SS:TIE 014

Sally sighs deeply and gazes at Tracy. “I’m not stupid,” she says finally.

They’re at the table, although they aren’t eating. Tracy has some yogurt that she hasn’t touched. It’s late.

“You think I did something as dumb as having an affair with a student because of her body?” Tracy asks mildly.

Sally rolls her eyes. “I know this isn’t working.”

Tracy’s face locks in a picture of neutrality. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. Do you think I’d make a good lawyer?” Seconds pass. “What?” Sally demands, seeing her wife’s face.

“I’m sorry, I thought you were about to ask for a divorce. Jesus fucking Christ.” Tracy pushes her yogurt away and wipes her face.

“What? No. I thought you were gonna leave me if I didn’t change jobs.” Sally snorts. “I’m not in charge anymore. I have time to think about this shit. What do you think?”

“I think you’ll be just as busy and miserable, but nobody’ll be shooting at you,” Tracy says, her relief obvious. “Which would work for me. My only problem would be you going back to school.”

“We could manage.”

“I don’t mean money. I mean you running off with some other professor.”

Sally laughs. “You’re the only professor for me. Would you help me study?”

Tracy puts her glasses back on, grinning. “Next, you’ll say something about office hours.”

“Not necessarily. Wanna fool around?”

Sally’s phone rings before Tracy can answer.

“Seriously?” Tracy says as she picks it up.

“Babe, I haven’t quit yet. It’s me,” Sally says, taking the call.

“I have something,” Shelby reports. “I got my subpoena on phone records for Chica Flores. I mapped her movements for the past four months.”

“She’s going to be the most careful one of all.”

“Oh, yeah. Her phone never went near a crime scene. But it did visit an address on someone we haven’t spoken to yet. A Lora Morgan.”

“Is she on paper?”

“No convictions, but she’s been a person of interest in some hacking cases, and she’s named in at least two big crypto rug pull lawsuits. She’s on the outside. But how much do you want to bet we’ll find a connection between her and Glynda Darcy? A crew like this can’t do anything on its own. Looks like Lora’s a shut-in. We can crack her. If she even winked at these women in connection to the east side, she’s an accessory, let alone anything we might be able to tie to last night. She’s looking at real time.”

Shelby’s not wrong. Sally grimaces. “Why are you telling me? Captain Powers is in charge.”

“I don’t need her permission to sweat a witness. You in?”

“Tonight?”

“You said it yourself. They already had a **** on them. That was before they shot a cop. If they aren’t out of the country soon, they will be.”

Sally nods. “OK. You’re on.”

SS: TIE

Rey leans against the counter in the kitchen, enjoying the frigid air from the AC. Her latex gloves do little to protect her from the icy beer bottle. She takes a sip, listening to the muffled whine of a garage door.

Another door opens. Keys clatter into a bowl, and something hits the floor, maybe a bag. Footsteps head down the hall, and Captain Meredith Powers appears in the doorway. She freezes at the sight of Rey.

To her credit, she plays it cool.

“I know who you are,” Powers says.

“And I know you’re in charge of catching me. Aren’t you gonna ask about your wife?” Rey takes a long drink.

“Something tells me I don’t have to.”

Rey snorts and puts the beer down, and she reaches for her pocket. Meri’s hand snaps to the gun at her hip.

“Don’t do it,” Rey warns, taking out a folded piece of paper. “This is all you need to find the guys sitting on about a quarter of Adella Salazar’s product. You have warrants. They’re lying low, but if you can pick them up, this whole Adella Salazar situation can look different. Huge collars. It’s a career-maker.”

“My career’s going OK.”

“What about your marriage, though?”

Meri is almost shaking with fury. “Where is she?”

Rey puts the paper on the counter. “Do your job, and she can be back here.”

“That’s it? That’s the offer? I got a better one.” Meri crosses the kitchen and draws her gun, pressing the muzzle against Rey’s forehead.

Rey snatches the gun away and bashes Meri fiercely in the face with it, smashing her nose. Meri falls back with a grunt. Rey considers the pistol for a moment, then tosses it aside and catches Meri as she charges in. Rey hits her in the stomach, then in the face. She plants her foot on Meri’s chest and sends her stumbling out of the kitchen. Meri topples over the sofa and crashes through the glass coffee table.

Groaning, she rolls over and wipes blood from her face to find Rey, Lili, and Elsa standing over her.

“Are we done negotiating?” Rey asks.

Meri can only gasp and wheeze.

Lili looks annoyed. “You couldn’t have found a white cop? Now we look racist.”

“I’m not worried about that,” Rey says, her gaze fixed on Meri.

“Well, maybe you should.”

“She’ll have to explain these injuries,” Elsa says.

Rey bends and hauls Meri to her feet. She drags her to the basement door and kicks it open, then flings Meri down the stairs.

Elsa winces at the impacts. “You could’ve been nicer.”

“I told her not to pull that gun. She’ll be fine,” Rey says, walking away.

This will buy them room to breathe. Having the cops chasing Irina Orlova’s men is the perfect distraction, and it will make all facets of their work easier. Pulling something like this with a police captain is crossing a line, but it doesn’t matter if Rey and her girls are out of the country by the time reality catches up. The only way to get out is to keep the gas pedal down, and the last people she'd ever take it easy on would be cops.

SS: TIE

Moths flutter around the porch light in the muggy air. There is no breeze and the night is heavy.

“Come back with a warrant,” Lora Morgan says immediately. She moves to close the door of her tidy little house.

Sally sticks her foot in the jam. “Ma’am, we’re not trying to search your home. We don’t need a warrant to talk to you. We can talk here, or we can do it at the station.”

Lora isn’t impressed. “Are you arresting me?”

“We just want to talk.”

“Move your foot.” Lora pulls the door back threateningly.

Sally reluctantly pulls back. She’s about to say that she hopes Lora isn’t threatening a police officer, but the door slams in her face.

It’s frustrating when they actually know their rights. She exchanges a look with Shelby, then glances at her watch and turns away. But Shelby’s not moving.

“What is it?” Sally asks.

“Hear that?”

“What?”

“Sounds of distress inside. Like she fell and she needs help getting up,” Shelby says. “She could be hurt. You saw the scars. I’m sure she has accidents all the time. It’s only right to worry about her.”

Sally grimaces. That’s not how she likes to work, but it’s probably a slam dunk. Lora was shocked at their arrival, and though she handled it well, she was clearly afraid. There’s probably something in this house that Lora does not want the police to have.

Breach the door and find some leverage over Lora?

Or come back with a warrant?