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and walked away thinking to himself ‘
and don’t
ever
sass me again, boy’
.
    Tony found himself alone in the meeting room with Carol Offord. Well, he thought, I couldn’t duck her forever.
    “Tony.”
    “Carol. How have you been?” De Luca had no idea what to expect from her. The affair had been short lived and over for what, a year? Two? That long ago?
    Carol was tall for a woman. She almost met Tony eye-to-eye when she looked at him. Tony took in what would have been a pretty, high cheek-boned face except for the eyes. Gray wisps teased at her black short hair. Carol had flinty blue, almost gray eyes that always looked sad and resigned, like she had seen too many bad things in her years on the force. He remembered she favored no nonsense business suits, just like the one she wore now, and that it likely hid some outrageous lacy nothings underneath. They’d had a few laughs. It hadn’t ended badly or sadly, it had just ended.
    “I’ve been good. Good. Congratulations.” Carol offered her hand.
    “Thanks. It’s a little overwhelming.” Tony took it. Her skin was cool and dry and smooth.
    “I’d thought you’d have called. What’s it been, a year?” She was still holding on.
    “About that I guess.” Here it comes, he thought. I really don’t need to deal with this right now.
    “I got a divorce, you know.” Carol smiled and finally let go of his hand.
    Was she telling him something? Hinting? Flirting? “I heard that.” What was it Ray said? No politics. No games. Clear cases. “Look, I gotta head out. I’m doing the son and the roommates. This will be good, working together.” He nodded, trying to convince himself that it would be, maybe reassuring Carol.
    Carol looked down at the floor. “It wasn’t because of you, of us…the divorce.” Maybe she was more nervous than she looked. No politics. No games.
    “That’s good.”
    “Was it the age thing?”
    The age thing?
    Tony was twenty-nine then, Carol at least ten years older. It had felt a little naughty at first, he remembered—getting it on with an older woman. A little weird, but what the hell, they were both adults. He hadn’t really thought about it much. She obviously had.
    “No. Not at all,” Tony said. “We just went in different directions—at least that’s what I thought.”
    “Sure, that’s it, different directions. And we both end up here.” A cloud passed over Carol’s face, a worry, something flickered in her eyes. Tony had no idea what.
    “Are you okay, Carol?”
    “I’d like to talk. Away from here. A drink later maybe?” There was too much hopefulness in the question. Tony was uneasy, hell, he was worried now. One of the reasons it had ended was that Carol was a little intense for him.
    “I’m seeing someone,” he said.
    “So am I,” she snapped back, turning, and striding off. Tony watched her walk away thinking he
really
didn’t need this right now. She turned at the doorway.
    “Didn’t seem to matter before,” she said, and then she was gone.

Chapter 5
    “I ’m sorry for your loss.”
    Tony really was sorry even though he hadn’t known the woman, Deanna. He was sure it sounded hollow and insincere, almost rote, as he faced the three young men sitting on the couch. Two of them looked sad. One looked devastated—red-eyed, disheveled, and dispirited.
    “You didn’t even know her,” one of the boys snarled. That was Scotty, the son. The other two nodded.
    “You’re right, but I’m still sorry.” They fell into an awkward silence. Tony had a job to do though, so he put his street cop face on and took the next step. “I need to talk to each of you, ask a few questions. I need to do it separately.”
    That got them all bristling and changed their expressions.
    “You can’t possibly think any of us had anything to do with it.” That was from the young man named David Hong. “No fucking way, dude.” Hong was big for an Asian, Tony thought. Then he realized Hong was probably Samoan.