"No, I'd prefer to stay put, I think. The Rhododendron Room will be fine, thank you."

Ten minutes later, he was settling into what was actually a very nice, beautifully decorated suite with a small sitting room adjacent to the spacious bedroom and bathroom, when he found a card cheerfully explaining the "historic" meaning of the rhododendron flower "according to some sources."

He felt again the consciousness of malevolent fate taking a hand when he saw what the meaning was.

Beware.

"Well," he murmured aloud. "No one can say I haven't been warned."

Nate McDaniel waited until nearly the end of the day before he placed the call, not because of reluctance but simply because things got busy. So it was after five before he dug into the clutter on his desk to find the scrap of paper with the cell phone number scrawled on it.

He wasn't really surprised, though, when the call was answered immediately; few cops worked nine to five.

"Hello, Captain."

Nate knew it was Caller I.D. rather than psychic ability, but it still caught him slightly off guard, and it was that which made his tone a bit aggressive.

"Okay, you called in the favor and I paid. I suggested that Quentin might want to stay at The Lodge this time, and I'm pretty sure he went out there."

"I appreciate your help, Captain."

"Yeah, well, I'm not all that happy about it, so don't thank me. He might find something he's not looking for out there, and if it's trouble, I'm going to feel like shit. Plus, you know, I kinda like the guy."

"Just remember it was my idea."

Nate's unconscious frown deepened. "You know something. What is it?"

"All I know is that it's time Quentin settled with his past."

Nate wasn't about to call an FBI agent a liar, so all he said was, "And you get to decide stuff like that, huh?"