I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to find Jill, dressed in her deputy's uniform, entering town hall ahead of us. Even without her gun belt around her narrow hips and the telltale khaki shirt over jeans she favored, I would have recognized that blonde ponytail bobbing against her back anywhere. When I called out to her she jerked around, looking startled and then, oddly, guilty as Dad and I crossed the small parking lot beside the building to join her.

Was it just ...