Chapter 44:

Sharon took out four pictures from a folder and placed them in a row, in front of Lionel. "Do you recognize any of these men?" she asked calmly.

Lionel glanced at the pictures and nodded. "Yeah, they were all Charlie's hits."

"Tell us about the hits."

"This dude…" he pointed at the anonymous, first victim, "Charlie killed him because he was getting jobs that Charlie wanted. That's when he told me to come and work for the cartel too."

"After he killed… what was his name?"

"Yeah. Alberto Diaz, but everyone called him Beto."

Sharon glanced at the camera to signal her squad to check the name, and then looked back at Lionel.

"This one," he pointed at Adama's picture, and Sharon's heart skipped a beat. "He was the witness to Beto's murder. Charlie and Andres Alves worked on this together, to get me out of jail."

"Why Alves?"

"Richard trusted him more than he trusted Charlie. I guess he just liked him better, or whatever."

"What do you know about the murder?"

"It was on the street, one shot to the heart. I was in jail, so I only know what they told me. Alves," he pointed at the third victim's picture, "I don't know who told Charlie to kill him, but he was definitely following orders," Lionel nodded.

"How can you be so sure?" Sharon frowned.

"The bosses are crazy. If you do something inside the cartel without their permission, you're dead."

Sharon raised her eyebrows and sighed. "Why did Charlie leave the murder weapon next to Alves' body?"

"He took Andres' gun and left his own there, to make you people believe it was Andres who shot all those people," he looked down at the last picture, the one of John Martin. "I already told you about this guy. I don't know why Richard wanted him dead."

Sharon was sure that Richard didn't want John Martin dead. It just didn't make any sense, since an hour before the murder he told him about her affair with Flynn and wanted him to act on that information. Moreover, Richard invited Sharon and Flynn to that coffee shop, so he thought it would be Flynn with her when he sent the Hernandez brothers.

Lionel took Sharon's silence as doubt, and resumed talking. "Richard showed Charlie the guy he wanted him to hit, but it was dark, so…"

"So?"

"So… we followed you when you left work."

Sharon looked at him, frozen, and felt the gaze of everyone in the room on her. "Uh… you followed me? Why?"

"You were meeting with the guy, right?" he pointed at Martin's picture again, "that's what Richard told Charlie."

"R… right," she muttered and scratched her head uncomfortably. "Um… what was Richard's part in the cartel?"

Lionel shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "I can't… they'll kill me."

"No, they won't, Lionel," Sharon said gently, trying to earn his trust. "The FBI can put you on the witness protection program." He looked at her with fear in his eyes. "I promise you. Everyone here wants to see the cartel finished. You'll be much appreciated for your help."

"Okay, okay. Charlie told me that Richard… he was in charge of human trafficking."

Sharon froze again. She stopped breathing for a moment as the words 'human trafficking' echoed in her head.

Hobbs looked at her with concern after a few moments of silence, in which everyone waited for Sharon to speak. "Captain Raydor?" she asked hesitantly.

"Excuse me," Sharon half-whispered and got up quickly. She opened the door and exited the room, finally taking a deep breath. The door closed behind her just when someone appeared from behind the corner and she turned her head to see Flynn leaning against the wall, looking at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently.

Sharon shook her head. "How could he do something like that? He was a father." She wanted to walk over to Flynn and bury her head against his chest, but instead she only looked at him with longing in her eyes.

"Sharon, I wish…"

"No, don't," she turned her back to him and walked away, leaving him there to watch her disappear behind a door that led to another hallway.