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Jesus. I’m a mess. I take a deep breath and redo the buttons. Comb my hair with my fingers. Return to the table and pour a glass of water. My heart is still beating faster than normal.

I’m cranky and frustrated and . . . mad at whoever interrupted us.

Low voices come through the small gap left by the nearly closed door. But I can’t make out what they are saying. I press the glass of cold water to my face and neck. I’m overheated.

I find my phone on the table and use it to look at myself. Bright eyes and flushed skin meet me. My lips are red and swollen. My hair is sticking up in all directions like I just woke up. There’s redness along my neck where Jake rubbed his face. I look like they interrupted me mid-coitus. Well, not quite. Five more minutes, and they would have. I sit and try to tame my hair again. Then, drink the whole glass of water. Fan a hand to cool myself.

Jake comes back. Pulls out a chair and sits in front of me. Our knees are nearly touching. “I’m sorry.”

“Is everything okay?”

“No. There’s something I have to deal with.”

“Is it another woman?”

“No. Wait. Are you asking about a missing woman or another woman?”

Now he has me thinking. I never even asked if he was seeing someone else. I know he said he was single when we first met, but . . . “I was asking about the missing women. But now I’m wondering—”

“No to both. No new missing woman. And I would never be here with you if I were seeing someone else. Even if it was casual. I don’t do that. Date multiple people at the same time.” He lowers his gaze and then looks up at me again. “You? Probably something we should have talked about before . . .”

“No. Never. I mean, I’ve dated before. But never two guys at the same time. Same as you.” The words rush out. I’m relieved that the interruption has nothing to do with other women, missing or not. But now I’m curious. Who would come to his house this late?

I look over my shoulder toward the house and back at him. “What happened?”

He sighs. “A minor family emergency. I have to take care of something. I wish I could delay it, but it can’t wait. I need to go. I’ll walk you to your car.”

My shoulders drop, weighted by disappointment. “Okay, I’ll grab my stuff. Do you want help cleaning up the table?”

“No. I can do that when I come back.”

We walk outside, and he locks the door behind us. There’s a cop car parked across the street. A police officer leaning on it, arms crossed. When he sees Jake, he opens the cruiser’s back door, and a man stumbles out of it. He leans heavily on the car, holding on to the trunk. His shirt is in disarray, half tucked in and half hanging out of his pants.

He’s partially in the shadow. The light from the lamp pole distorts his features.

Jake opens my car door and leans in for a chaste kiss. “I’ll call you soon.”

I drive away slowly—looking in the rearview mirror—I see him cross the street. The drunk man takes wobbly steps toward Jake. It’s all I catch before I have to make a turn.

Chapter23

Avalon

We’re sittingon a bench at the pier and enjoying our burrito food truck breakfast. There’s an air of excitement all around. Red, white, and blue flags and banners decorate the pier and the buildings along the beach. The sea breeze brings some relief to the already too-hot morning. Not a cloud in the sky. It’s a perfect summer day.

Lynn shows me the screen on her phone. “So, according to this, the fireworks start at nine p.m., and the pier is the best spot to watch them.”

“It will be very crowded.”

She takes a long drink from her juice. “Fourth of July fireworks always draw crowds, no matter where you are.”

“That’s true.” I’m not a big fan of crowds. I’m much happier in quiet places. But Lynn is an extrovert and feels right at home among a few hundred or a few thousand people.

“Anything new with the investigation?” She’s nearly finished with her burrito.

“Not that I know of. It’s frustrating and feels like trying to build a puzzle in the dark.”

Lynn looks up, a clear sign she’s thinking. “But that’s just it. You don’t have all the puzzle pieces, and it is not a single puzzle. You’re working with multiple puzzles, all at the same time, and the pieces are all mixed up.”