“What brings you out to find me?”

“Trouble.”

She paused long enough to read his expression. “Not a shot cop.”

“Not quite that bad.”

She picked up her tools and moved to the next fence post.

“Have you been following what’s been going on with the Griffin sisters?”

“I’m not entirely cut off from the news out here, Chief.” She smiled. “I’ve met the youngest, Tracey. Marsh is seriously attached to that one.”

“There are three sisters: Marie, Tracey, and Amanda. The oldest, Amanda, you’ll remember as Kelly Brown.”

Caroline stopped working and leaned against the post to consider the name. She nodded. “Bressman’s Jewelry store three years ago-the murders. The lady gave us the name of the shooter-yeah, I remember her. I was interviewing one of the former employees who had made a threat against the store manager when Marsh passed word they had an ID on the shooter. You’ve got me curious.”

“Amy witnessed a hit in New York eight years ago and has been running ever since. There’s a dead cop along the trail, along with a few other close calls, and a bunch of money a guy wants back at any cost.”

“And her sisters just inherited money and became new targets.”

“Yes.”

Caroline winced. “I can see that would indeed be trouble.” She secured the next loop of the wire. “What do you need?”

“A safe place for a reunion. The two sisters think Amy died in New York. They haven’t seen her in eight years.”

“She’s back in town?”

He smiled. “She keeps her own counsel, kind of like someone else I know. She’ll call me Wednesday night for details.”

“There are a lot of reporters around the sisters. I’ve seen the news stories being run every day. They are making the two of them the main celebrities for the winter people-watching season.”

Luke smiled at the way she put it but thought it pretty accurate. The events in Marie’s and Tracey’s lives were being made into something even bigger than their story already was. “I’ll arrange the transportation to get them out of that spotlight. I need somewhere remote, absolutely private, with several roads in and out, and if you can add elegance and food and drinks and a lot of Kleenex it would help. Plan for Thursday night, and I’ll bring them in after dark.”

“I’ve been chosen for this assignment, I see; why?”

“Amy’s former army too.”

Caroline looked at him. “You always did like to go for the jugular when you needed to use it.”

“Logistics, she said. And good at it. She was in a long time.”

Caroline sighed. “It’s going to cost.”

Luke held out an envelope. “Blank checks already signed and you’re authorized for all three cards; try not to max them all out, please.”

She tucked the envelope into her coat pocket. “At this point I’m curious enough I’ve got no choice but to do it just to meet her. You know her well?”

“Not nearly as well as I would like.” He reached for his coffee, satisfied the biggest objective of his day was covered. “You should think about coming back to take over major cases, Caroline.”

“I retired.”

“Unretire.” He reached out a hand to rub her coat sleeve. “You’re missed. And there is nothing you could have done differently.”

“He left behind a wife and two kids, and I’m the one who put two bullets in him. He was breaking up under the stress in his life, and the officers around him didn’t see and stop the spiral. I can’t do my job when I’m wondering what is going through the head of the guy beside me and behind me.”

Luke didn’t dispute any of it; he-more than anyone-knew the pain she carried. She was tall and proud and comfortable with herself, but the shooting had taken a lot away from her. “You’ll suffocate out here, in the absence of the job you wanted since you were a kid. You are a good cop, and nothing that happened changed that.”

“I don’t want the dream anymore, Luke. It’s not worth the hurt.”

He slowly nodded. “Think about it anyway. I’m keeping a slot in the payroll for you-any time, any job-you’ll be welcome back.”

“I appreciate it.” She picked up her tools. “What of this do you want to approve?”

“I’ll trust your judgment. I’ll just need specifics before Wednesday evening.”

“Who knows about the reunion?”

“Me. You. In a short while Marsh and Connor. That will be it.”

“That’s best.”

“I think so too.”

“I’ll call you when I have something arranged.”

“Thanks, Caroline. It means a lot.”

She smiled. “I think you mean Amy means a lot. I’m glad for you.”

“Don’t get your hopes up; she won’t even tell me the name she’s using now.” He smiled and finished his coffee. “I think someone is going to fall hard for you one day, Caroline, and they’ll never know what hit them.”

“I do have that effect on guys,” she agreed, smiling back. “Get to work, Chief. This problem is covered.”

Because he knew just a layer of the depths in this woman and the deeper waters inside her heart, he reached over and gently brushed a glove down her cheek. “I’m glad we dated all those years ago; I’ve been waiting for someone to match you for a very long time.” She’d been in the army then and home between deployments. Caroline was one of the most fascinating ladies he had ever had the privilege of getting to know, as well as being one of the most beautiful. The years hadn’t changed that impression of his friend.

“You’ll find her sometime, maybe this time. And, Chief-” she smiled as she shared a secret-“Marsh already bought the ring for the youngest sister. Just so you know.”

Luke tugged off his coat as he entered his office and dumped it on the box of reading materials he had to get to eventually. His Monday was already looking to be a flurry of calls and meetings, and finding time wasn’t going to happen, so he was making it where he could. “Close the door, Connor.”

Connor closed the door, and he and Marsh took seats across from the desk.

Luke took a deep breath and knew how unusual his request was going to sound. “I need you two to arrange dates for Thursday night, and get Tracey and Marie over near Pliat County for the evening. Any problems with that?”

Marsh looked at Connor and back at him. “No, sir, there shouldn’t be. They’ve got a private party tomorrow night for friends at the gallery, but otherwise their calendar was still clear.”

“Amy called,” Connor said quietly, looking for confirmation.

Luke nodded. “St. James is helping me set something up for late Thursday night; we’re going to try and get the sisters safely together for a reunion.”

“I’ll need a pay raise for all the Kleenex this is going to take. Amy’s okay?” Marsh asked.

“She’s got guys trailing her, and it won’t take much to have her call it off. I need you to arrange it so if this aborts, Marie and Tracey have no idea it was ever planned. I’ll call around eight Thursday night-if it’s on, come to the location St. James arranges, but if there’s been trouble, take the sisters straight home.”

“Yes, that’s probably best. Who else knows?”

“Me, you two, St. James. I’ll tell Sam she’s made contact but not about the meeting. If trouble’s not here already, it will be anytime. The less people who might be followed or overheard the better. Amy said there have been two guys on her trail on and off for quite some time. They’ll have seen that news conference too.”

Marsh rose. “We’ll talk to Caroline and make sure we’re clear on the area where this will go down.”

“Guys…” Luke hesitated. “Amy’s fragile right now, very much on edge. Try to make sure the sisters have some perspective on it even if you can’t tell them what is coming. Anything you can do will help.”

“She not only called; you met her,” Marsh said softly.

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