“But no more,” she told Pebbles firmly. “Plans have changed. I’m going back to work. But first, I’m going to get your dinner.”

Pebbles bounded to her feet excitedly, prancing in place as Liza pushed away from the door. She stopped next to the big dog and planted a kiss on her muzzle. “You love me, don’t you?”

Pebbles licked her face and Liza laughed. “Come on. Kibble first, then playtime in the backyard. And then I’ll take you home.”

She’d slip the dog into Tom’s house through his kitchen door, hopefully avoiding him. Because she wasn’t sure she’d make it through another conversation with the man today.

ROCKLIN, CALIFORNIA

WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 7:35 P.M.

Tom jumped when something cold and wet burrowed under the hand he had resting on his keyboard. Then settled when he realized it was Pebbles. He’d been so deep in his work that he hadn’t heard Liza bring her over.

Giving her an ear scratch, he got up to look for Liza, then remembered that she had company. Mike the Groper had stayed and he’d heard them watching a movie when he’d come home from the field office.

That he’d had to press his ear to the wall to get that tidbit of information wasn’t anything he’d admit to anyone. Even to Pebbles, although she’d never tell.

He peeked through the blinds, relieved to see his driveway clear. He hadn’t heard the garage door open, so Liza’s car was still in there, parked next to his own. Mike the Groper was gone.

Going to the door, he called for her. “Liza! Where are you?” Because she always came in with Pebbles. They’d have dinner together and settle in to watch some TV.

Tom needed that. He’d been staring at his computer screen for far too long and was becoming frustrated. He’d been unsuccessful in tracking Cameron Cook’s e-mail. He’d traced it through several proxy servers, then hit a wall.

Either their network person was really good, or their server was no longer active. He hoped Croft was having better luck with tracking the Chicos’ tattoo artist.

“Liza!” he called again, then sighed when his phone buzzed with an incoming text.

I just put Pebbles in your house. She’s been fed.

That was all. No See you later or How’s it going or What’s for dinner. He wondered if she and Mike were still going out tomorrow. He wondered if he should have told her not to go.

She’d almost seemed like she’d wanted him to.

He started to call her, then stopped himself. He didn’t know what to say. They’d been friends for years. Liza had been the only person he’d trusted with knowledge of Tory while they’d dated. They’d shared secrets and hopes. He’d even told her when Tory got pregnant.

But not so much after that. Tom had been in love, blind to the rest of the world. And then he’d been in shock, grieving. And then he’d been focused on getting justice for his love and their unborn child.