Secrets Among the Cedars (Intertwined Book 2) by Sherri Wilson Johnson

taken me off the case, but is he going to send the new prosecutor down here to finish what I started?" She huffed.
    Phil tapped her on the shoulder. "You're supposed to be on vacation."
    "I know. But how can I relax fully when that gun is out there somewhere?" She pointed to the Gulf.
    Phil sat up and folded his legs to his chest. "All right. What makes you think it's out in the water?"
    Kathryn pushed her hair out of her face. "The file mentions that the evidence was washed away. Washed away means in water. But where? Cedar Key is surrounded by water. Of course, the guy at the store said some secrets are better left buried, so maybe the gun is buried somewhere?” She sucked in a deep breath. “That’s really getting to me, and I’m still puzzled by the fact that there was only one shooter.”
    “Are you sure there was only one?”
    “Yes, ballistics proved the bullets came from the same gun.”
    “Then what puzzles you?”
    “Two men who were shot in the hands and feet before being shot in the head are going to stand there while a man shoots them? No. One would fight the shooter to protect the other man or he’d run off and hide. It’s not like the gun was a machine gun or some other rapid firing gun. What kept the second victim there?"
    "What if the men were tied up first? Then they couldn’t fight the shooter.”
    “Good point! I hadn’t thought of that. You deserve a cookie.” She laughed and pointed to the cooler.
    Phil reached in and grabbed a cookie for both of them, handing one to Kathryn. She took a bite of the lemon-iced delight and wiped the crumbs away from her lips.
    “Have you been able to find any connection to Cedar Key and the crime?"
    She widened her eyes. "Uh, yeah. You."
    He sketched circles in the sand with a piece of driftwood. "Besides me. Forgetting that it’s my uncle with a familial connection to Cedar Key that has been arrested for the crimes, why would someone choose this place specifically to hide or bury a weapon? There are closer beaches and tons of lakes."
    "That brings us right back to the Ezzo connection here in Cedar Key. That’s why it has to be your uncle or one of his associates. Could it be hidden underneath a dock or in a crab trap? They’re everywhere around here. What do you think of that theory?"
    Phil raised his eyebrows. "It's a good one. But do you know how many there are? How many places they could be out in the water?"
    "Exactly. It's like trying to find Waldo in a crowd of red-and-white striped shirts."
    Phil rolled back on the quilt with laughter, grabbing his stomach. "Kathryn, you're so awesome!"
    "Thank you. But we've still got a missing weapon out there."
    "You're not going to rest until you find it, are you?"
    "Nope."
    "What can I do to help you relax?"
    "Point me to that gun."
    "I think the only way I can do that is to ask my uncle where it's at.”
    Kathryn shrugged and raised her eyebrows.
    “Kathryn, if I do that, I wouldn't be able to tell you because of attorney-client confidentiality."
    "Assuming you were to defend him."
    "If I ask, then the assumption would be correct. So I'm in as much a predicament as you."
    She puffed. "I'm going to keep studying the file and find the missing piece to this puzzle. I'm curious why he cares enough about the gun to hide it and not just throw it away somewhere."

Chapter Eight
     
    Phil waved as Kathryn pulled away from his house, grabbed the cooler off the ground then bounded up the stairs like a teenager. Giddy, was he? He'd never felt like this before. Not even with Maria. Others might think the taboo nature of their association had him dancing in his mind, but his heart told him something different. Kathryn was a unique woman with a genuine heart, and he had to get to know her more.
    Phil unloaded the cooler's contents into his refrigerator and pantry and stretched out on the couch. He grabbed the remote off the coffee table, but after finding nothing to watch, he gave up. He couldn't stop thinking about