Victoria sighed wearily. "It would figure today would be the day half the town has the flu. Ive been going nonstop since you left. I did get together a list for you though. A damn strange one."

Reese sat up a little straighter, her eyes flashing. "How so?"

"We are missing needles, but not syringes. Some surgical instruments, but not scalpels. Boxes of gauze and alcohol, and of all things - a portable sterilizer."

"No drugs?"

"The narcotics are all accounted for. I cant be sure, because I dont inventory pharmaceutical samples, but I think there is an assortment of antibiotics missing."

"Thats it?"

"As near as I can tell. If I find anything else, Ill let you know."

Reese nodded. "Mean anything to you?"

"Not a thing. Addicts would want the syringes. I guess the sterilizer would make sense if someone wanted to reuse the needles, but what good are they without the syringes?"

"I dont know," Reese mused. "How late are you open?"

"Until six, except Wednesdays, when I see patients until ten oclock."

"Is there someone here with you the whole time?"

"Well, Randy, the receptionist, leaves when the clinic closes, and my nurse, Sally, stays until we clean up. I usually stay an hour or so later to finish the paper work."

"Dont," Reese stated flatly, "at least not for the next few days. Leave when Sally does, and make sure youre both in your cars with the engines running before either of you drives away."

Victoria looked at her in amazement, her shoulders stiffening. "Is that really necessary? Ive got work that needs to be done - and Im sure this was just some kids"

" Im not sure of that," Reese rejoined firmly. "Youre fairly isolated here. There might be something else they wanted and couldnt find this morning. I dont want you here alone if they decide to come back."

Victoria heard the unmistakable tone of command in her voice, a tone that came easily and suggested that she was used to being obeyed. What she was saying made sense, but Tory resented being told how to conduct her business.

"Is there any room for negotiation here, Sheriff Conlon?"

Again that hint of a smile. "None, Doctor."

Victoria tapped her pen on the desk, trying to decide if she felt so resistant because the request was unreasonable or because she resented the authority behind the demand. Whatever the reason, this woman had an amazing effect on her. She was so certain, so sure, it made Tory want to argue with her, even when she knew what she said made sense. Reese waited.

"All right," Victoria conceded reluctantly. "I can manage that for a few days."

"A week."

Victorias eyes flashed fire as she prepared to protest.

"Please," Reese added.

It was Victorias turn to laugh, despite her annoyance. "You are very hard to resist Sheriff," she stated, then immediately regretted her words. Not only did it sound flirtatious, she realized with chagrin that it was true. The sheriff's combination of pristine control and subtle humor was powerfully appealing.

Reese responded dispassionately. "I understand that its difficult, Dr. King, and I appreciate your cooperation." She stood and tapped a finger to the brim of her hat. "Thanks for making time in your busy day. Ill let you know when I have a lead on this."

"Thank you!" Victoria called as Reese left. She sat for a moment trying to gather her thoughts. Again she had the disconcerting sense of being slightly off balance, when she was so used to having everything in her life firmly in hand. Exasperated with herself, she pushed the memory of that fleeting smile and rich laughter from her mind. There was plenty of work still to do, and she could count on that to put the new Sheriff out of her mind.

**********

At the end of her shift Reese sat in her Bronco in front of the station house fiddling with her keys. She had been avoiding this moment ever since she arrived in Provincetown, and she knew she couldnt delay any longer. The place was just too small. Already most of the storeowners knew her name. She pushed the car into gear and headed for the east end of the three-mile long street that ran the length of town along the harbors edge. She pulled to the curb in front of one of the myriad galleries tucked into every available niche. After a minute of hesitation, she headed resolutely to the tiny adjoining cottage. She rang the bell, her pulse racing.

A fiftyish woman in baggy jeans and a tattered sweatshirt opened the door, looking questioningly at the tall officer on her steps.

"Yes?" she queried. Then her eyes widened as she focused on the steel blue eyes and chiseled features. The resemblance was unmistakable. "Oh my God," she gasped. "Reese?"

"Hello Jean," Reese said softly.

"Kate!" the woman squeaked. Then finding her voice she called loudly, "Honey, youd better come here!"

"What is it?" called the tall woman who entered from the rear of the house. She halted behind her lover, at a loss for words.

"Hello mother," Reese said quietly. She looked at her mother, at the sun burnished skin, the blond hair laced with grey now, and the blue eyes so like her own. Despite her anxiety, she felt strangely peaceful. "I thought it was time I visited."

"Id giving up hoping you ever would," her mother murmured in a choked voice.

"Im sorry - I -" Reese faltered, not knowing how to explain the years between them.

"Dont be sorry. Just come in and tell me - well, tell me whatever you want." Kate touched her daughters cheek gently as she spoke, then reached for her hand to pull her inside. She led Reese through the few rooms to a small kitchen that looked out on the bay.

"Sit," Kate said, pointing to the table in front of the windows. "Theres tea?"

"Yes, thanks," Reese said, laying her hat on the table.

"How long have you been here?" her mother asked, unable to take her eyes off the strikingly handsome woman at her table. If she hadn't been practically cloistered preparing for an upcoming show, she would have known. A newcomer always attracted attention.

"Just eight weeks," Reese said, gesturing to her uniform. "Im the Deputy Sheriff."

"Just cant give up a uniform, huh?"

Reese laughed and the tension in the room dissipated. "I never thought of it that way, but I think youre right."

"And you live here now," her mother stated in wonder.

Reese nodded, uncharacteristically uncertain. "Is that all right?"

Tears shimmered in her mothers eyes and a small sob escaped her lips. Jean, her mother's partner, placed her hand protectively on her shoulder, knowing how often she had dreamed of this moment.

"All right is an understatement, Reese," her mother said at last. "I thought when I met Jean all my dreams had come true. I never even dared hope for this."

Reese looked away as the pain of old memories washed through her.

"If it could have been different Reese, if there was something I could have done" Her mother stopped, knowing there were no words to explain the past. Or to undo it.

Reese met her mothers gaze evenly, her voice steady. "I didnt come here for an explanation."

Kate twisted the gold band on her ring finger, the one that matched Jeans, and said sadly, "I tried to tell myself that you would be well cared for, and loved"

"And I was," Reese said. "But it was time for me to see you - long past time."

Kate searched her daughters face in alarm. "Are you all right, are you sick, or--?"

"No, Im fine," Reese smiled, taking her mothers hand.

"So youre here to stay?"

"Yes," Reese said, feeling the rightness of her words. "I am."

Jean set a large tureen of chowder in the center of the table, saying firmly, "I have a feeling its going to be a long night."

And they began to talk.


Chapter Three

It was close to midnight when Reese left them. It had taken that long to sketch in the outline of the last twenty years of her life. They hadnt touched on deeply personal things; neither of them had been ready for that. But it was a beginning, and it felt right. She was too excited to sleep, so she decided to drive.

She turned off Commercial Street, following the meandering turn of narrow streets to the clinic. It wasnt exactly on her way home, but nothing in the two by three-mile town was out of the way. She frowned when she saw the Jeep Cherokee still parked in the lot. The clinic was dark. Reese left her truck on the shoulder of the highway and circled through the scrub and sand to the rear of the clinic. When she gently tried the handle, the rear door swung open. Gun in hand, she made her way slowly down the hall, carefully opening each door she passed.

Rounding a corner into the shadowy reception area, she sensed movement to her right. Swinging her outstretched arms in that direction, gun double-fisted, she shouted, "Police!"

Her movement deflected the already descending blow, but pain seared along her forearm where she was struck. She propelled herself forward, catching her forehead against the edge of a metal file cabinet as she dove. She came up into a crouch, poised to fire on the shape backlit in the moonlight when a voice called out, "Sheriff, no! Its Tory King!"

The lights came on and Reese found herself face-to-face with the doctor, whose cane was still raised for a second sweeping strike.

"Stand down, Doctor," Reese muttered, wiping her face with one hand. Her hand came away bloody, and she swayed, suddenly dizzy.

"Sit down, Sheriff," Tory commanded, moving forward quickly. She grasped Reese around the waist, directing her into a chair. "Youre injured."

"I need to secure this place," Reese protested, shaking her head, trying to clear her vision. "The back door was unlocked."