Brandishing a Crown. Rita Herron

swung her gaze toward him, and a small smile lifted the corner of her mouth.

      “How do you know it was a male?” Sheriff Wolf asked. “Did he say anything?”

      “His size, I guess. His hands were big.” She twisted her mouth in thought. “And when I kicked him, he grunted, deep like a man.”

      Sheriff Wolf nodded. “Maybe he left his prints?”

      Jane touched her throat absentmindedly, and Stefan’s jaw tightened. The bloody animal had tried to strangle her.

      “No use. He was wearing gloves,” Jane said matter-of-factly.

      “Did he take anything?” Sheriff Wolf asked.

      Jane nodded. “The cell phone I collected at the crime scene.” She examined the evidence box. “The samples from the road and car seem to be intact,” she said. “And here are the blood samples from the car and the bomb particles. There were dozens of prints inside the limo, too.”

      “I’ll file a report,” Sheriff Wolf said. “Keep me updated on the evidence once you finish.”

      Jane agreed, then the sheriff and security guard left, and Edilio stepped into the hallway.

      Stefan folded his arms. “My fingerprints will be among those in the limo,” Stefan said. “And so will the other dignitaries traveling with me. As I said, we took that limo into Dumont earlier in the evening.”

      Jane’s eyes flickered with sudden understanding. “I know you’re concerned about the sheik. You think that you might all have been targets?”

      Stefan could not deny the truth because Jane was too smart to already not have considered that theory.

      “It is possible,” he said.

      “Then why do you want to keep it from the press and the sheriff?” Jane asked bluntly. “They might be able to help you.”

      There were not many people he trusted, and he did not offer that trust lightly. But this woman had nearly been killed because she was working this case, and perhaps because someone might have tried to murder Amir—and him and his friends.