Chapter Twenty-Nine

"My God, if this isn't peak lameness, then I don't know what is."

Leah chuckled as she shoved a handful of chips into her mouth. She didn't know why Aisha was complaining. This whole post-work, get-together at her place was her idea. "This isn't lame," she argued. "This is called relaxing, which I don't know about you, but I need this."

"We all need this," Bella mumbled from the other side of the couch.

"I know that," Aisha said. "But shouldn't we be out somewhere, having the time of our lives? That's what people our age should do, right? It's Friday night, and we're on a couch, inhaling fat, sugar, carbs, and wine, watching goddamn-Titanic."

Leah and Bella shared a look and shrugged. "I'm good," Leah admitted, reaching out for her glass of wolf-bane-free red wine. "Anyway, I'm too old for all of that staying out at night unless it's pack related."

"You and me, both," Bella said with a nod. "And Aisha, don't disparage Titanic. I, for one, find the movie entertaining," and then, "You could've said no when I suggested the movie."

Leah gave Aisha a pointed look. "True."

Aisha snorted and reached for her second cupcake for the night. "I never said I didn't like the movie. I just don't understand the hoopla around it."

Leah nodded. That was fair, she supposed. "The last half is the best part," she said. "Which, according to my memory, shouldn't be too long from now." She glanced at the television in front of her, and added, "And the wine's pretty decent."

"Thank you," Bella said, beaming. She had picked out the wine.

"Like you can get buzzed from that," Aisha scoffed. "It's basically juice to you."

"Don't hate," Leah taunted with a smirk, and then laughed when Aisha gave her the finger.

"I'm not going to lie, your near-immunity to alcohol is pretty cool," Bella said, eyes glued to the television. "Traditional, canines and alcohol don't mix at all, but evidently, that doesn't apply to you. Wonder why that it?"

"No clue," Leah said. The movie was approaching the infamous "paint me like one of your French girls" moment. "But wolfbane ain't cheap."

"It's not supposed to be used for consumption," Aisha reminded Leah.

"Neither is alcohol."

Aisha and Bella shared a look and shrugged—so, Leah might have had a point.

"No, this is nice," Bella said, returning to Aisha's earlier point. "It may not be exciting, but don't you think we've already had enough of that? This, right here, is simple. No drama. No dead bodies. No bureaucratic bullshit. No men. Just a group of friends watching a movie over wine and candy. When was the last time we were able to do this?"

"It's been a while," Aisha admitted quietly and then with a smirk, "Pay attention, girls, that part is coming up."

"I have to admit," Bella said as all three women watched Rose disrobe. "I may not be— but damn, her breasts are a-mazing."

Aisha laughed whole-heartedly.

"She does have a nice body," Leah admitted, nodding. "Still does—on another note, wouldn't it be nice to be able to free-hand draw like that? I mean, that's talent that I definitely don't have."

"Neither do I," Bella mumbled.

"There was one time in my past life when I considered going to art school," Aisha mused.

"What stopped you?"

"Life," Aisha told Leah.

"So, you can do that?" Bella asked, pointing at Jack's finished drawing.

"What? The original sext?" Aisha laughed. "Not like him. No. I preferred ceramics."

"The original sext," Leah chuckled. "I like that."

"I don't think I can do that," Bella said after a moment of a few minutes of comfortable silence. "I think I'll get too cold."

"I can't stand still for shit," Aisha remarked.

"Neither can I," Leah said. "And honestly, I have no desire to have a nude portrait. I know what I look like. Don't need an artistic depiction hanging on my wall."

"But it would be fun, wouldn't it?" Aisha wondered, wiggling her eyebrows. "Just think of the thrill."

"I have enough thrill in my life, thank you," Leah said.

"So true," Bella agreed with a nod, then, "But maybe it was a hot place. I don't like the cold."

Aisha raised an eyebrow. "But you live in Chicago?"

"I was born and raised in Arizona," Bella pointed out. "Hell will literally have to freeze over before that place gets Chicago-cold."

"Yeah, I'd be concerned," Leah remarked. She grabbed another handful of chips, but instead of gulping the entire thing, she ate her snack, one chip at a time. She sneered at the scene depicting on the screen. "Why would anything thing it's a good idea to run through a damn boiler room?"

"They're young and in love," Bella replied, grinning. She was one of those hopeless romantics. "Good for her, that's probably the most liberating thing she's ever done in her stuffy love—and look! Now, they're playing with an old-fashioned car."

Aisha and Leah shared a look, amused at Bella's excitement.

"Wait, aren't they're going to hook up in there?"

"Yes, they are," Bella said, clapping.

Leah snorted.

"I honestly don't see the appeal," Aisha said, wrinkling her nose "It's way too cramped up in there. Easy way to pull something."

"I pulled my back during a trip to the High Mile Club." Leah remarked, snorting at the memory. She had been young, and far more adventurous— Feeling her friends' surprised eyes on her, she blinked a couple of a times, and, "What? It sounded like a good idea at the time."

Bella's grin morphed into a smirk.

Aisha leaned in. "Was it worth it?"

Leah sighed dejectedly, "No," then quickly added, "Not from the lack of effort, though. It was a red-eye flight. Everyone was sleeping. The flight attendants really weren't paying attention—sucked the thrill out of it."

"I can understand pulling a leg muscle, but how did you pull your back?"

"You honestly want the details?"

Aisha put up both hands and shook her head. "Nope."

"Isn't this so romantic?" Bella mused, pushing up her cheeks up with her hands. Her eyes— it was honestly the closest thing to heart-eyes Leah had ever seen. "They're in love."

Leah didn't want to burst Bella's bubble, but, "She only knew the guy for what, two days?"

Aisha poured herself another glass of wine. "I think it's approaching three…"

Bella blinked. "So?"

"What they're having is called a hook-up," Leah remarked.

"She's supposed to be in love with the guy, Leah."

"Not in love enough to share that door!" Aisha added.

Bella and Leah groaned.

Not this again.

"Bella, you're a scientist. Can you please explain to Aisha about the practicality of having two people flowing on a damn door?"

"I specialize in human anatomy and forensics, not physics," Bella pointed out. "But yes, it wouldn't have worked."

"How would you know?" Aisha asked. "Were you there? She said she'd never let him go, but obviously, that was a lie!"

"The man was already dead, Aisha," Leah said, throwing up her hands. "Literally frozen solid."

"I still maintain that she messed up," Aisha replied with her head held up high. "And now, his body's on the bottom of the ocean."

"Actually, not exactly," Bella said. "Everything organic has already dissolved or been eaten by seafloor critters. The only thing left behind maybe his leather shoes."

Aisha rolled her eyes. "Thank you, doctor."

Bella grinned. "My pleasure." Her expression quickly turned sorrowful as she held a couch pillow against her chest. "It's so sad. She's literally on a sinking ship, but somehow has a better love life than I do."

Leah and Aisha shared an exasperated look behind Bella's back. They already knew where this conversation was heading.

"Maybe you should go on a love boat?" Aisha suggested. "Fall in love with someone in three days."

Leah swallowed her snort.

"But what if it sinks?"

"Survive, and you'll tell and damn good story," Aisha said with a nod. Leah had to admit; she was trying her best to prevent Bella from whining until the end of her time about her singleness. "Even make a move out of it," she added, giving Leah a pointed look. "Make a helluva lot more money…"

Leah verbally agreed.

Bella thought about it for a moment, but then with a grimace. "When, a hundred years later?"

Aisha took back her hand and gave Bella an incredulous look.

"Actually, this movie was released eight-five years after the fact," Leah answered for Leah. As expected, she received a confused look from her friends. Hey, she had seen the movies quite a few (several) times—thanks to Jacob, who refused to admit that he had an affinity for it. It had a lot of action, he had told her numerous times, defending himself. Sure, Leah had often teased—She scoffed. "What? 1997 minus 1912 is eighty-five."

Bella's grimace deepened. "One hundred or eight-five, the fact still remains that unless I get turned into a vampire, I'm going to be dead by the time this so-called movie comes out."

"You can always ask for someone to give you a bite?" Leah suggested as a joke. "Maybe Rosalie can lend a hand?"

Aisha burst into laughter as Bella did her best to fight her grin. "The whole no-beating-heart thing doesn't appeal to me," the coroner said, reaching for a bowl of jelly beans (her weakness). "And only having blood for food?" Her smile dropped as she shook her head. "I mean, what can I do with that?"

"It'll get easier once the craving hits," Leah told Bella, speaking from her own experience. "Hey, look at me? I was a pescatarian for the longest, and now the thought of never consuming a land animal meat practically scares me."

Aisha nodded. "She has a point," she told Bella, then, "Bella, you'll be fine. There's nothing wrong with being single."

Leah nodded and raised her glass in agreement.

"Says someone who's about to ask her girlfriend to marry her," Bella grumbled, but without any heat.

"Don't jinx it!"

Both Leah and Bella laughed.

"I'm glad you've finally understood why Titanic was a great movie. Especially once the iceberg comes into the picture."

"I never said I didn't like the damn movie."

"No, but don't you think I haven't forgotten your little taunts."

"I wasn't taunting you, Black, I was simply curious about your affinity for a romance movie. You're usually not into them."

"For the last time, it wasn't just a romance movie."

"You and Bella should have Titanic movie discussions or launch a podcast. Go into a deep drive, I'm pretty sure between the two of you, that movie's been watched a hundred times."

"Yeah, I'm not trying to open that can of worms, thank you. Do you want to make my life more difficult?"

"She's over the whole you turning down her offer. You know that, right?"

"You heard what I said."

Shaking her head, Leah picked up her desk phone and quickly dialed a phone number. It was Monday morning, and this was the first call of her shift. There were only a few people she would willingly call without consuming her first cup of coffee. One of them was sitting right across of her, taking turns gulping down his coffee and bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich.

"Nice to see you're still relatively alive after all this time," Leah greeted over the phone a few minutes later, leaning back in her chair. "Nine bodies found in a ditch near Midway," she continued, more serious. "Know anything about that?"

Leah was relieved to hear the agent's voice after a couple of weeks of complete and utter radio silence. From the sound of it, he appeared good and well.

"Tell him I said hi," Jacob said between bites of his meal.

"Hey, man—and do you think I've emerged from under a rock?" Benjamin replied. From the sounds of it, he was inside a building. Maybe inside a basement. Leah could hear the agent pull back a chair and sit down. "So, at first, that wasn't our priority because of our focus on the Velasquez Cartel and the Volturi... but then, something very interested came up. I heard from a friend who heard from a friend that several members of the Fangs and a vamp from the Denali clan went missing."

Jacob looked up expectantly.

"We know," Leah said into the phone, leaning back in her chair. "Why do your people care about it now? It's the Bureau's case. Technically. Primarily."

"Yeah, until we found that money wasn't the only thing that was missing from that plane. Several barrels of Grade A UV's. I'm talking hundreds of thousands of bullets."

Jacob's eyes widened.

"Oh." Leah sat up in her seat and grabbed a notepad and a pen. She quickly wrote down some words. "Oh."

"If you ask me, I think our friends in Moldova had something to do with this. Apparently, they've been transporting goods across the Atlantic for quite some time now. It seems like they're stocking up for a comeback."

"Why don't they just wire the money?" Leah wondered. It was 2019; digital was the way to go. "Why cash?"

"Unmarked bills go a long way. I'm guessing your little band of misfits is investigating this case?"

"We're homicide detectives, by trade, so yeah," Leah mumbled, looking around the squad area for Aisha. "Tanya's not happy about Garrett."

"So, it is him," Benjamin said. "That actually explains to the silence…" He groaned. "Well, damn, that's very inconvenient. We were planning to arrest him this week for arms smuggling—Shit, I gotta call. Reach to you later?"

"Stay safe," Leah told the agent before hanging up.

"Abel's out the hospital. Just got the notification from my mom," Leah whispered to Jacob as they headed to Paul's office with some of their fellow coworkers. Minutes before, Paul requested a mid-morning meeting about the recent findings at the warehouse the day before. "He's going to be on meds for quite some time, but he'll live."

"Thank God for that," Jacob whispered back, squeezing Leah's shoulder before greeting a cop passing by. He grabbed onto the "coveted investigation board", displaying the headshots of each victim. Two with verified profiles, one possible and the rest blank. "Babies shouldn't be allowed to get sick."

"Ain't that the truth," Leah said as she quickly texted her mother back and pocketed her phone. When she entered her captain's office, she greeted everyone and took a seat.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Paul paced back and forth in front of the large board. "Give me the rundown from last week."

"Our fellow medical examiners came through last week," Jacob said. "According to them, "The victims were all men except for one between six and seven feet tall. The female was around 5'9", 5'10". Ages are a bit rough to figure out, but none were children. And thanks to their findings, we have founded the most-likely location of the murders."

Leah followed up with, "We believe the victims were shot execution-style in a lineup, facing the wall. Except for one. The vampire. Garrett. He was shot through the temple, standing about ten, fifteen feet away."

"Why the separation?"

"Vampires and wolves are supposed to be separated in life," Jacob provided, "I'm guessing the perps thought it should be this way even in death."

"Probably viewed Garrett as a traitor for working with the Fangs," Leah added. "We have reasons to believed that he was killed last."

"This shit is crazy…" Martinez mumbled under his breath.

Paul nodded in agreement, then, "What did ballistics say?"

"They'll give us an answer on the bullet casing found in the factory in a couple of hours," Aisha said. "They've been having issues with their systems."

"Of course," Paul grumbled. "So, let's assume that Collin's boys were offed because of the plane heist." "How did they— meaning, possibly the Volturi— find out? And where's the money?"

"We don't know," Jacob said, glancing at the other detectives.

"You don't know." Paul sighed, then asked Jacob and Martinez, "No one released a list of the rest of the missing Fangs?" Paul asked Jacob and Martinez.

Jacob and Martinez shared a look. Martinez ended up answering to the captain, "Still haven't heard a word. They're being uncharacteristically mum about the affair. Probably making sure no one opens their mouths and revealed some secrets... or revenge plans."

"Jacob?"

With his arms tightly crossed and a deep frown on his face, Jacob said, "He's right."

"Can you get into the Fangs inner circle?" Paul asked Jacob.

"I can, but won't exactly be ethical."

Leah didn't even want to think about what that would entail.

"I mean, Jacob can't be the only Fangs expert around here," Aisha pointed out.

"I'm not an expert," Jacob maintained.

"What about the Volturi?" Paul asked. "Anything from them?"

"Any time now, I should be receiving a list of every known associate of the Volturi in the country that we know isn't in Moldova or dead-dead," Aisha said. "Unfortunately, since this is the Volturi, it's not going to be a list of five people."

"We gotta start somewhere," Paul said. "Focus on enforcers and killers. I doubt the Volturi would use some Joe off the street," then frustrated, "We don't have a visual on anyone?"

"We're going to visit the closest gas station," Leah quickly replied. "It's about a half a mile away, but it's right next to the main road leading to the warehouse. The cameras had to have caught something."

"What about the Denali?"

"I think we're going to need another wire," Aisha suggested. "No one's really talking except for Jacob's friends, and they can provide only so much. The Denali's aren't saying shit about Garrett except that Tanta's a bit pissed off..."

"You don't need to be a genius to figure that out," Paul grumbled. He crossed his arms. "Chatted with the feds. We seem to have more insight into this heist then they do." He looked at Leah's way. "They want to know the source."

"I can't," Leah maintained. Gennaro had enough drama. "You know that."

"The feds must know about him, right?" Aisha wondered. "I mean, it's not like he's hiding in plain sight."

"Point," Jacob added.

"This isn't my call," Paul said. "If you don't want the feds to go after your guy, then give us something concrete to work with besides he-said-she-said. I don't know if you all didn't notice, but we're an evidence-based business—

"What did Mr. Nine Lives say?"

"It's that your new nickname for him?" Jacob asked with a laugh, then more serious, "He more or less confirmed the source's intel. Plus more. He was the one who knew the UVs. The ATF is very interested in the heist right now. Mr. Nine Lives, as you call him, is going to make a few calls and reach out about meeting up."

"It's something," Paul agreed with a nod. "Clearwater, I think it's time set up another date with a certain Volturi defector. She must know something.

"She wasn't a defector," Leah argued. "She got fired."

"Detective."

Leah smirked. "I'll see if I can chat with her tonight."

"I can't give you names."

That wasn't what Leah wanted to hear.

"You can or you won't?"

Jane bristled; she never liked anyone challenging her. But she composed herself, gave Leah her patented, expressionless stare down. "Can't." She pulled out a chair and sat down at the table, legs crossed. "This is the work of new recruits. It's been a while since I've been involved in Volturi personnel."

Leah remained standing at the other side of the table. "How do you know it's the work of the Volturi?"

"I wouldn't say that. It was outsourced," Jane paused to offer Leah a seat. "They didn't do it, another group did. Bones in a ditch…" she trailed off, frowning. "I don't understand why they couldn't simply toss them into Lake Michigan. But they always want to leave their mark Their signature."

Leah eventually sat down. "Who's they?'

"Hitmen from the Velasquez Cartel," Jane said. "Unless it's a copycat, they're the ones who did this."

"The Velasquez worked with the Olympic coven."

"The Velasquez works with money," Jane stressed. "Their only connection to the Olympic coven was Jasper. If it wasn't for Maria's affinity for him..."

"They killed Garrett. The Velasquez must know if the Denali's find out about their involvement, Tanya is going to flip, and there goes their business arrangement."

"I'm sure a certain matriarch will work to ensure that does not happen."

Esme.

"Who arranged the executions?"

"Traditionally, Caius." Jane's expression turned uncharacteristically stormy. "He takes pleasure in deciding the fates of others."

"I told her."

Both of Leah's eyebrows rose as she took a sip of her cup of morning coffee. She knew what Embry was referring to—somehow, he found the right opportunity to confess to his lady-friend about who he truly was. And managed to live to tell the tale, not locked up in some government-funded research facility. She was impressed.

From across the desks, she shared a look with Jacob, who then carefully verified with Embry, "You told her?"

Quite pleased with himself, Embry nodded, pulled up a chair between Leah's and Jacob's desk. "I told her."

"Oh." Leah eyed Embry, somewhat surprised. She had fully expected him to have a freak out, but he was just sitting there, looking calm. She shared another look with Jacob, who only shrugged and asked, "Well, you're still with her, so I'm guessing she didn't call the CDC on you?"

Leah nearly choked on her coffee.

Embry gave Jacob a dirty look. "Hahaha, funny," he grumbled, then with a grin. "Actually, she claimed she knew all the long."

Jacob leaned in. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah, she's a paralegal, remember? She worked on some cases involving vamps on the down-low." He shrugged. "I'm starting to think that more people know about the supernatural than they let on. It's like an open secret."

Embry might be onto something, Leah thought, crossing her arms on her side of the table. "So, are you single now?" she asked.

"Nope," Embry said, widening his grin. "No, I'm not," and then added with a wink. "She thinks it's hot."

Jacob let out a hearty laugh.

"I'm proud of you, Embry," Leah said, pinching the younger cop's cheek. She chuckled at his embarrassment, then, "Just don't mention what happens on runs. You know the whole in-the-buff thing—I'm sure she won't appreciate that and may take things to another level. And I'm not trying to be in the middle of another relationship strife."

Jacob let out an amused yelp.

Embry cast an unimpressed look at Leah, shaking his head. "You know, I expect that comment from our fearless leader, not you."

"No, but seriously," Leah said. "Good for you. One less weight on your shoulders."

Embry released a relieved sigh. "You're telling me—"

"Call, my office!"

Embry rolled his eyes and stood up. "I gotta testify in a trial that Paul somehow knows about," he said and shrugged. "It's nothing. Just the run-in-the-mill homicide from before I got transferred to this unit. Yay."

"Good luck," Jacob said with a nod. "And tell Paul to stop yelling. It makes it seem like he's mad at you."

Embry snorted, stole a piece of candy from Jacob's bowl of sweets, and said before Jacob could yell at him for lack of respect, "Catch you guys later."

Leah waved while Jacob glared at the younger cop.

"You know, he could've asked for a piece," Jacob grumbled. "That's stealing."

Leah snorted, rolling her eyes. "You'll live," she said. "Anyway, I thought you were supposed to be staying any from sweets?" She snorted again when her partner gave her the finger. "Very mature."

"You know I have a weakness for jelly beans."

"Stop whining and get back to work."

"Yes, ma'am."

Shaking her head, Leah picked her ringing desk phone. "Clearwater," She recognized the voice and grinned. Detective John Meloni, one of the most decent cops around and the man who had trained her. "Oh, hey, it's been a while… Alright, we'll be there." She ended the call and announced, "Vice picked up someone of interest. Wants us to check it out."

"We picked up this piece of work about an hour ago along Monroe," Meloni informed Leah and Jacob as he led them through the station. He stopped to retrieve an evidence bag from his pocket and held it up. "Selling this." He scoffed when the detectives' eyes widened. "Yeah, figured you'd know about it."

Jacob took the bag and examined it with Leah peering over. He handed it back to Meloni. "How do you know about this?"

"There are rumors." Meloni winked. "Why do you think I called you guys here and not my buddies at Gangs?"

"Can we take it?" Leah asked.

Meloni shrugged. "As long as you follow procedure and don't throw me into the fire, I don't give a rat's ass what you do that."

"Can we talk to this person?"

"Yeah, sure," Meloni said to Jacob, and he led the detectives to the interrogation rooms. "Have fun. Like I said before, she's a real piece of work."

Leah and Jacob exchanged a look.

"She?"

"Yeah, she. Cassandra Meeks. Women can be on the street, too," the other detective said, glanced behind him and scoffed at Leah. "I thought you for all people would know that."

Leah rolled her eyes. "Thanks."

"You can always come back to Vice," Meloni offered Leah seriously. He gestured the squad area and its limited occupants. "Goodness knows we need the people."

Vice was decimated after last year's scandal. Unfortunately for the unit's captain, the arrest and firing of some of his cops did not do much to improve Vice's already spotty reputation.

"About that," Jacob said. "If she's selling these." He shook the evidence bag. "Why are you involved?"

"We have responsibilities, too," Meloni said, giving the detective a look. "After all, she was roaming around our favorite part of Monroe, where hookers, tricks, and pimps like to roam…" He trailed off and jerked his head in the direction of a specific interrogation room. "She's right in there."

"Booked her yet?" Jacob asked.

Meloni shook his head. "Wanted to wait until you guys talked her before making that move," he said. "I know about your case. Not everything, but enough."

"Thanks, Meloni," Leah said, opening the room door. "We'll take it from here."

"It'll be best if your partner stays out here," Meloni suggested, glancing at Jacob. Despite his sharp tone, he wasn't being an asshole about it. "She's not a fan of men at this moment. Went on this whole rant about fuck boys—her words—as she was hauled into the back of the patrol car. She refused to speak to guys."

"But she was at Monroe," Jacob remarked with a snort, and then, "I'll be out here."

Leah nodded and entered the room.

"Cassandra Meeks…"

"Tia."

Leah raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"Tia," Cassandra declared with her head held up high. She knew what this was, and she wasn't intimidated by it. This must've not been her first interrogation. There were pros and cons to that. "Cassandra is my government name."

"Tia," Leah said, nodding. She would give the woman across from her that respect. Leah studied Tia for a moment—she was in her mid-twenties. Hispanic-descent. Maybe. Pretty, not haggard, and judging on her attire, she didn't look like the usual Monroe-loiter. Interesting. "I'm Detective Clearwater."

Tia flipped back her long black hair and folded her hands on the table. She watched with curious eyes as Leah pulled back a chair and sat down. "A female cop," she remarked. "About damn time."

"Not a fan of men?"

"Not a fan of Vice," Tia bit out. "They're known for giving me and the other girls problems. Why go after us? All we're doing is trying to make things neat."

Leah wasn't going to comment on the merits of the sex trade. She pulled out the evidence bag and placed it in the middle of the table. She folded her hands, watching Tia as she stared at it. "Do you know what this is?"

Tia shrugged. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Leah cocked her head. "You were caught trying to sell it."

Tia shook her head and shrugged again, this time adding her hands to the movement. "It lights up," she said. "Never seen it before and thought: hey, maybe I can get some money off of this? Without worrying about taxes and all that..."

"Where did you get it from?"

"I found it."

"Where?"

"It was given to me."

Leah narrowed her eyes. "Stick with your story, Tia."

Tia let out a deep breath, not wanting to say anything, but also not wanting to get booked and charged. "My boyfriend," she eventually admitted. "This guy I was seeing..." She crinkled her nose. "Ricky."

Leah nodded as she wrote the man's name. Based on the other women's tone, Tia wasn't a big fan of Ricky. "Last name?"

Tia shrugged. "Dunno."

Leah raised an eyebrow. "You don't know your boyfriend's last name?"

Tia huffed, crossing her arms. "We're just messing around."

"You said he was your boyfriend."

Tia frowned. "Wouldn't that be nice?"

Leah nodded, understanding. "The relationship was casual."

Tia rolled her eyes. "I guess."

Leah leaned back against her chair. "So, what happened?"

Tia bit her lip, but eventually dropped her arms. "We got into a fight. He kicked me out, and I took that." She pointed at the evidence bag. "That thing was on the floor. It glowered. Looked different, so I thought I can get something out of it. It'd serve him right."

Leah glanced at the plastic in front of her, containing two UV bullets, then looked up, "Did you get something out of it?"

Tia snorted and rolled her eyes. "Obviously not."

"Tell me more about Ricky."

"He was a guy I was seeing. Like I said," Tia said, tight. "What else do you want?"

"Describe him."

"I dunno. Black. Mixed or something. I think his mom is Puerto Rican," Tia said. "Tall. Has some meat on him." She smirked at that. "Not flashy. And charming. He's good at being that. Hides all of his, you know... BS." She sighed. "Yeah... that's Ricky."

"Where does he work?"

"At some family business," Tia said with a shrug. She wasn't entirely positive. "Someone in Missouri. He said he was staying in Chicago until the end of the year. Maybe even more."

"When was the last time you've seen Ricky?"

"A few weeks ago. When he kicked me out."

Leah nodded. That timeline corroborated with the heist. "Why did he kick you out?"

"Didn't you hear me before?" Tia sucked her teeth. "We had a fight. I don't know what was up with him. He was all agitated. It was like a switch went off or something." She shrugged. "A couple of days before, he was happy. Like he won the lotto. Told me he was gonna take me to Miami. And then, he became all paranoid, like someone was after him. Hence the fight."

Leah nodded. Now, things were getting interesting. "What was the fight about?"

"Apparently, I was being too nosy," Tia said, rolling her eyes. "Look, we weren't married or anything, but I cared enough about the man to make sure he didn't end up in a ditch. Was that too bad?"

Interesting wording.

Leah shook her head. "What made you so worried?"

Tia sighed. "One day. I think a week before... just as I got home, right? I was out all night, making money and guess what I found right in front of his door? A fucking bloody dog paw."

Leah raised both eyebrows. "Did you call the police?"

"Hell no," Tia said. "I've been on the streets for most of my life. I knew what that shit meant. Someone was sending a message, and I ain't trying to get involved."

Leah didn't blame her. "You told Ricky?"

"Of course, I did. I told him he needed to watch his back. But he claimed I was being too dramatic."

"And then, he kicked you out."

"And then, he kicked me out," Tia confirmed, quite bitter. She looked up at Leah, suddenly curious. "Why you asking about him anyway?"