“I doubt a farmer’s wife has it in her to kill someone, but Carol Verde is a different kind of woman, so yeah. Find out where she ended up, and we’ll see if there’s anything there. Our first step is the coroner, and then we’ll track down that car. All this might turn out to be a late Christmas present.”

✥ ✥ ✥

“What happened again?” Abigail asked as she started putting stitches in.

“It was the freakiest thing,” Cain said as Emma smiled at her. “I decided to take a moonlight walk last night, and some woman with a large knife took exception to me invading her space.” After Abigail had numbed the area, she could think straight again. The throbbing was starting to get to her. She’d lost enough blood to make her feel like crap, but it wasn’t life-threatening, so the stitches would be all the first aid she’d need.

“Do you want me to stab you again?” Emma asked the rhetorical question as she sat holding her hand. “Sit here and look handsome.”

“Does this happen often?” Abigail never looked up as she continued to work. “Is this, like, a common thing in your family? Finley comes home with something like this, and there’d better be some great explanation to go along with it.”

“You’re in for a lifetime of fun, but these guys do attract trouble wherever they go. Having a doctor in the family is the best thing to happen to us.” Emma smiled, but the lines around her eyes were tight.

“I guess the fact that they’re good-looking is a plus when it comes to putting up with them.” Abigail cut the sutures so she could wipe away the antiseptic she’d cleaned the area with. She wrapped a fresh bandage and tied it off neatly before starting to clean up her mess. “There you go. Keep them dry, and I’ll check it tomorrow and change the bandages for you. I’ll give you a shot of antibiotics, and that should do it. They were both clean cuts, and it doesn’t look like they hit anything really important.”

Abigail left them alone, and Emma unbuttoned her shirt for her. It was ruined anyway, so Abigail had cut the sleeve off to get to the wound. “I told you to be careful. You know it freaks me out when you come home covered in blood.”

She put her good arm around Emma and kissed her temple. “That bitch came around a blind corner, but Linda made it so she can’t ever do that again. This time was a surprise, and from the sound of it, Linda can help us with our mutual problem.”

“The fact that Nicola Antakov thinks like you worries me.” Emma put her hands on her chest and gazed up at her. “You getting hurt is never the outcome I expect.”