“ABIGAIL MORGAN? Are you sure?” Grace stared at Luke. He’d met the family at the door when they got back from church.

“Abigail Morgan. She and Detective Hart are one and the same.”

“I can’t believe it.” His mother paled.

“Who’s she?” Madison asked in the half-interested tone only a ten-year-old girl could manage. She walked by Luke, holding up a hand for a high five.

“Someone who hasn’t been around for twenty-seven years,” Grace said as she leaned against the doorjamb.

Maddie slapped her father’s hand and continued on into the house, not the least bit interested.

Luke looked at his mother, certain her shock mirrored his own. When Abby had shared who she was, he’d been floored and wondered if he should have known, should have sensed who she was. But the picture in his mind of Abigail Morgan was that of a teary-eyed child who was all elbows and gangly limbs. For her part she seemed just as surprised at who he was.

“I’ve memorized the file,” she’d said. “There was no Murphy mentioned.”

“My mom married my stepdad about a year after my uncle’s death. In your reports she’d be Grace Goddard. If I was mentioned at all, it was with that same last name.”

Recognition had then dawned in her face. There was so much more he wanted to talk to her about, so much they had in common, but after Governor Rollins left the scene, she seemed intent on getting back to her own business.

Grace couldn’t seem to get her mind around the news. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize her.”

“The last time you saw her she was what, five or six?”

Grace gave a slight head tilt. “Still, I spent a lot of time with her at the restaurant. She knew me and I helped them interview her. But they shuffled her off to protective custody quickly. I thought she moved out of state.”

“She said she went to live with an aunt in Oregon.”

The three of them went to the kitchen, and over coffee Luke told them about the morning meeting with the governor.

Grace took it all in. “Years after the fire, I spoke to one of the detectives who told me that Abby was sent north, but he wouldn’t be more specific. We spoke at length about it, but it was so long ago.” She rubbed her forehead.

Luke’s stepdad, James Murphy, gripped Grace’s hand. “I remember you telling me that you wanted to adopt her. But at the time single moms didn’t have a chance.”

Grace pursed her lips. “I thought about it for a brief minute, but I had my hands full with Luke. And that crime scared the whole city. A lot of people were afraid for her safety. I was told she was fine in the hands of social services. Now she’s an LBPD homicide investigator?”

“I couldn’t believe it.” Luke ran a hand down his chin, remembering the scene in the small house when Abby shared who she was. “It shocked Rollins as well. He left in a hurry without either of us being able to ask him anything about the Triple Seven.”

Grace tsked. “I think you need to go easy on him. He just lost his aunt. I can understand him being shaken by anything, especially something related to the Triple Seven. You know they named it that because of their partnership. They were all born in July and considered that good luck, a happy omen.”

“Maybe he’s just shaken.” Luke could still see Rollins’s expression in his mind’s eye. “But when I saw his face, something occurred to me. He looked scared. Maybe Buck Morgan wasn’t the intended target all those years ago. Maybe Rollins was the target, and everyone missed it.”

“From what I read,” James offered, “it was Buck Morgan who had the wild reputation. That restaurant sure put Long Beach on the map. Remember when the Lakers won the championship?”

Grace smiled. “My brother was so proud when Buck hosted that party for them. Luke cooked his heart out. Magic Johnson signed his apron.”

“As I recall, Rollins was more the designer and PR guy. Buck and Patricia were the faces of the restaurant.” James rubbed his chin and frowned. “The police went over everything then, Luke. What do you hope to accomplish now after so much time has passed?”

“Maybe they did, Dad. I’ve read everything on the subject. But this morning Rollins was afraid, and Kent couldn’t get him out of there fast enough. What does he have to be afraid of twenty-seven years later? Bottom line: I want to find out who killed my uncle.”

Luke tried to focus on Maddie as they drove to the local elementary school. Sunday nights her book club met in the library there and, conveniently, the basketball league he and Bill were involved in played in the gymnasium. His daughter was excited about the book they were reading, a S.A.V.E. Squad book called Dog Daze.

“The kids in the book save animals,” she said and went on to explain her favorite character. He only half listened, and when they arrived at school and she and Olivia darted off to the library, he felt guilty for not hearing everything she’d said.

Oh, well, he thought. I’ll make it up to her. As soon as he got to the gym and found Bill, he told his friend about the events of the morning.

“What are you saying?” Bill gave Luke the same astonished expression that Grace had worn when he broke the news. “How is that possible? What was she, six when her parents were killed?”

“I didn’t get a chance to talk to her at length about it, but the news about who she was sure sent Rollins spinning from the house.”

“It could have just been emotional for the guy.”

Luke’s eyes narrowed. “I have a different theory. Suppose Rollins knows something but has stayed quiet out of fear? Suppose he was the real target twenty-seven years ago? Maybe keeping his mouth shut has kept him safe?”

Bill raised his hands, then let them drop. “Ah, my friend, you’ve been watching too many TV movies! The guy has never laid low, and he is a well-respected man. I can’t believe it would have been missed if someone had a motive to kill him.”

“Suppose he made a deal with the devil?”

“You mean he’s known who did the killing all these years and his silence has bought his safety?”

Luke nodded, and Bill put his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “I know it’s important for you to find out who killed your uncle, but don’t waste your time barking up the wrong tree.”

Luke said nothing.

When the game started, he tried to lose himself in sweat and twenty-foot jumpers. He was thoroughly exhausted when Maddie skipped toward him an hour later and it was time to go home. But he couldn’t get the idea out of his mind. The reaction he’d seen from Rollins that morning was one of a man hiding something.