Maddox placed a cup of Joselyn's favorite hot chocolate on the warming pad by her computer and pressed a kiss to her temple. Snatching a green apple hard candy out of the bowl on her desk, he unwrapped it and popped it in his mouth. "I love these things. You've got me addicted to them."

She grinned and plucked one out of the bowl. Shaking it at him she shrugged. "These are my 'think rocks'. They help me focus. You keep eating them and someone is going to have to make a run down to the corner store for more. I am only a quarter of the way through and there are only a couple of dozen of these babies left."

He drew his brows together as if contemplating her words. With a shrug, he reached over and grabbed another. "If I must, I must. Whatever keeps you happy." Unwrapping it, he asked, "How're the editing going?"

"Surprisingly good. I think Tia has mellowed out. I can actually find whole passages she didn't mark up. Either I'm getting better, she's calming down or we are finally clicking. You should have seen my first book she edited. It looked like a crayon factory threw up on it."

He chuckled and dropped into the chair next to her desk, stretching his long legs out before him.

"I like how much calmer you look now. For a while there I was afraid the vein in your temple was going to burst. I swear it was doing the tango."

He settled his hands over his stomach as he happily sucked on the candy. "The house and grounds are secure. You are sequestered in your office where nobody can get to you. Fangasm in Atlanta isn't for another week and we have a bowl of Happy Orchard's candy to get us through today's editing. Life is good." He winked at her before glancing over to the three screens on the second desk behind her. "And there's Bull at the guard house. I'll go let him in." He eased out of the chair and placed another kiss on her cheek.

She tensed. "Detective Jameson is here?"

"He called a while ago and asked to come by. He has some updates on your case and thought it was safer for him to come here rather than for you to go see him."

She nodded and turned back to her computer. With a few clicks, she saved her work and slid her feet back into her flip flops. Padding down the hall, she waved at the detective as Maddox opened the door for him. "Detective, hello. Come in, please." She motioned toward the living room. "Have a seat. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea?" She smirked at Maddox, "Happy Orchard green apple candy?"

The last comment earned her a playful growl from her normally brooding bodyguard.

Detective Jameson either didn't hear her candy comment or ignored it. Instead, he declined the refreshments and motioned for her to sit. He looked frazzled. Joselyn frowned as her stomach churned. Whatever he had to say, she was pretty sure she wasn't going to like it.

He placed a folder on the coffee table before him and drummed his fingers on it. Blowing out a breath, he nodded to himself, leaned forward and braced his forearms on his knees. Without any preamble, he started.

"First off, I contacted a friend who knows computers inside and out. River, you remember Tex? He was on Wolf's team before getting medically discharged a few years back. You know he helps out with information from time to time so I asked him to check into her old cell. The phone wasn't used while it was missing. According to Tex, the only time the cloud was accessed was at the restaurant and at the cell phone store. He put a watch on it for me but we both doubt that it will be turned back on so it can't be traced. Basically, it's a dead end."

"Damn," Maddox swore then apologized. "Sorry, Joselyn. What else do you have, Bull?"

" I've been working on her case for a while and I think I may have an idea who the stalker is. Now, it's not set in stone but due to certain circumstances, I have an idea. A damn good idea at that."

"Circumstances? What circumstances?" Joselyn frowned.

"Okay. Here goes." He mumbled under his breath. "Ms. Kendrik... Joselyn... I got to thinking about what you said. All through this, you have been very insistent this stalker had to be Douglas McClane. The only problem with your theory is Douglas McClane has been dead for more than a year now. There are reports of the shootout in the cemetery and crime scene photographs. We even obtained a positive identification by his last surviving relative, a cousin named Donavan Beecher, This brings me back to my theory. I'm pretty sure it's Beecher who is following you. I think he's trying to finish what McClane started."

Joselyn felt her stomach clench. Douglas McClane had a cousin. "A cousin?" she asked incredulously.

Detective Jameson opened the folder and pulled out several photographs. He turned one around and pushed it toward Joselyn and Maddox sitting side by side on the sofa. "This is Douglas McClane."

The photo was one she had seen many times before. It was the one most news outlets used during the trial. In the professional shot taken about eight years ago, McClane sat stiffly against a muted backdrop of mottled gray and dark blue. Wearing a buttoned dress shirt complete with tie and tie bar, he glared solemnly into the camera lens with a cold, calculating stare. As always, a chill raced up her spine. She knew he had been a high school literature teacher for years prior to his capture and conviction; that thought still scared the crap out of her. This cold-blooded, calculating, serial rapist and murderer had held influence over hundreds of impressionable young minds. It sickened her and she rubbed her arms to ward off the chills again racing along them before turning her gaze away.

"This one is Donavan McClane Beecher." Detective Jameson dropped another photograph next to the other.

Joselyn leaned forward and studied the picture intently. It was a snapshot like one would use for a passport or work identification badge. In it, Beecher wore a polo type shirt with the top two buttons undone and the barest hint of a white tee-shirt peeking out. There were a lot of amazing familial similarities between the two. Even if Detective Jameson hadn't told her they were related, it would have been obvious in the photographs. The slope of the forehead was the same as were the too thin lips and pointed chins. McClane's hair was a medium brown and straight. Beecher's dirty blonde sported gentle waves throughout. Beecher's nose was a little wider and his cheekbones a tiny bit lower. The most striking difference were the eyes. McClane's dark hazel looked coldly sinister. Beecher's were a few shades lighter and conveyed a more caring warmth. She sat back in her seat.

Beside her, Maddox picked up both photographs and studied them carefully. "This makes a lot of sense. How sure are you?"

Taking the photographs from Maddox's hands, Jameson placed them back into the folder as he continued. "Almost positive. There are too many coincidences for it to not be a viable possibility. I'm sure you noticed how closely they resembled each other. Their mothers were fraternal twins and when they married, each had only one child. The women named their sons with the middle name of the other's surname. The two boys were extremely close, born three months apart and raised next door to each other almost as brothers. According to neighbors who knew both men as they grew up, one was never seen without the other. They remained close until McClane went off to college and obtained double masters in literature and teaching while Beecher went to trade school to become a journeyman electrician."

River jumped in with the question bouncing around in Joselyn's mind. "Why do you think Beecher is her stalker?"

"The two were close growing up. They even shared a couple of girlfriends in school. Beecher identified his cousin's body. As soon as it was released he had his cousin cremated. He has since vanished. I spoke to his employer. He hasn't been seen in months. His apartment manager said he was never late on rent but after his cousin died, he only came by one time to pick up some personal items. He broke the lease and told the manager to do whatever he wanted with the furnishings. Then there's this." He pulled out another set of six photographs and splayed them out over the table. In them were six identical necklaces consisting of a small round puffed disk with a dove engraved on the front of a delicate silver chain. Hesitating a moment, he pulled out a seventh photo but this one depicted a piece of paper with writing on it. Joselyn read the words and her blood ran cold.

Six Blossoms, six Doves

Six times to fall in love

Gossamer wings learned to fly

Seven's time now draws nigh.

The writing was the same, the exact same. This note was penned by the man who had been stalking her. "Donavan Beecher," she said in a shaky voice.

The detective nodded. "Or, at least we are pretty sure it was him. These are memorial necklaces. Inside each disk are a few grams of ashes. They are human, though who they belong to, we can't say. I have a gut feeling it's Douglas McClane."

River's face took on his hard, Frost Giant persona. "Who received the necklaces?"

"They arrived yesterday, special delivery to the mothers of Douglas McClane's victims." He flinched a moment as if trying to figure out the best way to continue. With a sigh, he spilled the words out in a rush. "These were special order items, hand-made by a silversmith in Nevada and extremely easy to track. We contacted him to get some information. He told us they were ordered three months ago by a man in Florida who identified himself as John Michaels."

"Deidre's love interest in my books." Joselyn felt the room tilt. Steeling her nerves, she swallowed. "Okay, keep going."

"These things are not cheap. We're talking he paid three hundred dollars each for them."

"Eighteen hundred dollars to send a message?" Maddox wrinkled his brow. "It doesn't make sense."

Jameson winced. "No, not eighteen hundred, twenty-one hundred. He ordered seven of them."

The stillness of the room was shattered when Maddox leaped to his feet and swore. He paced back and forth, scrubbing his face with his hand and pushing his fingers through his hair. He continued striding around the room until he finally stopped in front of Joselyn. Dropping to one knee, he took her cold hands in his and squeezed gently.

"You know I'll protect you, don't you? You know no matter what, nothing is ever going to happen to you." He searched her eyes. "Please tell me you know this."

She swallowed and looked at their clasped hands. Here in her house was the only place she felt safe and a big part of it was because of this man kneeling in front of her. Slowly she raised her head and nodded. "I know," she whispered. "I know you will do everything in your power to keep me safe. I know nothing will touch me or hurt me as long as you are here. It doesn't mean the thought of Donavan Beecher already purchasing a necklace with his psychopath cousin's ashes for my mother doesn't scare the living daylights out of me though."

He lifted her hands to his lips and kissed them. Letting one go, he grasped the other and turned toward his friend and former team member. "Now what?"

"Considering everything we've learned, I felt it prudent to get everyone up to speed. I've contacted her former handler with WitSec, Jonathan Hanger. After briefing him on what we know and suspect he wasn't too happy. He said given the nature of the threat, he can easily get her back into the program until Beecher is caught."

Joselyn shook her head. "No."

"Joselyn," Maddox said softly. "Maybe it's a good idea."

"No!" She pulled her hand out of his and stood. Pacing back and forth, she chewed on her thumb. "I'm not going back into witness protection. I'm not! Douglas McClane stole three years of my life. Three I will never get back. Now I'm finally starting to find my place again and his cousin wants to send me back under a rock? Not happening. Like I said, I trust Maddox completely. He has made this place into a fortress nobody can breach. I'll take extra precautions to not allow myself to be put into a position where he can get to me. I have to go to the convention in Atlanta this weekend but I'll cancel the one next month as well as the three upcoming public appearances. I think I have two podcast interviews in the coming week but they can be done remotely from here." She nodded and continued to pace. "Yeah, that will work. I'll go crazy from cabin fever but it's better than the alternative."

Maddox stopped her and pulled her into his arms. She melted against him and laid her head against his shoulder. "I'm so proud of you, honey. So damn proud! I know this isn't easy for you but I promise I'm not going to leave your side. Look at this situation like a golden opportunity for you to get in some serious writing. And, when the cabin fever gets to be too much, I'll figure out a way to safely get you the space you need. In the meantime, I'll ply you with hot chocolate and green apple candy to your heart's content."

His comment did what he intended and she relaxed marginally. Chuckling softly, she stepped out of his arms. "Just not at the same time because that would be kind of gross."

He laughed, the deep rumble which always made her toes curl and her heart skip. Maddox didn't laugh nearly enough but she had hopes once Donavan Beecher was caught, she would see what she could do to put a few more laughs into his life. He deserved it and so did she.

A cough drew their attention and she started. For a moment, she had forgotten Detective Jameson was still there.

"Well, if you do leave the house, let me know and I'll get a couple of beat cops to help keep an eye on things. As it is, we've scheduled more drive-bys with marked cars in your neighborhood. I talked to your HOA and they are going to increase security measures for the time being by hiring an extra guard for the gates. I've given them a picture of Beecher so they can be on the lookout for him."

"Great, my dues are going to double," she quipped.

"Double or not, it's better to be safe than sorry. You're in a good community here with a lot of safety measures already built in. A few more won't hurt and it will keep your neighbors vigilant." Detective Jameson stood and gathered his file together. They followed him to the door and stopped when he did. "When I asked River to come help out here, I seriously thought it would be just a few days of him making a presence around you until this yokel got tired and moved on. Now I know it isn't some random guy, I'm happier he's here. Joselyn, you couldn't have anyone better watching your six than Maddox Benson."

They said their goodbyes as Detective Jameson opened the door and exited. She punched in her code to rearm the system and turned to Maddox. "Alright, we have a name. Now what?"

"Now, we hunker down, stay vigilant and wait."