“Don’t worry,” Halcyon said. “You’ve got plenty of company.”

He nodded. “I can’t stand the LeDoux and could give you all kinds of reasons on that one. I’m not alone there either.”

“You’re not,” Marina agreed. “But since most of the town is financially obligated, hiding something, or otherwise scared of a lawsuit, the LeDoux have the upper hand.”

He tapped on his computer and entered some things into a form. “This will take me an hour or better to get processed. I have to get the money transferred and the paperwork filed.”

“But you can get her out today?” Marina asked.

He nodded. “But you gotta keep her away from the LeDoux. If they even catch sight of her, I wouldn’t put it past them to accuse her of threatening them just to get her tossed back in.”

“I can’t afford another round of bail,” Marina said. “This one is taking most of what I have.”

He gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry I’ve got to take your money, especially for this. But you’ll get it back, less a bit of a fee, once it’s all over.”

“Please don’t feel bad,” Marina said. “You have to follow the rules and this is your business. You’re not responsible for any of this.”

“No, but Harold is,” he said. “Why isn’t he here taking care of this? He’s the money man.”

“That’s a long story,” Marina said.

He stared at her for a second, then gave her a single nod. “I see.”

Marina got the impression that he had read in between and beyond the lines. She supposed he’d seen and heard most every tale of woe in his line of work, and they probably weren’t all that unique. It bothered her more than she’d ever admit that her entire existence had become a cliché.

“If you don’t need us to stay,” Halcyon said, “we can go collect her things from Harold’s now. That way, when we pick her up, we can go straight to my house.”

“And ship her back to college first thing tomorrow morning,” Marina said.

“I think that’s a really good idea,” Mike said. “Can’t nothing else be put on her if she’s not here. And I’d tell her to make darn sure she’s always in someone else’s company back at college.”

Marina stared. “You think she needs to have an alibi for every minute of the day?”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt. I’ve seen some things…”

Marina blew out a breath. Thank God there were people who knew how to handle these things, because that was something that never would have crossed her mind.

“All I need is your phone number and you two can get out of here and take care of your other business,” he said. “I’ll call when everything’s been processed and meet you down at the sheriff’s department with the paperwork.”

“Oh, I don’t want to put you out,” Marina said. “I can stop and pick up the paperwork.”

He shook his head. “The sheriff’s beholden to that dick Preston LeDoux, one of the deputies is a relation, and the other has one foot out the door. If I’m there, no one will even think about causing problems. They won’t try anything in front of a witness.”