before returning to her previous post.
A small man who might’ve once been blond, but whose hair had faded to ash gray, bustled out from the back soon afterward. “Detective,” he said, holding out a sinewy hand. “Ava said you were looking to identify a piece of jewelry?” His eyes held a question, but it wasn’t about the jewelry—his attention was on Anahera.
“I’m sorry for staring,” he said when she raised an eyebrow, “but I could swear I’ve seen you before.”
“I get that a lot.”
The jeweler began to turn back to Will… halted midmove. “You create the most extraordinary music—your gift is truly angelic,” he said in a hushed tone. “I’m deeply honored to have you in my store.”
Anahera went still. “Thank you.”
“I was very sorry to hear of the passing of your husband.”
Shoulders stiff, Anahera gave the man a tight smile before turning to look at some of the jewels on display. Will, meanwhile, took charge of the meeting. Removing the watch from his pocket, he took it out of the evidence bag to show it to the jeweler. “Is this one of your pieces?”
The man shook his head at once. “No, I do watches in partnership with a trained watchmaker, but this isn’t my style. Too flashy. That said, the craftsmanship is exquisite—nothing mass-market. Not even an elite mass-market line. This is definitely custom.”
The clerk, who’d come to hover near her boss, craned her neck to look at the watch. “I don’t recall seeing anything like this before—the design, I mean,” she said. “And Dad and I know most of the other jewelers in the country who do custom work.”
Her boss—her father—frowned. “Ava’s right. It’s very unique, especially that sunburst design with the diamonds. Some of my competitors do have new jewelers on staff—it might’ve come from one of them.”
Will didn’t sense deceit in either of these two; if anything, they seemed eager to help. Putting the watch back in the evidence bag, he said, “Would you recommend I speak to any other jewelers or watchmakers in particular?”
Together, father and daughter came up with a list of seven, all of whom were already on his list. “Thank you.”
Anahera walked out with him without saying anything further to either the jeweler or the clerk, though she did incline her head toward them in a silent good-bye.
“Why release your music under the name Angel?” Will asked once they were on the sidewalk.
Anahera rolled her eyes and her shoulders, as if shrugging off the stiffness. “Record company’s idea. They did a search on the meaning of my name, decided the stage name would be great for promotion. You know, the ‘plays like an angel’ shtick.”
“Is it true that you’re self-taught?”
“I used to sneak into the church and practice on their piano.” A faint smile. “When Pastor Mark came out to the cabin the day I got back to Golden Cove, he told me I could come play on the church piano anytime I wanted.”
“I hear they tune it once every ten years, so you might be in luck.”
Anahera laughed, and for a moment, they were just a man and a woman taking a walk in the sunshine.
A minute later, she stopped by a food truck selling fresh-made wraps. “Yes?”
Will nodded and they were soon eating their lunch as they walked to the next stop. “What’s it like being a famous musician?”
“Famous pianist,” Anahera corrected. “We’re nowhere near as well-known as pop stars. I have no idea how he recognized me.” She took a bite of her wrap, waited until she’d swallowed before continuing. “I only ever did a few shows and the photo they used on the cover of the last album is all darkness and broken shadows.”
Much like the music on that album. “You planning to get a piano in the cabin?” He finished his wrap. “Must be hard for a pianist to be in a place where you can’t practice your passion.”
A skateboarder whizzed down the sidewalk on the other side of the street, expertly dodging the orange cones that marked out a construction zone. He stumbled to a stop when his cap flew off and he had to run back to retrieve it, but a few seconds later he was off again. “Do you remember ever being that young?” Anahera asked, her eyes following the boy until he disappeared down the street. “Having no responsibilities, no real worries.”
“I had a cop for a father and for a mother.” Will threw both their wrappers into a trash can after holding