“And who protects you, Margaret?”

“Oh, I have a whole army who take care of that.” She grinned. “And now Toby is enlisted into that army. We understand each other, we belong to the same club. He wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”

“If you have to rely on Toby, then you’re in bad shape,” Jane said dryly. “Being a guard dog isn’t his long suit, as you’ve already noted.”

“Everyone protects those they care about.” Margaret met her gaze. “Toby would die for you.”

“He almost did,” Jane said. “There was no reason for that bastard to hurt him. It had to be something to do with me.”

“Or your Eve?”

Jane nodded jerkily. “Or Eve. Thank you for taking care of Toby until I get back.”

“Yes,” she said gravely. “I’ll keep him safe. Though he doesn’t really need me. You don’t have to worry about him. I can feel the strength coming back to him. In a few days, he’ll be fine.”

“Thank you.” She gave Margaret an impulsive hug and stepped back quickly. “I’d appreciate it if you’d let me call you and check on him.”

“Devon could give you better medical details.”

“She’s wonderful,” Jane said. “But I want to talk to you.”

“Then call me.” Margaret smiled. “Though you may be one of those people I have to be wary about. What the hell. Life would be boring without taking a few chances. I’ll give you my cell number before you get on the plane.” She turned away from Toby. “Are you ready? I told Devon I’d take you to the airfield. She said Caleb was already there.”

“Yes, I’ve already said good-bye to Devon.” She bent down and gave Toby another quick hug. “Get well quick, Toby. That’s an order.” She hurried out of the office after Margaret.

But Margaret was standing by the van, her head lifted, her gaze on the trees.

Jane stopped short. “Margaret?”

“Get in the van.”

Jane got into the passenger seat. “Is something wrong?”

“Maybe.” She got into the driver’s seat. “Someone’s been out there in the forest, watching.”

Jane tensed. “Who?”

Margaret shook her head. “I don’t know. It could have been someone from the village. But they’re not usually curious about anything that happens at the research center. They accept us now.”

“How do you know that there was someone out there?”

She was silent a moment before she said reluctantly, “The birds.”

Jane’s brows rose. “The birds told you?”

“No, I just felt it. And stop looking at me like that. Dammit, I didn’t want to answer that question. I know it sounds crazy.” The headlights of the van pierced the darkness as Margaret drove down the rough dirt road. “Look, I’m not a Dr. Doolittle. I can just sometimes sense things that are connected to nature or animals. I don’t know why. It just happens. Sometimes I can get pictures or memories, but it’s usually from animals with a higher degree of intelligence.” She made a face. “I have real problems with birds.”

“I … see.”

“And stop being tactful. You don’t see anything.”

“True. So explain. How do you feel it?”

She shrugged. “A disturbance. Something that’s not normal. But most birds forget so quickly that you only get an immediate impression.” She made a face. “But someone was there, and they didn’t like it. That’s all I know. It’s just as well you’re getting on that plane.”

Jane smiled. “Since the birds don’t like me?” Then the smile faded. “I’m not really making fun of you. I just don’t understand, so it’s easier to laugh. But I’m not laughing at how you helped my Toby. I’m very grateful.”

“Then find out who hurt him. That’s all I want from you.” A few minutes later, she pulled into the airfield and stopped beside one of the three hangars. “Nice plane. Sleek, powerful.” She watched Seth Caleb come down the steps of the plane. “A little like him.”

“Yes.” Jane jumped out of the van and went toward Caleb. “Are we ready for takeoff?”

He nodded. “I was just about to call you.” He looked at Margaret. “What’s wrong with her?”

Jane looked back to see Margaret coming toward them. The girl’s expression was tense.

Jane tried to smile. “Birds?”

Margaret shook her head, her gaze on the third hangar. “Get on the plane, Jane.”

“What’s wrong now?”

Margaret whirled to Caleb. “Get her on the plane.”

Caleb took Jane’s elbow. “Let’s do what she says. She seems to want you out of here. My instincts say that we should listen to her.” He was nudging Jane toward the plane. “Good-bye, Margaret.”

“Good-bye.” But Margaret was following closely behind them. “You have very good instincts, Caleb.” She was still gazing at the third hangar. “I thought you would the moment I saw you. But maybe not good enough to—Down! Rifle!”

“What?” Jane glanced at the hangar and caught a glimpse of long metal cylinder emerge from the darkness of the hangar.

A rifle aiming in their direction.

“Down!” Margaret cried again as she ran toward Jane.

But Margaret was directly behind her, Jane realized. Any bullet would have to go through her to reach Jane.

“You get down, dammit!” Jane turned, pulled away from Caleb, and tackled Margaret to the ground.

She didn’t even hear the shot.

She only felt the pain.

And then even that pain was lost in the darkness.

Lake Cottage

5:40 A.M.

DAWN.

The rain had almost stopped, but the dark clouds made the gradually lightening sky retain its gloom, Eve thought.

Still, she was glad to have the night over. The two hours since Ben had left seemed more like years. She’d get dressed, then call Ben and make him come back to the cottage for breakfast. Then she’d phone FedEx and arrange the pickup for the reconstruction. She wanted it out of her hands because she was almost certain that she wasn’t going to twiddle her thumbs here when she was so disturbed about what had happened to Toby. She would go to Summer Island and try to find out what was—

Her cell phone rang.

Joe.

“You’re up early. I was going to call you. I’ve been thinking and I’ve decided I need to go to—”

“Jane’s been shot.”

Shock. She couldn’t breathe. “What?”

“I just got a call from Seth Caleb on Summer Island. He thought the news would come better from me.”

“She’s dead?”

“No,” he said quickly. “God, I’m messing this up. I’m scared to death, and I’m not handling this right. So much for me being the right person to tell you. She’s not dead, but they don’t know how bad it is. It just happened and they’ve taken her to the—”

“Who shot her?”

“Caleb didn’t know. It was a sniper shooting from a hangar at the airfield. Caleb couldn’t leave Jane to go after him.” He added grimly, “But you can bet he’ll be on his trail the minute it’s safe for him to do it.”

She didn’t care about that bastard right now. All she wanted to know was that Jane was going to live. “What kind of wound?”

“The bullet entered the back and exited the upper shoulder.” He paused. “She’s losing a lot of blood. They took her back to the veterinary research center for treatment.”

“Why not the village hospital?”

“No hospital on the island. Just a resident doctor and clinic. Caleb said something about Margaret’s saying that she’d get better first aid at the animal hospital at the center.”

“Who the hell is Margaret?”

“I don’t know. Someone who evidently has no faith in the village medical facility.”

“Then get Jane on a plane back to the States.”

“Caleb will do that as soon as he thinks she’s stable. I told you, she’s losing a lot of blood.”

“I’m so scared, Joe,” she whispered. That was an understatement. She was terrified. “I just talked to her a few hours ago. How could this happen?”

“We’ll find out. I’m not going to wait for Caleb to bring her back to us. I’m on my way to the airport now. I’ve rented a plane to take me to Summer Island.”