“His single biggest regret in life is that he didn’t move his son away from those kids when he’d had the chance. He thought all the time about how different their lives might’ve been if he’d just moved.”

“I can’t move. Not with Dad’s situation, and you and Ang nearby. Our whole lives are here. Mike’s job. The kids’ school and their friends.”

“If you can’t move, you have to move her. Before this gets any worse.”

“I know. You’re right. I’ll talk to Mike tonight, and I’ll go there tomorrow to sign her up.”

“I wish I could go with you, but I can’t right now.”

“Because of the Vasquez case. I know.”

“Not just that. Nick is going out of town for a couple of days, and I need to be around if Scotty needs me. He’s taking Willie’s murder kind of personally since he met him last summer.”

“I’m so happy you’re getting to be a mom, Sam.”

“So am I.”

“Don’t let what’s going on with Brooke scare you. Hopefully, it’s just a phase and she’ll come back to us on the other side.”

“Let’s hope so. Do you want to ask Mike to come over here so you can talk to him without Brooke around?”

Tracy shook her head. “He won’t leave Abby and Ethan home alone with her. I’ll talk to him later when they’re all in bed.”

“Wait right here for a sec.” Sam got up, went into the study and found her checkbook. She signed a blank check and tore it out of the book. When she returned to the living room, she handed the folded check to Tracy. “Whatever you need. There’s plenty of money in the account. What’s mine is yours.”

Tracy stood to hug her. “Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

“I’m happy to help you for a change.”

“Can I stay with you a while longer? I don’t want to go home yet.”

“Of course you can. Have you eaten?”

Tracy shook her head. “I don’t think I could. My stomach has been a mess over all of this.”

“Let’s just sit and talk about nothing.”

They resumed their positions on the sofa with Tracy resting her head on Sam’s shoulder and holding her hand. “Tell me about the case.”

“Do I have to?” Sam asked with a sigh. “It’s a mess. About a million people wanted him dead. He had a chaotic personal life, and now another member of the team is missing.”

“Who?”

“Lind, the closer.”

“What’s up with that?”