Zander looked back at the women, too, his gaze questioning. Nora gave him a small nod. They all agreed: Sam Gates wasn't their killer.

The deputies returned. "Last call was at two," said the clean-cut farm boy. "The bartender from last night is there right now. He said Sam and his friends didn't leave until almost two thirty."

Zander moved toward the investigators and the deputies stepped to either side of Sam, each placing a hand on one of his arms. "Hey! Am I under arrest?" Sam shouted at Zander's back. "I didn't do anything."

"We're discussing that," Zander replied over his shoulder. In a quiet voice he asked their group, "Anyone have any thoughts? I think this is a dead end."

"Either he's the greatest liar in the world, or he's not involved," said Mason. "He doesn't strike me as being the greatest in the world at anything."

Nods all around.

"Could still be a local," said Nora. "Both he and Jessop said rumors were going around town. Either someone talked-"

"Or someone picked up on the squadron of police vehicles at Denny's this morning," said Ava. "In a town this size, news travels fast."

"I'll send some deputies to ask questions in the diner," said Nora. "And the same in the bar. I want to know who else was in the bar last night. It's not Sam, but it might be someone who was there."

"Looks like Zander and I need to move on to Special Agent Weldon's investigation," Ava stated, looking ahead to the next step.

"I'm meeting with his wife first thing tomorrow morning," said Zander. He looked at Nora. "We'll leave you to handle the questioning down here? All the evidence from Denny's scene is going through our lab. We can get it done faster than OSP."

"That's fine by me," said Nora. "The less I add to our lab's backlog the better. They're tired of hearing me say everything is a priority."

"Any other immediate leads?" Zander looked from one investigator to another.

The silence hurt.

"Then we'll follow where the evidence leads us," Zander said, looking at Mason. "We'll find this guy."

"I know we will," Mason stated.

Ava mentally crossed her fingers.

7.

Zander straightened his notepad for the seventh time and glanced at the clock. He was early. Sharon Weldon wasn't expected for another four minutes. He was glad the widow of Special Agent Vance Weldon was willing to come to the Portland office to talk to him. Last evening he'd spent the long drive home reviewing interview questions and evidence points with Ava. Then he'd been up until two A.M. reviewing on his own. He'd studied every photo from Vance Weldon's death.

But his notepad was all he'd brought to the interview. No way in h.e.l.l would he pull out crime scene photos in front of the widow. He didn't need to see them again because each one was stamped clearly in his brain. It was a special skill he'd discovered as a child, almost perfect recall. He had to concentrate when he committed something to memory, but once he did it was usually permanent.

Including the images he'd rather forget.

Ava entered the small interview room, a notepad and laptop in her arms. "Hey. How'd you sleep?" she asked politely. She set her things down on the table with a sigh and dropped into a chair. "Why did all that driving exhaust me? All I did was sit. I should feel rested today."

"It's the mental concentration. And we talked a lot about the two cases."

A faint scent of coconut drifted his way. A smell he always a.s.sociated with her presence. It was probably shampoo, but each time he smelled it, he wished he were on a tropical beach with a drink with a little umbrella. And not by himself.

"Say." Ava kept her gaze down as she rooted through her purse. "My wedding planner is my neighbor. You knew that, right?"

Zander's defenses instinctively rose. "I think you mentioned it. You pick a location and date yet?"

She frowned. "Not yet. It's complicated." She turned a speculative look on him. "But she's really great and I'm surprised she's single."

"Oh," Zander forced out, his back growing rigid. "I don't think-"

"Don't say no. You haven't even heard what I have to say."

"But-"

"The only 'but' would be if you're seeing someone. You're not, are you?" Her blue gaze cornered him.

"No, but-"

"I've thought a lot about her and you, and I can see the two of you hitting it off. She's attractive and outgoing and I like her."

Zander was silent. What's stopping me?

"Do you have a reason to say no?"

He took a deep breath. "You like her? You're not just saying that?"

"She's great. I get along better with men than women, but she's an exception. She's about to kick my a.s.s for not making decisions about my wedding and I like that about her."

He nodded. "She's not desperate or nuts, is she?"

"I don't see it. I think she's been single for about five years and if she's carrying baggage, I haven't heard about it. Her wedding planning business is very successful, but hectic at certain times of the year. She's the type who seems to thrive on that chaos and handles it efficiently."

The door opened again and an administrative a.s.sistant ushered in Sharon Weldon.

"We're not done here," Ava whispered. She stood and held out her hand to Sharon with a greeting and sincere words of condolence about her husband's death. Zander put Ava's suggestion out of his mind and mentally shifted gears back to the investigation.

Sharon Weldon could have been a blonde twin of the actress Melissa McCarthy, but she didn't project the mirth or smiles. Understandable. "I'm sorry for your loss," he said as he shook the woman's hand. She regarded him with unemotional eyes and thanked him. She looked drained as she took a seat.

"I appreciate you coming to the office and saving us a trip," Zander started.

"It was harder than I expected," Sharon answered. "I've been in the parking lot out front for the last fifteen minutes, trying to get up the nerve to come in. I think the guards at the security hut were about to come knock on my car window."

"Is this a bad time?" Ava asked kindly.

Sharon turned her empty gaze toward Ava. "This is as good a time as any. I don't expect there will be a good time within the next twelve months. But if there's a chance Vance was murdered, I want you guys on it immediately and this is the best way I can help. You'll understand if I'm a bit numb . . . it was bad enough that I believed he committed suicide. I never dreamed that someone killed him."

"We're still exploring the option," Zander said hastily. "We haven't made that determination."

"Was I wrong to a.s.sume he'd taken his own life?" she whispered, tearing up. "Am I a horrible person that I immediately believed he'd done the worst? What if he was murdered? What does he think of me now?" Her voice cracked and tears streamed. She sat motionless, holding Zander's gaze, silently begging him to make her feel better.

He couldn't speak.

She must feel like her husband has died twice.

Ava leaned forward, drawing Sharon's attention. "Vance knows your heart, Sharon. He would forgive you, but forgiveness isn't necessary. You were married for a decade and everyone has told me how happy the two of you were. If he was standing here today, would he be angry that you believed what you saw?"

Sharon silently shook her head, her gaze locked on Ava as if she held her lifeline.

"Of course not," Ava continued. "From what we've seen, all the evidence points at suicide. Even the medical examiner agreed. You weren't wrong to believe what you did! Vance loves you. He isn't disappointed in you." She paused. "I don't believe we can have negative emotions on the other side." She held Sharon's gaze.

"You don't?" Sharon whispered.

Zander internally cringed. He didn't get involved in conversations about the afterlife. It was touchy territory, along with politics and religion. If Ava was going to wade into a discussion about it, she was on her own.

"I don't," said Ava. "I've always felt it was a place of peace. There's no purpose for doubt or disappointment."

Holding his breath, Zander studied the woman across the table. She seemed to accept Ava's words and her tears had stopped.

"I dream about him. He's always smiling and telling me to not worry about him."

Ava nodded. "I'd focus on that. Let us investigate the details. Nothing changes, right?"

"No. He's still gone," Sharon whispered.

"Do you have someone to talk to?" Ava asked.

"The agency lined someone up for me."

Zander wondered if it was the same therapist Ava saw. If that therapist had been able to help Ava emotionally heal from her life-threatening injuries and Jayne's suicide attempt, she could help Sharon.

"I know Vance told you he'd tried suicide in the past," Ava said gently. "Were there other reasons you believed he took his own life?"

Sharon took a deep breath. "He'd struggled with depression for the last five years. He insisted we keep it quiet. He didn't want anyone at his job to know."

"So he was seeing a therapist?" Ava asked.

"No. His regular doctor prescribed something. At first Vance would be pleased with the results, but it seemed like after a few months the pills would stop working, so he'd go back and get his dose adjusted or try something else."

Ava nodded her head in understanding. "Some medications take consistent monitoring and adjusting."

If anyone had witnessed the ups and down of medications, Zander knew Ava had with her twin.

"Did he talk about hurting himself?" Zander asked.

Sharon shook her head emphatically. "Never."

"Did he discuss his domestic terrorism cases with you? Was he concerned about his safety?" Ava questioned.

"He's not supposed to talk much about his cases, but he did," Sharon said simply. "I guess he can't get into trouble for that now, so I don't see the point in protecting him, right?"

"It doesn't matter," said Zander. Could Sharon be in danger because of something Vance told her about a case?

He glanced at Ava, but she was focused on Sharon.

"If he was worried about his safety, he never told me," Sharon stated. "His latest case involved some of those sovereign citizens who live in Central Oregon. He didn't think they were dangerous. He thought they might do some stupid things, trying to protect their way of life, but he didn't believe this group would do more than their usual paper battle against the government. They just wanted to be left alone."

Zander knew the bare bones of the case. Vance had had a domestic terrorism watch list of Oregonians and part of his job had been to monitor their activity. Zander would need an update from Special Agent Kilpatrick to know if someone on the list could be a suspect.

"Did Vance know Denny Schefte? He's a detective with the Oregon State Police."

"He's the one that was murdered yesterday, right? The case you said had a mask?" Sharon asked. "I saw his picture on the local news, but his name and face weren't familiar to me. They didn't say anything on the news about a mask. I a.s.sume you're keeping that part quiet to eliminate the nutjobs that try to take the credit for the murder?"

"That's correct. We'll keep quiet about the same fact about Vance's death, too," said Ava. "Did you get a chance to see if there were any masks missing from Vance's collection?"

"I looked," Sharon said, shaking her head. "I can't tell you if anything is missing or not. I never paid much attention to his movie paraphernalia collection. You'd asked if he'd ever had a Pinhead mask, and I honestly don't know. There isn't one now, but he might have owned one."

Zander had already searched for cases Vance and Denny might both have worked on. He hadn't found any, but the men could have known each other outside of work. "Did Vance hunt or fish?"

"No. Outside of work he would play basketball at the gym with friends. He'd coach a few kids' club basketball teams each year. Those were his main interests."

Mason had told Zander that Denny was an outdoorsman and had no interest in sports.

"Did you know of any arguments he'd had? Any skirmishes with neighbors or even a stranger?" Zander asked. He was getting to the bottom of his list. After asking Sharon for possible connections between the men, he had to fish outside the pond and hope he'd catch a trout with a lucky question. Ava's shoulders slumped a tiny bit; she recognized his question as a Hail Mary pa.s.s.

"I've thought a lot about that," said Sharon slowly, shaking her head. "If something happened, he didn't tell me about it. Vance was one of the good guys. People liked him. It was his smile. He had a way of looking right at you and giving a smile that made you feel you were the most important person in the room at the moment. His personality was infectious. Everyone liked him."

It was similar to what Zander had heard from Vance's coworkers. No one liked to say bad things about the dead, but he had the impression that Vance had actually been the type of guy everyone had described.

"Bear with me a moment, Sharon," Ava started. "But I'd be remiss if I didn't bring this up."

Zander held his breath, thankful Ava had neatly taken over the next aspect of the interview. She'd developed an understanding with Sharon, and he hoped the woman wouldn't be offended by what she was about to ask.

"A lot of women love FBI agents and infectious personalities. It makes men prime targets for some females who are turned on by the badge," Ava said.

He watched Sharon closely. She'd started nodding as Ava spoke and knew exactly where the interview was going.

"You're asking if he had affairs."

"I'm asking if there could be any angry women. Women don't like to be shut down," Ava clarified.

Neatly done. Ava had placed all the focus on the women, not Vance, and implied that he'd refused any offers.

"You're right about women throwing themselves at agents. He called them badge bunnies. The agents I know often compared stories. I've heard of them being followed home from work and hit on by witnesses."

"That's true for both s.e.xes," Ava commented with a half smile.