"Who gave the dumb fuck a gun?" The taller one put his hands up and sent Sledgehammer a tired expression. "Chill the fuck out, RK. I said I'm going to the damn store for more booze, you weird fucker."

"Oh." Road Kill lowered his weapon. "We're out of booze?"

Tall Boy threw his head back and laughed. "Come here, brother."

The two of them hugged. Tall boy squeezed so hard he lifted Road Kill off his feet. Then there were back slaps and jokes. Men were weird.

But also... my brain fired on all cylinders. Did I really just solve my murder with the help of two drunk bikers at a club a baby shower?

I think I did.

I gazed off into the night sky.

No. I totally did.

But how did I prove it?

"Vonnie," Tony said inches from me and then snapped his fingers in my face.

I slapped them away. "What?"

He totally messed up my case solving mojo.

"You okay? Those facial expressions worry me."

"Hmm? Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." I turned in a circle. This called for a list. Which biker had paper in their pocket?

"What are you doing?" Tony asked.

He definitely didn't carry around paper. I'd asked before and his expression was a big fat no.

"I'm just thinking." We made another circle. Me in the lead and Tony following.

"That's good," he said, sounding cautious. "Can you think somewhere else since we missed the guest of honor? Maybe somewhere safer with fewer guns."

"Sure," I said and then yawned at the ending. It was getting late. I needed a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow I had to put away the man who murdered Coach Torres.

**

Originally, I planned to send Conner the information about Lizzy in an email, but he didn't want a paper trail, so we met at my office. I wasn't looking forward to being within drop distance of the ceiling, but wanted my check that much quicker.

"You're early," I said as I opened the front door to my office building. Twenty-seven minutes early, to be exact. I'd dragged myself out of bed and gotten here fast, so I'd look hard at work when he showed up and now I'd wasted the effort. Rude.

Conner's smile stretched across his entire face. "I just couldn't wait to hear what you'd found out."

"Great." I rubbed some remaining sleep from my eye. "Let's head inside."

My tired brain visualized a tap-dancing vampire.

For some reason, the hallway smelled like garlic. Did they use garlic with tap dance?

I hesitated at the door with my hand on the knob. The last few times, my office resembled a crime scene, and the falling ceiling almost made it one.

"Miss Vines," Conner promoted as he fixed his baby pink polo.

He had too much energy for this early in the morning. I'd need an iced coffee after our meeting.

"Right. Sorry," I said and opened the door. Sometimes you just had to get on with it and run your batter to third.

Or whatever the saying was. I'd used up all my baseball puns.

The knob clicked, and I pushed the door open with my foot before peeking in. Everything seemed normal. No falling ceiling tiles. No gushing water. It's the best we had. I'd take it.

I walked in with my gaze upward to spot any faulty construction and took a seat at my desk. Conner picked the chair across from me because it made the most logical sense. He wasn't having falling ceiling nightmares.

"Isn't Lizzy amazing?" he said before his butt even hit the seat.

I nodded. "She's memorable, and you two will have an entire life to live together soon."

Conner rubbed his hands together, not a single piece of hair swaying with the movements.

We needed to get it over with, so I had time to grab that iced coffee before my next task of the day. My phone rang, my father's name flashing on the screen, and I hit ignore. I slid the manila envelope across the desk to Conner.

"Here's the information I collected on Lizzy. Her likes, dislikes, and the exact ring of her choosing."

Conner stared at the picture with a slight frown. "What size?"

"Page five of my report. Trust me, in this case, bigger is better." Why did no one ever take the time to read the full report before asking questions? Didn't they know how long it took me to write up a five-page report on a stupid engagement ring?

No one had any respect for the profession.

Conner skimmed the rest of the report and closed the folder with a smile. He handed it back. "Thank you."

"That's yours to keep," I said, pushing it back.

Conner let it sit, uncollected. "I don't want Lizzy to see it and find out I had help."

Really? All that work and he didn't plan to scrapbook it. Plus, that was five full sheets of paper. That stuff was expensive.

He stood, pulled a dark leather wallet from his back pocket, and handed me four crisp five-hundred-dollar bills. I'd have to cash them in for smaller bills. No one in Pelican Bay would believe I earned these legitimately.

"Thank you for the help, Miss Vines. If Lizzy could express her gratitude, she would as well."

I counted the money again. "No, thank you."

Conner walked to my door, and I followed him to hold it open as he left to begin his new life. "Have a wonderful wedding, Conner."

I truly hoped I never saw either of them again. Not because another afternoon with Lizzy might make me lose my mind but because I wanted them to have a peaceful marriage. If Conner came back in a few years wanting shots of his cheating wife, I'd... Well, I'd take the money, but it'd be sad.

My phone rang as I watched Conner drive out of the parking lot. I waved at him as he backed out of his space.

The name "Mom" flashed across my screen and I swiped to avoid the call.

A text came in immediately after.

MOM: Why aren't you answering my calls? Call me. It's important.

It was always important, but before I spoke to either of my parents, I needed to make sure my sister figured out her shit and had a plan. Vines women did nothing without a plan. I wasn't worried. My mother would have mentioned in her text if something was wrong with Vivi. But I needed to talk to my sister first so we could get our joint stories straight.

I ignored my mother's message and scrolled through my contacts, looking for the person I had to contact before my family. It didn't take me long to find his name.

"Hey, Anderson," I said when he answered.

He grunted. "Vonnie."

Wow. He didn't yell at me about not calling him Chief Anderson. Probably because he was only the interim chief, but I still considered it a growth in our relationship. I closed my office door, giving myself privacy as the first beats of a tap shoe wandered their way down the hall.

"I assume you heard about Allen and that's why you've called?" he asked.

What? Allen? He had information about Allen? What was I supposed to know about Allen? I hated not having all the intel.

"I'm a little behind on that front," I said, hoping he'd give over the information easily.

Anderson made this little snorty noise, and I swear I heard Lainey's voice in the background. He never gave me any brownie points for hooking them up. "Tell Lainey I said morning."

Hey, a little reminder of my good deeds never hurt. Especially when my sister was harboring a fugitive.

"We found Allen. I've got a crew bringing him in now," he said, full of smugness.

Shit. I hated when they got smug. It made it harder to make him listen when I proved him wrong.

"Where?" I asked. The odds were slim, but if I sped, maybe I'd make it there before the cops.

Something sizzled in the background, and I swore I smelled bacon through the phone. I needed that iced coffee. "We found him hiding out in a friend's basement on the south side of town."

He didn't mention Vivi, and I didn't either. If he found my sister with Allen, I'd definitely hear about it.

"I've been thinking about this case, Anderson." I tapped my pen against my wooden desk, sounding like my mentor Mick.

Anderson snorted. "Don't tell me that Allen didn't do it. Innocent people don't run."

"That's not true, and you know it. Innocent people run all the time. I'd run if the cops were chasing me, too."

He laughed. "You've never been innocent, Vonnie."

He had a point.

I'd never admit it, but he had one.

"Ridge says he has no cameras at the school, but we had them when I attended high school." I needed to get him on track and tie up a few loose ends for me.

"Vonnie," Anderson said with a sigh, and then I definitely heard a spatula scrape against a pan.

My stomach rumbled. "I'm just asking."

"Are you going to tell me why you're 'just asking'?" A fork clattered against a plate. Did Lainey make him breakfast?

I really needed to get an iced coffee later. "No."

"I didn't think so. What are the odds of you leaving me alone today if I don't have this discussion with you?"

"Slim to none," I answered immediately. Truthfulness was always better in these situations.

He paused. Probably chewing a delicious piece of bacon. "The school has tapes from that day, but many of them are missing or didn't have the right angles to see anything of importance. It is an outdated system. I assure you, the department has reviewed them all in great detail."

The food thoughts were not helping my stomach. "Interesting."

So the killer had knowledge of the school's camera system or access to the tapes. Either option fit into my theory. Guilty people often stole or hid evidence. They just weren't normally that good at it. The killing came easily, but they fouled out on the cleanup portion.

"You really think Allen had access to those tapes?" I asked.

He chewed some more. Sooooo getting an iced coffee and a breakfast cupcake after I finished saving my sister's ex-boyfriend's ass. "He had access to the school after hours and is a person of interest. We will not book him yet, but Allen needs to answer some hard questions."

Not if I had any say in the matter. "Meet me at the high school janitor's closet in thirty minutes," I said.

I caught his yelled, "Vonnie!" before I hung up.

Anderson would meet me. Even if he didn't want to, he'd be there. It was the cop in him. He couldn't let a mystery go unsolved.

Thirty minutes gave me just enough time to solve the case and get the evidence before he got there. I gave the air a fist bump. Yes!