SHUTTING OUT HIS PERSONAL, internal turmoil, Luke could say that Maddie’s party yesterday had been great. Luke and his mother had taken Maddie and six of her closest friends to Knott’s Berry Farm. Maddie loved the place and so did Luke, in spite of tired feet from running after seven 12-year-olds all day. When he kissed her good night, he knew the day had been a success.

“I’ll be gone before you get up in the morning so you get a double kiss, good night and good-bye.”

Maddie had hugged his neck. “Thanks for the best party ever. When will you be home?”

“Couple of days.” Luke tucked the blanket around her neck. “I hope we’ll wrap everything up over the weekend.”

“Okay. Be careful.” She sighed as Luke watched her eyes get heavy. Even when she was a baby, once she was in bed, she always fell asleep quickly. He’d waited until her breathing was steady and regular, then kissed her forehead and tiptoed quietly out of her room.

Luke yawned now as the train rumbled up the coast. He hadn’t been able to sleep as planned. His day had started when his stepfather dropped him off at the bus station in Long Beach at 5:45 a.m. He took the LAX shuttle to the Amtrak station in Santa Barbara. All told it would be a little over seven hours before he arrived back in San Luis Obispo. Briefly he’d thought about switching to air travel; he’d arrive much faster. But a look at the flight schedules and the prices had dissuaded him. The only hurry was his personal issue. He’d not spoken to Abby but knew that Woody planned on picking him up.

He wondered what waited for him back in SLO. Was Abby still mad? He wanted to settle this thing with her. He was no longer mad, just concerned. Was there anything he could say to convince her that she was letting the case get the better of her?

Luke started to get antsy a little after 12:45 p.m. He checked and rechecked his phone. He’d texted Woody, who should be finishing lunch with Orson by now. Why wasn’t he responding? Maybe I should just call, he decided.

He’d just begun to punch in Woody’s number when his phone rang with an unfamiliar number. But it was an 805 area code and that was correct for SLO, so Luke answered.

“Hello?”

“This is Deputy Revel, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff. Whom am I speaking to, please?”

“Uh . . .” Taken aback because he’d been expecting Abby or Woody, Luke cleared his throat. “This is Luke Murphy. What can I help you with?”

“Mr. Murphy, you’re a member of the cold case task force working here in San Luis Obispo, correct?”

“Yes, I am.” Luke’s hand went numb. Had something happened to Abby? “Is there a problem?”

“I’m afraid there is. Where are you right now?”

“On a train, about to pull into the station at SLO. What is going on?” Luke fought the panic in his voice.

“There’s been an incident at a winery called the Dancing Purple Grape. I don’t have all the details yet. We have an FBI agent en route to the hospital trauma center with a gunshot wound and there’s a lot of confusion about what exactly happened.”