AFTER RETRACING THE CRIME, Woody and Luke finished their survey and made the hour drive to Tehachapi, arriving a little after one. They checked into the hotel Faye Fallon recommended, and Luke sent her a text.

“She wants us to meet her at a deli,” Luke told Woody. “That place we drove by, the one you thought looked good.”

“Great. I’m starved.”

Luke agreed, and a few minutes later they ordered a late lunch and joined Faye at a table in a wonderful-smelling German deli.

“So did the two of you find anything on your tour of the valley?” Faye asked. Luke couldn’t help but notice how casually beautiful the woman looked wearing jeans, a light-green sweater, and a baseball cap, her long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and sticking out the back of the cap.

“Unfortunately, no,” Luke said. “But we have perspective.”

They went over their reconstruction of the crime, the time line, and their investigation so far.

Faye looked over their notes. “Thanks. You guys are doing a great job. You sifted through so much in such a short time. I’m not at all worried about the statute of limitations expiring before you stir up a good lead.”

Their lunch came and for the next few moments everyone concentrated on their meals.

Luke swallowed a bite of his ham sandwich. “Yesterday I did get a chance to talk to the person who called that tip in ten years ago, the one I asked you about.” He told her about his meeting with Brenda Harris.

“It’s odd that the tip would have been left hanging. I certainly never heard anything about it.”

“Not really so odd,” Woody said. “I’ve been on task forces, big deals where there’s a tip line open. So much information is generated in a short period of time. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone made a note of ‘Iraq’ and meant to follow it up, but never got back to it for one reason or another. I hate to say it, but cops are human; things get missed.”

“It would be nice if that pans out.” Fallon frowned.

“What’s the matter?” Luke asked.

“That name, Barone. Ever since you called, I’ve been thinking. It’s vaguely familiar.”

“I found him. He owns a computer shop here in town.”

“Here?”

Luke nodded.

“That’s not it. I see a tech guy in Palmdale if I need help.” She made a face of frustration.

“From the crime file?”

“No, I can’t place it.” She shrugged. “It will come to me. I’m afraid I have bad news as far as Molly is concerned.”

“She’s not ready to talk to us.”

“No, not at all. I think I told you that she was hit by a car a week ago and is working through some pain and being slightly immobile. She’s not up for any company. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I understand. But I’d like to throw a new wrinkle into the mix.” He told her about Abby, her offer of help, and her background, why she might be the right person to talk to Molly. “If we call her, she’ll be here as soon as she can. What do you think?”

“I’ve read about Detective Hart, I know her story, and I think that’s a great idea. I’ll talk to Molly’s mom tonight and text you. Is that okay?”

“Perfect. We have some other things to work on —I want to talk to Gil Barone for one —and then we’re doing some work on another case. It will be great if Molly changes her mind and talks to Abby.”

After lunch, Woody excused himself to go to the restroom and left Luke alone with Faye.

She smiled warmly. “I can’t thank you guys enough for coming up here and looking into this case.”

“Even if nothing pans out?”

“I’m an optimist. I’m praying something will pan out. And —” she paused —“in a way, something has panned out: I’ve met you and your partner. We have a lot in common, I think.”

Luke nodded, appreciating the optimism. “We do. We all want to see justice done.”

Her expression mellowed, saddened for a minute. “Yes, it was my husband’s greatest desire to be a police officer, to help people who were victimized by criminals. You remind me a lot of Jared. I wonder why you didn’t enter a career in law enforcement.”

Luke explained to her how he’d started at the police academy but dropped out after he realized how much time he’d spend away from Maddie. “It’s worked out. I love what I do now, and I still get to spend a lot of time with my daughter.”

Woody came back and Luke and Faye stood.

“Thank you both again,” Faye said. Pausing, she looked at Luke. “I hope when all this is over, we can sit down and talk more about the cold case squad and life in general.”

Luke felt his heart warm and looked forward to that sit-down.