"Where are you? Have you gone back to the farm yet?"

"How did you know that I-"

"Are you at the farm?"

"No, I'm filling up my gas tank at the BP station."

"Good. Stay there."

"Can't do it. I have to find that damn don-"

"You'll not find the donkey. Stay where you are. Don't go back to the farm. Devon is going to meet you. She'll call you when she's on her way." He hung up.

He doubted if Gilroy would obey him, but he'd probably call Devon, and that might delay his going back to the farm. Bridget would move fast, but he needed all the time he could muster.

He phoned Devon Brady. "Get my dog out of that office. Close up and send everyone home."

"I beg your pardon." Devon's voice was icy.

"Lock the doors. I'll be there in five or ten minutes, but you can't take a chance I'll be in time. Get out of there."

"I've no intention of doing anything you order me to do. I have appointments that-"

"Then get Ned out of there. He's the draw that will make them come after you."

"Who are you talking about? Who's coming-"

"Stop asking questions and get my dog away from there. I don't want him shot again." His voice lowered, and every word came out charged with intensity. "And I don't want anyone else shot either. I'm not crazy, and I'm not joking."

"Shot?"

"That's what's going to happen. I hoped we'd have more time, but I think they're on their way. They have their orders, and they won't care who they have to kill to get what they want."

"Dammit, who's supposed to be on the way? The man who shot Ned?"

"No, I took him out of the equation. Look, you don't have time to ask me questions. Lock the doors. Where's your car?"

She hesitated. "It's parked in the back parking lot behind the clinic."

"What kind of car?"

"Toyota SUV."

"Good. Put Ned in the back and tell him to play dead. I've seen that's one trick he knows to perfection. Cover him up with a blanket. Then get the hell away from the office."