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Etch checked his gun One round still cha in her hospital bed, heartsteadily The more he had tried to love her, help her, see her mother’s qualities in her, thehe’d had with Ana, shortly before her one, feeling a bit uneasy And irritated

Ana enty-six, just out of college after the Air Force, her first month into the SAPD police acade There was no doubt she orthy of her acy There was also little doubt that Ana DeLeon wouldn’t be spending her entire career on patrol

It rankled Etch every time so since Ana was a little girl was less A job for the un Stand, down the street from Lucia’s Etch wondered if Ana had picked the spot as soe Etch hadn’t been there in almost three years After Frankie’s death, his old routines with Lucia had slowly unraveled Everything seeht of thehis coffee, as if with the seventy-five cents, she was proving her adulthood, her independence Etch never paid for anything at the Pig Stand anyway, but he let her put down the er than Lucia had been when Etch started patrolling with her Ana had the sae She had the sah that look that had been draining from Lucia’s eyes over the last few years

"I’m worried about my mother," Ana said

Etch counted to ten before answering, trying to keep his anger inside

"Maybe you should go see her," he suggested "How long has it been?"

In truth, he knew exactly how long Six and a half ht when Ana had poured all her mother’s liquor into the river behind her house

Ana set her coffee cup on the counter "She doesn’t want to see me"

"You sure? Or do you not want to see her?"

"She’s destroying herself She won’t talk to htworeat reputation in the departodda her She’s drinking herself to death"

Mike Fluetting a little too close to the conversation Etch stared at him until the nervous bastard’s freckled red face disappeared back into the kitchen

Ana sat forward, took Etch’s hands, which made him uncoot to talk to her Please Find out what’s wrong"

"She’s a police officer She has a lot of stress You should understand--"

"This isn’t stress So specific For the lastI don’t knowcouple of years, it’s been getting worse She needs therapy, or--"

"Therapy?" Etch pulled his hands away "You think she’s crazy?"

"No I don’t mean that But there has to be some reason--"

"I’ll talk to her," Etch proo see her yourself"

Ana noddedher than he did of talking to Lucia about her drinking

"Thanks for the coffee," he said

He left her at the Pig Stand counter, cradling her cup and staring out the , looking sothe day Ana would wear an SAPD uniforht He hoped Ana made some plainclothes division in record time He did not want to see her in the saotten every break Lucia never had Lucia had sacrificed soArguello

Not only that--she was proud of it She was happy She balanced a faot that chance

He raised his nine, took careful aiht be justice, and justice was different than the law Nobody understood that better than a cop

Don’t, Lucia said Walk away, Etch

He shot his last round into the freezer door, opening a hole in the olive green metal at the level of a human forehead

"LIEUTENANT?"

Etch spun, his gun still raised

Kelsey stood ten feet away, staring down the barrel of the nine He raised his hands slowly

Etch lowered the gun

His face burned He felt like a da startled like that

"Sorry," he mumbled

Kelsey put his hands down He pointed with his chin toward the target refrigerator "Fuckingmachine I should shoot"

"Yeah," Etch said "It’s therapeutic"

He was grateful to Kelsey, trying to defuse the situation, but he started to realize horong it was for Kelsey to be here

Kelsey’s eyes were bloodshot He hadn’t changed clothes since last night, which meant he’d never been to sleep And he had never come to see Etch at hoent cases

Kelsey picked up a clip froers "You didn’t answer the front door so I, uh, pokedout, sir?"

"Travel," Etch said "Life on the road"