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to see right through you. “Keith isn’t able to speak, so he hasn’t told me much of anything. The nurse, however, told me plenty. You’re the man who lied to gain admittance to Intensive Care, aren’t you?”
    She didn’t miss the guilty surprise that flashed across his face. Without giving him a chance to speak, she rushed on.
    â€œI suppose you’re working on a case for the law firm? I’ve known a few overzealous investigators before, but this stunt takes the prize. The hospital rules are meant to protect the patients. You can’t help but know my father-in-law is an extremely sick man.” She gave the elevator button another jab. She was so furious her hand was shaking. “What could be so important that you’d bother him here? See his partner, Mr. Finn. He’s handling everything until my father-in-law recovers. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
    He slipped his business card back into his jacket and stepped closer. “Wait. I have to talk to you. It’s urgent.”
    Mallory, whose escape was thwarted by the slow response of the elevator, found herself meeting his unsettling gaze again. “Nothing you have to say could be
that
urgent. Christiani and Finn handles only civil cases.”
    â€œCould we find someplace private where we could talk?” He was already looking around as he spoke and reaching for her arm. “Someplace where we won’t be seen or overheard?”
    She avoided his outstretched hand. Now that she was studying him, she could see a fine sheen of sweat on his face. He kept looking around, as if he expected someone to creep up on him. Not the kind of fellow with whom she wanted seclusion. He turned to glance down the hall again. As he did, the front of his jacket fell back and she saw that he wore a shoulder holster and gun. Since Darren’s accident, just being in the same room with a gun made her nervous.
    The elevator doors slid open. Before she could react, Mac Phearson stepped forward to block her path with a set of shoulders that suddenly seemed as wide as a linebacker’s. She tipped her head back to glare at him. He topped her five foot five by a good ten inches and outweighed her by at least eighty pounds. Her heart sank when the doors closed again behind him.
    â€œPlease,” he said. “I realize I’m scaring you, but if you’ll just give me a minute I’m sure I can explain.”
    Mallory inched away from him, growing more uneasy by the moment. “So explain.”
    â€œI’m an old friend of your father-in-law’s. I’ve been out of town on a case for nearly a week, got back a day later than I planned. When I called in to check my answering machine this afternoon, there was a message from Keith. He said that he needed me to get you and your little girl out of town.
Immediately.
A man named Pete Lucetti has made a threat on your lives.” He paused as if for emphasis. “He must have left that message yesterday, before he collapsed, which means I’m a day late as it is. We can’t waste any time.”
    Of all the things Mallory had expected him to say, this wasn’t one of them. She didn’t like the way this man was behaving. Terrified was the only word to describe him. Or maybe paranoid, the way he kept checking the halls. “That’s preposterous.”
    â€œBut true. We can call Keith’s office so you can be sure I
am
who I say I am, but we can’t do it here in the hospital. Right before I went in to see Keith, some guy dressed like a priest visited him, and believe me, he was the farthest thing from a priest you’re ever going to see. I saw the guy up close, and I recognized him. The last I heard, he was a strong-arm type who collected on delinquent bets for a local bookie. I watched him through the window and it looked like he was threatening Keith. About what, I have no idea. Do you have any idea how Keith got tied up with Lucetti?