and the judge together in protective custody until they get Monk, and that's not a good idea."

"John Paul, they're good at what they do."

"Yeah? Well, so is Monk," he said. "And staying together is gonna make it real easy for him."

Avery didn't say a word. She silently agreed, but she felt it would be disloyal to the Bureau to admit her reservations.

She tried to get up, but he put his hands on her shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"Bracing you so you won't hit your head if you faint."

"Listen," she said. "Downstairs… when I lost it… that was the first time in my life I ever passed out. I'm not a weakling.

I was sleep-deprived and stressed… really stressed out. I won't faint again. Now let go of me. I want to get dressed and go downstairs to talk to Agent Knolte."

"In a minute," he promised. He tightened his hold as he said, "There's something else you need to know."

"Yes?"

He was suddenly at a loss for words. He was searching for the best way to tell her. "It's going to be difficult…"

"I can handle it. Just tell me." She relaxed her shoulders then and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. What is it?"

"Carrie knows who the woman with Monk is." She tilted her head. "She knows her?" "Yes." He took a breath. "You know

her too." "Come on, John Paul. Stop fencing. Just tell me," she demanded.

"Jilly. Carrie said her name is Jilly."

Avery's reaction stunned John Paul. She didn't faint; she didn't cry; she didn't argue, and she didn't go into full-blown denial.

She roared.

"Get me a gun, John Paul. I want a gun now. A big one."

She looked like an avenging angel as she paced around him. She stopped just inches in front of him, poked him in the chest,

and made her demand again.

Chief Tyler stood just inside the doorway of the dormitory, shifting from foot to foot as he waited for one of them to notice him.

"She'll stay dead when I get finished with her," Avery railed. "I want a gun."

The chief couldn't stop himself from trying to reason with the distraught woman.

"Now, Miss Delaney, you shouldn't be talking crazy. What if someone does shoot your mother? With you making threats, who

do you think the police will come looking for? I understand you're overwrought, but…"

She whirled around to confront the policeman. "Jilly is not my mother. She's the woman who gave birth to me, but she has never been nor will she ever be my mother. Are we clear on that?"

Tyler hastily nodded. Her wrath was blistering, and he was so surprised by the change that had come over her he didn't know

how to proceed. She'd been such a sweet, appreciative little lady when he'd first met her, but now she was a spitfire.

The chief turned to John Paul for help. "This can't be the same woman I met downstairs. She wouldn't happen to have a twin, would she?"

"Sorry, no twin," he said. "She's just got a temper." He made that comment sound like a compliment.

The chief thought it was an understatement. "Can't you reason with her? She can't go running out of here with a gun, thinking

she can shoot her moth…" He stopped himself in time. "If she isn't your mother-"

"She isn't."

"Then what should I call her?"

Avery didn't hesitate. "A frickin' maniac," she snapped. "A deviant sociopath, a psychopath. Take your pick. Just don't call her

my mother."

"Yes, ma'am."

Mollified, she clutched the sheet to her neck, picked up her duffel bag, and walked with her head held high toward the bathroom.

"John Paul?"

"Yes?"

"Get me a damn gun."

The door shut before he could answer.

Tyler scratched his jaw and asked, "What are you going to do about her?"

He shrugged. "Get her a gun."

Tyler stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. "Are you going to let them take her to Aspen? You heard them

talking. They want to put her, her aunt, and that judge in a safe house until they catch the man hired to kill them."

"Yes, I heard," he said.

"If you ask me, they're putting all their eggs in one basket, and I figure the reason must have something to do with their budget. Less manpower if they keep them together, but if this professional killer… what's his name?"

"Monk," John Paul said.

"If he's any good, he'll find them. All he'd have to do is wait around that hospital and follow the judge. That's what I'd do."

John Paul agreed. "I heard Knolte say they were going to keep them together."

"But you didn't hear the rest of their plans because you had already gone upstairs to tell Avery her aunt was alive. Did you know there's an important trial coming up?"

"No, I didn't know."

The chief lowered his voice as he continued. Even though he could hear the hair dryer humming in the bathroom and doubted Avery would hear them talking, he moved closer to John Paul.

"They're going to retry a man named Skarrett. You familiar with him?"

He tensed. "Yes," he said. "So he's getting a new trial? When is it?"

"It starts three weeks from today," he said. "Knolte was on the phone arguing with another agent who's giving them orders. Anyway, when he hung up, he noticed me watching him, and he closed up tight, until I told him I was coming up here to check

on the girl." He smiled as he added, "Of course, I didn't come right up. I made a little noise going up a couple of steps, then snuck back down and lingered in the hall so I could hear what he was telling the others."

He glanced at the bathroom door before continuing. "If they haven't nabbed Monk by the time the trial starts, they aren't going to let Avery or her aunt testify, and from what I could gather, the man in charge didn't think it would be so bad if Skarrett got off."

John Paul was astonished. "Are you serious?"

"Oh, yes," he drawled.

"Why in God's name would they-"

"They're hoping that Skarrett will lead them to a big stash he's got hidden away. It seems Skarrett robbed a jewelry store and

tole several million in uncut stones. They're hoping to get them back."

"So they're going to make it easy for Skarrett to walk?"

"Avery's a key witness," Tyler pointed out. "And if she doesn't testify…" He left the sentence hanging. John Paul was

staggered by the endless possibilities of what could and would go wrong. His voice reeked with sarcasm as he said, "Now,

that's a plan guaranteed to get screwed up."

Tyler was in full agreement. "That's the way I see it too. Are you going to tell Avery? Once they've got her in that safe house,

she won't be able to get out."

"I'll let Knolte tell her," he said. "Avery works for the FBI, so she's a believer in teamwork."

"An idealist, huh?"

"Afraid so."

"That's not good. What about you? What are you going to do?"

"I guess I'll take off," he said. "No reason to hang around here."

"You think this Monk has backed off?"

"Yeah, I do," he said. "But not for long. He's taken the contracts, and when he hears that Carrie and the judge are still alive,

he'll hit again. He has to. His reputation is on the line. He's going to continue to go after Avery too."

Oh, yes, he'll strike again and again and again. Until he gets the job done.

It was as though Tyler had just read his mind. "So you think it's okay to let those boys downstairs watch over Avery? You think she'll be all right?"

"She's a smart, tough woman. She can handle herself."

Tyler looked disappointed in him. "If you think that's the right thing to do, but if you don't and you decide you might want to do something on your own, I thought I'd mention I've got this nice little cabin tucked away in the mountains. I was going to go up there for a couple of weeks, and I just stocked the kitchen. Only needs the refrigerator foods, like milk and eggs, and you'd be