Sheltering Dunes by Radclyffe

walked into her office, a small cubicle with big windows tucked into the back of the main room. She had a half hour or so before roll call to review the reports from the night shift. While not quite the off-season, the early fall was less busy in town than the summer. The stack of reports was half the size it would have been during the height of the tourist season. All the same, there’d been plenty of activity—several traffic accidents, a handful of brawls, a lost child thankfully recovered within a few minutes, and the random domestic disturbance. She didn’t see anything from Allie, and she hadn’t expected to. She’d given Allie an order to call her if she suspected any kind of trouble, and Allie wouldn’t disobey. If anything had happened in the unofficial surveillance Allie had been running on the girl with the questionable identity, Allie would’ve called her.
    Someone tapped on her open office door and she glanced up. She expected to see Gladys, the dispatcher who seconded as a secretary, civilian liaison, and just about anything else they needed in the department by way of support staff. Allie Tremont, in uniform, waited in the doorway instead.
    “Come on in,” Reese said.
    “Morning, Sheriff.” Allie carried a chipped white porcelain mug with steam rising from the top. She had circles under her normally vibrant deep brown eyes. This morning, their luster was dulled with fatigue.
    “Long night?” Reese asked.
    “No, not really.” Allie dosed her coffee liberally with Splenda and tossed the paper pack into the trash. “I got in about one or so, but I couldn’t sleep. Ash is out of town—” She colored. “Sorry. Not relevant.”
    “That’s okay. I don’t sleep very well when Tory’s away either.”
    Allie’s eyes widened. “Uh yeah.”
    Reese guessed Allie’s surprise was because she didn’t usually talk about anything personal while on the job, especially not with younger officers who were barely more than rookies. Then again, Allie wasn’t a rookie any longer. Allie had taken a bullet just a few weeks before and had handled it like a veteran. She’d trust Allie at her back any day.
    “I guess you get used to it,” Allie finally said. “Coming home to an empty place, I mean.”
    “I don’t know,” Reese said. “I haven’t.”
    Allie shot her a look of appreciation. “I don’t think I will either. And she travels a lot.”
    Reese nodded and sipped her coffee. “I take it nothing turned up last night on your surveillance.”
    Bri Parker appeared in the doorway. “What surveillance?”
    “What is this, a party?” Reese asked. “Why are you both early?”
    “No reason.” Bri looked sharp and alert, her khaki uniform pressed within an inch of its life, razor-sharp creases in her pants and shirtsleeves. Her boots were black mirrors. Her thick black hair was trimmed just at her collar in the back and shorter along the sides. Even though Bri was in her early twenties, Reese thought she might’ve grown another inch or so in the last year. She had to be close to six feet now and starting to fill out a little bit. She’d always been lanky, but now she was beginning to muscle up.
    “Sorry,” Bri said, shooting Allie a penetrating look. “I thought I heard something about surveillance.”
    “It’s nothing,” Allie said.
    Bri’s brows drew down and she glanced from Reese to Allie. Her jaw tightened. “Okay.” She spun on her heel and disappeared into the squad room.
    Allie sighed. “Any reason I can’t brief her?”
    “None that I can see.” Reese smiled. “In fact, I’d recommend it. Catch me up later if anything turns up on the girl.”
    “Yes ma’am.” Allie jogged between the desks and plunked her butt down on Bri’s desk. “Do you always have to be such a horse’s ass?”
    Bri shuffled papers on her desk, not looking up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “You damn well do. You’re upset because you think something happened that you