Quincy gave the combo. Kincaid turned the dial. The door opened and they both eyed the contents.

“I count three handguns,” Kincaid said with a trace of triumph, while Quincy said:

“It’s not there.”

“But look-”

“All backups. That’s a twenty-two, a nine-millimeter, and my old service revolver. I don’t see her Glock.”

“Would she have left it anyplace else?”

“No. The rule is when at home, the gun is locked in the safe. We wanted to make sure we were in the habit. You know.” For the first time, Quincy’s voice cracked. He caught it, soldiered on. “For when we adopted our child.”

“You’re adopting a child?” Kincaid sounded honestly flabbergasted.

“Were. Past tense. It fell through.”

“Why?”

“The DUI. That event, coupled with a few things from Rainie’s past, made her look emotionally unstable.”

“No shit,” Kincaid murmured.

“The system isn’t meant to be easy.”

“But you thought you were adopting? Right up into September?”

“For a while, Sergeant, we had a picture of the child.”

“Damn,” Kincaid said. He looked back at the safe, mental wheels obviously churning: Burnt-out investigator, overwhelmed by failed marriage, failed adoption, takes her own life. In policing, once again, you had to play the odds.

“Well,” Kincaid said philosophically, “morning’s here, conditions are improving. I think the thing to do now is get some dogs in the woods. Do you have any family?”

“My daughter’s coming.”

“Good, good. That’s probably best.”

“Don’t give up on her,” Quincy said tightly. “My wife is a former member of law enforcement. She deserves better than to become just one more neglected case piled on the desk of an overworked Major Crimes sergeant-”

“Whoa-”

“I have resources, too, Sergeant. Hasn’t that occurred to you yet? Say the word, I can call in old favors. There are people in this town who know and love Rainie. They believe in her. They’ll plow through those woods, they’ll slog through the mud and the rain-”

“Hey, I’m not giving up on this case!”

“You’re already jumping to conclusions!”

“As an objective outsider-”

“You didn’t know my wife!”

“Exactly!”

Kincaid was breathing hard. Quincy, too. For a long time, the men stared at each other, each one waiting for the other to back down.

Then Quincy’s phone rang.

He glanced at the screen and immediately held up a silencing hand.

“Is it-?”

“Shhh. It’s Rainie.”