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Cove’s police chief, ambled into the room. “Nick told me I’d find you here.” Joe was a big man with a stomach badly in need of toning. He wore a suit and tie—church clothes.
    “I’m sorry you had to come in. I know how important Sunday mornings are to you.”
    He set a plastic collection bottle on the table in front of her. “Why don’t you take care of this now, if you can. When you’re through I’d like you to come into my office.” He leaned over, resting his hands on the back of the chair across from her.
    “Sure. No problem.” Angel grabbed the bottle and hurried to the women’s rest room. Giving urine samples wasn’t all that unusual. The department did random drug testing on all of their officers from time to time. But this was different and humiliating.
    She washed her hands and took the specimen with her into Joe’s office, where she set it on his desk and sat in a chair across from him. She clenched her hands to keep them from shaking. Then, maintaining more control than she thought possible, she told him what had happened.
    She thought about telling him the same thing she’d told Eric—that she’d fired only once—but like Eric had said, she needed tohave her facts straight first. And she just plain didn’t know what the facts were. Her magazine would show how many shots she’d actually fired, and Nick had that sealed in an evidence bag.
    Joe leaned back in his chair, then let it bounce forward. “Sounds like you followed procedure. We’ll probably hit a few rough spots dealing with the press on this one, with him being a kid and all. But I don’t foresee any problems.”
    Angel felt a thread of relief weave in and out between the tension. “Good.” She pushed herself out of the chair and headed for the door. She had her hand on the knob when Joe’s cell phone rang.
    While he listened to the caller, his lips formed a tight, thin line. He held up his hand for Angel to wait. “I see. Right. Thanks for the call.” Joe looked up at Angel, then pulled his gaze away. “You might want to sit back down.”
    “What’s wrong?” she asked as she eased back into the chair.
    Joe rose and walked over to the window.
    “Joe?”
    Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he turned around to face her. His hazel eyes held hints of anger and accusation. “He was only twelve years old. Did you know that?”
    “I... yes. I met him a couple weeks ago.” Angel gripped the arms of the chair. “He had a gun, Joe. I followed procedure.”
    “For your sake, I hope that’s the case.” He ran a hand across his balding head.
    Angel frowned. “I don’t understand.”
    “It was a toy gun, Delaney. The kid was carrying a stinkin’ toy gun.”

 
    T hey’d find J.J.’s body soon. Duke raised his foot and set it on the rear bumper of his car and bent over to tie his shoelace. The cops were still swarming all over the place, looking in every nook and cranny for the men who pulled off the robbery. A futile effort—those kids would be long gone by now. There were a lot of places to hide in Sunset Cove.
    Duke was plenty steamed about the robbery. Those idiots were supposed to keep a low profile, not hit the local establishments with guns blazing. He had expected petty theft, but not armed robbery—not gunning down an innocent old man.
    Things were getting out of control. An icy trickle of fear ran down the back of his neck. If these guys weren’t careful, they could blow the entire business apart, just like they’d shattered that window at the pharmacy.
    Since he’d eliminated J.J., he would have to find a replacement and quick. He needed someone with as much street smarts and pull as J.J. He’d met several potential dealers through the Dragon’s Den over the weekend. He sneered. The saps who ran the place had set up the teen club to help kids who’d gone down the wrong road. They hoped the kids would somehow find God and turn their lives around. Fat chance.The kids came in to shoot pool and hang