WHEN CALEB AND I returned to the station, Lara had already become a regular at the library next door. The stack of books had multiplied, each open and spread out across her desk. The keyboard was pushed out of the way, propped on its side against the wall.  By now it was obvious how Lara’s brain worked. Once her mind fixated on a detail, she didn’t let it go until it was explained. While I appreciated her efforts, it was hard watching her devote herself to finding something that wasn’t there. If she insisted on restricting her focus to only one detail, she would overlook other clues that could help solve the case. She needed to step back and look at the whole picture.

“Seriously, just stop,” I said at last.

With a subtle movement of the head, she snapped herself out of the zone she had fallen into. She looked up and stared at me, expecting me to explain myself further. 

“You’ve not even had lunch yet and you’re trying to be an overachiever. Landry currently holds that title and he’s not going to like it if you take that title away from him.” 

“Okay.” She raised her hands up and pushed back from her desk. “Let’s do lunch.”  

Lara grabbed her blazer from the back of her chair and led the way through the lobby. Charley was busy talking on the phone at her desk, but her eyes followed Lara. When she caught me looking, she looked down and pretended to be taking a note, but glanced up once more as Lara pulled open the door. I could feel her eyes still watching us as the door shut behind me.

The cold whipped around the corner. Lara tugged her blazer closed across her chest. 

“Don’t you have a coat?” I asked. “It does get cold in Atlanta.” 

“I do, but I didn’t think I’d need it since I’m staying close by,” she answered, keeping her arms folded against the cold. 

“Where are you staying?” I asked when we turned the corner onto First Street, heading toward the Olde Town Diner. 

“I’m just down at The Inn for now.” She nodded toward the stately mansion. “I haven’t made any inquiries about houses or apartments yet. Do you know of any good places around here?” 

“Not really. Rental and real estate prices have gone up since this town became a tourist trap, but I’ll keep an eye open.” 

Lara opened the door to the diner before I could do it for her. The familiar smell of baked pies agitated my empty stomach, but that was the only semblance of how the Olde Town Diner used to be. Cracked vinyl booths and worn Formica that had once given this place a classic harvest gold hue had been gone forever. The diner had undergone multiple renovations over the past few years and now looked like some modern version of the 1950s, with black and white checkerboard print splattered across the entire restaurant, accented by red and chrome. A place once filled with local families and anonymous truckers breaking from their long journeys was now filled with people bundled up in new winter clothes, breaking from their day of touring the town or trekking through the foothills. I missed the quietness of this town. With the death of Erica Gunter, it was hard not to see how much had changed. Thankfully, the menu at this place had never been altered beyond a few healthier additions. With everything shifting around me, I needed the comfort food this place dished out. 

The first booth was one of the few left unoccupied. Lara sat facing the door, leaving me to watch the restaurant. I didn’t particularly like sitting where the cold hit me each time the door opened, but it was better than sitting in the middle of the restaurant. Lara glanced over the menu. A waitress came by, dropped off two glasses of sweet tea, and continued on to service other patrons. Lara looked at the tea and then up at me. 

“Cops automatically get sweet tea.” I answered her unasked question.

“I think I’m going to like this town.” She pulled the straw up to drink while glancing again at the menu. “So, you want to fill me in on all the people I’m working with?” 

“Where to start?” I mumbled, pushing my menu aside without looking at it. I always ordered the meatloaf at lunch. 

“Why don’t we start with you … and Mike?” 

I looked across the table at her. She stared back, unflinching.

“Okay, y’all. What are you going to have?” The waitress came to a halt beside our table, giving me enough time to process everything I would have to say. 

“Meatloaf,” Lara answered first. 

“Same.”

The waitress took off after my response. I pushed the menus to the far side of the table and breathed out, accepting that it was time to talk about Mike. Whenever I talked about Mike, the guilt of falling in love with Grace pressed down even harder.

“Mike and I were partners for about four years. I was just out of community college when he got out of the Marines.” I laid my hands across my lap and hung my head. “He was just a good man gone way too soon.” 

“I want you to know that my intentions aren’t to replace him. I’m just here to do my job and I don’t want any issue between us. I just want to solve this case and grow as a detective in a more hands-on environment. Are we on the same page?”

I nodded. I appreciated her candor. It was nice to hear she wasn’t out to replace Mike. He was irreplaceable for a lot of other reasons than the fact that he was a damn good cop.

“Okay, now that we’ve got the hard stuff out of the way, give me the run down on everyone else.” 

Before I could start, a huge plate of meatloaf, green peas, and mashed potatoes smothered in gravy was placed in front of me. I had to take a moment to breathe it all in. My stomach growled.

“Caleb …” I took a bite of meatloaf and continued with a semi-full mouth. “Sheriff Harris just became the sheriff after the new year. He’s good at what he does; even though, he’s new to the title. He’s the only one of us who’s married.” 

“Any girlfriends?” 

“Why? You have an eye on someone already?” I scooped a mound of mashed potatoes and peas into my mouth.

“No, it’s just that some women are territorial and don’t like their boyfriends working with females.” 

“Nobody’s gone after Charley. I think you’re safe.” 

“What’s her story?” She took a bite and waited for me to answer.

“Charley went to school with Heavner and Murphy,” I started before my head got away from me. “She married some guy right out of high school and moved out to the coast. From what I understand, it wasn’t so happy and she just recently finalized her divorce. She has family a little north of here. Murphy watches out for her a good bit.” 

“God, this food is good.” She cut into her meatloaf again. “Are they close?” 

“Yeah … well, they’re best friends.” 

Her demeanor didn’t change at the mention of their relationship. In fact, she didn’t seem concerned in anyway, a completely opposite reaction to the way Charley had acted upon learning about Lara. Maybe Charley was one of those territorial girlfriends despite not actually being Evan’s girlfriend.

“And what about Jack?” she pressed on.

“Cocky. Arrogant. Thinks he’s God’s gift to women. That’s pretty much Jack Heavner. Landry also suffers from a bit of know-it-all syndrome, but he’s a really good cop. Probably makes more of an effort given the nature of this town.” 

“What do you mean?” she asked, wiping her mouth.

“Well …” I tried to think of a way to put it delicately. “This town isn’t exactly … diverse.” 

“Oh … I didn’t even think of that. Maybe more people should follow my lead and not think of it either,” she said. 

“Couldn’t agree more.” 

“What’s up with Grayson and the therapy?” she asked as she put down her fork and sipped her tea.

“The night …” 

“The night of the explosion,” she finished my sentence. 

“So, you know a little bit?” 

“I wasn’t coming in here blind. I researched the town and I learned about Mike Shuler. I just wanted to hear about what he was like from you, his partner. But I don’t understand what happened with Grayson Cooks.” 

“During the fire, Cooks got caught under some falling beams. His leg practically split in two. The therapy is for his leg, which I think is healing remarkably well.” 

“And the mental part?” 

“I think damaging his leg also damaged his ego.” 

“Well, a little therapy never hurt anyone.” 

“So, that’s pretty much the gist of it.” I put my fork down. Stuffed was an understatement. I needed a workout and a nap.

“And now we go question the roommate.” She pulled out a ten-dollar bill, stuck it under her plate, and scooted out of the booth. I did the same. This time I reached the door before her. Just because she was my partner, it didn’t mean I couldn’t be a gentleman.

“You should take the lead on this one,” I said as we walked outside. The sun was still nowhere to be found. “She’ll probably open up more for you.” 

“If there’s anything to tell,” Lara added, tugging her blazer tight around her. 

“From what I’ve gathered so far, the murder feels premeditated.” We cut across the street toward my cruiser. “But we must be missing something. It feels too random and too brutal.”

“So, we really need to go through her day and see if there’s anything else we can learn about Erica Gunter’s past,” Lara said as we reached the cruiser.

“It might not help, but it certainly can’t hurt. Now that we’ve had a day to process, maybe we’ll find something we didn’t catch the first time,” I said before opening the door and sitting behind the wheel.

“Do you think there’s any clues we’ve missed?” she asked as she climbed into the passenger seat.

“Honestly, I don’t think so, but you’ve got a fresh pair of eyes that might pick up something we overlooked. We’ll have to get you over to the crime scene and see if there’s anything you can find. I know this might come as a shock to you, but we’re a rather inexperienced force. Olde Town is a relatively quiet place. This kind of stuff doesn’t happen every day.”

“I’ll see what I can do, but I make no promises.”