a full year because of some complicating factors in her sentencing. If she screwed up they could send her right back for a lot longer than twenty-four months.
“I know the guy. He’s okay. Plays fair. Your first meeting is next week.”
“I thought it would be sooner than that.”
“It usually is, but I told him you’d be staying with me.”
Mace stared fixedly at her sister. “Any news on who set me up?’
“Let’s talk about it later. But I’ve got some ideas.”
There was something in her voice that made Mace decide not to argue. “I’m starving, but can I grab a shower first? Two minutes a day of cold drizzle over two years gets to you.”
“Towels, soap, and shampoo are all set upstairs. I’ve got the rest of your clothes in the guest bedroom.”
Thirty minutes later the two sisters sat down in the large, airy kitchen to scrambled eggs, coffee, bacon, and toast that Beth had prepared. The chief had changed into jeans and a sweatshirt with “FBI Academy” stenciled on the front. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was barefoot. Mace had on a white long-sleeved shirt and a pair of corduroy pants she’d last worn over two years ago. Snug before, they now rode low on her narrow hips.
“You’re going to need new things,” said her sister. “What are you now, about one-fifteen?
“A little less.” She ran a thumb inside the waist of the saggy pants. “I didn’t know I was such a porker before.”
“Yeah, a real porker. You could sprint circles around most of the force even back then. No donut runs for Mace Perry.”
As sunlight spilled through the windows, Beth watched as Mace took her time with each bite and drank the coffee in careful sips. Mace caught her sister eyeing her and put her fork and cup down.
“Pathetic, I know,” Mace said.
Beth leaned across and wrapped long fingers around her sister’s forearm. “I can’t tell you how good it is to have you back safe. What a relief it is—”
Beth’s voice faltered and Mace saw the tall woman’s eyes suddenly tear up; the same eyes that had stared down the worst the city had to offer. Like Mace, she’d started as a beat cop in the toughest neighborhoods of D.C. that no tourist would ever have ventured into unless he was tired of living.
The chief hurried over to the counter and poured another cup of coffee, gazing out the window into the small backyard while she regained her composure. Mace returned to her meal. In between bites she asked, “So what was it you kept for me?”
Relieved by this change in subject, Beth said, “Follow me and I’ll show you.”
She opened the door to the garage and nudged the light on with her elbow. It was a two-bay arrangement. In one parking slot sat Beth’s black Jeep Cherokee. The vehicle sitting in the other space caused a grin to spill over Mace’s face.
A Ducati Sport 1000 S motorcycle painted cherry red. It was the only thing Mace had ever splurged on. And still she’d gotten it dirt cheap and secondhand from a portly cop who’d bought it after going through a midlife crisis only to realize he was terrified to ride the damn thing.
She stepped down to the garage floor, ran her hand along the upside-down high-performance Marzocchi front forks forged from glorious brushed aluminum. Then her fingers slipped over the Sachs shocks that had softened journeys over some rough terrain when she’d used her private ride to chase down some bad guys off-road. The bike had a removable tailpiece cover to give it a sporty, aerodynamic look, but if you popped it off, it revealed a seat and became a two-person ride. However, Mace liked to ride solo. It had a six-speed gearbox, Marelli electronic fuel injection, L-twin cylinders, and its engine generated nearly a hundred horses at eight thousand rpms. She’d kept the bike far longer than any man she ever had, because she loved this machine far more than any guy she’d ever dated.
“How’d my creditors miss this?”
“I assigned it over to myself, so there was nothing to miss. I did it in lieu of payment for administering your affairs.” She held out the key. “Your license still valid?”
“Even if it wasn’t, you couldn’t keep me off it.”
“Nice thing to tell the chief of police sworn to uphold and protect.”