Her mother had taught her to bake, and it was one of Liza’s most precious memories. Re-creating her mother’s recipe step-by-step would replace the bad images with good ones. This she knew from experience.

Plus the whir of the mixer would drown out the sound of Abigail’s tears.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 9:30 A.M.

“What’s going on between Raeburn and Molina?” Tom asked as he and Croft walked toward the lobby where Jeff waited with the boy whose pregnant girlfriend had managed to send an e-mail from Eden.

“Molina’s been recused from the Eden investigation because Belmont shot her,” Croft said. “The edict came down this morning, according to Raeburn. He told me before morning meeting. I think he had something to do with it, though. He was entirely too pleased that he was still leading the investigation.”

“Son of a—” Tom cut himself off before he was publicly disrespectful to his boss.

Croft’s lips twitched at his near curse. “So that’s why Raeburn demanded we report straight back to him when we get back.”

Tom was irritated, yet a half chuckle escaped when Molina’s words sank in. She’d said that Raeburn’s version was “less than satisfactory.” Tom had assumed she’d meant Raeburn’s assessment of his performance, not that the ass was withholding information from Molina.

She was pumping me for information. He’d appreciated Molina before, but he really appreciated her now.

“Tell me about this contact of yours,” Croft said, increasing her pace to keep up with Tom’s long stride. The woman was only about five-two, but her bearing made her seem so much taller.

“Jeff Bunker is a sixteen-year-old going to Sac State, majoring in journalism.”

Croft made a face. “He wrote that awful article about Mercy Callahan, didn’t he?”

“He did, but his version wasn’t the same as the one that was published. His boss added material Jeff had deleted.” Making Mercy look like a slut, when really she was a victim of sexual assault. It still made Tom furious. “Jeff issued a retraction and used his platform to give victims a chance to tell their stories. He wanted to make amends. Helping Cameron Cook is most likely part of his making amends. He set up an alert for articles about Eden.”

Croft gave him a side-eye. “So did we. Why haven’t we seen this Cameron guy’s article?”

“Good question. I already planned to ask Jeff.”

Croft was quiet for a minute. “So Jeff Bunker knows about Eden?”

She asked the question with care, like she’d been instructed to find out who else Tom had given information to. But like she wasn’t happy about it. Tom trusted her, to a point.

“He does, but I didn’t tell him.”

Croft visibly relaxed. “Who did?”

“Probably Zoya, the Sokolovs’ youngest daughter. She and Jeff have been getting friendly. Zoya knew about Eden because she’s known Gideon nearly all her life, and she was in the room when Mercy told her story. Zoya’s a good kid. So is Jeff, actually. Even though his relationship with the Sokolovs started out on the wrong foot because of the story about Mercy, Jeff’s redeemed himself in the family’s eyes.”