A/N: Finally, the last chapter (and a short epilogue to follow). This is set in the gap between "Last Rites" and "Armed Response." My next fic will probably be in the "Major Crimes" category, but we'll see. This may not be what happens to Goldman on the show, but IMHO, it's fitting. Kind of gets away from the "ex" theme, but that's where it went. Happens sometimes. :) Please, please, R&R! (Oh, and thank you, John Donne! :-D)

Disclaimer: I do not own or operate "The Closer."


Chapter 9: The Bell has Tolled

"Andy, wake up. Andy. Andy, you need to wake up." Sharon's voice was soft, but urgent.

He rolled over. "What's going on? I just got to bed what, an hour ago?"

"Little longer than that. But this is important. Provenza's on the phone and you need to talk to him." She handed the cell phone to Andy.

He glared at her, but took the phone. "Yeah, Provenza, this had better be good."

"Well, it's not. Got a call from Fritz Howard. Willie Rae passed away."

Andy came awake. "The Chief's mom? Oh, my God! What happened?"

"They're not sure. Probably her heart. Chief went into the bedroom this morning to wake her up and she was gone."

"Oh, no. They'd been so worried about Clay, and now this. Oh, God." Andy was sitting on the side of the bed. Sharon was in the doorway, sadness written all over her face. She could be the one getting that phone call from her sister, she knew. Her heart broke for Brenda.

"Yeah," Provenza said. "So when you get up and get dressed, we need to go to the house, see if they need anything, or if there's something we can do."

"Sure. Yeah. No problem. See you there." Andy handed the phone to Sharon. "What a hell of a thing," he said.

"I know. It's awful. She's been through so much. Andy, I'm really afraid of what's going to happen to her! She's so close to her parents!"

He sighed. "Yeah. This is going to hit her really hard. She's gonna remember all the times she didn't spend with them, that she did spend working a murder. I know. I've been there."

Sharon shook her head. "Such a sad thing. So many arrangements to be made, to get the body back to Georgia, the funeral... It's overwhelming."

Andy nodded grimly as he found fresh clothes and dressed. No use in putting on a suit. He noticed Sharon was already dressed. "You going to work?"

"No. I'm coming with you. As strange as it sounds, I suppose I'm Brenda's closest female friend."

"I guess you are, come to think of it."


Fritz answered the door. He looked haggard. "Sharon, Andy. Thanks for coming."

"Sure. How's the Chief?" Andy asked.

Fritz shook his head. "Not even here, really. She's just sitting next to her dad, staring off into space. I think Clay's way more worried about her than upset about Willie Rae. Not that he's not upset, but he's really concerned about Brenda."

They walked inside and saw Provenza and Sanchez already there. They spoke and went to see Clay and Brenda. Sharon sat next to Brenda and took her hand.

"I cannot begin to tell you how sorry we are," she said softly.

Brenda looked at Sharon blankly. "Thank you," she answered mechanically.

"Clay, we're so sorry about this," Andy said to her dad.

He nodded. "Thank you, Andy. We appreciate it. Didn't expect this, for sure. I was the one who was supposed to die first! I guess life never turns out like you think it will, does it?"

"Not usually, no." Andy looked at Brenda, then back to Clay, who shrugged a shoulder.

"Brenda Leigh found Willie Rae. She just didn't wake up."

Andy could only imagine what that must have been like. He didn't want to. "When are you going back to Atlanta?"

"In two or three days. We both wanted an autopsy, just to see what happened. I think your man, what's his name? Morales? He's doing it. Brenda Leigh didn't want anyone else."

"I can understand that. Dr. Morales is a good guy," Andy replied. "Look. If there's anything Sharon or I can do. Anything. I don't know what it would be, but anything, you know, we're here for her."

"And we appreciate it so much. I know Brenda Leigh didn't have much of a social life. She never did. But the way you folks just rally around her – well, it means a lot to me. It meant a lot to Willie Rae, too."

David Gabriel came in about that time. He came to Brenda and knelt in front of her. "Chief, Commander Taylor sends his condolences and said he'll take care of anything that comes along. So don't worry about work. And Chief? My church –we're all praying for you."

Brenda nodded and managed a smile. "Thank you so much, David. That means a lot," she whispered.

"A whole lot, David," Clay intoned. "Can't get any better help than that."

David rose and looked at Andy, who just spread his hands, and nodded in the direction of the kitchen. The crew was convened in there, with Tao, who had arrived with two casseroles and a cake from his wife.

"So what do we do?" David asked.

"We get the Chief through this the best way we can, and we do our jobs," Provenza said. "She'll be in Atlanta for a while. She needs to come back to see we've held it together."

"Well obviously," Andy said. "Where's Pope, anyway?" he asked.

Provenza sneered. "His Holiness had a prior engagement," he said primly, "but plans to drop by for a visit later today."

"Just as well," Andy growled. "The way he hung the Chief out to dry over that priest case. Did you hear him? 'You don't need this complaint on your record, especially if you have to start circulating your resume.' What kind of crap was that?"

Provenza looked concerned. "When did he say that?"

"Before he left this morning. I was just coming around the corner and heard it. Didn't say anything, but what the hell?"

"Yeah. What's he trying to do, anyway?" Sanchez said.

Provenza heaved a huge sigh. "I think he's telling our Chief she has officially worn out her welcome in the LAPD. We'd better be ready for anything, people."

Tao nodded. "Pope's not going to have a renegade in the department, if he can help it. Her results don't count if he's not looking good."

David said, "Well, he is the chief. He has to keep his public persona in mind."

"Gabriel, don't defend that jackass," Provenza snapped. "He'd let you swing the in the wind too, and don't think he wouldn't, if he thought it would make him look better in front of the mayor. None of us is untouchable and that includes you, Saint David!" The older man turned and walked away, leaving Gabriel looking puzzled.

"What was all that about?"

"Everybody's upset. Provenza really liked Willie Rae," Tao said, trying to calm the waters.


The squad took turns staying with Brenda and her family until they went back to Atlanta. They made phone calls, handled those calling with condolences, went to the grocery store, took care of the cat – whatever needed doing.

Fritz and Clay had gone to the funeral home to make the local arrangements to have Willie Rae's body flown back to Atlanta. Andy was with Brenda. She was a little more connected, but was still distant. Andy knew she needed to grieve, but didn't know how to help her do it. So, he just ran errands and did what needed to be done.

He had taken out the garbage and loaded the dishwasher when Brenda called him into the den.

"Need something?" he asked.

"I can talk to you, can't I, Andy? Really talk?"

"Sure, Chief. Always. You know that." He sat next to her on the sofa.

"I-I know, Andy. Tell me again how long you've been sober?"

"Over 15 years."

"That's a long time."

"Grateful for every day of it."

"I'm sure. And you'll never tell anyone what we talked about?"

He shook his head. "Not unless you say I can. Take it to the grave."

"I thought so. You must have heard a lot of stories about how people should have done things and didn't, right?"

"Every single meeting. We've all got that in our lives."

"And how do you deal with it? What do you do?"

Andy thought about this. "You accept it for what it is. You make amends if you can. If that's not possible, you turn it over and forgive yourself. Otherwise you go nuts." He looked keenly at Brenda. "What happened that started you on this?"

Brenda's eyes were troubled. "Well, the night before Mama… Anyway she said she had something to tell me, but I thought I just had to get downtown to talk to that man! I was going to talk to her when I got home the next morning. Just as soon as I got home, we were going to talk, and now I can't! And I'll never know what she needed to tell me! And how many times did she need to tell me something, but there was always something more important I thought I had to do! Andy, I'm just a horrible person! Horrible! How do I forgive myself for this? How?" She collapsed into tears.

Andy understood the crashing remorse she felt. He'd been there. He put his arm around Brenda's shoulders and she turned to him and sobbed into his shirt.

"Cry it out, Brenda. I know you need to. You need to grieve," he said softly. Fritz had said that, after the initial shock of finding her mother, Brenda had been stony-faced. Andy knew she needed to cry. He grabbed a box of tissues from the side table and had them ready. He remembered when Brenda sat with him outside the hospital, holding him as he cried, wondering if Sharon would live through the night. He could do no less for her.

Clay and Fritz came in and saw Andy holding Brenda, who was still weeping, nearly hysterical.

Clay's brow wrinkled. "Finally broke, did she? Well, she needed to. Now I can do my own grieving," he said and went to the back bedroom and closed the door.

Andy looked up at Fritz. "She was just talking about missing her mom, and then…" his voice trailed off.

Fritz nodded. "I'm just glad you were here with her. I'd have hated for her to have been alone."

"Yeah, me too," Andy replied. "Brenda, come on. Calm down, now. Fritz is here. He wants to talk to you." Andy gently disengaged Brenda's death grip on his shirt and motioned to Fritz to come around to sit beside her.

"Thanks, Andy," he said.

"No problem, Fritz."

At home, Andy flung himself into the recliner. "Damn. What a hell of a day," he said.


Sharon came home from work and Andy filled her in. She sighed. "You said it was going to happen. They're leaving for Atlanta tomorrow?"

"Yeah. And God, I hope nothing breaks for the squad for at least a week."

"How long will she be gone?"

Andy shrugged. "Not sure yet. I guess it depends on how her dad is doing. That's going to be a hard homecoming."

"No doubt," Sharon agreed.

Andy stared into space. He was back a long way. "When Ma died, it was before the airlines were so hard-assed about bereavement flights and I got one for that night." His voice was so quiet, Sharon had to sit next to him to hear. "Eileen met me and we went to Ma's house. You know, it wasn't really real to me until I walked into that house and Ma wasn't there – and I knew she would never be there again. Hardest damn thing I've ever done. There was a cup on the side table by where she sat all the time, and it still had some tea in it. It was the last thing Ma ever did, was drink her afternoon cup of tea. I felt like somebody had hit me in the head with a baseball bat. I sat in Ma's place on that ugly sofa and cried like a little kid." Andy's brown eyes were dark with emotion, and moist with remembered tears. "And when Brenda goes into that house, where the last time she was there, Willie Rae was alive and happy and healthy, and she's going to see her mother's things, just there – like they're waiting for her to come back – it's gonna be hell. I feel for her, God is my witness, I do."

Sharon took Andy's hand. "That's something I've always loved about you, Andy. If someone is going through something you've been through, you just put yourself in their place and you truly feel their pain. Not just a cliché, but you do. It's part of what makes you such a good cop."

He turned to her. "How's it all gonna end, Sharon? We were talking about it. I don't think Pope is going to let Brenda stay. He's gonna insist she start looking elsewhere. I have a really bad feeling about this."

"All we can do is wait. Something is going to shake loose. I can feel it coming. And I'm this close to finding out who the department leak is. I can taste it."

"What are you thinking?"

She smiled at him. "When I have something more concrete, I'll tell you. Right now, I'm keeping my counsel on this. I've got some thinking to do."

"Fair enough," Andy answered. "I'll wait."

"Everyone should be back on regular shifts tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Sharon grimaced. "I had a talk with Pope this morning. He said once the squad is back that, if you catch a case and have anyone to question, I'm to lead the investigation."

Andy sat up. "You? What about Taylor?"

She smiled wryly. "Pope said he had some 'reservations' about Taylor's loyalty."

That got a big grin from Andy. "He should have some reservations about yours."

"I'm better at hiding it," Sharon replied. "But I really have had it with Will Pope. I know what the LAPD is facing, budget-wise, but he's allowed the position to go to his head, which is why he wasn't on the short list for chief to begin with. I'm sure the mayor was concerned that's what would happen."

"So why is he getting the job?"

Sharon shrugged. "You know Pope can be very charming and ingratiating when he deems it necessary."

"He's a backstabbing prick is what he is," Andy snorted. He had told Sharon about the conversation between Pope and Brenda.

"I couldn't agree more. But he's a backstabber with a title, so we have to step carefully."

Andy grinned. "Chief has a good saying for that. 'Give him enough rope and he'll hang himself.' I just want to be there when the trapdoor drops."

"Careful, Andy, or you'll be saying something you need to make amends for."

"Speaking of which, Julio told me I ought to try going to confession. Can you believe that?"

Sharon chuckled. "It couldn't hurt you, Andy."

"I had enough of that when I was a kid."

She leaned to kiss his forehead. "Confession is good for the soul. Haven't you heard?"

"So they say."


The next several days were quiet. Then, Julio's desk phone rang. "Detective Sanchez, Major Crimes," he answered. He spoke for several minutes, then thanked the caller and hung up. "May have something," he said.

"What's up?" Provenza asked.

"I'm not real sure. That was the Abbess at the Divine Cross Monastery. One of the sisters died, but she doesn't think it was from natural causes."

Andy snorted. "What makes her an expert? She a pathologist or something?"

"Well, she's been the Abbess for 30 years, and she's seen a few people pass away," Julio answered.

"So what makes her think it's not natural causes, Julio?" said Provenza.

"She said Sister Justine was only 55, never had any health problems and just collapsed out in the garden. Abbess Clare said it just didn't look right to her."

Tao asked, "Did they call 911?"

"Yeah, but she was gone by the time the EMTs got there, and the coroner said it looked like natural causes to him," Julio explained.

"But she's not buying it," Gabriel answered. "So what does she want?"

"Well, she's getting the diocese to pay for an autopsy, so I guess we'll see what that turns up, first."

"Does Morales have the body yet?" Tao said.

"Abbess Clare said she would let us know when he does."

Provenza heaved a huge sigh. "Call your wife, Flynn. I cannot believe we're having to deal with the Archdiocese again! Not now. Not right after that priest got killed."

"Me either, but what can you do?" Andy said as he picked up his phone. "Hey. Yeah, we've got a possible murdered nun on our hands. Abbess said she doesn't believe the woman died of natural causes."

Sharon's sigh was audible. "Oh, great. Just great. But I'm going to hold off on notifying Pope until we see what Dr. Morales has to say. I'm not going to stir this up unless there's actually something worth stirring."

"Yeah, no doubt. I'll let you know when Morales gets the body."

"Do that, please."

Sharon hung up her phone, took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "Why do I even come to work some days?" she muttered.

"O.K., Doc. What's the word?" Andy asked the pathologist.

"Well, apparently, the Abbess was telling the truth. Sister Justine did not have any major health problems. That's not unusual for nuns, though. They do generally live healthy lives."

"So what's your ruling, doctor?" Sharon said.

Morales shrugged. "I can't make one yet. I'll have to get a preliminary tox screen back, which will take a day or two. As of this moment, I cannot say definitively it was a homicide, but I can't say it wasn't, either. I'm not sure how she died. One of those cases that frustrates my kind."

"So what should we tell Chief Pope?" Sharon asked.

The doctor grimaced. "That it's undetermined, and I'll know more in a couple of days."

"Thank you, doctor." Sharon and Andy left the morgue and pulled off their gowns. "Now what?" Sharon said.

"We wait. Julio is talking to the Abbess upstairs, so let's find out what the old lady has to say."

"Watch that 'old lady' crap," Sharon said. "One of these days, you'll be married to one."

"Yeah, but you'll still be hot," he replied with a leer.

"Abbess Clare, I'm Captain Sharon Raydor. I'm sure you've gone over this territory with Detective Sanchez, but please tell me why you feel Sister Justine did not die of natural causes."

The woman looked shrewdly at Sharon. "What does your doctor say?"

"He hasn't said anything, yet. But I am very interested in your thoughts on this."

"We have papal enclosure. That means we stay in our monastery. We are mostly self-sufficient. We do have a handyman who comes in to make repairs we cannot make. We don't see a lot of people we don't know."

"Forgive me, Abbess Clare, but wouldn't that mean a smaller likelihood of one of your sisters being murdered?" Sharon said.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" The nun pushed up the sleeves of her brown habit. "But our enclosure also means we know our sisters very well. We know when something is going on – and when it's not. There's something else you need to know about Sister. She was one of our extern sisters – ones who do our errands outside the monastery. She bought the groceries, drove sisters to the doctor and so forth. She also was our contact for our apostolate. We make Rosary chaplets, lacework and other handcrafts to sell to help support ourselves. She managed our small booth in the crafts mall two days a week. So, she was out and about more than the other sisters."

"Do you think she might have run into someone who wanted to harm her?"

The woman shrugged. "Usually, the habit lets people know we're not a threat to them, but you never know. Not in this day and age."

Dr. Morales walked into the electronics room. "Buzz, is Captain Raydor wearing an earpiece?"

"Yes."

"Can you ask her to meet me outside the interview room? I may have found something."

"Surely." He turned on the microphone and made the request.

Sharon's eyes widened and she nodded. "Mother Abbess, if you'll please excuse me, I'll be right back." She went outside and met Morales. "What did you find?"

"I knew something wasn't quite right, so I went back and looked again at the stomach contents. Whether by accident or on purpose, Sister Justine was poisoned."

"Poisoned? How?"

"Mushrooms. I'd guess someone maybe picked an amanita mushroom by mistake, cooked it for lunch and Sister Justine was unlucky enough to be the one who got the most. Ask the Abbess if any of the other sisters have had upset stomachs."

"All right. Thank you, doctor." She went back into the room. "Abbess Clare, have any of your sisters reported having upset stomachs today? Or recently?"

The Abbess pondered the question. "Not today, but now that I think of it, it seems like Sister Justine has had an upset stomach well, rather often, just in the past few months."

"Someone was poisoning that woman," Andy said, in the electronics room. "But why?"

Buzz shrugged. "I guess even nuns can make enemies," he said.

In the interview room, Sharon had come to the same conclusion. "Who does your cooking, Mother Abbess?"

"Well, the sisters often take turns." Comprehension dawned. "One of my nuns? Merciful Lord," she said, crossing herself.

"Of course, we can't say for certain that's what is going on, but our pathologist told me just now he strongly feels that Sister Justine died from eating a poisonous mushroom."

Abbess Clare's face drained of all color. "Are you quite certain?"

Sharon nodded. "Unfortunately, Dr. Morales was very definite. Did a name come to mind?"

The Abbess pressed her lips together, then said, "I'm afraid so. But before we go any further, I must call the Archbishop and tell him about this."

Provenza shook his head as he looked over at Andy. "A poisoning nun. What's next?"

"We probably don't want to know," Andy replied and Provenza nodded.

"Detective Sanchez will show you where you can make a call in private. Chief Johnson's office, Detective?"

"Yes, ma'am," he answered. "Please follow me, Mother Abbess." He held the door open for her and for Sharon, who nodded at him and went to the electronics room.

"What a mess," were her first words.

"It's murder," Andy replied.

"No kidding. I'll have to call Chief Pope. I don't think there's any doubt now that we're dealing with a murder. I doubt Sister Justine just picked up that mushroom out of the ground and ate it."

"Accidental?" Tao said.

"Possibly, but her reaction was a little strong for it to be accidental. She has a suspect in mind," Sharon answered. She went back into the murder room, to Andy's desk, took a deep breath and called Pope. "Chief Pope? Captain Raydor. We may have a murder. It's a nun from the Divine Cross Monastery. The Abbess has spoken with us and is calling the Archbishop now. I'm almost certain it was one of the other sisters."

She could hear Pope sigh. "Damn. Well, all right, Captain. Let's do our best to work with the Archdiocese on this, shall we?"

"Of course, Chief Pope," Sharon replied icily and hung up. "I am not Brenda Leigh Johnson," she said to the phone. "I think we can handle this one."

Julio and Abbess Clare came out of Brenda's office.

"Captain Raydor, the Archbishop has asked me to conduct an inquiry in my house, with his assistance and see if I can find out anything. If I do, I will certainly notify you immediately."

That wasn't what Sharon wanted to hear, but she knew they would have to do it this way to satisfy Pope. "All right, Abbess Clare. That's fine. I'll give you my card. Please, please call me if you find out anything, or if any of your sisters suddenly becomes ill."

The Abbess took Sharon's card, then paused. "Any of my other sisters?"

"Well, if it is one of your nuns, the woman could be mentally unbalanced and might attempt to harm someone else." Perhaps more of Brenda had rubbed off on Sharon than she thought.

This had clearly not occurred to the Abbess. "I will be extremely vigilant, Captain. Thank you."

"Thank you for coming to speak with us, Abbess Clare. We do appreciate it. Detective Sanchez will escort you downstairs."

When the woman left the murder room, Sharon turned to the crew assembled. "Well, here we are. I know we all want to get this over with. Lieutenant Tao, can you possibly find a list of sisters at the monastery, and see if you can get enough information for background checks? Detective Gabriel, please look at the monastery's last annual financial report. A call to the secretary of the Archdiocese should get that for you. Lieutenants Flynn and Provenza, why don't you hit that crafts mall the Abbess spoke of and see if you can find out anything from any of the vendors there? Maybe they know something the Abbess wasn't willing to tell us. We can do all this, except for the financial report, without involving the Archdiocese, or, hopefully, stepping on any toes."

When the crew reassembled some while later, they looked glum. "Any luck?" Sharon asked.

"Well, Captain, I did get a list of the sisters from the monastery's website, but none of them have criminal records," Tao said.

"Nothing in the financial reports that looks suspicious, either," Gabriel answered.

Sharon looked to Andy and Provenza. "Anything?"

"Well, there was this one vendor…" Andy began.

"That was nothing, Flynn! She was nuts anyway," Provenza snapped.

Andy glared at his partner. "Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning, old man? Just because she was crazy doesn't mean she's stupid."

Sharon took a deep breath. No wonder Brenda had a Merlot habit. "All right, Lieutenant Flynn. What did the vendor say?"

"She said she'd seen Sister Justine mostly, but once in a while, there would be a younger nun there, with Sister Justine, who acted a little weird."

Provenza sneered, "How would that nut know weird? She's weird!"

"Hey, get off my case! You've been jumping on my ass all day! Give it a rest, willya?" Andy shot back.

"Gentlemen, please! Lieutenant Flynn, who was this woman?"

"Worked at the booth next to the monastery's."

"And how, exactly, did she say the other nun acted?" Sharon asked, her tone measured, but her frustration was obvious.

Andy sighed. "Well, she said the other nun acted like she didn't really want to be there. But not just as in not being where she was. She said she thought the woman didn't want to be a nun."

"They can quit, can't they?" Gabriel said.

"Yeah, until they make their final professions," Sanchez answered. "Wonder how many sisters haven't taken their final vows, yet?"

"That's an excellent question for the Abbess, when she comes back," Sharon said. "Malcontents are always suspects." She looked at the clock. "All right. We all know how overtime is frowned upon, so let's shut down for the evening and see what happens tomorrow."

The murder room emptied out among murmurs of discontent, but Andy sat at his desk and waited for Sharon to collect her things. "Hey Captain," he said when she came out of Brenda's office.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" she answered with a grin.

"Let's go get some dinner. I could eat a horse.

"Sounds like a fine idea." She looked into Andy's face. "What is it?" He was leering at her wickedly.

"Dunno. Maybe I just like seeing you ordering Provenza around. Makes me think about things."

"You have a mind in the gutter, Lieutenant," Sharon said primly.

"And you know that's right where you want it to be, Captain," he replied, then pinched her bottom.

She squealed. "Andy! Stop that!"

He shook his head and grinned widely at her. "Then stop yelling like a teenager when I do it."

"Honestly, how has Brenda put up with you characters every day for seven years? Two days is enough to drive me to drink."

Andy slipped his arm around her shoulders. "We grow on you."


Tao was already in the murder room and working feverishly on his computer when Sharon entered the office the next morning.

"Good morning, Lieutenant. You look like you're on to something."

Tao looked up over his reading glasses. "Good morning, Captain. I may be. I just did basic background checks on the sisters at Divine Cross yesterday, but this morning, I decided to go more in-depth."

"And?"

"Well, turns out, Sister Paula Brightwell attended UCLA. It's become much more common even for cloistered monasteries to ask their aspirants – those who want to become nuns – to get a college degree. They feel it helps a woman decide whether she really wants to enter religious life."

"What about Sister Paula?" Sharon knew sometimes you had to cut Tao off in mid-explanation, or you'd be there all day.

"Oh, sure. Anyway, Sister Paula majored in botany at UCLA. Which means she of all the sisters, would be well versed in identifying deadly mushrooms."

"Is that so? Thank you, Lieutenant Tao. That could be very valuable information. Have we heard from Abbess Clare or the Archdiocese yet?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. We're still waiting."

Sharon nodded. "I am beginning to understand your Chief's impatience to close a case when you know the solution could be so near. At any rate, I suppose we wait until the Archdiocese gives Abbess Clare instructions. But I'm betting Sister Paula was in the kitchen the day Sister Justine died."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Tao answered.

Andy appeared in the murder room, and handed a large cup to Sharon. "Venti skinny caramel macchiato. And for you, Mike, tall Verona, extra shot. Happy caffeine!" he said, raising his own cup and taking a drink.

"Thank you, Andy," Sharon said. "Lieutenant Tao may have a lead on a suspect. He can share it with you while I go take care of some of this coffee."

"Sure."

Sharon went into Brenda's office and watched Andy and Mike as they went over what Tao had found. About that time, a knock sounded on the opposite door and she said, "Come in."

Pope walked inside. "Good morning, Captain. What do we know about this poisoning? Tell me it was accidental. Please."

"We can't make that determination yet, Chief Pope. We're still waiting on Abbess Clare and the Archdiocese. In the meantime, the squad has been doing as much as they can with information that doesn't require church involvement. We've had some interesting information about one of the sisters, and as soon as Lieutenant Provenza comes in, I'm sending Lieutenant Tao and Lieutenant Flynn out with a photo of the sister in question to see if they can make an ID."

Even though Raydor's tone was as cool and precise as always, Pope would swear he could see dislike glinting in her green eyes. "All right, Captain. Keep me informed. And as soon as you hear from the Abbess and/or the Archdiocese, please inform the D.A.'s office."

"Certainly, Chief."

Again, Will Pope could not shake the feeling that Sharon Raydor did not like him. Great. Just what he needed – another ranking officer who had an ax to grind. He left the office.

Sharon stared coldly after him. Andy was right, and had been all along. Sometimes he made snap judgments about people, but in this case, his assessment of Pope was on the money. She turned to see a wedding photo of Brenda and her parents on the side table. She shook her head. "Brenda," she said softly, "I don't know how you're going to get over this one. I just don't know." The phone rang and Sharon answered it. It was Sergeant Campbell in her department. She hung up the phone and looked into the murder room. Well, she had confirmation on the leak. Perhaps it would be some small comfort to Brenda that her favorite detective hadn't betrayed her intentionally because, even though she acted as if she no longer liked him, she did. At least this made sense, whereas Gabriel leaking information merely for his principles hadn't on some level, no matter how Sharon had tried to make the pieces fit. But that was a project to tackle when they had this murder wrapped up.

Andy looked into the office. "Sharon? The Archdiocese just called. Abbess Clare is coming downtown and guess who she's bringing with her?"

"Sister Paula?"

"Bingo," he said. "They'll be here before noon."

"Thanks, Andy. Let me know, please."

"Sure thing," he answered and winked at her.

Once again, Sanchez was sitting in on the interview with Sharon. He seemed to connect with the Abbess, and Sharon could use every advantage, not being the skilled interrogator that Brenda was.

"Thank you so much for coming back in, Abbess Clare," Sharon said. "I believe Sister Paula can shed some light on Sister Justine's death, correct?"

"Yes Captain," the Abbess answered.

Sharon turned to the other nun. "Sister Paula, our background checks show you have a degree in botany."

The woman nodded.

"Very good. And you were working in the kitchen the day Sister Justine died?"

Another nod.

"All right then. So why did you kill her?" No use pussyfooting around. Sharon went straight for the throat.

"I – well, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to make her sick!" Sister Paula exclaimed.

"Why would you want to make her sick?"

"So I could be the extern sister. I was tired of staying in the monastery all day, all the time!"

Sharon narrowed her eyes at the girl, looking so demure in brown habit and white veil. "You're not fully professed. Why not ask to be released from your vows if you found monastery life too confining?"

"I still wanted to be a nun, just not enclosed all the time."

"So why not seek another, more active Order? She could have done that, Abbess Clare, correct?"

The older woman nodded. "Yes. Without giving any notice, even. We have provisions for this. And I would have even written a recommendation to the Order of the sister's choice."

"But that does bring up an interesting point. Did you or your staff feel there might be a problem with Sister Paula?"

"That's why we renew vows on a year-by-year basis. We hope that, by the time a nun reaches her Final Profession, we have determined her suitability for an enclosed monastic life. Any of us will tell you straight out that it's not a life for everyone. Some women are not suited for it, and there's no disgrace in finding out your vocation lies elsewhere. We thought Sister Paula might not be completely right for the enclosed life, but we were willing to give her another year. We didn't foresee this," the Abbess answered, her face stricken.

Sharon pitied the woman, but looked at the sister. "I'm sure you didn't. Something else comes to mind though, Sister Paula. You have a degree in botany. Our pathologist tells me that even a small amount of the amanita mushroom can cause death and surely, you knew that. If you just wanted Sister Justine to get sick, why not choose something less deadly?"

"It did the job, didn't it?" Her voice and face had changed. Suddenly, Sister Paula had the same crafty, cunning look about her that so many suspects had that Sharon had seen in the interview rooms.

She heard the Abbess' soft gasp and saw her cross herself, but said, "Indeed it did. And it was supposed to do just that, wasn't it? You committed murder for a position in a monastery where you weren't happy. Look where it got you." She turned to Julio. "Detective Sanchez, please take Ms. Brightwell down to Booking. Make sure you get her habit to return to Abbess Clare. It's the property of the monastery, I believe. Abbess Clare, I am very sorry about this. I'll have Lieutenant Flynn escort you to your car."

"May I have a moment with Sister – with Paula?" she said.

"Of course," Sharon answered. She and Julio left the room. "What a sorry state of affairs."

Julio shook his head. "Being a religious is kind of like being a cop. It's for life and you never know what it's like until you get into it."

Sharon smiled at Sanchez. "Detective, you've got a good head on your shoulders."


At home, Andy said, "You did good work in there, Sharon."

"Thank you. But this one was not that complicated, really. Once the pieces started falling into place, it was obvious." She sighed.

"What's eating you?"

"I really can't talk about it yet. But eventually, we'll all find out."

"The leak? It's Gabriel. Who else?"

"I can't tell you. I just can't. Not right now. But trust me when I say it's not what you think."

"O.K. babe. I won't push." Andy held Sharon close and laid his cheek against her hair, inhaling her fragrance.


Weeks later, Sharon was still finding her feet as the head of Major Crimes, and learning to work with Andy on a daily basis. Her IA crew hadn't been nearly as volatile as this crowd. No wonder Brenda had been in a constant state of agitation. It took all of Sharon's naturally even temper to stay cool when Andy and Provenza started going at it. She wanted to put both of them in the corner.

The news this morning was disturbing, though, and Sharon swept into the murder room to see her squad, ostensibly hard at work. Her voice was sharp, icy. "Good morning." She went to Andy. "Let me see your hands, Lieutenant."

"What the… What's the matter with you, Captain?" he said.

"Your hands, Lieutenant. Now," she snapped.

Andy held out his hands and turned them for Sharon to see. They looked like they always did. There were no marks.

"Thank you. Now you, Detective Sanchez." Puzzled, he did as she asked. Nothing.

"Lieutenant Tao, if you please?" Tao showed her his hands.

"And it's probably a waste of time, but Lieutenant Provenza?"

Provenza turned his hands for her inspection and said, "All due respect, Captain, but what the hell is going on?"

Sharon exhaled in frustration. "Peter Goldman is in the hospital. Someone beat the hell out of him last night."

The chorus of cheers from the squad was expected, but Sharon had no patience for it. "And I know you all went out last night. I didn't see Lieutenant Flynn after he arrived at home, so I needed to check on it."

"What makes you think it was one of us?" Provenza said.

"Motive, obviously – not that I blame any one of you. I'd like to get my hands around his short little neck and wring it, myself. But Goldman said he knew his attacker and was sure it was one of the officers in Major Crimes. But he didn't get a good look. He just recognized the voice. No weapons were used, so I was looking for scraped and bruised knuckles. Even gloves would have left marks on your hands, as hard as he was hit," she explained.

"Could have been Gabriel. He'd be my first pick," Andy put in.

"Goldman doesn't think so," Sharon answered.

"Have you spoken with him, Captain?" Tao asked.

"No. I doubt I could control myself in front of him. Even though he's in a boatload of trouble, himself. Anne, you know, David's ex, has him up on blackmail charges, and others may be pending from the LAPD."

"Sounds to me like the little prick made the wrong big prick mad and got his ass kicked for his troubles, and this is his last opportunity to take a swipe at Major Crimes, so he throws it on us," Andy said.

"A reasonable assumption, Lieutenant, but I had to investigate. I've investigated."

The day proceeded as normal, but before he left for the evening, Mike Tao peeked into Sharon's office. "Captain, just FYI. If you want to kick someone's ass, if you do it right, you won't have marks on your hands." He gave her his inscrutable half-smile. "Good night."

"Good night, Lieutenant," Sharon said and shook her head. She knew Tao had taken martial arts training at some point and would know how to do it, even if she never would have thought it of him. She also knew the truth about Goldman would never come out, but she half suspected her squad had gone looking for him the night before and when they located him, he found out the true meaning of the expression "the blue wall." What was that old Bible verse – "sow the wind and reap the whirlwind"? Call it fate, karma or whatever, but it sounded to Sharon as if Peter Goldman finally got what was coming to him. Que sera sera. Sharon picked up her purse, turned the lights out and left her office.