Mason took one last, sweeping look at the crowd and stepped back, putting his hat back on. Duncan gestured at Sanford, who stepped up to the microphone. Mason stepped off the platform and maneuvered his way through the crowd toward Ava and the family.

“I’m Special Agent Sanford with the FBI, and I’ll be answering a few questions,” Sanford stated in a clear voice. The emotional words were over, and Sanford changed the tone of the crowd back to the business at hand. Ava tuned him out as Mason approached.

He gave her a questioning look, and she nodded at him, barely able to form words. “You did good,” she whispered.

“Nice job, Dad,” said Jake. He gave his dad a long hug, and Ava’s eyes watered at the love on Mason’s face. He clung to his son. “You had the whole crowd in tears.”

“Thank you, Mason,” said Robin. She stepped forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Mason watched her move back to her husband, who threw an arm around her and Jake in a family hug. Ava felt a pang in her stomach at the hungry look in Mason’s eye as he gazed at the threesome.

He misses having a family.

At first she’d thought he was watching his ex-wife, but he was focused on Jake and Lucas and their closeness. He looked away at the few boats that dotted the Willamette River behind them. Without thinking, Ava touched his arm. He looked her way with eyes that belonged to a battered animal. He was ripped up inside. His job, his kid, Henley. What else was life going to pound him with?

Ava tried to smile but faltered. For a brief second, he’d hung it all out, showing a deeply suffering side of himself that no one ever saw. He patted her hand on his arm, and his emotions vanished. He was back in cop mode. Protective mode.

For a moment, she’d seen his true self.

Her heart cracked at his pain.

Under that by-the-book, tough cowboy was a gentleman with a big heart.

Sanford’s voice penetrated her focus, and Ava glanced back at him. The agent was droning on, responding to the press questions with answers that said a lot of nothing new. They’d agreed not to share Jake’s encounter with the man at his college’s campus. Sanford held up a big photo of the type of minivan they were still searching for, along with its license-plate number.

It was still their best lead.

Ava’s personal phone buzzed. Legacy Emanuel Hospital flashed on her screen. Curious, she stepped away from the family and answered.

“Is this Ava McLane?” came an unfamiliar woman’s voice.

“Yes, it is.”

“I’m calling from Emanuel Hospital’s ER. Your sister Jayne McLane is here and has been involved in a car accident. She requested you be contacted and informed of her condition.”

“What? Is she okay? What happened?” Ava’s heart stopped.

“She’s been in a car accident, ma’am,” the woman repeated. “She’s conscious and on her way to Radiology. She’s banged up. Some possible broken bones and a concussion. We’ll know more soon.”

“How did it happen? Who was driving?” If Jayne had been riding with some drunk boyfriend, Ava would strangle her.

“I don’t know, ma’am. Let me see if the officer who came in with her is still here.”

The police accompanied her?

Ava waited and paced in a small circle. Mason looked at her questioningly, but Ava forced a smile and shook her head at him. A male voice spoke. “This is Officer Suarez. Is this Jayne McLane’s sister, Ava McLane?”

“Yes. What happened?”

“Your sister plowed through a red light on Tenth Avenue downtown and hit another car. She’s lucky the other people weren’t injured.”

“She was driving?” Ava squeaked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Was anyone else in her car?”

“There was a male passenger. He seems fine. He’s getting checked out, too.”

Ava sighed. This was why she didn’t loan Jayne her car. Hopefully, the man had good insurance.

“I’m sorry, but your sister will be arrested for driving with a suspended license once the hospital releases her.”

“Are you kidding me? Her license was suspended? I had no idea.” Could Jayne mess things up any worse?

“Yes, for a previous DUI.”

Ava closed her eyes. Alcohol. Of course. “Was she drunk this time, too?”

“We’ve requested a blood alcohol test. She was in no condition to do a Breathalyzer at the scene.”

“Do you think she was drunk?” Ava pushed.

Suarez paused. “I could smell alcohol on her breath, which was why I ordered the test. We won’t know until we get the lab results back.”

Definitely drunk. Jayne, what have you gotten into? Ava wanted to scream at her sister. And shake her. Shake some sense into her.

“The vehicle will be at the police lot. You can call to find out when it will be released,” Suarez stated.

Ava blinked. A sense of dread creeping up her spine. “I don’t want to deal with the car. Doesn’t the car belong to the passenger?”

“Uh . . . no. The car’s registration says Ava McLane. That’s you, right? Do you own a black Honda Accord?”

Yes, she did.

At the vigil, Mason had watched Ava get a phone call and nearly blow her stack at the caller. She’d been polite, but Mason was glad the person on the other end couldn’t see her body language and facial expressions. It’d been enough to make him blink and listen closely. A minute later, she asked him to drive her to the hospital, because she was concerned she’d cause an accident.