Camille considered the suggestion.
She was tired.
She hadn't eaten properly.
And she wanted nothing more than to go home.
But the department's command transition had been arranged around the effective time of her appointment.
Several supervisors were scheduled to attend.
Personnel assignments needed confirmation.
And she wanted the shift leaders to hear her expectations directly.
"No," she answered.
Rowan hesitated.
"Camille, nobody would blame you."
She smiled sadly.
"That's not why I'm coming."
He waited.
She continued.
"I want the department to know that tomorrow is a new day. We don't postpone that because somebody made a terrible decision today."
Rowan nodded.
Then remembered something.
"Sergeant Voss is scheduled for the midnight transition briefing."
Camille went quiet.
For several seconds, she stared at the floor.
Then she said calmly.
"Good."
Rowan frowned slightly.
"Good?"
She took a slow breath.
"I want him to hear the same expectations as everybody else."
The captain considered that.
Then agreed.
But after ending the call, he looked toward Voss's personnel file.
And he couldn't shake the feeling that the midnight meeting would be far more consequential than anyone in the department expected.
The remaining hours before midnight passed slowly.
Camille returned to her parents' house after the Bentley was transported to a secure facility. Her father was waiting on the front porch, still wearing the work clothes he'd used while repairing a neighbor's truck.
Samuel Hayes was sixty-nine now.
His hair had turned almost completely gray, and the strength in his hands came with the stiffness of decades spent working around heavy machinery.
When Camille stepped out of the car Evelyn had arranged for her, Samuel noticed her expression before she spoke.
He stood.
"Baby, what happened?"
Camille tried to smile.
"Long day, Dad."
Then he saw the faint mark near her shoulder.
His expression changed.
"Who hurt you?"
For a moment, Camille felt like a child again.
She could remember falling from her bicycle when she was eight and running toward him with scraped knees.
He'd always knelt beside her, examined the injury, and told her the truth about what needed to happen next.
Now she was thirty-seven.
An experienced investigator.
Hours away from becoming sheriff.
And she still wanted her father to tell her everything would be all right.
She stepped forward.
Samuel embraced her.
The moment his arms closed around her, Camille began crying.
She'd held her emotions in check through the confrontation, the statements, the medical assessment, and the insurance arrangements.
But she couldn't hold them any longer.
Her father didn't ask questions immediately.
He simply held her.
When her breathing slowed, he guided her inside.
Denise Hayes was in the kitchen preparing dinner.
She looked up as Camille entered.
Then saw her daughter's face.
For a moment, her own expression filled with alarm.
"What happened?"