A weird haze hung in the air as I walked NB toward the lone figure stationed beside a tree in the side yard of the bed-and-breakfast. There were hours until the sunrise would heat the air enough to dissipate the fog. Until then, everything had an eerie touch like God draped the town in dirty gray lace.

I scanned around me as NB lifted his leg to pee on a bush. We couldn't act suspicious, but I had to guarantee Broadrick hadn't somehow followed me. He wasn't in my apartment when Katy called, but that didn't mean he wasn't up and prowling around in the bushes. He probably had an entire bush suit. I don't know what counted as camouflage with our military, but they had the budget for it. I searched the sky for a soundless drone. Nothing.

My steps slowed as I approached the shadowed figure. Clandestine meetings in the early morning under a cover of fog weren't exactly the places I ran head first into. Even I wasn't that dumb. I only continued walking because I had a ninety-nine percent certainty I considered this shadow person a friend.

"Katy?" I whispered, giving NB a tug to get him walking. The word scratched across my throat as I said it.

She stepped away from the tree, letting her hand fall to her side. In it she held a thick manilla envelope. "Shhh, use the code names."

I sniffled and held back a cough. "Is that you, Eagle?" I asked, even though I'd already figured out it was Katy.

She moved her arms with the envelope across her chest. "It's me. Did anyone follow you, Little Pup?"

I bristled at the name. "Why am I Little Pup?"

Katy shrugged. "I like NB."

I liked my dog too, but that didn't mean I wanted my code name to be based on him. It didn't matter anyway because anyone who drove by us as we talked could figure out who we were, even with the fog. The names were a Katy thing. She said it added to the adventure.

I just wanted to solve a murder.

"What do you have for me?" I asked rather than argue over my misguided code name. Experience taught me it wouldn't do any good.

Katy leaned up against the tree and popped up the collar of her coat. "I promised Pierce I'd say out of this murder business."

"And you plan to keep that promise?" It didn't sound like Katy.

She shrugged, and the move crinkled the folder. "I guess."

"If you're staying clear of the shooting, why this meeting?"

She flopped the manila envelope between her hands. "Look, I'm trying to okay. It's a process. I can't go cold turkey my first time."

"Uh-huh." NB pulled on his leash and I let him have a little more room to pee on the tree beside Katy. He liked to explore the space on walks.

The ocean was only a few streets away and the breeze coming off the coast made everything chillier than normal. February wasn't warm in Maine, but the thick fog and breeze were not helping.

"Take this. If anyone asks, you found it on your own. Tell them you stole it when I wasn't looking. I keep the master book behind the reservation desk."

"Got it." I sneezed into my coat sleeve and then took the envelope from Katy.

She reached down and gave NB a scratch behind his ear. "You sick?"

"Allergies." Probably.

Katy stood and pointed to the envelope. "My old place is empty. When are you moving in?"

"It's not empty." I'd moved at least six boxes. Two entire kitchen drawers had stuff in them. "I'm going to finish up soon."

It wasn't a lie. I had no idea when or how, but I'd get it done.

I sneezed again, and the motion jerked on NB's leash. He sat down in the snow-covered grass and glared at me. Sorry, dude. My eyes hurt, a deep ache like I'd used them too much, but I'd been awake less than an hour.

A car drove by on the street. It slowed as it made its way past our meeting spot and Katy looked ready to bolt. I unhooked the clasp on the envelope and pulled out the stack of papers. "What are these?"

"It's the logbooks from the bed-and-breakfast for this month. Everyone who had a room for the shooting is listed on one of these pages."

I scanned the forms. "These are handwritten."

"Yeah, I like the authenticity of having people fill out the forms themselves. Keeps the whole aesthetic of a historic home. You know?"

"You don't keep it on computers?"

Katy scoffed, a deep snort that sounded like she couldn't believe I'd question her methods. "Yeah, sure, but it's more fun this way."

"For who?"

The biggest mystery in her envelope would be how I'd eventually read the chicken scratch on the top page. If I couldn't read the information, how did I track anyone down to question?

"Well, thanks," I said and held back a sneeze.

Katy beamed. "No problem. Hit me up when you crack the case. There's gold in there."

Yeah, fool's gold.

I shoved the papers into the envelope and didn't bother reclasping it. I wasn't even going to touch on the problem that if anyone asked me where I got the information I had to make them believe I somehow snuck into the bed-in-breakfast, stole Katy's book, and got it to a copy machine all without anyone seeing me. That sounded like a future Vonnie problem.

It was after seven by the time Katy and I parted. I promised to keep her posted on what I found after I deciphered the chicken scratch and then walked toward my office a few blocks from Main Street. I needed the chilly morning air to clear my sinuses and take away the scratchy throat.

The streets in Pelican Bay were still empty. Artificial light streamed out from the bakery's windows, but the other buildings sat dark. The diner would be the next one open at eight for the breakfast patrons.

Maybe I'd crack Katy's documents and grab myself a breakfast sandwich to celebrate breaking the case. A gray van passed me on the street and I kept my eye on it until it turned the corner. Vans were never good news in this town.

NB and I made it to the start of my office parking lot and my throat hadn't miraculously healed itself. A huge white Dodge Ram with beefed up tires stopped at the corner, and I waved to the driver. Only one man drove a truck that ostentatious.

Antonio Franco. Bounty hunter extraordinaire. I just called him Tony.

I helped him find a skip last month, and he'd helped me with my murderer. I hadn't seen Tony in over a week and figured he'd left town on the hunt for another bounty. Thinking of him leaving without saying goodbye had hurt, even though I wouldn't admit it.

Seeing him in town eased the pain of worry that our friendship was one sided and completed.

"Hey, Tony," I said as he stopped his truck and rolled down the window.

Tony closed his eyes and took a slow breath before opening them again. "What did I say about that nickname?" His whiskey-colored eyes sparkled with the question, signaling he wasn't that upset about it.

"That you love it?" I smiled.

That hadn't been what he'd said at all, but he'd also given me permission to call him it. He had tan skin with dark hair swept over on his head and held down with gel. His arms were just as beefy as they were last I'd seen him, and his big smile made him appear friendlier than he was while hunting down bond jumpers.

"That's now how I remember it, princess."