“And ask about a twenty-year-old homicide you’re attempting to tie her to? Really bad idea.”

“I’m not tying anyone to anything,” Avery said. “But Tessa and Jasper are worth talking to. They’re on my list of people to contact.”

“Not if you’re taking the angle that Tessa Young could be involved with her husband’s death. It’s a bad idea, Avery.”

The way he said her name, staring at her, sent a flutter through her chest.

“Look,” he said. “If we really think there’s something to any of this, we root out the details and go to the authorities to show them what we have. I still have plenty of contacts. But bowline knots and the absence of blood on the rope are not going to change any minds, especially twenty years later. Getting a case reopened is a monumental task. Before I reach out to any of my old contacts, we’re going to need something stronger than a lack of blood on a couple of sailing knots. The fact that Victoria Ford’s blood was on the carpeting will trump any lack of blood elsewhere. We need something more.”

“Then let’s go through the rest of the case,” Avery said. “We’ve made it through, what, half of it? And we’ve already found some holes.”

“Potential holes.”

“Maybe there are more definitive ones to find.”

Walt looked over at the box of files on the desk, paused, and then nodded. “Okay. Let’s see what else we can find. Meet again tomorrow evening? Unless you have plans. It’s the Fourth of July.”

“My only plans are with you.” Avery stood. “Thanks for doing this with me. No matter what we find, I appreciate your help.”

“I want to make sure we got things right all those years ago. And I need to know if we got them wrong, too.”

Walt stood also. They were face to face.

“Say, six o’clock tomorrow?”

Avery nodded. “See you then.”

She said the words but didn’t move.

“Okay,” Walt said, staying as still as her. “See you tomorrow.”

His words floated off with little meaning. Then, suddenly, they moved to each other. The kissing was frantic at first and then slowed to become more passionate. Avery did a quick run-through in her mind. She’d had a single beer at dinner; he’d had two. Neither was drunk, which was both a positive and negative aspect of what was about to happen. She’d never made a habit out of drunken sex, which made accountability the following morning unavoidable. Without drunkenness, there was nothing to blame their behavior on other than mutual attraction and an open willingness to share intimacy. For most, this was a normal result of sex. For Avery Mason, it was a portal that allowed another person access to her past.