I should probably be annoyed by that, but I’m not. Diesel had earned Michael’s trust. “It’s fine,” Dani assured him. “You can trust Meredith.”

Once the boys and Meredith were in the basement, Dani turned to Adam. “What happened?”

Adam scrubbed his palms down his face. “The fisherman is dead.”

It took Dani a moment, but when it hit her, she sank into the chair next to Diesel’s. “The guy who found the body parts?” She noted that Diesel looked grimly unsurprised. “They told you already?” she asked him.

Diesel nodded. “When I called to ask them to come over. You were still asleep, but I didn’t think you’d mind if I invited them.”

“Of course I don’t mind,” Dani said, then turned to Adam. “Who was he?”

“His name was George Garrett,” Adam said. “He called 911 last night because there was an intruder in his house. Garrett had a gun, but he didn’t use it. His killer had a gun with a silencer. The entire altercation was caught on the 911 tape. Garrett told the guy, ‘I was afraid that you’d come.’”

Dani blinked in surprise. “So he saw who dumped the body parts?”

Adam shook his head. “No, or at least he told us he hadn’t seen him. But he was worried that the killer would come after him, even though we took pains not to leak his name to the press. I think he was speaking more generically when he said ‘you.’”

“Weren’t you protecting him?” Dani asked.

Adam sighed. “We had cruisers doing drive-bys, but it appears the killer was watching and timed his attack just after a cruiser had driven away. Garrett’s house had a security system, so he saw the alarm light go off when the killer broke in through his kitchen door. From the moment Garrett called 911 until the shot was fired was less than thirty seconds. The guy was in and out. A real pro.”

“So having an alarm system won’t help,” Dani murmured, suddenly chilled.

Diesel placed his big hand in the center of her back. “But having me here will. Garrett didn’t use his weapon. I will.”

She glanced at him wryly. “That shouldn’t make me feel better, but it does.”

“It should,” Diesel said seriously. “Adam, how many people know that Michael witnessed Brewer’s murder?”

New fear skittered down Dani’s spine. “Oh God. All those reporters outside the police station yesterday. They have Michael’s photo.”

Adam patted her arm. “The press thinks he was brought in on suspicion of Brewer’s murder. Not that many people know he saw the killer. Only the people who were in the room with you, plus Deacon, our boss Lynda Isenberg, the sketch artist, and me.”