Chapter 17 #2
Victoria took the envelope, her fingers suddenly cold. She recognized Isabel’s handwriting instantly—the slanted script across the top that read Captain Victoria Langley.
Her throat tightened. “Did she say anything?”
Matthews shook her head. “Just that it was effective immediately.”
Victoria nodded once, her voice quiet but even. “Thank you, Officer.”
When Matthews walked away, Victoria stood alone in the hall, the envelope heavy in her hand. For a long time, she didn’t open it. She just stared at it, feeling the hollow ache spread slowly through her chest.
Then, with a soft sigh, she tucked it under her arm and walked toward her office. Her footsteps echoed down the hall, sharp and steady, like a woman who still had everything under control.
But the truth was, she felt anything but.
By the time Victoria left the precinct, the city had gone quiet. The night breeze off the harbor was cool against her face, carrying the scent of salt, rain, and something faintly floral from the gardens near the pier.
She didn’t think about where she was going. Her hands just steered the car through familiar streets until the soft, purple glow of Lavender’s sign came into view.
The café’s windows were dark except for the faint golden light inside.
Through the glass, Victoria could see Lavender Larwood stacking chairs and wiping down tables, her gray-streaked hair falling loose around her shoulders.
The place looked exactly the same as always—plants spilling from macramé hangers, a record playing low somewhere in the back, the smell of coffee lingering in the air.
Victoria pushed on the door, but it didn’t budge. Locked.
Before she could turn away, Lavender looked up, spotted her, and smiled—soft and knowing. She crossed to the door, keys jingling as she unlocked it.
“Well, if it isn’t Captain Langley,” Lavender said, leaning casually against the doorframe. “You realize it’s almost midnight, right? Even the caffeine addicts went home an hour ago.”
Victoria’s mouth tugged faintly. “I know. I just…didn’t feel like going home yet.”
Lav’s smile softened. “Then it’s a good thing I’ve got wine on the boat. Come on, Tori. You look like you need it.”
Victoria hesitated only a second before nodding. “Yeah. I do.”
They walked side by side down the dock, the boards creaking beneath their steps, the reflections of the harbor lights dancing on the water.
Lav’s houseboat was just as cozy as Victoria remembered—painted pale blue, strings of warm fairy lights looping the deck, wind chimes whispering in the breeze. One of her cats appeared and purred round Victoria’s legs.
“Hey, buddy,” Victoria murmured, crouching to scratch behind his ears. He sniffed her hand once before wandering off to his favorite cushion by the window.
Inside, the boat smelled faintly of sage and red wine. The mismatched furniture and soft blankets were as comforting as ever. Lav poured two glasses and handed one to Victoria before settling into the couch across from her.
“To finding Chloe Harper safe and sound,” she said, raising her glass.
Victoria clinked lightly, a hollow smile tugging at her mouth. “To Chloe.”
They drank in companionable silence for a while. The sound of the waves lapping against the hull filled the spaces between them.
Finally, Lav set her glass down, studying her friend. “So,” she said softly. “You finally got the win you’ve been chasing for weeks. You should be floating, Tori. Instead, you look as if someone kicked your dog.”
Victoria gave a quiet, humorless laugh. “You always were blunt.”
“You always needed someone to be,” Lav replied easily, tucking her legs under herself. “So, I’ll skip the small talk. How’s Detective Torres?”
Victoria froze mid-sip, her throat tightening.
Lav’s voice gentled. “She quit, didn’t she?”
Victoria exhaled through her nose. “You really do know everything.”
“Please,” Lav said with a grin. “Half this town’s emotional breakdowns start or end at my bar. Yours are the easiest to spot.”
Victoria huffed a laugh despite herself, shaking her head. “Yeah. She quit.”
Lav didn’t press, just waited.
“She’s…she was good,” Victoria admitted quietly. “Smart. Brave. The kind of cop you want beside you when things go bad. But I crossed a line, Lav. I let it get personal.”
“And?”
“And I ended it. Told her it couldn’t continue. She turned in her badge.”
Lav nodded slowly, the humor fading from her expression. “And how’s that working out for you, Tori?”
Victoria’s laugh came out low and bitter. “About as well as you’d expect.”
Lav leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “You’ve been coming here for what—fifteen years now? I’ve seen you through more crises than I can count. You always get through them the same way—bury it, move on, pretend it doesn’t hurt. But this one’s different, isn’t it?”
Victoria’s jaw flexed. “She made me feel—” She stopped herself, shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s done.”
Lav’s eyes softened. “You’re scared. That’s what this is.”
“Of what?”
“Of feeling something real again,” Lav said simply. “You’ve built this fortress around yourself for so long, you don’t remember what it’s like to stand outside of it. But that woman—Torres—she knocked a hole right through the wall, didn’t she?”
Victoria’s silence was answer enough.
Lav reached over, resting a warm hand over hers. “You don’t want to go back to being that lonely woman who only comes here to drink coffee and talk about work, Tori. You want to be alive again. Don’t waste the chance.”
Victoria stared at their joined hands, her chest tight. “You make it sound so simple.”
“It’s never simple,” Lav said, smiling softly. “It’s just worth it.”
Victoria swallowed hard, the decision forming before she even realized she’d made it. She stood, finishing her wine in one long swallow. “Thanks, Lav.”
“For what?”
“For telling me what I already knew.”
Lav grinned. “Go get her, Tori.”
Victoria nodded once, the corner of her mouth lifting. “Yeah. I think I will.”
As she stepped out onto the deck, the night air hit her face—cool, clean, full of possibility. The harbor shimmered under the moonlight as she walked back toward her car, her pulse steady and sure for the first time in days.
Whatever waited for her next, she wasn’t running from it anymore.