Alonzo headed toward her, and she glared at him. She’d met him twice before, had emailed him once, and talked to him on the phone once, but other than that, she wanted to stay as far away from Internal Affairs as possible. Those people were pariahs, and she did not want to end up like one of them.

  “Detective Halling.” His voice slid over and sent a shiver down her spine.

  “Commander.”

  “A word.”

  “Not like I have much of a choice.”

  He gave her a smirk and nodded his head toward Humbard’s office, which he had apparently taken over. With one nod to the investigator who was in there, the office was vacated.

  “We’re performing an investigation.”

  “No shit,” Grace answered, sneering as she turned to look around the room. “I’m going to assume you can’t tell me anything.”

  “A good assumption.”

  Grace spun in a circle and looked out at the rest of the office, where her desk was, Paige’s desk, everyone she worked with. They would all be coming in shortly, so at least she wouldn’t be the only one standing there like an idiot.

  “Do I get to work today?”

  “Yes.”

  Turning back to Alonzo, Grace nodded sharply. Without another word, Grace went to leave the office, but Alonzo’s voice kept her still.

  “Halling.”

  With a raised eyebrow, she stared at him. “What?”

  “The offer still stands.”

  “I’ve told you what I think of that offer.”

  He sat on the corner of Humbard’s desk, one leg propped up higher than the other, his hands on his lap as he stared her over. “Yes, you have. But the offer still stands.”

  “Why would it? I would have thought you’d get the idea that I don’t want to transfer to your unit by now.” She knew her tone was biting, but she couldn’t help it. Walking into an ambush like this would make anyone defensive. But what his statement did tell her was that no matter who he was investigating, it wasn’t her. No way would he offer her a job and a transfer if she was the primary reason for him being there.

  “You’re one hard cookie, Halling.”

  “I take pride in that, sir.”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “I like how you work. You are meticulous.”

  “How do you know how I work?”

  Shrugging, Alonzo smirked. “You think today is the first day of our investigation?”

  That had been a stupid question. Chiding herself, Grace turned to face the door and wondered when someone else would be coming in to save her from this conversation. Paige was in next. Grace heard her sharp curse at the door. She bit her lip and shifted her gaze to Alonzo.

  “You’re a smart detective, Grace. One who is thorough and puts her whole heart into every investigation. Not to mention, you like the rules, and you like ethics and morals. I need that in my division. You would make a wonderful asset to Internal Affairs.”

  She sneered again. “Not happening.”

  Grace stepped out of the office and met up with Paige by the door. Rolling her eyes, she stepped in close to whisper to Paige. “We’re going to be shit at getting anything done for the next while.”

  “How long have they been here?” Paige whispered.

  “Who knows. I was later than I planned, and they were all here by the time I showed up.”

  “This isn’t good.” Paige crossed her arms, nodding to Jackson and Kline as they came in. “Who are they looking at?”

  “No idea,” Grace muttered. “I have shit to do today.”

  “We all do, kid.”

  “Humbard’s gonna blow a gasket.”

  “He’s going to be late today.”

  “What?” Grace turned on Paige. “Why?”

  “Dental appointment.”

  Grace snorted. “Prime day for that.”

  Paige licked her lips. She couldn’t even manage to get to her desk, neither could Grace for that matter. Paige asked, “Say, you didn’t call them in for something, did you?”

  “Fuck no. I’m offended you even asked me that.” Grace clenched her jaw. “But seriously, I’ve got shit to do.”

  “Better get your stuff before they do.”

  Groaning, Grace stepped through the throng of people to her desk. She grabbed her paper files, which she always made a copy of, very thankful she did not need to sit at her computer to print things, and stepped away from her desk. Paige gave her a funny look, but Grace ignored her as she booked it out of the room and down the hall.

  She went all the way to the other side of the station, where she knew she could find some quiet, and where she hoped Alonzo wouldn’t find her. No one followed her. She slid into the office, thankful the door was open. When she shut it behind her, Khloe stared up at her curious and confused.

  “Grace?”

  “I need some place to work, and hide out, but mostly work. Can I use Amya’s office?”

  “I’d have to check with her.”

  Grimacing, Grace looked at the second office she knew was hidden in the chaplain’s suites. “Can I use the second office? She doesn’t have anything in there that’s confidential.”

  “Yeah, I suppose you could do that.”

  “Great, thanks! I’ll bring you back a coffee when I go out later.”

  Khloe chuckled. “You don’t have to, but I appreciate it.”

  “Amya appreciates you and everything you do for her, trust me.” Grace didn’t want to linger too much longer, so she opened the office door and slid inside, shutting it. It was a small room with a couch on one side and two chairs on the other. A small table sat in the corner with a mini fridge underneath it, which Grace knew had orange juice, water, and pop in it.

  Letting out a breath, Grace sat on the couch and put her files on the coffee table in front of her. Without a computer, she was going to have to work extra hard on making connections and doing some of her research. Before she got started, she reached for her phone and called Amya, hoping to catch her on a break or something. When there was no answer, Grace groaned.

  “I walked in and there was IAB, all over. I’m currently sitting in your offices, hiding and working. I have no idea what’s going on. Call me. Please.”

  Putting her phone to the side, Grace focused on her elderly missing. He was her priority. Joseph had been missing for four years. He could wait a few more days without too much going on to disrupt that case.

  ###

  Grace made her list of places she needed to go to try and find Eduardo. She did as much possible research as she could from Amya’s small secondary office, but eventually her capabilities to work without a computer and pulling files hit her hard and she had run into more than one dead end.

  Packing up her stuff, she formulated her plan. She could run in to her unit, grab her laptop, which she had forgotten earlier, and do the rest from her cruiser. She was used to doing work from there, she’d done it for years as a beat cop. It couldn’t be that hard to do it again. The problem was going to be getting in and getting out without being stopped by someone, whether from Alonzo’s crew or her crew.

  As she walked down the long hallway, Grace prepared herself. She did not want to get sucked into the drama. She wanted to get in and get out as quickly as possible. With a last breath, she slipped into the room, which was still in utter chaos. Paige sat at her desk, Humbard stood outside his office with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

  Grace bit her lip, booked it for her desk, and grabbed her laptop she had shoved in the bottom drawer, then headed for the door. Paige turned at her, and Grace stopped short. “I’m going to do some interviews.”

  Paige glared but nodded. Alonzo started toward Grace, but Paige stood up and stepped between the two of them, spouting off a complaint about how she couldn’t do her job with his people all over. Grace took the opportunity for what it was and left the building.

  As soon as she was in her cruiser, she backed out of the parking lot and headed to an empty parking lot where she knew she could sit and focus. It took her a little bit to get re-situated, but as soon as her computer was up and running, she focused on where she was going first. Finally able to check the computer, she saw there had been several calls in on the vehicle, but all of them had proven to be different cars. Nothing to indicate where Eduardo might be.

  She had already called Evangeline to check in on her and see if she’d heard anything from her father. That had proven fruitless. With a plan in hand, Grace put her car into drive and drove straight to Jasper’s. She wanted to check in with him again, just in case. He was a popular guy, and he’d been too busy to be super helpful the day before.

  She pulled up outside his small white house. A knee height white picket fence surrounded half the yard, and the garage door was propped open with an old metal coffee can filled with cement. Grace rapped her knuckles on the screen door and headed inside.

  It was dim inside but bright enough Jasper could do his work. Two chairs sat side by side with mirrors facing them. Grace let out a breath. She’d been in here before, with Daniel Mason Brady, her mentor for years before he passed away in a tragic car accident. He had never gotten his hair cut anywhere else, but Grace had only been with him two or three times.

  “Jasper?” Grace called.

  The small elderly man came around the corner of the garage. His apron he wore over his waist was tied tight across his hips, small instruments he no doubt used all the time tucked into the pockets on the apron. His back was far more twisted and curved than when she’d seen him years ago, but he was somewhere in his nineties from her estimation. She figured she would find out when he died and read his obituary.

  “Hey there, Miss.”

  Grace gritted her teeth. She wanted to correct him but instead held her tongue. “Jasper, I wanted to talk to you about Eduardo.”

  “Oh, yes! He’s a good man.”

  “Yeah. Have you seen him at all?”

  Jasper shook his head, his gray hair he kept slightly long shaking with the movement. His curved spine worried her, but she was pretty sure if she made a comment about him almost breaking, he’d put her in her place faster than she could say uncle.

  “Has he been normal lately? Like when he was here last, did the conversation repeat at all?”

  “All our conversations repeat.” Jasper chuckled, his voice deep as he moved to grab his broom and sweep up some hair on the floor. “I’m a barber, not a therapist, but everyone repeats themselves sooner or later.”

  She couldn’t fault him there. “What has he talked about lately?”

  “Oh this and that.”

  Grace clucked her tongue. “Jasper, I’m not asking to be nosy. I’m asking because I need to find him, and it’s likely he went some place he was talking about recently.”

  That stopped him. His small frame and thin hands gripping the broom tightened. “His wife.”

  “He talked about his wife.”

  “Yup. And his daughters, but when they were little, not now. He was telling some story about when he took them to a zoo.”

  “That’s very helpful. Thank you.” Grace shoved her hands in her pockets and rocked back on her heels. It was good to focus on something she could do, something she could accomplish. “Was there anything else he’s been talking about a lot lately?”

  Jasper’s lips thinned. “Hmmm. Nope. Just the girls and Julia.”

  “Julia? Who’s Julia?”

  Jasper didn’t dare look at her. “His wife.”

  “His wife’s name was Maria. Who is Julia?”

  The color drained from Jasper’s cheeks. “Oh, right, I mean Maria. All these names. I get them confused.”

  “No. Jasper, who is Julia?”

  Jasper shrugged and turned his back to Grace to continue sweeping the floor. She was going to wait him out. Nothing in her research had indicated a Julia of any kind. Grace moved her foot so her toe pressed into the ground and twisted her knee as she stared at him. She’d wait one more minute before she asked him another question.

  When he finished the floor, he glanced at her and had a look of surprise on his face like he was shocked she was still there. Sighing, he leaned the broom against the wall. “Julia was his girl.”

  “Like his girlfriend?”

  “You could call her that.”

  “For how long?”

  “What?”

  “How long was he having an affair?”

  Jasper snorted. “Decades.”

  Narrowing her gaze, Grace shook her head at him. “What’s her last name?”

  “I don’t know that. A man don’t go telling secrets he don’t want revealed.”

  “He obviously told you about Julia, so he trusted you.”

  “By accident. I caught him one night out dancing with her.”

  “Dancing where?”

  Jasper’s brow furrowed, and his lower lip popped out. “An old warehouse off downtown. It was called The Emporium before it was shut down.”

  “That was like thirty years ago.”

  Shrugging, Jasper stared right at her. “You asked.”

  “Thanks.” She asked him few more questions, once again told him to call if he saw Eduardo, and then she got in her car. Letting out a breath, Grace mulled it over in her head exactly where The Emporium was. She’d driven by it, remembered the sign that was so faded she could barely read it, but the exact location wasn’t all that easy to remember as was the general area.

  It took her twenty minutes to get downtown, and then another five to get to the outskirts of downtown, the part where the buildings were run down, right on the edge of where the train tracks were. Rubbing her lips together in a nervous gesture, Grace leaned forward in her seat as she looked around, eyes wide open, for the silver car he drove.

  Sure enough, when she took the next left, she saw the sign for The Emporium just like she remembered it. Grace drove right for it. Once she pulled up by the front door of the large warehouse-like building, she saw his car. The license plate was a dead match.

  Grace parked, and as she got out of the cruiser, she called for backup, but she didn’t wait. The front door was broken in, the thin wood snapped by the door handle. She knew Eduardo had been unlikely to do that based on his health and how elderly he was. She pushed the door open and grabbed her gun, holding it out in front of her just in case.

  “Eduardo?” she called. “Eduardo, I’m with the Sheriff’s Department, are you in here?”

  A rustling echoed at her, and not for the first time, did she wish she had a mag light to show her the dark corners of the room. With just the light from the broken in door and the random broken spots in the roof, she made him out. His gray sweatpants were dirty, his white t-shirt ripped on one side, but overall, Eduardo looked to be in decent shape.

  Grace stepped up closer to him, lowering her volume and softening her tone. “Eduardo! I’m so glad to have found you. I’m Detective Grace. Evangeline is very worried about you.”

  “Evangeline?” he asked, turning to her.

  “Yeah, your daughter.” Grace holstered her weapon, although it wasn’t without a sense of fear pricking the back of her neck. “I talked to her yesterday. She’s worried about you.”

  He nodded. “I—I was waiting for Julia. She promised she’d meet me here.”

  Grace squatted next to him and put a hand on his knee. “You miss her.”

  Once again, his chin bobbed up and down, tears brimming in his eyes. “It’s been a few weeks since I was able to take her out. She loves dancing, so I always take her dancing.”

  “I bet she probably is just running late. You want to come outside with me and see if we can find her?”

  “Oh! Would you do that for me?”

  “I would.” Grace gave him a sweet smile. “Come on.”

  She stood up and held her hand out for him. Eduardo took it, holding on tightly as they made their way out of the warehouse and toward her cruiser. A uniformed officer arrived just as they stepped into the sunlight. Eduardo gripped Grace’s hand hard, and she let him. She didn’t want to lose the connection she had already built with him.

  “I’m going to call Evangeline, okay?”

  Eduardo nodded at her but still refused to let go of her hand. Grace pulled her phone from her pocket and hoped she didn’t drop it as she unlocked it and dialed Evangeline’s number. It was a good day, but it was going to be a long one of paperwork. She had found her missing silver alert in just over twenty-four hours. That was something to celebrate, even if the investigation back at the unit was going to interfere with the work she could accomplish on Joseph’s case. As soon as Evangeline answered, Grace turned all of her focus onto the case at hand.

  Panic Room

  Friday had not come soon enough. Grace had spent hours bent over her computer finishing out her reports with Alonzo Esparza and his crew hanging around and watching every little thing she did. She had taken to escaping her desk as often as she could, but with a case closed, she couldn’t just leave. She had paperwork to complete.

  Paige was hitting a max on her patience level, too, that was clear to everyone in the vicinity. Grace had shot her a few dirty looks, silently telling her to calm down, but it hadn’t worked. Paige’s body language told Grace that Paige was worked up to the point Grace knew a rant was coming. It was a good thing Amya was still out of town.

  She ditched the office an hour early like she did every Friday and headed down to Granville High School where her program ran. They were having a simple follow up from the interviews and talking about the different parts of a job, like paying taxes from a paycheck, the importance of showing up on time and not giving lip. That was going to be a fun conversation.

  As soon as she arrived, Grace checked in at the front office and grabbed her stupid visitors badge they insisted she wear—though, she swore her police badge should be enough, she played by their rules, really not wanting to piss off the front secretary. Again. With the badge around her neck on the ugliest lanyard she was sure they could find, Grace stalked through the busy halls toward the classroom she’d been assigned.