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his bloody pants, searching his mind, trying to remember more. Nothing came to him except a headache and he eventually gave up, disheartened yet excited he was another step closer.
    “I’ll get you,” he said to the quiet house. “I’ll find you, you son of a bitch.”
    He made his way to the garage and shoved the clothes into the trash bag, then went in search of Tess’s cookies. She usually left a few for him on a plate and he grabbed one and bit into it. He would never admit this out loud, but he’d craved Tess’s desserts since he moved out, going so far as to eat lunch at the diners who carried her desserts just to get a piece of one of her pies or cakes.
    He was licking his fingers when his phone chirped. For a moment he didn’t recognize the sound, he’d been so long without it. Fishing it out of his pocket, he looked at the display and frowned. Scott Greeley, his attorney.
    “Juran.”
    “Alex! Man, I’ve been going crazy trying to get a hold of you. Heard about the shooting but couldn’t get in touch.”
    When Tess served him with divorce papers, Alex had ignored them until the guys at work told him he was being an idiot, that he needed an attorney whether he wanted the divorce or not. Scott Greeley had represented some of his fellow officers in other divorce cases, so Alex had called him.
    “How you doing, buddy?”
    He hadn’t liked the guy on sight, although that probably had more to do with the divorce and less to do with Scott himself. But still, he didn’t consider Greeley his buddy.
    “Doin’ okay, Scott. What can I do for you?”
    “Wanted to run a few dates by you.”
    “Dates for what?”
    “The divorce hearing.”
    “The divorce happened weeks ago.”
    “Tess didn’t tell you? She canceled the court date. ”
    “Canceled?” Alex looked out over the backyard. Othello sniffed around the floor, licking up crumbs. The ticking of the clock on the wall seemed louder than normal. His mind ran in a hundred different directions.
    “Yeah. Said she didn’t want to go through with it while you were laid up in the hospital.”
    “Let me get this straight, Scott. You’re saying I’m still married? To Tess?”
    “Well, yeah, but not for long. How’s the end of January sound? Say the twenty-ninth?”
    Alex’s world had shattered six months ago and now it suddenly seemed brighter. For the first time in a long time, everything felt right. “No, Scott, I don’t think so.”
    “Shit, Alex, we can’t do it any sooner than that. That’s the first date I could get.”
    “You know what, Scott? I don’t need your services anymore.”
    “Are you crazy? She’ll take you for everything you’ve got. You need representation, Alex.”
    “Thanks for all you’ve done. Oh, and send your bill to my old address. I’m back with Tess.”
    He closed his phone, dug into his pocket, pulled out his wedding ring and slipped it on his finger. The sun glinted off the gold and the weight of it felt right.

Chapter Nine
    Ignoring the sweat gathering between his shoulder blades and rolling down his back from the simple act of hobbling down the steps, Alex surveyed the basement. His weights were where he’d left them six months ago. He’d been so convinced he’d return to live here again, he hadn’t bothered taking them. Maybe he could make use of this confinement, work out some, in addition to the exercises the physical therapist recommended. If he did all that, maybe he could return to work sooner than planned.
    But first things first.
    Twenty minutes later, out of breath, his knee aching, Alex lowered the box of ornaments to the living room floor. He wiped the sweat from his brow and opened the flaps. Memories hit him like a baseball bat to the stomach.
    A grizzly bear pulling a Christmas tree reminded him of their trip to the Smoky Mountains. They’d hiked during the day and made love in the tall four-poster bed at night.
    The tinkling of a red bell shaped like an apple brought images of New York