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“I haven’t told Birdie what to do.”

“You’re telling me.”

I suck in a breath and lower my voice. “I’m asking you to stay here. There are guards outside this house, and I’ll be with you.”

“You could come to the guesthouse.”

I could. The path between the two houses is short, and Drew has posted men at both doors. I picture the roof breaking above her while I run across the yard. Reason has done little for me since then.

“I want you where I can reach you,” I admit.

Her expression softens. “You could have said that.”

“I have difficulty thinking about anything else.”

Cassie looks down at the bandage on her arm. “I’m here, Andrei.”

“I know you are. I saw you fall. Until you lifted your head, I didn’t know whether I’d lost you or not.”

Cassie stands and slowly comes toward me. I move to meet her, but she stops before I can take her hand.

“That’s what you’re thinking about when you look at me?” she asks. “I can understand that. What I can’t understand is why you looked at the coin as if you knew who put it there and then told me nothing.”

Drew appears in the doorway before I can answer. Soot marks his jacket shoulder, and a thin red scrape runs along his wrist. He’s spent the afternoon at the stable with Mila, the investigators, and everyone whose name appears on the access logs. He looks exhausted, but his phone is still in his hand.

“The investigator has the coin,” he tells me. “I gave him the location where I found it and the photographs I took before moving it. He’ll also have the security footage and employee records tonight.”

“Have you spoken to Mila?”

“She’s with the horses. She knows we’re interviewing everyone who entered the yard.” Drew looks at Cassie. “How are you feeling?”

“My ankle hurts, but I’m all right.”

“Mila asked me to tell you Walter is behaving as if he rescued himself.”

That earns the first hint of a smile I’ve seen from Cassie since we returned. “He probably believes he did.”

Drew’s own smile fades when he turns back to me. “I’m going to review the camera feeds again. There’s a gap at the rear of the hay room where the roof blocks the view, but the people approaching the yard should be visible on the other cameras.”

“Call me when you have something.”

He nods and leaves. Cassie watches him go, then focuses on me.

“Does Drew know why the coin matters?”

“No.”

“Does Leo?” she presses.

“He recognized what it is.”

“That isn’t what I asked.”

She’s right, and I’ve answered her the way I answered Drew after the investigator found the accelerant. I know only what I can prove. I’ve spent years relying on that distinction, and Cassie has quickly learned to hear it.

“Let’s get you something to eat. Then we’ll talk where we won’t be interrupted.”

Cassie narrows her eyes. “We’d better.”