"Why were you painting?" she asked. "Isn't that the landlord's responsibility?"

"Normally it would be," Mack said, trying to sound nonchalant. "I offered to do it in exchange for a reduction in rent. He, uh, wants first and last months' upfront."

"I have that in savings, so I'm not concerned."

They finished their drinks and Mack drove Mary Jo past the Senior Center to 1022 Evergreen Place.

Mary Jo's eyes darted up and down the street. "This is a nice neighborhood," she said appreciatively.

Mack had thought so, too, which was one reason he'd made an offer. This was a good place to raise a family.

"Now I really don't understand why the rent's so low," Mary Jo said, frowning.

"Like you said earlier," he rushed to explain, "the cost of living is less on this side of Puget Sound."

"I had no idea it would be this much less."

Mack was beginning to think he might have overdone it. "You can always check out other rentals."

"I could," she agreed, "but I like this one."

Mack relaxed. "I understand there's an eligible bachelor in close proximity, too." The instant the words were out of his mouth, Mack regretted them. Mary Jo was emotionally fragile, and he didn't want to frighten her off by appearing to pursue anything but friendship. He ignored the reproach that nagged at him-that he was being manipulative.

In any case, his joke didn't elicit a response. Instead, Mary Jo stared out the window. After a moment, she said, "I'm not going to be dating anyone for a long while."

It was a veiled warning, a signal. He considered offering reassurances, but that would have led to more lies, or half-truths, anyway. So he asked, "Would you like to take a look inside?"

"Please."

He wanted to give her an opportunity to get to know him-and trust him. Living side by side as neighbors and friends was the way to do that. Her brothers weren't going to appreciate his efforts, but that was their problem.

Mack helped her down from the truck. "I have the key," he told her. "You'd be in Unit B." He opened the door and gestured her inside. A sheet lay across the living room floor with a bucket of paint, a roller and brushes resting next to it. The fresh, clean smell of recently painted walls greeted them. On his mother's advice, he'd chosen a pale, buttery yellow, which worked with the small rooms yet had a subtle warmth.

"I only have a few pieces of furniture," Mary Jo said as she moved from one room to the next. The kitchen was compact but adequate. The two bedrooms were across the hall from each other.

"There's one bath?"

Mack nodded. "And a laundry room."

"I don't have a washer and dryer."

"They come with the place."

Or they would by the time she moved in.

"I have my bedroom set, of course, and there's the crib for Noelle and her changing table." She paused as if calculating what else she could bring. "I have a rocking chair, too, but that's it in the way of living room furniture."

"What about a television?"

Mary Jo shook her head. "I had an old TV in my room, but it's not worth taking."

"I've got an extra one you can use."

Again Mack saw her hesitate.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'd rather not do that."

"I could sell it to you cheap," he said impulsively.

This appeared to interest her. "How cheap?"

"Cheap." He came up with a price he felt she could probably afford. "Fifty bucks."

Mary Jo laughed. "Sold."

"Great! I've been wanting to get rid of that piece of junk."

"Mack!"

He held up both hands. "Just kidding."

"Good thing you are, buddy."

With the easy banter between them, Mack relaxed. "Would you like me to contact the owner and tell him he's got his second renter?"

Mary Jo smiled over at him. "Okay, it's a deal."

"And listen, don't worry about me pestering you." He wanted to make sure Mary Jo understood that.

"I'm more worried about pestering you."

On the contrary, he figured that having Mary Jo and Noelle this close might be the best thing to happen to him in a long, long time.

Twenty-Two.

When Troy finished shaving on Friday morning, he did something he didn't usually do-he splashed on a citrus-scented aftershave, hoping the scent would last long enough for Faith to notice later that evening.

If anyone in the office caught a whiff, he might be teased, but any teasing would be worth the possible return. After several short phone conversations, Faith had finally agreed to have dinner with him and Troy could hardly wait. They had a lot to discuss, but the item at the very top of his list was this purported move. He didn't want her walking out of his life again, so he had to let her know how he felt in no uncertain terms.

Troy was encouraged. He'd come away from each brief conversation with a hopeful feeling. He sensed that she might be willing to start again. Troy assumed that this evening, over dinner, they'd decide once and for all whether to pick up where they'd left off.

He arrived at the office, his mood still optimistic. It wasn't long before reality struck its first blow.

Troy hadn't been at his desk more than ten minutes when he received a visit from his most recently hired deputy, Gloria Ashton. Gloria was the daughter of private detective Roy McAfee and his wife, although they'd met her only four years ago. Apparently, Roy and Corrie had broken up for a while in college, not knowing Corrie was pregnant. She'd relinquished the baby for adoption.

Years later, Gloria, now an adult, had sought them out. Troy was astonished by how similar father and daughter were, in personality and in interests. They'd both gone into law enforcement, although Roy had retired from the Seattle police.

"Morning, Sheriff." Gloria entered his office, hands clasped in front of her.

"Sit down," he said, gesturing toward one of the visitor chairs.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather stand."

"Whatever you prefer." She seemed uncomfortable and he wondered why.

Her shoulders were squared, her back straight and her eyes just managed to avoid his. "I thought I should give you a heads-up about an arrest I made last night."

"All right." It was obvious that this hadn't been a routine matter. "Tell me about it."

Again she avoided eye contact. "I saw a car with a burned-out headlight. When I turned around and followed the vehicle, the driver made an effort to evade me."

"You pulled the car over?"

"I did." She paused. "I quickly assessed that the driver was intoxicated. I asked him to get out of his car and step away from it, which he did without hesitation. After performing the routine checks, I gave him a Breathalyzer test and it showed an alcohol level exceeding .08. I immediately placed him under arrest."

So far, this was nothing out of the ordinary and didn't warrant Troy's attention. "Is there a reason you've come to tell me this personally?" he asked.

"Yes." She nodded curtly.

At that moment it was easy to see that Gloria was Roy McAfee's daughter. The set of her jaw, the unyielding line of her mouth, was all Roy.

"The driver was Mayor Louie Benson."

Troy felt like groaning out loud. Well, so be it. The law was the law. "I see."

"He lawyered up right away," Gloria went on to tell him.

Troy wouldn't have expected any less. "His brother Otto's an attorney. I imagine Louie has him on speed dial."

She nodded again. "His attorney met us at the jail."

This was awkward, but he'd handled awkward situations before. "I appreciate the advance warning."

Her gaze found his and he read the doubt in her eyes. "I wanted you to know...."

"Did Mayor Benson point out that he was an elected official or did you recognize him?"

"Both," she said. "I knew who he was as soon as he stepped out of the car and then he told me. The thing is-" She hesitated and then looked away. "He was belligerent when I first pulled him over."

"I...see." Troy had known Benson for years on a casual basis, although they'd never been close friends. The mayor had been kind when Sandy died and insisted Troy take all the time he needed. To the best of his knowledge, Troy couldn't remember seeing him with a drink in his hand, not even at the social functions they'd both attended. This behavior seemed completely out of character.

Gloria appeared to be waiting for Troy to comment. "I came to discuss this with you because I wanted to be sure I'd done the right thing, taking Benson into custody."

"You did." Awkward situation or not, Gloria wasn't to blame because a local politician hadn't had the good sense to know when enough was enough. Sometimes people in the public eye felt they'd been awarded some form of entitlement that placed their actions above the law.

"Mayor Benson asked me to cut him some slack." Gloria clasped and unclasped her hands. "I checked his driving record, and it's clean. He doesn't have so much as a parking violation."

Troy nodded. Still, that didn't give him a clear picture. It could mean that in the past Mayor Benson had been granted a free ride or some deputy had conveniently looked the other way.

Gloria stared down at the floor. "He said if I issued him a DUI, he'd see to it that I was fired from my job."

"In other words, he threatened you." Troy had to believe Louie didn't know what he was saying. He could charge the mayor with a further offense, but he didn't want to do that, as much for Gloria's sake as Louie's.

Gloria frowned slightly as though she'd never intended to admit this. "I...think he was too drunk to remember everything he said. The thing is, Sheriff, I enjoy working in Cedar Cove and I'd hate this incident to tarnish my career in law enforcement-or worse, end it."

That wasn't going to happen. Not on Troy's watch, anyway. "You have nothing to worry about, Ashton. You did your job. If there's any political flack over this, I'll deal with it."

He felt, more than saw, his deputy relax.

"I thought later that I should've contacted you at the time of the arrest."

"Don't second-guess yourself. You made the right decision." Although in retrospect, Troy wished she had called him. It wouldn't have made any difference to the outcome, however. Benson would've ended up in jail regardless. But it might have eased Gloria's mind. Instead, she'd spent a restless night, worrying about Troy's reaction to the news.

"Like I said, you did your job." He glanced at his watch. "Aren't you off duty?"

"I am."

"Then why are you still here?"

Her mouth twitched with a half smile.

"Again, I appreciate that you brought this to my attention. I'll handle it from this point forward."

"Thank you." The relief in her voice was evident.

When Gloria had left his office, Troy decided he'd better talk to the mayor immediately; otherwise, this whole affair could blow up in his face. Briefly he wondered if Louie was a secret drinker. In any case, Troy was not the kind of lawman who'd bow to influence or intimidation.

But the reasons for the mayor's behavior, whatever they might be, were irrelevant. Louie was in the wrong, no question about it.

When he called the jail, he discovered that Mayor Benson had been released on his own recognizance.

Their confrontation wasn't going to be pleasant. Lately he seemed to be at odds with the mayor over a number of issues. This certainly wouldn't improve their relationship.

Troy found Benson in his office at city hall. The mayor glanced up when Troy was announced, then glanced away. He looked dreadful-pale and disheveled with bloodshot eyes. From his appearance, Troy suspected Benson hadn't had much sleep.

"Your department seems to enjoy embarrassing me," Louie said, taking the defensive even before Troy had opened his mouth.

"I'd say you're doing a mighty fine job of that all by yourself," he countered.

Louie got up to close his office door. When he turned to face Troy, his mouth was set in a grim line. "I'd like this matter to disappear. I trust you can make that happen."