She scribbled his order on her pad. “I’ll just run this to the kitchen.”

Jake flipped to the back of the town’s weekly paper, where the police blotter was printed. There was a short item about vandalism at the house, but nothing about the kids that Detective Murray had ticketed on the road. The town was small enough that almost everything made it onto the blotter. Even cars colliding with deer could make it in if it was a slow week, especially if they went through the windshield. Incidents involving minors were generally not included, however. Jake turned back to the front page, but there was nothing else about the party, as he had expected.

The girl came back from the kitchen. She placed a bottle of homemade hot sauce in front of him and refilled his water.

“I saw you at school on Monday,” she said. “I didn’t know that you were a police officer. You’re never in uniform. Are you a detective?”

Jake smiled. “I’m not a police officer,” he said. “I’m an attorney for the county. No uniform. Unless you count the tie.”

“What were you doing at school?” she asked as she set him up with silverware.

“It’s Rosie, right?” he asked her. She nodded and he went on. “I was there with the police to help gather information. There was a party last week, and a house was destroyed. We were there to see if anyone had information that could help us find the people responsible.” He watched her face, wondering if she knew anything. Her name hadn’t come up in any of Murray’s interviews.

“I saw you talking to June,” Rosie said.

Jake waited, but she didn’t say anything else. “Are you two friends?” he asked.

She shrugged, and Jake thought she looked a little uncomfortable. “Sure. I’ve known her forever. Let me grab your dinner.”

When she came back, Jake handed her his card, and one of Detective Murray’s. “Listen, Rosie, if you hear anything at school that you think Detective Murray or I might need to know, you can always call us. We’re investigating the vandalism at the house on the river, but there may have also been other crimes committed there.” He paused for a moment and watched her face, which was hard to read as she wiped the counter with a damp towel.

“I’m usually working here,” she said. “Even on the weekends.”

“I know,” Jake said. “But if there’s anything that you hear that you think we should know, you can always give us a call.”

The door behind the bar swung open and Alejandro himself came out to the counter. “Rosa,” he said to his daughter, “you get back to your homework. I’ll cover the counter.” Then he turned to Jake. “Hey, my friend,” he greeted Jake. “Long week?”