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Mancini family,” said Alton.
    “Yes, but as you said, it’s circumstantial. There’s no direct, forensic evidence to link a member of the family back to either crime. Unfortunately, that’s not unusual, either. The mob is good at covering their tracks, which leads me to my next point.
    “On one hand, the Mancini family knows it’s being watched, so it has to be very careful to at least appear to conform to the law. On the other hand, if the family’s leaders believe we’re getting too close to the truth, they may consider a strike at a potential witness a less risky strategy than doing nothing.”
    “A ‘fight or flight’ reaction, huh?” asked Alton.
    “Yes, and that means that we have to continue to be on our guard. The Los Angeles FBI office will keep tracking the Mancini’s movements, but if the family has gotten away with murder twice, we have to assume they may try to get away with it again if it could silence someone—like Chelsea—who they believe could turn state’s evidence against them.” 
    “So it doesn’t matter that I don’t know anything,” said Chelsea. “They’d kill me just to be sure.”
    “Yes, it’s a possibility,” replied Mallory, “so stay on your toes.”
     
    When they returned inside, Mallory asked Ruth, “Do you know what your bird said to me a few minutes ago? ‘And then you die!’ It scared me half to death.”
    Ruth broke down into giggles. “That’s from the story I’m writing. Every bad guy has to say that at some point.”
    “I see. Next time, can you write about rainbows or unicorns or boyfriends? At least until I leave?”

CHAPTER 20
     
     
    While Alton and Chelsea resumed work on their respective Kruptos projects, Mallory found Gail relaxing in a rocking chair on the front porch and sat down in a second one facing her.
    “It must be nice to have Alton home,” said Mallory.
    “Yes, it’s wonderful, of course. I can see you’ve made a change in him, my dear.”
    “Really? What kind?”
    “I don’t need to tell you that Alton isn’t very demonstrative. I mentioned yesterday that he liked the woods as a youngster. But even in his teens, he still enjoyed his solitude at times. He liked to relax by going out to the back yard or in the forest to read or study.
    “He has strong, passionate feelings, but he’s always kept them buried under the surface. You don’t see them come out very often, not at their full strength, at least. It seems to me, Mallory, that you’re more inclined to express yourself openly, and my impression is that Alton is opening up more than he used to. I attribute that to your influence.”
    Sweeping her mind across the past nine months, and remembering Alton’s declaration of love back in her hospital room, Mallory replied, “Yes, now that you mention it, he does open up more now than when I first got to know him back in Afghanistan. It’s still not very often, but when he does open up, he’s very eloquent—maybe even a bit old-fashioned.”
    “You have me to blame for that,” said Gail, smiling. “I got him hooked on the Victorian classics at a young age—Dickens, Austen, the Brontë sisters. He took all those books to heart, their messages of honor and fidelity and good triumphing over evil…and of love, of course.”
    “Speaking of fidelity, Kayla told me about Sheila, Alton’s high-school sweetheart. It sounded like that was a tough breakup.”
    “Yes,” said Gail with a sigh. “He took it pretty hard. From the ideas espoused in the books he loved, Alton had formed strong ideas about love and honor. That’s not unusual, you know. I find that high-school students can be some of the most idealistic people…in a good way. When Sheila broke it off with him, the ideals Alton had formed took a blow. The break-up left him wondering what he lacked. I told him it was Sheila, not him, but I’m not sure he ever believed me.”
    “So what happened to Sheila? Does she still live in Tifton?”
    “As a matter of