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wrong?”
    She covered her face with her hands and bent her head, her long dark hair spilling over her fingers.
    â€œTalk to me, babe.” He caught her hands and drew them away from her face. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
    Her big, dark eyes filled with tears. “I’m pregnant!” she cried. “I went to the doctor today and he…he—”
    She burst into tears. The anger and jealousy he had battled all day evaporated. He struggled to find his voice. When he did, it came out strangled. “But I thought we… Weren’t we…careful?”
    The force of her sobs increased. He kicked himself for his lack of tact. Obviously, they hadn’t been careful enough.
    â€œI’m sorry, Tara. Don’t cry. I love you. It’s going to be okay.”
    â€œHow? What are we going to do? An abortion costs—”
    â€œNever,” he retorted fiercely. He caught her hands again, squeezing them tightly. “I love you. You love me. This is our baby, our child. ” A feeling of certainty flowed over him, easing his fear. “We’ll get married. We’ll be a family.”
    â€œBut…how? We’re… I’m afraid, Mark,” she finished helplessly.
    â€œI’ll take care of you, Tara. I promise you that.”
    â€œAnd we’ll be happy,” she murmured, voice cracking. “Really happy, right?”
    She sounded young and frightened. Too young to become a wife and mother.
    They were both too young. They were not ready for the responsibility of raising a child. Neither emotionally nor financially.
    Sudden and total panic washed over him. What was he doing? Tara had been involved in things that went against everything he believed in. What kind of pastor’s wife would she make? What kind of role model for their children?
    It was too late to worry about that now.
    They were going to have a baby. He was going to be a father.
    He needed to be strong for her, he realized. He needed to be strong for them both. Spiritually and emotionally. If he showed her the way, she would follow. Because she believed in him. She loved him.
    And he loved her.
    He drew her into his arms. “Babe, remember when I told you that I felt I was being called to Key West? Remember when I said I thought God had led me here, but I didn’t know why? That I thought He had a special plan for me?”
    â€œYes,” she replied weakly. “But what—”
    â€œI think this is it, Tara. I think He led me to you. I think He meant for us to make this baby. For us to be a family.”
    She tipped her head back and met his eyes. “You do? Really?” The hopefulness in her voice made him ache.
    â€œI do,” he repeated, tone strong now, certain. “Let Him lead you, Tara. If you do, if we do, everything will be fine. This was meant to be. We were meant to be.”

CHAPTER 6
    Monday, November 5
8:45 a.m.
    H and to her nose, stomach rolling, Detective Carla Chapman bent over the decomposing remains of Larry Bernhardt. It appeared that the man had jumped naked from the third-floor balcony above. He had landed face-down. She would guess broken bones, internal injuries and bleeding. The fall had busted him up—but hadn’t killed him. He had dragged himself a few feet before succumbing to either his injuries, pain or both.
    Poor bastard. Damn uncomfortable way to go.
    Carla spied an open pill bottle peeking out from under the man’s left shoulder. She bent closer, examining the empty vial. Quaaludes.
    Or maybe not that uncomfortable, Carla amended.
    She squinted up at the still-scorching November sun. Today’s forecast called for zero cloud cover and a highof ninety. The same as the last three days. Basically as unrelentingly hot as hell.
    That meant Larry Bernhardt’s remains had been cooking for some time, the amount to be determined by the medical examiner. Placing the time of death would be tricky, Carla acknowledged.