Tori halted, her hand on the newel post, but she didn’t look back.

“Let’s sit and talk now. Falco is bringing dinner.”

Tori heaved an exaggerated breath, did an about-face, and strode to the sofa. She plopped down. “So talk.” Even with her arms crossed so tightly over her chest, Tori’s shoulders shook.

“What happened to Brendal is so, so awful. I understand you said what you did because you’re hurt and afraid. I’m certain you didn’t mean it. I also want to be certain you know I’m here for you. Whatever you need. We all are. We love you, Tori. Your family—Falco—we all love you so much. We want you to be safe and happy.”

She looked at Kerri then, her eyes brimming with emotion, lips trembling. “Not my dad. If I was the one who died, he wouldn’t care.”

For the first time since Kerri had caught Nick cheating, she was glad she had called him. Filling him in on what was going on with their daughter was the right decision.

“I talked to your dad today,” Kerri said. “He’s worried too. He said if you needed him, he would be on a flight first thing in the morning.”

A lone tear rolled down her daughter’s cheek. Kerri’s heart felt as if it were cracking apart.

“Are you just telling me that to try making me feel better?”

Even after a year of neglect, Tori still desperately needed her father to love her. Kerri would never forgive him for putting her through such profound uncertainty. But his rising to this challenge gave her a renewed, if marginal, ability to tolerate him.

“I’m telling you exactly what he said. In fact”—Kerri checked the time on her cell—“he’ll be calling you any minute. He loves you too, Tori. We will get through this.”

More tears flowed. “You promise?”

Kerri put her arm around her trembling shoulders. “I promise. In fact, I’m so certain this is all going to be behind us very soon that I told your dad it was fine if you went to New York for a couple of weeks when the school term ends.”

Tori swiped at the flood of tears. “He actually wants me to come for two whole weeks?”

Kerri managed a smile. The bastard had allowed only weekend visits—and even those rarely—since the new baby was born. “He does, and I’m okay with that. I want you to be happy, Tori. Safe and happy, that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Tori searched Kerri’s face, uncertainty clouding her expression once more. “What will you do?”

“Don’t worry about me, kid. I’ll find plenty to do.” She had her work.

The doorbell chimed.

And she had Falco.

Tori shot to her feet. “Wait till I tell Falco. He won’t believe it!”

Relief washed over Kerri as she stood. Chasing killers was easy compared to this parenthood gig. Watching her daughter’s animated face as she shared her news with Falco almost brought tears to Kerri’s eyes.

Falco hugged Tori, the take-out bags hanging from his hands. “This is great,” he was saying. “You’ll have to bring me a T-shirt.”

Kerri’s phone vibrated, and Nick’s face appeared on the screen. “Tori.” She held her phone screen out so Tori could see that her father was calling.

Tori gave Falco another hug and rushed to take the call. Chattering away to her father, she bounded up the stairs.

Kerri suddenly felt more tired than she had ever felt in her life.

“You did good.”

She turned to her partner. When she’d called to tell him about Brendal’s death, she’d also told him she planned to make the call, and he’d assured her it was the right decision.

He had been so, so spot-on.

“Thanks.”

He placed the take-out bags on the coffee table and hugged her. “You’re a great mom, Kerri. Don’t ever doubt it.”

Great was probably pushing it. But it was possible she wasn’t half-bad.

They settled around the table, and Falco passed out the burgers and fries. “Wait”—Kerri pushed to her feet—“I’ll get the beer.”

“You,” Falco ordered as he stood, “stay put. I’ll get the beer.”

She nodded and dropped back into her seat. Apparently, her exhaustion was obvious to her partner as well. She wasn’t surprised. They were well attuned to each other’s moods. Good partners always were.

Kerri picked up a fry and nibbled. By the time Falco reappeared with the cold, sweating bottles of beer, she’d gotten a second wind. “So tell me how the interviews went.”

Falco unwrapped his burger. “There are seven names on the list—all small business owners in the area like Kurtz. I talked to five.” He tore off a bite of burger.

Kerri nodded as she unwrapped her own. “You made good progress.”

“Except”—he knocked back a swig of beer—“I got nothing for it. I pitched the story that Kurtz was working on a small business–owners’ committee. None of these guys had talked business with Kurtz since before Christmas, when they discussed the holiday open house idea.”

“What about the final two?”

“I’m waiting for callbacks from both.”

No forward momentum on the case, but they were checking off more necessary boxes. That was something, she supposed.

Kerri focused on her burger, though she wasn’t very hungry, mostly to give Falco time to finish his before she launched into her latest thoughts on the case. When they’d both polished off their beers, she said, “I’ve been thinking about Walsh’s parents since the briefing, particularly after the meeting in the bathroom with his mother.”

“Oh yeah. What’re you thinking?”

“I’m thinking his father should be making more noise.” Kerri braced her forearms on the table. “I love my kid more than anything. I have all these hopes and plans for her. Most parents do.”

Falco nodded. “Course.”

“So, what went wrong with Walsh and his father? Why bother with the prestigious education and clerkship, then come all the way to Alabama for a county DDA position? Sure, his aunt is here, but if his plan was to please her, why not attend Samford instead of Harvard? What happened between the clerkship and his taking the DDA position to change his mind about joining his father’s law practice? Why would the hierarchy of power within the drug trade in Birmingham, Alabama, have any bearing on Asher Walsh’s future? It makes no sense.”