rush right over to give it to you.”

She walked away, holding on to the photo and knowing that Joe was watching her when she turned around to say, “Just one more thing. A kind of way to seal the deal, if you will. Just a small favor.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“I was just wondering who made the ID of your suspect.”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“Yes, I am,” she said, playfully. “About all things.”

He smiled wickedly and said, “It was Alex Stevens, Ashley’s boyfriend. Now you owe me.”

“Yes I do,” she said, laughing, with a sashay out the door of the police station.

“Lucy’s really convincing,” Joe said. He and Gil were back at the conference table, going over the case once again.

Gil smiled. “Yes, she is.”

“Are you two knocking boots?”

Gil rolled his eyes. “I’m married.”

“Hey, brother, that ain’t no thing.”

“Anyway,” Gil said, annoyed, “as far as I’m concerned nothing Lucy said changes the fact that Geisler is our guy—but if Lucy was so convincing about his problems, then imagine what a defense attorney will do with it.”

“Right.”

“We have to nail down our evidence more,” Gil said. “The most solid things we have are the ID from Alex Stevens, Geisler’s past behavior with kids, and the blood on the sword.”

“Yeah,” Joe said. “We have to reinterview Geisler’s neighbor who made the complaint and the guy’s kids.”

“First I have to finish the interview with Rodriguez,” Gil said, not looking forward to it.

“Sounds good,” Joe said, then added uncertainly, “I have to say that before Lucy showed up I was gung ho about Geisler. I mean, I still think he’s our guy, but I kind of feel bad for him. I dunno. Everything is screwed up.”

Gil smiled. When Lucy was involved, that was the way of things.

Lucy was just outside the doors of the police station when the tears started. She wasn’t even sure why she was crying. She was just so frustrated. She fumbled with her car keys, trying to connect with the lock, but eventually got inside. She took a few deep breaths and then pulled out. She needed to meet Andrea in five minutes, but she needed something else more.

She had to have a beer. To calm her nerves. She pulled into an Allsup’s and grabbed a Budweiser tallboy, taking a moment to straighten the remaining cans so all the labels would be facing the customer.

As she waited in line, she noticed that a man in front of her was buying a fifth of vodka and cigarettes. The woman behind her was buying three candy bars and a Coke. Lucy wondered if the convenience store clerks ever got depressed because they were the supplier for so many people’s addictions. The sugar, the nicotine, the alcohol. Lucy showed her ID and bought the beer. In the car, she looked around to make sure no one was watching, then popped the top and took a big swig. The alcohol hit the back of her throat, and her tension level immediately dropped. She felt her mind slow down from revving its engine to quietly coasting.

She backed the car out and made it to Starbucks only a few minutes later. Andrea waited at the table.

Lucy ordered just plain black coffee and sat down. The two exchanged “good mornings,” then got down to work. With Andrea taking notes, they formulated a few questions to ask the residents of the apartment complex. The questions started out innocuous but eventually got to the point. Andrea would start by knocking on some doors and telling whoever answered that she had just gotten to town and was thinking of renting. She would ask about rental prices, the neighbors, the parking, and then ease her way into the “What kind of problems could I expect?” question.

Lucy’s suspicion was that one of the local gangs was shaking down other gang members who lived at the complex. She didn’t tell Andrea that—she didn’t want to scare her—but they did agree that Andrea wouldn’t go inside anyone’s apartment. She would stay where Lucy could see her. Just casually talking by the front door. If Lucy spotted trouble and honked the horn, Andrea would rush back to the car.

Lucy tried to teach Andrea how to do a cold undercover interview with people. How to smile, look slightly naive, generally be sweet. They sat for a few more minutes while Andrea talked at Lucy in Spanish. Lucy didn’t understand a word, but that wasn’t the point. Andrea was busy perfecting her cover.

They didn’t want anyone to suspect that Andrea