She briefly contemplated calling the state police. No doubt Detective Rossi would come to the same conclusion as Lang. A pot of flowers was hardly a threat. Many people knew that pansies were her favorite spring flower. If she hadn’t been so busy, the inn’s front walk would be lined with them already.

She couldn’t risk telling anyone about the threats, not with potentially two stalkers moving freely about town. The state police were too far away to protect her family, and Huntsville’s own Doug Lang was useless. Danny would tire of Huntsville in a week or so and go back to Philadelphia. Mandy was on her own.

She needed to be prepared to protect what was hers.

Mandy did what she always did when she needed help. She called Jed, the one man she knew she could depend on. “I know you just left, but can you come back and stay with Bill and my mom for an hour or two?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

She unlocked the gun safe in her closet and took out a box of bullets. “I need to run a few errands.”

“Um. OK.”

By the time Mandy was ready fifteen minutes later, Jed had returned. Danny was nowhere in sight.

Damn. Damn. Damn. How did he fuck that up?

By pushing too hard, too fast, stupid.

But all he’d been offering was a hug. What kind of shit would make a move on a woman who was that upset?

Danny rubbed his forehead. He unlocked the back door and went out onto the porch. His eyes locked on the flowerpot. Guess it wasn’t evidence. He contemplated putting it in his trunk and dropping it in the nearest dumpster. But something stopped him. Maybe they weren’t evidence right now, but if something else were to hit the fan, who knew?

He hefted the pot first. Damn thing was heavy. He put his bad forearm under the bottom for support. Pain shot up his arm. Bad idea. The container plopped to the ground. Danny dragged it across the back lawn to the concrete apron in front of the garage. He pulled on the overhead door. It wasn’t locked and gave way to his tug. He shoved the pot of flowers against the wall. He jogged back to the porch and removed the branch from over the back door. He returned to the garage and tucked it behind the container. Just in case something else happened and the authorities suddenly decided the seemingly harmless items were important clues.

Now what? His arm twitched like a puppet, and the needles of pain had become nails. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed a break. He went through the empty inn. All the other guests were out pursuing their chosen outdoor adventures.

In his room, Danny stretched out on the bed. He elevated his arm on a pillow and dialed Reed’s number on his cell.