Jessica ate both of the donuts and then headed to the grocery store. Once she had stocked her fridge with healthier breakfast items, she had a few hours to kill before her next work shift began. She ended up spending some time with her boyfriend. That included getting a nice shoulder rub.

  By the middle of the afternoon, it was time for Jess to head over to the police station. After clocking in, Jessica drove over to Cliff Stanton’s street so she could keep tabs on his actions. As she sat in her car, she said a quick little prayer that this stakeout would be more successful than the last one was.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Conversely, my morning went a little differently than Jessica’s did. To start, I didn’t have donuts for breakfast. In addition, witty banter did not make an appearance in any of my conversations. My head was too deep in the clouds to come up with zingers. What I really wanted right then was some peace of mind. Thankfully, I had a good idea about where I could get some.

  My quest for answers brought me to my mother’s house on Sycamore Grove Trail. I didn’t realize it until I walked inside, but I arrived at a very interesting time. My mother, Elizabeth, had just gotten home from a deep-tissue massage a few minutes earlier. It was safe to say that she was feeling incredibly relaxed.

  Oh, the life of a retiree. To be able to get a massage at eight o’clock on a Thursday morning. Talk about a spoiled existence. Perhaps one day I would get a taste of that sort of magic.

  One thing was for certain. That sort of pampering wasn’t in the cards for me at the time being. Don’t tell that to my mother, however. She was talking like I should drop everything and go straight to the day spa.

  “You really need to book an appointment,” Elizabeth said. “Trust me. You’ll end up thanking me later.”

  I threw out my arms. “Mom, do I look like I have time for a massage right now?”

  “Make the time,” Elizabeth said. “I know you could use a deep tissue rub.”

  “I can’t deny that.”

  “Then pull out your phone and call up the spa.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “Or maybe you’re making it more difficult than it has to be.”

  “Mom, I’m in the middle of a case.”

  “In my mind, that’s all the more reason to book a massage.”

  I shook my head. “It doesn’t work that way.”

  “Sabrina, I know you’re the resident sleuth in the family, but I have a hunch that this is just what you need. I’m telling you, when you get up from the massage table, you’ll feel like a changed woman. A good rub can help you see the world clearer.”

  I put my hands on my hips. “Oh really? Because right now, it seems like you’re looking at the world through rose-colored glasses.”

  “Tell me you couldn’t stand to loosen up a little.”

  “You have me there.”

  My mother stepped forward and looked deep into my eyes. “This case has really gotten under your skin, hasn’t it?”

  I took a deep breath and then replied, “It sure has.”

  Elizabeth grimaced. “I’m sorry. I really hate to see you like this.”

  “I’m definitely not in the best place at the moment. But the truth is, the investigation isn’t the only thing on my mind right now,” I said.

  “What else is bothering you?”

  “I’ve been doing a lot of worrying about Jessica.”

  My mom’s eyes widened. “I see. Are you saying that her yearning to take part in this investigation has you on the verge of a panic attack?”

  I nodded. “You nailed it.”

  My mom’s nose scrunched. “It’s certainly a tough position to be in. On one hand, you want your child to follow her dreams. At the same time, you also don’t want anything bad to happen to her.”

  “Exactly. I feel like I’m being pulled in two directions. Like my heart is having a tug of war with itself.”

  “It turns out you came to the right place. I have a lot of experience with this topic.”

  “I know. That’s why I’m here,” I said. “Do you have any advice for me?”

  My mom grimaced. “I do, but you aren’t going to like it.”

  I gritted my teeth. “Yikes. That’s just what I didn’t want to hear.”

  “I know it’s going to be difficult, but you need to step back and let Jessica follow her dream. This is what she wants to do with her life. So, let her do it.”

  “But—”

  My mother interrupted me. “But nothing. Face it, there’s nothing you can do to stop her. If you try, you’ll just end up pushing her away. And I know you don’t want that.”

  “I sure don’t.”

  “Instead, be supportive of her.”

  “I wish I could. The problem is, I know how dangerous Jessica’s job is. And I also know what it’s like to lose someone close to me,” I said.

  Elizabeth nodded. “We all do. Between your sister, and your birth father, and a number of your friends—”

  “We really don’t have to go through the entire list of everyone I’ve lost throughout the years—”

  “No, I suppose not.”

  “The point is, I’ve experienced enough heartbreak for one lifetime. The last thing I want now is for something bad to happen to my daughter.”

  “I don’t want anything to happen to Jessica either. That’s why I’m going to pray for the best.”

  “And?”

  “And hope that my prayers come true,” Elizabeth said.

  My nose crinkled. “Is that all?”

  “I know you were expecting more.”

  “I really was.”

  “Honestly, there’s not much else you can do.”

  “You really aren’t holding anything back, are you?”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “No. The fact is, this isn’t the time for sugarcoating. You need to hear the truth.”

  “And what a depressing truth it is,” I said.

  Elizabeth exhaled and then replied, “Welcome to my world.”

  I became quiet as I thought about all the anxiety that my mother had experienced over the years. With each investigation that I worked on, she wrestled with a new set of worries about my safety. Frankly, I didn’t know how she managed to make it through all of those cases without having a panic attack.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “For what?” Elizabeth asked.

  “For making you worry so much. It must have been so hard on you.”

  “It still is,” Elizabeth said. “Honestly, I’ve never stopped worrying about you.”

  “Really?”

  Elizabeth nodded. “Absolutely. Even after all these years, the anxiety never goes away.”

  “I didn’t realize that. Again, I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s just life,” Elizabeth said. “Why do you think I pray so much?”

  I exhaled. “Let’s hope your prayers are answered.”

  “I’m counting on it,” Elizabeth said.

  Chapter Nineteen

  After speaking with my mother, David and I headed over to the police station. Our goal was to try and dig up a new lead. Or to make any sort of progress at all with the investigation. It didn’t matter how small it was. Even if we were only able to inch the case forward slightly, it would be better than nothing.

  Unfortunately, that morning, we weren’t able to meet my extremely low expectations. When a few hours went by without anything to show for our hard work, I felt completely deflated. That wasn’t even the worst part, though. This case was quickly turning into a beast. The longer it stretched on, the more difficult it became to push my frustration aside.

  By the time lunch rolled around, I was more than ready to take a break. It always energized me to get some protein in my system. It would also feel good to get some fresh air.

  Treasure Cove had no shortage of great lunch spots. Sometimes, it was difficult to choose which one to go to. That afternoon, David and I came to a quick consensus. We both had a yen for Zelda’s Diner. I really loved their bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado sandwich. It always seemed to hit the spot. At least when our server got the order correct.

  Much to my dismay, our waitress, Amy Burke, made a mistake with my sandwich. When I lifted up the top piece of bread of my sandwich, I didn’t see a single slice of avocado. Thankfully, it would be an easy fix. But with my stomach rumbling like crazy, I also wanted the correction to be made quickly.

  I held up my hand and flagged Amy down. The full-figured, brown-haired waitress then rushed over to the booth where I was sitting.

  Amy was my daughter’s age. In fact, Jessica and Amy had been in a number of the same classes as each other over the years. During that time, I always believed that Amy had a bright future ahead of her.

  Unfortunately, an addiction to meth had completely derailed that future. If it wasn’t for her mother forcing her into rehab a little over a year ago, Amy might not be alive today. That said, even though the intervention was successful, Amy’s drug addiction had taken a serious toll on her life. In addition, her road to recovery had been a long one.

  Rather than focusing on what might happen in the future, she took things one day at a time. But unlike most of her friends, who were away at college, Amy was spending her days waiting tables while she tried to cobble her life back together.

  It was safe to say that some days were better than others. I had a feeling that this was not a particular good afternoon for her.

  After taking one brief glance at my face, Amy immediately sensed trouble.

  “Is something wrong?” Amy asked.

  I grimaced. “Unfortunately.”

  “What is it?”

  I held up my plate. “There’s no avocado in my sandwich.”

  She winced. “I’m so sorry. I’ll have the kitchen fix this right away.”

  “Good.”

  Amy grabbed my plate and brought it to the kitchen. Thirty seconds later, she returned to the booth. I smiled wide as I looked at the sandwich. It was packed with avocado slices now. Even more than what usually came with my order. Clearly, Amy had directed the line cook to go above and beyond to correct her mistake.

  “Again, I’m really sorry for messing up your sandwich,” Amy said.

  “That’s okay. Mistakes happen,” I said. “Besides, by the looks of it, you more than made up for your error.”

  “The way I see it, giving you a few extra avocado slices was the least I could do.”

  “I like that attitude.”

  Amy’s nose crinkled. “I still can’t believe that I got your order wrong in the first place. Normally, I’m really on top of the ball.” She exhaled. “It has just been a tough day.”

  “Do you mean, because you’re really busy?” I asked.

  Amy looked around the diner. “Actually, it has been a little slower than normal. That’s fine with me, though. I’m not really in the right headspace to tackle a monster rush right now.”

  My eyes widened. “Why? What’s going on? Is everything all right?”

  “Don’t worry about it, Mrs. Carlson. You don’t need to hear about my problems. You and your husband have enough going on already.”

  “Amy, you don’t have to hold back. I wouldn’t have asked you the question if I didn’t want to know the answer. Now, tell me. What’s up?”

  Amy took a deep breath before responding. “I got some really bad news this morning.”

  I tensed up. “What was the news?”

  “A friend of mine from rehab relapsed. They ended up overdosing last night,” Amy said.

  I looked at her with sympathetic eyes. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

  Amy winced. “It’s really sad situation.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  “Especially since Nicole seemed to be making such good progress. At least on the surface. But in reality, her demons were too much to overcome.”

  “That’s so terrible.”

  “It really is,” Amy said. “It also got me thinking. What if I’m not as strong as I think I am? What if I end up relapsing too?”

  “You just have to stay strong. To think about all of the progress that you’ve made. You can do this,” I said.

  Amy bit the corner of her lip. “I hope you’re right.”

  “Granted, I’m not your boss, but I really think that at a time like this, you should be at home. Not here at the diner.”

  Amy grimaced. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”

  “Why not?”

  “I can’t go home.”

  My forehead wrinkled. “I don’t understand. You said it yourself. It’s not that busy. So, why don’t you ask the manager to let you off early?”

  “Frankly, because I need the money. Every dollar is important right now.”

  “I get it.”

  “Besides, being here keeps my mind off my friend. At least, most of the time.”

  “I certainly understand that,” I said. “Well, if you need to get anything else off of your chest, just let me know.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Of course.”

  Amy then went back to work.

  ***

  Before long, I finished my sandwich and found myself staring down the murder investigation once more. Normally, I was able to switch my focus back to a case without much difficulty. That wasn’t just an ordinary afternoon, however. The conversation that I had with Amy refused to leave my thoughts. It was just such a devastating time for her. My heart broke when I thought about her situation. While that was a completely understandable reaction, it also made it really hard to get back into an investigative mindset.

  On the flip side, I knew that if I was going to make any progress with this homicide case, I would need to get into a different headspace. Solving a murder often required a laser-like focus. The sharper my instincts were, the better. By that same token, a little emotional detachment couldn’t hurt.

  Of course, that was easier said than done. At that second, how could I not be struck on a personal level? After all, Eric Hobart wasn’t just a murder victim. He had made a living dealing drugs. As did most of the suspects. It wasn’t a stretch to believe that at one point, Amy Burke had purchased meth from Eric. Or from one of the dealers that worked for him. Talk about a chilling thought to be wrestling with. It also exemplified why it was so important to solve this case.

  Chapter Twenty

  It took longer than I expected, but I finally managed to get Amy off of my mind. When that happened, I turned my attention back to the investigation.

  But just because I wanted to get results didn’t mean that a lead would come our way right then. All told, it was a pretty frustrating afternoon. To the point where I started asking myself when we would ever catch a break.

  It was then that I was reminded that the universe had a strange sense of humor sometimes. While David and I tried our best to crack this case the conventional way, we were unable to dig up leads. Instead, we ended up getting a break from a completely different source.

  It all began with David getting a call on his police radio. Surprisingly, the voice on the other end of the line didn’t just belong to one of his deputies.

  It was our daughter. Apparently, Cliff Stanton had made a move. He hadn’t just headed out to the gym or the grocery store either. In truth, he made some serious tracks. After putting the pedal to the metal, he headed for the outskirts of town. That was a bold action. Not to mention, a costly one.

  When David and I questioned him the other day, my husband had been clear about his orders. Cliff was not to leave town under any circumstances. Yet, there he was, outside the city limits.

  There was more to the story, though. In the process of leaving town, he also made a mockery of the speed limit. Jessica had clocked Cliff’s car going over eighty miles an hour. Before Cliff could get too far, Jessica pulled the speed demon over.

  That was when things got really interesting.

  As Jessica got out of her vehicle and walked over to the driver’s-side of Cliff’s green sedan, the murder suspect was already guilty of two different offenses. Jessica was going to write him a ticket for speeding. She was also planning on detaining him for questioning about his attempt to bolt out of town.

  That was especially true when she reached Cliff’s window and saw the suspect staring at her with bloodshot eyes. Jessica’s instincts were telling her that Cliff was driving under the influence of drugs. She wanted to conduct a field sobriety test on him.

  Cliff was wary of getting of the car, however. In fact, when Jessica demanded that Cliff open up his door, he refused to follow her orders. He then reached for something at his waist-level.

  At that point, Jessica had seen enough. She wasn’t going to take any chances. She pulled out her police pistol, pointed it at Cliff, and demanded that the suspect get out of the car immediately.

  After staring down the barrel of Jessica’s gun, Cliff reluctantly complied. Once Cliff got out of his vehicle, Jessica realized that she had reacted just in time. She spotted a gun tucked into Cliff’s pants.

  Jessica immediately confiscated the gun and handcuffed Cliff. She also counted her blessings. If she hadn’t have followed her instincts, she could have gotten shot.

  Cliff put up a big stink as Jessica detained him in the back of her car and called for backup. Despite how loud he was being, she didn’t listen to a word that he said. As far as she was concerned, he was a dangerous loose cannon that was not to be trusted.

  Thankfully, she wasn’t alone with him for long. A few minutes later, backup arrived on the scene. David and I were among the first to pull up behind Jessica’s car. We were joined by a slew of deputies.

  David and I quickly discovered that a new development had transpired in the time it took us to reach this destination. With all of Cliff’s shady behavior, Jessica had decided to search the suspect’s vehicle.

  It didn’t take her long to find something shocking. Under the passenger seat, Jessica discovered a huge stash of drugs. Suddenly, in addition to all of the other charges that he was facing, Cliff was also looking at a felony charge for drug possession.