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looked sympathetic.
    “Thanks.” Angel raised her chin a notch.
    “Uh, if you need to talk about it...”
    Joe’s comment faded as she closed the door.
    She turned back, thinking she should go back and apologize, but through the window she saw him picking up the phone. She hurried past the receptionist’s desk and steeled herself against the tears that would come if she didn’t get away from the police station fast. She would not cry—not in front of Joe, not in front of anyone. She balled up the paperwork she’d started and threw it in the trash, then headed for the locker room, where she gathered personal items from her locker. A book she’d never opened. A brush, hair bands, an extra pair of tennis shoes. The small black notebook she kept in her uniform pocket.
    Brandy Owens came into the locker room. Her replacement? Brandy was the only other woman police officer in Sunset Cove.
    “Hey, Angel, what’s up?”
    Hadn’t she heard yet? Good. The last thing Angel needed was more sympathy.
    Brandy frowned as Angel grabbed her stash of candy bars off the top shelf and dumped them into her duffle bag. Brandy had large blue eyes and kept her tan even after a long winter; Angel suspected she spent some time each week either lathering on the sunless tanning lotion or lounging in a tanning bed. Her blonde hair was woven in a neat French braid that reached the middle of her back. “You cleaning out your locker?” she asked.
    “Yeah.”
    Brandy glanced at her own and grimaced. “Not a bad idea. Except I’m afraid of what I might find in there.” She hesitated. “Are you sick or something? Joe called and asked me to come in today but didn’t say why.”
    Angel gulped and choked back the thick mass forming in the back of her throat. “Something like that.” She mustered up a smile. “I’m out of here.” She hurried away before Brandy could ask any more questions. She wasn’t ready to talk to her or anyone else. She needed time alone to think. No, not to think. Angel didn’t know what she needed; she only knew she had to get away.
    As she walked out of the building, she had the foreboding sense she was leaving for the last time. That’s crazy. You’ll be back . As soon as the details are cleared up and the crime scene investigators determine what happened. You were doing your job. You’ll be back to work in no time .

 
    A ngel made her way through the parking lot to her rebuilt 1972 Corvette. Luke’s car, really. She’d just taken it over when he left. An old ache made its way into her heart again as thoughts of her brother overtook her own problems. He was the oldest of the five Delaney kids. Dad’s favorite. At least he had been until he disappeared. He’d graduated from Harvard Law School with honors then joined a prestigious law firm in Portland. Four years ago, he’d gone on a business trip and never came back. He’d sent a note telling the family not to worry. The note read like a will. In it he’d asked Angel to take care of his car.
    Tears rimmed her eyes. She brushed them away with the palm of her hand. This was not the time to be thinking about Luke. She slid behind the wheel, pushed the key into the ignition, and twisted it, bringing the engine to life. Lowering the windows, she reached for the door, but Nick grabbed hold of the frame before she could shut it.
    “What are you doing here?” Angel turned away, pretending to be looking for something in the glove box. When she finally looked back, he was still there, resting his arms on the door.
    “You gonna be okay?” His concerned gaze leveled on hers as if daring her to lie.
    “Why wouldn’t I be?” She avoided looking him in the eye, hoping he wouldn’t press her. It wouldn’t take much for her to fall apart.
    He shrugged. “You were pretty shook up back there. I thought—”
    “I’m fine, Nick. I’m going home.”
    “Uh, did you hear about the kid’s weapon?”
    “Unfortunately, yes.” She ran a hand through her damp