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like you’ve ever noticed! Classic hoarding, I saw it on Oprah . Now tell Mr. Cooper you’re sorry and let him keep his ring in peace.”
    â€œYou still there?” Ricky asked.
    â€œI am.” Coop wasn’t sure whether he was more amused or intrigued by Ricky Burnett.
    â€œLook, I’ll give you another reward if I can just have my ring back,” Ricky said, clearly ignoring his daughter.
    So the ring meant something to the man. Did he know it was stolen? Had he played a role in the theft? Or was he just a hoarder, as his daughter said?
    â€œYou’re impossible!” his daughter exclaimed. A loud slamming door sounded in the background.
    Coop winced. “I’d really like to help you, Mr. Burnett, but I can’t.”
    â€œHey!”
    â€œI’m sorry, but I’ve got to run.” Coop disconnected, then patted the pocket where he’d placed the ring.
    Sure he felt guilty about not returning it. Hell, he hadn’t wanted to accept a reward in the first place. But armed with new information, Coop couldn’t justturn it over to Ricky Burnett. Who knew if Ricky was the rightful owner? And Lexie Davis also had an interest in that particular piece of jewelry.
    There was obviously much more to this ring, and Coop’s reporter’s curiosity pulled at him, while the story tugged at the fiction writer inside him. Until he unraveled the mystery behind the theft, the ring stayed put.

CHAPTER THREE
    L IKE ITS OWNER , Jack’s Bar and Grill was vibrant and full of life. When Coop’s mother died from a sudden brain aneurysm, not long after his father’s retirement, Jack Cooper needed a substitute for the company and companionship his wife had provided. He’d found it in this bar and with his fellow cops who hung out here.
    Coop walked into the place he considered his second home and was greeted by clapping and laughter, reminiscent of the newsroom immediately after the foiled robbery.
    His brother, Matt, called out. “All hail the conquering hero!”
    â€œShut up,” Coop said to his older sibling.
    â€œWould you rather I said next time leave the crime fighting to us?” Matt asked, chuckling.
    Not particularly, Coop thought.
    â€œDad, get the hero a beer.”
    Coop shook his head. He should have known thatpicking Jack’s as the place to meet Lexie was a mistake.
    â€œIgnore your brother and come take a load off,” his father said. “He’s just jealous the paper didn’t pick him for the Bachelor Blog.” Jack slid a foaming glass across the bar.
    â€œYou read that crap?” Coop asked.
    â€œOn the way to the sports section,” his father muttered without meeting Coop’s gaze.
    Coop took a seat.
    â€œSo how’s it been, being the city’s darling?” Matt asked.
    Coop described the box of trash he’d dumped earlier.
    â€œSounds like a real hardship. You threw every last one of them away? You didn’t save even one of those lady’s numbers?” he asked, shocked.
    â€œCan I help it if I like my women sane?”
    Matt inclined his head. “Good point. To sane women. Like Olivia,” he said of his wife of ten years.
    Unlike Coop, marriage was another thing his brother had done well, following in their father’s footsteps. Coop rarely dwelled on his failings, but sometimes it was hard not to compare.
    Matt raised his beer glass and Coop met him in a toast.
    They both then tipped their beer and swallowed a large gulp.
    â€œSo when’s your next shift?” Coop asked.
    â€œTomorrow morning. So I thought I’d keep Dad company tonight.” Matt met Coop’s gaze.
    Both brothers ended up at Jack’s more often than not under the pretext of wanting a drink. They were really checking up on their father, making sure he wasn’t too lonely.
    â€œIn other words, his wife’s sick of him,” their father said, having overheard Matt’s