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“So me acting all healthy and shit, got you thinking you should do the same?”

“What can I say? You motivated me,” he replied, feeling proud of himself.

I chuckled and sat at my desk. Within a few minutes, I heard, “Where’s that husband of mine and his good-for-nothing sidekick?” I’d know that voice anywhere.

“Jesus, Lorraine…keep it down,” Sean barked with little force behind it.

Lorraine Lopez was a boisterous, fiery Latina, and I’d always wondered who actually ran their household. She was Sean’s height, with deep, flaming-red hair that usually looked like it needed a root touch-up. She wore bright colors and never showed an ounce of timidity.

I stood from my chair, my smile greeting her, and was happy to see her effervescent charm part the waters of our precinct. As she approached us, a couple of other detectives shouted her name. She acknowledged their greetings with a wave, stopped at my desk first, threw an arm around my neck, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Her other hand held a cardboard tray with two enormous Styrofoam cups, each with a lid and a straw.

“How’s my husband’s tall, strapping, handsome compañero?” she said, resting her hand on my chest. It always tickled me that she slipped Spanish into her greeting whenever she saw me.

“Muy bueno,” I replied, placing a hand over hers.

“Excelente!” she exclaimed, stepping back and turning to Sean. “Here you go, baby. The other one is for Jonesy.” She turned back to me. “I hope you don’t mind a blueberry-banana with protein powder, guapo, but I wasn’t sure what you liked. And this one here was no help at all when I asked him.” Sean frowned but kept his mouth shut.

“It’s perfect, Lorraine,” I replied. “Gracias.” She smiled and gave me a wink.

Sean handed me my smoothie as the two of them chatted. After a few minutes, he leaned in to kiss her goodbye on the lips, her hands bracing his face as she returned it. It gave my chest a hollow feeling to see how easily a kiss could happen in front of others. Someday was all I could tell myself.

Lorraine waved at the other detectives before she left. “You’d better keep her,” I told my partner before taking a sip of my smoothie.

“You can count on it,” he replied.

My phone buzzed and vibrated on my desk. I set my smoothie down and saw it was Craig. “Hey there, I didn’t expect a call this early in the day.”

“I just got back to my hotel room, and when I walked in, it was as if a hurricane had gone through it,” he replied with a sigh.

“What?” I said loud enough for Sean to look up.

“Yeah…seems someone did a little digging and tossed my room. I’m not sure what they’d find, though. My duffel is all messed up inside. Maybe it was just to scare me off? I don’t know.”

“Do you have your gun with you?”

“I do. It’s still in the safe here in the room, along with my laptop. It was the first thing I checked. As a precaution, I also looked around for any listening devices. I couldn’t find anything.”

“I think it would be best if you kept your gun on you. Especially since they know why you’re there, looking around,” I insisted.

“I could report the break-in, but nothing was taken, and I’m sure it was one of those goons.”

“When are you heading back?” I asked.

“Tomorrow morning. I don’t want to deal with driving back today. But I picked up a little something from one of the rooms. I decided to bring it back with me and not hand it over to Chet. We should test it for trace evidence.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“I didn’t get anywhere with the concierge earlier today, and the woman at the desk told me I should hear from a Mr. Sheffield, who manages the concierge staff. I haven’t heard, and I’m not sure if I will. I also spoke with a housekeeper on the floor where the missing contestants had been staying. She said she noticed a maintenance man carrying a large pile of laundry that day. He apparently dropped it down the floor’s laundry chute. Seems suspicious to me.”

“You have been busy,” I replied, surprised at what he’d accomplished. “I’ll let Sean and the captain know what you uncovered.”

He hesitated before saying, “I know I said it before, but I wish you were here. I love you.”

“Me too, Howler…me too.”

“I’ll let you know when I leave tomorrow.”

“Okay. Have a good night.”