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"So what happens now?"
"With the load on district court judges, it'll be months beforeTrask appears. He's been released pending
trial, but I've slapped a court order on him. If he approaches you or Rachel, sets foot on your property,
or tampers with any of your possessions, he goes into custody."
Relief unlocked some of the tension in Cullen's muscles. "Thanks. I appreciate the protection for
Rachel's sake."
"But not your own?" Dan met his gaze levelly. "I can understand that. You haven't exactly had a lot to
thank the law for. Believe me, if I could've found out what happened to your father all those years ago, I
would have. I never thought you did it."
"Thanks," Cullen said gruffly. He'd always thought Dan was fair, but he'd never expected him to offer
anything more than guarded neutrality. Just as he was rising to leave, Dan put up a hand.
"Before you go, I'd like to get your slant on that letter Rachelbrought in yesterday."
Cullen's senses went on immediate alert. Letter? He could think of only one reason for Rachel to hand a
letter to Dan. Fury tightened all his muscles at the thought of someone threatening Rachel. The fury
increased when he considered that Rachel had clearly bypassed him with her problem. He found he
didn't like that one little bit. Just as he hadn't liked her assertion that she could cope with being a solo
parent just fine. "Rachel didn't mention any letter."
Dan fidgeted with the file on the table. Cullen's eyes narrowed. Not much upset the middle-aged
policeman. He had a cop's face, a cop's cynical eyes. Something unusual had to have happened to have
breached that essential hardness.
Dan flipped open the folder and produced a plastic envelope with a sheet of paper displayed inside.
"Rachel received this in the salon's mail."
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Cullen read the terse, precisely aligned statement and understood immediately why Rachel hadn't
discussed the letter with him. She'd been trying to protect him. His fury condensed into a cold knot in his
stomach. Ever since he'd reluctantly returned toRiverbend , he'd been encountering problems. Mostly it
was just simple bad manners, sometimes a refusal to do business with him. The most frustrating difficulty
was the ongoing problem of finding anyone to work for him. Consequently, it was taking him months to
do what should have taken weeks. The sheet of paper was an abrupt escalation of his difficulties. Gossip
and speculation, even anger about his past, were one thing, but apparently someone wanted him out of
Riverbend badly enough to show their hand. But they'd just made a serious error, because Cullen wasn't
eighteen and running scared. He was thirty-three and beginning to be seriously ticked off. "Did you
manage to lift any prints?"
"Aside from Rachel's, not a one."
Cullen grunted. He hadn't expected to hear anything different. Just one look at the pristine paper, the
carefully aligned letters, provided the information that the person who'd put the letter together was careful
and intelligent and unlikely to do anything as amateurish as leave prints.
Dan leaned forward. "Is there anyone who might have reason to & uh& "
"To convince Rachel that marryingRiverbend's bad boy isn't a great move? Take your pick, Dan. Half
the town would like to see me gone."
"Not many of 'em would go this far. And I don't thinkTrask has got what it takes to produce something
like this, either."
"It wasn'tTrask ," Cullen agreed. "Not this time."
Dan sat up straighter, his tired gaze sharpened. "If you've got any ideas, I want to hear them."
"I have ideas. Nothing concrete."
"Damn it, Cullen. If you're withholding information "
"If I come up with anything you can use," Cullen interrupted, "I'll give it to you wrapped up with a bow."
"If someone's harassing you, it's police business," Dan warned. "Don't try to handle it on your own."
"I won't start anything," Cullen promised grimly. "But if the son of a bitch who sent that letter to Rachel
decides to get up close and personal with me, I won't be backing down."
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