"I love you. I'll be back," I said. I turned to Mary Beth and she was crying too, and still shaking. I went to her and held her and kissed her. "Hey," I said. "This is just cop stuff. This is what I do. I'm coming back to you. I love you."

Then I turned and walked out the door.

----------

Carlos Santos did business in a dingy warehouse near Burbank Airport. They made me strip to my underwear to make sure I had no weapons and wasn't wired, then they let me in.

"You've got some balls, I'll give you that," Carlos said. "Why are you here, cop?"

"Dawn,"...