Free Snowfall by Sharon Sala

the other. He waited until Mac had seated himself on the opposite side of the coffee table before speaking. “We had an emergency call to answer. Sorry.” Then he shifted mental gears and pinned Mac with a hard look.
    “I was given to understand that Miss Bennett doesn’t have any family,” J.R. said.
    “She doesn’t.”
    “Then who are you?”
    “My name is Connor McKee. I own McKee Security, out of Atlanta. Aaron Workman, her editor, is my stepbrother. He called me. I came.”
    Neil made a couple of notes and then looked up. “Where is Miss Bennett?”
    “Asleep. She’s still in a lot of pain, and I’d rather not disturb her. Besides, if you’re here about what happened at the hospital last night, there’s no need to talk to her.”
    “Why not?” Neil asked.
    “Because she slept through it. I’m the one who woke up and saw the man standing in her room, and I’m the one he spoke to.”
    “He spoke to you?” Trudy asked.
    “Yes, but I think I surprised him. He came into the room sometime after three in the morning. When I stood up and asked him what he was doing, he gave me some cock-and-bull story that didn’t check out.”
    “Exactly what did he say?” J.R. asked.
    “He said his name was Dr. Frost and that he was looking for a Mr. Benton’s room.”
    “That doesn’t sound out of the ordinary,” Trudy said. “The last names are pretty similar…Benton…Bennett. Maybe it was just a case of mistaken identity.”
    “That’s what I thought at first, until I asked a nurse if there was a patient by the name of Benton on the floor. She told me there wasn’t, and then asked why I wanted to know. I told her a man identifying himself as Dr. Frost had been looking for his room.”
    “And?” Trudy prompted.
    “She said Dr. Frost is an OB/GYN. He wouldn’t have any male patients, no matter what floor they were on.”
    “Oops. Looks like your intruder didn’t do his homework,” she said, then eyed him carefully. “But you did, didn’t you? What tipped you off?”
    “Have you ever been hospitalized?” Mac asked.
    Trudy nodded.
    “No matter what time of night it is or how soundly you’re sleeping, when a doctor or nurse comes into the room, they always turn on the lights, don’t they?”
    Trudy’s red curls bobbed as she nodded again. “A couple of years ago I had an appendectomy. Didn’t get a wink of sleep until I got to go home.”
    “Exactly. But this man didn’t turn on the lights or make a sound. In fact, he was halfway to Caitlin’s bed in the dark when I stood up.”
    Neil leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “And why were you there?”
    “Protecting her.”
    “How long have you known Miss Bennett?”
    “A little more than three years.”
    Neil took silent note of the way McKee answered—almost as if he was uncomfortable being on the receiving end of their questions.
    “Have you always been in security?” he asked.
    “No, I was with Atlanta PD for fifteen years.”
    “Why did you quit?”
    “Lost one too many partners. Watched one too many perps walk because of a legal technicality. You name it. I burned out, pure and simple.”
    “Boy, do I understand that,” Trudy said.
    But Neil wasn’t comfortable with the man’s presence and made it known.
    “This is our investigation,” he said shortly. “We don’t need any vigilantes.”
    Mac resisted the urge to smirk. “Miss Bennett will be pleased to know that you’ve finally admitted there’s something to investigate.”
    The detective’s lips thinned in anger, but he kept his silence as Mac added, “I have no intention of investigating anything. I’m not a P.I. I own and operate a company that installs and upgrades security systems…period. I volunteered to stay with Caitlin until the man is caught, so the sooner you get your job done, the happier we’ll all be.”
    “Can you give us a description of the man?” Trudy asked.
    Mac frowned. “Not really. I only got a glimpse of him as he opened the door