Hiding in the Shadows by Kay Hooper Page A

slightly as his friend shot him a look. “Dinah was—is—too smart to pay blackmail money even if she had done something to be blackmailed for, which I very much doubt. But it’s possible that someone took advantage of her and she found out about it later, after the money was handed over.”
    Kane nodded slowly. “Dinah would have been furious, would have wanted to get her money back and punish whoever had deceived her. She wouldn’t have been afraid to face up to whoever it was and threaten retaliation, even prosecution. But then—”He broke off, and Bishop didn’t have to hear the words to know how his friend had silently finished that sentence.
    In that case, getting Dinah out of the way for some amount of time wouldn’t help. Unless she disappeared permanently .
    Bishop knew that Kane had been clinging to what was very likely an unrealistic hope. That if she had an unknown enemy, that person had wanted Dinah out of the way only for a while. That she was being held hostage somewhere, undoubtedly furious and bored but safe. That somehow the crisis would be resolved and Dinah would be released unharmed.
    Bishop knew better. He didn’t want to know it, but he did. Within hours of his arrival in Atlanta, his training and experience told him that it was only a matter of time before Dinah’s body was found.
    But he wasn’t about to offer that cold knowledge to Kane. Stranger things had happened, and there was always a chance, however slim, that Kane was right. Bishop wouldn’t take that away from him.
    There was time enough for brutal reality if and when it had to be faced.
    In the meantime, investigating possibilities was one way of keeping Kane busy. He needed to feel he was doing something to help the woman he loved. And they had to find out what had happened, whether or not the information could help Dinah now; if she was already dead, somebody had killed her, and that somebody was going to pay for it.
    Before the silence could grow too large and become filled with paralyzing thoughts and fears, Bishop said, “I still think blackmail isunlikely, but it’s something we need to look into. And the connection between Dinah and this friend of hers. Since the police didn’t see a connection and moved on, I doubt they’ll look again, especially now.”
    “Why especially now?”
    Bishop shrugged. “I have a feeling they’re going to have their hands full now that your reward has been announced.”
    “You still don’t think that was a good idea, do you?”
    “I think a million dollars is a hell of a lot of money. And I think there are quite a few people willing to make something up if they think there’s a hope in hell of getting that money. It could just muddy the water, Kane.”
    “Or it could inspire whoever might be holding Dinah to tip the police as to where she can be found.”
    “Yes, it could. Especially since you worded the statement to make it plain the money would be paid only if Dinah is found alive and well.”
    Kane changed the subject. “Getting back to the second lawyer, do you think he’ll be willing to talk to us?”
    “I don’t know. He’ll be bound by attorney-client privilege, but given Dinah’s disappearance, he might be willing to set that aside in her best interests. We won’t know until we talk to him. Assuming we can find out who he is.”
    “Well, until the banks open on Monday, we can’t pursue that lead anyway. Which leaves us with Faith Parker. The hospital is on our way. Do you think—?”
    Bishop did.
    But at the hospital, they encountered an unexpected obstacle.
    “She was released two days ago.” Dr. Burnett, hunted down for them by a somewhat startled nurse, had an air of weariness about him. But he brightened when he talked about Faith, clearly feeling a proprietary pride in his former patient.
    “Released?” Kane stared at him. “When I was here a month or so ago, she was in a coma.”
    “Yes, she was. But she woke up a little more than three weeks