had to go up or down, and considering the alternatives down was definitely the preferable choice. Clutching frantically for the knife strapped to her calf, heart pounding and her breath bursting past her lips like an entry in the Kentucky Derby, she began frantically sawing at the rope over her head.

A gasp of surprise was jerked from her as she was hauled still closer to the top. The rope gave way beneath her blade and she grunted as her fingers, toes, knees and elbows absorbed her body’s weight on the abrasive surface. Now she had to figure a way down. Instinct told her that her would-be assassin wouldn’t just be standing around so she had to move quickly.

Grief for her friend rose like bile in her throat, but she forced it down with grim determination. There would be time for that later, right now her life hinged on her ability to think quickly.

Lyn reached for Jerry’s rope where it still lay anchored beside her. Fumbling clumsily with her harness she unclipped the d-ring that released her from the safety line. Then using the other rope she quickly shuffled hand over hand toward the ground. She had gone barely ten feet before the line went completely slack in her hands. Perspective made it feel as though she hung in mid air for a moment before the realization that the line had been cut registered in her mind. Then her arms and legs were pin wheeling in the air as gravity asserted itself and she plummeted toward the forest floor. Terror numbed her mind, but Lyn still felt the pain as she bounded off of rock and branches, breaking an arm and both legs. Then she came to an abrupt halt as her lifeless friend’s body absorbed the final impact. Darkness closed in quickly after that and she knew nothing more.

Lyn’s broken bones and multiple contusions were a pain that would take months to recover from, but she was forever grateful that the Ranger had chosen that moment to arrive on scene. He had been driving out to check on campers in the area and had witnessed the fall.

Ranger Johnson found one severely battered woman and a man with his throat cut. Obviously it had been foul play, but by the time he had called in assistance any attackers were long gone.

Jerry’s best friend, Mark Fuller had been by her side throughout her long recovery, offering solace, and friendship. During the months of rehab in the hospital regaining the use of her legs he visited her often. Lyn did her utmost to be polite to the man considering that he had lost a dear friend, too. But in spite of her best intentions there was just something about him that she didn’t trust. Jerry had spoken about him as something of a saint, but it was a quality she had never seen. When he came to her with his request the day she was released it had been something of a surprise.

***************

"Hi, I hope I’m not interrupting." He said from the doorway startling Lyn slightly.

She had been standing with her back toward the door buttoning her jacket and hadn’t realized anyone was in her room. Spinning around she laughed uncomfortably and asked, "How do you do that? I never hear you coming."

"I’m swift, silent and deadly." Mark joked as he came farther into the room. "I think I used to be a jungle cat in a former life."

"I believe it." She returned lightly, not sure if she meant that as a compliment. "And as for your question…no, you’re not interrupting. I was waiting for the driver to come for me."

"Don’t tell me you’re looking forward to leaving this glorified country club?" He asked in mock surprise.

"Actually, yes. I can’t stand being confined. But I’m being rude. Was there something specific you needed or were you coming to visit?"

A frown crossed his face as though he was trying to decide how to phrase what he wanted to say. Shoving his hands deep into his pants pockets he finally looked up at her. "Truthfully I came by to discuss a business proposition with you."

"Oh?" she asked politely. As a socialite as well as a professional golfer she was approached with business propositions on a regular basis. Still she was a little surprised to hear such a statement coming from this man.

"As you know I sponsor an annual fund raiser for the Metropolitan Children’s Center. I was thinking this year we could set up the Jerry Stein Foundation. Nothing elaborate," he added holding up his hand. "I just think he would have liked being remembered in this way."

"That sounds very thoughtful, but what do you need me for?" Lyn questioned, knowing full well where the conversation was headed.

"Well, we need donations to set up the fund. Of course it’s for charity so everything is tax deductible. Unfortunately, I can’t contribute everything myself. What do you say?"

While the idea of such a fund appealed to Lyn she was still hesitant. What he was proposing was a lot of money and she still wasn’t sure what it would be used for. The children’s center did a lot of good in the community, fostering and finding permanent homes for the needy kids. They also responded in times of disaster, providing medical relief, housing and food to the community. The idea was tempting.

"I’m not sure." She answered honestly. "I’ll need to think about it and there are a lot of questions such as who would oversee the operation, who are the other contributors and what the funds would be used for."

"I’ll tell you what," he offered, "why don’t I take you to dinner and we can discuss it? Besides, it gives me the excuse to pass my rounds off to Doctor Chaney."

Laughing she assured him, "And I’m sure Doctor Chaney appreciates that."

"Oh, I’m sure." He agreed with a smile, then after a brief pause said, "Well, maybe not."

Both laughed at the small joke and Lyn felt a bit of the shadow lingering on her heart lift slightly. Any man who put children first couldn’t be all bad.

"Are you hungry? After all of these months of hospital food, I thought you might be in the mood for something tangible to eat." He asked solicitously.

Considering for a moment she finally answered, "As you pointed out Mount Sinai does cater to the rich and famous so the food hasn’t been that bad. I really just want to get home, if you don’t mind. Besides, I’d like to see where Jerry was buried so I’ll just wait for the driver."

Lyn had missed the funeral during her recovery in the hospital. She really missed the man and felt guilty at having missed the services, even though there was no way she could have been there.

"Of course I don’t mind." Mark said reaching for her bags. "But I still insist on walking you to the car."

Just then a blonde head popped through the door. Lyn was pleased to see her physician, Jordan Pierce, had come to see her off. Not for the first time, she noticed the look of disdain the woman passed over Mark before the blue eyes met her own. Then a beautiful look of peace and friendship lit the Nordic features and Lyn was left to believe that she had imagined it.

The woman had a way of looking at a patient that made them believe they were the most important being in her world. No wonder she was so popular among patients and staff alike. Her figure didn’t hurt things either Lyn realized trying to keep her expression neutral.

"Ms. Gallagher, I hear you are leaving us." Doctor Pierce began with a smile.

"Well, you did sign the release order." Lyn bantered back. "Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind?"

"No!" Jordan stated emphatically holding up a hand and causing everyone to laugh. "I just hope I don’t have any more model patients like you in the near future. I don’t think I could survive it."

"I just don’t like hospitals." Lyn shrugged good-naturedly.

"Well, you can’t blame her for that."

"Yes, of course." Jordan agreed in a slightly cooler tone.

It looked almost as though she disliked the man, but that was ludicrous. Mark Fuller was an extremely attractive man with broad shoulders and dark hair that was graying a little at the temples. He was also an accomplished heart surgeon, and considered quite a catch. He wasn’t rich by conventional standards, but he was a self-made man coming from a background of poverty and parental abuse. Most women fairly drooled over him. Of course Lyn didn’t feel that way about him, but her tastes tended to run to the more feminine…like Doctor Pierce.

"Well, we’d better be going." Mark stated politely, breaking into Lyn’s musings.

"Yes, of course. Thanks again, Doctor Pierce. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me." Lyn said as she shook hands with the other woman, ignoring the slight tingle in her palm from the contact.

Grasping the smaller hand firmly, but not painfully Jordan responded, "I’m just glad that I could help. You were a very lucky woman. But just because you’re no longer a patient doesn’t mean you must be a stranger. Stop by once in a while for a coffee." She invited.

"Thank you," Lyn returned, touched at the offer. What was such a casual invitation sounded so sincere, and she felt that the other woman really meant it. "I’ll do that. Besides, I still have physical therapy to attend."

A few moments later they were walking down the hall. Jordan stood for a moment in the doorway with her arms folded as she watched. Mark Fuller appeared solicitous with a hand on Lyn’s elbow and her bag in his other. Her limp was pronounced as Lyn leaned heavily on a cane, but Jordan felt it would decrease in time and the other woman would regain full use of the extremity.

****************

The rolling green lawns might have been mistaken for a park. Late afternoon sunshine filtered through the branches and leaves of large oak trees dappled the ground with patterns of light and shadow. Birds sang cheerfully overhead while a couple of squirrels tussled nearby in the grass. It was a perfect day for family bar-b-ques or a day at the beach, but somehow Lyn didn’t feel it was appropriate for the current setting. Instead the heavens should have been thick with heavy, ominous storm clouds. Torrents of rain should be pouring, pounding into a frozen wasteland instead of these immaculately kept grounds. Looking around the cemetery Lyn realized she had been standing unmoving for some time now.

A funeral service was in progress a short distance away, and her heart ached for the grieving relatives and friends. Morbidly she wondered if the deceased had led a long, happy life or if they had met an untimely death like Jerry.

Fighting the sting of tears Lyn focused once again on the concrete marker in front of her.

Jerald Stein
June 22, 1961- October 2, 2004
Beloved Son
Cherished Friend

Somehow the words were hollow. They couldn’t begin to portray the energetic young man with the irrepressible smile. They couldn’t describe his joy of life and willingness to try anything, especially if it was dangerous. And how could the tastefully inscribed words convey the sensitivity of a man that donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the ASPCA because he adored cats?

Sighing heavily Lyn leaned her weight against the cane and tried to ignore the insistent throbbing in her right hip and thigh. The circle of life and death, she thought darkly. We just pass away and become a distant memory.

It seemed unfair that such a warm generous person would become only a memory. On the heels of that thought Lyn remembered Mark’s offer for setting up a trust fund in Jerry’s name. At the time the idea hadn’t really appealed to her but now that she thought about it…why not?

Somehow it seemed fitting. She would phone Mark from the car and have him send her the information to look over. With that decision made she glanced again toward the funeral proceedings and noticed the crowd dispersing. Black limousines pulled away in an orderly fashion until all of the cars were gone. A solitary figure remained at the newest plot and Lyn wondered if the man had walked from somewhere nearby.

Looking more closely his clothing belied that fact. It was too hot to have walked from any distance considering what he was wearing. He wore a long, heavy black coat and a black shirt making him appear out of place in the bright summer afternoon.

The funeral proceedings could have explained the black clothing, but she realized that the disharmony between the stranger and the day wasn’t merely a result of his attire. Wintry blackness and a cold hatred seemed an integral part of the man himself.

An old-fashioned, wide-brimmed hat was pulled low on his head, hiding his face in shadow. She couldn’t have discerned his features from such a distance but she was convinced he was watching her.

A prickle of fear skittered along Lyn’s spine causing bumps to break out on her arms even as sweat beaded her upper lip. The surroundings seemed to close in around her and her breath came shallowly and panting in her own ears. For a moment she was back on the cliff with a predator intent on taking her very life.

The stranger surprised her by suddenly reaching up to tip his hat in polite greeting before turning away and ambling down the low hill.

Lyn’s breath left her lungs in a rush, leaving her embarrassed and weak-kneed from the small panic attack. Collecting her wits, Lyn glanced again at Jerry’s marker. "Never again, my friend. No more climbing for me."

Lyn knew that Jerry the adventurer would never have understood. He would say that she couldn’t let her fear conquer her. But Lyn knew that she would never look at a mountainside the same way again. The truth was that fear did have a firm hold on her. Her reaction to the stranger had proved it. The incident on the cliffs had happened more than six months ago and she still couldn’t shake the fear and paranoia.

Shaking her head Lyn turned away and limped toward the limousine. Henry was standing patiently next to the car, leaning against the vehicle with his hands folded. When he saw Lyn coming he started toward her to offer assistance. Concern was evident in the older man’s blue eyes, but she waved him off.

Henry was a tall, strapping man. He was extremely muscular and prided himself on working out for at least two hours every day. She was certain that his strong shoulders could withstand her weight, but she had to stop relying on all of those around her, she decided. She had to take her life back and this was the first small step. The attack was long over and she couldn’t keep looking for phantoms around every corner.

******************

Lyn settled gingerly on to the seat of the limo and waited for the chauffer to close the door. Quietly she tried to relax and allow the tension to ease out of her shoulders even as the man climbed into the front seat and slammed his door.

"Where to, Miss?" Henry asked politely as he started the car.

Emotionally and physically exhausted there was only one place she could think of where she wanted to be. What she needed at the moment was a good long cry, with wailing and pounding of walls. But it was something she could not allow in front of another human being. "Home, please." She said softly through the opening between passenger and driver areas.

Remembering her decision at the gravesite Lyn reached for the car phone. Mark had given her a card with his number on it and she fumbled to retrieve it from her pocket. Mark answered on the second ring.

"Hello, Doctor Fuller. This is Lyn Gallagher. I hope I haven’t disturbed you?" she began. Lyn was surprised at the nervous quaver in her voice. Her emotions had little to do with discussing the trust fund, and she forced the fear into a cold, dark place in the pit of her stomach.

"Please, call me Mark and of course you haven’t bothered me. Can I assume that you’re interested in what we were discussing earlier?"

Not being one to just jump in without more information Lyn began slowly. "Yes, but first I would like to see a list of contributors, trustee members, and the particulars of when and where the funds would be disseminated."

"Not to worry." He responded cheerfully. "I’ve been working on this idea since Jerry…well, anyway. I have everything on paper. I’ll have a courier bring it by this evening if that works for you."

"Around seven?" Lyn proposed.

After finalizing the arrangements, she hung up and sat for a few moments staring at the surrounding scenery. Suddenly the lonely manor was the last place she wanted to be. While it was true that she had suffered a panic attack, Lyn realized that the moment had passed. Still, it was a good excuse to visit a certain blonde with a white lab coat. A smile tugged reluctantly at the corner of her thin lips. Maybe if she were very lucky Doctor Pierce would have a moment to spend with her.

"Henry, drive back to Mount Sinai. I…forgot something."

Expertly handling the long black limousine Henry found a spot to make a U-turn on Wilshire Boulevard. Lights in the houses and shops were just beginning to flicker on. Combined with the streetlights the whole vicinity took on a garish appearance reminiscent of a brilliantly lit Christmas tree. Would Doctor Pierce still be at the hospital? She had been there all day. Lyn might get back only to find that she had missed her. The memory of tight blue jeans hugging lean feminine curves convinced her that it was worth a try.

Henry guided the car next to the curb and left the engine gently idling as he hopped out to open Lyn’s door. For a moment she ignored him as her attention was drawn to the structure before her. The architecture was Spanish and boasted lattice-shaded sidewalks draped with purple and yellow bougainvillea. Throughout the institution gray tile, speckled with pink and turquoise, shone immaculately. Pale blue walls with ice-white trim contributed to an airy atmosphere.

This was a private establishment dedicated to the extremely wealthy with a cheery and dedicated staff. During her lengthy stay Lyn had appreciated their friendly manner and easy smiles, never feeling that their expressions were false or forced. She had felt safe here, and on many times visited the arboretum proudly maintained and concealed in an inner courtyard. Of course her trips to that sanctuary had always been at the courtesy of a friendly nurse or intern with a wheelchair.

Finally climbing out of the car into the balmy California evening she limped toward the main doors with only a slight pause while the automatic doors swished open. In the main ground floor past the nurses station Lyn encountered Trisha Flanagan. Unbelievably at age twenty-four she was head nurse of the night shift. She must have just come on duty. Lyn contributed her success to not only to her intellect, but also to her quick wit, and easy manner. She had a way of making people feel warm and safe. She had a way of making them feel like family.

Trish spotted her almost instantly and a saucy grin spread across the carrot-topped young nurse’s face. "Hi there, Ms. Gallagher. This is a surprise. I thought you couldn’t wait to get out of here. Don’t tell me you missed us?"

Smiling in return Lyn said, "Nothing personal, but not a chance. Actually, I was wondering if Doctor Jordan was still around. I needed to speak with her for a moment."

"You’re in luck. She’s finishing up some notes in her office." Nodding toward the hallway behind her to indicate that Lyn was to proceed she added, "I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you popped in."

"Thanks," she said absently already thinking about the upcoming meeting. She hoped that she wasn’t interrupting Jordan’s schedule too much she made her way down the hall toward the end where the physician’s offices were located.

Jordan’s office was the last one on the right, and Lyn hesitated before knocking lightly on the door. The invitation to enter was immediate, as if Jordan were waiting for some company to interrupt the tedium of making notes. Lyn grinned as she realized she was justifying her interruption. The smile was still on her face when she pushed the door open and came face to face with her…target?

"Hi there." Jordan said with a pleased smile on her full lips. She was sitting behind a heavy, wooden desk dressed in a white lab coat and holding a pen in her right hand. Light, wire-framed glasses rested on her nose and her hair was slightly mussed from the long day of work. Lyn thought she looked absolutely adorable.

The smile faded as quickly as it had come and a brief frown rested between the physician’s eyes. "Is there something wrong?" she inquired as Lyn entered the office and closed the door.

"No, not really." Lyn prevaricated. Now that she was here, she hesitated to lie to the other woman. The panic attack had been real, but she really thought she was over it. To mention it as a reason to return to the hospital she had so recently vacated seemed dishonest and she hesitated.

Putting down the pen and standing, Jordan indicated the chair in front of her desk. "Please, have a seat and tell me what’s wrong."

The slow, unsynchronized throbbing of her thigh muscle convinced Lyn that sitting was indeed a good idea. Jordan met her around the corner of the desk and assisted her into the chair. With the darkness that had fallen outside and only the desk lamp aglow, shadows chased around the office. For a brief instant Lyn had the impression that she was in the Vampire Queen’s lair and there was no doubt what, or who, was on the menu. Shaking that sensation off as an indication of her own guilt Lyn spoke.

"After I left here I went by the cemetery…to visit Jerry’s grave. That’s the man who was killed when we were on the ledge." She added as explanation since Jordan hadn’t known Jerry. "While I was there another service was going on a few yards away. Suddenly I felt shaky, scared…the whole world seemed to be closing in on me."

"A panic attack?" Jordan inquired sitting on the edge of the desk beside Lyn.

Frowning Lyn confirmed, "Yes, I think so. But it’s been so long since the attack that I’m not sure that really makes sense. It’s not like me to dwell on the negative. Don’t get me wrong; Jerry was a wonderful man and a better friend. I’ll miss him more than I can say, but surely I should have gotten over the fear of another attack since then."

"Well," Jordan began after a few thoughtful seconds, "I could give you an exam, but I doubt that I’d find anything wrong; physically at least."

"Doctor?" Lyn prodded as the other woman walked around the desk and resettled into her chair.

"Call me Jordan. Look, Lyn, you’ve been through an intense, prolonged trauma. First there was the attack on the ledge, the death of your friend, and then the trauma of recovering from your own injuries. Since then you’ve been in the hospital, surrounded by security and medical personnel twenty-four hours a day. This is your first day out in public. It’s only natural that you’d feel vulnerable."

Letting out a relieved breath Lyn asked, "So, what you’re saying is that my reaction is perfectly normal?"

"Quite frankly, I’d be more worried if you didn’t have a panic attack or two." Jordan said in a soft voice.

"I don’t follow."

"Look," she responded removing her glasses and leaning forward on her elbows, "The instinct for survival is the strongest one that human’s possess. Even under hypnosis a person cannot be made to commit suicide or perform actions that would cause immediate death. A panic attack is merely that survival instinct…flexing its muscles."

Lyn appreciated the hint of humor contained in the doctor’s explanation. It showed a glimmer of the personality that the socialite really wanted to know better. "Any suggestions?" she asked merely to draw the conversation out so she could spend more time with the lovely young woman.

"Just take it slow." Then after a pause a glimmer came into the blue eyes and Jordan asked, ‘When is your first therapy session?"

Lyn couldn’t help but wonder where this was going. If the doctor was entertaining the idea that she was going to return to the hospital, she was going to discover that it wasn’t going to happen. After being granted parole from her prison, even one as nice as this, she wasn’t about to recommit herself. "Tuesday, at two."

"Do you have any appointments between now and then?"

"Nothing pressing," Lyn responded hesitantly. Okay here it comes, she thought waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Jordan was obviously in heavy thought as she tapped her glasses a few times on her desk, staring intently at the blotter. She must have reached a decision because she looked up and met Lyn’s gaze. "How would you feel about a small vacation?"

"Excuse me, I’ve been on vacation for six months."

Jordan could easily see the wary expression on the other woman’s face and she chuckled at the woman’s plight. As fun as it would be to string her along a little, Jordan simply didn’t have the heart. "It’s all right. I’m not talking about a stay at the hospital. I have a cabin on Ghost Island. It’s small, fairly secluded, but there are four other cabins in walking distance if you need anything. You have to take a ferry and then a boat to get there, but it might give you the time you need to get back on your feet." Glancing at the cane she added, "So to speak."

"Is that wise?" Lyn asked. "If my panic attack was triggered by being out on my own, wouldn’t being alone on an island make it worse."

"No, I don’t think so." Jordan responded shaking her head. "One of the things that can trigger a panic attack is feeling a lack of control. If you feel like things are out of your hands, such an attack is that much more likely. The reason I suggest the island is exactly because of the seclusion. There is nothing out of your control, because there are no other people around. You would be free to relax, walk around the island, read, and basically have the time to feel secure again before adding the element of more people. Of course you would be perfectly free to use my boat if you wanted."

Lyn absolutely loved the open water, and the idea of fishing and sailing for days on end was very appealing. She almost said yes, but suddenly wondered at the other woman’s motivation. Wasn’t there some sort of doctor/patient protocol that would prohibit such an offer?

"Why would you do that for someone who’s virtually a stranger?"

"I am your doctor," Jordan answered, "and your physical and mental health are important to me. Consider it a prescription for relaxation."

That explanation was weak at best and Lyn cocked her eyebrow at her companion who had the grace to blush. Both women burst out laughing at the same moment, effectively relieving the tension that had begun to mount.

"Seriously," Lyn prompted after a few more chuckles. "Why?"

Staring intently into the socialite’s eyes Jordan asked, "Why, did you really come to see me?"

Lyn’s heart did a slow roll as the implication impacted in her mind. Suddenly faced with this pivotal moment she had two choices, act like she was completely confused where the doctor was going with this, or admit to her attraction. Lyn wasn’t used to being the one to declare her interests. She preferred to be chased, wooed and eventually won. For a second she thought that sounded like she was the prize in a carnival game. Shaking off the momentary distraction, she realized that there was absolutely no more time to decide. If she denied the attraction, she would probably lose any possibility of getting to know Jordan better. Faced with that prospect she decided that one thing she was not, was a coward.

Grasping her courage in both hands, she responded softly, "I think you know perfectly well why I came."

"Yes, I think so. And my response to your visit is to offer you a place of solace where I might actually get to see you in something other than a professional environment."

"In that case," Lyn said swallowing nervously, "I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather vacation than Ghost Island."

Staring dreamily at the fair-haired physician Lyn was lost in open contemplation of the Nordic features. For so long she had surreptitiously glanced at the other woman, noticing a characteristic here, and angle there. Now for the first time she was free to indulge her interest in the other woman’s features.

She was beyond beautiful; she was exquisite. Lyn had to avoid looking into the blue eyes or she felt that she would fall into them. But the full lips that nature had blessed Jordan with could not be ignored. Lyn couldn’t help but wonder if they would be as soft as they looked.

A rap at the door interrupted the intensely intimate moment and Lyn could have happily screamed at the intruder to ‘go away’. Of course she didn’t do that, she wasn’t that type of person. This was a hospital and it could be something truly important.

The door swung open without invitation and Lyn was surprised to see that the visitor was none other than Mark Fuller. Okay, well maybe it wasn’t something truly important. In fact his presence effectively ruined the entire mood. Heaving an internal sigh Lyn resigned herself to his intrusion.

"Doctor Fuller, I wasn’t expecting you." Jordan stated coldly. Lyn realized that the statement was not only a greeting, but also her subtle way of pointing out that she hadn’t invited him to open the door.

Ignoring the message completely he grinned and returned, "I was just picking up some paperwork from my office and heard Ms. Gallagher was here. Since you’re here I thought I’d go ahead and give you the paperwork on the trust."

And you just happened to have it on you, she wondered. Realizing that he could have done most of the work on the trust from his office she took the heavy folder he offered and said, "I’ll look this over and be in touch with you later."

"Great, well I’ll leave you two ladies now. I need some coffee before I try to drive."

Prompted by the cryptic remark Jordan asked, "Are you going on a trip?"

"I wish it were the vacation you make it sound like." He chuckled. "I have a meeting with one of the other contributors a few hours up the coast. Since it’s already almost eight, I think I should fortify myself with a little caffeine."

"I thought you were on call?" Lyn asked.

"I traded with Doctor Warren. I’ll take his duty next weekend. Well, as fun as this is I’d better get going."

With a final wave the man was gone, closing the door quietly behind him. Lyn turned back to Jordan in time to see the cold disdain before the expression was quickly masked. Maybe there was a case of professional rivalry between the two, but Lyn really couldn’t see the other woman being so petty.

"Where were we?" she prompted to change the subject.

Forgetting about the annoying physician for the moment Jordan easily allowed the change to more enjoyable subjects. "I was just about to give you directions." She returned putting her glasses back on and picked up her pen. "It’s pretty easy really. You just drive up Highway 101 to New Rollins and take the ferry over to Jessup Bay. At the Marina there you’ll find my boat. It’s not big, just a glorified sail boat called the Marlin, but she’ll get you where you’re going."

Jordan finished scratching down the directions so that Lyn wouldn’t have to rely on her memory. "If you want you could drive down straight away and have almost four days of peace and quiet. Maybe I could even join you Monday and we could do some deep sea fishing."

"That sounds like fun. I love fishing." Lyn returned happily taking the sheet of paper with the directions and standing up. "I should be going, Henry is waiting for me."

"Oh, wait." Jordan said. "Here’s the key to the cabin. If you need to leave before I get there just leave the key under the mat by the front door."

"Isn’t that kind of obvious?" Lyn asked taking the key.

"Believe me, there’s no worry. Like I said there are only four cabins total on the whole island. Not exactly a tourist attraction."

"All right, I guess I’ll see you some time on Monday."

"I look forward to it."

Reluctantly to leave the beautiful woman behind, Lyn finally turned to leave. She knew that Jordan was watching her as she walked/limped away and hoped the younger woman liked what she saw. Trying not to lean on the can too heavily she walked out into the California night feeling that she could walk on air. She had no idea of the ruckus that Jordan would have to deal with only a few moments later. As she walked out onto the sidewalk Mark Fuller drove by in a brand new fire engine red Ferrari. He waved once before roaring away.

Lyn smiled into the evening breeze feeling for the first time in months that the action wasn’t forced. With a bounce in her step, as much as she could manage with a heavy limp, she headed for the car. Even the forty-minute drive to her home on the outskirts of the Hollywood Hills passed by in optimistic anticipation of what the immediate future might hold.

Finally Henry turned down a private white rock road that was not maintained by the state. He paused for only a moment to push a discreet button on the visor that operated a wrought iron security gate. The gate was anchored in place on either side in a stone fence that encircled the entire grounds. The road led to only one home approximately two miles back into the woods. This was Lyn’s family estate and an incongruity among the throngs of humanity in the California foothills. The one hundred thirty-two acres had been purchased in 1801 by Lyn’s great grandfather after he had sailed to America from Ireland. The City of Angels promised a bright future for his family even though at the time it was hardly more than a small mining town. Since then the west coast had grown in leaps and bounds, but the family had refused to sell the property despite the lucrative offers from private citizens and development corporations alike. The stone fence had originally been erected in the 19^th century to keep squatters off the property. It had required maintenance over the years and Lyn had spent a summer when she was twelve helping her father make much-needed repairs to the structure.

In the present day squatters were less of a threat, but the homeless, displaced, roves of gangs, and the odd nut ball were more in keeping with the signs of the times. Now the fence provided a sanctuary, a place to return to when the outside world became overwhelming. Sometimes Lyn was convinced that she would make a very good hermit.

She was proud of her heritage, both Irish and American, and thrilled to be back on the grounds she had lived on all of her life. When her parents were killed in a light aircraft crash nine years before she had inherited the property. As an only child she had also inherited the Gallagher fortune and investment companies as well leaving her quite well off. But despite the lack of monetary concerns, it was the house and grounds that meant the most to her. Pulling into the long curving driveway in front of the house Lyn stared up at the brick and mortar structure with the gabled roof that was clearly outlined by the security lights as though she were coming home for the first time.

Stepping out of the car she welcomed the solitude that allowed for the chirping of crickets and the foraging of rabbits, and possum. Smiling again she glanced over at the chauffer and came to a sudden decision. She would take Jordan up on her offer, so why not get an early start.

"Henry, would you be a dear and get my car ready for tomorrow? I think I’ll take a little drive up the coast. I’ll be gone a few days, maybe through Tuesday, so don’t be concerned."

"Very good, ma’am. Would you like the Jaguar for tomorrow? If you’re driving up the coast the Jaguar will probably be more fun on the curves."

Considering the suggestion only momentarily she answered, "Why not? That sounds like a lovely idea." Obviously there was no need for her to comment on the fact that he knew of her penchant for speed.

The man smiled and said, "I’ll see to it right away, miss. Now, it’s been a long day for you. Why don’t you get some rest?"

As he turned away to do her bidding Lyn thought not for the first time what a wonderful man he was. Henry had been driving for her family since Lyn was a child and he a young man. At this point he was more like family than an employee.

A yawn caught her unaware and she realized that she was exhausted. Although she hadn’t been through the doors of the manor in six months she was too tired to re-familiarize herself with the premises. Heading straight upstairs to her bedroom, she took a quick shower in the master bath before climbing into soft sheets that didn’t smell like institutional soap and chlorine. Stretching out Lyn reached for the clock and set her alarm for an early morning outing. She had barely settled onto the pillow before she was sound asleep.

Before she knew it the alarm was going off and she stretched luxuriously after shutting it off. Grinning happily at what the day held in store for her, she threw back the covers and hopped out of bed hissing with pain as she came down too hard on her still healing leg. Even though the pain was sharp Lyn was convinced that the appendage was getting stronger.

All things considered she couldn’t really complain. The cast on the right leg had been the last one to go, and that had only been two months ago. She was pleased that she could walk at all and didn’t require the use of a wheelchair. The cane was a small price to pay for her independence.

After dressing she packed a bag and headed downstairs as quickly as possible. She was excited and felt like a child on the first day of summer vacation. When she got downstairs she discovered that someone had laid out a breakfast of coffee and croissant on the table by the front door. The coffee and croissant were both steaming hot, showing that someone had been paying attention, and had probably heard her alarm go off.

Henry, she thought, with a smile.

Slinging the strap of the bag over her shoulder Lyn grabbed the mug and hot bread before heading out the door. The Jaguar XJ6 was idling powerfully in front of the house. The cockpit had been set to a comfortable temperature and Lyn roared away from the house with the beige leather seat cradling her body feeling like she could conquer the world.

Traffic was light in the early morning hours, the rush hour commute having yet to hit fully. Moving swiftly in the light traffic Lyn swung the powerful car onto the Pacific Coast Highway and pressed the accelerator toward the floor. Shooting forward on the nearly deserted road she headed for New Rollins, a small coastal community that could hardly be called a town. It was a two-hour trip before she arrived and could take the ferry over to Jessup Bay.

Lyn enjoyed driving but was still weakened from her extended hospital stay, and an hour and a half into the trip she found herself settling into the vague fugue state induced during long trips, absently rubbing her right knee as it was beginning to throb. With only a half hour left to her destination she didn’t want to pull off the road for a cup of coffee. Deciding she could easily make the remaining thirty minutes she continued staring down the road in front of her.

Traffic had been light during the trip and she didn’t really pay any attention to the other vehicles. For that reason she didn’t even notice the other car until a sudden movement in her rearview mirror caught her attention.

At the moment there was only one other car on the road with her. It was a dark blue sedan, but in her mirror it was so close that she couldn’t tell what make it was. Then, suddenly, it was even closer. The sedan accelerated quickly and closed the distance between them. Staring disbelievingly into the mirror Lyn wondered if the other driver was falling asleep at the wheel.

She quickly decided that wasn’t the case when the front bumper of the following vehicle bashed into her rear end, and she realized that the other driver was trying to force her off the road!

*****************************

Adrenaline surged with lightning speed throughout her body as the screech of tortured metal resonated through her grinding teeth. Lyn’s eyes went wide with fright even as she lost the feeling in her fingers from the excitement of fear. The Jaguar held ferociously to the tarmac beneath as the attacker backed off slightly only to careen against her again.

Lyn was staring intently into her rearview mirror trying to identify the madman but couldn’t because the glare from the rising sun bounced off the windshield. She glanced back down at the road in front of her only to discover that she was heading for the guardrail on the narrow, winding road. Attempting to right her vehicle, Lyn yanked too hard on the wheel and overcorrected.

When the encounter began Lyn had instinctively pressed down on the accelerator, increasing her speed in an instinctual effort to escape the assassin. At that speed the maneuver caused the car to slide into a slight skid. Heart pounding Lyn yanked on the wheel again and straightened the car out, but she had given her attacker the chance to move up beside her.

Although the other vehicle had moved between her car and the mountainside it hadn’t moved up far enough for her to identify the other person. Of course it was entirely possible that she the attacker was a complete stranger, so Lyn wondered why she would even think she could identify them to begin with.

This has to be related to Jerry’s death, Lyn reasoned in her panic. There is no other reason. Whoever this is waited until I was alone to try and kill me again. Why? I’m no threat to them. Maybe they think I can identify them. But that’s ridiculous; if I could identify them I would have done it before now.

By slipping the vehicle between Lyn and the mountain, the attacker had the perfect vantage point for forcing her through the guardrail and over the side. Lyn couldn’t believe it was going to be so easy and there was nothing she could do. All she could do was press the accelerator to the floor and hang on as the car in English racing green shot down the road, and pray for a miracle.

*******************************************

State Highway Patrolman Joe Carlton was sitting in his squad car. He had been a street cop for six years and was pretty good at it, so good in fact that he had been offered a promotion to detective. But Joe couldn’t picture himself sitting behind a desk pushing paper on a daily basis. With that in mind he had asked for a transfer to the traffic division.

Officer Carlton had always prided himself on seeing the truth hidden beneath the drama and violence of human interaction. And even though he had the power to make an arrest in any given situation, he preferred to communicate and resolve the issue at the heart of the disturbance. His wife said he should have been a counselor.

Now after six months he was coming to regret the transfer, longing for the streets and a little excitement instead of the boring grind of chasing speeders or arresting drunk drivers.

At a little past nine on a Friday morning he wasn’t expecting a great number of either as most of the commuters would be on the major interstates, and had pulled into a turnout on the winding Pacific Coast Highway to rest his eyes and call Nora. His wife was expecting their first child in two months and the morning sickness was a thing of the past. Still her hormones were raging and Joe had learned that the more concern he showed for her well being, the easier things would be for him when he got off shift.

Smiling a little in anticipation, he had just flipped open his cell phone when two cars raced past him at breakneck speed. For a moment he thought they were drag racing, but then the smaller details he had been trained to pay attention to flashed through his mind.

Not realizing that he had tossed the cell phone onto the passenger seat, Joe flipped on his siren and tore after the speeding cars. It was quite obvious what was happening from the dents and scratches in the Jaguars rear end and rear passenger door. The panicked expression in the brief glimpse of the driver’s face drove that fact home as he grabbed for the mike and called for backup.

"Twenty-five Paul five," Joe fairly shouted giving his call sign to the dispatcher, "emergency traffic!"

Immediately the dispatcher repeated the call for emergency traffic letting all other units know that a patrolman needed help. He could be sure that all ears within the range of a radio were listening.

"North bound on Highway 101 six miles south of Ventura. In pursuit of a 2004 green Jaguar XJ6 license plate Tom Nora Adam, 626 and a dark blue Lincoln license number Robert Yellow Mike, 231."

The phonetic description of the plates would be run through the computer system and hopefully apprise him of what kind of people he was dealing with, along with a rap sheet, wants or warrants.

Incredibly the attacker didn’t seem to care that he was pursing with lights and sirens wailing. The sedan swerved and made contact with the Jaguar’s front passenger door, pushing steadily as it attempted to force the car over the side.

"The driver of the Lincoln is trying to force the other driver off the road and into the canyon. I need back up now! Have some units set up a roadblock …" calculating quickly the velocity and a reasonable amount of time Joe decided, "seven miles from our current location. Keep all traffic off this road!"

"Ten-four, twenty-five Paul five. Standby,"

Joe was thankful that traffic was so light this time of the day, but he knew that things would get ugly for the driver of the Jaguar if he didn’t do something soon. He considered giving her instructions over the p.a. system but discarded that idea immediately since his intent would be communicated to the attacker as well.

"Damn!" he swore striking the steering wheel in frustration.

Just then the driver of the Jaguar made the decision for him and he took advantage of the opportunity.

*****************************************

Lyn felt relief flood through her system when the Highway Patrol car swerved onto the road behind them with his sirens screaming. Her relief was short-lived, however, when she realized that the killer wasn’t just going to pull over and whip out his driver’s license and proof of insurance. To prove that fact he rammed her again and tried to push her through the guardrail.

With the cop behind them Lyn knew that the killer had just run out of time. The policeman would have radioed ahead and others would be coming. That meant that whoever this thundering loony was, it was now or never. Mind racing with desperation Lyn knew that her life was in her own hands and she had to do something to give the patrolman a chance to rescue her.

"Think, think!" She screamed at herself.

She had been trying to race away from this maniac. Maybe it was time to try something radically different. Thought led to immediate action, and Lyn raised her foot off the accelerator and slammed it down on the brakes.

The sedan reacted too slowly and was just beginning to brake as the patrol car shot ahead of her. The officer bravely used his own car as a buffer in an attempt to save her, but Lyn was disturbed to see that the attacker was undaunted. Now he targeted the patrol car, trying to push it off the edge, but the Crown Victoria the officer was driving was much more powerful. Easily countering the weight of the Lincoln, the patrolman used his vehicle to push the other car toward the mountain trying in vain to pin the other car against rock and gravel.

Unfortunately, neither Lyn nor the patrolman anticipated the other driver’s desperation. Slyly, the killer braked just enough to allow the patrol car to get slightly ahead of him, and then he accelerated quickly and struck the rear bumper at an angle with enough force to ram the Crown Victoria into the guardrail.

Lyn watched in horror as the police car slammed into the metal guardrail and broke through, teetering on the edge. When the vehicle had passed her, she had continued to brake and was now going slowly enough to stop behind the Crown Victoria even as the Lincoln took advantage of the opportunity to speed away to freedom.

She jumped out of the Jaguar and ran toward the patrol car, relieved when the driver’s door opened and a man stepped out clumsily on the sloped ground. Fortunately the car had gone into the guardrail where the angle was less steep and was in little danger of falling into the canyon. With his hand to his head and his lack of coordination, he was obviously dazed but at least he was still alive.

"Are you all right?" she shouted running toward him.

Joe was dazed and for a second only the running feet caught his attention, causing him to reach for his sidearm until he realized it was the driver of the Jaguar. Shaking his head he saw a well-dressed, gorgeous, middle-aged woman with concern in her eyes. He almost smiled in amazement that she was worried about him when someone had just tried to kill her.

"I’m all right, ma’am. Are you injured?"

"No," she replied with a shaky breath. "Thanks to you." He didn’t respond, instead reaching for the microphone clipped to his epaulet and for a moment she thought he was being rude until she heard him.

"Twenty-five Paul five, pursuit terminated one mile from the Ventura exit. I need an APB on the Lincoln, the driver of the Jaguar is uninjured, but I need a tow truck at my twenty. Try to get someone to the Ventura exit, but they’ll probably be too late. End emergency traffic."

Turning back to the disheveled woman he said, "I did have them set up a road-block, but I hadn’t expected things to play out so quickly. He’ll probably take Ventura and miss the road-block completely."

Just then his radio squawked and Lyn listened in dismay as she deciphered through the police jargon that the Lincoln had been found abandoned. The license plate check revealed that the vehicle had been stolen earlier that morning.

After another twenty minutes of giving her statement the encounter was drawing to a close.

"Well, I guess that’s everything, Miss Gallagher. I’ll write the report up today, but it’ll be Monday before it can be processed through administrative channels. You’re welcome to pick up a copy of the report on Tuesday for your insurance company." Officer Carlton informed her while handing her a business card. "That card has the station’s number on it in case you need directions."

Breathing a sigh of relief Lyn said, "Thank you, Officer. You’ll never know how relieved I was when I saw you pull on to the road behind us. If you hadn’t been there things might have ended very differently."

"I didn’t really do that much. You saved yourself. All I did was wreck my car and the captain will probably have my head for that. I’m just glad you’re all right. Now, can I offer you a tow, or call someone for you?" he asked kindly.

With a smile Lyn responded, "No, my car’s a little dented, but drivable. Actually, I was going to take a few days vacation but after this I’ll probably just go home."

"Didn’t you say that you were going to New Rollins?" Joe prompted. "Well, from what you’ve told me you’re closer to there than home. It’s only another fifteen minutes to the exit. I can’t blame you for being unsettled. Something like that would terrify anyone, but I’ll tell you what my wife always tells me. You don’t live you’re life by hiding in a hole, and if you always know what’s going to happen next…what’s the point?"

Lyn couldn’t really argue with that. She was closer to New Rollins and would be at Ghost Island inside an hour. It would take her another two hours to drive home again, and she really did want to see Jordan. Besides, she should be safe enough at Jordan’s cabin. "I guess you have a point. Well, I’d better get back on the road. Thank you, again."

"No problem, ma’am. Have a good weekend."

Joe stood on the roadside while Lyn drove away. As he waited for the tow truck for his own vehicle he decided he was going to take the opportunity to call Nora. She would kill him if he waited until he got off shift before letting her know what had happened, and he found that he really wanted to call her. He needed to hear her voice to ground himself.

Lyn was still a little shaky behind the wheel, but was pleased to note that the Jaguar handled with no problems after being batted around like a toy in a cat’s playground. She was wide awake and the exit came up quickly for New Rollins. Although she wanted to call Jordan and let her know what had happened, she decided that it was more prudent at the moment to keep both hands on the wheel. She would call the physician once she had boarded the ferry. It was only another ten minutes.

**********************************

The parking lot adjacent to the ferry was packed and Lyn was already behind schedule. Finally she found a slot in long term parking, grabbed a ticket and raced for the ferry. It was just beginning to pull away from the docks as she leapt onto the deck.

"Guess it’s your lucky day." One of the deck hands greeted her, connecting the safety rail behind her.

"Yeah, lucky, that’s me." Lyn returned dryly. Then a stricken look crossed her face and she began patting her waist and delving into her purse frantically. "Damn, where is it?"

"You all right?" he asked, and then rolled his eyes when she pulled a cell phone out of her purse and breathed a sigh of relief.

Ignoring the man Lyn walked away to find a cup of coffee and a seat. While walking she dialed the number Jordan had written down on the directions to Ghost Island. The trip to Jessup Bay would take approximately half an hour and with all of these people around Lyn wasn’t concerned that someone would try to hurt her, again.

The call was answered on the first ring. "Hi, Jordan. It’s me, I just got to the ferry. Sorry I’m late, but something happened."

Lyn told the other woman about the harrowing incident on the freeway. Trying to be as calm as possible she left out the graphic description of exactly how terrified she had been although she was certain the physician could see past the bravado.

Concluding her tale she said, "I never saw the other driver, but I get the feeling that I was extremely lucky. If Officer Carlton hadn’t been there I don’t know what would have happened. What I don’t understand is, why me? Sure, everyone has enemies but I can’t imagine what I could have done to make someone want to kill me."

She cringed internally as she heard her voice crack on the last word. But her discomfort was quickly forgotten as Jordan hesitated just an instant too long. Finally, the blonde responded with an unexpected change of subject.

"Lyn, how well do you know Mark Fuller?"

Thinking furiously Lyn knew she hadn’t bored the other woman with the experience she had recounted. Jordan Pierce was notably compassionate, but more than that was extremely intelligent. If she was asking about Doctor Fuller he must tie in with this discussion somehow. Should she include her gut feelings about the man, or maintain an unbiased position based on actual observation?

She decided to go for honest.

"I don’t really know him well at all. He was a friend of Jerry’s. As for my personal feelings about the man, I don’t like him. It’s nothing that he’s done, more of a visceral reaction. Why?’

She listened as Jordan took a deep breath, and guessed that her question was leading to a lengthy response.

"After you left my office last night I was contacted by security. One of the floor nurses found the narcotics cabinet open, and a lot of the drugs were missing. The lock hadn’t been forced, so it appeared to have been done by someone with a key."

Confused Lyn asked, "And you think it was Doctor Fuller? But that can’t be. I saw him drive away from the front of the hospital. I guess he could have broken into the cabinet before we saw him." She finished, realizing that they didn’t know how long he had been in the hospital. All they knew was that he said he was picking up some paperwork from his office.

"I don’t know what to think." Jordan admitted. "All I can tell you is that I got an anonymous phone call saying that the head nurse had the narcotics stashed in her locker."

Lyn remembered the smile on the younger woman’s face when she had visited the hospital earlier. Somehow she couldn’t believe that the redhead’s open, honest countenance hid a liar and a thief. "Not Trisha Flanagan. I can’t believe she would be party to such a thing."

"Nevertheless, I am required to investigate such a claim and the drugs were there. That’s why I wanted to ask you about Doctor Fuller. He was in the hospital and he also has a key."

"You believe he’s capable of setting her up like that?"

"I believe he’s capable of more than that." The young doctor admitted. "I also have a bad feeling about him. I put nothing past him."

"Including the attempt on my life? But I didn’t even know him six months ago. Why would he try to kill me?"

Jordan’s response was immediate, and Lyn had the feeling that she had been thinking deeply about everything that had been going on for quite some time. "I admit my evidence is somewhat circumstantial, but from the moment of your accident he has been very noticeable in his actions. He has visited you constantly in hospital even though he had never met you before. He approached you with a trust fund in Jerry Stein’s name, someone with whom you have a strong emotional tie especially through a shared tragedy. He was in the hospital when the narcotics went missing last night, yet noticeably absent when I received the anonymous call. I also believe that it would not be beneath him to have attacked you this morning."

"But he drove up the coast last night." Lyn argued. "I saw him leave the hospital, and it was not a red Ferrari that tried to force me off the road."

"He said he had business up the coast." Jordan said softly.

That did stop Lyn in her tracks. It was true that he could have just said he had other business. He had known that she was driving up Highway 101 this morning, and all he had to do was wait outside her house until she left. But what could he possibly gain from harming her? He was no beneficiary of any policy that she had.

"Lyn, this trust fund…have you given Mark any money." The doctor asked carefully. Jordan was fully aware that she was making an accusation against someone without the benefit of any proof, but there was just something telling her that he was a snake.

"Not yet." She admitted. "I just got the paperwork from Mark last night. The folder is in the car, and I haven’t even had time to look at it yet."

Jordan was relieved. Perhaps she was wrong after all. She had a hard time believing that Trisha Flanagan was capable of stealing drugs. It was easier to believe that she was being set up, and her dislike of Mark Fuller made it easy to see him as the true culprit. "Then I must be wrong. He has nothing to gain by harming you."

"Which means that Nurse Flanagan is guilty?" Lyn asked in disbelief.

"I don’t like to believe it either. She denies that she took the drugs, and says she doesn’t know how they got into her locker. But the facts speak for themselves. At any rate, the point is moot. Trisha resigned this morning."

"I do hope that you’re wrong. Something tells me there’s more to this, and that things aren’t as they appear." Lyn said sure that the young woman was innocent.

"At least she is safe." Jordan pointed out thinking again of Lyn’s most recent attack.

"And I am too, now." Lyn returned lightly. "I’m on a crowded ferry heading to a secluded marina where I will take a boat with a crew of one to a nearly deserted island."

Happily catching on to the change of subject the young doctor said, "I agree. You’ll be safe at the island, and I want you to concentrate on relaxing. I should be able to join you Monday afternoon and then I’ll take you on a tour of the island. The neighbors are suspicious of strangers and we keep an eye out for each other, so I’ll introduce you around."

"Sounds good," Lyn returned eagerly anticipating her upcoming time with the younger woman. She could almost picture a fireplace and chilled wine…along with lowered lights. "Maybe you can explain why it’s called ‘Ghost’ Island when you get here."

"Happily," Jordan promised preparing to end the call. "Well, I have to go. I have rounds, but Lyn promise me something."

"Yes?"

There was a brief pause before the younger woman responded, "Please be careful."

The words were said softly and Lyn almost felt them as a caress. "I will." She responded softly with her eyes shining. "See you soon."

**************************************

It was shaping up to be a find California day, full of sunshine and a slightly warm breeze. Lyn could almost believe that she had imagined the events of the morning as the ferry crossed steadily toward Jessup Bay with the slapping sound of waves striking the front of the vessel. Leaning against the railing she closed her blue-gray eyes and inhaled the salt scented air.

The tension was leaving her shoulders as she basked in the sunlight and she could feel the muscles in her body finally begin to relax. The ache in her leg was beginning to subside, and even with the cane leaning against the railing beside her, she could almost believe that the events of the last six months had never happened. With her eyes closed and the briny smell of the sea she could imagine that she was on a cruise somewhere in the Caribbean.

Voices rose in excitement around her and Lyn opened her eyes as she sensed people pressing next to her against the railing. A school of dolphins raced along beside the ferry, one of them playful enough to leap from the water seemingly grinning from ear to ear as it glanced sideways at the foolishly laughing and clapping humans. Lyn was thrilled at the display seeing in it a glimpse of hope for the future.

As a child, she had enjoyed fairy tales even more than children usually did. In the worlds of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson order prevailed. The villains were always brought to justice and the innocent prevailed, though sometimes after great suffering.

Although it was a childish fantasy, she desperately wanted to believe that this was a good omen. The dolphins finished their impromptu performance and sped off at breakneck speed. Soon they were out of sight and Lyn was alone at the railing as people drifted away. Sighing deeply she glanced down into her now empty Styrofoam cup.

With the disappearance of the dolphins Lyn’s mood had shifted abruptly leaving her feeling empty and helpless. She wasn’t a child anymore and had long ago lost her belief in fairy tales. It had been replaced with cold, hard reality and all she could do was wish that they were living in a better world.

In the reality of today the witch would successfully capture Hansel and Gretel, but before they died in her oven she would turn them into prostitutes, confiscate all their earnings, and addict them to methamphetamine before hacking them to pieces and cooking them in a stew. No doubt after that she would escape prosecution by claiming that society’s intolerance for evil-minded, bad-tempered witches had driven her temporarily insane.

Shaking her head and cursing herself for a fool Lyn decided to push the cynicism away and concentrate on being positive and hoping for the best. There was always a bright side and she could see it looming on the horizon embodied in six feet of sleek, sensual, full-lipped blonde bombshell.

Looking up she realized that they would soon be docking at Jessup Bay. People were crowding near the landing point, but Lyn decided to sit and let the crowd out before her. She was on vacation for the next four days, and with a new resolve she decided that she was going to relax.

The next twenty minutes were uneventful as she finally left the ferry and easily found the marina from Jordan’s directions. The Marlin was docked in berth 63 near the end, but she walked toward it as though it was something she did every day. No one was around at any of the other moorings and for some reason Lyn felt relieved. She had almost expected someone to challenge her as she carried her bag onto the boat before she untied the lines and took Jordan’s motor yacht from the port.

Standing on deck, Lyn turned on the trolling motor to navigate from the dock. Crossing the buoys marking slower water she finally opened the throttle and grinned at the sensation of freedom induced by the speed and the wind in her hair. The compass beside her showed that she was right on track and she expected to see Ghost Island in another fifteen minutes. Perfect.

Almost before she knew it she could see a darker shadow across the horizon. Seeing the island before her she could now admit to herself that she had been concerned. Navigating to a strange place across the ocean with only word of mouth directions to lead her had been a little foreboding. She should have known that Jordan’s instructions would be without reproach.

Finding the pier was equally unchallenging as it was clearly marked. She found it by veering slightly to port as she approached the inlet and rounding slightly to the right of the island before entering a small cove. The cove was the picture of tranquility. Palm trees grew tall and thick about fifty feet from the beach and would ensure privacy if she decided a little skinny-dipping was in order. Given the fact that the island was all but deserted, there would be little chance of a peeping tom in the first place.

After mooring the ship Lyn traveled down a well-worn path about a quarter of a mile from the beach to find Jordan’s cabin. Of course the word cabin was one that Lyn would apply judiciously. Grinning she realized that the other woman would not do things in half measures.

Although not large the structure was two-story with a large rock chimney built into the side. Part of one side had been built directly into a hillside giving the impression that the structure continued into the earth although the cost of such an undertaking would be enormous. A few steps led up to a small porch before the entrance and would have been an extreme understatement if not for the glass enclosed sun room that ran the entire length of the house on the right side.

Upstairs Lyn could see three separate balconies and knew they led out from the bedrooms so one could enjoy the balmy evenings. Feeling over the doorway she found the key that would let her inside. Although finding a key in such a place was a cliché, Lyn knew that under the circumstances there was no reason not to place it in such an obvious place. The door opened without a squeak and there was no air of neglect that a person would associate with a cabin in an out of the way location. But Lyn knew that the cabin was actually Jordan’s main residence. She kept an apartment in the city for when she was on call, but this was where she lived.

The door opened easily on well-oiled hinges and the scent of furniture polish and wax tickled her nose. She stepped out of the bright sunshine onto the fine Italian marble of the small entryway. Although this was a cabin on an island Jordan hadn’t skimped on making her home elegant. Lyn was also pleased at the welcoming atmosphere of warm earth tones and large windows that allowed in loads of California sunshine.

Feeling ready to put her vacation to good use Lyn propped her cane against the trim of the front door and dropped her bag beside it. Now it was time to explore her temporary home, she thought gleefully as she mentally rubbed her hands together.

A flight of stairs on the right led to the second floor. She would save the upstairs for last since she assumed it would contain only bedrooms. Nothing interesting up there. At least until Jordan arrived, she thought saucily as she ignored the shiver of anticipation.

The floor plan was open allowing for maximum use of a small space. The living room boasted a huge rock fireplace built into the wall and black leather furniture. One leather recliner stood out for its blue color and on closer inspection Lyn could see the chair was well worn. Cracks adorned the leather here and there and it was obviously a favorite piece. Undoubtedly it was also the most comfortable place to sit.

French doors led outside onto a wooden deck. Lyn could see a grill through the glass panes but was uninterested for the moment. Her tour of the interior was more of a priority. Walking slowly she thought her limp was hardly noticeable. Then she saw what she was looking for just as her stomach rumbled, the kitchen. A low work counter separated the living room from the kitchen. Two chairs were tucked under it and she couldn’t see any other table so she assumed this was where the other woman took her meals.

Perfect, she thought. I guess she doesn’t get a lot of company here and it’s an intimate setting for two. Rounding the work area she could see that the only appliance on the countertops was a coffee maker. Great! First she would get the coffee going and then find something to eat.

When the coffee was going Lyn started looking through cupboards and the refrigerator. After a moment she realized what she was doing and stopped. Lyn chuckled as she realized she had been in Jordan’s home less than ten minutes and she was completely at home.

Shaking her head she continued looking and was amazed at just how well stocked the kitchen was. She could make a gourmet meal with just the contents of the cupboards and the fridge. Well, someone could. Lyn was pushing her luck with coffee and sandwiches. Fortunately luck was on her side she was happy to see as she pulled cold cuts, cheese, Dijon mustard and sourdough bread from the icebox.

Did Jordan do her own shopping or did someone do it for her? That lost thought caused her to hesitate as she chewed on a piece of proscuitto. Chewing she thought back to her conversation with the physician. Jordan had stressed the privacy to be found on Ghost Island, mentioning only a few neighbors. She had never mentioned servants of any kind.

Shrugging it off she knew there was no one that would intrude on her. Jordan was too private for that and if it had been a possibility she would have mentioned it. With that little problem solved she opened a drawer looking for a knife.

Soon, with coffee and sandwich in hand, she settled in at the small sitting area and took a healthy bite. Wonderful, she thought knowing full well that the meal was only a small part of her current mood. The truth was she felt good, better physically than she had in months, and even after the excitement this morning she felt like things were looking up.

Ghost Island was just what the doctor ordered. Grinning at the intentional pun she savored a sip from her coffee and glanced around mentally planning out the rest of her day.

A bookshelf occupied one corner of the living room and was absolutely stuffed with hardback books. Maybe after a long walk on the beach and a decadent soak in the tub she would light a fire and do some reading.

The fire certainly wasn’t necessary for warmth but she would enjoy it and hopefully there would be something to read besides medical reference materials.

Finished with her meal Lyn rinsed her plate and slipped it into the dishwasher before topping off her coffee. First she would take her bag upstairs, freshen up and change before heading out for the beach.

Lyn took her coffee and grabbed her bag, hefting the strap over her shoulder so she could hold onto the rail for support. Thankfully there weren’t many steps and it wasn’t as hard as she thought it might be. The rail was mahogany, polished to a high sheen and pleasantly cool under her palm. The carpet was thick underfoot and there was no creaking from loose treads. At the top a door opened to the right before the landing led into a short hallway.

Not knowing the layout she figured process of elimination was the way to go. Entering the first room she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply taking in Jordan’s subtle perfume. This was clearly the physician’s room, but Lyn couldn’t force herself to leave. Letting the strap slide down her arm she dropped the bag to the floor and opened her eyes.

Taking in the white chenille spread on the queen-sized bed and the fine cherry wood furniture she moved around the room. Her fingertips rested briefly on a wall photo of Jordan and an older couple. Judging by the resemblance and the smiles they were her parents and they seemed close. An ornate porcelain music box sat centered on the dresser along with a hairbrush and a partial roll of cherry lifesavers.

A bemused smile rested on her face when she found the roll of candy. There was something innocent about it that touched Lyn’s heart. Turning away she took a deep breath feeling as though her heart would burst.

"If I’m not in love," she mused aloud, "I’m not far from it."

Finally she walked toward an open doorway in the far corner. It was clearly an adjoining bathroom but she was curious about the layout. The room was larger than she would have expected, housing a large, deep garden tub backed by a stain-glass wall.

The glass had been decorated with a scene straight out of Lyn’s fairytales. Trees grew straight and tall, and were populated with birds and squirrels. The one-dimensional air of the scene boasted butterflies while nymphs frolicked hand in hand on a wooded trail. Overhead porcelain fixtures were trimmed in gold and pink casting inviting light and a definite feminine atmosphere wholly in keeping with Lyn’s impression of the younger woman.

After absorbing the atmosphere Lyn finally moved on. Picking up the bag, she was eager to see what the other rooms looked like. She had been wrong earlier in assuming that there would be nothing interesting to see on this floor.

The first room to the left was a small, clean and apparently completely organized office. A computer, printer and scanner took up the surface of the desk and a file cabinet stood in the corner. The impression she got from the impersonal room was that Jordan didn’t spend a lot of time in here. Her personality shown clearly everywhere else, but this room was without color, without flavor. Lyn didn’t linger. The hallway ended at another doorway and she entered the guest room.

Dropping the bag in front of an exquisite low dresser she sighed with relief at being rid of her burden before looking around. This dresser held a large mirror and she glanced at her reflection. She was pleased to note a healthy touch of pink in her cheeks and a glow of happiness in her eyes that hadn’t been there in a long time.

Looking away she eagerly took in her surroundings. This bed was also queen-sized, covered in a soft, light green quilt. Touching it she was delighted at the thickness and thought it must be hand made.

Heavy curtains covered the windows and Lyn slid them back to gaze out onto the island. She gasped with surprise and delight at the view of the inlet. The sun shone off the water making it sparkle like a jewel. Guessing that Jordan would have an equally stunning view Lyn surmised it would be of the beach where the yacht was tied up.

This was a magnificent place and she could see why Jordan had made her home here. If Lyn lived here, she would never leave!

The restroom sat to the right of this bedroom and she was curious to see how this one was decorated. Crossing the threshold Lyn wasn’t disappointed. Sunshine yellow was the predominant color, trimming the hanging light fixture and shining brightly from the stained glass that featured brightly colored parrots.

As much as she would like to stand here admiring the view she suddenly had an overwhelming urge to be on he beach with the surf washing over her feet.

She used the facilities and washed her face quickly before going back into the bedroom and unpacking her bag. She laid out her clothing in the unoccupied drawers, smoothing them briefly before removing a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and pair of socks from her supplies. Then she stripped off her traveling clothes, tossing them across t bed to be dealt with later before changing. Her outfit was complete with tennis shoes and she was ready to go.

She decided to leave the cane at the cabin for the duration of this excursion. Since she planned on trying to do without it during her vacation she might as well start now. She could always fall back on it later if it proved impractical to do without it.

As quickly as possible she was out of the cabin and retracing her earlier steps to the beach. It was now late afternoon, and the sun was just starting to descend. With a few hours of sunshine left she was going to take full advantage of it. Reaching the edge of the tree line she stopped to take off her shoes and socks, and left them where she stood. Then she surprised herself by almost jogging toward the surf. She had spent a great deal of time at the beach before the accident, and was surprised at how much she had missed it. Maybe she would take the boat out tomorrow, not fishing since deep sea fishing required a great deal of stamina if she should actually hook something. Just a little pleasure cruise to enjoy the fresh air and get a little sun.

Thinking of the sun she thought she should be careful how long she thought she should be careful how long she spent in the sun. It had been a long time since she had been out for very long and she would burn easily.

With the sand between her toes and the water washing up to her ankles Lyn walked for a long time. With each step she took her feet sank slightly into the wet sand and she felt that much farther from her troubles. She knew that she would be sore later, but right now she felt like she could walk all the way around the island.

That thought proved impossible a short while later when she came up to a place where the trees grew all the way down to the water. There was a small inlet here and she followed it, unsurprised when the sea gave way to a small tributary. Pleased and feeling on the edge of discovery Lyn continued to follow where the creek would lead.

Trees grew thicker here but weren’t so close together as to make things difficult. In fact it was gorgeous here. A small game trail led the way, twisting and turning as it followed closely beside the water. Rounding a corner she came upon the most amazing sight. The tributary ended in a large pond of water that was fed by a waterfall. Fresh water fell over rocks that had been polished like glass over countless eons before crashing into the pond below. Birds sang in the trees undaunted by the human visitor, but the most amazing thing was all of the butterflies. There were hundreds of them in the air, flitting between flowers and resting on rocks and grass.

Lyn was almost breathless at the display and dropped to her knees where she was so she wouldn’t disturb anything. A tree trunk behind her made a good backrest and she prepared herself to spend hours staring at the view.

Here in this place with the beauty of the world displayed before her, she could almost believe that there was no evil. She could see the cycle of life in front of her embodied in the timeless grace of the trees and the waterfall. She had read somewhere that butterflies only lived eight hours after emerging from their cocoon, but they didn’t mourn the brevity of their lives. They immersed themselves in what time they had in unending movement. It was a lesson she took to heart, and with a decision made she looked to the future with a newness of hope that she hadn’t had in a very long time.

In the end it was the darkening sky, and the soreness in her backside that forced Lyn from the wonderful setting she had discovered. It was time to be heading back since she really wasn’t used to her surroundings and she could still get lost in the gloom. Back in these trees she couldn’t hear the breaking of surf to guide her back to the beach so she’d better get there before it got too dark.

The walk back took a little longer than she expected and she was tired. But the strain in her muscles was a good thing. It was fatigue from exercise that she was experiencing, not from injury.

Arriving back at the cabin Lyn took a lengthy soak in the tub, carefully inspecting the line of the scar on her leg and pleased with how it was healing. The scar began in the middle of her thigh and ran in a jagged line to the inside of her knee, but it wasn’t a keloid. It was a thin scar that would fade and eventually be very difficult to detect. Her doctors had been very good.

Remembering that she wanted to check out Jordan’s supply of reading material, she finally forced herself to leave the hot water and reach for a towel. Jordan wouldn’t be in tonight so with no intention of getting dressed Lyn threw on a nightgown and a robe before heading downstairs.

After starting a fresh pot of coffee she went into the living room and knelt down by the bookcase. Sliding her fingertips across the spines of the books she was surprised to discover that not one of them was a medical tome. In fact from the titles she gleaned that they were works of fiction. She pulled a few of them from the shelf to learn that they were romantic fiction. Just what she was hoping for. A title caught her eye, "Course of Action", and she pulled it from the shelf to read the summary on the back. But what she found left her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

It was a picture of the author. Not unbelievable in itself, but the picture was of a lovely blonde that could only be Jordan Pierce. Shaking her head as though to clear it of a fog Lyn checked the author’s name again. The dust jacket still read G. Brooke.

"It must be a pen name." Lyn mused aloud.

Intrigued she forgot about the coffee and carried the volume to the recliner. The writing was natural and easy to slip into. So easy in fact that Lyn soon lost all track of time as she became engrossed in the story.

*****************

At a little after eight in the morning Jordan Pierce had already put in three hours. She hadn’t been able to sleep for thinking of Lyn waiting at home for her. When she had slept it was to dream of walking in on Lyn innocently slumbering in her bed. In the dream Jordan had slipped off her clothing and climbed into bed with the redhead. Warm skin had pressed sweetly against her as she slipped under the covers and took the other woman into her arms.

Just as Lyn’s arms reached for her Jordan had snapped awake. Her heart was thundering with arousal and her breath came in short bursts. With no way of possibly going back to sleep she had gotten up and taken a long, cold shower before dressing for work.

Trisha Flanagan had been on her mind a lot, and was ever present in the recesses of her consciousness this morning. Jordan just had a hard time believing that the young woman was stealing drugs. She certainly couldn’t believe that she would have been stupid enough to stash them in her locker to be found in an impromptu search. That meant that someone else had set the young woman up. The only questions were who would do that, and why?

Jordan suspected she knew the ‘who’, but as to the other question she hadn’t a clue.

With that weighting on her mind she had checked the narcotics cabinet on the floor and the pharmacy on the main floor as soon as she had arrived at the hospital. Everything had been in order. Since then she had occupied her time working on the never-ending pile of paperwork that crossed her desk. At eight o’clock she began her rounds.

Mr. Roman Johnson had fractured his leg in four places after a skiing accident in Big Bear. He was the first patient on her agenda and it took only a few minutes to assure herself that he was recovering nicely. He refused his medication by reaching instead for her backside, and chuckling when she nimbly dodged the contact.

"Lots of practice dodging sickos like myself?" he asked jovially.

"Something like that." She answered with a smile. "But I think you do it just to test my reflexes. If you actually meant it your wife would have murdered you a long time ago."

Rolling his eyes he agreed, "Boy, have you got that right. If I even seriously looked at another woman she’d have my family jewels and I’d be singing in the Vienna Boys Choir."

Snorting Jordan said, "As if you can sing."

After telling him that she was releasing him later in the day Jordan continued on her rounds. Johnson was a good man and she didn’t consider him a serious threat in the sexual assault department. As much as he teased, Jordan had seen him with his wife a few times and could see the open adoration on his face.

Sometimes she wondered why he persisted in his adolescent flirtations when he so clearly wasn’t interested. Did he think that a man worth four million dollars was supposed to act like that? She honestly didn’t know but it seemed crazy that society expected a man of means to conduct himself like a rogue.

Crazy seemed to be the theme lately though. She was beginning to think that the world at large was going stark-raving loony tunes and that she was the only sane person in a sea of madness. Then again, what she was feeling for Lyn Gallagher could hardly be termed balanced. Grinning she glanced casually into the medication room and stopped dead in her tracks.

Closing her eyes, Lyn clenched them and shook her head thinking that she must surely be mistaken. Opening them again the scene seemed surreal and the details were so sharp that she thought surely she must be in shock. California sunshine streamed into the room so brightly it felt like it was trying to peel the corneas off of her eyes. The fizz and crackle of electricity flowing through the fluorescent lights resonated off her eardrums and the cool hospital air caused a chill of dread to trickle down her spine. But it was what she saw that generated the overload of her other senses.

It couldn’t be. She had been here less that fifteen minutes ago, and it hadn’t been this way. Trisha Flanagan was no longer working for the hospital. She had been dismissed two days ago, so it couldn’t possibly be her. Yet as she looked again, she couldn’t deny the truth. The narcotics cabinet was open and just from a passing brief glance it looked as though most of the contents were missing.

Entering the room she approached the cabinet slowly as though afraid something would jump out and bite her. Nothing moved as she approached the sagging glass door, but she could see that her suspicions were confirmed. A great deal of medications were gone. Jordan reached out to check the lock, and stopped. If this were a crime scene she didn’t want to chance leaving fingerprints.

All doctors assigned to the hospital had keys to fit the cabinets and undoubtedly some of their prints would be found here. But Jordan rarely touched the medications cabinets, tending instead to write prescriptions that would be filled by pharmacy staff. On the rare occasions that she dispensed medication it was usually boxes of samples that she handed out free of charge as agreed by pharmaceutical companies and the hospital board.

The only thing she could do was call security and allow them to do their jobs, not that it would do any good. The thief was long gone, and no doubt all security would do was file a report.

Glancing up at the corner of the room Jordan saw t security camera. Maybe there was something she could do. Security would be in no hurry, considering it already too late to do anything, but Jordan knew that the crime had just occurred. If she was fast enough, she just might be able to catch them.

After calling security and leaving the crime in their capable hands she headed to the basement. This was where security had set up their offices in this particular hospital. The Board of Trustees had insisted on it citing that their elite clientele would be put off upon seeing a locked doorway with the word "Security" emblazoned on it.

Jordan knew the security officers on site but few of them well. The only one she shared any kind of friendly relationship was Ozzie Blane who was as round as he was jovial. As large as he was it was difficult to picture him doing much more than eating chocolate donuts and pouring down gallons of highly sugared coffee. But the man was also six feet, four inches tall and she had seen him hold down highly combative junkies that were convinced that he was a flesh-eating troll intent on devouring them with extreme prejudice.

He was also a highly honorable man that Jordan was sure believed in the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus. He believed in good and evil and was decidedly on the side of good. For that reason, she knew she could ask for his help.

"Morning, Doctor Pierce." Ozzie greeted her wiping at the powdered sugar clinging tenaciously to his mustache. "What are you doing down here in this hole?"

"Hi, Ozzie. I wish that I were here under better circumstances, but there was a break in on the first floor. The medications cabinet in room 118 was broken into and I was wondering if I could see the security footage."

Frowning mightily he responded immediately. "You better believe it, Doc. If someone broke in during my watch, I want to know about it."

Break-ins and criminal activity were a rare occurrence at this hospital. For that reason, although security tapes were employed, there was no cadre of officers that viewed the monitors around the clock. No one would have witnessed the theft, but that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t be recorded.

"When did this happen?" Ozzie asked already reaching for the tape that monitored the room in question.

"Just about fifteen or twenty minutes ago."

Ozzie’s thick fingers unerringly punched the rewind button on the VCR. The current tape in the slot should have the whole incident recorded. A fresh tape was inserted at the beginning of each shift so it didn’t take long to rewind. Both of them watched the empty room for a few minutes until Ozzie became bored.

"Why don’t we fast forward until we see someone come into the room?" he suggested, not waiting for an answer as he suited actions to words.

In only a few seconds there was movement on the screen. "Stop!" Jordan directed in excitement.

"Ozzie pushed the play button and they watched as a candy striper walked into the room and grabbed a wheeled cart. She left quickly and never went near the narcotics in the corner.

Deflated, Jordan let out a breath in disappointment, but continued watching the screen in anticipation. Just as she was beginning to give up a man entered the room. He was tall, judging from the image on the screen, and dark haired. Other than that Jordan could discern nothing else about him although he seemed familiar. Of particular note was the fact that he studiously avoided the camera. Keeping his back to the camera, or his head turned away toward the window.

He walked straight over to the cabinet withdrawing a set of keys as he went. The locked turned under his key in less than a second, and Jordan guessed it was something he did regularly. If he were one of the doctors than it very well could be, if not for his suspicious behavior. He didn’t check the labels looking for anything in particular, just swept the contents from the shelves and into his deep lab-coat pockets.

The unidentified man was very efficient, emptying the contents from the cabinet in less than thirty seconds. When he was finished he didn’t bother to re-lock it, simply turning away and leaving the room as quickly as possible. At no time did Jordan see his face, but just as he exited the left side of the screen she saw something else.

"Stop there," she instructed taking an involuntary step toward the camera.

"What is it?" Ozzie asked loudly in his excitement.

The man was still a mystery, but Jordan was almost sure she knew who he was. Her biggest clue was revealed by what she saw through the same window where she had almost been blinded earlier. The parking lot was visible through the open blinds and sitting dead center in the frame outlined by the window was a red Ferrari Testarossa.

There was only one person, one doctor, she knew that drove such a vehicle and that was Mark Fuller. But she couldn’t go to the police or even afford to mention her suspicions to poor Ozzie. Doctor Fuller had very right to park in the parking lot, and even to remove drugs from the narcotics cabinet. He worked at the hospital. Jordan was sure that he could come up with some reason for having been in the medication room should she chose to confront him about it. All of her evidence was circumstantial, and driven by crude instinct.

But the film did give her enough to talk to the Hospital Review Board about Trisha Flanagan. If she could convince them that there was some question about the young woman’s guilt perhaps they could just place her on suspension until the matter was resolved. That would be a lot more preferable to dismissing her out of hand and tarnishing her career.

"Nothing, Ozzie. I’m sure it’s nothing." She assured him. "At least nothing that I can talk about at the moment. Do you mind if I borrow this tape for a short time. I promise to return it."

"I don’t know, Doc. It’s one thing to show you the footage, but if that’s evidence of any kind I could lose my job."

Sympathizing with him, but unable to reassure him completely Jordan simply requested, "Just give me until the end of the shift. I promise I’ll have it back to you by then."

"All right," he finally relented. "But if I don’t hear from you by five o’clock, I’m going to track you down."

"I understand." She agreed with a smile.

Ozzie ejected the tape and Jordan walked out with a smile on her face. Things were looking up, she thought. All along she had suspected Fuller to be guilty of something, but taking drugs and framing an innocent young woman was low even for him. But now she intended to find out what he was up to and prove that Trisha Flanagan was an innocent victim. Feeling better than she had in a while, she decided to call Lyn and share the good news with her. Her rounds could wait a few more minutes.

******

Lyn didn’t realize how deeply engrossed in the story she had become until her cell phone rang. Not sure at first what she was hearing she looked around in momentary confusion before her distracted mind was able to identify the sound. Keeping the thumb of her left hand inside the book to mark her place she reached for the phone beside her. She pressed the key to accept the call on the third ring, not bothering to identify the caller.

"Hello?"

"I was beginning to think you wouldn’t answer."

The soft, slightly amused voice sent shivers of pleasure down the redhead’s spine while a huge grin spread across her face. "Well, it’s really not my fault. I found this amazing book at your cabin and I just can’t put it down. The characters have incredible depth and believability. I can especially relate to the one named Caroline. Funny thing though… I’ve never heard of this author before. G. Brooke; you wouldn’t happen to know her, would you?"

A pause at the other end was the only response. Lyn had just begun to believe that she had lost the connection when the other woman finally responded. "Do you really like it?"

Lyn swallowed at the sweet intensity to the other woman’s shy query. She had seen Jordan Pierce in many situations since being admitted to the Mount Sinai hospital, but she had never seen the woman bashful. It was touching that her opinion mattered to the other woman that much.

"It’s marvelous." Lyn responded sincerely. "Do you write a lot? Are you working on anything now?"

"Not at the moment." Jordan chuckled. "And I’m glad you like the book. It was a lot of work, especially the editing process. It took all I had just to finish it."

"Well, should you decide to write anything else I’d be glad to proof-read it for you."

"I’ll keep that in mind." Jordan returned clearly amused at the obvious attempt to get the first look at any literary creations. "Listen, I’m actually calling with some good news." She said changing the subject. She enjoyed talking about the book, and appreciated the feedback but she was pressed for time and needed to get back to work.

"I’m all ears." Lyn joked.

"Your ears aren’t even big. I should know, I’ve looked in them often enough." Jordan kidded in return. "Seriously though, this morning someone broke into the narcotics cabinet on my floor."

Confused Lyn asked, "And that’s good news?"

"Well, not in itself, but after reviewing the security footage it casts serious doubt on Trisha Flanagan being dismissed and a certain amount of credence to the theory that she was set up. I’ve already talked to the hospital’s review board and they’ve agreed to keep her in suspension instead of dismissing her until this thing is resolved."

"That’s great news." Lyn replied before she put together the rest of what the younger woman had said. "Who did you say reviewed the footage?"

"I did. Actually the chief of security and I reviewed it together."

"And what did you see?"

"Nothing concrete," Jordan answered honestly. "But on the film a man with a key was clearly the one emptying the cabinet. He looked a lot like Mark Fuller, but he never faced the camera directly so my evidence is more instinct than hard fact."

"So you’re playing junior detective?" Lyn teased.

"I guess you could say that. To be honest I like the sound of that. Do you think I missed my calling?"

Lyn thought about the question for a second before she answered. "I think maybe you did." She said seriously.

"Now don’t get me wrong. I think you’re a terrific doctor, but all along you’ve had a bad feeling about Doctor Fuller. Even before I was released from the hospital I sensed that you distrusted him."

"Do you think I’ve allowed my personal feelings about the man to cloud my judgment?"

Lyn knew that Jordan was not being defensive when she asked the question. She was a very fair person and honestly wanted to know if Lyn though she was being out of line by accusing him.

"Not at all. You’ve known him for a long time, a few years from what I understand. Subconsciously you would know his movements, his body language, and would probably recognize him from behind if he wore a monkey suit complete with a hand-crank and a little hat. No, I believe you. Just do me a favor and be careful, all right?"

"Please don’t worry. My part in this affair is complete. I’ve reported what I know and now it’s for security and the hospital administrators to investigate from here."

"Good. I’d hate to think you were so busy following him around that you wouldn’t come home." Lyn answered segueing into another topic of interest.

Lyn easily picked up on the change in subject and Lyn could hear the smile in her voice. "As I told you I have to work tomorrow, but I was thinking of leaving here at noon tomorrow and coming out to the island. I don’t have any patients tomorrow afternoon so I wouldn’t be too negligent. I’d have to leave early the next morning and pull my last shift, but I’d have a few days off after that."

"That would be lovely. Maybe we could have a picnic on the beach and enjoy the fresh air. I found the most wonderful spot today that I think would be perfect."

"You’ve been exploring." Jordan accused gently.

"Guilty as charged." Lyn returned.

Unexpectedly Jordan blurted out, "Lyn, do me a favor? Be careful. I know that Doctor Fuller is here at the hospital and that there is no way he could have followed you to the island, but my instincts also tell me that he may have something to do with the things that have been happening to you." She wanted to urge Lyn to run to a neighboring cabin if she felt threatened in any way, but she didn’t want to seem like an alarmist. It was true that Fuller couldn’t know where she was, but the island was almost deserted. If by some stretch of the imagination he had followed her to the island, there would be no one to stand in the way of him harming her.

"Now it’s my turn to reassure you." Lyn returned easily. "Anyone could have been hiding on the ferry, watching me, but I would have noticed if they had followed me to the marina or even to the island. I’m perfectly safe."

Jordan felt relieved to hear these words and felt some of the tension leave her shoulders. "All right, I feel better knowing you’re safe. Now I’d better get back to work before my patients start threatening to sue me for malpractice."

"That would never happen, but I’ll let you go anyway. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. What time do you think you’ll be at Jessup Bay?"

"I plan to leave here by 12:30 at the latest. That’ll put me in time for the 2:45 ferry with time to spare. I should reach Jessup Bay by 3:00."

Great, Lyn thought already planning a surprise. "Call me if you get held up?"

"I promise." Jordan said softly.

A few moments later they hung up and Lyn knew it was going to be a long night. She knew that when she did dream a certain blonde would be in the starring role.

*****************************************

Lyn thought she would sleep like a baby, but that night was anything but restful. She was very comfortable on the thick mattress and between the soft sheets and had fallen asleep quickly enough but disjointed nightmare images and half-heard voices had awakened her within forty-five minutes of falling asleep.

The image of her Jaguar going through the guardrail and over the canyon wall was still holding center court in her mind when she realized she was sitting straight up in bed with her heart pounding.

"It’s just a dream." She uttered aloud to hear her own voice. It was a shaky voice, but it helped center her and she repeated the phrase again because it made her feel better.

After taking a deep breath Lyn threw back the covers and walked to the bathroom for a glass of water while drawing a palm over her sweaty brow. Lyn rinsed the sweat from her face, blotting it dry with a guest towel before drawing a cold glass of tap water into a Dixie cup.

Seconds later she was walking back into the bedroom when a sound near the window drew her attention. Frowning Lyn froze where she was and pressed against the wall, waiting. There was something furtive about the noise. It wasn’t loud, more like a soft scraping, or scratching sound. As much as the redhead had been through in the last year, she had learned to trust her instincts and in this case her instincts were telling her that she wasn’t alone.

How stupid could I have been, she berated herself silently. Let’s just to a deserted island for seclusion with a maniacal killer still on the loose.

Her nightmare of the Jaguar going over the rail flashed through her mind again, and although that hadn’t happened in reality she knew that if assaulted here, face-to-face, the outcome would certainly be quite different. There were thee other cabins on the island, but they were much too far away to hear a lone, frightened woman call for help.

The sound came again from near the window. Lyn held her breath and slowly inched toward the noise. The house was locked but that didn’t mean anything. If someone wanted in they could simply pick a lock. Was that happening here? Standing at the window frame Lyn slowly and carefully leaned around the edge to see what was happening. The sound repeated and with it came a slight movement that caught her eye.

Identifying the source of the sound Lyn let her breath out on a laugh. It was just the breeze causing the frond of the palm tree to move and scrape against the glass.

"Absolutely ridiculous," she said wryly walking away from the window.

Getting back into bed Lyn realized she really was safe, no one had followed her to the island, and no one was after her anymore. Jerry had been the original target for some unknown reason, and she had just had the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. There hadn’t been any other incidents for six months, until the car incident the previous day. That incident in itself suddenly began to look less sinister. It could have been a simple case of road rage. Maybe she had angered the driver of the stolen car by driving too slowly.

If she were trying to get away in a stolen car, she would be in a hurry too.

Yes, surely that was it. She had reacted to the other driver the same way she had re-acted to the old man in the cemetery. The events had been frightening but completely unrelated. Feeling better Lyn snuggled back under the covers and tried to find a comfortable spot. Her mind was still too active to allow her to sleep, but she remained in bed knowing she needed to rest if nothing else.

Eventually she dozed off but it was a light sleep during which she tossed and turned frequently, waking often. When the sky began to brighten with the coming dawn Lyn was already awake and planning for a full day.

Lyn spent the morning getting the feel for the Marlin, Jordan’s sailing yacht. She had packed a lunch, a black one-piece swimsuit that she wore beneath her shorts and tank top, and the novel she had started the night before. She had worn a long-sleeved, cotton shirt when she set out to ward off the early morning chill, while ankle socks and deck shoes completed her wardrobe.

When she had set out from the house she had deliberately left the cane behind, pleased with the fact that she had only a slight limp. She had started with a short walk on the beach to limber up before setting out for the yacht. After sailing for a while she took a swim in the cove that she had discovered the day before. It would be the perfect place for a picnic with Jordan, she decided.

Lyn was aware of a need to keep an eye on the time since she wanted to surprise the other woman by picking her up at the ferry.

I hope she doesn’t expect me to cook, Lyn thought.

At 2:45 she headed for the ferry. She was slightly burned but feeling refreshed by the sea air as she slipped the Marlin into its berth and arrived a few minutes early for the ferry. She hadn’t heard from Jordan all day and nervously hoped the other woman was still on schedule. Pacing the docks she watched the slow moving vehicle finally pull into port and as the safety ropes were lowered.

Jordan was one of the last off and Lyn was getting nervous as she watched the younger woman walk toward her. She could feel the iciness of nerves in her fingertips, but that didn’t prevent the stupid grins on their faces when they saw one another.

Jordan’s smile was not as large but her eyes shone just as brightly when she saw Lyn waiting for her on the dock.

"This is an unexpected surprise." She said as they met.

Neither could deny the attraction between them that was evident in the way they touched hands. "A nice one, I hope." Lyn responded feeling shy, and almost like a schoolgirl with her first crush.

"You’re doing so much better." Jordan observed. "No cane?"

"Nope, I feel a lot stronger. I don’t think I’ll need it anymore."

"That’s wonderful, just don’t be too stubborn. If you need it, use it. I’d hate to see you re-injure yourself."

The crowd on the docks was thick with people coming and going. An old man in a wrinkled brown coat bumped shoulders hard with Jordan, knocking the taller woman back a pace. Neither of them was concerned with him until they heard him grouse in a harsh voice, "Watch where you’re going."

"I’m so sorry." Jordan began, but the man never slowed down, simply plowing his way through the throng of people. Frowning the women exchanged glances.

"I guess there’s no accounting for manners." Lyn said, but something about the stranger bothered her. She was convinced that she had seen him somewhere before. There was something familiar in his walk, and the gray of his beard and heavy wrinkles were incongruous with the straight set of his shoulders, and the spryness of his stride.

"Something wrong," Jordan asked glancing between Lyn and the stranger.

Shaking her head Lyn said, "No, not really. Look, I don’t want to spoil this day because of a rude stranger. Let’s talk about something else."

"Great idea, what would you like to talk about?"

"Well, believe it or not I did a little exploring of your island yesterday, and I found a great place for a picnic."

"Do tell," the physician played along with a smile on her full lips.

"Are you hungry?"

"Famished," was the only response and judging by the timbre of the blonde’s voice Lyn wasn’t sure if they were both talking about food.

Deciding not to let her baser instincts control her mouth she opted for safety. "Well, as it happens I packed a picnic lunch."

The day felt a little brighter as they walked to the Marlin and on the trip back as they talked about nothing in particular. If Lyn had been asked later just what they had talked about she couldn’t have said. She could only bask in the glow of the other woman’s presence and enjoy the feel of the sun on slightly flushed skin.

After mooring at the island a quick stop by the cabin gave Jordan a chance to shower off the smell of the hospital and change. Lyn could see the outlines of a bikini beneath the woman’s top and couldn’t wait to see what she looked like in the revealing costume.

Their afternoon was spent at the cove Lyn had discovered. She wasn’t surprised to find that the location was a favorite of Jordan’s.

"It was actually the deciding factor on my purchasing my home." The physician admitted as they lay on towels in the sun.

"I can’t blame you, it’s a wonderful place. I think this vacation is just what I needed."

"Feeling pretty good about yourself, are you?" Jordan teased.

Taking up the challenge Lyn said, "Enough to race you to water." She had been waiting for the other woman to strip down to her bathing suit and couldn’t wait anymore. Someone had to take the initiative.

Jumping up Lyn stripped off her shirt before Jordan could pick up on what she meant. Then the other woman stood with a grin and began quickly removing her own clothing. Lyn had already removed her shoes and socks by the time Jordan had her shirt off and she froze as the younger woman shoved her shorts down her legs.

Breath catching in her throat Lyn met the other woman’s eyes. "You’re gorgeous." She breathed.

Flushing at the compliment Jordan said, "I thought you wanted to swim."

"I do," But suddenly I’m not in such a hurry, she added silently.

Both finished undressing, each taking in the other’s figure without trying to stare openly. When they were ready Lyn took Jordan’s hand, pleased when she didn’t resist, and they walked over to the water. It was colder than Lyn expected and she splashed around vigorously for a few moments trying to get used to the temperature and warm up.

Jordan chose to submerge completely and took the opportunity to stare at Lyn through the water. The woman really was magnificent, all sinew and hard little muscles. Her tummy was flat and her thighs lean. She swam around behind Lyn and took in the tiny, backside before she surfaced behind her.

Lyn spun around in alarm. Jordan had been under water for too long and she was starting to get a little worried. Then the blonde broke the surface behind her. Turning around she splashed water at the other woman.

"You scared me!" she accused, outraged and laughing at the same time.

Jordan laughed and splashed water back at her. They were fairly close to one another splashing and laughing when their legs brushed together. Lyn felt the electricity at the contact and knew that Jordan was experiencing the same by the way her pupils dilated.

Blushing, Jordan drifted away a little and after an awkward moment said, "Race you to the falls and back."

With that they were off. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing in the water and basking in the sun without a repeat of the incident in the water, but Lyn couldn’t get the moment out of her mind. It gave her a warm glow just to be around the other woman.

They returned to the cabin late in the afternoon and Jordan made a simple dinner of tortellini and garlic bread while Lyn sliced vegetables for a salad. A nice light wine completed the meal and they sat next to each other in the small dinning area with their arms brushing from time to time and their knees pressed together.

The anticipation was nice and neither felt the need to rush into something physical.

After dinner Jordan asked what Lyn wanted to do to pass the time. A couple of sordid suggestions were on the tip of her tongue but she answered, "I don’t really want to watch a movie. I didn’t sleep very well last night, and I’m afraid I’d be out in an instant."

Concerned Jordan asked, "Why didn’t you sleep?"

"Probably just because it’s a new environment." Lyn shrugged. "Although I did have a bit of a scare, and it got me thinking."

"What happened?" Jordan asked as they sat down on the sofa.

"Nothing spectacular. I had a bad dream and woke up. There was a noise at the window and I instantly thought someone was after me. It turned out to be just the wind."

"You said it started you thinking." Jordan prompted. "Chess?" she suggested as she waited for the other woman to reply.

"Sure, I haven’t played in years." Lyn admitted before continuing with her story. "Well, about what happened on my way out here. What if it was a simple case of road rage? It’s like seeing the old man in the cemetery and hearing the noise at the window last night. I’m starting to think that the events are all unrelated. Each time, it’s turned out to be nothing. At least nothing that relates back to last year."

"So you think what you’ve experienced lately and the events with Nurse Flanagan are unrelated?"

Raising her eyebrows as she considered the question Lyn answered, "I hadn’t really thought about that, but I’m convinced that Mark Fuller had nothing to do with what’s happened to me. I do believe he has something to do with the missing narcotics."

"And Jerry’s killer?" Jordan asked as she sat the chessboard on the coffee table and set up the pieces.

"Long gone. I think I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The fact that I never saw his face means I’m no threat. After all this time it wouldn’t make sense to risk exposing his identity by coming after me, now."

Sitting back against the cushions Jordan said, "I’m glad to hear it. I feel a lot better knowing you’re safe.

"I just hope that you’re able to figure out what happened at the hospital."

"It’ll work out." Jordan assured her. "Now, I believe it’s your move."

They played for a while, each winning a game and were well into their third game. Jordan was studying the board, considering her next move when she noticed Lyn’s hand jerk. Glancing up she saw that the older woman’s eyes were closing.

"Am I boring you?" she asked amused.

Jerking awake, Lyn looked up guiltily. "No, of course not. Why would you think that?"

"The fact that you’re falling asleep."

Embarrassed Lyn said, "I’m sorry. It’s just been a long day." Then laughing she realized what had given her away. "Don’t you just hate it when your muscles do that?"

"It is kind of a dead giveaway." Jordan teased.

Lyn grinned and decided to take advantage of the other woman’s knowledge. "You’re the doctor, why do your muscles jump like that?"

"It’s called a myoclonal jerk. It can be a symptom or a disease."

"A symptom of what?" Lyn asked worriedly.

Chuckling Jordan said, "A symptom of being exhausted."

Lyn grabbed a pillow from the end of the sofa and swatted Jordan with it. "Oh you! That was evil." She said, but was laughing.

"Really though," Jordan said, "It’s usually nothing. It happens when you’re falling asleep. There’s a sudden drop in the pulse that makes the brain think the body is dying. In response, it sends out an electric impulse that causes the spasm. Basically, your body is falling asleep faster than your brain can keep up with."

Noticing that Lyn’s blue-gray eyes had glazed over a little during the explanation she said, "It also means that you are going to bed."

"Oh, no." Lyn began to protest as the other woman stood. "I’m fine."

"Doctor’s orders,"

Jordan’s tone meant business and Lyn gave up the argument. "All right, but on two conditions."

"What is it?"

"One, that you walk me to my room." Jordan assented immediately and Lyn laid out the rest of her terms. "Two, that you wake me in the morning and let me take you to the ferry."

"I’d like that." Jordan said, taking her hand. "But, it will be very early. I could just take a water taxi."

"I insist." Lyn said softly.

"All right." Jordan’s eyes were shining softly and Lyn was having a hard time looking away. "Now, let me walk you to your room."

They held hands as they climbed the stairs and were soon standing in front of Lyn’s room.

After an awkward moment staring into each other’s eyes Jordan said, "Well, goodnight."

She started to turn slowly away when Lyn gripped her hand tighter. Then before she could tell who had made the first move, she felt Lyn’s lips pressing against her own. Jordan groaned and opened her mouth, deepening the kiss and allowing Lyn’s invading tongue to dance with her own. One kiss became too many to count until Lyn had to pull breathlessly away and cling to the other woman.

They held each other for a few moments, each catching their breath and finally Lyn took a step back. Fire was raging in her and she saw the flame reflected back at her in the blonde’s eyes. It would be so easy to allow this to escalate, but Lyn didn’t want to be selfish. Jordan had to work early the next morning and she needed her rest.

"Goodnight," she croaked finally letting go and allowing the other woman to walk away.

Jordan stopped at the entrance to her own door and they shared a smoldering look before the blonde went inside.

Lyn leaned weakly against the doorframe. "How am I supposed to sleep now?" she asked rhetorically. Letting her head fall forward, she smacked it lightly against the doorway and rested there briefly. Then she pushed away and entered the bedroom. "Now, for a cold shower!"

Down the hall another shower was running with frigid temperatures as well. Jordan’s teeth were chattering when she finally emerged and dried off. She threw on a short cotton robe to ward off the chill before preparing to brush her teeth. A quick glance in the mirror revealed slightly blue lips and she laughed quietly at her reflection.

Finished in the bathroom, she set the clock, turned out the lights and climbed naked into bed. But sleep was an elusive quarry and she watched the glowing numerals tick insistently by. Somewhere close to midnight she couldn’t take it any more. Throwing back the covers she got out of bed and pulled on the robe. She just had to see Lyn for another moment before she went to sleep. The kiss had her body singing even after the cold shower, and she just couldn’t get it off her mind. Maybe just hearing the rhythmic breathing of the sleeping woman would help her relax.

Lyn’s door was open and Jordan leaned against the frame. Staring at the woman in the bed she strained to hear her breathing. She couldn’t really see her in the dark, but after a moment she was convinced that the other woman wasn’t asleep. Her suspicions were confirmed when Lyn rolled over toward the doorway and asked softly, "Jordan?"

Moving quickly she crossed the room untying the belt of the robe as she went. Lyn threw back the covers and then reached eagerly for the other woman, pushing the cotton garment from her shoulders. Lips met, teeth skidding together before their mouths opened and they devoured each other.

Jordan’s weight on her body was heaven. Lyn moaned in delight as her hands slid down the other woman’s frame, outlining skin and feminine curves, clasping tightly at her buttocks and pulling her more tightly against her. Jordan pulled her mouth away and began placing kisses along her neck and ear before sucking the lobe into her mouth.

"You feel so good." Lyn groaned, running both hands up the smooth plane of her back and burying her fingers in the golden mane. She pressed herself closer and felt hard nipples and full breasts pushing against her.

Pulling back Jordan looked into eyes with pupils dilated so wide they were nearly black. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

She leaned down and captured Lyn’s soft lips with her own, slipping easily into her mouth. Her legs parted slightly and Lyn pressed the slight opening with her knee. Jordan gave way willingly and Lyn’s thigh pressed against her causing them to both gasp at the desire coursing through their veins.

Then Jordan was tugging at Lyn’s nightgown, trying in a fog of desire to remove it. "Just tear it." Lyn groaned into her mouth.

The words spurred Jordan’s passion and Lyn’s wardrobe was suddenly not a concern. She easily ripped the thin garment from Lyn’s shoulders and tossed it aside, eager to feel warm flesh against her own.

Lyn moved her hand down Jordan’s body seeking the wet warm place she felt against her leg. Her fingers slid slickly through the pale, blond curls and the other woman pressed insistently against her.

"Inside?" Lyn asked softly unsure what the other woman liked.

Jordan could only grunt and mash harder against the teasing fingers. Lyn took that for an answer and slid easily into the other woman with two fingers. She held on to Jordan as the woman gasped at the sensation of being filled so completely. When Jordan began to whimper and thrust against her hand, Lyn matched her by thrusting against the other woman’s thigh. In just a few moments Lyn could feel her lover’s body tense and then exploded with pleasure.

As the tension in her body slowly eased Jordan lay atop Lyn for a moment, unable to move. But the scent of the other woman’s arousal tickled her nostrils, energizing her and looked into desire-filled eyes.

"Your turn," she promised huskily.

Her lips found Lyn’s smaller breast and she sucked as much of it as she could into her mouth. Lyn moaned and her head thrashed against the pillow as Jordan sucked on one breast while her fingers tugged on the other nipple. Holding tightly around the strong back, Lyn wrapped her legs around Jordan’s and began thrusting. But Jordan had no intention of letting Lyn come like that.

Releasing the small breast she trailed kisses down the chest and abdomen, her destination clear to the panting woman lying on her back. Jordan settled between the strong legs and wrapped her arms around the thighs to hold Lyn in place. Then she licked her from the bottom of the wet opening to the hard little knot on top, and back again. Lyn gasped and bucked against the sensation, grasping at the head between her legs. Bending her legs, she opened herself up for Jordan’s invading tongue and lost herself in the feelings. With quick, soft strokes back and forth across the hard, little clit Jordan quickly brought Lyn to a shattering climax.

The sounds of her lover’s cries filled Jordan’s heart and as the last waves flowed through Lyn she finally relented. Moving back up, they reached for each other and Jordan settled with Lyn’s head resting against her shoulder.

Both were sound asleep in seconds.

*************

The next morning saw them running late. Jordan had slept in Lyn’s room and barely heard the alarm when it went off. They had showered together to save time, which resulted in some rather naughty play and setting Jordan back another half-hour. But finally they were dressed and on their way to Jessup Bay. The ferry was getting ready to set out when they finally arrived on the docks.

"I’ll be back tomorrow for a few days." Jordan said as they raced for the ferry. "Maybe we can get in some deep sea fishing?"

"I’d love that." Lyn responded.

Just as she thought Jordan was going to board the ferry without another word, she turned back. Unselfconsciously, Jordan kissed her thoroughly in full view of the crowd. Lyn had never been one for public displays of affection, but never considered onlookers as she wrapped her arms around Jordan’s neck and returned the kiss deeply.

Jordan pulled away and said, "I’ll call you when I get to the hospital."

Then she was gone. Lyn waited until she couldn’t see the ferry anymore before walking toward the coffee stand at the far end of the pier. She noticed the same old man from the previous day sitting on a nearby bench and heard him talking to himself.

That must be where I’ve seen him before, she thought considering that the man was homeless and hung out on the dock.

Frustrated he mumbled to incoherently to himself. To the crowd he appeared like a drunken, degenerate, but it was merely a disguise. The killer was completely frustrated, and silently berated himself for not taking action sooner. Two nights ago he had wasted the opportunity, making too much noise at the window and awakening the slumbering woman. He had intended to make it look like an accident, that she died in her sleep, but he had lost his balance and fallen against the window. She had woke up and his plan had been foiled.

The blonde physician had been with her since the previous day and he hadn’t had another chance.

"What is she anyway? The bodyguard," he groused quietly to himself.

He had planned to finish off the socialite the previous night and was close to her yesterday waiting for his chance when she had arrived at the ferry to meet the doctor. They hadn’t recognized him in his disguise and he had followed them listening to their conversation yesterday and this morning. One woman he could take care of, but he wasn’t going to chance a survivor as had happened before. He had to wait until she was alone.

He knew that he was running out of time. He had to make his move tonight, before the other woman came back.

********************

Jordan was walking on air when she arrived at the hospital. Her thoughts were filled with lovemaking, and the scent of Lyn was still clear in her mind. She didn’t notice the ruckus going around her until she had started going through the messages on her desk. Ozzie startled her by sticking his head into her office and asking loudly, "Have you heard? Fuller’s been arrested."

Standing in surprise Lyn asked, "What? What for?"

"After looking at the security tapes I called the police and reported the theft. They came out and took fingerprints and logged a report. Doctor Fuller’s prints were on the cabinet door and inside on one of the shelves."

"Well, of course his prints were on it." Jordan argued. "He works here. He has every right to be inside the cabinet."

Nodding, the security guard agreed. "Yes, but after you left I had the room secured and looked back through the previous tape. The cleaning crew were the last ones in before the morning shift and the surveillance video clearly showed them cleaning the cabinet and everything else inside the room. No one else went into the room until your mysterious fellow showed up, and Doctor Fuller’s prints were the only ones found."

"So, whoever’s prints were on the cabinet was the only possible suspect." Jordan reasoned.

Shrugging Ozzie said, "Guess he didn’t think about that. And since all physicians have to be printed to get their medical license it didn’t take long for the police to find a match."

"What about the drugs found in Nurse Flanagan’s locker?"

"Fuller tried to deny stealing the narcotics, said he had every right to take the medication to treat his patients. But he couldn’t explain why his prints were found on Nurse Flanagan’s locker."

Blowing out her breath Jordan said, "I’m amazed, but you realize that all of that is pretty circumstantial? How did they have enough to arrest him?"

"You’re right, it was circumstantial, but it gave the police enough probable cause to get a search warrant. They found a truckload of drugs in his house and in the trunk of his car. When they searched his house, they found a couple of packed suitcases. Looks like he was planning a long trip. After that he confessed to everything."

"That’s terrific news." Jordan said relieved on two fronts. Lyn was right about not being pursued by anyone and the young nurse was off the hook. "What about Nurse Flanagan, any word on when she’s going to be re-instated?"

A carrot-top head poked around the door beside Ozzie, and Trisha Flanagan said, "She already has."

Jordan grinned at the young woman as Trisha added, "With a substantial raise as well. They’re probably afraid I’d sue."

The young physician thought all of this was wonderful news. Coupled with Lyn’s news that she was just overreacting and this day couldn’t possibly get any better.

Leaving the ferry, Lyn decided to sail back to the island instead of using the engines. She wanted to enjoy the smell of the sea air, and listen to the quiet instead of smelling diesel. While she was happy with her decision, she turned out to be sorer from the previous day’s activity, and sailing proved more of a chore than she had thought it would be. Of course that was something she would never admit to Jordan, she thought with an impish grin. On the heels of that thought, Lyn felt she shouldn’t push herself today. She should allow her body to rest and do nothing more strenuous than go over their gear for tomorrow’s fishing trip. Deep-sea fishing was relaxing and restful unless you actually hooked something. Then it could lead to hours of fighting a two hundred pound fish. She wanted to be fully rested for that possibility.

Thinking about the previous night she felt a thrill of arousal shoot through her body, and hoped there would be many more nights passed so sweetly. Jordan had been incredible for lack of a better word, a passionate and fierce, yet at the same time teasingly gentle. Lyn had never experienced anything like it and knew she was lost to the woman’s charms.

As she neared the island she realized that Jordan had never told her why it was called Ghost Island. Perhaps it had something to do with the eerie mist that tended to roll in heavily at dusk and dawn. The first few times she had experienced it she had found it disconcerting. Glancing overhead at the storm clouds that were beginning to roll in she wondered if the rain would increase the fog. She didn’t really care, she found the mist calming now. It made her feel as though she was embraced and protected by the thick air, screened from prying eyes. The rain wasn’t really a concern either as storms rarely lasted long in California. It would probably pass during the night, and wouldn’t delay the planned fishing trip.

Lost in quiet contemplation she pulled into the berth at Ghost Island. She wasn’t really hungry, but thought a pot of coffee would be nice. She had spied a thermos in one of the cupboards last night and thought it would be nice to sip on her favorite beverage while working on rods, reels, lures and gaffs.

Her boat shoes left wedges in the sand as she walked across the beach toward the cabin. At the same time a scraggly, graying head popped up from the hold. His rumpled brown overcoat was spotted with bits of food and dirt and hung limply from his large frame. The old man had climbed aboard while Lyn was seeing Jordan off at the ferry. He had deliberately bumped into the physician to see what reaction he would get, but Lyn had never recognized him insuring that his disguise was almost perfect.

He had stowed aboard the Marlin and now would wait until the socialite was out of sight before getting off the boat and hiding until dark. Glancing at the sky he was pleased to see the heavy clouds rolling in. The smell of ozone was thick in the air. If a storm did come up it could only serve to help him out.

The killer followed slowly behind Lyn and arrived at the cabin a few minutes after she did. He waited patiently until she re-emerged and followed her back to the beach, hiding in the trees as she settled down to work on the deck.

Lyn was sitting in partial shad with a wide brimmed hat, sipping coffee as she worked. Not knowing how degraded or worn out the fishing line on the reels was she took the mechanisms apart and wound fresh line onto them. Wiping down rods, and stringing line she lost all track of time.

Her cell phone rang interrupting her work and she was delighted to see Jordan’s number on the caller id.

"Hello?" she answered eagerly.

"Hi," Jordan answered back shyly. "I hope I’m not disturbing you. I just wanted to hear your voice."

Lyn couldn’t prevent the grin that took possession of her face. "Are you kidding? I’m delighted that you called. I missed you."

"So, what are you doing to pass the time?"

"Just soaking up the sun, and getting our equipment ready for tomorrow." Lyn replied hoping Jordan was looking forward to the trip as much as she was. "What’s going on there? You said there were some developments."

"Yes," the physician returned excitedly and launched into a narrative describing all of the events at the hospital that had occurred in her absence. She was descriptive and even funny, allowing Lyn a glimpse of the author that had created Course of Action. The older woman completely lost herself in the details and at the end had to remind herself that it was a true event.

"That’s wonderful news." Lyn finally replied having listened silently throughout the telling. "I’m so happy for Miss Flanagan, and that just proves how dead-on your instincts really are."

"I’m just happy that it’s finally over. Fuller is behind bars, and you are safe. Things couldn’t possibly be better."

"I disagree." Lyn returned saucily. "I seem to remember things being pretty amazing last night."

For a moment there was a silence and the redhead hoped she had gone too far in her flirtatious banter. Then Jordan admitted, "I’ve had difficulty thinking about anything else, and I can’t wait until tomorrow…after the fishing trip."

Lyn was searching for a reply when she heard a slight commotion from Jordan’s end. A second later the younger woman said, "I’m sorry, Lyn, but I have to go. One of my patients is strenuously insisting that he is ready to be discharged. I’m afraid I don’t agree with his diagnosis."

"Sound like any other patients you might have had in the recent past?" Lyn teased gently.

Chuckling at the joke Jordan said, "Yes, actually, but this one at least can be reasoned with."

"Hey!"

Both laughed for a moment and then Lyn relented, "All right, I’ll let you go. But I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

"I just wish it could be sooner." Jordan said, warming Lyn’s heart with her words. Then Jordan had to hang up; leaving the other woman absorbing the sunshine and the warm glow that she was beginning to feel each time they spoke.

Lyn never realized that she had an audience for the entire conversation. He did not approve of their familiarity, feeling something unnatural at work between the two. Leaving the socialite to her daydreaming he left the beach again. He was hungry and now would be the perfect time to find something to eat at the cabin. With Lyn occupied on the boat, she would never know he had been in and out of the house.

He had done this a few times before, making a sandwich and familiarizing himself with the layout of the premises. As long as he meticulously cleaned up after himself things would work out to his advantage.

Suddenly he stopped and stared absently into the woods. Since driving up the coast three days ago he found his thoughts wandering freely, almost beyond his control. He was not able to concentrate on anything for more than five minutes at a time. His mind jumped from subject to subject like a room full of cats jumping across the furniture. Shaking his head to clear it, he cast one last look at the redhead before he finally walked nonchalantly away.

Soon he arrived at the edge of the woods near the cabin and froze again. He snapped back from a daydream, surprised to find himself here. Apparently some fraction of his attention was on his destination, but it was a very small part. If he had been driving in very heavy traffic he would have killed himself.

Myra was always there with him now, in and out of the dreams. Of course he knew that she couldn’t really be there, she had left him over a year ago because of Lyn Gallagher. It was Lyn’s fault that his wife had left him. It was her fault that he had lost his family, and all of his savings. Now she would pay for that.

"I almost had her night before last." Henry admitted contritely. "If she hadn’t woken up I would have."

"It’s okay, Henry." Myra said, close and yet in an oddly disembodied voice.

"No, Myra. I should have nailed her. I should have come through the damned window then and cut her throat."

Myra didn’t have an answer for him, and she chose to be quiet. Henry knew that she would be silent until he asked for her input. He had trained her well with his fists to keep her opinions to herself.

Wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers he gazed at the cabin. "I’ll make up for it tonight, but I have to make it look like an accident. Can’t have the cops showing up and hounding me. We’ll be together again after she’s gone. You’ll see."

"You’ll get her, Henry. Then you’ll get that doctor friend of hers, too."

Henry smiled. He had hoped that Myra would be sympathetic and encouraging. You could always count on her for that.

"Maybe I will. But how, and when?" he asked her phantom.

"Tonight, during the storm."

He blinked at the darkened sky and the island sand around him. "She won’t expect me to be here. She won’t be ready for anything. I’ll take care of her real easy, and then we’ll be together again. Won’t we?"

"Yes." She said, just as he wanted her to.

"We’ll be happy again, right?"

"Of course," answered the golden, smiling woman.

"You won’t have to worry about me hurting you, Myra. When you first left me, I wanted to hurt you real bad. I wanted to kill you. But I won’t hurt you anymore. We’re going to be together again."

********************

Lyn was pre-occupied with the phone conversation. Getting past her baser instincts, her thoughts drifted to Fuller’s arrest and she had to admit to a slight feeling of anxiety and disappointment. Her disappointment stemmed from the fact that Fuller was a physician and had a duty to helping people. Instead he chose to help himself by confiscating all the narcotics he could get his hands on. The cause for the anxiety was harder to pin down and she finally came to the conclusion that it had to do with Jerry. Now that Fuller was in jail, the Jerry Stein Foundation would never be.

Why not, she wondered suddenly. Surely she could see to it that something was set up in his name.

With Jerry on her mind, she wandered again to that day on the cliff and her vision misted with unshed tears at the loss of her dear friend. But this time instead of feeling fear, and sorrow at the memory she felt anger white and hot singing through her veins that his killer had never been caught.

There were so many unanswered questions. Why Jerry, what could he have possibly done to enrage someone enough to kill him? Or had it just been a random convergence of chance that they had been on the cliff when a madman was present? Could it really be as simple as a killer finding a convenient target that had no connection to him; that was simply out for the thrill.

It appeared that was exactly what had happened, and she could honor his memory by setting up the trust and getting on with her life. The prospect of getting on with her life by incorporating a certain fascinating physician was definitely a wonderful idea.

Finally the rumbling of her stomach and a few fat, heavy raindrops convinced her it was time to go. It was early evening and she could definitely do with something to eat.

******************

Lyn was feeling positively lazy. After finishing with the gear, she had enjoyed a dinner of leftover pasta and even managed to cook some frozen garlic bread. Wine with dinner had relaxed her and she had encouraged that relaxation by curling up with her novel in the easy chair after dinner. It was almost perfect.

Just as dusk began to gather, the storm finally broke with gusto and with it came an unexpected high wind that startled Lyn enough to set the book aside. Looking up from her reading she glanced around the room listening to the wind rattling the windows in their casings. From the corner of her eye she noticed movement and glanced sharply to the left. A large mirror hung on the wall opposite a window, and she could have sworn that she saw something.

Frowning, Lyn closed the book and sat it on the corner table. The wind abated somewhat as she stood and walked over to the center of the room. Nervously she checked all of the windows and could see nothing but wind-blown trees and gathering gloom.

Her thigh was throbbing from the sudden barometric change and she climbed the stairs as quickly as she could with the pain. Hopefully she could get a better view of the area around the cabin from the second floor. Looking out the window in the office she saw a man in a brown coat near the edge of the woods. He was looking around as though confused and she thought he must be one of the island residents. Maybe he had lost power or something and needed help. Right now he was being pelted by rain. His hair was plastered to his skull and his jacket was whipping about in the wind. Lyn couldn’t imagine why anyone would be out in this short of an emergency.

Suddenly he looked up and unbelievably their eyes made contact. Lyn felt as if she had just grabbed onto a live electrical wire when she instantly recognized him as the man from the ferry.

His face hardened visibly into a mask of anger and hatred as he started for the cabin. From his stalking pace and clenched fists there was no doubt as to his less than innocent intentions. Lyn knew in that instant that he was the mysterious killer, and that her instincts that she had been fighting to ignore all along had been right. If she didn’t move right now, he would succeed in finishing what he had started six months before.

911, she thought frantically reaching for the phone on the desk. But she froze before her hand ever made contact with the hand set. Even if she could call the police they would never arrive in time; she was just wasting time she didn’t have by trying to call.

The doors and windows were locked, but she knew that if he wanted in all he had to do was smash a glass. She needed a weapon, but there were no firearms in the cabin. The best she could do was her cane, or the fireplace poker, or a knife from the kitchen. With all of these thoughts racing through her mind she hustled down the stairs and grabbed her cane from beside the front door. Now what?

A glass shattered somewhere in the laundry room to the left, making her decision for her. Spinning to the right Lyn moved quickly into the living room where she had been reading and grabbed her cell phone from the end table. The fireplace was too far away so she ran into the kitchen grabbing a large butcher knife from the butcher block.

"Where are you, Miss Gallagher? You might as well give up now and I’ll make it quick, although I can’t assure you that it will be as painless as your friend’s death was."

Lyn was stunned to recognize the voice. It couldn’t be! Henry? The chauffer?

Overwhelmed with fear and nausea she sank to the floor with her back against the pantry door. What possible motive could a trusted friend and employee have for this? What was worse was that she had never had any clue that he was capable of such a thing. All this time the killer had been with her, visiting her in the hospital, driving her around, living in her own home. Why hadn’t he made his move before now?

She could hear him moving around searching for her, and cowered closer against the pantry. The kitchen was very small, but wasn’t easily viewed unless you stepped into it completely. Being a very narrow room and set off to the left from the living area, she hoped he would just glance into the room and not see her. She really didn’t want to have to leave the house and run into the storm, but the alternative was death or taking another human life.

Lyn clutched her cell phone and pressed redial. Jordan’s number was already keyed in, and the older woman could only pray that the physician would answer quickly.

"Oh really, Miss Gallagher. It’s time to come out and pay for what you’ve done to me. And don’t think that you can possibly surprise me or out wrestle me. You know how much I work out, you’re no match for me."

Squeezing her eyes tight shut Lyn couldn’t respond to Jordan’s answer on the cell phone. Henry was too close and would hear her speaking, and he was getting closer. When he sauntered into the kitchen grinning from ear to ear Lyn finally shouted into the phone.

"Help me, Jordan! He’s going to kill me!"

Dropping the phone she looked into his bloodshot eyes, and noticed the dark rings under them. For the second time in her life she experienced the fear that belongs solely to women in the presence of a psychopath. Even under the disguise she could see his gaunt appearance, but knew that he was still strong enough to kill her. She felt weak, helpless and was cold; trembling inside, but she couldn’t give in to him. Jordan had heard her shouted words for help and was no doubt already on her way and calling for the police at the same time.

Lyn had to stall, and judging from the demented look in Henry’s eyes she didn’t have much time to come up with a plan. But she knew this man, or had known him. "You better not stay here, Henry. Jordan is calling the police. It won’t take them long to get here."

"Well, of course she is. I know that." He smiled.

Blinking, Lyn could not figure out what he wanted other than to kill her. "Then why are you here?"

"You’re going to help me get Myra back."

"Myra? Back? Henry, I don’t know what you’re talking about." Lyn knew that Henry was married, but the woman had never worked for her family, and she knew nothing about any break up. How could she possibly have any influence over a woman she had never met?

"Henry, I don’t know Myra."

Grinning even more he said, "I know, but since it’s your fault that she’s gone it’s only right that you make her come back. You know, sort of as a way to atone for your sins."

Lyn was no longer merely frightened; she was terrified. It was obvious that something had made him go over the edge, and he somehow blamed her for it. Perhaps it was a physical or psychological disease, but it had definitely pushed him past sanity. Trying to hide the knife under her hip, Lyn prayed to keep him talking.

"Henry, please listen to me. You’re not well…"

His face hardened as he reached up and tore off the gray wig. Dropping it negligently onto the kitchen tiles he took a few more steps in front of her and replied, "I’m perfectly healthy. I’m just trying to get my wife back."

"Henry, you’re sick. Maybe I can help you."

"You can talk to Myra." He agreed.

"I don’t know Myra." She insisted vehemently.

Lyn saw the blow coming before it landed but she couldn’t move away in time. Her teeth rattled, and her vision blurred. She felt herself being pulled down into a well of inky blackness, and terror engulfed her. If she lost consciousness there would nothing to prevent him from killing her. The pull was too hard to resist.

Why couldn’t she have just done what he asked of her? All she had to do was talk to Myra. Of course he was going to kill her anyway, but now he was going to hurt her first. If she had just been nice,

Snapping back from another daydream Henry realized that he was standing over the woman watching as she lay sprawled on the kitchen floor. Since she refused to cooperate his plans had changed. He didn’t want to step over her in case she was faking being unconscious so he turned and went back to the front door and out into the rain.

The shed was only ten feet from the cabin. He would still be in full view of the house, but knew that the socialite wouldn’t venture into the rain. She would give up hope and bow to his superior strength.

While snooping around earlier he had seen a length of rope hanging from an old nail. It was just what he needed. He would tie her up and take her upstairs. The police wouldn’t arrive for at least half an hour and even then would have to waste time finding the right cabin.

Lyn’s eyes fluttered open and reality came rushing back. Where was he? He wouldn’t have just left. Uncaring where he was at the moment she got one hand under and pushed up to her knees. She felt shaky, old and weak but at least she was still alive…for the moment. Staggering to her feet, Lyn swayed as she regained her equilibrium. Then she heard his voice coming from the front of the cabin.

"It’s all right, Lyn. I’m going to take care of everything now."

There was nowhere else to go. The kitchen was a trap, and Henry knew exactly where she was. He would be on her in a second. With no other alternative, she opened the kitchen door and slipped out into the storm.

Rain assaulted her, streaming into her eyes and obscuring her vision. Her clothes clung to her like a second skin weighing her down as she raced for the woods knowing that he would be right behind her. Ideally, she would have preferred to head for the beach and the Marlin, but knew that she wasn’t enough of a sailor to brave the storm-tossed sea. She would have to hide.

The trees and the storm would hide her from him, but she had to have shelter. The picnic area, she thought. There was a small cave just behind the waterfall. It was more of an indention really; not even large enough to lye down in, but it would be enough to get her out of the rain.

W W W W W W W

Henry came around the corner just in time to see Lyn disappear out the kitchen door. Suddenly his mind clarified and he wondered what the hell he was doing. He had been seeing Myra again, that much he was sure of. But Myra was long gone. She had moved out when he had lost all of their savings on a bad investment. It wasn’t just the loss of funds that had caused her to leave, the physical violence had been a large part of it, but it had been the final straw. At first Henry had attempted to track her down by contacting members of her family. They had all told him that she hadn’t been seen, but there was no worry of a missing family member in their eyes. Instead he had received the impression of barely concealed hostility. Obviously they were covering for her, but there was nothing he could do.

That was when he had decided that Lyn Gallagher and Jerry Stein had to pay. It wasn’t until a few months after Stein had died that Henry had started seeing Myra. He knew that she wasn’t real and at times the visions frightened him, but other times he felt that it gave him strength.

Up until recently he had been able to function normally, only seeing his ex-wife on occasion. Sometimes she would be sitting quietly beside him while he was driving. Other times he could see her shadow as he sat watching TV at night. It was only in the last few weeks that she had begun speaking to him. He was beginning to lose touch with reality more and more frequently, and for longer periods of time.

"She’s getting away."

Myra spoke quietly from behind him prompting him to give chase. Henry ignored the apparition and strode into the rain and the night. Even if there were something wrong with him, he would finish this tonight.

In this storm he knew that Lyn wouldn’t brave the open sea. That narrowed the search considerably. Either she was headed to one of the other cabins on this island or she would go to the cove. After following her for the last few days, he knew about the cove and the small niche behind the waterfall. Henry had already checked out the other residences and knew that two of the owners worked during the week, and the last was a timeshare that was vacant much of the time. He also knew that all of their doors were locked when they weren’t home. Short of breaking and entering, that would only leave Lyn only one place to go. The only real threat was that she would double back.

With instinct born of psychotic intuition he sprinted for the cove.

More sure on his feet and accustomed to the layout of the island even in the dark, Henry was soon able to glimpse the back of Lyn’s rain-soaked shirt as she scrambled through the trees. Her limp was pronounced and he surmised that was part of the reason for his ease in catching up to her.

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Lyn ran as quickly as she could through the driving rain. Hair plastered over her eyes obscuring her vision even as the rain streamed like a flood down her face. She was shaking She had to get control of herself, but the tremors continued no matter how hard she tried to suppress them.

Her mind raced furiously trying to find the answer, but there wasn’t one. And right now she didn’t care. It was more important to get away from him. If she could just reach the cove and hide from him until Jordan could arrive with the police everything would be all right.

Lyn wasn’t used to running around the island at night, much less in the middle of a storm. Stopping for a moment to get her bearings, she realized that she had left her cell phone lying on the kitchen floor. At least she still had the butcher knife.

Glancing behind her she saw the flapping of Henry’s brown coat. Eyes widening in fear she took off again, but her attention wasn’t on where she was running and she suddenly found herself airborne. A moment later she impacted with a thud and a loss of breath at the bottom of a small ravine. With the impact the knife that she was carrying went flying. With no way to find it in the dark, she scrambled to her feet and took off up the other side. Digging in with fingers and toes she climbed up the other side. Slip-sliding in the mud she finally reached the top. Henry hadn’t been close enough to see her plunge into the crater and she could only hope that he fell inside, too. In fact, she hoped that when he landed that he broke his leg. Or better yet, his neck!

Backing away quickly Lyn kept an eye on him and couldn’t believe it when Henry stopped at the edge of the wash and actually grinned at her.

"Where are you going, Lyn? You don’t mind if I call you by your first name, do you?" he asked rhetorically.

"Why are you doing this?" she sobbed.

Ignoring the question Henry said conversationally, "I killed Doctor Stein."

She knew it was true, but she didn’t want to consider it. The tears and the shattering grief for that would have to come later…if there was a later.

"And now it’s time that I finished what I started."

Lyn already knew that he blamed her for something, but what could possibly have been so terrible that he was willing to kill in retaliation?

"The least you can do is tell me why, Henry. Don’t you at least owe me that?" she asked with some of her old fire.

"Owe you?" he fairly shouted over the rain. "You owe me. You and Jerry."

"What did we to deserve this?"

Why not, he asked himself. She was going to die anyway. "A year ago I was driving the two of you to the opera. You were discussing buying stocks for World Associated, a computer company."

At her blank stare, fury stole over his countenance. "Don’t tell me you don’t remember! In retrospect I realized that you were setting me up to fail. Your voices were so loud that you obviously wanted me to hear, but I didn’t realize it at the time. You and Stein were going on and on about what a wonderful opportunity it was. You were talking about how people were buying up tons of stock in this new company and that it was sure to be a big success. Halfway through the conversation you acted as though you suddenly realized hat I was listening and closed the privacy shield."

Lyn remembered that conversation, and she knew that Henry had misunderstood. "If you had heard the rest of that discussion you would have heard us talking about the company being a hoax! Anyone who invested in that company would lose everything they had. In fact, six months later the authorities shut the operation down and arrested the board of directors for fraud. We weren’t trying to set you up. We were just having a conversation between friends."

"Liar! You did this to me on purpose. I lost every penny I had. After that Myra left me. I haven’t even been able to talk to her since. She had her lawyer serve me with divorce papers, and it’s all your fault. Now you’re going to pay, just like your friend did."

He spoke in such a measured tone, but Lyn had no doubt that he was a raving lunatic.

Maybe she could still get away from him. He was on the other side of the ravine and would have to go down into the mud-soaked channel and back up the near side before he could give chase. Turning to run he halted her with a very calm question. "Where are you going? To the cove?"

Surprise caused her to spin around to look at him. "You’ve been following me!"

"Of course. How else could I take care of you? You still owe me." Reaching into a pocket he drew out a length of rope and dropped a two-foot section so that he could see what he was holding. He had found it hanging on a rusty nail inside the shed. Dramatically he grasped the end and twined it around his other hand. Then he snapped the line taut demonstrating what he intended to do with the rope. "I think it’s time you paid."

Finally in frustration she railed at him, "You were eavesdropping! You heard part of a conversation and took it the way you wanted to. Boohoo! Now you’re mad because what you thought was a sure thing had so many holes in it that it couldn’t hold air, much less water. Maybe you shouldn’t listen to other people’s conversations."

Henry decided the conversation was over, and stepped toward the edge of the ravine. Abruptly, Lyn was out of options. Sprinting away before he could react she headed for the beach. With no other options she would have to pray that she could reach the Marlin before him, and then she would have to brave the seas.

Limping as fast as possible she ran in a crouch through the trees trying to make as small a target as she could. With any luck he would think she was going back to the cabin to try and barricade herself in. But Lyn was smart enough to know that would be suicide. There were any number of doors and windows he could break through. She was tempted to try and make a pit-stop there to get her cell phone, but being more physically sound he could easily get there before her. It would be a trap, and immeasurably stupid to try it. She missed the grin on his face as she ran into the woods.

Thorns and branches mercilessly scratched her arms and face as she ran through the brush. Glancing repeatedly over her shoulder she couldn’t see Henry, yet invariably when she turned back to the front it was to be whacked across the face by a wayward branch.

Lyn slipped repeatedly in the mud and slick underbrush. When she finally arrived on the beach she was coated liberally in the muck. She had to wipe her slimy hands on her jeans before she could untie the moorings and climb on board. As she moved away from the pier she could finally breath a sigh of relief. She had seen nothing of Henry since she had left him in the woods and could only be grateful that her plan had worked. She didn’t know how long it had been since she had called Jordan, but it couldn’t have been more than half an hour. It would take her at least two and a half more hours before she arrived. However, chances were good that she had called the police. The shore patrol shouldn’t be more than ten or fifteen minutes away. If she used the motors and headed for Jessup Bay, she could cut that time down by meeting them halfway.

Although rain was coming down in enough volume to make ark builders pause in contemplation, the seas weren’t overly rough. Lyn had to remind herself that this wasn’t the New England territories but the West Coast. They were choppy, but with the equipment on board she should easily be able to navigate to the mainland.

Turning on the trolling motor she maneuvered through the shallow waters until she had enough depth to turn things on full throttle. When she finally fired things up in full force she breathed a sigh of relief. Now that they knew who the killer was, Henry wouldn’t be able to hide from the authorities for long.

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Jordan was racing to Lyn’s side as quickly as possible but feared she would still be too late. Frantic after the call she had received, Jordan had been dialing 911 even as she ran to the stairwell and headed for the roof of the hospital. The elevator would have been too slow and right now she needed movement.

"911 emergency, can you hold?"

"What? No, I can’t hold or I wouldn’t have called 911!" Jordan shot back in frustration. But the question had been a rhetorical one and the operator was already gone.

Thumbing the off button in aggravation Jordan ran up the stairwell and slammed open the emergency door at the top. The care-flight pilots maintained their offices here on the roof, and Jordan was relieved to see not only lights on in the office, but the helicopter parked neatly on its space.

Charging into the office she looked both pilots in the eye and said, "I have an emergency. A patient is going to die if we don’t get there in a hurry."

Seeing her shocked paleness, and the urgency in her gaze one of the men was already on the move grabbing his poncho and helmet.

"Where’s the emergency?" the other man asked disinterestedly.

He was the stereotypical emergency worker that had seen way too much desk time filling out nine yards of paperwork with an emergency thrown in here and there to break up the day. It was apparent by the spread of his ass that he would rather be sitting eating ho-hos and drinking coffee.

"I didn’t hear nothing on the scanner." He added with a suspicious frown.

Ignoring someone who obviously wasn’t interested in helping Jordan turned to the other man. "Look, I won’t lie to you. I just received an emergency call from someone who is being attacked by a man intent on killing her. Are you going to help me, or not?"

Nate Parker could understand Jack’s attitude. They were given lousy pay for risking their lives every day for someone else, and had strict guidelines against using the helicopter for personal reasons. His ass would be in a sling if he did this, but looking into the distraught woman’s eyes he just couldn’t deny her.

"Why didn’t you call the police?" he asked, but Jordan noticed he was still putting on the poncho and picking up a heavy, black flashlight.

"I did. They put me on hold." She answered honestly.

Snorting in disgust Nate threw Jordan a poncho. "Figures. Everyone in this city calls 911 every time they scrape their knee. Those operators are completely overloaded. Put this on," he directed, "unless you just enjoy being soaked to the bone."

"Nate, you’re going to be in very serious trouble if you do this." Jack advised him, not moving an inch in his overstuffed chair.

"That’s funny, Jack," Nate answered calmly as he pulled on his helmet. "I thought saving lives was our job."

Jack’s head rocked back as if he had been slapped. "Is that sarcasm?"

"Sounded like it." Nate responded as he walked out the door and into the stormy night. Rain hadn’t started here yet, but it was definitely on its way. "Let’s go, Doctor."

Jogging to the helicopter, Nate learned where they were headed by asking very simple, and direct questions. He helped Jordan climb in to the passenger’s seat and buckle the five-point seatbelt. When he handed her headphones, there was no need for direction.

After securing her door he ran around to the other side and jumped in. He pulled on his own headphones and began speaking to Jordan while he keyed up the engines and turned on the lights.

"Call 911 again while we’re in the air. It will still take us forty-five minutes to get there. Maybe shore patrol can get there faster."

Lights came on around the helicopters perimeter and Jordan was pleased that even though Jack hadn’t agreed with the decision, he was cooperating.

"Cleared for take-off." Jack’s voice came over the radio. "I’ll vouch for you when you get back."

"Thanks, Jack. Parker out."

Jordan called the emergency operator again and thankfully this time wasn’t put on hold. She was assured that units were responding to the area.

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

The rain had tapered off somewhat and Lyn hoped that it would stop soon. She was a few miles from Ghost Island when suddenly the engines sputtered. A second later it stopped altogether.

"What now?" she asked aloud in confusion.

She had gotten the boat ready for the fishing trip earlier in the day, and that had included topping off the diesel tanks. If she wasn’t out of gas, what could it possibly be?

Without the engines the boat would be susceptible to the current, which would take her off course. Even with the running lights on, the chances were high that shore patrol would never see her.

Lyn had been convinced that she had left Henry on the island. Now she wasn’t so sure. It was more than coincidence that the motors chose that moment to fail. Jordan kept the craft in top running condition, so it was unlikely to be normal engine failure.

Hoping that Henry had sabotaged the engines earlier in the day and that she really had left him on Ghost Island, she took a deep breath and headed below decks to find out what the problem was. She was no mechanic, but with a little luck maybe it was just a minor problem and she could get them running again.

Not unless my luck changes, she thought grimly.

Lyn grabbed a flashlight on her way to the engine compartment. It would be completely dark in the small room. It wasn’t really a room, she considered: just a dark four-foot by four-foot cabinet. She opened the door, but before she could cross the threshold she heard a furtive sound.

Spinning around she found nothing lurking behind her. There was no severed hand scrabbling around the floor on five fingers, and most importantly there was no Henry. Shaking her head at her jumpiness Lyn crouched down and entered into the engine compartment. Just as she squatted down a rope dropped down in front of her face and powerful hands hauled her back forcefully against a powerful frame. Surprise had caused her to inhale reflexively and deeply before Henry managed to cut off her wind altogether. It was only the air she had just sucked in that allowed her to struggle at all.

Fighting to remain calm Lyn picked up her left foot and raked her heel down his shin, hard. Cursing, Henry loosened his grip as he reacted to the pain by picking up his foot.

When she felt that he was off balance Lyn grasped both sides of the rope and bent forward, using her own body weight to flip him over in front of her and onto his backside. One of the few perks of being small, she considered, was her lowered center of gravity.

As soon as he crashed to the floor Lyn was making a beeline for topside. Roaring in fury Henry was right behind her. Lyn scrambled up the steps, but at the top step he caught up with her. Henry grabbed Lyn’s ankle tripping her up and causing her to bruise her knees on the unyielding wood.

Angry now that he just wouldn’t give up Lyn flipped onto her back and lashed out with her other foot. She caught him squarely on the chin, knocking him back onto the floor. He was only dazed for a moment, but that was all she needed. Lyn ran onto the deck and dropped the hold doors into place. Sliding the latch bolt into place, she trapped him very effectively.

Warning herself against premature jubilation she knew that he wouldn’t be idle down there. She wasn’t going anywhere without engines, but she still had a radio.

"Mayday, mayday!" she shouted. "This is Lyn Gallagher. I’m on the Marlin approximately three miles east of Ghost Island heading for Jessup Bay. I have a maniac on board that’s trying to kill me!"

For a heart-stopping moment static was her only response. Then she heard, "This is Coast Guard cutter Nemo. We are approximately four minutes from you. What is your status?"

"He’s locked in the hold." She answered. "But I don’t think he’ll stay there long."

Whatever they had been about to say was interrupted by the crash of splintering wood. Henry had found something to use as a battering ram and broken the lock on the hold. A second hit and the lock-bolt gave way completely.

He pushed the door back on battered hinges and walked calmly onto the deck holding a scuba tank by the neck. Tossing the tank aside he said, "Time’s up."

Angered beyond words Henry stalked toward Lyn causing her to back up in panic until she had nowhere else to go. The stack of fishing poles she had worked on earlier was near at hand and she grabbed one of them, wielding it like a baseball bat.

"You’ve got to be kidding me." He laughed at her pathetic defense and took another step closer.

Lyn swung the pole and connected solidly with the side of his face. Henry flinched in pain and then rushed at her. Jerking the pole out of her hand he ranted at her, "Bitch! I’ll kill you for that!"

He grabbed the front of her shirt with two handfuls of cloth and threw her to the ground. Straddling her on the deck he grabbed her by the throat and began choking the life out of her.

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Jordan heard the urgent cry for help from the Marlin. "That’s her!" Jordan shouted. "How far away are we?"

They had already crossed over Jessup Bay and there was nothing but water below them. "We should be right on top of them!" Nate yelled back over the rotor noise. Jordan looked below, straining for any signs of the boat. The lights should be running, but she couldn’t see anything.

"There!" the pilot yelled pointing to his left.

Jordan followed his line of sight and saw dim lights on the darkened waters below. Judging by the fact that the boat appeared to be drifting with the tide she doubted that it was the Coast Guard.

"That’s got to be them, but how are we going to get down there?"

"There’s a winch in the back with a hook on it. It’s for lowering rescue baskets."

"You’ve got to be joking!"

Grinning, Nate said, "No, sorry. That’s all I can think of. Unless you want to dive out the window and jumped onto the deck."

Remembering Jack on the roof of the hospital Jordan asked, "Was that sarcasm?"

"Sounded like it." He admitted.

"Guess I’ll use the winch." Jordan groused. "But you better not drop me into the ocean."

Jordan climbed into the back ignoring the poncho. The rain wasn’t coming down very hard now, and she was afraid that it would interfere with her movements. "Grab the harness on the rack." Nate said into her headphones. "There’s a clip on it to put the hook through."

The doctor saw what he was talking about and hustled over to the equipment on the rack. She threw on the harness, quickly snapping the belt into place. She was moving to the harness when she happened to glance down and saw a flare gun. Shrugging she picked it up and snapped it open. It held one flare, and she didn’t see any others just lying around. With no time to look Jordan jammed the gun into her waistband and prayed that it didn’t go off.

"You ready?" Nate asked. "We’re right on top of them."

Jordan snapped the hook through the ring on her harness, happy to see that it had a safety catch that would prevent it from just falling off. "Ready!" she said, although she wasn’t really sure that was true.

Nate flipped a switch in the front and an automatic door beneath the wench rumbled open. Jordan sat at the edge of the opening dangling her legs below, buffeted by the rotor winds. "If we’re going to do this, let’s do it before I change my mind." She yelled.

A second later the wench activated and she lowered slowly through the opening.

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Lyn could hear the thundering of blood in her ears as Henry squeezed. It had only been a few seconds but she was rapidly falling away into darkness. Suddenly, he let go with a growl of anger. Lyn was so disoriented that she didn’t understand what was happening at first, but then she realized that the thundering she heard was that of a fast-approaching helicopter.

"Dammed!" Henry railed at the unjustness of the universe. He grabbed Lyn’s collar with his left hand and drug her over to the hold. She was like a child in her grip, and was easily towed behind him. When he dragged her down the steps she bounced along heavily unable to fully get her breath. Choking and gagging, she didn’t have the strength to resist him.

Henry wasn’t ready to give up yet. First he would tie up Lyn, then deal with whoever had to gall to crash his party. It took only a few seconds to truss her up like a Christmas turkey. She didn’t even resist. It was cosmic proof that she was culpable.

Finished with the socialite at the moment he scurried back up on deck to wait in the shadows. The helicopter was directly overhead and someone was being lowered on a wench. Henry couldn’t believe it. It was the doctor!

He almost shouted with glee and had to stuff a fist into his mouth to prevent the noise. He didn’t try to stifle the giggle that escaped, because she couldn’t possibly hear it anyway. Crouching farther back into the corner he bumped against something and glanced over his shoulder.

It was a gaff, used for hooking large fish and dragging them up for the ocean. Basically it was a very large iron hook on a pole. Lyn must have set it out while she was working on the fishing gear. Henry grabbed it in both hands with the point aimed at Jordan. He had to wait until she detached herself from the cable. Otherwise she could still escape him. Anxiously he waited as the tall blonde was lowered onto the deck.

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Jordan had seen a man dragging Lyn into the hold. She was sure that she recognized him, but her fevered mind couldn’t remember where. It was the rumpled brown coat that caught her eye. Even wet it looked familiar and suddenly she remembered. The old man from the ferry! But why?

Now was hardly the time to worry about it, and she could only mentally encourage Nate to lower her quickly. "Come on, come on!" she urged softly never taking her eyes off the deck.

Shadows lingered everywhere in the darkness. The lights of the Marlin revealed little and Jordan quickly lost sight of the man.

If he hurts her, I’ll beat him to death with a shovel, Jordan promised herself silently.

Then her feet touched the deck, and she was grappling with the hook. It took a few tries to get the slippery metal to release her, but then she was free. As the cable retracted into the helicopter Jordan squatted down to make a smaller target of herself and headed for the shadows. But the killer had other plans.

He must have been watching her because he rushed from the corner with a gaff in his hands. It was pointed right at her heart and Jordan recoiled. Trying to back up quickly on the rain-soaked deck in the dark, she slipped and landed in her rear end. The madman would be on her in seconds, and she used the only weapon she had.

Jordan fought to get the flare gun out of her waistband. The hammer caught on her pants and she wrenched it loose forcefully. Hands shaking she aimed the gun at him and shouted, "Stop! I will shoot you with this if you make me."

Henry considered for a moment, but then his eyes clouded over. Myra was suddenly with him again. She had been absent for most of the last hour and he had thought he lost her. Now she was back.

"Don’t give up now." Myra urged. "This woman is a doctor. She has made a vow to do no harm. How could she shoot you?"

With these words of wisdom Henry rushed forward raising the gaff high over his head prepared to drive it through her body and into the wooden deck below. Unbelievably, the woman fired.

The flare burned instantly through Henry’s clothing and into his chest. Screaming in agony he ran to the rail and threw himself desperately over the rail praying that the water would put out the flare. It didn’t.

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Lyn swam hazily back to consciousness. Henry had struck her on the temple with something before leaving her in the dark, no doubt so that she couldn’t cry out for help. She didn’t feel that she had been unconscious long, and Henry hadn’t come back yet.

She was lying on her stomach with her hands tied behind her back. Her feet were also tied together, but she managed to roll over.

I have to get untied, she thought desperately as she heard movement at the top of the hold. Someone was coming. She could see a large shadow in the darkness and began to cry out in mortal terror.

Then gentle arms were around her and soothing words were being cooed in her ear. "It’s all right." Jordan’s sweet voice assured her. "I’ve got you now. Everything is all right."

Jordan held the smaller woman tightly against her breast, stroking the soaked hair over and over again. Leaning back she looked into haunted eyes and smiled tenderly. She cupped Lyn’s cheek and placed a chaste kiss on the bruised forehead.

"Henry!" Lyn insisted, trying to warn the other woman. "He killed Jerry and tried to kill me. He’ll be back!"

"It’s all right." Jordan said again. "Henry won’t be hurting anyone else."

Jordan smiled at the timing, and said into the headphones she was still wearing, "Nate, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Doctor Pierce."

"Would you let them know that everything is all right now? Oh, and please let them know they’ll find a body floating off the starboard bow."

"What are you wearing?" Lyn asked making Jordan smile wider.

"It’s a long story. Now, I think we need to get you out of here."

Now that the danger was past, shock was beginning to set in. Jordan could feel the tremors coursing through Lyn’s small frame. She untied the older woman’s hands and had difficulty untying her feet with Lyn trying to cling to her. Then she took off the harness and then the lab coat that she still wore beneath it, and wrapped the coat around Lyn’s body.

"Come on, darling." She urged gently.

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Lyn was back in the hospital, but this time the stay was only for a few days and she didn’t complain at all. In fact she was getting dressed and preparing to go home. All she was waiting for was Jordan.

"Hi."

Lyn turned at the shy voice and looked into the blue eyes of the woman that she loved without reservation. "Hi, I was beginning to think you would stand me up."

"Not a chance." Jordan said walking across the room and taking the smaller woman into her arms.

After sharing a slow-burning kiss that promised more later Jordan took a step back. She was wearing street clothes eliciting a raised brow from the socialite.

"I took some personal time off. I’d like to spend it with you if that’s all right."

"Perfectly," Lyn returned happily. "As long as we don’t go to the island."

Jordan laughed and kissed Lyn’s forehead again. "No problem. By the way, I came into some information I thought you might like to hear."

The seriousness of her tone captured Lyn’s attention and she knew it concerned recent events. "Yes." She prompted cautiously.

"I know that you felt…betrayed by Henry. He was a trusted friend and had been with your family a long time."

"But,"

"But-maybe you shouldn’t judge him too harshly."

For a moment Lyn was angry. She had every reason to hate Henry for what he had done, and didn’t understand why Jordan would defend him. Reigning in her temper she asked roughly, "Why not?"

"A friend from the coroner’s office called me. The autopsy on Henry revealed that he had a brain tumor. Judging from the size of it, it’s been there for a while." Jordan put an arm around Lyn pulling the smaller woman against while she let the information sink in.

"Are you saying that he didn’t know what he was doing?" Lyn asked not sure about her anger anymore.

After a thoughtful moment Jordan said, "I’m just saying that where it was located, Henry would have suffered delusions and uncontrollable emotional outbursts. No doubt he did blame you for what he thought you had done, but that anger was blown out of all proportion by a physiological ailment that he couldn’t prevent."

Lyn thought about what she had just learned and answered, "I’m not sure that I can forgive him yet. I’m not sure that I ever will, but I’ll…try to put things in perspective."

"That’s all I can ask." Jordan teased lightly hugging the woman against her side. "Now, what say we go…climb a mountain?"

"You’re a very funny woman."

"I think so."

"Is that sarcasm?"

"Sounded like it." Jordan answered with a grin as they walked out of the hospital and into a new lift together.

The End